Your days contain responsibilities to fulfill, people to love, truth to receive, and opportunities that will not always remain. The passages below explain how to recognize and respond to these things before God, while trusting him with the future and accepting the limits of the life he has given you.
Receive your days from God and ask for a wise heart
Begin by bringing the life you have to God. Psalm 90:1–6 calls him his people’s dwelling place through all generations and contrasts his everlasting being with human life that fades like grass. That contrast leads to the prayer in Psalm 90:12: “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” To number your days is to reckon honestly with their limits and ask God to teach you how to live them. Give serious attention to the kind of life you are living before him.
The psalm’s concern includes our conduct, not only our short lifespan. Psalm 90:7–11 acknowledges sin before God and the weight of his anger. Its response is prayer: return to us, satisfy us with your mercy, give us gladness, and establish our work (Psalm 90:13–17). Awareness of death therefore leads toward dependence on God and a desire for work that has his favor. Ask for his mercy and wisdom, receive the good he gives, and seek his help in making your labor fruitful.
For a Christian, this faithful response rests on God’s grace in Christ. Ephesians 2:1–10 describes people dead in sins whom God makes alive because of his great love and mercy. Salvation is his gift, received through faith; works provide no ground for boasting. Verse 10 then gives work its place: believers are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. Offer your days as a grateful response to the Lord who saves you. His grace gives you both reason and purpose to do good.
Further study: J. Clinton McCann, Jr. · Susan Hylen
Use your opportunities for what pleases the Lord
Ephesians 5:15–17 calls believers to walk “circumspectly”—carefully, with wise attention to their conduct—and to be “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Here redeeming the time means making good use of the opportunity available. The following command explains its direction: understand the Lord’s will. Time is used faithfully as you recognize and do what pleases him within the circumstances before you.
The surrounding verses explain what that involves. Ephesians 5:1–2 calls for love patterned on Christ’s self-giving. Ephesians 5:8–14 describes believers as light in the Lord and names goodness, righteousness, and truth as the fruit belonging to their new life. They are to discern what is acceptable to him and separate themselves from the unfruitful works of darkness. The evil of the days gives urgency to choosing that faithful course. An opportunity becomes worth taking because of the good it serves.
Paul continues with the command to be filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:18–21 describes the resulting life through singing to one another and to the Lord, giving thanks to the Father through Christ, and submitting to one another in reverence for God. Worship, gratitude, and regard for other believers belong within wise use of life. These shared practices help explain the faithfulness Paul is seeking; the passage gives no measure of it in the number of activities completed.
Colossians 4:2–6 gives opportunity a further, specific setting. Paul asks for persevering, thankful prayer and for an opening to explain Christ clearly, even while he is imprisoned. He then tells believers to walk wisely toward people outside the church, redeeming the time, and to speak graciously, knowing how to answer each person. Attend to the person before you, conduct yourself wisely, and be ready to speak about Christ with grace and understanding. Prayer and thoughtful response belong together.
Further study: Susan Hylen · Richard Carlson · Biblical Studies Press · Biblical Studies Press
Give Christ your attention and let his teaching direct your service
Give yourself to hearing the Lord you intend to serve. In Luke 10:38–42, Martha welcomes Jesus into her home, while Mary sits at his feet and hears his word. Martha is “cumbered about much serving”: the service has become a distracting burden. She asks Jesus to tell Mary to help. Jesus names Martha’s worry and trouble, then affirms Mary’s choice of the good part, which will not be taken from her. Receiving his teaching deserves a real place in your life, even among worthwhile responsibilities.
Listening to Jesus also leads into active love. In Luke 10:25–37, Jesus has just answered a question about one’s neighbor with the parable of a wounded traveler. The Samaritan sees him, has compassion, treats his wounds, carries him to an inn, and provides for continuing care. Jesus tells the questioner to act with that mercy. Read with the encounter in Martha’s home, this shows why hearing and serving belong together: receive Christ’s word so that it can direct the care you give. Give attentive hearing to Christ and attentive care to the people he calls you to love.
Ask for the judgment that loving attention requires. In Philippians 1:9–11, Paul prays that love will grow in knowledge and discernment, so that believers can approve what is excellent and bear righteous fruit through Jesus Christ. Love needs understanding of what is truly good. Give careful thought to what a responsibility calls for, what a person needs, and what Christ has taught. Let those considerations guide the attention you give.
Further study: Brian Peterson · Biblical Studies Press
Attend willingly to the responsibilities already before you
Take up the work that belongs to your care while the opportunity is present. Proverbs 6:6–11 directs the sluggard to observe the ant: without an overseer compelling it, it gathers food in the season when food is available. The appeal teaches initiative, preparation, and attention to a task’s proper time. The contrast with repeated delay explains the danger of neglect. Learn to act willingly on responsibilities you already recognize.
Proverbs 24:30–34 makes the same concern visible in a neglected field. Thorns cover it, nettles fill it, and its stone wall has broken down. The observer considers what he sees and learns how repeated inattention brings want. These wisdom passages give ordinary reasons for diligence; they do not explain every person’s poverty. Their practical claim is that entrusted things need continuing care. Give such care before preventable neglect becomes serious loss.
This diligence can have a quiet character. First Thessalonians 4:9–12 joins growing love with attending to one’s own affairs and working faithfully, so that conduct before outsiders is honorable and material needs are met. Second Thessalonians 3:6–15 addresses people who refuse to work while interfering in others’ affairs. Paul calls them to work quietly and eat their own bread, while urging the church to continue doing good and to admonish the disobedient as brothers. The refusal in verse 10 concerns unwillingness to work; it is not a description of everyone who cannot work. Fulfill your own responsibilities and continue to regard others with brotherly care.
The people who depend on you are part of those responsibilities. First Timothy 5:3–8, 16 directs relatives to support widows in their family, so that the church can care for widows without such support. The passage treats this care as an expression of faith and identifies who should give it. Make faithful attention to actual dependent people part of the good you pursue. A new opportunity should be considered alongside duties God has already made clear.
Further study: Biblical Studies Press
Plan carefully while depending on God for life and outcome
Make plans with both care and humility. Proverbs 21:5 commends the considered purposes of the diligent over haste, while Proverbs 21:2–3 places human intentions under God’s judgment and gives priority to justice. Proverbs 16:1–9 likewise joins committing work to the LORD with his examination of motives and direction of one’s steps. It values a little gained with righteousness above large revenues gained unjustly. Think through what needs doing, bring your purposes before God, and pursue them by means that please him.
James 4:13–17 explains the dependence such planning needs. The people addressed confidently assign their future a city, a year, trading, and profit. James asks how they can speak with such certainty when they do not know tomorrow and their life is a passing vapor. His correction is explicit: “If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.” Both continued life and intended action depend on the Lord. Let your words express that dependence, and let your choices agree with it. Verse 17 brings the matter back to obedience: do the good you know you ought to do.
Paul’s plans in 1 Corinthians 16:1–12 show this dependence alongside practical preparation. He arranges a collection and approved messengers, considers traveling through Macedonia and staying through the winter, and hopes to spend time with the Corinthians if the Lord permits. He remains at Ephesus because a substantial opportunity for ministry has opened, even though many oppose him. Paul also reports that Apollos will come when he has a suitable opportunity, rather than at the time Paul had urged (verse 12). These are particular ministry decisions, illustrating attention to people, purpose, and timing. Consider when a good purpose can be pursued, and recognize that difficulty alone does not remove an opportunity’s value.
Act without demanding certainty about every result. Ecclesiastes 11:3–6 observes that watching the wind and clouds can keep a person from ever sowing or reaping. Human beings do not comprehend God’s work, yet the passage tells the worker to sow and continue, since he cannot know which effort will prosper. Its reasoning turns uncertainty into a reason for willing effort. Use the understanding available, do the work responsibly, and entrust the result to God.
Further study: Theology of Work Project
Use present opportunities to do good to people
Recognize opportunities for good in the needs of people. Galatians 6:1–6 names restoring someone gently, bearing burdens, examining one’s own work, and sharing with those who teach. Paul then compares a life’s conduct to sowing: sowing to the flesh brings corruption, while sowing to the Spirit leads to everlasting life. His conclusion is to persevere in doing good and use opportunity for the good of all, especially the household of faith (Galatians 6:7–10). The promised harvest gives reason to continue; it is not a promise that each kindness will produce an immediate reward.
When a duty is clear and help is within your power, give it willingly. Proverbs 3:27–28 tells the reader not to withhold good from those to whom it is due, or send a neighbor away until tomorrow when the needed provision is already at hand. The surrounding counsel concerns trustworthy, peaceable treatment of neighbors. Time matters because unnecessary delay leaves another person without good you can presently give. Respond to the actual obligation and capacity the passage describes.
Bring the time still ahead of you under God’s will. First Peter 4:1–6 addresses believers who have left former sinful conduct and now face others’ hostility. They are to live the rest of their earthly time for God, with judgment in view. First Peter 4:7–11 then makes that readiness concrete: sober prayer, fervent love, willing hospitality, and service with whatever gift has been received. The servant is to rely on the strength God supplies, so that God is glorified through Jesus Christ. Your remaining time can be given to these faithful acts of love and dependence.
Receive life’s seasons and the good God gives in them
Let your response fit the life actually before you. Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 places birth and death, planting and uprooting, mourning and dancing, silence and speech within the changing course of human life. Some of these times are events people undergo, including their birth and death. The poem describes these contrasts; it does not command every reader to perform every named action. Its breadth helps you acknowledge that faithful living must include different kinds of response as circumstances change.
The explanation that follows directs that acknowledgment toward God. Ecclesiastes 3:9–15 asks what human labor gains, says that people cannot discover God’s whole work from beginning to end, and calls them to reverence before what he does. Eating, drinking, and enjoying the good of one’s labor are received as his gift. You may gratefully receive present good while the larger course of events remains beyond your understanding. The passage gives room for joy as well as serious regard for God.
Ecclesiastes 9:1–10 brings enjoyment and effort together in the face of death. The writer observes that earthly life and its opportunities will end, then commends bread eaten with joy, gladness, married love, and work done with one’s might. His appeal concerns the life and labor available under the sun. The invitation to enjoy one’s wife addresses married life; it does not make marriage a requirement for everyone. Receive the good God gives within your life and attend wholeheartedly to the work before you. Ecclesiastes 9:11–12 adds that skill and strength do not secure every outcome, so visible success alone cannot measure whether your days have been faithfully used.
Consider also what your effort is for. Ecclesiastes 4:4–8 sets destructive idleness beside a different folly: unending labor that never reaches satisfaction. It commends a handful with quietness, then describes a solitary worker who keeps accumulating without asking whom the labor serves or why he deprives himself of good. Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 follows with the value of companionship, mutual help, warmth, and protection. Let work serve worthwhile purposes, and give the people and gifts in your life the attention that makes those purposes meaningful.
Further study: Ettienne Ellis · Biblical Studies Press
Receive rest and trust the Father with tomorrow
Receive rest as part of depending on God. Psalm 127:1–2 names real work—building a house and watching over a city—yet says that its success depends on the LORD. It then describes the futility of anxious early rising and late sitting and speaks of sleep given to the beloved. Work remains real, while God’s care reaches beyond the worker’s efforts. Give your labor faithfully and receive the rest that acknowledges your dependence on him.
Jesus takes his servants’ need for rest seriously. In Mark 6:30–32, the apostles return from ministry and report what they have done and taught. So many people are coming and going that they have no opportunity even to eat; Jesus invites them to come away and rest for a while. The crowd then arrives ahead of them. Seeing them as sheep without a shepherd, he responds with compassion, teaching and eventually feeding them (Mark 6:33–44). This particular account holds care for the disciples together with mercy toward the crowd. It shows why bodily needs and compassionate service both deserve attention, without prescribing the same response to every interruption.
Trust in God also changes how you face the next day. In Luke 12:13–21, the rich man imagines that stored crops secure many years, but God calls him to account that very night. Jesus then directs his disciples to the Father who feeds ravens and clothes flowers, knows their needs, and delights to give them the kingdom (Luke 12:22–32). The response is to seek that kingdom and give generously, placing treasure where it endures (Luke 12:31–34). Let the Father’s care free you to obey and share today while leaving the length and provision of your life in his hands.
Respond today and continue in the hope of Christ
Respond to God while you hear his voice. Hebrews 3:7–19 recalls the wilderness generation, who heard and nevertheless hardened their hearts in unbelief. The instruction to the Christian hearers is to encourage one another daily while it is called today, so that sin’s deception does not harden them, and to hold their confidence in Christ to the end. Make present obedience and mutual encouragement part of your life. The passage’s urgency concerns remaining faithful to the living God.
Readiness for Christ includes continuing the care entrusted to you. Matthew 24:36–44 says that the day and hour of his coming are unknown and commands watchfulness. Jesus then pictures a faithful servant giving the household its food at the proper time, and calls him blessed when his master returns and finds him doing so (Matthew 24:45–51). The contrasting servant uses the apparent delay to mistreat others and indulge himself; his master returns unexpectedly and judges that conduct. Faithful waiting means carrying out the master’s will, including dependable care for those under one’s responsibility.
You can persevere with hope because death will not have the final word. First Corinthians 15:50–57 announces the resurrection of the dead, the transformation of mortal life, and victory through the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul’s conclusion follows from that promise: remain steadfast and abound in the Lord’s work, knowing that your labor in him is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). Use the day you have to trust him and do good, with your confidence resting in the future he has promised.
Read the passages
Scripture in context
30 contextual selections for this subject, including the passages cited above and further related reading. Every selected range is reproduced in full from the KJV. Context notes identify the setting and kind of evidence.
Prayer and wisdom poetry 1 selections
Psalms 90:1–17 KJV · In this guide
Context: The entire communal prayer moves from God’s permanence and human mortality through sin and wrath to petitions for wisdom, mercy, gladness, and established work.
90:1 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
90:3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.
90:4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
90:5 Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
90:6 In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
90:7 For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.
90:8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
90:9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.
90:10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
90:11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.
90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
90:13 Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.
90:14 O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
90:15 Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.
90:16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.
90:17 And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.
Wisdom poetry 1 selections
Psalms 127:1–2 KJV · In this guide
Context: The song’s complete opening stanza moves from building and guarding under the LORD’s care to anxious toil and sleep; the following stanza separately celebrates children.
Wisdom instruction 2 selections
Proverbs 3:27–35 KJV · In this guide
Context: A connected sequence addresses withheld good, needless delay, neighborly trust, unjust conflict, envy of oppression, and the LORD’s regard for righteous and humble people.
3:27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
3:28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.
3:29 Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.
3:30 Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.
3:31 Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.
3:32 For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.
3:33 The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.
3:34 Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
3:35 The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.
Ecclesiastes 11:1–6 KJV · In this guide
Context: Counsel about bread, portions, uncertain events, weather, and sowing culminates in continued action without knowing which effort will succeed.
11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
11:2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
11:3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.
11:4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
11:5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.
11:6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.
Wisdom instruction and observed analogy 1 selections
Proverbs 6:6–11 KJV · In this guide
Context: A complete address to the sluggard reasons from the ant’s willing seasonal preparation to the consequences of habitual delay.
6:6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
6:7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
6:8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
6:9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
6:10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
6:11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
Wisdom sayings 2 selections
Proverbs 16:1–9 KJV · In this guide
Context: Complete neighboring sayings concern the LORD’s purposes, motives, committed work, pride, righteousness, peace, and directed steps.
16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
16:2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.
16:3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
16:5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
16:6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
16:7 When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
16:8 Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.
16:9 A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.
Proverbs 21:1–5 KJV · In this guide
Context: Five complete sayings place rulers, motives, righteousness, pride, and diligent purposes before the LORD. They form a local collection rather than one continuous argument.
21:1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
21:2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.
21:3 To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
21:4 An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.
21:5 The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.
Wisdom observation and instruction 1 selections
Proverbs 24:30–34 KJV · In this guide
Context: The observer describes a field’s condition, considers it, and draws an explicit lesson about sleep, neglect, and want.
24:30 I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
24:31 And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
24:32 Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.
24:33 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
24:34 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.
Wisdom poem and reflection 1 selections
Ecclesiastes 3:1–22 KJV · In this guide
Context: The poem of contrasting times leads into human limits, God’s enduring work, enjoyment, injustice, judgment, and shared mortality. The entire chapter preserves the argument’s tensions.
3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
3:2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3:3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
3:5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
3:6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
3:7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
3:9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
3:10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
3:11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
3:12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
3:13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
3:14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
3:15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.
3:16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.
3:17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
3:21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
3:22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
Wisdom reflection 1 selections
Ecclesiastes 4:4–12 KJV · In this guide
Context: Reflections on toil, idleness, quietness, and a solitary accumulator lead to the advantages of companionship.
4:4 Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
4:5 The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.
4:6 Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.
4:7 Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.
4:8 There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.
4:9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
4:10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.
4:11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?
4:12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Wisdom reflection and exhortation 1 selections
Ecclesiastes 9:1–12 KJV · In this guide
Context: Reflection on death and life’s remaining opportunities leads to joyful reception and effort, then to the uncertainty of outcomes and death’s timing.
9:1 For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.
9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
9:3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
9:4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
9:6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
9:7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
9:8 Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
9:9 Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
9:11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
9:12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
Jesus’ eschatological instruction and parabolic comparison 1 selections
Matthew 24:36–51 KJV · In this guide
Context: Jesus’ teaching about an unknown day and hour leads through readiness imagery to a household servant’s faithful or abusive conduct during delay.
24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
24:41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
24:43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
24:47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
24:48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
24:49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
24:50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Gospel narrative 1 selections
Mark 6:30–44 KJV · In this guide
Context: The returning apostles report, Jesus invites rest, the crowd arrives, and Jesus teaches and feeds them. The whole feeding episode preserves the consequence of the attempted withdrawal.
6:30 And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.
6:31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.
6:32 And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.
6:33 And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him.
6:34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.
6:35 And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:
6:36 Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat.
6:37 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?
6:38 He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.
6:39 And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.
6:40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.
6:41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.
6:42 And they did all eat, and were filled.
6:43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.
6:44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.
Jesus’ teaching, parable, and narrative encounter 1 selections
Luke 10:25–42 KJV · In this guide
Context: The lawyer’s question, Samaritan parable, and command to show mercy are followed by Martha’s welcome, Mary’s hearing, and Jesus’ affirmation. Both complete units are retained.
10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
10:26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
10:28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
10:29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
10:31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
10:32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
10:33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
10:34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
10:35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
10:36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
10:37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
10:38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
10:39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.
10:40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
10:41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
10:42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Jesus’ parable and interpretation 1 selections
Luke 12:13–21 KJV · In this guide
Context: An inheritance request leads to a warning about possessions and a parable contrasting stored wealth with the sudden requirement of one’s life.
12:13 And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.
12:14 And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?
12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
12:16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
12:17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
12:18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
12:19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
12:20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
12:21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Jesus’ instruction and assurance 1 selections
Luke 12:22–34 KJV · In this guide
Context: Jesus addresses the disciples after the rich-fool parable, reasons from the Father’s care for ravens and flowers, and calls for the kingdom, generosity, and enduring treasure.
12:22 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
12:23 The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.
12:24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
12:25 And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
12:26 If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
12:27 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
12:28 If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
12:29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
12:30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
12:31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
12:33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
12:34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Apostolic teaching and exhortation 1 selections
1 Corinthians 15:50–58 KJV · In this guide
Context: The resurrection argument culminates in transformation, victory over death through Christ, and the resulting call to steadfast labor.
15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Particular apostolic plans and church instructions 1 selections
1 Corinthians 16:1–12 KJV · In this guide
Context: Paul arranges the collection and its transport, outlines his travel intentions, explains staying in Ephesus, and discusses Timothy and Apollos.
16:1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
16:3 And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.
16:4 And if it be meet that I go also, they shall go with me.
16:5 Now I will come unto you, when I shall pass through Macedonia: for I do pass through Macedonia.
16:6 And it may be that I will abide, yea, and winter with you, that ye may bring me on my journey whithersoever I go.
16:7 For I will not see you now by the way; but I trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit.
16:8 But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost.
16:9 For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.
16:10 Now if Timotheus come, see that he may be with you without fear: for he worketh the work of the Lord, as I also do.
16:11 Let no man therefore despise him: but conduct him forth in peace, that he may come unto me: for I look for him with the brethren.
16:12 As touching our brother Apollos, I greatly desired him to come unto you with the brethren: but his will was not at all to come at this time; but he will come when he shall have convenient time.
Shared Christian instruction 5 selections
Galatians 6:1–10 KJV · In this guide
Context: Restoration, burden-bearing, personal accountability, and support for teachers lead into sowing to flesh or Spirit and doing good while opportunity remains.
6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
6:2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
6:4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
6:5 For every man shall bear his own burden.
6:6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.
6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
Ephesians 5:1–21 KJV · In this guide
Context: Love patterned on Christ leads into holy conduct, light and darkness, wise use of time, understanding the Lord’s will, and Spirit-filled communal life. Verse 21 completes that shared instruction while introducing the household material that follows.
5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
5:3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
5:4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
5:5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
5:7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
5:10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
5:12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
5:13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
5:14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
5:17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
1 Thessalonians 4:9–12 KJV · In this guide
Context: An appeal to increase brotherly love leads into quiet attention to one’s own affairs and manual labor, with honorable conduct and provision as stated purposes.
4:9 But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
4:10 And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;
4:11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;
4:12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
James 4:13–17 KJV · In this guide
Context: The entire address to presumptuous planners moves through uncertainty and mortality to dependence on the Lord, rejection of boasting, and responsibility for known good.
4:13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
4:15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
4:16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
1 Peter 4:7–11 KJV · In this guide
Context: The end being at hand grounds sober prayer, love, hospitality, and varied service supplied by God, culminating in praise through Christ.
4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
4:8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
4:9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging.
4:10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Apostolic teaching 1 selections
Ephesians 2:1–10 KJV · In this guide
Context: Paul describes the former life in sins, God’s rich mercy, life with Christ, salvation by grace through faith, and the good works for which believers are created.
2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Apostolic thanksgiving and prayer 1 selections
Philippians 1:3–11 KJV · In this guide
Context: Thanksgiving for the Philippians’ gospel fellowship leads into a prayer for love, knowledge, discernment, righteous fruit, and readiness for Christ’s day.
1:3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
1:4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
1:5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
1:7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.
1:8 For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.
1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
1:10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;
1:11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
Shared Christian instruction and apostolic request 1 selections
Colossians 4:2–6 KJV · In this guide
Context: The closing exhortation joins watchful prayer, Paul’s request for a door to speak Christ, wise conduct toward outsiders, and gracious individual answers.
4:2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
4:3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:
4:4 That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
4:6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
Apostolic correction of a particular disorder 1 selections
2 Thessalonians 3:6–15 KJV · In this guide
Context: Paul recalls his example, identifies refusal to work and meddling, commands quiet labor, urges perseverance in good, and specifies corrective yet brotherly treatment.
3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
3:7 For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you;
3:8 Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you:
3:9 Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.
3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
3:11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.
3:12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.
3:13 But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.
3:14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
3:15 Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
Instructions to Timothy about family and church care 1 selections
1 Timothy 5:3–16 KJV · In this guide
Context: The complete widow-care unit distinguishes family support, church responsibility, enrollment, and directions about younger widows.
5:3 Honour widows that are widows indeed.
5:4 But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.
5:5 Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.
5:6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.
5:7 And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless.
5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
5:9 Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man,
5:10 Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.
5:11 But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry;
5:12 Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith.
5:13 And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
5:14 I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.
5:15 For some are already turned aside after Satan.
5:16 If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed.
Scriptural quotation and Christian exhortation 1 selections
Hebrews 3:7–19 KJV · In this guide
Context: Psalm 95’s wilderness warning is quoted and applied to present hearers through daily encouragement, persevering confidence, and the danger of unbelief.
3:7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
3:8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
3:9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
3:10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
3:11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
3:15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
3:16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.
3:17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
3:18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
3:19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Shared Christian exhortation amid hostility 1 selections
1 Peter 4:1–6 KJV · In this guide
Context: Christ’s suffering frames the move from former sinful conduct to life for God’s will; hostile reactions and final judgment are included.
4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
4:3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:
4:4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:
4:5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
4:6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
Go deeper
Sources & interpretation
The teaching starts with the cited Scripture. These consulted works inform wording, context, and interpretive questions. No qualified human review has been recorded for this guide.
What does redeeming the time require?
Ephesians places the expression between careful, wise conduct and understanding the Lord’s will. Its immediate setting includes love, light, worship, and gratitude. Colossians uses it within prayer, conduct toward outsiders, and gracious speech.
- Make wise use of available occasions for conduct that pleases the Lord.
- Emphasize faithful action within the decisive period before God’s purposes are consummated; this can complement the opportunity sense.
- Treat the phrase as a command to maximize output or recover previously wasted hours.
STRONG: The first reading expresses the shared practical force; the second supplies a legitimate wider horizon without a calculated deadline. The third exceeds the stated argument. Hylen and Carlson differ in emphasis on urgency; the main article retains the evil-days reason without asserting the timing of Christ’s return.
Further study: Susan Hylen · Richard Carlson · Biblical Studies Press · Biblical Studies Press
Further examination: What do Ephesians 5:1–21 and Colossians 4:2–6 actually name as faithful conduct? How do those details govern which opportunities should be pursued?
Does a time for everything tell us to perform every action?
The times poem includes events beyond choice, then asks about profit and admits that people cannot discover God’s whole work. The chapter retains enjoyment, fear, injustice, and judgment; 11:3–6 still calls for action under uncertainty.
- The poem primarily describes the contrasting events of mortal life under God’s ordering; the following reflection emphasizes limited mastery.
- The poem also invites discernment about fitting responses, but gives no detailed moral rule for every listed action.
- Each action is thereby required or morally approved whenever someone considers its time appropriate.
STRONG: The first emphasis controls the article, with a bounded application from the second; the third is unsupported. The word rendered world in 3:11 remains disputed: NET note 3 prefers ignorance, while eternity or an awareness of past and future is widely represented in the inspected comparisons. The clear statement of limited comprehension carries the teaching. Ellis’s proposed reading of judgment in 3:17 as common death deserves examination, but does not establish that moral judgment has disappeared. The article does not resolve a full account of divine determination and human agency.
Further study: Ettienne Ellis · Biblical Studies Press
Further examination: How do the questions and conclusions in Ecclesiastes 3:9–22 qualify the poem in 3:1–8? What room for responsible action remains in Ecclesiastes 11:3–6?
Why does Jesus defend Mary’s hearing without dismissing service?
Martha welcomes Jesus and asks him to make Mary help. Mary is explicitly hearing his word. Jesus identifies Martha’s worry and trouble, and affirms Mary’s choice. The preceding Samaritan parable ends with a command to show mercy.
- Receiving Jesus’ word is the necessary priority defended in this encounter, and that hearing should shape active service.
- The one/few-things wording may also carry an allusion to simpler hospitality; it need not cancel the affirmation of Mary’s hearing.
- The passage permanently ranks inactive contemplation above all service or assigns the sisters fixed types of Christian vocation.
STRONG on the first reading’s central point. The NET calls the one/few-things textual problem difficult; a reference to simpler provision remains possible rather than settled. Mary’s hearing and Jesus’ affirmation are explicit. A universal ranking of vocations goes beyond the scene and fails to account for the nearby instruction to show mercy.
Further study: Brian Peterson · Biblical Studies Press
Further examination: What does Luke explicitly tell us each sister is doing, and what exactly does Jesus affirm or correct? What does the command in Luke 10:37 prevent us from concluding?
How do diligence and receiving rest belong together?
The ant and field passages address habitual neglect. Psalm 127 places work under the LORD’s care and speaks positively of sleep. Jesus invites returned servants to rest, then shows compassion to a crowd. Second Thessalonians addresses refusal to work while retaining brotherly correction.
- The passages distinguish faithful effort from neglect, while recognizing rest, provision, and limits as part of dependent life.
- Every moment without productive activity is the sluggard’s sleep.
- The attempt to withdraw in Mark 6 requires a servant always to accept every interruption, or always to refuse one.
STRONG: The first reading respects the different audiences and functions. The other readings universalize a rebuke or narrative decision beyond its stated scope. The guide supplies no work/rest ratio and makes no diagnosis of the moral cause of an individual’s reduced capacity.
Further study: Biblical Studies Press
Further examination: What problem is each passage addressing? How can the explicit invitation in Mark 6:31 and the compassion in Mark 6:34 both remain true without converting either into an absolute scheduling rule?
- Commentary on Psalm 90:12–17
J. Clinton McCann, Jr. · Working Preacher / Luther Seminary · 2012-10-14
Connects mortality with prayer, dependence, mercy, gladness, and established work.
What was reviewed
Complete commentary body and two bibliographic footnotes; especially the paragraphs on verses 7–12 and 13–17. Accessed 2026-09-25.
Its proposed editorial/exilic setting, authorship judgment, and possible manna wordplay are not premises of this guide. Mays and Limburg were cited by McCann, not independently read.
- Commentary on Ephesians 5:15–20
Susan Hylen · Working Preacher / Luther Seminary · 2009-08-16
Relates wise conduct to God’s work in Christ, the present age, and communal worship.
What was reviewed
Complete commentary body, from the opening explanation of Christian life through singing and thanksgiving. Accessed 2026-09-25.
Her comparison with wider Pauline wisdom language and claim of no urgency in Ephesians are not adopted as settled conclusions; no exact countdown follows from this passage.
- Commentary on Ephesians 5:15–20
Richard Carlson · Working Preacher / Luther Seminary · 2021-08-15
Emphasizes attentive, Spirit-enabled, communal conduct and the critical opportunity of the present age.
What was reviewed
Complete commentary body, especially its discussion of 5:15–20 in Ephesians 4–6. Accessed 2026-09-25.
The guide does not adopt his statement that these instructions are not fixed rules to follow: the text gives real moral commands. Positive encouragement does not cancel their force.
- NET Bible: Ephesians 5:15–21, translation comparison
Biblical Studies Press · NET Bible, official archived chapter page
Checks the opportunity sense of the KJV’s redeeming-time wording against the inspected rendering.
What was reviewed
The displayed translation of 5:15–21, with 5:1–14 read for context. Linked notes were not opened. The classic 5:16 verse page repeatedly failed on re-access. Accessed 2026-09-25 · Read in part.
Translation comparison only. No lexical-note reading or independently consulted Greek lexicon is claimed; the pinned KJV remains the text supplied to the builder.
- NET Bible: Colossians 4:5, translation and note 1
Biblical Studies Press · NET Bible
Checks opportunity language and explains walking as conduct or way of life.
What was reviewed
Complete verse page’s displayed translation and numbered note 1. Accessed 2026-09-25 · Read in part.
The cited Louw–Nida lexicon was not independently inspected; context in 4:2–6 controls the application.
- Commentary on Luke 10:38–42
Brian Peterson · Working Preacher / Luther Seminary · 2019-07-21
Argues that affirming Mary should preserve service and hearing together rather than caricature Martha.
What was reviewed
Complete commentary body; especially the paragraphs connecting service, the Samaritan account, and Mary’s hearing. Accessed 2026-09-25.
The modern anecdote, cultural reconstructions, and contemporary ideological applications are not used as evidence. His suggested explanation of Martha’s motives is not asserted as narrated fact.
- NET Bible: Luke 10:42, notes 1–2
Biblical Studies Press · NET Bible
Preserves the uncertainty of the variant while confirming that Mary’s choice is positively affirmed.
What was reviewed
Displayed verse and both notes, including the difficult one/few-things textual alternative and the good/better/best comparison. Retrieved through the web tool after intermittent failures. Accessed 2026-09-25 · Read in part.
Manuscripts and the cited syntax reference were not independently inspected. No variant is silently substituted for the pinned KJV.
- NET Bible: 2 Thessalonians 3:10, translation comparison
Biblical Studies Press · NET Bible
Clarifies that the instruction concerns unwillingness to work.
What was reviewed
Displayed NET, KJV, and comparison translations; the numbered notes field is empty. Accessed 2026-09-25 · Read in part.
Translation comparison only; this page supplies no explanatory translator note and is not treated as doing so.
- Business Forecasting (James 4:13–17)
Theology of Work Project · Theology of Work Bible Commentary
Distinguishes responsible planning from assuming control of life and outcomes, using James 4:15.
What was reviewed
Complete subsection and its displayed footnote, not the entire General Epistles commentary. Accessed 2026-09-25 · Read in part.
Its modern business illustrations and additional leadership advice are not imported. Publication date was not verified from the inspected subsection.
- Reconsidering the Fear of God in Job 37:14–24 and Qohelet 3:1–17 in the Light of Rudolf Otto’s Das Heilige
Ettienne Ellis · Old Testament Essays 28/1 (2015), pp. 53–69; DOI 10.17159/2312-3621/2015/v28n1a5 · 2015
Reads the times poem descriptively and stresses limits on human knowledge and control; supplies a serious alternative concerning divine judgment and fear.
What was reviewed
Article identification and Section C on Qohelet, printed pp. 61–66; conclusion on p. 67. The earlier Job analysis was not systematically studied. Accessed 2026-09-25 · Read in part.
The guide does not adopt his arbitrary-divine-giver characterization or his proposed non-moral reading of 3:17. His cited commentaries and Otto were not independently read.
- NET Bible: Ecclesiastes 3:11, notes 1–9
Biblical Studies Press · NET Bible
Documents the disputed sense of the term rendered world in the KJV and the explicit limit on grasping God’s whole work.
What was reviewed
Displayed translation comparisons and all nine numbered notes, including the extended note 3 alternatives. Accessed 2026-09-25 · Read in part.
The NET chooses ignorance while reporting eternity/future and other alternatives. Its referenced lexicons and commentaries were not independently read; the guide does not settle the lexical debate.