Recovery

And David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I pursue this band of raiders? Will I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them, and you will certainly rescue everyone.”

“The poor and needy are seeking water, but there is none, And their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them Myself; As the God of Israel I will not abandon them.

And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO BRING GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,

TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”

And He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all the people in the synagogue were intently directed at Him.

Now He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in yourhearing.”

And He raised His eyes toward His disciples and began saying, “Blessed areyou who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed areyou who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed areyou who weep now, for you will laugh.

Now He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “Whenever you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor wealthy neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you to a meal in return, and that will be yourrepayment.

But whenever you give abanquet, invite people who are poor, who have disabilities, who are limping, and people who are blind;

and you will be blessed, since theydo not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be bornagain.’

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus responded and said to Him, “How can these things be?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you people do not accept our testimony.

If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

No one has ascended into heaven, except He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

so that everyone whobelieves will have eternal life in Him.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.

The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

And all the believers were together and had all things in common;

Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise,

making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

And do not get drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,

With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be alert with all perseverance and every request for all the saints,

But whoever has worldly goods and sees his brother or sister in need, and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God remain in him?

There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.