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Psalm 40:1-3, 6-8
I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him. Sacrifice and offering you did not desire\u2014but my ears you have opened\u2014burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, \u201cHere I am, I have come\u2014it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.\u201d

Jeremiah 10:2-7
This is what the Lord says: \u201cDo not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the heavens, though the nations are terrified by them. For the practices of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.\u201d No one is like you, Lord; you are great, and your name is mighty in power. Who should not fear you, King of the nations? This is your due. Among all the wise leaders of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you.

Hebrews 3:12-14
See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called \u201cToday,\u201d so that none of you may be hardened by sin\u2019s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.

John 7:14-18
Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. The Jews there were amazed and asked, \u201cHow did this man get such learning without having been taught?\u201d Jesus answered, \u201cMy teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.

Prayer
Dear God, there are so many empty ways on offer in the world around us. \xa0Ways of promised transformation that have no real power in them to transform. \xa0Even our own religious practices can come up empty when we use them to seek our own will rather than yours. \xa0Forgive us our idolatries and selfish motivations and turn us today back to you, the living God. In the name of Jesus, through whom we have come to know you, Amen.

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