August 12
Our hope is in You alone, LORD
Psalm 33-35 / Galatians 4-6
[About Bible Readingfor the Hungry]
OT
33:1-5 Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.
:22 May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you.
34:19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all
NT
5:13-26 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
OT Flash Points
Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in You alone
NT Flash Points
Waiting for the choice to be made
Either
Conceit, irritating arrogance and jealousy
Or
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control
Perspective
We are choosing constantly
The challenge is to make a habit of making Jesus’ nature the dominant disposition