THEINC-HIM Daily Bible Meditation - May 14 - Full Text - Happy Mother's Day!

Genesis 1:1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 

THEINC-HIM Daily Bible Meditation

MAY 14

PSALMS: 14, 44, 74, 104, 134

PROVERBS: 14

OLD TESTAMENT: 2 CHRONICLES 33:14 - 34:33

NEW TESTAMENT: ROMANS 16:10 - 27

PSALMS: 14

For the director of music. Of David.

¹ The fool ^A says in his heart,

"There is no God."

They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;

there is no one who does good.

² The LORD looks down from heaven

on the sons of men

to see if there are any who understand,

any who seek God.

³ All have turned aside,

they have together become corrupt;

there is no one who does good,

not even one.

⁴ Will evildoers never learn--

those who devour my people as men eat bread

and who do not call on the LORD?

⁵ There they are, overwhelmed with dread,

for God is present in the company of the righteous.

⁶ You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,

but the LORD is their refuge.

⁷ Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!

When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people,

let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad! ¹

PSALMS: 44

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil .^A

¹ We have heard with our ears, O God;

our fathers have told us

what you did in their days,

in days long ago.

² With your hand you drove out the nations

and planted our fathers;

you crushed the peoples

and made our fathers flourish.

³ It was not by their sword that they won the land,

nor did their arm bring them victory;

it was your right hand, your arm,

and the light of your face, for you loved them.

⁴ You are my King and my God,

who decrees ^B victories for Jacob.

⁵ Through you we push back our enemies;

through your name we trample our foes.

⁶ I do not trust in my bow,

my sword does not bring me victory;

⁷ but you give us victory over our enemies,

you put our adversaries to shame.

⁸ In God we make our boast all day long,

and we will praise your name forever.

Selah

⁹ But now you have rejected and humbled us;

you no longer go out with our armies.

¹⁰ You made us retreat before the enemy,

and our adversaries have plundered us. ²

¹¹ You gave us up to be devoured like sheep

and have scattered us among the nations.

¹² You sold your people for a pittance,

gaining nothing from their sale.

¹³ You have made us a reproach to our neighbors,

the scorn and derision of those around us.

¹⁴ You have made us a byword among the nations;

the peoples shake their heads at us.

¹⁵ My disgrace is before me all day long,

and my face is covered with shame

¹⁶ at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me,

because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.

¹⁷ All this happened to us,

though we had not forgotten you

or been false to your covenant.

¹⁸ Our hearts had not turned back;

our feet had not strayed from your path.

¹⁹ But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals

and covered us over with deep darkness.

²⁰ If we had forgotten the name of our God

or spread out our hands to a foreign god,

²¹ would not God have discovered it,

since he knows the secrets of the heart?

²² Yet for your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

²³ Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep?

Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever. ³

²⁴ Why do you hide your face

and forget our misery and oppression?

²⁵ We are brought down to the dust;

our bodies cling to the ground.

²⁶ Rise up and help us;

redeem us because of your unfailing love. ⁴

PSALMS: 74

A maskil ^A of Asaph.

¹ Why have you rejected us forever, O God?

Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?

² Remember the people you purchased of old,

the tribe of your inheritance, whom you redeemed--

Mount Zion, where you dwelt.

³ Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins,

all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.

⁴ Your foes roared in the place where you met with us;

they set up their standards as signs.

⁵ They behaved like men wielding axes

to cut through a thicket of trees.

⁶ They smashed all the carved paneling

with their axes and hatchets.

⁷ They burned your sanctuary to the ground;

they defiled the dwelling place of your Name.

⁸ They said in their hearts, "We will crush them completely!"

They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land.

⁹ We are given no miraculous signs;

no prophets are left,

and none of us knows how long this will be.

¹⁰ How long will the enemy mock you, O God?

Will the foe revile your name forever?

¹¹ Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?

Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!

¹² But you, O God, are my king from of old;

you bring salvation upon the earth. ⁵

¹³ It was you who split open the sea by your power;

you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.

¹⁴ It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan

and gave him as food to the creatures of the desert.

¹⁵ It was you who opened up springs and streams;

you dried up the ever flowing rivers.

¹⁶ The day is yours, and yours also the night;

you established the sun and moon.

¹⁷ It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth;

you made both summer and winter.

¹⁸ Remember how the enemy has mocked you, O LORD,

how foolish people have reviled your name.

¹⁹ Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts;

do not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever.

²⁰ Have regard for your covenant,

because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.

²¹ Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace;

may the poor and needy praise your name.

²² Rise up, O God, and defend your cause;

remember how fools mock you all day long.

²³ Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries,

the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually. ⁶

PSALMS: 104

¹ Praise the LORD, O my soul.

O LORD my God, you are very great;

you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

² He wraps himself in light as with a garment;

he stretches out the heavens like a tent

³ and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.

He makes the clouds his chariot

and rides on the wings of the wind.

⁴ He makes winds his messengers, ^A

flames of fire his servants.

⁵ He set the earth on its foundations;

it can never be moved.

⁶ You covered it with the deep as with a garment;

the waters stood above the mountains.

⁷ But at your rebuke the waters fled,

at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;

⁸ they flowed over the mountains,

they went down into the valleys,

to the place you assigned for them.

⁹ You set a boundary they cannot cross;

never again will they cover the earth.

¹⁰ He makes springs pour water into the ravines;

it flows between the mountains.

¹¹ They give water to all the beasts of the field;

the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

¹² The birds of the air nest by the waters;

they sing among the branches.

¹³ He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;

the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.

¹⁴ He makes grass grow for the cattle,

and plants for man to cultivate--

bringing forth food from the earth: ⁷

¹⁵ wine that gladdens the heart of man,

oil to make his face shine,

and bread that sustains his heart.

¹⁶ The trees of the LORD are well watered,

the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

¹⁷ There the birds make their nests;

the stork has its home in the pine trees.

¹⁸ The high mountains belong to the wild goats;

the crags are a refuge for the coneys. ^B

¹⁹ The moon marks off the seasons,

and the sun knows when to go down.

²⁰ You bring darkness, it becomes night,

and all the beasts of the forest prowl.

²¹ The lions roar for their prey

and seek their food from God.

²² The sun rises, and they steal away;

they return and lie down in their dens.

²³ Then man goes out to his work,

to his labor until evening.

²⁴ How many are your works, O LORD!

In wisdom you made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures.

²⁵ There is the sea, vast and spacious,

teeming with creatures beyond number--

living things both large and small.

²⁶ There the ships go to and fro,

and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there. ⁸

²⁷ These all look to you

to give them their food at the proper time.

²⁸ When you give it to them,

they gather it up;

when you open your hand,

they are satisfied with good things.

²⁹ When you hide your face,

they are terrified;

when you take away their breath,

they die and return to the dust.

³⁰ When you send your Spirit,

they are created,

and you renew the face of the earth.

³¹ May the glory of the LORD endure forever;

may the LORD rejoice in his works--

³² he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,

who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

³³ I will sing to the LORD all my life;

I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

³⁴ May my meditation be pleasing to him,

as I rejoice in the LORD.

³⁵ But may sinners vanish from the earth

and the wicked be no more.

Praise the LORD, O my soul.

Praise the LORD. ^{C 9}

PSALMS: 134

A song of ascents.

¹ Praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD

who minister by night in the house of the LORD.

² Lift up your hands in the sanctuary

and praise the LORD.

³ May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth,

bless you from Zion. ¹⁰

PROVERBS: 14

14 ¹ The wise woman builds her house,

but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.

² He whose walk is upright fears the LORD,

but he whose ways are devious despises him.

³ A fool's talk brings a rod to his back,

but the lips of the wise protect them.

⁴ Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,

but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest.

⁵ A truthful witness does not deceive,

but a false witness pours out lies.

⁶ The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none,

but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.

⁷ Stay away from a foolish man,

for you will not find knowledge on his lips.

⁸ The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways,

but the folly of fools is deception.

⁹ Fools mock at making amends for sin,

but goodwill is found among the upright.

¹⁰ Each heart knows its own bitterness,

and no one else can share its joy.

¹¹ The house of the wicked will be destroyed,

but the tent of the upright will flourish. ¹¹

¹² There is a way that seems right to a man,

but in the end it leads to death.

¹³ Even in laughter the heart may ache,

and joy may end in grief.

¹⁴ The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways,

and the good man rewarded for his.

¹⁵ A simple man believes anything,

but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.

¹⁶ A wise man fears the LORD and shuns evil,

but a fool is hotheaded and reckless.

¹⁷ A quick-tempered man does foolish things,

and a crafty man is hated.

¹⁸ The simple inherit folly,

but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

¹⁹ Evil men will bow down in the presence of the good,

and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

²⁰ The poor are shunned even by their neighbors,

but the rich have many friends.

²¹ He who despises his neighbor sins,

but blessed is he who is kind to the needy.

²² Do not those who plot evil go astray?

But those who plan what is good find ^A love and faithfulness. ¹²

²³ All hard work brings a profit,

but mere talk leads only to poverty.

²⁴ The wealth of the wise is their crown,

but the folly of fools yields folly.

²⁵ A truthful witness saves lives,

but a false witness is deceitful.

²⁶ He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress,

and for his children it will be a refuge.

²⁷ The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life,

turning a man from the snares of death.

²⁸ A large population is a king's glory,

but without subjects a prince is ruined.

²⁹ A patient man has great understanding,

but a quick-tempered man displays folly.

³⁰ A heart at peace gives life to the body,

but envy rots the bones.

³¹ He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker,

but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

³² When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down,

but even in death the righteous have a refuge.

³³ Wisdom reposes in the heart of the discerning

and even among fools she lets herself be known. ^{B 13}

³⁴ Righteousness exalts a nation,

but sin is a disgrace to any people.

³⁵ A king delights in a wise servant,

but a shameful servant incurs his wrath. ¹⁴

OLD TESTAMENT: 2 CHRONICLES 33:14 - 34:33

¹⁴ Afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, west of the Gihon spring in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate and encircling the hill of Ophel; he also made it much higher. He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah.

¹⁵ He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the LORD, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. ¹⁶ Then he restored the altar of the LORD and sacrificed fellowship offerings ^B and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel. ¹⁷ The people, however, continued to sacrifice at the high places, but only to the LORD their God.

¹⁸ The other events of Manasseh's reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the seers spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, are written in the annals of the kings of Israel. ^{C 19} His prayer and how God was moved by his entreaty, as well as all his sins and unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself--all are written in the records of the seers. ^D 

²⁰ Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried in his palace. And Amon his son succeeded him as king.

²¹ Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. ²² He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon worshiped and offered sacrifices to all the idols Manasseh had made. ²³ But unlike his father Manasseh, he did not humble himself before the LORD; Amon increased his guilt.

²⁴ Amon's officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace. ²⁵ Then the people of the land killed all who had plotted against King Amon, and they made Josiah his son king in his place.

34 ¹ Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. ² He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.

³ In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles, carved idols and cast images. ⁴ Under his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them, and smashed the Asherah poles, the idols and the images. These he broke to pieces and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. ⁵ He burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶ In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them, ⁷ he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles and crushed the idols to powder and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

⁸ In the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign, to purify the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and Maaseiah the ruler of the city, with Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the temple of ⁹ They went to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the temple of God, which the Levites who were the doorkeepers had collected from the people of Manasseh, Ephraim and the entire remnant of Israel and from all the people of Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ Then they entrusted it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the LORD's temple. These men paid the workers who repaired and restored the temple.

¹¹ They also gave money to the carpenters and builders to purchase dressed stone, and timber for joists and beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into ruin.

¹² The men did the work faithfully. Over them to direct them were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites descended from Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, descended from Kohath. The Levites--all who were skilled in playing musical instruments—¹³ had charge of the laborers and supervised all the workers from job to job. Some of the Levites were secretaries, scribes and doorkeepers.

¹⁴ While they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the temple of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD that had been given through Moses. ¹⁵ Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the LORD." He gave it to Shaphan.

¹⁶ Then Shaphan took the book to the king and reported to him: "Your officials are doing everything that has been committed to them. ¹⁷ They have paid out the money that was in the temple of the LORD and have entrusted it to the supervisors and workers." ¹⁸ Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.

¹⁹ When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes. ²⁰ He gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, ^A Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king's attendant: ²¹ "Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the LORD's anger that is poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book."

²² Hilkiah and those the king had sent with him ^B went to speak to the prophetess Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, ^C the son of Hasrah, ^D keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the Second District.

²³ She said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ²⁴`This is what the LORD says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people--all the curses written in the book that has been read in the presence of the king of Judah. <sup>25</sup> Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and provoked me to anger by all that their hands have made, <sup>E</sup> my anger will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched.' <sup>26</sup> Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, `This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: ²⁷ Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my ¹⁵ the LORD his God. ¹⁶ presence, I have heard you, declares the LORD. ²⁸ Now I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place and on those who live here.'"

So they took her answer back to the king.

²⁹ Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ He went up to the temple of the LORD with the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites--all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the LORD. ³¹ The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD--to follow the LORD and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book.

³² Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledge themselves to it; the people of Jerusalem did this in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.

³³ Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the territory belonging to the Israelites, and he had all who were present in Israel serve the LORD their God. As long as he lived, they did not fail to follow the LORD, the God of their fathers. ¹⁷

NEW TESTAMENT: ROMANS 16:10 - 27

¹⁰ Greet Apelles, tested and approved in Christ.

Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.

¹¹ Greet Herodion, my relative.

Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.

¹² Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord.

Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.

¹³ Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.

¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brothers with them.

¹⁵ Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the saints with them.

¹⁶ Greet one another with a holy kiss.

All the churches of Christ send greetings.

¹⁷ I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.

¹⁸ For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. ¹⁹ Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.

²⁰ The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

²¹ Timothy, my fellow worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my relatives.

²² I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.

²³ Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.

Erastus, who is the city's director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings. ^C

²⁵ Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, ²⁶ but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him—²⁷ to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen. ¹⁸

1 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

2 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

3 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

4 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

5 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

6 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

7 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

8 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

9 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

10 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

11 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

12 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

13 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

14 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

15 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

16 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

17 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

18 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

 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