THEINC-HIM DAILY BIBLE MEDITATION: February 20

Sunday, October 25, 2009

February 20

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

FEBRUARY 20

PSALMS: 20, 50, 80, 110, 140

PROVERBS: 20

OLD TESTAMENT

1 SAMUEL 12:1 - 13:23

NEW TESTAMENT

JOHN 7:1 - 30

PSALMS: 20

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;

may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

2May he send you help from the sanctuary

and grant you support from Zion.

3May he remember all your sacrifices

and accept your burnt offerings.

Selah

4May he give you the desire of your heart

and make all your plans succeed.

5We will shout for joy when you are victorious

and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.

May the LORD grant all your requests.

6Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;

he answers him from his holy heaven

with the saving power of his right hand.

7Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

8They are brought to their knees and fall,

but we rise up and stand firm.

9O LORD, save the king!

AnswerA us when we call! [1]

PSALMS: 50

A psalm of Asaph.

1The Mighty One, God, the LORD,

speaks and summons the earth

from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets.

2From Zion, perfect in beauty,

God shines forth.

3Our God comes and will not be silent;

a fire devours before him,

and around him a tempest rages.

4He summons the heavens above,

and the earth, that he may judge his people:

5"Gather to me my consecrated ones,

who made a covenant with me by sacrifice."

6And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,

for God himself is judge.

Selah

7"Hear, O my people, and I will speak,

O Israel, and I will testify against you:

I am God, your God.

8I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices

or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.

9I have no need of a bull from your stall

or of goats from your pens,

10for every animal of the forest is mine,

and the cattle on a thousand hills.

11I know every bird in the mountains,

and the creatures of the field are mine.

12If I were hungry I would not tell you, [2]

for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

13Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats?

14Sacrifice thank offerings to God,

fulfill your vows to the Most High,

15and call upon me in the day of trouble;

I will deliver you, and you will honor me."

16But to the wicked, God says:

"What right have you to recite my laws

or take my covenant on your lips?

17You hate my instruction

and cast my words behind you.

18When you see a thief, you join with him;

you throw in your lot with adulterers.

19You use your mouth for evil

and harness your tongue to deceit.

20You speak continually against your brother

and slander your own mother's son.

21These things you have done and I kept silent;

you thought I was altogetherA like you.

But I will rebuke you

and accuse you to your face.

22"Consider this, you who forget God,

or I will tear you to pieces, with none to rescue:

23He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me,

and he prepares the way

so that I may show himB the salvation of God." [3]

PSALMS: 80

For the director of music. To the tune of "The Lilies of the Covenant." Of Asaph. A psalm.

1Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel,

you who lead Joseph like a flock;

you who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth

2before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.

Awaken your might;

come and save us.

3Restore us, O God;

make your face shine upon us,

that we may be saved.

4O LORD God Almighty,

how long will your anger smolder

against the prayers of your people?

5You have fed them with the bread of tears;

you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.

6You have made us a source of contention to our neighbors,

and our enemies mock us.

7Restore us, O God Almighty;

make your face shine upon us,

that we may be saved.

8You brought a vine out of Egypt;

you drove out the nations and planted it.

9You cleared the ground for it,

and it took root and filled the land.

10The mountains were covered with its shade,

the mighty cedars with its branches. [4]

11It sent out its boughs to the Sea,A

its shoots as far as the River.B

12Why have you broken down its walls

so that all who pass by pick its grapes?

13Boars from the forest ravage it

and the creatures of the field feed on it.

14Return to us, O God Almighty!

Look down from heaven and see!

Watch over this vine,

15the root your right hand has planted,

the sonC you have raised up for yourself.

16Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;

at your rebuke your people perish.

17Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,

the son of man you have raised up for yourself.

18Then we will not turn away from you;

revive us, and we will call on your name.

19Restore us, O LORD God Almighty;

make your face shine upon us,

that we may be saved. [5]

PSALMS: 110

Of David. A psalm.

1The LORD says to my Lord:

"Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies

a footstool for your feet."

2The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion;

you will rule in the midst of your enemies.

3Your troops will be willing

on your day of battle.

Arrayed in holy majesty,

from the womb of the dawn

you will receive the dew of your youth.A

4The LORD has sworn

and will not change his mind:

"You are a priest forever,

in the order of Melchizedek."

5The Lord is at your right hand;

he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.

6He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead

and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.

7He will drink from a brook beside the wayB;

therefore he will lift up his head. [6]

PSALMS: 140

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men;

protect me from men of violence,

2who devise evil plans in their hearts

and stir up war every day.

3They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent's;

the poison of vipers is on their lips.

Selah

4Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;

protect me from men of violence

who plan to trip my feet.

5Proud men have hidden a snare for me;

they have spread out the cords of their net

and have set traps for me along my path.

Selah

6O LORD, I say to you, "You are my God."

Hear, O LORD, my cry for mercy.

7O Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer,

who shields my head in the day of battle--

8do not grant the wicked their desires, O LORD;

do not let their plans succeed,

or they will become proud.

Selah

9Let the heads of those who surround me

be covered with the trouble their lips have caused.

10Let burning coals fall upon them;

may they be thrown into the fire,

into miry pits, never to rise. [7]

11Let slanderers not be established in the land;

may disaster hunt down men of violence.

12I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor

and upholds the cause of the needy.

13Surely the righteous will praise your name

and the upright will live before you. [8]

PROVERBS: 20

201 Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler;

whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

2A king's wrath is like the roar of a lion;

he who angers him forfeits his life.

3It is to a man's honor to avoid strife,

but every fool is quick to quarrel.

4A sluggard does not plow in season;

so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.

5The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters,

but a man of understanding draws them out.

6Many a man claims to have unfailing love,

but a faithful man who can find?

7The righteous man leads a blameless life;

blessed are his children after him.

8When a king sits on his throne to judge,

he winnows out all evil with his eyes.

9Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure;

I am clean and without sin"?

10Differing weights and differing measures--

the LORD detests them both.

11Even a child is known by his actions,

by whether his conduct is pure and right. [9]

12Ears that hear and eyes that see--

the LORD has made them both.

13Do not love sleep or you will grow poor;

stay awake and you will have food to spare.

14"It's no good, it's no good!" says the buyer;

then off he goes and boasts about his purchase.

15Gold there is, and rubies in abundance,

but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.

16Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;

hold it in pledge if he does it for a wayward woman.

17Food gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man,

but he ends up with a mouth full of gravel.

18Make plans by seeking advice;

if you wage war, obtain guidance.

19A gossip betrays a confidence;

so avoid a man who talks too much.

20If a man curses his father or mother,

his lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness.

21An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning

will not be blessed at the end.

22Do not say, "I'll pay you back for this wrong!"

Wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you.[10]

23The LORD detests differing weights,

and dishonest scales do not please him.

24A man's steps are directed by the LORD.

How then can anyone understand his own way?

25It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly

and only later to consider his vows.

26A wise king winnows out the wicked;

he drives the threshing wheel over them.

27The lamp of the LORD searches the spirit of a manA;

it searches out his inmost being.

28Love and faithfulness keep a king safe;

through love his throne is made secure.

29The glory of young men is their strength,

gray hair the splendor of the old.

30Blows and wounds cleanse away evil,

and beatings purge the inmost being. [11]

OLD TESTAMENT

1 SAMUEL 12:1 - 13:23

121Samuel said to all Israel, "I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you. 2Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day. 3Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the LORD and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right."

4"You have not cheated or oppressed us," they replied. "You have not taken anything from anyone's hand."

5Samuel said to them, "The LORD is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand."

"He is witness," they said.

6Then Samuel said to the people, "It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your forefathers up out of Egypt. 7Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the LORD as to all the righteous acts performed by the LORD for you and your fathers.

8"After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the LORD for help, and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your forefathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.

9"But they forgot the LORD their God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the [12]hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them. 10They cried out to the LORD and said, `We have sinned; we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.' 11Then the LORD sent Jerub-Baal,A Barak,B Jephthah and Samuel, C and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely.

12"But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, `No, we want a king to rule over us'--even though the LORD your God was your king. 13Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the LORD has set a king over you. 14If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God--good! 15But if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.

16"Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes! 17Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call upon the LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the LORD when you asked for a king."

18Then Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel.

19The people all said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for [13]your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king."

20"Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 21Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. 22For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own. 23As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. 24But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. 25Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."

131Saul was thirtyA years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-B two years.

2SaulC chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand were with him at Micmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the men he sent back to their homes.

3Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul had the trumpet blown throughout the land and said, "Let the Hebrews hear!" 4So all Israel heard the news: "Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel has become a stench to the Philistines." And the people were [14]summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.

5The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousandD chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven. 6When the men of Israel saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns. 7Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.

Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear. 8He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul's men began to scatter. 9So he said, "Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.E" And Saul offered up the burnt offering. 10Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.

11"What have you done?" asked Samuel.

Saul replied, "When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash, 12I thought, `Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD's favor.' So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering."

13"You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. 14But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you [15]have not kept the LORD's command."

15Then Samuel left GilgalF and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin, and Saul counted the men who were with him. They numbered about six hundred.

16Saul and his son Jonathan and the men with them were staying in GibeahG in Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Micmash. 17Raiding parties went out from the Philistine camp in three detachments. One turned toward Ophrah in the vicinity of Shual, 18another toward Beth Horon, and the third toward the borderland overlooking the Valley of Zeboim facing the desert.

19Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, "Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!" 20So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their plowshares, mattocks, axes and sicklesH sharpened. 21The price was two thirds of a shekelI for sharpening plowshares and mattocks, and a third of a shekelJ for sharpening forks and axes and for repointing goads.

22So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.

23Now a detachment of Philistines had gone out to the pass at Micmash.[16]

NEW TESTAMENT

JOHN 7:1 - 30

71After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. 2But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, 3Jesus' brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. 4No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." 5For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

6Therefore Jesus told them, "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. 7The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. 8You go to the Feast. I am not yetA going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come." 9Having said this, he stayed in Galilee.

10However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. 11Now at the Feast the Jews were watching for him and asking, "Where is that man?"

12Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, "He is a good man."

Others replied, "No, he deceives the people." 13But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews.

14Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. 15The Jews were amazed and asked, "How did this man get such learning without having studied?"

16Jesus answered, "My teaching is not my own. It comes from [17]him who sent me. 17If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. 18He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. 19Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?"

20"You are demon-possessed," the crowd answered. "Who is trying to kill you?"

21Jesus said to them, "I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. 22Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. 23Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? 24Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."

25At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, "Isn't this the man they are trying to kill? 26Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the ChristB? 27But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from."

8Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, "Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29but I know [18]him because I am from him and he sent me."

30At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. [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 20

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John 3:16-21