Genesis 1:1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
APRIL
3
PSALMS:
3, 33, 63, 93, 123
PROVERBS:
3
OLD
TESTAMENT:
2 KINGS 4:18 - 5:25
NEW
TESTAMENT:
ACTS 15:1 - 35
PSALMS:
3
A
psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.
1
O
LORD, how many are my foes!
How
many rise up against me!
2
Many
are saying of me,
"God
will not deliver him."
Selah
A
3
But
you are a shield around me, O LORD;
you
bestow glory on me and lift B
up my head.
4
To
the LORD I cry aloud,
and
he answers me from his holy hill.
Selah
5
I
lie down and sleep;
I
wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
6
I
will not fear the tens of thousands
drawn
up against me on every side.
7
Arise,
O LORD!
Deliver
me, O my God!
Strike
all my enemies on the jaw;
break
the teeth of the wicked.
8
From
the LORD comes deliverance.
PSALMS:
33
1
Sing
joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;
it
is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2
Praise
the LORD with the harp;
make
music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3
Sing
to him a new song;
play
skillfully, and shout for joy.
4
For
the word of the LORD is right and true;
he
is faithful in all he does.
5
The
LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the
earth is full of his unfailing love.
6
By
the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
their
starry host by the breath of his mouth.
7
He
gathers the waters of the sea into jars A;
he
puts the deep into storehouses.
8
Let
all the earth fear the LORD;
let
all the people of the world revere him.
9
For
he spoke, and it came to be;
he
commanded, and it stood firm.
10
The
LORD foils the plans of the nations;
he
thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
11
But
the plans of the LORD stand firm forever,
the
purposes of his heart through all generations.
12
Blessed
is the nation whose God is the LORD,
the
people he chose for his inheritance.
13
From
heaven the LORD looks down
and
sees all mankind;
14
from
his dwelling place he watches
all
who live on earth--
15
he
who forms the hearts of all,
who
considers everything they do.
16
No
king is saved by the size of his army;
no
warrior escapes by his great strength. 2
17
A
horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite
all its great strength it cannot save.
18
But
the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on
those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
19
to
deliver them from death
and
keep them alive in famine.
20
We
wait in hope for the LORD;
he
is our help and our shield.
21
In
him our hearts rejoice,
for
we trust in his holy name.
22
May
your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,
even
as we put our hope in you. 3
PSALMS:
63
A
psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.
1
O
God, you are my God,
earnestly
I seek you;
my
soul thirsts for you,
my
body longs for you,
in
a dry and weary land
where
there is no water.
2
I
have seen you in the sanctuary
and
beheld your power and your glory.
3
Because
your love is better than life,
my
lips will glorify you.
4
I
will praise you as long as I live,
and
in your name I will lift up my hands.
5
My
soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with
singing lips my mouth will praise you.
6
On
my bed I remember you;
I
think of you through the watches of the night.
7
Because
you are my help,
I
sing in the shadow of your wings.
8
My
soul clings to you;
your
right hand upholds me.
9
They
who seek my life will be destroyed;
they
will go down to the depths of the earth.
10
They
will be given over to the sword
and
become food for jackals.4
11
But
the king will rejoice in God;
all
who swear by God's name will praise him,
while
the mouths of liars will be silenced. 5
PSALMS:
93
1
The
LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty;
the
LORD is robed in majesty
and
is armed with strength.
The
world is firmly established;
it
cannot be moved.
2
Your
throne was established long ago;
you
are from all eternity.
3
The
seas have lifted up, O LORD,
the
seas have lifted up their voice;
the
seas have lifted up their pounding waves.
4
Mightier
than the thunder of the great waters,
mightier
than the breakers of the sea--
the
LORD on high is mighty.
5
Your
statutes stand firm;
holiness
adorns your house
for
endless days, O LORD. 6
PSALMS:
123
A
song of ascents.
1
I
lift up my eyes to you,
to
you whose throne is in heaven.
2
As
the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as
the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress,
so
our eyes look to the LORD our God,
till
he shows us his mercy.
3
Have
mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us,
for
we have endured much contempt.
4
We
have endured much ridicule from the proud,
much
contempt from the arrogant. 7
PROVERBS:
3
3
1
My son, do not forget my teaching,
but
keep my commands in your heart,
2
for
they will prolong your life many years
and
bring you prosperity.
3
Let
love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind
them around your neck,
write
them on the tablet of your heart.
4
Then
you will win favor and a good name
in
the sight of God and man.
5
Trust
in the LORD with all your heart
and
lean not on your own understanding;
6
in
all your ways acknowledge him,
and
he will make your paths straight. A
7
Do
not be wise in your own eyes;
fear
the LORD and shun evil.
8
This
will bring health to your body
and
nourishment to your bones.
9
Honor
the LORD with your wealth,
with
the firstfruits of all your crops;
10
then
your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and
your vats will brim over with new wine.
11
My
son, do not despise the LORD's discipline
and
do not resent his rebuke,
12
because
the LORD disciplines those he loves,
13
Blessed
is the man who finds wisdom,
the
man who gains understanding,
14
for
she is more profitable than silver
and
yields better returns than gold.
15
She
is more precious than rubies;
nothing
you desire can compare with her.
16
Long
life is in her right hand;
in
her left hand are riches and honor.
17
Her
ways are pleasant ways,
and
all her paths are peace.
18
She
is a tree of life to those who embrace her;
those
who lay hold of her will be blessed.
19
By
wisdom the LORD laid the earth's foundations,
by
understanding he set the heavens in place;
20
by
his knowledge the deeps were divided,
and
the clouds let drop the dew.
21
My
son, preserve sound judgment and discernment,
do
not let them out of your sight;
22
they
will be life for you,
an
ornament to grace your neck.
23
Then
you will go on your way in safety,
and
your foot will not stumble;
24
when
you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when
you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
25
Have
no fear of sudden disaster
or
of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
26
for
the LORD will be your confidence
and
will keep your foot from being snared.
27
Do
not withhold good from those who deserve it,
when
it is in your power to act. 9
28
Do
not say to your neighbor,
"Come
back later; I'll give it tomorrow"--
when
you now have it with you.
29
Do
not plot harm against your neighbor,
who
lives trustfully near you.
30
Do
not accuse a man for no reason--
when
he has done you no harm.
31Do
not envy a violent man
or
choose any of his ways,
32
for
the LORD detests a perverse man
but
takes the upright into his confidence.
33
The
LORD's curse is on the house of the wicked,
but
he blesses the home of the righteous.
34
He
mocks proud mockers
but
gives grace to the humble.
35
The
wise inherit honor,
but
fools he holds up to shame.
OLD
TESTAMENT:
2 KINGS 4:18 - 5:25
18
The
child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the
reapers.
19
"My
head! My head!" he said to his father.
His
father told a servant, "Carry him to his mother." 20
After
the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy
sat on her lap until noon, and then he died.
21
She
went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door
and went out.
22
She
called her husband and said, "Please send me one of the servants
and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return."
23
"Why
go to him today?" he asked. "It's not the New Moon or the
Sabbath."
"It's
all right," she said.
24
She
saddled the donkey and said to her servant, "Lead on; don't slow
down for me unless I tell you." 25
So
she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.
When
he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant
Gehazi, "Look! There's the Shunammite! 26
Run
to meet her and ask her, `Are you all right? Is your husband all
right? Is your child all right?' "
"Everything
is all right," she said.
27
When
she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his
feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said,
"Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the LORD has
hidden it from me and has not told me why."
28
"Did
I ask you for a son, my lord?" she said. "Didn't I tell
you, `Don't raise my hopes'?"
29
Elisha
said to Gehazi, "Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my 10staff
in your hand and run. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if
anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy's face."
30
But
the child's mother said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you
live, I will not leave you." So he got up and followed her.
31
Gehazi
went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy's face, but there was no
sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him,
"The boy has not awakened."
32
When
Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch.
33
He
went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. 34
Then
he got on the bed and lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes,
hands to hands. As he stretched himself out upon him, the boy's body
grew warm. 35
Elisha
turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the
bed and stretched out upon him once more. The boy sneezed seven times
and opened his eyes.
36
Elisha
summoned Gehazi and said, "Call the Shunammite." And he
did. When she came, he said, "Take your son." 37
She
came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her
son and went out.
38
Elisha
returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in that region. While the
company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant,
"Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these men."
39
One
of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild
vine. He gathered some of its gourds and filled the fold of his
cloak. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, 11though
no one knew what they were. 40
The
stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they
cried out, "O man of God, there is death in the pot!" And
they could not eat it.
41
Elisha
said, "Get some flour." He put it into the pot and said,
"Serve it to the people to eat." And there was nothing
harmful in the pot.
42
A
man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves
of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some
heads of new grain. "Give it to the people to eat," Elisha
said.
43
"How
can I set this before a hundred men?" his servant asked.
But
Elisha answered, "Give
it to the people to eat. For this is what the LORD says: `They will
eat and have some left over.'"
44
Then
he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according
to the word of the LORD.
5
1
Now
Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great
man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through
him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but
he had leprosy. A
2
Now
bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from
Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. 3
She
said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet
who is in 12Samaria!
He would cure him of his leprosy."
4
Naaman
went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. 5
"By
all means, go," the king of Aram replied. "I will send a
letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman left, taking with him
ten talents B
of silver, six thousand shekels C
of gold and ten sets of clothing. 6
The
letter that he took to the king of Israel read: "With this
letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him
of his leprosy."
7
As
soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and
said, "Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does
this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he
is trying to pick a quarrel with me!"
8
When
Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his
robes, he sent him this message: "Why have you torn your robes?
Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in
Israel." 9
So
Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of
Elisha's house. 10
Elisha
sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times
in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be
cleansed."
11
But
Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely
come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God,
wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12
Are
not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the
waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and 13
be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage.
13
Naaman's
servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had
told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much
more, then, when he tells you, `Wash and be cleansed'!"
14
So
he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man
of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like
that of a young boy.
15
Then
Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood
before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the
world except in Israel. Please accept now a gift from your servant."
16
The
prophet answered, "As surely as the LORD lives, whom I serve, I
will not accept a thing." And even though Naaman urged him, he
refused.
17
"If
you will not," said Naaman, "please let me, your servant,
be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant
will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god
but the LORD. 18
But
may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master
enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm
and I bow there also--when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may
the LORD forgive your servant for this."
19
"Go
in peace," Elisha said.
After
Naaman had traveled some distance, 20
Gehazi,
the servant of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, "My
master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by not accepting from
him what he 14brought.
As surely as the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something
from him."
21
So
Gehazi hurried after Naaman. When Naaman saw him running toward him,
he got down from the chariot to meet him. "Is everything all
right?" he asked.
22
"Everything
is all right," Gehazi answered. "My master sent me to say,
`Two young men from the company of the prophets have just come to me
from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talentD
of silver and two sets of clothing.' "
23
"By
all means, take two talents," said Naaman. He urged Gehazi to
accept them, and then tied up the two talents of silver in two bags,
with two sets of clothing. He gave them to two of his servants, and
they carried them ahead of Gehazi. 24
When
Gehazi came to the hill, he took the things from the servants and put
them away in the house. He sent the men away and they left. 25
Then
he went in and stood before his master Elisha. 15
NEW
TESTAMENT:
ACTS 15:1 - 35
15
1
Some
men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers:
"Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by
Moses, you cannot be saved." 2
This
brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So
Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to
go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this
question. 3
The
church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia
and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news
made all the brothers very glad. 4
When
they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the
apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done
through them.
5
Then
some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees
stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and
required to obey the law of Moses."
6
The
apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7
After
much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you
know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles
might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8
God,
who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy
Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9
He
made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts
by faith. 10
Now
then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the
disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to
bear? 11
No!
We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus 16
that we are saved, just as they are."
12
The
whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul
telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the
Gentiles through them.
13
When
they finished, James spoke up: "Brothers, listen to me. 14
Simon
A
has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking
from the Gentiles a people for himself.
15
The
words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:
16
"`After
this I will return
and
rebuild David's fallen tent.
Its
ruins I will rebuild,
and
I will restore it,
17
that the remnant of men may seek the Lord,
and
all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says
the Lord, who does these things'
B
18
that have been known for ages.
C
19
"It
is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for
the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20
Instead
we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted
by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals
and from blood. 21
For
Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is
read in the synagogues on every Sabbath."
22
Then
the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose
some of their own men and send them to Antioch with 17Paul
and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men
who were leaders among the brothers. 23
With
them they sent the following letter:
The
apostles and elders, your brothers,
To
the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:
Greetings.
24
We
have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and
disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25
So
we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear
friends Barnabas and Paul—26
men
who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27
Therefore
we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we
are writing. 28
It
seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with
anything beyond the following requirements: 29
You
are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the
meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do
well to avoid these things.
Farewell.
30
The
men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the
church together and delivered the letter. 31
The
people 18read
it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32
Judas
and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and
strengthen the brothers. 33
After
spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the
blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. D
35
But
Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others
taught and preached the word of the Lord. 19
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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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