Read the Bible in a Year
Each day, we'll post passages so that you can read the Bible in one year. This is part of The Colossians 13:16 Project, sponsored by Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia. You're invited to worship with us Sundays, at 11:00 a.m. or Saturdays, at 6:30 p.m. You may also want to consider joining one our adult Bible Studies: Thursdays at 12:00 noon and Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. We also have a full range of programs for children. If you want more information about the church, check out the other blogs. And please feel free to leave any comments.
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Today our passages are
Deuteronomy 16:1–17:20; Luke 9:7-27; Psalm 72:1-20; and Proverbs 12:8-9. The
readings are the Contemporary English
Version.
Deuteronomy
16-17:20 (Contemporary English Version)
Deuteronomy 16
Passover
(Exodus 12.1-20; Leviticus
23.4-8)
1People of Israel, you must celebrate Passover in the month
of Abib,
because one night in that month years ago, the LORD your God rescued you from
Egypt. 2The Passover sacrifice must be
a cow, a sheep, or a goat, and you must offer it at the place where the LORD
chooses to be worshiped. 3-4Eat all of
the meat of the Passover sacrifice that same night. But don't serve bread made
with yeast at the Passover meal. Serve the same kind of thin bread that you ate
when you were slaves suffering in Egypt
and when you had to leave Egypt quickly. As long as you live, this thin bread
will remind you of the day you left Egypt. For seven days following Passover,
don't make any bread with yeast. In fact, there should be no yeast anywhere in
Israel. 5Don't offer the Passover
sacrifice in just any town where you happen to live. 6It must be offered at the place where the LORD chooses to
be worshiped. Kill the sacrifice at sunset, the time of day when you left Egypt.
7Then cook it and eat it there at the
place of worship, returning to your tents the next morning. 8Eat thin bread for the next six days. Then on the seventh
day, don't do any work. Instead, come together and worship the LORD.
Moses said to Israel:
The Harvest Festival
(Exodus 34.22; Leviticus
23.15-21)
9Seven weeks after you start your grain harvest, 10-11go to the place where the LORD chooses
to be worshiped and celebrate the Harvest Festival
in honor of the LORD your God. Bring him an offering as large as you can afford,
depending on how big a harvest he has given you. Be sure to take along your sons
and daughters and all your servants. Also invite the poor, including Levites,
foreigners, orphans, and widows. 12Remember that you used to be slaves in Egypt, so obey
these laws. Moses said to Israel:
The Festival of Shelters
(Leviticus 23.33-43; Numbers
29.12-38)
13-15After you have finished the grain harvest and the
grape harvest,
take your sons and daughters and all your servants to the place where the LORD
chooses to be worshiped. Celebrate the Festival of Shelters for seven days. Also
invite the poor, including Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows. The LORD
will give you big harvests and make you successful in everything you do. You
will be completely happy, so celebrate this festival in honor of the LORD your
God.
Moses said:
Three Festivals at the Place of
Worship
(Exodus 23.14-17)
16Each year
there are three festivals when all Israelite men must go to the place where the
LORD chooses to be worshiped. These are the Festival of Thin Bread, the Harvest
Festival,
and the Festival of Shelters. And don't forget to take along a gift for the
LORD. 17The bigger the harvest the LORD
gives you, the bigger your gift should be.
Treat Everyone with Justice
Moses said to Israel:
18-19After you
are settled in the towns that you will receive from the LORD your God, the
people in each town must appoint judges and other officers. Those of you that
become judges must be completely fair when you make legal decisions, even if
someone important is involved. Don't take bribes to give unfair decisions.
Bribes keep people who are wise from seeing the truth and turn honest people
into liars.
20People of Israel, if you want to
enjoy a long and successful life, make sure that everyone is treated with
justice in the land the LORD is giving you.
Don't Set Up Sacred Poles or Stones
Moses said to Israel:
21When you build
the altar for offering sacrifices to the LORD your God, don't set up a sacred
pole
for the worship of the goddess Asherah. 22And don't set up a sacred stone! The LORD hates these
things.
Deuteronomy 17
Sacrifices That Have Something Wrong with
Them
Moses said to Israel:
1If an ox or a
sheep has something wrong with it, don't offer it as a sacrifice to the LORD
your God--he will be disgusted!
Put To Death People Who Worship
Idols
Moses said to Israel:
2-3The LORD your
God is giving you towns to live in. But later, a man or a woman in your town may
start worshiping other gods, or even the sun, moon, or stars.
I have warned you not to worship other gods, because whoever worships them is
disobeying the LORD and breaking the agreement he made with you. 4So when you hear that someone in your town
is committing this disgusting sin, you must carefully find out if that person
really is guilty. 5-7But you will need
two or three witnesses--one witness isn't enough to prove a person guilty. Get
rid of those who are guilty of such evil. Take them outside your town gates and
have everyone stone them to death. But the witnesses must be the first to throw
stones.
Difficult Cases
Moses said to Israel:
8-12It may be
difficult to find out the truth in some legal cases in your town. You may not be
able to decide if someone was killed accidentally or murdered. Or you may not be
able to tell whether an injury or some property damage was done by accident or
on purpose. If the case is too difficult, take it to the court at the place
where the LORD your God chooses to be worshiped.
This court will be made up of one judge and
several priests
who serve at the LORD's altar. They will explain the law to you and give you
their decision about the case. Do exactly what they tell you, or you will be put
to death. 13When other Israelites hear
about it, they will be afraid and obey the decisions of the court.
The King
Moses said:
14People of
Israel, after you capture the land the LORD your God is giving you, and after
you settle on it, you will say, " We want a king, just like the nations around
us."
15Go
ahead and appoint a king, but make sure that he is an Israelite and that he is
the one the LORD has chosen.
16The king should not have many horses, especially those
from Egypt. The LORD has said never to go back there again. 17And the king must not have a lot of wives--they might
tempt him to be unfaithful to the LORD.
Finally, the king must not try to get huge amounts of silver and gold. 18The official copy of God's laws
will be kept by the priests of the Levi tribe. So, as soon as anyone becomes
king, he must go to the priests and write out a copy of these laws while they
watch. 19Each day the king must read
and obey these laws, so that he will learn to worship the LORD with fear and
trembling 20and not think that he's
better than everyone else. If the king completely obeys the LORD's commands, he
and his descendants will rule Israel for many years.
Moses said to Israel:
Luke 9:7-27 (Contemporary
English Version)
Herod Is Worried
(Matthew 14.1-12; Mark 6.14-29)
7Herod
the ruler heard about all that was happening, and he was worried. Some people
were saying that John the Baptist had come back to life. 8Others were saying that Elijah had come
or that one of the prophets from long ago had come back to life. 9But Herod said, "I had John's head cut
off! Who is this I hear so much about?" Herod was eager to meet Jesus.
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
(Matthew 14.13-21; Mark 6.30-44; John
6.1-14)
10The apostles came back and told Jesus everything they had
done. He then took them with him to the village of Bethsaida, where they could
be alone. 11But a lot of people found
out about this and followed him. Jesus welcomed them. He spoke to them about
God's kingdom and healed everyone who was sick.
12Late in the afternoon the twelve apostles came to Jesus
and said, "Send the crowd to the villages and farms around here. They need to
find a place to stay and something to eat. There is nothing in this place. It is
like a desert!"
13Jesus answered, "You give them something to eat."
But they replied, "We have only five small
loaves of bread
and two fish. If we are going to feed all these people, we will have to go and
buy food." 14There were about five
thousand men in the crowd. Jesus said to his disciples, "Have the people sit in
groups of fifty." 15They did this, and
all the people sat down. 16Jesus took
the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up toward heaven and blessed the
food. Then he broke the bread and fish and handed them to his disciples to give
to the people.
17Everyone ate all they wanted. What was left over filled
twelve baskets.
Who Is Jesus?
(Matthew 16.13-19; Mark
8.27-29)
18When Jesus was alone praying, his disciples came to him,
and he asked them, "What do people say about me?"
19They answered, "Some say that you are John the Baptist or
Elijah
or a prophet from long ago who has come back to life." 20Jesus then asked them, "But who do you say I am?"
Peter answered, "You are the Messiah sent from
God."
21Jesus strictly warned his disciples not to tell anyone
about this.
Jesus Speaks about His Suffering and
Death
(Matthew 16.20-28; Mark
8.30--9.1)
22Jesus told his disciples, "The nation's leaders, the
chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make the Son of Man
suffer terribly. They will reject him and kill him, but three days later he will
rise to life."
23Then Jesus said to all the people:
If any of you want to be my followers, you
must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross each day and follow me.
24If you want to save your life,
you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me, you will save it. 25What will you gain, if you own the whole
world but destroy yourself or waste your life? 26If you are ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man
will be ashamed of you when he comes in his glory and in the glory of his Father
and the holy angels. 27You can be sure
that some of the people standing here will not die before they see God's
kingdom.
Psalm 72:1-20 (Contemporary
English Version)
Psalm 72
(By Solomon.)
A Prayer for God To Guide and Help the
King
1Please help the king
to be honest and fair
just like you, our God.
2Let him be honest and fair
with all your people,
especially the poor.
3Let peace and justice rule
every mountain and hill.
4Let the king defend the poor,
rescue the homeless,
and crush
everyone who hurts them.
5Let the king live
forever like the sun and the moon.
6Let him be as helpful as rain
that refreshes the meadows
and the ground.
7Let the king be fair
with everyone,
and let there be peace
until the moon
falls from the sky.
8Let his kingdom reach
from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River
across all the earth.
9Force the desert tribes
to accept his rule,
and make his enemies
crawl in the dirt.
10Force the rulers of Tarshish
and of the islands
to pay taxes to him.
Make the kings of Sheba
and of Seba
bring gifts. 11Make other rulers bow
down
and all nations serve him.
12Do this because the king
rescues the homeless
when they cry out,
and he helps everyone
who is poor and in need.
13The king has pity
on the weak and the helpless
and protects those in need.
14He cares when they hurt,
and he saves them from cruel
and violent deaths.
15Long live the king!
Give him gold from Sheba.
Always pray for the king
and praise him each day.
16Let cities overflow with food
and hills be covered with grain,
just like Mount Lebanon.
Let the people in the cities
prosper like wild flowers.
17May the glory of the king
shine brightly forever
like the sun in the sky.
Let him make nations prosper
and learn to praise him.
18LORD God of Israel,
we praise you.
Only you can work miracles.
19We will always praise
your glorious name.
Let your glory be seen
everywhere on earth.
Amen and amen.
20This ends the prayers
of David, the son of Jesse.
Proverbs 12:8-9 (Contemporary
English Version)
8Good
sense is worthy of praise,
but stupidity is a curse.
9It's better to be ordinary
and have only one servant
than to think you are somebody
and starve to death.
Verse of the
Day
“He was wounded and crushed because of our
sins; by taking our punishment, he made us completely well. All of us were like
sheep that had wandered off. We had each gone our own way, but the LORD gave him
the punishment we deserved.” - Isaiah 53:5-6
Roman Stoic philosopher,
statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist Seneca wrote,
"Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate
life."
Today our passages are
Deuteronomy 13:1–15:23; Luke 8:40–9:6; Psalm 71:1-24; and Proverbs 12:5-7. The
readings are the Contemporary English
Version.
Deuteronomy 13-15:23 (Contemporary English Version)
Deuteronomy 13
Don't Worship Other Gods
Moses said to Israel:
1-2Someday a prophet
may come along who is able to perform miracles or tell what will happen in the
future. Then the prophet may say, " Let's start worshiping some new gods--some
gods that we know nothing about." 3If
the prophet says this, don't listen! The LORD your God will be watching to find
out whether or not you love him with all your heart and soul. 4You must be completely faithful to the
LORD. Worship and obey only the LORD and do this with fear and trembling, 5because he rescued you from slavery in
Egypt. If a prophet tells you to disobey the LORD your God and to stop
worshiping him, then that prophet is evil and must be put to death.
6-10Someone else may say to you,
" Let's worship other gods." That person may be your best friend, your brother
or sister, your son or daughter, or your own dear wife or husband. But you must
not listen to people who say such things. Instead, you must stone them to death.
You must be the first to throw the stones, then others from the community will
finish the job. Don't show any pity.
The gods worshiped by other nations have never done anything for you or
your ancestors. People who ask you to worship other gods are trying to get you
to stop worshiping the LORD, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt. So put to
death anyone who asks you to worship another god. 11And when the rest of Israel hears about it, they will be
afraid, and no one else will ever do such an evil thing again.
12After the LORD your God gives
you towns to live in, you may hear a rumor about one of the towns. 13You may hear that some worthless people
have talked everyone there into worshiping other gods, even though these gods
had never done anything for them. 14You
must carefully find out if the rumor is true. Then if the people of that town
have actually done such a disgusting thing in your own country, 15you must take your swords and kill every
one of them, and their livestock too. 16-17Gather all the possessions of the people who lived
there, and pile them up in the marketplace, without keeping anything for
yourself. Set the pile and the whole town on fire, and don't ever rebuild the
town. The whole town will be a sacrifice to the LORD your God. Then he won't be
angry anymore, and he will have mercy on you and make you successful, just as he
promised your ancestors. 18That's why
you must do what the LORD your God says is right. I am giving you his laws and
teachings today, and you must obey them.
Deuteronomy 14
Don't Mourn like Other Nations
Moses said:
1People of Israel,
you are the LORD's children, so when you mourn for the dead, you must not cut
yourselves or shave your forehead.
2Out of all the nations on this earth,
the LORD your God chose you to be his own. You belong to the LORD, so don't
behave like those who worship other gods.
Animals That Can Be Eaten
(Leviticus 11.1-47)
3Don't eat
any disgusting animals.
4-5You may eat the meat of
cattle, sheep, and goats; wild sheep and goats; and gazelles, antelopes, and all
kinds of deer. 6It is all right to eat
meat from any animals that have divided hoofs and also chew the cud.
7But don't eat camels, rabbits, and
rock badgers. These animals chew the cud but do not have divided hoofs. You must
treat them as unclean. 8And don't eat
pork, since pigs have divided hoofs, but they do not chew their cud. Don't even
touch a dead pig!
9You can eat any fish that has
fins and scales. But there are other creatures that live in the water, 10and if they do not have fins and scales,
you must not eat them. Treat them as unclean.
11You can eat any clean bird.
12-18But don't eat the meat of any of
the following birds: eagles, vultures, falcons, kites, ravens, ostriches, owls,
sea gulls, hawks, pelicans, ospreys, cormorants, storks, herons, and hoopoes.
You must not eat bats. 19Swarming
insects are unclean, so don't eat them. 20However, you are allowed to eat certain kinds of winged
insects.
21You belong to the LORD your God, so
if you happen to find a dead animal, don't eat its meat. You may give it to
foreigners who live in your town or sell it to foreigners who are visiting your
town.
Don't boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
Give the LORD Ten Percent of Your Harvest
Moses said:
22People of
Israel, every year you must set aside ten percent of your grain harvest. 23Also set aside ten percent of your wine
and olive oil, and the first-born of every cow, sheep, and goat. Take these to
the place where the LORD chooses to be worshiped, and eat them there. This will
teach you to always respect the LORD your God.
24But suppose you can't carry
that ten percent of your harvest to the place where the LORD chooses to be
worshiped. If you live too far away, or if the LORD gives you a big harvest,
25then sell this part and take the
money there instead. 26When you and
your family arrive, spend the money on food for a big celebration. Buy cattle,
sheep, goats, wine, beer, and if there are any other kinds of food that you
want, buy those too. 27And since people
of the Levi tribe won't own any land for growing crops, remember to ask the
Levites to celebrate with you.
28Every third year, instead of
using the ten percent of your harvest for a big celebration, bring it into town
and put it in a community storehouse. 29The Levites have no land of their own, so you must give
them food from the storehouse. You must also give food to the poor who live in
your town, including orphans, widows, and foreigners. If they have enough to
eat, then the LORD your God will be pleased and make you successful in
everything you do.
Moses said:
Deuteronomy 15
Loans
(Leviticus 25.1-7)
1-2Every
seven years you must announce, " The LORD says loans do not need to be paid
back." Then if you have loaned money to another Israelite, you can no longer ask
for payment.
3This law applies only to loans you
have made to other Israelites. Foreigners will still have to pay back what you
have loaned them. 4-6No one in Israel
should ever be poor. The LORD your God is giving you this land, and he has
promised to make you very successful, if you obey his laws and teachings that
I'm giving you today. You will lend money to many nations, but you won't have to
borrow. You will rule many nations, but they won't rule you.
7After the LORD your God gives
land to each of you, there may be poor Israelites in the town where you live. If
there are, then don't be mean and selfish with your money. 8Instead, be kind and lend them what they need. 9Be careful! Don't say to yourself, " Soon
it will be the seventh year, and then I won't be able to get my money back." It
would be horrible for you to think that way and to be so selfish that you refuse
to help the poor. They are your relatives, and if you don't help them, they may
ask the LORD to decide whether you have done wrong. And he will say that you are
guilty. 10You should be happy to give
the poor what they need, because then the LORD will make you successful in
everything you do.
11There will always be some
Israelites who are poor and needy. That's why I am commanding you to be generous
with them.
Moses said to Israel:
Setting Slaves Free
(Exodus 21.1-11)
12If any of
you buy Israelites as slaves, you must set them free after six years. 13And don't just tell them they are free to
leave-- 14give them sheep and goats and
a good supply of grain and wine. The more the LORD has given you, the more you
should give them. 15I am commanding you
to obey the LORD as a reminder that you were slaves in Egypt before he set you
free. 16But one of your slaves may say,
" I love you and your family, and I would be better off staying with you, so
please don't make me leave." 17Take the
slave to the door of your house and push a sharp metal rod through one earlobe
and into the door. Such slaves will belong to you for life, whether they are men
or women.
18Don't complain when you have
to set a slave free. After all, you got six years of service at half the cost of
hiring someone to do the work.
Moses said to Israel:
First-Born Animals
(Leviticus 27.26,27; Numbers 18.15-18)
19If the first-born animal of a cow or sheep or goat is a
male, it must be given to the LORD. Don't put first-born cattle to work or cut
wool from first-born sheep. 20Instead,
each year you must take the first-born of these animals to the place where the
LORD your God chooses to be worshiped. You and your family will sacrifice them
to the LORD and then eat them as part of a sacred meal.
21But if the animal is lame or
blind or has something else wrong with it, you must not sacrifice it to the LORD
your God. 22You can butcher it where
you live, and eat it just like the meat of a deer or gazelle that you kill while
hunting. Even those people who are unclean and unfit for worship can have some.
23But you must never eat the blood of
an animal--let it drain out on the ground.
Moses said:
Luke 8:40-9:6 (Contemporary English Version)
A Dying Girl and a Sick Woman
(Matthew 9.18-26; Mark 5.21-43)
40Everyone had been waiting for Jesus, and when he came
back, a crowd was there to welcome him. 41Just then the man in charge of the Jewish meeting place
came and knelt down in front of Jesus. His name was Jairus, and he begged Jesus
to come to his home 42because his
twelve-year-old child was dying. She was his only daughter.
While Jesus was on his way, people were crowding all around him. 43In the crowd was a woman who had been
bleeding for twelve years. She had spent everything she had on doctors,
but none of them could make her well. 44As soon as she came up behind Jesus and barely touched
his clothes, her bleeding stopped.
45"Who touched me?" Jesus
asked.
While everyone was denying it, Peter said, "Master, people are crowding
all around and pushing you from every side."
46But Jesus answered, "Someone touched
me, because I felt power going out from me." 47The woman knew that she could not hide, so she came
trembling and knelt down in front of Jesus. She told everyone why she had
touched him and that she had been healed right away.
48Jesus said to the woman, "You
are now well because of your faith. May God give you peace!"
49While Jesus was speaking,
someone came from Jairus' home and said, "Your daughter has died! Why bother the
teacher anymore?"
50When Jesus heard this, he
told Jairus, "Don't worry! Have faith, and your daughter will get well."
51Jesus went into the house,
but he did not let anyone else go with him, except Peter, John, James, and the
girl's father and mother. 52Everyone
was crying and weeping for the girl. But Jesus said, "The child isn't dead. She
is just asleep." 53The people laughed
at him because they knew she was dead.
54Jesus took hold of the girl's
hand and said, "Child, get up!" 55She
came back to life and got right up. Jesus told them to give her something to
eat. 56Her parents were surprised, but
Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.
Luke 9
Instructions for the Twelve Apostles
(Matthew 10.5-15; Mark 6.7-13)
1Jesus called together his twelve apostles and gave them
complete power over all demons and diseases. 2Then he sent them to tell about God's kingdom and to heal
the sick. 3He told them, "Don't take
anything with you! Don't take a walking stick or a traveling bag or food or
money or even a change of clothes. 4When you are welcomed into a home, stay there until you
leave that town. 5If people won't
welcome you, leave the town and shake the dust from your feet
as a warning to them." 6The apostles
left and went from village to village, telling the good news and healing people
everywhere.
Psalm 71:1-24 (Contemporary English Version)
Psalm 71
A Prayer for God's Protection
1I run to you, LORD,
for protection.
Don't disappoint me.
2You do what is right,
so come to my rescue.
Listen to my prayer
and keep me safe.
3Be my mighty rock,
the place
where I can always run
for protection.
Save me by your command!
You are my mighty rock
and my fortress.
4Come and save me, LORD God,
from vicious and cruel
and brutal enemies!
5I depend on you,
and I have trusted you
since I was young.
6I have relied on you
from the day I was born.
You brought me safely
through birth,
and I always praise you.
7Many people think of me
as something evil.
But you are my mighty protector,
8and I praise and honor you
all day long.
9Don't throw me aside
when I am old;
don't desert me
when my strength is gone.
10My enemies are plotting
because they want me dead.
11They say, "Now we'll catch
you!
God has deserted you,
and no one can save you."
12Come closer, God!
Please hurry and help.
13Embarrass and destroy
all who want me dead;
disgrace and confuse
all who want to hurt me.
14I will never give up hope
or stop praising you.
15All day long I will tell
the wonderful things you do
to save your people.
But you have done much more
than I could possibly know.
16I will praise you, LORD God,
for your mighty deeds
and your power to save.
17You have taught me
since I was a child,
and I never stop telling about
your marvelous deeds.
18Don't leave me when I am old
and my hair turns gray.
Let me tell future generations
about your mighty power.
19Your deeds of kindness
are known in the heavens.
No one is like you!
20You made me suffer a lot,
but you will bring me
back from this deep pit
and give me new life.
21You will make me truly great
and take my sorrow away.
22I will praise you, God,
the Holy One of Israel.
You are faithful.
I will play the harp
and sing your praises.
23You have rescued me!
I will celebrate and shout,
singing praises to you
with all my heart.
24All day long I will announce
your power to save.
I will tell how you disgraced
and disappointed
those who wanted to hurt me.
Proverbs 12:5-7 (Contemporary English Version)
5Good people have kind thoughts,
but you should never trust
the advice of someone evil.
6Bad advice is a deadly trap,
but good advice
is like a shield.
7Once the wicked are defeated,
they are gone forever,
but no one who obeys God
will ever be thrown down.
Verse of the Day
“He was hated and rejected; his life was filled with sorrow and terrible
suffering. No one wanted to look at him. We despised him and said, 'He is a
nobody!' He suffered and endured great pain for us, but we thought his suffering
was punishment from God.” - Isaiah
53:3-4
Thought for the Day
Christian theologian who taught at the Catechetical School of
Alexandria Clement
of Alexandria wrote, “Christ has turned all our sunsets into
dawns.”
Today our passages are
Deuteronomy 11:1–12:32; Luke 8:22-39; Psalm 70:1-5; and Proverbs 12:4. The
readings are the Contemporary English
Version.
Deuteronomy 11-12:32 (Contemporary English Version)
Deuteronomy 11
If You Are Loyal to the LORD, He Will Bless You
Moses said to Israel:
1The
LORD is your God, so you must always love him and obey his laws and teachings.
2Remember, he corrected you and not
your children. You are the ones who saw the LORD use his great power 3when he worked miracles in Egypt, making
terrible things happen to the king and all his people. 4And when the Egyptian army chased you in their chariots,
you saw the LORD drown them and their horses in the Red Sea.
Egypt still suffers from that defeat! 5You saw what the LORD did for you while you were in the
desert, right up to the time you arrived here. 6And you saw how the LORD made the ground open up in the
middle of our camp underneath the tents of Dathan and Abiram, who
were swallowed up along with their families, their animals, and their tents.
7With your own eyes, you saw the LORD's
mighty power do all these things.
8Soon you will cross the Jordan
River, and if you obey the laws and teachings I'm giving you today, you will be
strong enough to conquer the land 9that
the LORD promised your ancestors and their descendants. It's rich with milk and
honey, and you will live there and enjoy it for a long time. 10It's better land than you had in Egypt, where you had to
struggle just to water your crops.
11But the hills and valleys in the
promised land are watered by rain from heaven,
12because the LORD your God keeps his
eye on this land and takes care of it all year long. 13The LORD your God commands you to love him and to serve
him with all your heart and soul. If you obey him, 14-15he will send rain at the right seasons, so
you will have more than enough food, wine, and olive oil, and there will be
plenty of grass for your cattle. 16But
watch out! You will be tempted to turn your backs on the LORD. And if you
worship other gods, 17the LORD will
become angry and keep the rain from falling. Nothing will grow in your fields,
and you will die and disappear from the good land that the LORD is giving you.
18Memorize these laws and think
about them. Write down copies and tie them to your wrists and your foreheads to
help you obey them. 19Teach them to
your children. Talk about them all the time--whether you're at home or walking
along the road or going to bed at night, or getting up in the morning. 20Write them on the door frames of your
homes and on your town gates. 21Then
you and your descendants will live a long time in the land that the LORD
promised your ancestors. Your families will live there as long as the sky is
above the earth.
22Love the LORD your God and
obey all the laws and teachings that I'm giving you today. If you live the way
the LORD wants, 23he will help you take
the land. And even though the nations there are more powerful than you, the LORD
will force them to leave when you attack. 24You will capture the land everywhere you go, from the
Southern Desert to the Lebanon Mountains, and from the Euphrates River west to
the Mediterranean Sea. 25No one will be
able to stand up to you. The LORD will make everyone terrified of you, just as
he promised.
26You have a choice--do you want
the LORD to bless you, or do you want him to put a curse on you? 27Today I am giving you his laws, and if you
obey him, he will bless you. 28But if
you disobey him and worship those gods that have never done anything for you,
the LORD will put a curse on you.
29After the LORD your God helps
you take the land, you must have a ceremony where you announce his blessings
from Mount Gerizim and his curses from Mount Ebal. 30You know that these two mountains are west of the Jordan
River in land now controlled by the Canaanites living in the Jordan River
valley. The mountains are west of the road near the sacred trees of Moreh on the
other side of Gilgal.
31Soon you will cross the Jordan
River to conquer the land that the LORD your God is giving you. And when you
have settled there, 32be careful to
obey his laws and teachings that I am giving you today.
Deuteronomy 12
Only One Place To Worship the LORD
Moses said to Israel:
1Now
I'll tell you the laws and teachings that you have to obey as long as you live.
Your ancestors worshiped the LORD, and he is giving you this land. 2But the nations that live there worship
other gods. So after you capture the land, you must completely destroy their
places of worship--on mountains and hills or in the shade of large trees. 3Wherever these nations worship their gods,
you must tear down their altars, break their sacred stones, burn the sacred
poles
used in worshiping the goddess Asherah, and smash their idols to pieces. Destroy
these places of worship so completely that no one will remember they were ever
there. 4Don't worship the LORD your God
in the way those nations worship their gods. 5-19Soon you will cross the Jordan, and the LORD will help
you conquer your enemies and let you live in peace, there in the land he has
given you. But after you are settled, life will be different. You must not offer
sacrifices just anywhere you want to. Instead, the LORD will choose a place
somewhere in Israel where you must go to worship him. All of your sacrifices and
offerings must be taken there, including sacrifices to please the LORD and
any gift you promise or voluntarily give him. That's where you must also take
one tenth of your grain, wine, and olive oil, as
well as the first-born of your cattle, sheep, and goats. You
and your family and servants will eat your gifts and sacrifices and
celebrate there at the place of worship, because the LORD your God has made you
successful in everything you have done. And since Levites will not have any land
of their own, you must ask some of them to come along and celebrate with you.
Sometimes you may want to kill an animal for food and not as a sacrifice. If the
LORD has blessed you and given you enough cows or sheep or goats, then you can
butcher one of them where you live. You can eat it just like the meat from a
deer or gazelle that you kill when you go hunting. And even those people who are
unclean and unfit for worship can have some of the meat. But you must not eat
the blood of any animal--let the blood drain out on the ground.
20-21The LORD has promised that
later on he will give Israel more land, and some of you may not be able to
travel all the way from your homes to the place of worship each time you are
hungry for meat. But
the LORD will give you cattle, sheep, and goats, and you can butcher any of
those animals at home and eat as much as you want. 22It is the same as eating the meat from a deer or a
gazelle that you kill when you go hunting. And in this way, anyone who is
unclean and unfit for worship can have some of the meat.
23-24But don't eat the blood. It is the
life of the animal, so let it drain out on the ground before you eat the meat.
25Do you want the LORD to make you
successful? Do you want your children to be successful even after you are gone?
Then do what pleases the LORD and don't eat blood.
26-27All sacrifices and
offerings to the LORD must be taken to the place where he chooses to be
worshiped. If you offer a sacrifice to please the LORD, all of its meat must be
burned on the altar. You can eat the meat from certain kinds of sacrifices, but
you must always pour out the animal's blood on the altar.
28If you obey these laws, you
will be doing what the LORD your God says is right and good. Then he will help
you and your descendants be successful.
Worship the LORD in the Right Way
Moses said:
29Israel, as you
go into the land and attack the nations that are there, the LORD will get rid of
them, and you can have their land.
30But that's when you must be
especially careful not to ask, " How did those nations worship their gods?
Shouldn't we worship the LORD in the same way?" 31No, you should not! The LORD hates the disgusting way
those nations worship their gods, because they even burn their sons and
daughters as sacrifices.
32Obey all the laws and
teachings I am giving you. Don't add any, and don't take any away.
Luke 8:22-39 (Contemporary English Version)
A Storm
(Matthew 8.23-27; Mark 4.35-41)
22One day, Jesus and his disciples got into a boat, and he
said, "Let's cross the lake."
They started out, 23and while they
were sailing across, he went to sleep. Suddenly a windstorm struck the lake, and
the boat started sinking. They were in danger. 24So they went to Jesus and woke him up, "Master, Master!
We are about to drown!"
Jesus got up and ordered the wind and waves to stop. They obeyed, and
everything was calm. 25Then Jesus
asked the disciples, "Don't you have any faith?"
But they were frightened and amazed. They said to each other, "Who is
this? He can give orders to the wind and the waves, and they obey him!"
A Man with Demons in Him
(Matthew 8.28-34; Mark 5.1-20)
26Jesus and his disciples sailed across Lake Galilee and
came to shore near the town of Gerasa.
27As Jesus was getting out of the
boat, he was met by a man from that town. The man had demons in him. He had gone
naked for a long time and no longer lived in a house, but in the graveyard.
28The man saw Jesus and screamed. He
knelt down in front of him and shouted, "Jesus, Son of God in heaven, what do
you want with me? I beg you not to torture me!" 29He said this because Jesus had already told the evil
spirit to go out of him.
The man had often been attacked by the demon. And even though he had been
bound with chains and leg irons and kept under guard, he smashed whatever bound
him. Then the demon would force him out into lonely places.
30Jesus asked the man, "What is
your name?"
He answered, "My name is Lots." He said this because there were `lots' of
demons in him. 31They begged Jesus not
to send them to the deep pit,
where they would be punished. 32A
large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. So the demons begged Jesus
to let them go into the pigs, and Jesus let them go. 33Then the demons left the man and went into the pigs. The
whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
34When the men taking care of
the pigs saw this, they ran to spread the news in the town and on the farms.
35The people went out to see what had
happened, and when they came to Jesus, they also found the man. The demons had
gone out of him, and he was sitting there at the feet of Jesus. He had clothes
on and was in his right mind. But the people were terrified.
36Then all who had seen the man
healed told about it. 37Everyone from
around Gerasa
begged Jesus to leave, because they were so frightened. When Jesus got into the
boat to start back, 38the man who had
been healed begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him off and said, 39"Go back home and tell everyone how much
God has done for you." The man then went all over town, telling everything that
Jesus had done for him.
Psalm 70:1-5 (Contemporary English Version)
Psalm 70
(By David for the music leader. To be used when an offering is made.)
God Is Wonderful
1Save me,
LORD God!
Hurry and help.
2Disappoint and confuse
all who want to kill me.
Turn away and disgrace
all who want to hurt me.
3Embarrass and shame those
who say, "We told you so!"
4Let your worshipers celebrate
and be glad because of you.
They love your saving power,
so let them always say,
"God is wonderful!"
5I am poor and needy,
but you, the LORD God,
care about me.
You are the one who saves me.
Please hurry and help!
Proverbs 12:4 (Contemporary English Version)
4A helpful wife is a jewel
for her husband,
but a shameless wife
will make his bones rot.
Verse of the Day
“Christ never sinned! But God treated him as a sinner, so that Christ could
make us acceptable to God.” - 2
Corinthians 5:21
Thought
for the Day
French Jesuit and preacher Louis Bourdaloue wrote,
“In the coss of Christ excess in men is met by excess in God, excess of evil is
mastered by excess of
love.”
