serenity

⁵Have confidence in the Lord with all your heart, and do not depend upon your own prudence. ⁶In all your ways, consider him, and he himself will direct your steps.

¹⁰Concerning the rest, brothers, be strengthened in the Lord, by the power of his virtue. ¹¹Be clothed in the armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the treachery of the devil. ¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the directors of this world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in high places. ¹³Because of this, take up the armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand the evil day and remain perfect in all things. ¹⁴Therefore, stand firm, having been girded about your waist with truth, and having been clothed with the breastplate of justice, ¹⁵and having feet which have been shod by the preparation of the Gospel of peace.

⁶But without faith, it is impossible to please God. For whoever approaches God must believe that he exists, and that he rewards those who seek him.

³The old error has gone away. You will serve peace: peace, for we have hoped in you.

⁸I will reveal to you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires from you, and how to act with judgment, and to love mercy, and to walk carefully with your God.

⁷And so shall the peace of God, which exceeds all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸⁹O Lord, your word remains firm in heaven, for all eternity.

¹⁷But within the wisdom that is from above, certainly, chastity is first, and next peacefulness, meekness, openness, consenting to what is good, a plenitude of mercy and good fruits, not judging, without falseness. ¹⁸And so the fruit of justice is sown in peace by those who make peace.

¹A Psalm of Asaph. God has stood in the synagogue of gods, but, in their midst, he decides between gods. ²How long will you judge unjustly and favor the faces of sinners? ³Judge for the indigent and the orphan. Do justice to the humble and the poor. ⁴Rescue the poor, and free the needy from the hand of the sinner. ⁵They did not know and did not understand. They wander in darkness. All the foundations of the earth will be moved. ⁶I said: You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High.

¹Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who are not walking according to the flesh. ²For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed me from the law of sin and death. ³For though this was impossible under the law, because it was weakened by the flesh, God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and because of sin, in order to condemn sin in the flesh, ⁴so that the justification of the law might be fulfilled in us. For we are not walking according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. ⁵For those who are in agreement with the flesh are mindful of the things of the flesh. But those who are in agreement with the spirit are mindful of the things of the spirit. ⁶For the prudence of the flesh is death. But the prudence of the spirit is life and peace.

¹⁶⁰The beginning of your words is truth. All the judgments of your justice are for eternity.

⁷To all who are at Rome, the beloved of God, called as saints. Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that all who believe in him may not perish, but may have eternal life.

²³For all have sinned and all are in need of the glory of God.

¹⁶but like the wise: atoning for this age, because this is an evil time. ¹⁷For this reason, do not choose to be imprudent. Instead, understand what is the will of God. ¹⁸And do not choose to be inebriated by wine, for this is self-indulgence. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,