THEINC-HIM DAILY BIBLE MEDITATION: January 22

Sunday, October 25, 2009

January 22

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

JANUARY 22

PSALMS: 22, 52, 82, 112, 142

PROVERBS: 22

OLD TESTAMENT

JOSHUA 7:16 - 9:2

NEW TESTAMENT

LUKE 16:1 - 18

PSALMS: 22

For the director of music. To the tune of "The Doe of the Morning." A psalm of David.

1My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me,

so far from the words of my groaning?

2O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,

by night, and am not silent.

3Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;

you are the praise of Israel.A

4In you our fathers put their trust;

they trusted and you delivered them.

5They cried to you and were saved;

in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

6But I am a worm and not a man,

scorned by men and despised by the people.

7All who see me mock me;

they hurl insults, shaking their heads:

8"He trusts in the LORD;

let the LORD rescue him.

Let him deliver him,

since he delights in him."

9Yet you brought me out of the womb;

you made me trust in you

even at my mother's breast.

10From birth I was cast upon you;

from my mother's womb you have been my God. [1]

11Do not be far from me,

for trouble is near

and there is no one to help.

12Many bulls surround me;

strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.

13Roaring lions tearing their prey

open their mouths wide against me.

14I am poured out like water,

and all my bones are out of joint.

My heart has turned to wax;

it has melted away within me.

15My strength is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;

you lay meB in the dust of death.

16Dogs have surrounded me;

a band of evil men has encircled me,

they have piercedC my hands and my feet.

17I can count all my bones;

people stare and gloat over me.

18They divide my garments among them

and cast lots for my clothing.

19But you, O LORD, be not far off;

O my Strength, come quickly to help me.

20Deliver my life from the sword,

my precious life from the power of the dogs.

21Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;

saveD me from the horns of the wild oxen.

22I will declare your name to my brothers;

in the congregation I will praise you.

23You who fear the LORD, praise him!

All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! [2]

Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!

24For he has not despised or disdained

the suffering of the afflicted one;

he has not hidden his face from him

but has listened to his cry for help.

25From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;

before those who fear youE will I fulfill my vows.

26The poor will eat and be satisfied;

they who seek the LORD will praise him--

may your hearts live forever!

27All the ends of the earth

will remember and turn to the LORD,

and all the families of the nations

will bow down before him,

28for dominion belongs to the LORD

and he rules over the nations.

29All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;

all who go down to the dust will kneel before him--

those who cannot keep themselves alive.

30Posterity will serve him;

future generations will be told about the Lord.

31They will proclaim his righteousness

to a people yet unborn--

for he has done it. [3]

PSALMS: 52

For the director of music. A maskilA of David. When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him: "David has gone to the house of Ahimelech."

1Why do you boast of evil, you mighty man?

Why do you boast all day long,

you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?

2Your tongue plots destruction;

it is like a sharpened razor,

you who practice deceit.

3You love evil rather than good,

falsehood rather than speaking the truth.

Selah

4You love every harmful word,

O you deceitful tongue!

5Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:

He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent;

he will uproot you from the land of the living.

Selah

6The righteous will see and fear;

they will laugh at him, saying,

7"Here now is the man

who did not make God his stronghold

but trusted in his great wealth

and grew strong by destroying others!"

8But I am like an olive tree

flourishing in the house of God;

I trust in God's unfailing love

for ever and ever.

9I will praise you forever for what you have done; [4]

in your name I will hope, for your name is good.

I will praise you in the presence of your saints. [5]

PSALMS: 82

A psalm of Asaph.

1God presides in the great assembly;

he gives judgment among the "gods":

2"How long will youA defend the unjust

and show partiality to the wicked?

Selah

3Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;

maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

4Rescue the weak and needy;

deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

5"They know nothing, they understand nothing.

They walk about in darkness;

all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

6"I said, `You are "gods";

you are all sons of the Most High.'

7But you will die like mere men;

you will fall like every other ruler."

8Rise up, O God, judge the earth,

for all the nations are your inheritance. [6]

PSALMS: 112

1PraiseA the LORD.B

Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,

who finds great delight in his commands.

2His children will be mighty in the land;

the generation of the upright will be blessed.

3Wealth and riches are in his house,

and his righteousness endures forever.

4Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,

for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.C

5Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely,

who conducts his affairs with justice.

6Surely he will never be shaken;

a righteous man will be remembered forever.

7He will have no fear of bad news;

his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.

8His heart is secure, he will have no fear;

in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.

9He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor,

his righteousness endures forever;

his hornD will be lifted high in honor.

10The wicked man will see and be vexed,

he will gnash his teeth and waste away;

the longings of the wicked will come to nothing. [7]

PSALMS: 142

A maskilA of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer.

1I cry aloud to the LORD;

I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy.

2I pour out my complaint before him;

before him I tell my trouble.

3When my spirit grows faint within me,

it is you who know my way.

In the path where I walk

men have hidden a snare for me.

4Look to my right and see;

no one is concerned for me.

I have no refuge;

no one cares for my life.

5I cry to you, O LORD;

I say, "You are my refuge,

my portion in the land of the living."

6Listen to my cry,

for I am in desperate need;

rescue me from those who pursue me,

for they are too strong for me.

7Set me free from my prison,

that I may praise your name.

Then the righteous will gather about me

because of your goodness to me. [8]

PROVERBS: 22

221 A good name is more desirable than great riches;

to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

2Rich and poor have this in common:

The LORD is the Maker of them all.

3A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge,

but the simple keep going and suffer for it.

4Humility and the fear of the LORD

bring wealth and honor and life.

5In the paths of the wicked lie thorns and snares,

but he who guards his soul stays far from them.

6TrainA a child in the way he should go,

and when he is old he will not turn from it.

7The rich rule over the poor,

and the borrower is servant to the lender.

8He who sows wickedness reaps trouble,

and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.

9A generous man will himself be blessed,

for he shares his food with the poor.

10Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife;

quarrels and insults are ended.

11He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious

will have the king for his friend. [9]

12The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge,

but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.

13The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside!"

or, "I will be murdered in the streets!"

14The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit;

he who is under the LORD's wrath will fall into it.

15Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,

but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.

16He who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth

and he who gives gifts to the rich--both come to poverty.

17Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise;

apply your heart to what I teach,

18for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart

and have all of them ready on your lips.

19So that your trust may be in the LORD,

I teach you today, even you.

20Have I not written thirtyB sayings for you,

sayings of counsel and knowledge,

21teaching you true and reliable words,

so that you can give sound answers

to him who sent you?

22Do not exploit the poor because they are poor

and do not crush the needy in court,

23for the LORD will take up their case

and will plunder those who plunder them. [10]

24Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man,

do not associate with one easily angered,

25or you may learn his ways

and get yourself ensnared.

26Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge

or puts up security for debts;

27if you lack the means to pay,

your very bed will be snatched from under you.

28Do not move an ancient boundary stone

set up by your forefathers.

29Do you see a man skilled in his work?

He will serve before kings;

he will not serve before obscure men. [11]

OLD TESTAMENT

JOSHUA 7:16 - 9:2

16Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was taken. 17The clans of Judah came forward, and he took the Zerahites. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was taken. 18Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.

19Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD,D the God of Israel, and give him the praise.E Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me."

20Achan replied, "It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia,F two hundred shekelsG of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels,H I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath."

22So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. 23They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the LORD.

24Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold wedge, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. 25Joshua said, "Why have you brought this trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you today."

Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. 26Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his [12]fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of AchorI ever since.

81Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. 2You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city."

3So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night 4with these orders: "Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don't go very far from it. All of you be on the alert. 5I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. 6They will pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, `They are running away from us as they did before.' So when we flee from them, 7you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The LORD your God will give it into your hand. 8When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the LORD has commanded. See to it; you have my orders."

9Then Joshua sent them off, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai--but Joshua spent that night with the people. [13]10Early the next morning Joshua mustered his men, and he and the leaders of Israel marched before them to Ai. 11The entire force that was with him marched up and approached the city and arrived in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai, with the valley between them and the city. 12Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. 13They had the soldiers take up their positions--all those in the camp to the north of the city and the ambush to the west of it. That night Joshua went into the valley.

14When the king of Ai saw this, he and all the men of the city hurried out early in the morning to meet Israel in battle at a certain place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set against him behind the city. 15Joshua and all Israel let themselves be driven back before them, and they fled toward the desert. 16All the men of Ai were called to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured away from the city. 17Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go after Israel. They left the city open and went in pursuit of Israel.

18Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Hold out toward Ai the javelin that is in your hand, for into your hand I will deliver the city." So Joshua held out his javelin toward Ai. 19As soon as he did this, the men in the ambush rose quickly from their position and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it and quickly set it on fire.

20The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising against the sky, but they had no chance to escape in any [14]direction, for the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the desert had turned back against their pursuers. 21For when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that smoke was going up from the city, they turned around and attacked the men of Ai. 22The men of the ambush also came out of the city against them, so that they were caught in the middle, with Israelites on both sides. Israel cut them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives. 23But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.

24When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the desert where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. 25Twelve thousand men and women fell that day--all the people of Ai. 26For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyedA all who lived in Ai. 27But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the LORD had instructed Joshua.

28So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. 29He hung the king of Ai on a tree and left him there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take his body from the tree and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day.

30Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, 31as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the [15]Law of Moses--an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the LORD burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings.B

32There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua copied on stones the law of Moses, which he had written. 33All Israel, aliens and citizens alike, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD, facing those who carried it--the priests, who were Levites. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.

34Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law--the blessings and the curses--just as it is written in the Book of the Law. 35There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the aliens who lived among them.

91Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things--those in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Great SeaA as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)-- 2they came together to make war against Joshua and Israel. [16]

NEW TESTAMENT

LUKE 16:1 - 18

161Jesus told his disciples: "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2So he called him in and asked him, `What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.'

3"The manager said to himself, `What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg-- 4I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.'

5"So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, `How much do you owe my master?'

6" `Eight hundred gallonsA of olive oil,' he replied.

"The manager told him, `Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.'

7"Then he asked the second, `And how much do you owe?'

" `A thousand bushelsB of wheat,' he replied.

"He told him, `Take your bill and make it eight hundred.'

8"The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

10"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own? [17]13"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

14The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.

16"The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. 17It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

18"Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. [18]

^{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

January 22

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John 3:16-21