The Work of the Apostles

1 Corinthians 4 Think of us as servants of Christ who have been given the work of explaining God's mysterious ways. ²And since our first duty is to be faithful to the one we work for, ³it doesn't matter to me if I am judged by you or even by a court of law. In fact, I don't judge myself. ⁴I don't know of anything against me, but that doesn't prove that I am right. The Lord is my judge. ⁵So don't judge anyone until the Lord returns. He will show what is hidden in the dark and what is in everyone's heart. Then God will be the one who praises each of us.
⁶Friends, I have used Apollos and myself as examples to teach you the meaning of the saying, "Follow the rules." I want you to stop saying that one of us is better than the other. ⁷What is so special about you? What do you have that you were not given? And if it was given to you, how can you brag? ⁸Are you already satisfied? Are you now rich? Have you become kings while we are still nobodies? I wish you were kings. Then we could have a share in your kingdom.
⁹It seems to me that God has put us apostles in the worst possible place. We are like prisoners on their way to death. Angels and the people of this world just laugh at us. ¹⁰Because of Christ we are thought of as fools, but Christ has made you wise. We are weak and hated, but you are powerful and respected. ¹¹Even today we go hungry and thirsty and don't have anything to wear except rags. We are mistreated and don't have a place to live. ¹²We work hard with our own hands, and when people abuse us, we wish them well. When we suffer, we are patient. ¹³When someone curses us, we answer with kind words. Until now we are thought of as nothing more than the trash and garbage of this world.
¹⁴I am not writing to embarrass you. I want to help you, just as parents help their own dear children. ¹⁵Ten thousand people may teach you about Christ, but I am your only father. You became my children when I told you about Christ Jesus, ¹⁶and I want you to be like me. ¹⁷That's why I sent Timothy to you. I love him like a son, and he is a faithful servant of the Lord. Timothy will tell you what I do to follow Christ and how it agrees with what I always teach about Christ in every church.
¹⁸Some of you think I am not coming for a visit, and so you are bragging. ¹⁹But if the Lord lets me come, I will soon be there. Then I will find out if the ones who are doing all this bragging really have any power. ²⁰God's kingdom isn't just a lot of words. It is power. ²¹What do you want me to do when I arrive? Do you want me to be hard on you or to be kind and gentle?

Elijah Stops the Rain

1 Kings 17 Elijah was a prophet from Tishbe in Gilead. One day he went to King Ahab and said, "I'm a servant of the living LORD, the God of Israel. And I swear in his name that it won't rain until I say so. There won't even be any dew on the ground."
²Later, the LORD said to Elijah, ³"Leave and go across the Jordan River so you can hide near Cherith Creek. ⁴You can drink water from the creek, and eat the food I've told the ravens to bring you."
⁵Elijah obeyed the LORD and went to live near Cherith Creek. ⁶Ravens brought him bread and meat twice a day, and he drank water from the creek. ⁷But after a while, it dried up because there was no rain.

Elijah Helps a Widow in Zarephath

⁸The LORD told Elijah, ⁹"Go to the town of Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I've told a widow in that town to give you food."
¹⁰When Elijah came near the town gate of Zarephath, he saw a widow gathering sticks for a fire. "Would you please bring me a cup of water?" he asked. ¹¹As she left to get it, he asked, "Would you also please bring me a piece of bread?"
¹²The widow answered, "In the name of the living LORD your God, I swear that I don't have any bread. All I have is a handful of flour and a little olive oil. I'm on my way home now with these few sticks to cook what I have for my son and me. After that, we will starve to death."
¹³Elijah said, "Everything will be fine. Do what you said. Go home and fix something for you and your son. But first, please make a small piece of bread and bring it to me. ¹⁴The LORD God of Israel has promised that your jar of flour won't run out and your bottle of oil won't dry up before he sends rain for the crops."
¹⁵The widow went home and did exactly what Elijah had told her. She and Elijah and her family had enough food for a long time. ¹⁶The LORD kept the promise that his prophet Elijah had made, and she did not run out of flour or oil.

Elijah Brings a Boy Back to Life

¹⁷Several days later, the son of the woman who owned the house got sick, and he kept getting worse, until finally he died.
¹⁸The woman shouted at Elijah, "What have I done to you? I thought you were God's prophet. Did you come here to cause the death of my son as a reminder that I've sinned against God?"
¹⁹"Bring me your son," Elijah said. Then he took the boy from her arms and carried him upstairs to the room where he was staying. Elijah laid the boy on his bed ²⁰and prayed, "LORD God, why did you do such a terrible thing to this woman? She's letting me stay here, and now you've let her son die." ²¹Elijah stretched himself out over the boy three times, while praying, "LORD God, bring this boy back to life!"
²²The LORD answered Elijah's prayer, and the boy started breathing again. ²³Elijah picked him up and carried him downstairs. He gave the boy to his mother and said, "Look, your son is alive."
²⁴"You are God's prophet!" the woman replied. "Now I know that you really do speak for the LORD."

AMOS

Amos 1 I am Amos. And I raised sheep near the town of Tekoa when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel.
Two years before the earthquake, the LORD gave me several messages about Israel, ²and I said:
When the LORD roars from Jerusalem,
pasturelands and Mount Carmel
dry up and turn brown.

Judgment on Syria

³The LORD said:
I will punish Syria for countless crimes,
and I won't change my mind.
They dragged logs with spikes over the people of Gilead.
⁴Now I will burn down the palaces and fortresses
of King Hazael and of King Benhadad.
⁵I will break through the gates of Damascus.
I will destroy the people of Wicked Valley
and the ruler of Beth-Eden.
Then the Syrians will be dragged as prisoners to Kir.
I, the LORD, have spoken!

Judgment on Philistia

⁶The LORD said:
I will punish Philistia for countless crimes,
and I won't change my mind.
They dragged off my people from town after town
to sell them as slaves to the Edomites.

⁷That's why I will burn down the walls and fortresses
of the city of Gaza.
⁸I will destroy the king of Ashdod
and the ruler of Ashkelon.
I will strike down Ekron, and that will be the end
of the Philistines.
I, the LORD, have spoken!

Judgment on Phoenicia

⁹The LORD said:
I will punish Phoenicia for countless crimes,
and I won't change my mind.
They broke their treaty and dragged off my people
from town after town
to sell them as slaves to the Edomites.
¹⁰That's why I will send flames to burn down the city of Tyre
along with its fortresses.

Judgment on Edom

¹¹The LORD said:
I will punish Edom for countless crimes,
and I won't change my mind.
They killed their own relatives and were so terribly furious
that they showed no mercy.
¹²Now I will send fire to wipe out the fortresses
of Teman and Bozrah.

Judgment on Ammon

¹³The LORD said:
I will punish Ammon for countless crimes,
and I won't change my mind.
In Gilead they ripped open pregnant women,
just to take the land.

¹⁴Now I will send fire to destroy the walls and fortresses
of Rabbah.
Enemies will shout and attack like a whirlwind.
¹⁵Ammon's king and leaders will be dragged away.
I, the LORD, have spoken!