THEINC-HIM DAILY BIBLE MEDITATION: February 10

Sunday, October 25, 2009

February 10

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

FEBRUARY 10

PSALMS: 10, 40, 70, 100, 130

PROVERBS: 10

OLD TESTAMENT

JUDGES 15:1 - 16:31

NEW TESTAMENT

JOHN 2:1 - 25

PSALMS: 10

1Why,A O LORD, do you stand far off?

Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

2In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,

who are caught in the schemes he devises.

3He boasts of the cravings of his heart;

he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.

4In his pride the wicked does not seek him;

in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

5His ways are always prosperous;

he is haughty and your laws are far from him;

he sneers at all his enemies.

6He says to himself, "Nothing will shake me;

I'll always be happy and never have trouble."

7His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats;

trouble and evil are under his tongue.

8He lies in wait near the villages;

from ambush he murders the innocent,

watching in secret for his victims.

9He lies in wait like a lion in cover;

he lies in wait to catch the helpless;

he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.

10His victims are crushed, they collapse;

they fall under his strength.

11He says to himself, "God has forgotten;

he covers his face and never sees." [1]

12Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God.

Do not forget the helpless.

13Why does the wicked man revile God?

Why does he say to himself,

"He won't call me to account"?

14But you, O God, do see trouble and grief;

you consider it to take it in hand.

The victim commits himself to you;

you are the helper of the fatherless.

15Break the arm of the wicked and evil man;

call him to account for his wickedness

that would not be found out.

16The LORD is King for ever and ever;

the nations will perish from his land.

17You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted;

you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,

18defending the fatherless and the oppressed,

in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more. [2]

PSALMS: 40

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

1I waited patiently for the LORD;

he turned to me and heard my cry.

2He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock

and gave me a firm place to stand.

3He put a new song in my mouth,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear

and put their trust in the LORD.

4Blessed is the man

who makes the LORD his trust,

who does not look to the proud,

to those who turn aside to false gods.A

5Many, O LORD my God,

are the wonders you have done.

The things you planned for us

no one can recount to you;

were I to speak and tell of them,

they would be too many to declare.

6Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,

but my ears you have piercedBC;

burnt offerings and sin offerings

you did not require.

7Then I said, "Here I am, I have come--

it is written about me in the scroll.D [3]

8I desire to do your will, O my God;

your law is within my heart."

9I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;

I do not seal my lips,

as you know, O LORD.

10I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;

I speak of your faithfulness and salvation.

I do not conceal your love and your truth

from the great assembly.

11Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD;

may your love and your truth always protect me.

12For troubles without number surround me;

my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.

They are more than the hairs of my head,

and my heart fails within me.

13Be pleased, O LORD, to save me;

O LORD, come quickly to help me.

14May all who seek to take my life

be put to shame and confusion;

may all who desire my ruin

be turned back in disgrace.

15May those who say to me, "Aha! Aha!"

be appalled at their own shame.

16But may all who seek you

rejoice and be glad in you;

may those who love your salvation always say,

"The LORD be exalted!"[4]

17Yet I am poor and needy;

may the Lord think of me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

O my God, do not delay. [5]

PSALMS: 70

For the director of music. Of David. A petition.

1Hasten, O God, to save me;

O LORD, come quickly to help me.

2May those who seek my life

be put to shame and confusion;

may all who desire my ruin

be turned back in disgrace.

3May those who say to me, "Aha! Aha!"

turn back because of their shame.

4But may all who seek you

rejoice and be glad in you;

may those who love your salvation always say,

"Let God be exalted!"

5Yet I am poor and needy;

come quickly to me, O God.

You are my help and my deliverer;

O LORD, do not delay. [6]

PSALMS: 100

A psalm. For giving thanks.

1Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

2Worship the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

3Know that the LORD is God.

It is he who made us, and we are hisA;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

5For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations. [7]

PSALMS: 130

A song of ascents.

1Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;

2O Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears be attentive

to my cry for mercy.

3If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,

O Lord, who could stand?

4But with you there is forgiveness;

therefore you are feared.

5I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,

and in his word I put my hope.

6My soul waits for the Lord

more than watchmen wait for the morning,

more than watchmen wait for the morning.

7O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,

for with the LORD is unfailing love

and with him is full redemption.

8He himself will redeem Israel

from all their sins. [8]

PROVERBS: 10

101 The proverbs of Solomon:

A wise son brings joy to his father,

but a foolish son grief to his mother.

2Ill-gotten treasures are of no value,

but righteousness delivers from death.

3The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry

but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

4Lazy hands make a man poor,

but diligent hands bring wealth.

5He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son,

but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.

6Blessings crown the head of the righteous,

but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.A

7The memory of the righteous will be a blessing,

but the name of the wicked will rot.

8The wise in heart accept commands,

but a chattering fool comes to ruin.

9The man of integrity walks securely,

but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.

10He who winks maliciously causes grief,

and a chattering fool comes to ruin.

11The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,

but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked. [9]

12Hatred stirs up dissension,

but love covers over all wrongs.

13Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning,

but a rod is for the back of him who lacks judgment.

14Wise men store up knowledge,

but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.

15The wealth of the rich is their fortified city,

but poverty is the ruin of the poor.

16The wages of the righteous bring them life,

but the income of the wicked brings them punishment.

17He who heeds discipline shows the way to life,

but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.

18He who conceals his hatred has lying lips,

and whoever spreads slander is a fool.

19When words are many, sin is not absent,

but he who holds his tongue is wise.

20The tongue of the righteous is choice silver,

but the heart of the wicked is of little value.

21The lips of the righteous nourish many,

but fools die for lack of judgment.

22The blessing of the LORD brings wealth,

and he adds no trouble to it. [10]

23A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct,

but a man of understanding delights in wisdom.

24What the wicked dreads will overtake him;

what the righteous desire will be granted.

25When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone,

but the righteous stand firm forever.

26As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,

so is a sluggard to those who send him.

27The fear of the LORD adds length to life,

but the years of the wicked are cut short.

28The prospect of the righteous is joy,

but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.

29The way of the LORD is a refuge for the righteous,

but it is the ruin of those who do evil.

30The righteous will never be uprooted,

but the wicked will not remain in the land.

31The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,

but a perverse tongue will be cut out.

32The lips of the righteous know what is fitting,

but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse. [11]

OLD TESTAMENT

JUDGES 15:1 - 16:31

151Later on, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. He said, "I'm going to my wife's room." But her father would not let him go in.

2"I was so sure you thoroughly hated her," he said, "that I gave her to your friend. Isn't her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead."

3Samson said to them, "This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them." 4So he went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails, 5lit the torches and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves.

6When the Philistines asked, "Who did this?" they were told, "Samson, the Timnite's son-in-law, because his wife was given to his friend."

So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death. 7Samson said to them, "Since you've acted like this, I won't stop until I get my revenge on you." 8He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock of Etam.

9The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi. 10The men of Judah asked, "Why have you come to fight us?"

"We have come to take Samson prisoner," they answered, "to do to him as he did to us."

11Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in [12]to him as he did to us."

11Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, "Don't you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us? What have you done to us?"

He answered, "I merely did to them what they did to me."

12They said to him, "We've come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines."

Samson said, "Swear to me that you won't kill me yourselves."

13"Agreed," they answered. "We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you." So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock. 14As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. 15Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.

16Then Samson said,

"With a donkey's jawbone

I have made donkeys of them.A

With a donkey's jawbone

I have killed a thousand men."

17When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was called Ramath Lehi.B

18Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the LORD, "You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst [13]and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" 19Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore,C and it is still there in Lehi.

20Samson ledD Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.

161One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. 2The people of Gaza were told, "Samson is here!" So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, "At dawn we'll kill him."

3But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.

4Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. 5The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, "See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekelsA of silver."

6So Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued."

7Samson answered her, "If anyone ties me with seven fresh [14]thongsB that have not been dried, I'll become as weak as any other man."

8Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh thongs that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. 9With men hidden in the room, she called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" But he snapped the thongs as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.

10Then Delilah said to Samson, "You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied."

11He said, "If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I'll become as weak as any other man."

12So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads.

13Delilah then said to Samson, "Until now, you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied."

He replied, "If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I'll become as weak as any other man." So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric 14andC tightened it with the pin.

Again she called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with [15]the fabric.

15Then she said to him, "How can you say, `I love you,' when you won't confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven't told me the secret of your great strength." 16With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death.

17So he told her everything. "No razor has ever been used on my head," he said, "because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man."

18When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, "Come back once more; he has told me everything." So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. 19Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him.D And his strength left him.

20Then she called, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!"

He awoke from his sleep and thought, "I'll go out as before and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had left him.

21Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding in the prison. 22But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

23Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate, saying, "Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands." [16]24When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying,

"Our god has delivered our enemy

into our hands,

the one who laid waste our land

and multiplied our slain."

25While they were in high spirits, they shouted, "Bring out Samson to entertain us." So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them.

When they stood him among the pillars, 26Samson said to the servant who held his hand, "Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them." 27Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform.

28Then Samson prayed to the LORD, "O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes." 29Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, 30Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived. [17]31Then his brothers and his father's whole family went down to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had ledE Israel twenty years.[18]

NEW TESTAMENT

JOHN 2:1 - 25

21On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."

4"Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come."

5His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."

6Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.A

7Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.

8Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet."

They did so, 9and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."

11This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

12After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

13When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!"

17His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me."B

18Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?"

19Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."

20The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" 21But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

23Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name.C 24But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. 25He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.[19]

^{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. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸Whoever 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 ¹⁹This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. ²¹But 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

THEINC-HIM DAILY BIBLE MEDITATION

Sunday, October 25, 2009

February 10

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John 3:16-21