Eternal Wisdom – Day 21

₄₂They spent their time in learning from the apostles, taking part in the fellowship, and sharing in the fellowship meals and the prayers.

₄₆Day after day they met as a group in the Temple, and they had their meals together in their homes, eating with glad and humble hearts, ₄₇praising God, and enjoying the good will of all the people. And every day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.

₃₂The group of believers was one in mind and heart. None of them said that any of their belongings were their own, but they all shared with one another everything they had.

₃₁And so it was that the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had a time of peace. Through the help of the Holy Spirit it was strengthened and grew in numbers, as it lived in reverence for the Lord.

₁₆Then Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath he went as usual to the synagogue. He stood up to read the Scriptures

₂₅Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer.

₁₈Do not get drunk with wine, which will only ruin you; instead, be filled with the Spirit. ₁₉Speak to one another with the words of psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing hymns and psalms to the Lord with praise in your hearts. ₂₀In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, always give thanks for everything to God the Father.

₁₄But how can they call to him for help if they have not believed? And how can they believe if they have not heard the message? And how can they hear if the message is not proclaimed? ₁₅And how can the message be proclaimed if the messengers are not sent out? As the scripture says, “How wonderful is the coming of messengers who bring good news!”

₉For this reason we have always prayed for you, ever since we heard about you. We ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will, with all the wisdom and understanding that his Spirit gives. ₁₀Then you will be able to live as the Lord wants and will always do what pleases him. Your lives will produce all kinds of good deeds, and you will grow in your knowledge of God.

₃What we have seen and heard we announce to you also, so that you will join with us in the fellowship that we have with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

₅In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body.

₁₃In the same way, all of us, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free, have been baptized into the one body by the same Spirit, and we have all been given the one Spirit to drink.

₁₄For the body itself is not made up of only one part, but of many parts. ₁₅If the foot were to say, “Because I am not a hand, I don't belong to the body,” that would not keep it from being a part of the body. ₁₆And if the ear were to say, “Because I am not an eye, I don't belong to the body,” that would not keep it from being a part of the body. ₁₇If the whole body were just an eye, how could it hear? And if it were only an ear, how could it smell? ₁₈As it is, however, God put every different part in the body just as he wanted it to be. ₁₉There would not be a body if it were all only one part! ₂₀As it is, there are many parts but one body.

₅₁I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live for ever. The bread that I will give him is my flesh, which I give so that the world may live.”

₅₂This started an angry argument among them. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.

₅₃Jesus said to them, “I am telling you the truth: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in yourselves. ₅₄Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them to life on the last day. ₅₅For my flesh is the real food; my blood is the real drink. ₅₆Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them. ₅₇The living Father sent me, and because of him I live also. In the same way whoever eats me will live because of me.

₁₆The cup we use in the Lord's Supper and for which we give thanks to God: when we drink from it, we are sharing in the blood of Christ. And the bread we break: when we eat it, we are sharing in the body of Christ. ₁₇Because there is the one loaf of bread, all of us, though many, are one body, for we all share the same loaf.

₂₃“When that day comes, you will not ask me for anything. I am telling you the truth: the Father will give you whatever you ask him for in my name. ₂₄Until now you have not asked for anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your happiness may be complete.

₇“Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. ₈For everyone who asks will receive, and anyone who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to those who knock.

₁One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

₂Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this:

₁₄We have courage in God's presence, because we are sure that he hears us if we ask him for anything that is according to his will. ₁₅He hears us whenever we ask him; and since we know this is true, we know also that he gives us what we ask from him.