THEINC-HIM DAILY BIBLE MEDITATION: March 19

Saturday, October 24, 2009

March 19

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

MARCH 19

PSALMS: 19, 49, 79, 109, 139

PROVERBS: 19

OLD TESTAMENT

1 KINGS 2:1 - 4:24

NEW TESTAMENT

ACTS 6:1 - 15

PSALMS: 19

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

2Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they display knowledge.

3There is no speech or language

where their voice is not heard.A

4Their voiceB goes out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

5which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,

like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

6It rises at one end of the heavens

and makes its circuit to the other;

nothing is hidden from its heat.

7The law of the LORD is perfect,

reviving the soul.

The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,

making wise the simple.

8The precepts of the LORD are right,

giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the LORD are radiant,

giving light to the eyes.

9The fear of the LORD is pure,

enduring forever.

The ordinances of the LORD are sure

and altogether righteous. [1]

10They are more precious than gold,

than much pure gold;

they are sweeter than honey,

than honey from the comb.

11By them is your servant warned;

in keeping them there is great reward.

12Who can discern his errors?

Forgive my hidden faults.

13Keep your servant also from willful sins;

may they not rule over me.

Then will I be blameless,

innocent of great transgression.

14May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be pleasing in your sight,

O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. [2]

PSALMS: 49

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

1Hear this, all you peoples;

listen, all who live in this world,

2both low and high,

rich and poor alike:

3My mouth will speak words of wisdom;

the utterance from my heart will give understanding.

4I will turn my ear to a proverb;

with the harp I will expound my riddle:

5Why should I fear when evil days come,

when wicked deceivers surround me--

6those who trust in their wealth

and boast of their great riches?

7No man can redeem the life of another

or give to God a ransom for him--

8the ransom for a life is costly,

no payment is ever enough--

9that he should live on forever

and not see decay.

10For all can see that wise men die;

the foolish and the senseless alike perish

and leave their wealth to others.

11Their tombs will remain their housesA forever,

their dwellings for endless generations,

though they hadB named lands after themselves. [3]

12But man, despite his riches, does not endure;

he isC like the beasts that perish.

13This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,

and of their followers, who approve their sayings.

Selah

14Like sheep they are destined for the grave,D

and death will feed on them.

The upright will rule over them in the morning;

their forms will decay in the grave,E

far from their princely mansions.

15But God will redeem my lifeF from the grave;

he will surely take me to himself.

Selah

16Do not be overawed when a man grows rich,

when the splendor of his house increases;

17for he will take nothing with him when he dies,

his splendor will not descend with him.

18Though while he lived he counted himself blessed--

and men praise you when you prosper--

19he will join the generation of his fathers,

who will never see the light of life.

20A man who has riches without understanding

is like the beasts that perish. [4]

PSALMS: 79

A psalm of Asaph.

1O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;

they have defiled your holy temple,

they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.

2They have given the dead bodies of your servants

as food to the birds of the air,

the flesh of your saints to the beasts of the earth.

3They have poured out blood like water

all around Jerusalem,

and there is no one to bury the dead.

4We are objects of reproach to our neighbors,

of scorn and derision to those around us.

5How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever?

How long will your jealousy burn like fire?

6Pour out your wrath on the nations

that do not acknowledge you,

on the kingdoms

that do not call on your name;

7for they have devoured Jacob

and destroyed his homeland.

8Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers;

may your mercy come quickly to meet us,

for we are in desperate need.

9Help us, O God our Savior,

for the glory of your name;

deliver us and forgive our sins

for your name's sake.

10Why should the nations say,

"Where is their God?" [5]

Before our eyes, make known among the nations

that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants.

11May the groans of the prisoners come before you;

by the strength of your arm

preserve those condemned to die.

12Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times

the reproach they have hurled at you, O Lord.

13Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,

will praise you forever;

from generation to generation

we will recount your praise. [6]

PSALMS: 109

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

1O God, whom I praise,

do not remain silent,

2for wicked and deceitful men

have opened their mouths against me;

they have spoken against me with lying tongues.

3With words of hatred they surround me;

they attack me without cause.

4In return for my friendship they accuse me,

but I am a man of prayer.

5They repay me evil for good,

and hatred for my friendship.

6AppointA an evil manB to oppose him;

let an accuserC stand at his right hand.

7When he is tried, let him be found guilty,

and may his prayers condemn him.

8May his days be few;

may another take his place of leadership.

9May his children be fatherless

and his wife a widow.

10May his children be wandering beggars;

may they be drivenD from their ruined homes.

11May a creditor seize all he has;

may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.

12May no one extend kindness to him

or take pity on his fatherless children.

13May his descendants be cut off, [7]

their names blotted out from the next generation.

14May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD;

may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.

15May their sins always remain before the LORD,

that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.

16For he never thought of doing a kindness,

but hounded to death the poor

and the needy and the brokenhearted.

17He loved to pronounce a curse--

may itE come on him;

he found no pleasure in blessing--

may it beF far from him.

18He wore cursing as his garment;

it entered into his body like water,

into his bones like oil.

19May it be like a cloak wrapped about him,

like a belt tied forever around him.

20May this be the LORD's payment to my accusers,

to those who speak evil of me.

21But you, O Sovereign LORD,

deal well with me for your name's sake;

out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.

22For I am poor and needy,

and my heart is wounded within me.

23I fade away like an evening shadow;

I am shaken off like a locust.

24My knees give way from fasting;

my body is thin and gaunt.

25I am an object of scorn to my accusers;

when they see me, they shake their heads. [8]

26Help me, O LORD my God;

save me in accordance with your love.

27Let them know that it is your hand,

that you, O LORD, have done it.

28They may curse, but you will bless;

when they attack they will be put to shame,

but your servant will rejoice.

29My accusers will be clothed with disgrace

and wrapped in shame as in a cloak.

30With my mouth I will greatly extol the LORD;

in the great throng I will praise him.

31For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,

to save his life from those who condemn him. [9]

PSALMS: 139

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

1O LORD, you have searched me

and you know me.

2You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

4Before a word is on my tongue

you know it completely, O LORD.

5You hem me in--behind and before;

you have laid your hand upon me.

6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

7Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

8If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths,A you are there.

9If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

11If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me

and the light become night around me,"

12even the darkness will not be dark to you;

the night will shine like the day,

for darkness is as light to you. [10]

13For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

15My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me

were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

17How precious toB me are your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

18Were I to count them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand.

When I awake,

I am still with you.

19If only you would slay the wicked, O God!

Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!

20They speak of you with evil intent;

your adversaries misuse your name.

21Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,

and abhor those who rise up against you?

22I have nothing but hatred for them;

I count them my enemies.

23Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting. [11]

PROVERBS: 19

191 Better a poor man whose walk is blameless

than a fool whose lips are perverse.

2It is not good to have zeal without knowledge,

nor to be hasty and miss the way.

3A man's own folly ruins his life,

yet his heart rages against the LORD.

4Wealth brings many friends,

but a poor man's friend deserts him.

5A false witness will not go unpunished,

and he who pours out lies will not go free.

6Many curry favor with a ruler,

and everyone is the friend of a man who gives gifts.

7A poor man is shunned by all his relatives--

how much more do his friends avoid him!

Though he pursues them with pleading,

they are nowhere to be found.A

8He who gets wisdom loves his own soul;

he who cherishes understanding prospers.

9A false witness will not go unpunished,

and he who pours out lies will perish.

10It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury--

how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!

11A man's wisdom gives him patience;

it is to his glory to overlook an offense. [12]

12A king's rage is like the roar of a lion,

but his favor is like dew on the grass.

13A foolish son is his father's ruin,

and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.

14Houses and wealth are inherited from parents,

but a prudent wife is from the LORD.

15Laziness brings on deep sleep,

and the shiftless man goes hungry.

16He who obeys instructions guards his life,

but he who is contemptuous of his ways will die.

17He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD,

and he will reward him for what he has done.

18Discipline your son, for in that there is hope;

do not be a willing party to his death.

19A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty;

if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.

20Listen to advice and accept instruction,

and in the end you will be wise.

21Many are the plans in a man's heart,

but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

22What a man desires is unfailing loveB;

better to be poor than a liar. [13]

23The fear of the LORD leads to life:

Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.

24The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;

he will not even bring it back to his mouth!

25Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence;

rebuke a discerning man, and he will gain knowledge.

26He who robs his father and drives out his mother

is a son who brings shame and disgrace.

27Stop listening to instruction, my son,

and you will stray from the words of knowledge.

28A corrupt witness mocks at justice,

and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.

29Penalties are prepared for mockers,

and beatings for the backs of fools. [14]

OLD TESTAMENT

1 KINGS 2:1 - 4:34

21When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son.

2"I am about to go the way of all the earth," he said. "So be strong, show yourself a man, 3and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go, 4and that the LORD may keep his promise to me: `If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'

5"Now you yourself know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me--what he did to the two commanders of Israel's armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle, and with that blood stained the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. 6Deal with him according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to the graveA in peace.

7"But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead and let them be among those who eat at your table. They stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom.

8"And remember, you have with you Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, who called down bitter curses on me the day I went to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD: `I will not put you to death by the sword.' 9But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man [15]of wisdom; you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood."

10Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. 11He had reigned forty years over Israel--seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 12So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his rule was firmly established.

13Now Adonijah, the son of Haggith, went to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother. Bathsheba asked him, "Do you come peacefully?"

He answered, "Yes, peacefully." 14Then he added, "I have something to say to you."

"You may say it," she replied.

15"As you know," he said, "the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother; for it has come to him from the LORD. 16Now I have one request to make of you. Do not refuse me."

"You may make it," she said.

17So he continued, "Please ask King Solomon--he will not refuse you--to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife."

18"Very well," Bathsheba replied, "I will speak to the king for you."

19When Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, the king stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat [16]down on his throne. He had a throne brought for the king's mother, and she sat down at his right hand.

20"I have one small request to make of you," she said. "Do not refuse me."

The king replied, "Make it, my mother; I will not refuse you."

21So she said, "Let Abishag the Shunammite be given in marriage to your brother Adonijah."

22King Solomon answered his mother, "Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? You might as well request the kingdom for him--after all, he is my older brother--yes, for him and for Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah!"

23Then King Solomon swore by the LORD: "May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if Adonijah does not pay with his life for this request! 24And now, as surely as the LORD lives--he who has established me securely on the throne of my father David and has founded a dynasty for me as he promised--Adonijah shall be put to death today!" 25So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he struck down Adonijah and he died.

26To Abiathar the priest the king said, "Go back to your fields in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not put you to death now, because you carried the ark of the Sovereign LORD before my father David and shared all my father's hardships." 27So Solomon removed Abiathar from the priesthood of the LORD, fulfilling the word the LORD had spoken at Shiloh about the house of Eli.

28When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah though not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD [17]and took hold of the horns of the altar. 29King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the tent of the LORD and was beside the altar. Then Solomon ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada, "Go, strike him down!"

30So Benaiah entered the tent of the LORD and said to Joab, "The king says, `Come out!' "

But he answered, "No, I will die here."

Benaiah reported to the king, "This is how Joab answered me."

31Then the king commanded Benaiah, "Do as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so clear me and my father's house of the guilt of the innocent blood that Joab shed. 32The LORD will repay him for the blood he shed, because without the knowledge of my father David he attacked two men and killed them with the sword. Both of them--Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel's army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah's army--were better men and more upright than he. 33May the guilt of their blood rest on the head of Joab and his descendants forever. But on David and his descendants, his house and his throne, may there be the LORD's peace forever."

34So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and struck down Joab and killed him, and he was buried on his own landB in the desert. 35The king put Benaiah son of Jehoiada over the army in Joab's position and replaced Abiathar with Zadok the priest.

36Then the king sent for Shimei and said to him, "Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else. 37The day you leave and cross the Kidron Valley, you can be sure [18]you will die; your blood will be on your own head."

38Shimei answered the king, "What you say is good. Your servant will do as my lord the king has said." And Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time.

39But three years later, two of Shimei's slaves ran off to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath, and Shimei was told, "Your slaves are in Gath." 40At this, he saddled his donkey and went to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves. So Shimei went away and brought the slaves back from Gath.

41When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, 42the king summoned Shimei and said to him, "Did I not make you swear by the LORD and warn you, `On the day you leave to go anywhere else, you can be sure you will die'? At that time you said to me, `What you say is good. I will obey.' 43Why then did you not keep your oath to the LORD and obey the command I gave you?"

44The king also said to Shimei, "You know in your heart all the wrong you did to my father David. Now the LORD will repay you for your wrongdoing. 45But King Solomon will be blessed, and David's throne will remain secure before the LORD forever."

46Then the king gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down and killed him.

The kingdom was now firmly established in Solomon's hands.[19]

31Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the LORD, and the wall around Jerusalem. 2The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the LORD. 3Solomon showed his love for the LORD by walking according to the statutes of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.

4The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you."

6Solomon answered, "You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.

7"Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able [20]to govern this great people of yours?"

10The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11So God said to him, "Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for--both riches and honor--so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. 14And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life." 15Then Solomon awoke--and he realized it had been a dream.

He returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord's covenant and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.A Then he gave a feast for all his court.

16Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17One of them said, "My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. 18The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.

19"During the night this woman's son died because she lay on him. 20So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. 21The next morning, I got up to nurse my son--and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn't the son I had borne." [21]22The other woman said, "No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours."

But the first one insisted, "No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine." And so they argued before the king.

23The king said, "This one says, `My son is alive and your son is dead,' while that one says, `No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.' "

24Then the king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword for the king. 25He then gave an order: "Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other."

26The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, "Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don't kill him!"

But the other said, "Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!"

27Then the king gave his ruling: "Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother."

28When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.[22]

41So King Solomon ruled over all Israel. 2And these were his chief officials:

Azariah son of Zadok--the priest;

3Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha--secretaries;

Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud--recorder;

4Benaiah son of Jehoiada--commander in chief;

Zadok and Abiathar--priests;

5Azariah son of Nathan--in charge of the district officers;

Zabud son of Nathan--a priest and personal adviser to the king;

6Ahishar--in charge of the palace;

Adoniram son of Abda--in charge of forced labor.

7Solomon also had twelve district governors over all Israel, who supplied provisions for the king and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies for one month in the year. 8These are their names:

Ben-Hur--in the hill country of Ephraim;

9Ben-Deker--in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh and Elon Bethhanan;

10Ben-Hesed--in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher were his);

11Ben-Abinadab--in Naphoth DorA (he was married to Taphath daughter of Solomon);

12Baana son of Ahilud--in Taanach and Megiddo, and in all of Beth Shan next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel [23]Meholah across to Jokmeam;

13Ben-Geber--in Ramoth Gilead (the settlements of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead were his, as well as the district of Argob in Bashan and its sixty large walled cities with bronze gate bars);

14Ahinadab son of Iddo--in Mahanaim;

15Ahimaaz--in Naphtali (he had married Basemath daughter of Solomon);

16Baana son of Hushai--in Asher and in Aloth;

17Jehoshaphat son of Paruah--in Issachar;

18Shimei son of Ela--in Benjamin;

19Geber son of Uri--in Gilead (the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and the country of Og king of Bashan). He was the only governor over the district.

20The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy. 21And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the RiverB to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These countries brought tribute and were Solomon's subjects all his life.

22Solomon's daily provisions were thirty corsC of fine flour and sixty corsD of meal, 23ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl. 24For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and had peace on all sides. [24].

25During Solomon's lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree.

26Solomon had fourE thousand stalls for chariot horses, and twelve thousand horses.F

27The district officers, each in his month, supplied provisions for King Solomon and all who came to the king's table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking. 28They also brought to the proper place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses.

29God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. 30Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31He was wiser than any other man, including Ethan the Ezrahite--wiser than Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 32He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 33He described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 34Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon's wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.[25]

NEW TESTAMENT

ACTS 6:1 - 15

61In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."

5This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

7So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

8Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 9Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)--Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, 10but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

11Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have [26]heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God."

12So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13They produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us."

15All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.[27]

^{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

Saturday, October 24, 2009

March 19

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John 3:16-21