Genesis 1:1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
DECEMBER
24
PSALMS:
24, 54, 84, 114, 144
PROVERBS:
24
OLD
TESTAMENT:
NUMBERS 22:21 - 22:30
NEW
TESTAMENT:
LUKE 1:57 - 80
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:
NUMBERS 22:21 - 22:30
21
Balaam
got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes
of Moab. 22
But
God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in
the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two
servants were with him. 23
When
the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a
drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam
beat her to get her back on the road.
24
Then
the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between two vineyards,
with walls on both sides. 25
When
the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed close to the wall,
crushing Balaam's foot against it. So he beat her again.
26
Then
the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place
where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left.
27
When
the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and
he was angry and beat her with his staff. 28
Then
the LORD opened the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, "What
have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?"
29
Balaam
answered the donkey, "You have made a fool of me! If I had a
sword in my hand, I would kill you right now."
30
The
donkey said to Balaam, "Am
I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden,
to this day?
Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?"
"No,"
he said.
31
Then
the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD
standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell
facedown.
32
The
angel of the LORD asked him, "Why
have you beaten your donkey these three times?
I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one
before me.
C
33
The
donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times.
If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now,
but I would have spared her."
34
Balaam
said to the angel of the LORD, "I have sinned. I did not realize
you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are
displeased, I will go back."
35
The
angel of the LORD said to Balaam, "Go
with the men, but speak only what I tell you."
So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
36
When
Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the
Moabite town on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory. 37
Balak
said to Balaam, "Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why
didn't you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?"
38
"Well,
I have come to you now," Balaam replied. "But can I say
just anything? I must speak only what God puts in my mouth."
39
Then
Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth. 40Balak
sacrificed cattle and sheep, and gave some to Balaam and the princes
who were with him. 41
The
next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, and from there he
saw part of the people.12
23
1
Balaam
said, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and
seven rams for me." 2
Balak
did as Balaam said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on
each altar.
3
Then
Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering while I go
aside. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet with me. Whatever he
reveals to me I will tell you." Then he went off to a barren
height.
4
God
met with him, and Balaam said, "I have prepared seven altars,
and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram."
5
The
LORD put a message in Balaam's mouth and said, "Go
back to Balak and give him this message."
6
So
he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with
all the princes of Moab. 7
Then
Balaam uttered his oracle:
"Balak
brought me from Aram,
the
king of Moab from the eastern mountains.
`Come,'
he said,
`curse
Jacob for me;
come,
denounce Israel.'
8
How can I curse
those
whom God has not cursed?
How
can I denounce
those
whom the LORD has not denounced?
9
From the rocky peaks I see them,
from
the heights I view them.
I
see a people who live apart
and
do not consider themselves one of the nations.
10
Who can count the dust of Jacob
or
number the fourth part of Israel?
Let
me die the death of the righteous,
and
may my end be like theirs!"
11
Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you
to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!"
12
He
answered, "Must I not speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?"
13
13
Then
Balak said to him, "Come with me to another place where you can
see them; you will see only a part but not all of them. And from
there, curse them for me." 14
So
he took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah, and there he
built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
15
Balaam
said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering while I meet with
him over there."
16
The
LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth and said, "Go
back to Balak and give him this message."
17
So
he went to him and found him standing beside his offering, with the
princes of Moab. Balak asked him, "What did the LORD say?"
18
Then
he uttered his oracle:
"Arise,
Balak, and listen;
hear
me, son of Zippor.
19
God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor
a son of man,
that
he should change his mind.
Does
he speak and then not act?
Does
he promise and not fulfill?
20
I have received a command to bless;
he
has blessed, and I cannot change it.
21
"No
misfortune is seen in Jacob,
no
misery observed in Israel. A
The
LORD their God is with them;
the
shout of the King is among them.
22
God brought them out of Egypt;
they
have the strength of a wild ox.
23
There is no sorcery against Jacob,
no
divination against Israel.
It
will now be said of Jacob
24
The people rise like a lioness;
they
rouse themselves like a lion
that
does not rest till he devours his prey
and
drinks the blood of his victims."
25
Then
Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all nor bless them
at all!"
26
Balaam
answered, "Did I not tell you I must do whatever the LORD says?"
27
Then
Balak said to Balaam, "Come, let me take you to another place.
Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there."
28
And
Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, overlooking the wasteland.
29
Balaam
said, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and
seven rams for me." 30
Balak
did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.15
NEW
TESTAMENT:
LUKE 1:57 - 80
57
When
it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.
58
Her
neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great
mercy, and they shared her joy.
59
On
the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going
to name him after his father Zechariah, 60
but
his mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John."
61
They
said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who has that
name."
62
Then
they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name
the child. 63
He
asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote,
"His name is John." 64
Immediately
his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to
speak, praising God. 65
The
neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country
of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66
Everyone
who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this
child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.
67
His
father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68
"Praise
be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because
he has come and has redeemed his people.
69He
has raised up a horn D
of salvation for us
in
the house of his servant David
70
(as
he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71
salvation from our enemies
and
from the hand of all who hate us--
72
to show mercy to our fathers
and
to remember his holy covenant,
73
the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74
to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and
to enable us to serve him without fear
75
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76
And
you,
my
child,
will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for
you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
16
77
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through
the forgiveness of their sins,
78
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by
which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79
to
shine on those living in darkness
and
in the shadow of death,
to
guide our feet into the path of peace."
80
And
the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the
desert until he appeared publicly to Israel. 17
1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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8
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9
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10
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11
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12
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13
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14
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15
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16
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17
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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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