I am She – Day 7

₃Jabin had 900 iron chariots, and he ruled the people of Israel with cruelty and violence for twenty years. Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help.

₄Now Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet, and she was serving as a judge for the Israelites at that time. ₅She used to sit under a certain palm tree between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel would go there for her decisions. ₆One day she sent for Barak son of Abinoam from the city of Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The LORD, the God of Israel, has given you this command: ‘Take 10,000 men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them to Mount Tabor. ₇I will bring Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, to fight against you at the River Kishon. He will have his chariots and soldiers, but I will give you victory over him.’ ”

₈Then Barak replied, “I will go if you go with me, but if you don't go with me, I won't go either.”

₉She answered, “All right, I will go with you, but you won't get any credit for the victory, because the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman.” So Deborah set off for Kedesh with Barak.

₁₁Their wives also must be of good character and must not gossip; they must be sober and honest in everything.

₄We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions. 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. ₆So we are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us. If our gift is to speak God's message, we should do it according to the faith that we have; ₇if it is to serve, we should serve; if it is to teach, we should teach; ₈if it is to encourage others, we should do so. Whoever shares with others should do it generously; whoever has authority should work hard; whoever shows kindness to others should do it cheerfully.

₂₅So Jesus called them all together and said, “You know that the rulers of the heathen have power over them, and the leaders have complete authority. ₂₆This, however, is not the way it shall be among you. If one of you wants to be great, he must be the servant of the rest; ₂₇and if one of you wants to be first, he must be your slave — ₂₈like the Son of Man, who did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.”

₂₆She speaks with a gentle wisdom.

₁₉My brothers and sisters, if any of you wander away from the truth and another one brings them back again, ₂₀remember this: whoever turns a sinner back from his or her wrong way will save that sinner's soul from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.

₃₉The army officer who was standing there in front of the cross saw how Jesus had died. “This man was really the Son of God!” he said.

₄₀Some women were there, looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joseph, and Salome. ₄₁They had followed Jesus while he was in Galilee and had helped him. Many other women who had come to Jerusalem with him were there also.

₃I give thanks to God, whom I serve with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did. I thank him as I remember you always in my prayers night and day. ₄I remember your tears, and I want to see you very much, so that I may be filled with joy. ₅I remember the sincere faith you have, the kind of faith that your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice also had. I am sure that you have it also.