Genesis 1:1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
MARCH
24
PSALMS:
24, 54, 84, 114, 144
PROVERBS:
24
OLD
TESTAMENT: 1 KINGS 11:1 - 12:19
NEW
TESTAMENT: ACTS 9:1 - 25
PSALMS:
24
Of
David. A psalm.
1
The
earth is the LORD's, and everything in it,
the
world, and all who live in it;
2
for
he founded it upon the seas
and
established it upon the waters.
3
Who
may ascend the hill of the LORD?
Who
may stand in his holy place?
4
He
who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who
does not lift up his soul to an idol
or
swear by what is false. A
5
He
will receive blessing from the LORD
and
vindication from God his Savior.
6
Such
is the generation of those who seek him,
who
seek your face, O God of Jacob. B
Selah
7
Lift
up your heads, O you gates;
be
lifted up, you ancient doors,
that
the King of glory may come in.
8
Who
is this King of glory?
The
LORD strong and mighty,
the
LORD mighty in battle.
9
Lift
up your heads, O you gates;
lift
them up, you ancient doors,
that
the King of glory may come in.
10
Who
is he, this King of glory?
The
LORD Almighty--
he
is the King of glory. 1
Selah
2
PSALMS:
54
For
the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil
A
of David. When the Ziphites had gone to Saul and said, "Is not
David hiding among us?"
1
Save
me, O God, by your name;
vindicate
me by your might.
2
Hear
my prayer, O God;
listen
to the words of my mouth.
3
Strangers
are attacking me;
ruthless
men seek my life--
men
without regard for God.
Selah
4
Surely
God is my help;
the
Lord is the one who sustains me.
5
Let
evil recoil on those who slander me;
in
your faithfulness destroy them.
6
I
will sacrifice a freewill offering to you;
I
will praise your name, O LORD,
for
it is good.
7
For
he has delivered me from all my troubles,
and
my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes. 3
PSALMS:
84
For
the director of music. According to gittith.
A
Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1
How
lovely is your dwelling place,
O
LORD Almighty!
2
My
soul yearns, even faints,
for
the courts of the LORD;
my
heart and my flesh cry out
for
the living God.
3
Even
the sparrow has found a home,
and
the swallow a nest for herself,
where
she may have her young--
a
place near your altar,
O
LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
4
Blessed
are those who dwell in your house;
they
are ever praising you.
Selah
5
Blessed
are those whose strength is in you,
who
have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
6
As
they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they
make it a place of springs;
the
autumn rains also cover it with pools. B
7
They
go from strength to strength,
till
each appears before God in Zion.
8
Hear
my prayer, O LORD God Almighty;
listen
to me, O God of Jacob.
Selah
9
Look
upon our shield, C
O God;
look
with favor on your anointed one. 4
10
Better
is one day in your courts
than
a thousand elsewhere;
I
would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than
dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11
For
the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the
LORD bestows favor and honor;
no
good thing does he withhold
from
those whose walk is blameless.
12
O
LORD Almighty,
blessed
is the man who trusts in you. 5
PSALMS:
114
1
When
Israel came out of Egypt,
the
house of Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,
2
Judah
became God's sanctuary,
Israel
his dominion.
3
The
sea looked and fled,
the
Jordan turned back;
4
the
mountains skipped like rams,
the
hills like lambs.
5
Why
was it, O sea, that you fled,
O
Jordan, that you turned back,
6
you
mountains, that you skipped like rams,
you
hills, like lambs?
7
Tremble,
O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at
the presence of the God of Jacob,
8
who
turned the rock into a pool,
the
hard rock into springs of water. 6
PSALMS:
144
Of
David.
1
Praise
be to the LORD my Rock,
who
trains my hands for war,
my
fingers for battle.
2
He
is my loving God and my fortress,
my
stronghold and my deliverer,
my
shield, in whom I take refuge,
who
subdues peoples A
under me.
3
O
LORD, what is man that you care for him,
the
son of man that you think of him?
4
Man
is like a breath;
his
days are like a fleeting shadow.
5
Part
your heavens, O LORD, and come down;
touch
the mountains, so that they smoke.
6
Send
forth lightning and scatter the enemies;
shoot
your arrows and rout them.
7
Reach
down your hand from on high;
deliver
me and rescue me
from
the mighty waters,
from
the hands of foreigners
8
whose
mouths are full of lies,
whose
right hands are deceitful.
9
I
will sing a new song to you, O God;
on
the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you,
10
to
the One who gives victory to kings,
who
delivers his servant David from the deadly sword. 7
11
Deliver
me and rescue me
from
the hands of foreigners
whose
mouths are full of lies,
whose
right hands are deceitful.
12
Then
our sons in their youth
will
be like well-nurtured plants,
and
our daughters will be like pillars
carved
to adorn a palace.
13
Our
barns will be filled
with
every kind of provision.
Our
sheep will increase by thousands,
by
tens of thousands in our fields;
14
our
oxen will draw heavy loads. B
There
will be no breaching of walls,
no
going into captivity,
no
cry of distress in our streets.
15
Blessed
are the people of whom this is true;
blessed
are the people whose God is the LORD. 8
PROVERBS:
24
24
1
Do not envy wicked men,
do
not desire their company;
2
for
their hearts plot violence,
and
their lips talk about making trouble.
3
By
wisdom a house is built,
and
through understanding it is established;
4
through
knowledge its rooms are filled
with
rare and beautiful treasures.
5
A
wise man has great power,
and
a man of knowledge increases strength;
6
for
waging war you need guidance,
and
for victory many advisers.
7
Wisdom
is too high for a fool;
in
the assembly at the gate he has nothing to say.
8
He
who plots evil
will
be known as a schemer.
9
The
schemes of folly are sin,
and
men detest a mocker.
10
If
you falter in times of trouble,
how
small is your strength!
11
Rescue
those being led away to death;
hold
back those staggering toward slaughter.
12
If
you say, "But we knew nothing about this,"
does
not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does
not he who guards your life know it?
Will
he not repay each person according to what he has done? 9
13
Eat
honey, my son, for it is good;
honey
from the comb is sweet to your taste.
14
Know
also that wisdom is sweet to your soul;
if
you find it, there is a future hope for you,
and
your hope will not be cut off.
15
Do
not lie in wait like an outlaw against a righteous man's house,
do
not raid his dwelling place;
16
for
though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again,
but
the wicked are brought down by calamity.
17
Do
not gloat when your enemy falls;
when
he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice,
18
or
the LORD will see and disapprove
and
turn his wrath away from him.
19
Do
not fret because of evil men
or
be envious of the wicked,
20
for
the evil man has no future hope,
and
the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.
21
Fear
the LORD and the king, my son,
and
do not join with the rebellious,
22
for
those two will send sudden destruction upon them,
and
who knows what calamities they can bring?
23
These
also are sayings of the wise:
To
show partiality in judging is not good:
24
Whoever
says to the guilty, "You are innocent"--
peoples
will curse him and nations denounce him.
25
But
it will go well with those who convict the guilty,
and
rich blessing will come upon them. 10
26
An
honest answer
is
like a kiss on the lips.
27
Finish
your outdoor work
and
get your fields ready;
after
that, build your house.
28
Do
not testify against your neighbor without cause,
or
use your lips to deceive.
29
Do
not say, "I'll do to him as he has done to me;
I'll
pay that man back for what he did."
30
I
went past the field of the sluggard,
past
the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment;
31
thorns
had come up everywhere,
the
ground was covered with weeds,
and
the stone wall was in ruins.
32
I
applied my heart to what I observed
and
learned a lesson from what I saw:
33
A
little sleep, a little slumber,
a
little folding of the hands to rest--
34
and
poverty will come on you like a bandit
OLD
TESTAMENT:
1 KINGS 11:1 - 12:19
11
1
King
Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's
daughter--Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2
They
were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, "You
must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your
hearts after their gods."
Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. 3
He
had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines,
and his wives led him astray. 4
As
Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and
his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of
David his father had been. 5
He
followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech A
the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6
So
Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD
completely, as David his father had done.
7
On
a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the
detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the
Ammonites. 8
He
did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and
offered sacrifices to their gods.
9
The
LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from
the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10
Although
he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep
the LORD's command. 11
So
the LORD said to Solomon, "Since
this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my
decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the
kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 12
Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it
during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13
Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will 12
give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake
of Jerusalem, which I have chosen."
14
Then
the LORD raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite,
from the royal line of Edom. 15
Earlier
when David was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army,
who had gone up to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in
Edom. 16
Joab
and all the Israelites stayed there for six months, until they had
destroyed all the men in Edom. 17
But
Hadad, still only a boy, fled to Egypt with some Edomite officials
who had served his father. 18
They
set out from Midian and went to Paran. Then taking men from Paran
with them, they went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave
Hadad a house and land and provided him with food.
19
Pharaoh
was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a sister of his own wife,
Queen Tahpenes, in marriage. 20
The
sister of Tahpenes bore him a son named Genubath, whom Tahpenes
brought up in the royal palace. There Genubath lived with Pharaoh's
own children.
21
While
he was in Egypt, Hadad heard that David rested with his fathers and
that Joab the commander of the army was also dead. Then Hadad said to
Pharaoh, "Let me go, that I may return to my own country."
22
"What
have you lacked here that you want to go back to your own country?"
Pharaoh asked.
"Nothing,"
Hadad replied, "but do let me go!"
23
And
God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon 13
son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah.
24
He
gathered men around him and became the leader of a band of rebels
when David destroyed the forces B
of Zobah; the rebels went to Damascus, where they settled and took
control. 25
Rezon
was Israel's adversary as long as Solomon lived, adding to the
trouble caused by Hadad. So Rezon ruled in Aram and was hostile
toward Israel.
26
Also,
Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of
Solomon's officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a
widow named Zeruah.
27
Here
is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built
the supporting terraces C
and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his
father. 28
Now
Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the
young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force
of the house of Joseph.
29
About
that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet
of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them
were alone out in the country,
30
and
Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into
twelve pieces.
31
Then
he said to Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is
what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: `See,
I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hand and give you ten
tribes.
32
But
for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I
have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe.
33
I
will do this because they have
D
forsaken
me and
14
worshiped
Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the
Moabites, and Molech the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in
my ways, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my statutes and
laws as David, Solomon's father, did.
34"`But
I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon's hand; I have made
him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant,
whom I chose and who observed my commands and statutes.
35
I
will take the kingdom from his son's hands and give you ten tribes.
36
I
will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always
have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my
Name.
37
However,
as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your
heart desires; you will be king over Israel.
38
If
you do whatever I command you and walk in my ways and do what is
right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and commands, as David my
servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as
enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you.
39
I
will humble David's descendants because of this, but not forever.'"
40
Solomon
tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the
king, and stayed there until Solomon's death.
41
As
for the other events of Solomon's reign--all he did and the wisdom he
displayed--are they not written in the book of the annals of Solomon?
42
Solomon
reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 43
Then
he rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his
father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king. 15
12
1
Rehoboam
went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone there to make him
king.
2
When
Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had
fled from King Solomon), he returned from A
Egypt. 3
So
they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went
to Rehoboam and said to him: 4
"Your
father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and
the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you."
5
Rehoboam
answered, "Go away for three days and then come back to me."
So the people went away.
6
Then
King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon
during his lifetime. "How would you advise me to answer these
people?" he asked.
7
They
replied, "If today you will be a servant to these people and
serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your
servants."
8
But
Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the
young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. 9
He
asked them, "What is your advice? How should we answer these
people who say to me, `Lighten the yoke your father put on us'?"
10
The
young men who had grown up with him replied, "Tell these people
who have said to you, `Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make
our yoke lighter'--tell them, `My little finger is thicker than my
father's waist. 11
My
father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My
father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.'"
12
Three
days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to 16
Rehoboam, as the king had said, "Come back to me in three days."
13
The
king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by
the elders, 14
he
followed the advice of the young men and said, "My father made
your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you
with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions." 15
So
the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was
from the LORD, to fulfill the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam
son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.
16
When
all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered
the king:
"What
share do we have in David,
what
part in Jesse's son?
To
your tents, O Israel!
Look
after your own house, O David!"
So
the Israelites went home. 17
But
as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam
still ruled over them.
18
King
Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, B
who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to
death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and
escape to Jerusalem. 19
So
Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
17
NEW
TESTAMENT:
ACTS 9:1 - 25
9
1
Meanwhile,
Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's
disciples. He went to the high priest 2
and
asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he
found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he
might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3
As
he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven
flashed around him. 4
He
fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul,
Saul, why do you persecute me?"
5
"Who
are you, Lord?" Saul asked.
"I
am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,"
he replied. 6
"Now
get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."
7
The
men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound
but did not see anyone. 8
Saul
got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see
nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9
For
three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
10
In
Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him
in a vision, "Ananias!"
"Yes,
Lord," he answered.
11
The
Lord told him, "Go
to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from
Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12
In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands
on him to restore his sight."
13
"Lord,"
Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and
all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14
And
he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all
who call on your name." 18
15
But
the Lord said to Ananias, "Go!
This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles
and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16
I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."
17
Then
Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul,
he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord--Jesus, who appeared to you on
the road as you were coming here--has sent me so that you may see
again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
18
Immediately,
something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again.
He got up and was baptized, 19
and
after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Saul
spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20
At
once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of
God. 21
All
those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man
who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And
hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?"
22
Yet
Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in
Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ. A
23
After
many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him, 24
but
Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on
the city gates in order to kill him.
25
But
his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through
an opening in the wall. 19
1
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19
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John 3:16-21 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, F that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.G 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." H
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