Thursday in Advent

68Verse 68. “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people. 69Verse 69. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, 70Verse 70. as He spoke through His holy prophets, those of ages past, 71Verse 71. salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, 72Verse 72. to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, 73Verse 73. the oath He swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 74Verse 74. deliverance from hostile hands, that we may serve Him without fear, 75Verse 75. in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives. 76Verse 76. And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, 77Verse 77. to give to His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78Verse 78. because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Dawn will visit us from on high, 79Verse 79. to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

5Verse 5. “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts. 6Verse 6. “Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed. 7Verse 7. Yet from the days of your fathers, you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Hosts. “But you ask, ‘How can we return?’ 8Verse 8. Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9Verse 9. You are cursed with a curse, yet you— the whole nation— are still robbing Me. 10Verse 10. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure. 11Verse 11. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your land, and the vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the LORD of Hosts. 12Verse 12. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says the LORD of Hosts.

12Verse 12. Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances have actually served to advance the gospel. 13Verse 13. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14Verse 14. And most of the brothers, confident in the Lord by my chains, now dare more greatly to speak the word without fear. 15Verse 15. It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16Verse 16. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. 17Verse 17. The former, however, preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can add to the distress of my chains. 18Verse 18. What then is the issue?