THEINC-HIM DAILY BIBLE MEDITATION: February 28

Sunday, October 25, 2009

February 28

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

FEBRUARY 28

PSALMS: 28, 58, 88, 118, 148

PROVERBS: 28

OLD TESTAMENT

1 SAMUEL 26:1 - 28:25

NEW TESTAMENT

JOHN 11:1 - 54

PSALMS: 28

Of David.

1To you I call, O LORD my Rock;

do not turn a deaf ear to me.

For if you remain silent,

I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.

2Hear my cry for mercy

as I call to you for help,

as I lift up my hands

toward your Most Holy Place.

3Do not drag me away with the wicked,

with those who do evil,

who speak cordially with their neighbors

but harbor malice in their hearts.

4Repay them for their deeds

and for their evil work;

repay them for what their hands have done

and bring back upon them what they deserve.

5Since they show no regard for the works of the LORD

and what his hands have done,

he will tear them down

and never build them up again.

6Praise be to the LORD,

for he has heard my cry for mercy.

7The LORD is my strength and my shield;

my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.

My heart leaps for joy

and I will give thanks to him in song. [1]

8The LORD is the strength of his people,

a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.

9Save your people and bless your inheritance;

be their shepherd and carry them forever. [2]

PSALMS: 58

For the director of music. To the tune of "Do Not Destroy." Of David. A miktam.A

1Do you rulers indeed speak justly?

Do you judge uprightly among men?

2No, in your heart you devise injustice,

and your hands mete out violence on the earth.

3Even from birth the wicked go astray;

from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.

4Their venom is like the venom of a snake,

like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,

5that will not heed the tune of the charmer,

however skillful the enchanter may be.

6Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;

tear out, O LORD, the fangs of the lions!

7Let them vanish like water that flows away;

when they draw the bow, let their arrows be blunted.

8Like a slug melting away as it moves along,

like a stillborn child, may they not see the sun.

9Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns--

whether they be green or dry--the wicked will be swept away.B

10The righteous will be glad when they are avenged,

when they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

11Then men will say,

"Surely the righteous still are rewarded;

surely there is a God who judges the earth." [3]

PSALMS: 88

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth.A A maskilB of Heman the Ezrahite.

1O LORD, the God who saves me,

day and night I cry out before you.

2May my prayer come before you;

turn your ear to my cry.

3For my soul is full of trouble

and my life draws near the grave.C

4I am counted among those who go down to the pit;

I am like a man without strength.

5I am set apart with the dead,

like the slain who lie in the grave,

whom you remember no more,

who are cut off from your care.

6You have put me in the lowest pit,

in the darkest depths.

7Your wrath lies heavily upon me;

you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.

Selah

8You have taken from me my closest friends

and have made me repulsive to them.

I am confined and cannot escape;

9my eyes are dim with grief.

I call to you, O LORD, every day;

I spread out my hands to you.

10Do you show your wonders to the dead? [4]

Do those who are dead rise up and praise you?

Selah

11Is your love declared in the grave,

your faithfulness in DestructionD?

12Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,

or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

13But I cry to you for help, O LORD;

in the morning my prayer comes before you.

14Why, O LORD, do you reject me

and hide your face from me?

15From my youth I have been afflicted and close to death;

I have suffered your terrors and am in despair.

16Your wrath has swept over me;

your terrors have destroyed me.

17All day long they surround me like a flood;

they have completely engulfed me.

18You have taken my companions and loved ones from me;

the darkness is my closest friend. [5]

PSALMS: 118

1Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;

his love endures forever.

2Let Israel say:

"His love endures forever."

3Let the house of Aaron say:

"His love endures forever."

4Let those who fear the LORD say:

"His love endures forever."

5In my anguish I cried to the LORD,

and he answered by setting me free.

6The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

7The LORD is with me; he is my helper.

I will look in triumph on my enemies.

8It is better to take refuge in the LORD

than to trust in man.

9It is better to take refuge in the LORD

than to trust in princes.

10All the nations surrounded me,

but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

11They surrounded me on every side,

but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

12They swarmed around me like bees,

but they died out as quickly as burning thorns;

in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

13I was pushed back and about to fall,

but the LORD helped me.

14The LORD is my strength and my song;

he has become my salvation. [6]

15Shouts of joy and victory

resound in the tents of the righteous:

"The LORD's right hand has done mighty things!

16The LORD's right hand is lifted high;

the LORD's right hand has done mighty things!"

17I will not die but live,

and will proclaim what the LORD has done.

18The LORD has chastened me severely,

but he has not given me over to death.

19Open for me the gates of righteousness;

I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.

20This is the gate of the LORD

through which the righteous may enter.

21I will give you thanks, for you answered me;

you have become my salvation.

22The stone the builders rejected

has become the capstone;

23the LORD has done this,

and it is marvelous in our eyes.

24This is the day the LORD has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

25O LORD, save us;

O LORD, grant us success.

26Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.

From the house of the LORD we bless you.A

27The LORD is God,

and he has made his light shine upon us.

With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession

upB to the horns of the altar. [7]

28You are my God, and I will give you thanks;

you are my God, and I will exalt you.

29Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;

his love endures forever. [8]

PSALMS: 148

1Praise the LORD.A

Praise the LORD from the heavens,

praise him in the heights above.

2Praise him, all his angels,

praise him, all his heavenly hosts.

3Praise him, sun and moon,

praise him, all you shining stars.

4Praise him, you highest heavens

and you waters above the skies.

5Let them praise the name of the LORD,

for he commanded and they were created.

6He set them in place for ever and ever;

he gave a decree that will never pass away.

7Praise the LORD from the earth,

you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,

8lightning and hail, snow and clouds,

stormy winds that do his bidding,

9you mountains and all hills,

fruit trees and all cedars,

10wild animals and all cattle,

small creatures and flying birds,

11kings of the earth and all nations,

you princes and all rulers on earth,

12young men and maidens,

old men and children.

13Let them praise the name of the LORD,

for his name alone is exalted;

his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

14He has raised up for his people a horn,B

the praise of all his saints,

of Israel, the people close to his heart. [9]

Praise the LORD. [10]

PROVERBS: 28

281 The wicked man flees though no one pursues,

but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

2When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers,

but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order.

3A rulerA who oppresses the poor

is like a driving rain that leaves no crops.

4Those who forsake the law praise the wicked,

but those who keep the law resist them.

5Evil men do not understand justice,

but those who seek the LORD understand it fully.

6Better a poor man whose walk is blameless

than a rich man whose ways are perverse.

7He who keeps the law is a discerning son,

but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.

8He who increases his wealth by exorbitant interest

amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor.

9If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law,

even his prayers are detestable.

10He who leads the upright along an evil path

will fall into his own trap,

but the blameless will receive a good inheritance.

11A rich man may be wise in his own eyes,

but a poor man who has discernment sees through him. [11]

12When the righteous triumph, there is great elation;

but when the wicked rise to power, men go into hiding.

13He who conceals his sins does not prosper,

but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

14Blessed is the man who always fears the LORD,

but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.

15Like a roaring lion or a charging bear

is a wicked man ruling over a helpless people.

16A tyrannical ruler lacks judgment,

but he who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long life.

17A man tormented by the guilt of murder

will be a fugitive till death;

let no one support him.

18He whose walk is blameless is kept safe,

but he whose ways are perverse will suddenly fall.

19He who works his land will have abundant food,

but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.

20A faithful man will be richly blessed,

but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.

21To show partiality is not good--

yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread.

22A stingy man is eager to get rich

and is unaware that poverty awaits him. [12]

23He who rebukes a man will in the end gain more favor

than he who has a flattering tongue.

24He who robs his father or mother

and says, "It's not wrong"--

he is partner to him who destroys.

25A greedy man stirs up dissension,

but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper.

26He who trusts in himself is a fool,

but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe.

27He who gives to the poor will lack nothing,

but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.

28When the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding;

but when the wicked perish, the righteous thrive.[13]

OLD TESTAMENT

1 SAMUEL 26:1 - 28:25

261The Ziphites went to Saul at Gibeah and said, "Is not David hiding on the hill of Hakilah, which faces Jeshimon?"

2So Saul went down to the Desert of Ziph, with his three thousand chosen men of Israel, to search there for David. 3Saul made his camp beside the road on the hill of Hakilah facing Jeshimon, but David stayed in the desert. When he saw that Saul had followed him there, 4he sent out scouts and learned that Saul had definitely arrived.A

5Then David set out and went to the place where Saul had camped. He saw where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the commander of the army, had lain down. Saul was lying inside the camp, with the army encamped around him.

6David then asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, "Who will go down into the camp with me to Saul?"

"I'll go with you," said Abishai.

7So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there was Saul, lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying around him.

8Abishai said to David, "Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of my spear; I won't strike him twice."

9But David said to Abishai, "Don't destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the LORD's anointed and be guiltless? 10As surely as the LORD lives," he said, "the LORD himself will strike him; either his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. 11But the LORD forbid that I should lay a hand on the LORD's [14]anointed. Now get the spear and water jug that are near his head, and let's go."

12So David took the spear and water jug near Saul's head, and they left. No one saw or knew about it, nor did anyone wake up. They were all sleeping, because the LORD had put them into a deep sleep.

13Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the hill some distance away; there was a wide space between them. 14He called out to the army and to Abner son of Ner, "Aren't you going to answer me, Abner?"

Abner replied, "Who are you who calls to the king?"

15David said, "You're a man, aren't you? And who is like you in Israel? Why didn't you guard your lord the king? Someone came to destroy your lord the king. 16What you have done is not good. As surely as the LORD lives, you and your men deserve to die, because you did not guard your master, the LORD's anointed. Look around you. Where are the king's spear and water jug that were near his head?"

17Saul recognized David's voice and said, "Is that your voice, David my son?"

David replied, "Yes it is, my lord the king." 18And he added, "Why is my lord pursuing his servant? What have I done, and what wrong am I guilty of?

19Now let my lord the king listen to his servant's words. If the LORD has incited you against me, then may he accept an offering. If, however, men have done it, may they be cursed before the LORD! They have now driven me from my share in [15]the LORD's inheritance and have said, `Go, serve other gods.' 20Now do not let my blood fall to the ground far from the presence of the LORD. The king of Israel has come out to look for a flea--as one hunts a partridge in the mountains."

21Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Come back, David my son. Because you considered my life precious today, I will not try to harm you again. Surely I have acted like a fool and have erred greatly."

22"Here is the king's spear," David answered. "Let one of your young men come over and get it. 23The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and faithfulness. The LORD delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the LORD's anointed. 24As surely as I valued your life today, so may the LORD value my life and deliver me from all trouble."

25Then Saul said to David, "May you be blessed, my son David; you will do great things and surely triumph."

So David went on his way, and Saul returned home.

271But David thought to himself, "One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand."

2So David and the six hundred men with him left and went over to Achish son of Maoch king of Gath. 3David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David [16]had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal. 4When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.

5Then David said to Achish, "If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?"

6So on that day Achish gave him Ziklag, and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. 7David lived in Philistine territory a year and four months.

8Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land extending to Shur and Egypt.) 9Whenever David attacked an area, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish.

10When Achish asked, "Where did you go raiding today?" David would say, "Against the Negev of Judah" or "Against the Negev of Jerahmeel" or "Against the Negev of the Kenites." 11He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he thought, "They might inform on us and say, `This is what David did.' " And such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory.

12Achish trusted David and said to himself, "He has become so odious to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant forever."[17]

281In those days the Philistines gathered their forces to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, "You must understand that you and your men will accompany me in the army."

2David said, "Then you will see for yourself what your servant can do."

Achish replied, "Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life."

3Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land.

4The Philistines assembled and came and set up camp at Shunem, while Saul gathered all the Israelites and set up camp at Gilboa. 5When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart. 6He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. 7Saul then said to his attendants, "Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her."

"There is one in Endor," they said.

8So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. "Consult a spirit for me," he said, "and bring up for me the one I name."

9But the woman said to him, "Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?"

10Saul swore to her by the LORD, "As surely as the LORD lives, [18]you will not be punished for this."

11Then the woman asked, "Whom shall I bring up for you?"

"Bring up Samuel," he said.

12When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!"

13The king said to her, "Don't be afraid. What do you see?"

The woman said, "I see a spiritA coming up out of the ground."

14"What does he look like?" he asked.

"An old man wearing a robe is coming up," she said.

Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.

15Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?"

"I am in great distress," Saul said. "The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do."

16Samuel said, "Why do you consult me, now that the LORD has turned away from you and become your enemy? 17The LORD has done what he predicted through me. The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors--to David.

18Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the LORD has done this to you today. 19The [19]LORD will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines."

20Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of Samuel's words. His strength was gone, for he had eaten nothing all that day and night.

21When the woman came to Saul and saw that he was greatly shaken, she said, "Look, your maidservant has obeyed you. I took my life in my hands and did what you told me to do. 22Now please listen to your servant and let me give you some food so you may eat and have the strength to go on your way."

23He refused and said, "I will not eat."

But his men joined the woman in urging him, and he listened to them. He got up from the ground and sat on the couch.

24The woman had a fattened calf at the house, which she butchered at once. She took some flour, kneaded it and baked bread without yeast. 25Then she set it before Saul and his men, and they ate. That same night they got up and left.[20]

NEW TESTAMENT

JOHN 11:1 - 54

111Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. 3So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick."

4When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." 5Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

7Then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."

8"But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?"

9Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light. 10It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light."

11After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."

12His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better." 13Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

14So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, 15and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."

16Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." [21]17On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18Bethany was less than two milesA from Jerusalem, 19and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

21"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."

23Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."

24Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

25Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

27"Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ,B the Son of God, who was to come into the world."

28And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you." 29When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him.

31When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the [22]tomb to mourn there.

32When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34"Where have you laid him?" he asked.

"Come and see, Lord," they replied.

35Jesus wept.

36Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"

37But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"

38Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39"Take away the stone," he said.

"But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."

40Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."

43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. [23]Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

45Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. 46But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

"What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. 48If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our placeC and our nation."

49Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! 50You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish."

51He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

54Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead he withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples. [24]

^{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 28

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