Bible Readings for May 1, 2015

Today our passages are Judges 13:1–14:20; John 1:29-51; Psalm 102:1-28; and Proverbs 14:15-16. The readings are the Contemporary English Version. 

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Judges 13-14:20 (Contemporary English Version)

Judges 13

Samson Is Born

 ¹Once again the Israelites started disobeying the LORD. So he let the Philistines take control of Israel for forty years.     ²Manoah from the tribe of Dan lived in the town of Zorah. His wife was not able to have children,
    ^3-5but one day an angel from the LORD appeared to her and said:
   You have never been able to have any children, but very soon you will be pregnant and have a son. He will belong to God belong to God: The Hebrew text has "be a Nazirite of God." Nazirites were dedicated to God and had to from the day he is born, so his hair must never be cut. And even before he is born, you must not drink any wine or beer or eat any food forbidden by God's laws.
   Your son will begin to set Israel free from the Philistines.
    ⁶She went to Manoah and said, " A prophet who looked like an angel of God came and talked to me. I was so frightened, that I didn't even ask where he was from. He didn't tell me his name,
    ⁷but he did say that I'm going to have a baby boy. I'm not supposed to drink any wine or beer or eat any food forbidden by God's laws. Our son will belong to God for as long as he lives."
    ⁸Then Manoah prayed, " Our LORD, please send that prophet again and let him tell us what to do for the son we are going to have."
    ⁹God answered Manoah's prayer, and the angel went back to Manoah's wife while she was resting in the fields. Manoah wasn't there at the time,
    ¹⁰so she found him and said, " That same man is here again! He's the one I saw the other day."
    ¹¹Manoah went with his wife and asked the man, " Are you the one who spoke to my wife?"
   " Yes, I am," he answered.
    ¹²Manoah then asked, " When your promise comes true, what rules must he obey and what will be his work?"
    ¹³" Your wife must be careful to do everything I told her," the LORD's angel answered.
    ¹⁴" She must not eat or drink anything made from grapes. She must not drink wine or beer or eat anything forbidden by God's laws. I told her exactly what to do."
    ¹⁵" Please," Manoah said, " stay here with us for just a little while, and we'll fix a young goat for you to eat."
    ¹⁶Manoah didn't realize that he was really talking to one of the LORD's angels.
   The angel answered, " I can stay for a little while, although I won't eat any of your food. But if you would like to offer the goat as a sacrifice to the LORD, that would be fine."
    ¹⁷Manoah said, " Tell us your name, so we can honor you after our son is born."
    ¹⁸" No," the angel replied. " You don't need to know my name. And if you did, you couldn't understand it."
    ¹⁹So Manoah took a young goat over to a large rock he had chosen for an altar, and he built a fire on the rock. Then he killed the goat, and offered it with some grain as a sacrifice to the LORD. But then an amazing thing happened.
    ²⁰The fire blazed up toward the sky, and the LORD's angel went up toward heaven in the fire. Manoah and his wife bowed down low when they saw what happened.
    ²¹The angel was gone, but Manoah and his wife realized that he was one of the LORD's angels.
    ²²Manoah said, " We have seen an angel. ^[a] Now we're going to die." ^{[b]
    23}" The LORD isn't going to kill us," Manoah's wife responded. " The LORD accepted our sacrifice and grain offering, and he let us see something amazing. Besides, he told us that we're going to have a son."
    ²⁴Later, Manoah's wife did give birth to a son, and she named him Samson. As the boy grew, the LORD blessed him.
    ²⁵Then, while Samson was staying at Dan's Camp ^[c] between the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol, the Spirit of the LORD took control of him.
   

Judges 14

Samson Gets Married

 ¹One day, Samson went to Timnah, where he saw a Philistine woman.     ²When he got back home, he told his parents, " I saw a Philistine woman in Timnah, and I want to marry her. Get her for me!" ^{[d]
    3}His parents answered, " There are a lot of women in our clan and even more in the rest of Israel. Those Philistines are pagans. Why would you want to marry one of their women?"
   " She looks good to me," Samson answered. " Get her for me!"
    ⁴At that time, the Philistines were in control of Israel, and the LORD wanted to stir up trouble for them. That's why he made Samson desire that woman.
    ⁵As Samson and his parents reached the vineyards near Timnah, a fierce young lion suddenly roared and attacked Samson.
    ⁶But the LORD's Spirit took control of Samson, and with his bare hands he tore the lion apart, as though it had been a young goat. His parents didn't know what he had done, and he didn't tell them.
    ⁷When they got to Timnah, Samson talked to the woman, and he was sure that she was the one for him.
    ⁸Later, ^[e] Samson returned to Timnah for the wedding. And when he came near the place where the lion had attacked, he left the road to see what was left of the lion. He was surprised to see that bees were living in the lion's skeleton, and that they had made some honey.
    ⁹He scooped up the honey in his hands and ate some of it as he walked along. When he got back to his parents, he gave them some of the honey, and they ate it too. But he didn't tell them he had found the honey in the skeleton of a lion. ^{[f]
    10}While Samson's father went to make the final arrangements with the bride and her family, Samson threw a big party, ^[g] as grooms ^[h] usually did.
    ¹¹When the Philistines saw what Samson was like, they told thirty of their young men to stay with him at the party.
    ¹²Samson told the thirty young men, " This party will last for seven days. Let's make a bet: I'll tell you a riddle, and if you can tell me the right answer before the party is over, I'll give each one of you a shirt and a full change of clothing.
    ¹³But if you can't tell me the answer, then each of you will have to give me a shirt and a full change of clothing."
   " It's a bet!" the Philistines said. " Tell us the riddle."
    ¹⁴Samson said:
   Once so strong and mighty--
   now so sweet and tasty!
   Three days went by, and the Philistine young men had not come up with the right answer.
    ¹⁵Finally, on the seventh ^[i] day of the party they went to Samson's bride and said, " You had better trick your husband into telling you the answer to his riddle. Have you invited us here just to rob us? If you don't find out the answer, we will burn you and your family to death."
    ¹⁶Samson's bride went to him and started crying in his arms. " You must really hate me," she sobbed. " If you loved me at all, you would have told me the answer to your riddle."
   " But I haven't even told my parents the answer!" Samson replied. " Why should I tell you?"
    ¹⁷For the entire seven days of the party, she had been whining and trying to get the answer from him. But that seventh day she put so much pressure on Samson that he finally gave in and told her the answer. She went straight to the young men and told them.
    ¹⁸Before sunset that day, the men of the town went to Samson with this answer:
   A lion is the strongest--
   honey is the sweetest!
   Samson replied,
   This answer you have given me
   doubtless came
   from my bride-to-be.
    ¹⁹Then the LORD's Spirit took control of Samson. He went to Ashkelon, ^[j] where he killed thirty men and took their clothing. Samson then gave it to the thirty young men at Timnah and stormed back home to his own family.
    ²⁰The father of the bride had Samson's wife marry one of the thirty young men that had been at Samson's party. ^[k]
   

Footnotes:

1. Judges 13:22 angel: The Hebrew text has " god," which can be used of God or of other supernatural beings.
2. Judges 13:22 We have seen an angel. Now we're going to die: Some people believed that if they saw the LORD or one of the LORD's angels, they would die.
3. Judges 13:25 Dan's Camp: Or " Mahaneh-Dan."
4. Judges 14:2 Get her for me: At that time, parents arranged marriages for their children.
5. Judges 14:8 Later: Or " The following year."
6. Judges 14:9 But he didn't tell them. . . skeleton of a lion: To eat anything that had touched a skeleton was against God's laws (see Leviticus 11.27-40).
7. Judges 14:10 party: The Hebrew term means a party that involved a lot of drinking.
8. Judges 14:10 grooms: Or " warriors."
9. Judges 14:15 Finally, on the seventh: Hebrew; three ancient translations " on the fourth."
10. Judges 14:19 Ashkelon: Another Philistine town.
11. Judges 14:20 one. . . at Samson's party: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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John 1:29-51 (Contemporary English Version)

The Lamb of God

 ²⁹The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said:    Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰He is the one I told you about when I said, "Someone else will come. He is greater than I am, because he was alive before I was born." ³¹I didn't know who he was. But I came to baptize you with water, so that everyone in Israel would see him.
    ³²I was there and saw the Spirit come down on him like a dove from heaven. And the Spirit stayed on him. ³³Before this I didn't know who he was. But the one who sent me to baptize with water had told me, "You will see the Spirit come down and stay on someone. Then you will know that he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit." ³⁴I saw this happen, and I tell you that he is the Son of God.
   

The First Disciples of Jesus

 ³⁵The next day, John was there again, and two of his followers were with him. ³⁶When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, "Here is the Lamb of God!" ³⁷John's two followers heard him, and they went with Jesus.     ³⁸When Jesus turned and saw them, he asked, "What do you want?"
   They answered, "Rabbi, where do you live?" The Hebrew word "Rabbi" means "Teacher."
    ³⁹Jesus replied, "Come and see!" It was already about four o'clock in the afternoon when they went with him and saw where he lived. So they stayed on for the rest of the day.
    ⁴⁰One of the two men who had heard John and had gone with Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. ⁴¹The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and tell him, "We have found the Messiah!" The Hebrew word "Messiah" means the same as the Greek word "Christ."
    ⁴²Andrew brought his brother to Jesus. And when Jesus saw him, he said, "Simon son of John, you will be called Cephas." This name can be translated as "Peter." ^[a]

Jesus Chooses Philip and Nathanael

 ^43-44The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. There he met Philip, who was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. Jesus said to Philip, "Come with me."     ⁴⁵Philip then found Nathanael and said, "We have found the one that Moses and the Prophets ^[b] wrote about. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth." ⁴⁶Nathanael asked, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?"
   Philip answered, "Come and see."
    ⁴⁷When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said, "Here is a true descendant of our ancestor Israel. And he isn't deceitful." ^{[c] 48}"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked.
   Jesus answered, "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree."
    ⁴⁹Nathanael said, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God and the King of Israel!"
    ⁵⁰Jesus answered, "Did you believe me just because I said that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see something even greater. ⁵¹I tell you for certain that you will see heaven open and God's angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man." ^[d]

Footnotes:

1. John 1:42 Peter: The Aramaic name " Cephas" and the Greek name " Peter" each mean " rock."
2. John 1:45 Moses and the Prophets: The Jewish Scriptures, that is, the Old Testament.
3. John 1:47 Israel. . . isn't deceitful: Israel (meaning " a man who wrestled with God" or " a prince of God" ) was the name that the Lord gave to Jacob (meaning " cheater" or " deceiver" ), the famous ancestor of the Jewish people.
4. John 1:51 going up and coming down on the Son of Man: When Jacob (see the note at verse 47) was running from his brother Esau, he had a dream in which he saw angels going up and down on a ladder from earth to heaven (see Genesis 32.22-32)

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Psalm 102:1-28 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 102

(A prayer for someone who hurts and needs to ask the LORD for help.)

A Prayer in Time of Trouble

 ¹I pray to you, LORD!    Please listen.
    ²Don't hide from me
   in my time of trouble.
   Pay attention to my prayer
   and quickly give an answer.
    ³My days disappear like smoke,
   and my bones are burning
   as though in a furnace.
    ⁴I am wasting away like grass,
   and my appetite is gone.
    ⁵My groaning never stops,
   and my bones can be seen
   through my skin.
    ⁶I am like a lonely owl
   in the desert
    ⁷or a restless sparrow
   alone on a roof.
    ⁸My enemies insult me all day,
   and they use my name
   for a curse word.
    ⁹Instead of food,
   I have ashes to eat
   and tears to drink,
    ¹⁰because you are furious
   and have thrown me aside.
    ¹¹My life fades like a shadow
   at the end of day
   and withers like grass.
    ¹²Our LORD, you are King forever
   and will always be famous.
    ¹³You will show pity to Zion
   because the time has come.
    ¹⁴We, your servants,
   love each stone in the city,
   and we are sad to see them
   lying in the dirt.
    ¹⁵Our LORD, the nations
   will honor you,
   and all kings on earth
   will praise your glory.
    ¹⁶You will rebuild
   the city of Zion.
   Your glory will be seen,
    ¹⁷and the prayers of the homeless
   will be answered.
    ¹⁸Future generations must also
   praise the LORD,
   so write this for them:
    ¹⁹"From his holy temple,
   the LORD looked down
   at the earth.
    ²⁰He listened to the groans
   of prisoners,
   and he rescued everyone
   who was doomed to die."
    ²¹All Jerusalem should praise
   you, our LORD,
    ²²when people from every nation
   meet to worship you.
    ²³I should still be strong,
   but you, LORD, have made
   an old person of me.
    ²⁴You will live forever!
   Years mean nothing to you.
   Don't cut my life in half!
    ²⁵In the beginning, LORD,
   you laid the earth's foundation
   and created the heavens.
    ²⁶They will all disappear
   and wear out like clothes.
   You change them,
   as you would a coat,
   but you last forever.
    ²⁷You are always the same.
   Years cannot change you.
    ²⁸Every generation of those
   who serve you
   will live in your presence.

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Proverbs 14:15-16 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁵Don't be stupid
   and believe all you hear;
   be smart and know
   where you are headed.
    ¹⁶Only a stupid fool
   is never cautious--
   so be extra careful
   and stay out of trouble.

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Verse of the Day

“But without faith no one can please God. We must believe that God is real and that he rewards everyone who searches for him.” - Hebrews 11:6

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

American actor and comedian, Robin Williams wrote, “Spring is nature's way of saying, ‘Let’s party!””

Bible Readings for August 13, 2014

Today our passages are Nehemiah 5:14–7:60; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; Psalm 33:1-11; and Proverbs 21:8-10. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson.

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Nehemiah 5:14-7:60 (The Message)

"Remember in My Favor, O My God"

^14-16 From the time King Artaxerxes appointed me as their governor in the land of Judah—from the twentieth to the thirty-second year of his reign, twelve years—neither I nor my brothers used the governor's food allowance. Governors who had preceded me had oppressed the people by taxing them forty shekels of silver (about a pound) a day for food and wine while their underlings bullied the people unmercifully. But out of fear of God I did none of that. I had work to do; I worked on this wall. All my men were on the job to do the work. We didn't have time to line our own pockets. ^17-18 I fed 150 Jews and officials at my table in addition to those who showed up from the surrounding nations. One ox, six choice sheep, and some chickens were prepared for me daily, and every ten days a large supply of wine was delivered. Even so, I didn't use the food allowance provided for the governor—the people had it hard enough as it was.

¹⁹ Remember in my favor, O my God,
Everything I've done for these people.

Nehemiah 6

"I'm Doing a Great Work; I Can't Come Down"

^1-2 When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and that there were no more breaks in it—even though I hadn't yet installed the gates— Sanballat and Geshem sent this message: "Come and meet with us at Kephirim in the valley of Ono." ^2-3 I knew they were scheming to hurt me so I sent messengers back with this: "I'm doing a great work; I can't come down. Why should the work come to a standstill just so I can come down to see you?"
⁴ Four times they sent this message and four times I gave them my answer.
^5-6 The fifth time—same messenger, same message—Sanballat sent an unsealed letter with this message:
^6-7 "The word is out among the nations—and Geshem says it's true— that you and the Jews are planning to rebel. That's why you are rebuilding the wall. The word is that you want to be king and that you have appointed prophets to announce in Jerusalem, 'There's a king in Judah!' The king is going to be told all this—don't you think we should sit down and have a talk?"
⁸ I sent him back this: "There's nothing to what you're saying. You've made it all up."
⁹ They were trying to intimidate us into quitting. They thought, "They'll give up; they'll never finish it."
I prayed, "Give me strength."

¹⁰ Then I met secretly with Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, at his house. He said:
Let's meet at the house of God,
inside The Temple;
Let's find safety behind locked doors
because they're coming to kill you,
Yes, coming by night to kill you.
¹¹ I said, "Why would a man like me run for cover? And why would a man like me use The Temple as a hideout? I won't do it."
^12-13 I sensed that God hadn't sent this man. The so-called prophecy he spoke to me was the work of Tobiah and Sanballat; they had hired him. He had been hired to scare me off—trick me—a layman, into desecrating The Temple and ruining my good reputation so they could accuse me.
¹⁴ "O my God, don't let Tobiah and Sanballat get by with all the mischief they've done. And the same goes for the prophetess Noadiah and the other prophets who have been trying to undermine my confidence."

^15-16 The wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul. It had taken fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard the news and all the surrounding nations saw it, our enemies totally lost their nerve. They knew that God was behind this work.
^17-19 All during this time letters were going back and forth constantly between the nobles of Judah and Tobiah. Many of the nobles had ties to him because he was son-in-law to Shecaniah son of Arah and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah. They kept telling me all the good things he did and then would report back to him anything I would say. And then Tobiah would send letters to intimidate me.

Nehemiah 7

The Wall Rebuilt: Names and Numbers

^1-2 After the wall was rebuilt and I had installed the doors, and the security guards, the singers, and the Levites were appointed, I put my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the captain of the citadel, in charge of Jerusalem because he was an honest man and feared God more than most men. ³ I gave them this order: "Don't open the gates of Jerusalem until the sun is up. And shut and bar the gates while the guards are still on duty. Appoint the guards from the citizens of Jerusalem and assign them to posts in front of their own homes."
⁴ The city was large and spacious with only a few people in it and the houses not yet rebuilt.
⁵ God put it in my heart to gather the nobles, the officials, and the people in general to be registered. I found the genealogical record of those who were in the first return from exile. This is the record I found:
^6-60 These are the people of the province who returned from the captivity of the Exile, the ones Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried off captive; they came back to Jerusalem and Judah, each going to his own town. They came back in the company of Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah.
The numbers of the men of the People of Israel by families of origin:
Parosh, 2,172
Shephatiah, 372
Arah, 652
Pahath-Moab (sons of Jeshua and Joab), 2,818
Elam, 1,254
Zattu, 845
Zaccai, 760
Binnui, 648
Bebai, 628
Azgad, 2,322
Adonikam, 667
Bigvai, 2,067
Adin, 655
Ater (sons of Hezekiah), 98
Hashum, 328
Bezai, 324
Hariph, 112
Gibeon, 95.
Israelites identified by place of origin:
Bethlehem and Netophah, 188
Anathoth, 128
Beth Azmaveth, 42
Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah, and Beeroth, 743
Ramah and Geba, 621
Micmash, 122
Bethel and Ai, 123
Nebo (the other one), 52
Elam (the other one), 1,254
Harim, 320
Jericho, 345
Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721
Senaah, 3,930.
Priestly families:
Jedaiah (sons of Jeshua), 973
Immer, 1,052
Pashhur, 1,247
Harim, 1,017.
Levitical families:
Jeshua (sons of Kadmiel and of Hodaviah), 74.
Singers:
Asaph's family line, 148.
Security guard families:
Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai, 138.
Families of support staff:
Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth,
Keros, Sia, Padon,
Lebana, Hagaba, Shalmai,
Hanan, Giddel, Gahar,
Reaiah, Rezin, Nekoda,
Gazzam, Uzza, Paseah,
Besai, Meunim, Nephussim,
Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur,
Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha,
Barkos, Sisera, Temah,
Neziah, and Hatipha.
Families of Solomon's servants:
Sotai, Sophereth, Perida,
Jaala, Darkon, Giddel,
Shephatiah, Hattil, Pokereth-Hazzebaim, and Amon.
The Temple support staff and Solomon's servants added up to 392.

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1 Corinthians 8:1-13 (The Message)

1 Corinthians 8

Freedom with Responsibility

^1-3The question keeps coming up regarding meat that has been offered up to an idol: Should you attend meals where such meat is served, or not? We sometimes tend to think we know all we need to know to answer these kinds of questions—but sometimes our humble hearts can help us more than our proud minds. We never really know enough until we recognize that God alone knows it all. ^4-6Some people say, quite rightly, that idols have no actual existence, that there's nothing to them, that there is no God other than our one God, that no matter how many of these so-called gods are named and worshiped they still don't add up to anything but a tall story. They say—again, quite rightly—that there is only one God the Father, that everything comes from him, and that he wants us to live for him. Also, they say that there is only one Master—Jesus the Messiah—and that everything is for his sake, including us. Yes. It's true.
⁷In strict logic, then, nothing happened to the meat when it was offered up to an idol. It's just like any other meat. I know that, and you know that. But knowing isn't everything. If it becomes everything, some people end up as know-it-alls who treat others as know-nothings. Real knowledge isn't that insensitive.
We need to be sensitive to the fact that we're not all at the same level of understanding in this. Some of you have spent your entire lives eating "idol meat," and are sure that there's something bad in the meat that then becomes something bad inside of you. An imagination and conscience shaped under those conditions isn't going to change overnight.
^8-9But fortunately God doesn't grade us on our diet. We're neither commended when we clean our plate nor reprimanded when we just can't stomach it. But God does care when you use your freedom carelessly in a way that leads a fellow believer still vulnerable to those old associations to be thrown off track.
¹⁰For instance, say you flaunt your freedom by going to a banquet thrown in honor of idols, where the main course is meat sacrificed to idols. Isn't there great danger if someone still struggling over this issue, someone who looks up to you as knowledgeable and mature, sees you go into that banquet? The danger is that he will become terribly confused—maybe even to the point of getting mixed up himself in what his conscience tells him is wrong.
^11-13Christ gave up his life for that person. Wouldn't you at least be willing to give up going to dinner for him—because, as you say, it doesn't really make any difference? But it does make a difference if you hurt your friend terribly, risking his eternal ruin! When you hurt your friend, you hurt Christ. A free meal here and there isn't worth it at the cost of even one of these "weak ones." So, never go to these idol-tainted meals if there's any chance it will trip up one of your brothers or sisters.

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Psalm 33:1-11 (The Message)

Psalm 33

Good people, cheer God! Right-living people sound best when praising.
Use guitars to reinforce your Hallelujahs!
Play his praise on a grand piano!
Invent your own new song to him;
give him a trumpet fanfare.

^4-5 For God's Word is solid to the core;
everything he makes is sound inside and out.
He loves it when everything fits,
when his world is in plumb-line true.
Earth is drenched
in God's affectionate satisfaction.

^6-7 The skies were made by God's command;
he breathed the word and the stars popped out.
He scooped Sea into his jug,
put Ocean in his keg.

^8-9 Earth-creatures, bow before God;
world-dwellers—down on your knees!
Here's why: he spoke and there it was,
in place the moment he said so.

^10-12 God takes the wind out of Babel pretense,
he shoots down the world's power-schemes.
God's plan for the world stands up,
all his designs are made to last.
Blessed is the country with God for God;
blessed are the people he's put in his will.

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Proverbs 21:8-10 (The Message)

⁸ Mixed motives twist life into tangles;
pure motives take you straight down the road.

Do Your Best, Prepare for the Worst

⁹ Better to live alone in a tumbledown shack
than share a mansion with a nagging spouse.

¹⁰ Wicked souls love to make trouble;
they feel nothing for friends and neighbors.

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Verse of the Day

“God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. That's why he sent Christ to make us what we are.” - Ephesians 2:10

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

American actor and comedian, Robin Williams wrote, “Never pick a fight with an ugly person, they've got nothing to lose.”