https://www.christian-faith.com/why-live-for-god-and-not-for-yourself/

For none of us live for ourselves, and no one dies for himself.
For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

http://www.thetransformedsoul.com/additional-studies/spiritual-life-studies/dying-to-self

...The world’s philosophy says LIVE FOR SELF... but God’s Word says DIE TO SELF! Many people came to Jesus and asked to be His disciples, but most of them turned away because they were not willing to give themselves to Christ; i.e., make themselves a “slave of Christ” (Lk 14:26, 33; 16:13; Rom 12:1; 1 Cor 6:19-20; 1 Pet 1:18-19). Jesus said, “He who loves his father or mother or himself more than Me, he is not worthy of Me” (Mt 10:37-39). Thus Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20).

C. S. Lewis’ literary demon “Screwtape” has something insightful to say. He tells his young nephew that humans rarely pray for the thing God wants them to pray for — they simply want enough grace to see them through some moment or time of trouble... they conjure up a vision of the future they want and appeal for that outcome. They persist in wrapping their anxious hands around life’s steering wheel as if “it’s going to work this time if only they clutch it more tightly.” The most difficult prayer for us to voice is, “Not my will, but Thine be done.” Our conversations with God regularly leapfrog over our intellectual resolve not to “ask for stuff,” and land squarely on the bargaining and pleading table. The best we seem to be able to do is arrive at a compro- mise between what we know to be right intellectually and the howl of protest that lies within us.

Obedience isn’t easy. Sometimes our carnal mind doesn’t like the idea of God having His way and us obeying it – it is the nature of man to “want things to go his way.” When things don’t go as we planned... when it rains on our parade... when someone says something unbecoming to us... when our world turns upside down... when difficulties and circumstances tax us too much... when we get turned down for a promotion... when we don’t get what we worked so hard to acquire – the long and short of it all is, “it bothers us!” “it rubs us wrong!” “it makes us angry!” Here’s the real rub: Just because we are living a life of obedience doesn’t auto- matically make our situation better. Most believers think that by being obedient the clouds will go away and skies will turn blue... their financial problems will disappear and their little nest egg will grow again... their physical infirmities will go away and their health will once again return. Sometimes these things may happen, but at other times they don’t. Is God still good? Absolutely. This we will also conclude: being in God’s will is far better than being outside His will. The secret to a “joy-filled life” doesn’t lie in the absence of pain or in demanding our own way, but in “dying to self” and embracing God’s will.

Why Live for God and not for Yourself?
From time to time the suggestion comes even into the minds of Christians – "Why live for God? Why don't you just live for yourself?" This suggestion appeals to the most basic instincts of fallen mankind – pride and the desire for independence. It is similar to the temptation given to Eve in the Garden of Eden. The idea the serpent was planting there was that "God knows that in the day you eat of the tree you will be wise", and by implication – wise enough to live without God's direction. So there is nothing new in this line of thinking. And the source of such thinking continues to be the Kingdom of Darkness.

I'd like to offer some reasons why it is best to live for God and not for yourself. Sometimes reasons help, but once you've seen the reasons, and the thoughts persist, the best thing you can do is use spiritual weapons and spiritual authority to bind the demons, and command the devil's forces to SHUT UP and go away. And you can set your mind on things that please God and tune the devil out. Even so, I think we can give plenty of good reasons why you and I should live for God and not for ourselves.

1. God loves us

God loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son to be a sacrifice for sins in our place (John 3:16). The Bible says that if He did not spare His own Son, will He not together with Him freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

The Lord GOD sacrifices His own comfort and blessings for us to the point where it hurts Him. When He asks us to respond to His love, its very reasonable, and its not because He is selfish. The cross should demonstrate that to us.

We are dealing with an amazingly loving, caring God who generously gives us all things. Since we are going to be looked after so well under God's care, is it not reasonable to acknowledge His Kingly rule over us?



2. God is good

Before sin entered into the world, God made everything very good. Everything was in perfect harmony. The vegetation, the climate, the animals were all perfect. However, disruption and corruption entered the world essentially through the decision of mankind to deny God His rightful place of Lordship in the world. It is not that WE are good and GOD is evil. No, let us have the humility and clear-sightedness to realize that it is our rebellion which messed up things, and continues to mess them up. Embracing that path of rebellion and independence is insanity – its a proven way to mess up the beautiful world God created. Its just plain wrong to cut ourselves off from God's loving rule.



3. God is much smarter than we are

The LORD GOD Almighty made the heavens and the earth. He understands every mystery – both in the physical world and in the spiritual world. God understands everything. He understands how this Universe works. He understands cosmology, astronomy, geology, physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, psychology, the human brain, medicine, law, the arts, finance, sociology, music and every other field of knowledge you can think of. He understands eternal things. He understands the spiritual world. He knows all about the demonic spiritual entities that are scheming to lure you and destroy you forever.

But you (and I) have only a limited partial knowledge of any of these areas. We do not know the future. God does. God loves us so much and wants our well-being so much that he is going to reveal to us directions for our life that are going to work out much better than anything we could have planned for ourselves based on our limited knowledge.

God is not operating on a short term view. He is interested in our character more than our present comfort. He is more interested in our faith than our fun. This is why we should trust that God is working something good in us even when life is painful. Even when our life is painful, we should accept and believe that a Loving Father God is working what is good for us. That doesn't mean we should accept the devil's work as God's plan for our lives. We need to resist the devil. But we need to understand that above all of this there is a God who has every detail of the Universe and our future well understood. He desires that we overcome Satan and inherit the Kingdom of God. That is much better than rejecting God and trying to live independently of God.

4. We live in a world full of hostile and deceptive evil spirits

Gnosticism and various occult religions sometimes portray Satan/Lucifer as the liberator of humanity, and God as a cruel tyrant overlord. But this portayal is deception.

If you go off into this wide world without God, without reference to God and His laws, His ways, it is not so much God that will punish you, as you will break yourself, and you will open the door to demonic curses.

Satan is always seeking to destroy the souls of men. In living for yourself, in pursuing whatever your flesh and eyes desire, and your own importance in the world, you are going to come into conflict with other people. You are going to neglect something important in your life – be it family, relationships or something else. You are going to set your heart on something that won't be able to give you the promised satisfaction you were hoping for. One way or another (and there are too many ways to mention), you are going to be hurt, damaged, robbed and ultimately destroyed if you pursue this path to the end.

The prodigal Son in the story of Luke 15 wanted to live for himself, and he took the things he could from his father so he could go off and have a good time. But when the money (the resources) ran out, he fell on hard times. He found that people didn't care about him after all. He was brought to a very low place, feeding pigs and desiring pig food.

It was there, down in the mud, that he realised he was better off being a servant in his father's house than living his life without his father's blessing.

We need to realise that although there may be short term gratification in the path of sin, it leads to humiliation. There are thieves and robbers on that road. We are much better off doing the journey of life with God, than without God.

God has a purpose for us that is not merely focused on our own personal interests, but also on the well-being of others. He calls us to live a life of love. He calls us to be a bigger person that what we currently are.

But when we seek to live for ourselves, and reject God's place in our lives, we are going to open ourselves up to the malicious activity of demons that seek for nothing more than our eventual destruction. It is hard for them to conceal their malevolent natures so much that they often work to hurt the people of the world that are already firmly in their camp anyway. And this fact allows some people to wake up and receive God's love after all.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-inevitable-misery-of-living-for-yourself/

Remembrance (Acoustic) - Hillsong Worship

I take the bread of life

Broken for all my sin

Your body crucified

To make me whole again

VERSE 2:

I will recall the cup

Poured out in sacrifice

To trade this sinners' end

For Your new covenant 

CHORUS:

Hallelujah

I'll live my life in remembrance 

Hallelujah Your promise I won't forget

VERSE 3:

I'll walk salvation's road

With fear and trembling

Your way borne as my own

As Christ is formed in me

CHORUS:

Hallelujah 

I'll live my life in remembrance 

Hallelujah 

Your promise I won't forget

POST CHORUS 1:

If ever I should lose my way

If ever I deny Your grace

Remind me of the price You paid

Hallelujah 

I'll live in remembrance 

BRIDGE (repeated):

You've been so so good to me

You've been so so good to me

Oh to think where I would be

If not for You

If not for You

POST CHORUS 2:

As far as heights reach from the depths

As far as east is from the west

So far Your grace has carried me

POST CHORUS 3:

Until I see You face to face

Until at last I've won my race

Remind me Youʼre not finished yet

TAG:

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

I'll live in remembrance

No too small a task done for God is deemed too small in His eyes.

Even Unto Death - Audrey Assad

The world or people may bring you down, but Christ will lift you up. Take heart and have hope in Him.

Limiting God

You are the one holding back God's power in you.

https://www.charismamag.com/blogs/power-up/36391-what-s-holding-you-back-from-god-s-unthinkable-power

I have experienced so many things in my life that I never would have thought possible or dared to dream. I was raised in a single-parent home on what some would consider the wrong side of town. Yet seemingly against all odds God blessed me to finish college with a degree in biology and chemistry, have a successful career in corporate and nonprofit sectors, marry a wonderful man, and raise children who make us both so proud. Today my husband and I lead a wonderful church, The Fountain of Praise in Houston, Texas, and I travel the world preaching and teaching God's Word.

At one time the life I now live would have been unimaginable to me. Unthinkable. Too unlikely for me to even desire. But God taught me that He is able to do "exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us" (Eph. 3:20, NKJV). God did the unthinkable in my life when I decided not to settle for life as I had known it. I wanted more out of life than I had seen growing up, and as I had placed my desire before God, He showed me how to break out of poverty and a self-limiting mind-set. He began to open my eyes to what He had in store for me, and His plans were beyond what I would have dreamed. I still cannot fathom all He wants for me, but I have learned to trust God with the things that seem impossible to me.

You see, when God began to show me His desires for my life, I began to study the godly examples of men and women in the Bible to discover my full potential in God. When I began to apply what I was learning, God began to do "exceedingly abundantly" above all I could ask or think. And I was empowered to be my best!

As I studied these individuals, I noticed that they often did what others dared not do. They stepped out of their comfort zones and took bold steps of faith, at times defying convention and cultural norms, and their choices brought life-changing results. They did the unthinkable and experienced the impossible.

Many times we allow ourselves to live according to others' expectations of us. We let those around us or our circumstances define how far we can go or what we can accomplish. But it's time to rethink the boundaries you've set around your life. It's time to push the margins, press beyond the norm, and join hands with the One whose dreams for you are bigger than you think.

I want to challenge you to raise your level of expectation. My prayer is that this will compel you to take a close look at your life and ask yourself some tough questions: Have I limited myself because someone said I couldn't do something? Am I holding back because someone said I shouldn't try something new? Have I talked myself out of going somewhere I have never been? If you're like me and most of the women I know, your answer to at least one of these questions is a resounding yes. But that can change.

First, you must trust God. Believing God is the bedrock of experiencing the life God desires for you. Only through Him are all things possible. Then, have a desire to get closer to God and not seek personal aggrandizement. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide your actions, not your ambitions. Focus on seeking and pleasing God first, not your community or certain religious leaders.

If you are tired of being restricted, or if you have ever felt marginalized or been made to feel that your voice isn't powerful or important this word is for you. I want you to consider all the things you have desired to do but have been too afraid to try. Then ask the Holy Spirit to embolden you as He did the biblical figures we study.

God wants to do in our lives what He did in theirs. He wants to heal our wounds, transform our marriages, save our children, bring us out of desperate circumstances, deliver us from bondage, and make us vessels of honor. Our God has no limits, and He wants you to let Him do the unthinkable in and through you!

Adapted from Unthinkable by Mia K. Wright



Is Fear Is Holding You Back?

BY RICK WARREN — AUGUST 24, 2015

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10 NIV)

What keeps you from developing your full potential? Fear. What keeps you from becoming all God wants you to be? Fear. What keeps you from building a legacy that will last into eternity? Fear.

There are three kinds of fear that will keep you from developing your talents and accomplishing your purpose.
Self-doubt. It keeps people locked in a prison and unable to develop their potential. This is actually the fear of failure. But failure is not fatal! In fact, the fear of failure is far worse than failure itself. Failure is actually a good thing. Failure is how you learn what doesn’t work. And it’s how you grow into a better parent, partner, and professional. Don’t let self-doubt keep you down. I’d rather attempt to do something great and fail than attempt to do nothing and succeed.
Self-consciousness. If you worry about what other people think, nothing will ever get done in your life. You just have to do what God tells you to do. That’s all you’re accountable for. You’re not called to be the best in the world. You’re called to be the best that God made you to be.
Self-pity. There were two disciples that had spectacular failures. Peter and Judas both denied Jesus in clutch time, but they responded to their failure in very different ways. Judas went out and had a pity party and hung himself. Peter, on the other hand, wept bitterly, grieved about it, repented, asked God to forgive him, picked himself up, and went back to serving God. And 40 days later, Peter spoke to the whole city of Jerusalem on Pentecost, and 3,000 people became believers and the Church was born. Of all the people God could have used to start the church, he used the guy with the biggest failure. That means there’s room for you in the family of God!

Instead of living in fear, believe what God says about you in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”(NIV).


Let Go Of The Things That Hold You Back

BY RICK WARREN — MAY 21, 2014

“Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress ...” (Hebrews 12:1b NLT)

If you want to finish the race of life, if you want to make it to the finish line, you’re going to have to let go of some things that may be holding you back in the race. Call it de-cluttering; call it simplifying. There are some things that need to be laid aside in order to finish well.

What kind of things am I talking about? The things that cause you to get discouraged. Think of it this way: If you attach one light bulb to a battery, the battery will run for a long time. If you attach 100 light bulbs to a battery, it will go dim and dark really quick!

When you keep adding things to your schedule and your life, you will quickly become discouraged and tired.

In today’s verse from Hebrews 12:1, I want to focus on two words, “weight” and “sin,” because these are the two things that hold you back in the race of life.

A weight is anything that slows you down. It could be a relationship, a job, an activity, or a sport. It doesn’t have to be a bad thing. A weight can be a good thing, but if you get too many good things in your life, you’re going to collapse because you don’t have time for all of them. You need to learn to say "no" to grow. God doesn’t expect you to do everything.

A weight can also be an unrealistic expectation that comes from peer pressure or the need to please someone, or it can be a memory. You might be stuck in the past, holding on to a happiness or hurt. The problem is that you can’t live in the past or even in the future; you can only live in the now. Trying to do anything else will weigh you down.

Whatever the weight is, if it isn’t working in your life, if it’s dragging you down, you need to let it go.

Identifying sins are easy, right? Sins are the things that you know to do but you don’t do them. You know the keys to living a healthy lifestyle or keeping your finances in good shape. But do you do them?

James 4:17 says, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins” (NIV).

So if you know that you should spend less than you make to stay financially healthy, don’t go on a spending spree that puts you further in debt. You don’t need to keep up with the Joneses or the Smiths or whoever you’re comparing yourself to. You don’t need to use the charge card.

Live within your means so you can lay aside the weight of financial debt and run your race well.

Talk About It

- What are the weights that you need to lay aside today?

- What are the changes that you need to make in your lifestyle that would help you run your race well?

A reminder

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13,14


In times of prosperity be joyful, but in times of adversity consider this: God has made one as well as the other, so that no one can discover what the future holds.
Ecclesiastes 7:14


Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these days?" for it is not wise to ask that.
Ecclesiastes 7:10


We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28


Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
James 1:12


A Call to Persevere
So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward. You need to persevere, so that after you have done God’s will, you will receive what He has promised. For,

“In just a very while little,

He who is coming will come and will not delay.

But My righteous one will live by faith;

and if he shrinks back,

I will take no pleasure in him.”

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
Hebrews 10:35-39

To Love You Rightly (Live) | Swan Song - Hunter GK Thompson

Live for Him

For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's.
Philippians 2:21

What I am saying, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who weep, as if they did not; those who are joyful, as if they were not; those who make a purchase, as if they had nothing; and those who use the things of this world, as if not dependent on them. For this world in its present form is passing away.
1 Cor 7:29-31

No excuse

Ever since God created the world, his invisible qualities, both his eternal power and his divine nature, have been clearly seen; they are perceived in the things that God has made. As a result, people have no excuse.

19Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor. 20And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores 21and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried. 23In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.

24So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’

25But Abraham answered, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, while you are left to suffer. 26And besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that even those who wish cannot cross from here to you, nor can anyone cross from there to us.’

27‘Then I beg you, father,’ he said, ‘send Lazarus to my father’s house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them so they will not also end up in this place of torment.’

29But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let your brothers listen to them.’

30‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone is sent to them from the dead, they will repent.’

31Then Abraham said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’” 

Matthew 12:38-42 International Standard Version (ISV)

The Sign of Jonah

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees told Jesus,[a] “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

39 But he replied to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign. Yet no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah,40 because just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea creature for three days and three nights,[b] so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment and condemn the people living today,[c] because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. But look—something greater than Jonah is here! 42 The queen of the south will stand up and condemn the people living today,[d] because she came from so far away[e] to hear the wisdom of Solomon. But look! Something greater than Solomon is here!”

https://bible.org/seriespage/19-sign-jonah-matthew-1238-45

Job 38 

The Lord Speaks

1Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:

2“Who is this that obscures my plans

with words without knowledge?

3Brace yourself like a man;

I will question you,

and you shall answer me.

4“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?

Tell me, if you understand.

5Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!

Who stretched a measuring line across it?

6On what were its footings set,

or who laid its cornerstone—

7while the morning stars sang together

and all the angelsa shouted for joy?

8“Who shut up the sea behind doors

when it burst forth from the womb,

9when I made the clouds its garment

and wrapped it in thick darkness,

10when I fixed limits for it

and set its doors and bars in place,

11when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;

here is where your proud waves halt’?

12“Have you ever given orders to the morning,

or shown the dawn its place,

13that it might take the earth by the edges

and shake the wicked out of it?

14The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;

its features stand out like those of a garment.

15The wicked are denied their light,

and their upraised arm is broken.

16“Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea

or walked in the recesses of the deep?

17Have the gates of death been shown to you?

Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?

18Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?

Tell me, if you know all this.

19“What is the way to the abode of light?

And where does darkness reside?

20Can you take them to their places?

Do you know the paths to their dwellings?

21Surely you know, for you were already born!

You have lived so many years!

22“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow

or seen the storehouses of the hail,

23which I reserve for times of trouble,

for days of war and battle?

24What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,

or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?

25Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,

and a path for the thunderstorm,

26to water a land where no one lives,

an uninhabited desert,

27to satisfy a desolate wasteland

and make it sprout with grass?

28Does the rain have a father?

Who fathers the drops of dew?

29From whose womb comes the ice?

Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens

30when the waters become hard as stone,

when the surface of the deep is frozen?

31“Can you bind the chainsb of the Pleiades?

Can you loosen Orion’s belt?

32Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasonsc

or lead out the Beard with its cubs?

33Do you know the laws of the heavens?

Can you set up God’se dominion over the earth?

34“Can you raise your voice to the clouds

and cover yourself with a flood of water?

35Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?

Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?

36Who gives the ibis wisdomf

or gives the rooster understanding?g

37Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?

Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens

38when the dust becomes hard

and the clods of earth stick together?

39“Do you hunt the prey for the lioness

and satisfy the hunger of the lions

40when they crouch in their dens

or lie in wait in a thicket?

41Who provides food for the raven

when its young cry out to God

and wander about for lack of food?

1“Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?

Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?

2Do you count the months till they bear?

Do you know the time they give birth?

3They crouch down and bring forth their young;

their labor pains are ended.

4Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;

they leave and do not return.

5“Who let the wild donkey go free?

Who untied its ropes?

6I gave it the wasteland as its home,

the salt flats as its habitat.

7It laughs at the commotion in the town;

it does not hear a driver’s shout.

8It ranges the hills for its pasture

and searches for any green thing.

9“Will the wild ox consent to serve you?

Will it stay by your manger at night?

10Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness?

Will it till the valleys behind you?

11Will you rely on it for its great strength?

Will you leave your heavy work to it?

12Can you trust it to haul in your grain

and bring it to your threshing floor?

13“The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,

though they cannot compare

with the wings and feathers of the stork.

14She lays her eggs on the ground

and lets them warm in the sand,

15unmindful that a foot may crush them,

that some wild animal may trample them.

16She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers;

she cares not that her labor was in vain,

17for God did not endow her with wisdom

or give her a share of good sense.

18Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,

she laughs at horse and rider.

19“Do you give the horse its strength

or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?

20Do you make it leap like a locust,

striking terror with its proud snorting?

21It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength,

and charges into the fray.

22It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;

it does not shy away from the sword.

23The quiver rattles against its side,

along with the flashing spear and lance.

24In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground;

it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.

25At the blast of the trumpet it snorts, ‘Aha!’

It catches the scent of battle from afar,

the shout of commanders and the battle cry.

26“Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom

and spread its wings toward the south?

27Does the eagle soar at your command

and build its nest on high?

28It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;

a rocky crag is its stronghold.

29From there it looks for food;

its eyes detect it from afar.

30Its young ones feast on blood,

and where the slain are, there it is.”

1The Lord said to Job:

2“Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?

Let him who accuses God answer him!”

3Then Job answered the Lord:

4“I am unworthy—how can I reply to you?

I put my hand over my mouth.

5I spoke once, but I have no answer—

twice, but I will say no more.”

6Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm:

7“Brace yourself like a man;

I will question you,

and you shall answer me.

8“Would you discredit my justice?

Would you condemn me to justify yourself?

9Do you have an arm like God’s,

and can your voice thunder like his?

10Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,

and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.

11Unleash the fury of your wrath,

look at all who are proud and bring them low,

12look at all who are proud and humble them,

crush the wicked where they stand.

13Bury them all in the dust together;

shroud their faces in the grave.

14Then I myself will admit to you

that your own right hand can save you.

15“Look at Behemoth,

which I made along with you

and which feeds on grass like an ox.

16What strength it has in its loins,

what power in the muscles of its belly!

17Its tail sways like a cedar;

the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.

18Its bones are tubes of bronze,

its limbs like rods of iron.

19It ranks first among the works of God,

yet its Maker can approach it with his sword.

20The hills bring it their produce,

and all the wild animals play nearby.

21Under the lotus plants it lies,

hidden among the reeds in the marsh.

22The lotuses conceal it in their shadow;

the poplars by the stream surround it.

23A raging river does not alarm it;

it is secure, though the Jordan should surge against its mouth.

24Can anyone capture it by the eyes,

or trap it and pierce its nose?

1“Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook

or tie down its tongue with a rope?

2Can you put a cord through its nose

or pierce its jaw with a hook?

3Will it keep begging you for mercy?

Will it speak to you with gentle words?

4Will it make an agreement with you

for you to take it as your slave for life?

5Can you make a pet of it like a bird

or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?

6Will traders barter for it?

Will they divide it up among the merchants?

7Can you fill its hide with harpoons

or its head with fishing spears?

8If you lay a hand on it,

you will remember the struggle and never do it again!

9Any hope of subduing it is false;

the mere sight of it is overpowering.

10No one is fierce enough to rouse it.

Who then is able to stand against me?

11Who has a claim against me that I must pay?

Everything under heaven belongs to me.

12“I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs,

its strength and its graceful form.

13Who can strip off its outer coat?

Who can penetrate its double coat of armora ?

14Who dares open the doors of its mouth,

ringed about with fearsome teeth?

15Its back hasb rows of shields

tightly sealed together;

16each is so close to the next

that no air can pass between.

17They are joined fast to one another;

they cling together and cannot be parted.

18Its snorting throws out flashes of light;

its eyes are like the rays of dawn.

19Flames stream from its mouth;

sparks of fire shoot out.

20Smoke pours from its nostrils

as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.

21Its breath sets coals ablaze,

and flames dart from its mouth.

22Strength resides in its neck;

dismay goes before it.

23The folds of its flesh are tightly joined;

they are firm and immovable.

24Its chest is hard as rock,

hard as a lower millstone.

25When it rises up, the mighty are terrified;

they retreat before its thrashing.

26The sword that reaches it has no effect,

nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.

27Iron it treats like straw

and bronze like rotten wood.

28Arrows do not make it flee;

slingstones are like chaff to it.

29A club seems to it but a piece of straw;

it laughs at the rattling of the lance.

30Its undersides are jagged potsherds,

leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.

31It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron

and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.

32It leaves a glistening wake behind it;

one would think the deep had white hair.

33Nothing on earth is its equal—

a creature without fear.

34It looks down on all that are haughty;

it is king over all that are proud.”

Job

1Then Job replied to the Lord:

2“I know that you can do all things;

no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

3You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me to know.

4“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;

I will question you,

and you shall answer me.’

5My ears had heard of you

but now my eyes have seen you.

6Therefore I despise myself

and repent in dust and ashes.”

Epilogue

7After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. 8So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” 9So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.

10After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. 11All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silvera and a gold ring.

12The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.

16After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17And so Job died, an old man and full of years.

Psalm 148

1Praise the Lord.a

Praise the Lord from the heavens;

praise him in the heights above.

2Praise him, all his angels;

praise him, all his heavenly hosts.

3Praise him, sun and moon;

praise him, all you shining stars.

4Praise him, you highest heavens

and you waters above the skies.

5Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for at his command they were created,

6and he established them for ever and ever—

he issued a decree that will never pass away.

7Praise the Lord from the earth,

you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,

8lightning and hail, snow and clouds,

stormy winds that do his bidding,

9you mountains and all hills,

fruit trees and all cedars,

10wild animals and all cattle,

small creatures and flying birds,

11kings of the earth and all nations,

you princes and all rulers on earth,

12young men and women,

old men and children.

13Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for his name alone is exalted;

his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

14And he has raised up for his people a horn,b

the praise of all his faithful servants,

of Israel, the people close to his heart.

Praise the Lord.