Genesis 1:1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
FEBRUARY
4
PSALMS: 4, 34, 64, 94,
124
PROVERBS: 4
OLD
TESTAMENT: JUDGES 6:1 - 40
NEW
TESTAMENT: LUKE 22:54 -
23:12
PSALMS: 4
For
the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of
David.
1
Answer
me when I call to you,
O
my righteous God.
Give
me relief from my distress;
be
merciful to me and hear my prayer.
2
How
long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame
A?
How
long will you love delusions and seek false gods
B?
Selah
3
Know
that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;
the
LORD will hear when I call to him.
4
In
your anger do not sin;
when
you are on your beds,
search
your hearts and be silent.
Selah
5
Offer
right sacrifices
and
trust in the LORD.
6
Many
are asking, "Who can show us any good?"
Let
the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.
7
You
have filled my heart with greater joy
than
when their grain and new wine abound.
8
I
will lie down and sleep in peace,
for
you alone, O LORD,
make
me dwell in safety. [1]
PSALMS: 34
Of
David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and
he left.
1
I
A will extol the LORD at all times;
his
praise will always be on my lips.
2
My
soul will boast in the LORD;
let
the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3
Glorify
the LORD with me;
let
us exalt his name together.
4
I
sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he
delivered me from all my fears.
5
Those
who look to him are radiant;
their
faces are never covered with shame.
6
This
poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
he
saved him out of all his troubles.
7
The
angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and
he delivers them.
8
Taste
and see that the LORD is good;
blessed
is the man who takes refuge in him.
9
Fear
the LORD, you his saints,
for
those who fear him lack nothing.
10
The
lions may grow weak and hungry,
but
those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
11
Come,
my children, listen to me;
I
will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12
Whoever
of you loves life
and
desires to see many good days, [2]
13
keep
your tongue from evil
and
your lips from speaking lies.
14
Turn
from evil and do good;
seek
peace and pursue it.
15
The
eyes of the LORD are on the righteous
and
his ears are attentive to their cry;
16
the
face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to
cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17
The
righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
he
delivers them from all their troubles.
18
The
LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and
saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19
A
righteous man may have many troubles,
but
the LORD delivers him from them all;
20
he
protects all his bones,
not
one of them will be broken.
21
Evil
will slay the wicked;
the
foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22
The
LORD redeems his servants;
no
one will be condemned who takes refuge in him. [3]
PSALMS: 64
For
the director of music. A psalm of David.
1
Hear
me, O God, as I voice my complaint;
protect
my life from the threat of the enemy.
2
Hide
me from the conspiracy of the wicked,
from
that noisy crowd of evildoers.
3
They
sharpen their tongues like swords
and
aim their words like deadly arrows.
4
They
shoot from ambush at the innocent man;
they
shoot at him suddenly, without fear.
5
They
encourage each other in evil plans,
they
talk about hiding their snares;
they
say, "Who will see them A?"
6
They
plot injustice and say,
"We
have devised a perfect plan!"
Surely
the mind and heart of man are cunning.
7
But
God will shoot them with arrows;
suddenly
they will be struck down.
8
He
will turn their own tongues against them
and
bring them to ruin;
all
who see them will shake their heads in scorn.
9
All
mankind will fear;
they
will proclaim the works of God
and
ponder what he has done.
10
Let
the righteous rejoice in the LORD
and
take refuge in him;
let
all the upright in heart praise him![4]
PSALMS: 94
1
O
LORD, the God who avenges,
O
God who avenges, shine forth.
2
Rise
up, O Judge of the earth;
pay
back to the proud what they deserve.
3
How
long will the wicked, O LORD,
how
long will the wicked be jubilant?
4
They
pour out arrogant words;
all
the evildoers are full of boasting.
5
They
crush your people, O LORD;
they
oppress your inheritance.
6
They
slay the widow and the alien;
they
murder the fatherless.
7
They
say, "The LORD does not see;
the
God of Jacob pays no heed."
8
Take
heed, you senseless ones among the people;
you
fools, when will you become wise?
9
Does
he who implanted the ear not hear?
Does
he who formed the eye not see?
10
Does
he who disciplines nations not punish?
Does
he who teaches man lack knowledge?
11
The
LORD knows the thoughts of man;
he
knows that they are futile.
12
Blessed
is the man you discipline, O LORD,
the
man you teach from your law;
13
you
grant him relief from days of trouble,
till
a pit is dug for the wicked.
14
For
the LORD will not reject his people;
he
will never forsake his inheritance.
15
Judgment
will again be founded on righteousness,
and
all the upright in heart will follow it.[5]
16
Who
will rise up for me against the wicked?
Who
will take a stand for me against evildoers?
17
Unless
the LORD had given me help,
I
would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
18
When
I said, "My foot is slipping,"
your
love, O LORD, supported me.
19
When
anxiety was great within me,
your
consolation brought joy to my soul.
20
Can
a corrupt throne be allied with you--
one
that brings on misery by its decrees?
21
They
band together against the righteous
and
condemn the innocent to death.
22
But
the LORD has become my fortress,
and
my God the rock in whom I take refuge.
23
He
will repay them for their sins
and
destroy them for their wickedness;
the
LORD our God will destroy them. [6]
PSALMS: 124
A
song of ascents. Of David.
1
If
the LORD had not been on our side--
let
Israel say--
2
if
the LORD had not been on our side
when
men attacked us,
3
when
their anger flared against us,
they
would have swallowed us alive;
4
the
flood would have engulfed us,
the
torrent would have swept over us,
5
the
raging waters
would
have swept us away.
6
Praise
be to the LORD,
who
has not let us be torn by their teeth.
7
We
have escaped like a bird
out
of the fowler's snare;
the
snare has been broken,
and
we have escaped.
8
Our
help is in the name of the LORD,
the
Maker of heaven and earth. [7]
PROVERBS: 4
4
1
Listen, my sons, to a father's instruction;
pay
attention and gain understanding.
2
I
give you sound learning,
so
do not forsake my teaching.
3
When
I was a boy in my father's house,
still
tender, and an only child of my mother,
4
he
taught me and said,
"Lay
hold of my words with all your heart;
keep
my commands and you will live.
5
Get
wisdom, get understanding;
do
not forget my words or swerve from them.
6
Do
not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
love
her, and she will watch over you.
7
Wisdom
is supreme; therefore get wisdom.
Though
it cost all you have, A get understanding.
8
Esteem
her, and she will exalt you;
embrace
her, and she will honor you.
9
She
will set a garland of grace on your head
and
present you with a crown of splendor."
10
Listen,
my son, accept what I say,
and
the years of your life will be many.
11
I
guide you in the way of wisdom
and
lead you along straight paths.
12
When
you walk, your steps will not be hampered;
when
you run, you will not stumble.
13
Hold
on to instruction, do not let it go;
guard
it well, for it is your life.
14
Do
not set foot on the path of the wicked
or
walk in the way of evil men.
15
Avoid
it, do not travel on it;
turn
from it and go on your way.
16
For
they cannot sleep till they do evil; [8]
they
are robbed of slumber till they make someone fall.
17
They
eat the bread of wickedness
and
drink the wine of violence.
18
The
path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,
shining
ever brighter till the full light of day.
19
But
the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they
do not know what makes them stumble.
20
My
son, pay attention to what I say;
listen
closely to my words.
21
Do
not let them out of your sight,
keep
them within your heart;
22
for
they are life to those who find them
and
health to a man's whole body.
23
Above
all else, guard your heart,
for
it is the wellspring of life.
24
Put
away perversity from your mouth;
keep
corrupt talk far from your lips.
25
Let
your eyes look straight ahead,
fix
your gaze directly before you.
26
Make
level B paths for your feet
and
take only ways that are firm.
27
Do
not swerve to the right or the left;
keep
your foot from evil. [9]
OLD
TESTAMENT: JUDGES 6:1 - 40
6
1
Again
the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave
them into the hands of the Midianites. 2 Because the power of Midian
was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain
clefts, caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted
their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the
country. 4 They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way
to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle
nor donkeys. 5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like
swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they
invaded the land to ravage it. 6 Midian so impoverished the
Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help.
7
When
the Israelites cried to the LORD because of Midian, 8 he sent them a
prophet, who said, "This is what the LORD, the God of
Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
9 I snatched you from the power of
Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and
gave you their land. 10 I said to
you, `I am the LORD your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose
land you live.' But you have not listened to me."
11
The
angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to
Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to
keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the LORD appeared
to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty
warrior."
13
"But
sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us?
Where are all his wonders that our fathers told [10]
us about when they said, `Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now
the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."
14
The
LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you
have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"
15
"But
Lord, A" Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest
in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."
16
The
LORD answered, "I will be with you, and you will
strike down all the Midianites together."
17
Gideon
replied, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is
really you talking to me. 18 Please do not go away until I come back
and bring my offering and set it before you."
And
the LORD said, "I will wait until you return."
19
Gideon
went in, prepared a young goat, and from an Ephah B of flour he made
bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he
brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.
20
The
angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the
unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And
Gideon did so. 21 With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the
angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from
the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD
disappeared. 22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the
LORD, he exclaimed, "Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face
to face!"
23
But
the LORD said to him, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You
are not going to die." [11]
24
So
Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace. To this
day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
25
That
same night the LORD said to him, "Take the second bull
from your father's herd, the one seven years old.C Tear down your father's altar to Baal and cut down the
Asherah pole D beside it.
26 Then build a proper kind of
E altar to the LORD your God on the
top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer
the second F bull as a burnt
offering."
27
So
Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was
afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in
the daytime.
28
In
the morning when the men of the town got up, there was Baal's altar, demolished,
with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the
newly built altar!
29
They
asked each other, "Who did this?"
When
they carefully investigated, they were told, "Gideon son of Joash did it."
30
The
men of the town demanded of Joash, "Bring out your son. He must die, because he
has broken down Baal's altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it."
31
But
Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, "Are you going to plead Baal's
cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death
by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks
down his altar." [12]
32 So that day they called Gideon "Jerub-Baal,G" saying,
"Let Baal contend with him," because he broke down Baal's altar.
33
Now
all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and
crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34 Then
the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the
Abiezrites to follow him. 35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh,
calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they
too went up to meet them.
36
Gideon
said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have
promised—
37
look,
I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the
fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by
my hand, as you said." 38 And that is what happened. Gideon rose
early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew--a bowlful of
water.
39
Then
Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request.
Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the
ground covered with dew." 40 That night God did so. Only the fleece
was dry; all the ground was covered with dew. [13]
NEW
TESTAMENT: LUKE 22:54 -
23:12
54
Then
seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest.
Peter followed at a distance. 55 But when they had kindled a fire in
the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them.
56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked
closely at him and said, "This man was with him."
57
But
he denied it. "Woman, I don't know him," he said.
58
A
little later someone else saw him and said, "You also are one of them."
"Man,
I am not!" Peter replied.
59
About
an hour later another asserted, "Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a
Galilean."
60
Peter
replied, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!" Just as he was speaking,
the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.
Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three
times." 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
63The
men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. 64 They
blindfolded him and demanded, "Prophesy! Who hit you?" 65 And they
said many other insulting things to him.
66
At
daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and
teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. 67
"If you are the Christ, D" they said, "tell us."
Jesus
answered, "If I tell you, you will not believe me,
68 and if I asked you, you would not
answer. 69 But from now on, the Son
of [14] Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty
God."
70
They
all asked, "Are you then the Son of God?"
He
replied, "You are right in saying I am."
71
Then
they said, "Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own
lips."
23
1
Then
the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2 And they began
to accuse him, saying, "We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes
payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, A a king."
3
So
Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.
4
Then
Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no basis for a
charge against this man."
5
But
they insisted, "He stirs up the people all over Judea B by his
teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here." [15]
6 On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. 7
When he learned that Jesus was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to
Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
8
When
Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been
wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him
perform some miracle. 9 He plied him with many questions, but Jesus
gave him no answer.
10
The
chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently
accusing him. 11 Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked
him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. 12
That day Herod and Pilate became friends--before this they had been
enemies. [16]
[1]
Excerpted from Compton
[2]
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[3]
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[4]
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[5]
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[6]
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[7]
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[8]
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[9]
Excerpted from Compton
[10]
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[11]
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[12]
Excerpted from Compton
[13]
Excerpted from Compton
[14]
Excerpted from Compton
[15]
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[16]
Excerpted from Compton
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. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever 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 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But 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
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