THEINC-HIM DAILY BIBLE MEDITATION: February 25

Sunday, October 25, 2009

February 25

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

FEBRUARY 25

PSALMS: 25, 55, 85, 115, 145

PROVERBS: 25

OLD TESTAMENT

1 SAMUEL 20:1 - 21:15

NEW TESTAMENT

JOHN 9:1 - 41

PSALMS: 25

Of David.

1ToA you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;

2in you I trust, O my God.

Do not let me be put to shame,

nor let my enemies triumph over me.

3No one whose hope is in you

will ever be put to shame,

but they will be put to shame

who are treacherous without excuse.

4Show me your ways, O LORD,

teach me your paths;

5guide me in your truth and teach me,

for you are God my Savior,

and my hope is in you all day long.

6Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love,

for they are from of old.

7Remember not the sins of my youth

and my rebellious ways;

according to your love remember me,

for you are good, O LORD.

8Good and upright is the LORD;

therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.

9He guides the humble in what is right

and teaches them his way.

10All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful

for those who keep the demands of his covenant.

11For the sake of your name, O LORD,

forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

12Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD? [1]

He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.

13He will spend his days in prosperity,

and his descendants will inherit the land.

14The LORD confides in those who fear him;

he makes his covenant known to them.

15My eyes are ever on the LORD,

for only he will release my feet from the snare.

16Turn to me and be gracious to me,

for I am lonely and afflicted.

17The troubles of my heart have multiplied;

free me from my anguish.

18Look upon my affliction and my distress

and take away all my sins.

19See how my enemies have increased

and how fiercely they hate me!

20Guard my life and rescue me;

let me not be put to shame,

for I take refuge in you.

21May integrity and uprightness protect me,

because my hope is in you.

22Redeem Israel, O God,

from all their troubles! [2]

PSALMS: 55

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskilA of David.

1Listen to my prayer, O God,

do not ignore my plea;

2hear me and answer me.

My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught

3at the voice of the enemy,

at the stares of the wicked;

for they bring down suffering upon me

and revile me in their anger.

4My heart is in anguish within me;

the terrors of death assail me.

5Fear and trembling have beset me;

horror has overwhelmed me.

6I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest--

7I would flee far away

and stay in the desert;

Selah

8I would hurry to my place of shelter,

far from the tempest and storm."

9Confuse the wicked, O Lord, confound their speech,

for I see violence and strife in the city.

10Day and night they prowl about on its walls;

malice and abuse are within it.

11Destructive forces are at work in the city;

threats and lies never leave its streets. [3]

12If an enemy were insulting me,

I could endure it;

if a foe were raising himself against me,

I could hide from him.

13But it is you, a man like myself,

my companion, my close friend,

14with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship

as we walked with the throng at the house of God.

15Let death take my enemies by surprise;

let them go down alive to the grave,B

for evil finds lodging among them.

16But I call to God,

and the LORD saves me.

17Evening, morning and noon

I cry out in distress,

and he hears my voice.

18He ransoms me unharmed

from the battle waged against me,

even though many oppose me.

19God, who is enthroned forever,

will hear them and afflict them--

Selah

men who never change their ways

and have no fear of God.

20My companion attacks his friends;

he violates his covenant.

21His speech is smooth as butter,

yet war is in his heart;

his words are more soothing than oil, [4]

yet they are drawn swords.

22Cast your cares on the LORD

and he will sustain you;

he will never let the righteous fall.

23But you, O God, will bring down the wicked

into the pit of corruption;

bloodthirsty and deceitful men

will not live out half their days.

But as for me, I trust in you. [5]

PSALMS: 85

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

1You showed favor to your land, O LORD;

you restored the fortunes of Jacob.

2You forgave the iniquity of your people

and covered all their sins.

Selah

3You set aside all your wrath

and turned from your fierce anger.

4Restore us again, O God our Savior,

and put away your displeasure toward us.

5Will you be angry with us forever?

Will you prolong your anger through all generations?

6Will you not revive us again,

that your people may rejoice in you?

7Show us your unfailing love, O LORD,

and grant us your salvation.

8I will listen to what God the LORD will say;

he promises peace to his people, his saints--

but let them not return to folly.

9Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,

that his glory may dwell in our land.

10Love and faithfulness meet together;

righteousness and peace kiss each other.

11Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,

and righteousness looks down from heaven.

12The LORD will indeed give what is good,

and our land will yield its harvest.

13Righteousness goes before him [6]

and prepares the way for his steps. [7]

PSALMS: 115

1Not to us, O LORD, not to us

but to your name be the glory,

because of your love and faithfulness.

2Why do the nations say,

"Where is their God?"

3Our God is in heaven;

he does whatever pleases him.

4But their idols are silver and gold,

made by the hands of men.

5They have mouths, but cannot speak,

eyes, but they cannot see;

6they have ears, but cannot hear,

noses, but they cannot smell;

7they have hands, but cannot feel,

feet, but they cannot walk;

nor can they utter a sound with their throats.

8Those who make them will be like them,

and so will all who trust in them.

9O house of Israel, trust in the LORD--

he is their help and shield.

10O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD--

he is their help and shield.

11You who fear him, trust in the LORD--

he is their help and shield.

12The LORD remembers us and will bless us:

He will bless the house of Israel,

he will bless the house of Aaron,

13he will bless those who fear the LORD--

small and great alike. [8]

14May the LORD make you increase,

both you and your children.

15May you be blessed by the LORD,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

16The highest heavens belong to the LORD,

but the earth he has given to man.

17It is not the dead who praise the LORD,

those who go down to silence;

18it is we who extol the LORD,

both now and forevermore.

Praise the LORD.A [9]

PSALMS: 145

A psalm of praise. Of David.

1IA will exalt you, my God the King;

I will praise your name for ever and ever.

2Every day I will praise you

and extol your name for ever and ever.

3Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;

his greatness no one can fathom.

4One generation will commend your works to another;

they will tell of your mighty acts.

5They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,

and I will meditate on your wonderful works.B

6They will tell of the power of your awesome works,

and I will proclaim your great deeds.

7They will celebrate your abundant goodness

and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

8The LORD is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and rich in love.

9The LORD is good to all;

he has compassion on all he has made.

10All you have made will praise you, O LORD;

your saints will extol you.

11They will tell of the glory of your kingdom

and speak of your might,

12so that all men may know of your mighty acts

and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures through all generations. [10]

The LORD is faithful to all his promises

and loving toward all he has made.C

14The LORD upholds all those who fall

and lifts up all who are bowed down.

15The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food at the proper time.

16You open your hand

and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

17The LORD is righteous in all his ways

and loving toward all he has made.

18The LORD is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

19He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;

he hears their cry and saves them.

20The LORD watches over all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.

21My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.

Let every creature praise his holy name

for ever and ever. [11]

PROVERBS: 25

251These are more proverbs of Solomon, copied by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah:

2It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;

to search out a matter is the glory of kings.

3As the heavens are high and the earth is deep,

so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.

4Remove the dross from the silver,

and out comes material forA the silversmith;

5remove the wicked from the king's presence,

and his throne will be established through righteousness.

6Do not exalt yourself in the king's presence,

and do not claim a place among great men;

7it is better for him to say to you, "Come up here,"

than for him to humiliate you before a nobleman.

What you have seen with your eyes

8 do not bringB hastily to court,

for what will you do in the end

if your neighbor puts you to shame?

9If you argue your case with a neighbor,

do not betray another man's confidence,

10or he who hears it may shame you

and you will never lose your bad reputation.

11A word aptly spoken

is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

12Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold

is a wise man's rebuke to a listening ear. [12]

13Like the coolness of snow at harvest time

is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him;

he refreshes the spirit of his masters.

14Like clouds and wind without rain

is a man who boasts of gifts he does not give.

15Through patience a ruler can be persuaded,

and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

16If you find honey, eat just enough--

too much of it, and you will vomit.

17Seldom set foot in your neighbor's house--

too much of you, and he will hate you.

18Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow

is the man who gives false testimony against his neighbor.

19Like a bad tooth or a lame foot

is reliance on the unfaithful in times of trouble.

20Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day,

or like vinegar poured on soda,

is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

21If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;

if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.

22In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head,

and the LORD will reward you.

23As a north wind brings rain,

so a sly tongue brings angry looks. [13]

24Better to live on a corner of the roof

than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

25Like cold water to a weary soul

is good news from a distant land.

26Like a muddied spring or a polluted well

is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked.

27It is not good to eat too much honey,

nor is it honorable to seek one's own honor.

28Like a city whose walls are broken down

is a man who lacks self-control. [14]

OLD TESTAMENT

1 SAMUEL 20:1 - 21:15

201Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, "What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to take my life?"

2"Never!" Jonathan replied. "You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn't do anything, great or small, without confiding in me. Why would he hide this from me? It's not so!"

3But David took an oath and said, "Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, `Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.' Yet as surely as the LORD lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death."

4Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you want me to do, I'll do for you."

5So David said, "Look, tomorrow is the New Moon festival, and I am supposed to dine with the king; but let me go and hide in the field until the evening of the day after tomorrow. 6If your father misses me at all, tell him, `David earnestly asked my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because an annual sacrifice is being made there for his whole clan.' 7If he says, `Very well,' then your servant is safe. But if he loses his temper, you can be sure that he is determined to harm me. 8As for you, show kindness to your servant, for you have brought him into a covenant with you before the LORD. If I am guilty, then kill me yourself! Why hand me over to your father?"

9"Never!" Jonathan said. "If I had the least inkling that my father was determined to harm you, wouldn't I tell you?"

10David asked, "Who will tell me if your father answers you [15]harshly?"

11"Come," Jonathan said, "let's go out into the field." So they went there together.

12Then Jonathan said to David: "By the LORD, the God of Israel, I will surely sound out my father by this time the day after tomorrow! If he is favorably disposed toward you, will I not send you word and let you know? 13But if my father is inclined to harm you, may the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I do not let you know and send you away safely. May the LORD be with you as he has been with my father. 14But show me unfailing kindness like that of the LORD as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, 15and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family--not even when the LORD has cut off every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth."

16So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "May the LORD call David's enemies to account." 17And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.

18Then Jonathan said to David: "Tomorrow is the New Moon festival. You will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid when this trouble began, and wait by the stone Ezel. 20I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I were shooting at a target. 21Then I will send a boy and say, `Go, find the arrows.' If I say to him, `Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them here,' then come, because, as surely as the LORD lives, you are safe; there is no danger.

22But if I say to the boy, `Look, the arrows are [16]beyond you,' then you must go, because the LORD has sent you away. 23And about the matter you and I discussed--remember, the LORD is witness between you and me forever."

24So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon festival came, the king sat down to eat. 25He sat in his customary place by the wall, opposite Jonathan,A and Abner sat next to Saul, but David's place was empty. 26Saul said nothing that day, for he thought, "Something must have happened to David to make him ceremonially unclean--surely he is unclean." 27But the next day, the second day of the month, David's place was empty again. Then Saul said to his son Jonathan, "Why hasn't the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?"

28Jonathan answered, "David earnestly asked me for permission to go to Bethlehem. 29He said, `Let me go, because our family is observing a sacrifice in the town and my brother has ordered me to be there. If I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away to see my brothers.' That is why he has not come to the king's table."

30Saul's anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, "You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don't I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you? 31As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send and bring him to me, for he must die!"

32"Why should he be put to death? What has he done?" Jonathan asked his father. 33But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father intended to kill David. [17]34Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger; on that second day of the month he did not eat, because he was grieved at his father's shameful treatment of David.

35In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his meeting with David. He had a small boy with him, 36and he said to the boy, "Run and find the arrows I shoot." As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37When the boy came to the place where Jonathan's arrow had fallen, Jonathan called out after him, "Isn't the arrow beyond you?" 38Then he shouted, "Hurry! Go quickly! Don't stop!" The boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master. 39(The boy knew nothing of all this; only Jonathan and David knew.) 40Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and said, "Go, carry them back to town."

41After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together--but David wept the most.

42Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the LORD, saying, `The LORD is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.' " Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.

211David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he met him, and asked, "Why are you alone? Why is [18]no one with you?"

2David answered Ahimelech the priest, "The king charged me with a certain matter and said to me, `No one is to know anything about your mission and your instructions.' As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. 3Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find."

4But the priest answered David, "I don't have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here--provided the men have kept themselves from women."

5David replied, "Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual wheneverA I set out. The men's thingsB are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!" 6So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the LORD and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away.

7Now one of Saul's servants was there that day, detained before the LORD; he was Doeg the Edomite, Saul's head shepherd.

8David asked Ahimelech, "Don't you have a spear or a sword here? I haven't brought my sword or any other weapon, because the king's business was urgent."

9The priest replied, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want it, take it; there is no sword here but [19]that one."

David said, "There is none like it; give it to me."

10That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. 11But the servants of Achish said to him, "Isn't this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one they sing about in their dances:

" `Saul has slain his thousands,

and David his tens of thousands'?"

12David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. 13So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.

14Achish said to his servants, "Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? 15Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?"[20]

NEW TESTAMENT

JOHN 9:1 - 41

91As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

3"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

6Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. 7"Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

8His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" 9Some claimed that he was.

Others said, "No, he only looks like him."

But he himself insisted, "I am the man."

10"How then were your eyes opened?" they demanded.

11He replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see."

12"Where is this man?" they asked him.

"I don't know," he said.

13They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. 15Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. "He put mud on my eyes," the man [21]replied, "and I washed, and now I see."

16Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath."

But others asked, "How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?" So they were divided.

17Finally they turned again to the blind man, "What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened."

The man replied, "He is a prophet."

18The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man's parents. 19"Is this your son?" they asked. "Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?"

20"We know he is our son," the parents answered, "and we know he was born blind. 21But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself." 22His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the ChristA would be put out of the synagogue. 23That was why his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."

24A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God,B" they said. "We know this man is a sinner."

25He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"

26Then they asked him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"

27He answered, "I have told you already and you did not listen. [22]Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?"

28Then they hurled insults at him and said, "You are this fellow's disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from."

30The man answered, "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. 32Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."

34To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out.

35Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"

36"Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him."

37Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you."

38Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.

39Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."

40Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"

41Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.[23]

^{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 25

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John 3:16-21