THEINC-HIM DAILY BIBLE MEDITATION: January 13

Saturday, February 11, 2012

January 13

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

JANUARY 13

PSALMS: 13, 43, 73, 103, 133

PROVERBS: 13

OLD TESTAMENT: DEUTERONOMY 26:1 - 27:26

NEW TESTAMENT: LUKE 10:38 - 11:13

PSALMS: 13

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

²How long must I wrestle with my thoughts

and every day have sorrow in my heart?

How long will my enemy triumph over me?

³Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.

Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;

⁴my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"

and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

⁵But I trust in your unfailing love;

my heart rejoices in your salvation.

⁶I will sing to the LORD,

for he has been good to me. ^{^[1]}

PSALMS: 43

¹Vindicate ^A me, O God,

and plead my cause against an ungodly nation;

rescue me from deceitful and wicked men.

²You are God my stronghold.

Why have you rejected me?

Why must I go about mourning,

oppressed by the enemy?

³Send forth your light and your truth,

let them guide me;

let them bring me to your holy mountain,

to the place where you dwell.

⁴Then will I go to the altar of God,

to God, my joy and my delight.

I will praise you with the harp,

O God, my God.

⁵Why are you downcast, O my soul?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,

for I will yet praise him,

my Savior and my God.^{^[2]}

PSALMS: 73

A psalm of Asaph.

¹Surely God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart.

²But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;

I had nearly lost my foothold.

³For I envied the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

⁴They have no struggles;

their bodies are healthy and strong. ^A

⁵They are free from the burdens common to man;

they are not plagued by human ills.

⁶Therefore pride is their necklace;

they clothe themselves with violence.

⁷From their callous hearts comes iniquity ^B;

the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.

⁸They scoff, and speak with malice;

in their arrogance they threaten oppression.

⁹Their mouths lay claim to heaven,

and their tongues take possession of the earth.

¹⁰Therefore their people turn to them

and drink up waters in abundance. ^C

¹¹They say, "How can God know?

Does the Most High have knowledge?"

¹²This is what the wicked are like--

always carefree, they increase in wealth. ^{^[3]}

A psalm of Asaph.

¹³Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure;

in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.

¹⁴All day long I have been plagued;

I have been punished every morning.

¹⁵If I had said, "I will speak thus,"

I would have betrayed your children.

¹⁶When I tried to understand all this,

it was oppressive to me

¹⁷till I entered the sanctuary of God;

then I understood their final destiny.

¹⁸Surely you place them on slippery ground;

you cast them down to ruin.

¹⁹How suddenly are they destroyed,

completely swept away by terrors!

²⁰As a dream when one awakes,

so when you arise, O Lord,

you will despise them as fantasies.

²¹When my heart was grieved

and my spirit embittered,

²²I was senseless and ignorant;

I was a brute beast before you.

²³Yet I am always with you;

you hold me by my right hand.

²⁴You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will take me into glory.

²⁵Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

²⁶My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever. ^{^[4]}

²⁷Those who are far from you will perish;

you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

²⁸But as for me, it is good to be near God.

I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;

I will tell of all your deeds. ^{^[5]}

PSALMS: 103

Of David.

¹Praise the LORD, O my soul;

all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

²Praise the LORD, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits--

³who forgives all your sins

and heals all your diseases,

⁴who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion,

⁵who satisfies your desires with good things

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

⁶The LORD works righteousness

and justice for all the oppressed.

⁷He made known his ways to Moses,

his deeds to the people of Israel:

⁸The LORD is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger, abounding in love.

⁹He will not always accuse,

nor will he harbor his anger forever;

¹⁰he does not treat us as our sins deserve

or repay us according to our iniquities.

¹¹For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his love for those who fear him;

¹²as far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³As a father has compassion on his children,

so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

¹⁴for he knows how we are formed, ^{^[6]}

he remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵As for man, his days are like grass,

he flourishes like a flower of the field;

¹⁶the wind blows over it and it is gone,

and its place remembers it no more.

¹⁷But from everlasting to everlasting

the LORD's love is with those who fear him,

and his righteousness with their children's children--

¹⁸with those who keep his covenant

and remember to obey his precepts.

¹⁹The LORD has established his throne in heaven,

and his kingdom rules over all.

²⁰Praise the LORD, you his angels,

you mighty ones who do his bidding,

who obey his word.

²¹Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,

you his servants who do his will.

²²Praise the LORD, all his works

everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the LORD, O my soul. ^{^[7]}

PSALMS: 133

A song of ascents. Of David.

¹How good and pleasant it is

when brothers live together in unity!

²It is like precious oil poured on the head,

running down on the beard,

running down on Aaron's beard,

down upon the collar of his robes.

³It is as if the dew of Hermon

were falling on Mount Zion.

For there the LORD bestows his blessing,

even life forevermore. ^{^[8]}

PROVERBS: 13

13 ¹ A wise son heeds his father's instruction,

but a mocker does not listen to rebuke.

²From the fruit of his lips a man enjoys good things,

but the unfaithful have a craving for violence.

³He who guards his lips guards his life,

but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.

⁴The sluggard craves and gets nothing,

but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

⁵The righteous hate what is false,

but the wicked bring shame and disgrace.

⁶Righteousness guards the man of integrity,

but wickedness overthrows the sinner.

⁷One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing;

another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.

⁸A man's riches may ransom his life,

but a poor man hears no threat.

⁹The light of the righteous shines brightly,

but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out.

¹⁰Pride only breeds quarrels,

but wisdom is found in those who take advice.

¹¹Dishonest money dwindles away,

but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow. ^{^[9]}

¹²Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

¹³He who scorns instruction will pay for it,

but he who respects a command is rewarded.

¹⁴The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,

turning a man from the snares of death.

¹⁵Good understanding wins favor,

but the way of the unfaithful is hard. ^A

¹⁶Every prudent man acts out of knowledge,

but a fool exposes his folly.

¹⁷A wicked messenger falls into trouble,

but a trustworthy envoy brings healing.

¹⁸He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame,

but whoever heeds correction is honored.

¹⁹A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul,

but fools detest turning from evil.

²⁰He who walks with the wise grows wise,

but a companion of fools suffers harm.

²¹Misfortune pursues the sinner,

but prosperity is the reward of the righteous.

²²A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children,

but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous. ^{^[10]}

²³A poor man's field may produce abundant food,

but injustice sweeps it away.

²⁴He who spares the rod hates his son,

but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.

²⁵The righteous eat to their hearts' content,

but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry. ^{^[11]}

OLD TESTAMENT: DEUTERONOMY 26:1 - 27:26

26 ¹When you have entered the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, ²take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name ³and say to the priest in office at the time, "I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come to the land the LORD swore to our forefathers to give us."

⁴The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the LORD your God. ⁵Then you shall declare before the LORD your God: "My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. ⁶But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, putting us to hard labor. ⁷Then we cried out to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. ⁸So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with miraculous signs and wonders. ⁹He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey;

¹⁰and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, O LORD, have given me." Place the basket before the LORD your God and bow down before him. ¹¹And you and the Levites and the aliens among you shall rejoice in all the good things the LORD your God has given to you and your household.

¹²When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat ^{^[12]} in your towns and be satisfied. ¹³Then say to the LORD your God: "I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them. ¹⁴I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while I was in mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor have I offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God; I have done everything you commanded me. ¹⁵Look down from heaven, your holy dwelling place, and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us as you promised on oath to our forefathers, a land flowing with milk and honey."

¹⁶The LORD your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. ¹⁷You have declared this day that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in his ways, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws, and that you will obey him. ¹⁸And the LORD has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. ¹⁹He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised.

27 ¹Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: "Keep all these commands that I give you today. ²When you have crossed the Jordan into the land the LORD your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster. ³Write on them all the ^{^[13]}words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you. ⁴And when you have crossed the Jordan, set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I command you today, and coat them with plaster. ⁵Build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. Do not use any iron tool upon them. ⁶Build the altar of the LORD your God with fieldstones and offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD your God. ⁷Sacrifice fellowship offerings ^A there, eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the LORD your God. ⁸And you shall write very clearly all the words of this law on these stones you have set up."

⁹Then Moses and the priests, who are Levites, said to all Israel, "Be silent, O Israel, and listen! You have now become the people of the LORD your God. ¹⁰Obey the LORD your God and follow his commands and decrees that I give you today."

¹¹On the same day Moses commanded the people:

¹²When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. ¹³And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.

¹⁴The Levites shall recite to all the people of Israel in a loud voice:

¹⁵"Cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idol--a ^{^[14]} thing detestable to the LORD, the work of the craftsman's hands--and sets it up in secret."