Tuesday 8 August 2045

8The Lord’s word came to him, saying,9“Arise, go to Zarephath,which belongs to Sidon, and stay there.Behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you.”

10So he arose and went to Zarephath;and when he came to the gate of the city,behold, a widow was there gathering sticks.He called to her and said,“Please get me a little water in a jar,that I may drink.”

11As she was going to get it,he called to her and said,“Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”

12She said, “As the Lord your God lives,I don’t have anything baked,but only a handful of meal in a jarand a little oil in a jar.Behold, I am gathering two sticks,that I may go in and bake it for me and my son,that we may eat it, and die.”

13Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid.Go and do as you have said;but make me a little cake from it first,and bring it out to me,and afterward make some for you and for your son.14For the Lord, the God of Israel,says, ‘The jar of meal will not run out,and the jar of oil will not fail,until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.’”

15She went and did according to the saying of Elijah;and she, he, and her household ate many days.16The jar of meal didn’t run outand the jar of oil didn’t fail,according to the Lord’s word,which he spoke by Elijah.

2God, you are my God.I will earnestly seek you.My soul thirsts for you.My flesh longs for you,in a dry and weary land, where there is no water.3So I have seen you in the sanctuary,watching your power and your glory.4Because your loving kindness is better than life,my lips shall praise you.5So I will bless you while I live.I will lift up my hands in your name.6My soul shall be satisfied as with the richest food.My mouth shall praise you with joyful lips,7when I remember you on my bed,and think about you in the night watches.8For you have been my help.I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.9My soul stays close to you.Your right hand holds me up.

12Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones,holy and beloved, a heart of compassion,kindness, lowliness,humility, and perseverance;13bearing with one another,and forgiving each other,if any man has a complaint against any;even as Christ forgave you, so you also do.

14Above all these things,walk in love, which is the bond of perfection.15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts,to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful.16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly;in all wisdom teachingand admonishing one another with psalms,hymns, and spiritual songs,singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.

17Whatever you do, in word or in deed,do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,giving thanks to God the Father through him.

25Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life:what you will eat, or what you will drink;nor yet for your body, what you will wear.Isn’t life more than food,and the body more than clothing?26See the birds of the sky,that they don’t sow,neither do they reap,nor gather into barns.Your heavenly Father feeds them.Aren’t you of much more value than they?

27“Which of you by being anxious,can add one moment to his lifespan?28Why are you anxious about clothing?Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.They don’t toil, neither do they spin,29yet I tell youthat even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these.30But if God so clothes the grass of the field,which today exists and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,won’t he much more clothe you,you of little faith?

31“Therefore don’t be anxious,saying, ‘What will we eat?’,‘What will we drink?’or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’32For the Gentiles seek after all these things;for your heavenly Father knowsthat you need all these things.33But seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness;and all these things will be given to you as well.34Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow,for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.Each day’s own evil is sufficient.