Saturday, January 23, 2016

Jan 23: The Americas, The Church in the Americas | Operation World

Jan 23: The Americas, The Church in the Americas | Operation World

Psalm 49



Psalm 49 (New International Version)


Psalm 49

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

1 Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world,
2 both low and high, rich and poor alike:

3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the utterance from my heart will give understanding.

4 I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp I will expound my riddle:

5 Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me-

6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches?

7 No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him-

8 the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough-

9 that he should live on forever and not see decay.

10 For all can see that wise men die; the foolish and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others.

11 Their tombs will remain their houses [a] forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had [b] named lands after themselves.

12 But man, despite his riches, does not endure; he is [c] like the beasts that perish.

13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. Selah

14 Like sheep they are destined for the grave, [d] and death will feed on them. The upright will rule over them in the morning; their forms will decay in the grave, [e] far from their princely mansions.

15 But God will redeem my life [f] from the grave; he will surely take me to himself. Selah

16 Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases;

17 for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not descend with him.

18 Though while he lived he counted himself blessed— and men praise you when you prosper-

19 he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light of life .

20 A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

Revelation 1





Revelation 1 (New International Version, ©2010)

Revelation 1

Prologue

1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
Greetings and Doxology

4 John,
To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits[a] before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

7 "Look, he is coming with the clouds,"[b] and "every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him"; and all peoples on earth "will mourn because of him."[c] So shall it be! Amen.

8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

John's Vision of Christ

9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea."
12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,[d] dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. 19 "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels[e] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.