The Courageous Heart
Dt. 31:1-8
Joshua to Succeed Moses
1 Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all
Israel: 2 "I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I
am no longer able to lead you. The LORD has said to me, 'You shall not
cross the Jordan.' 3 The LORD your God himself will cross over
ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take
possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the
LORD said. 4 And the LORD will do to them what he did to Sihon
and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their
land. 5 The LORD will deliver them to you, and you must do to
them all that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes
with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of
all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this
people into the land that the LORD swore to their forefathers to give
them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 8
The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave
you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
Acts 19:8-20
8Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly
there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9But
some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly
maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and
had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10This
went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the
province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
11God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12so
that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the
sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
13Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to
invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed.
They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command
you to come out." 14Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief
priest, were doing this. 15One day the evil spirit answered
them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" 16Then
the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all.
He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and
bleeding.
17When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in
Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus
was held in high honor. 18Many of those who believed now came
and openly confessed their evil deeds. 19A number who had
practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly.
When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty
thousand drachmas. 20In this way the word of the Lord spread
widely and grew in power.
Jn 14:1-7
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ;
trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it
were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place
for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You
know the way to the place where I am going."
Jesus the Way to the Father
5Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are
going, so how can we know the way?"
6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really
knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him
and have seen him."
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