THEINC-HIM Daily Bible Meditation - March 7 - Full Text!

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

THEINC-HIM Daily Bible Meditation

MARCH 7

PSALMS: 7, 37, 67, 97, 127

PROVERBS: 7

OLD TESTAMENT: 2 SAMUEL 12:1 - 31

NEW TESTAMENT: JOHN 16:1 - 33

PSALMS: 7

A shiggaion ^A of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite.

¹ O LORD my God, I take refuge in you;

save and deliver me from all who pursue me,

² or they will tear me like a lion

and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.

³ O LORD my God, if I have done this

and there is guilt on my hands--

⁴ if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me

or without cause have robbed my foe--

⁵ then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;

let him trample my life to the ground

and make me sleep in the dust.

Selah

⁶ Arise, O LORD, in your anger;

rise up against the rage of my enemies.

Awake, my God; decree justice.

⁷ Let the assembled peoples gather around you.

Rule over them from on high;

⁸ let the LORD judge the peoples.

Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness,

according to my integrity, O Most High.

⁹ O righteous God,

who searches minds and hearts,

bring to an end the violence of the wicked

and make the righteous secure. ¹

¹⁰ My shield ^B is God Most High,

who saves the upright in heart.

¹¹ God is a righteous judge,

a God who expresses his wrath every day.

¹² If he does not relent,

he ^C will sharpen his sword;

he will bend and string his bow.

¹³ He has prepared his deadly weapons;

he makes ready his flaming arrows.

¹⁴ He who is pregnant with evil

and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment.

¹⁵ He who digs a hole and scoops it out

falls into the pit he has made.

¹⁶ The trouble he causes recoils on himself;

his violence comes down on his own head.

¹⁷ I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness

and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. ²

PSALMS: 37

Of David.

¹ Do ^A not fret because of evil men

or be envious of those who do wrong;

² for like the grass they will soon wither,

like green plants they will soon die away.

³ Trust in the LORD and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the LORD;

trust in him and he will do this:

⁶ He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,

the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;

do not fret when men succeed in their ways,

when they carry out their wicked schemes.

⁸ Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;

do not fret--it leads only to evil.

⁹ For evil men will be cut off,

but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

¹⁰ A little while, and the wicked will be no more;

though you look for them, they will not be found.

¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land

and enjoy great peace. ³

¹² The wicked plot against the righteous

and gnash their teeth at them;

¹³ but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

for he knows their day is coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword

and bend the bow

to bring down the poor and needy,

to slay those whose ways are upright.

¹⁵ But their swords will pierce their own hearts,

and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶ Better the little that the righteous have

than the wealth of many wicked;

¹⁷ for the power of the wicked will be broken,

but the LORD upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The days of the blameless are known to the LORD,

and their inheritance will endure forever.

¹⁹ In times of disaster they will not wither;

in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

²⁰ But the wicked will perish:

The LORD's enemies will be like the beauty of the fields,

they will vanish--vanish like smoke.

²¹ The wicked borrow and do not repay,

but the righteous give generously;

²² those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,

but those he curses will be cut off. ⁴

²³ If the LORD delights in a man's way,

he makes his steps firm;

²⁴ though he stumble, he will not fall,

for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

²⁵ I was young and now I am old,

yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken

or their children begging bread.

²⁶ They are always generous and lend freely;

their children will be blessed.

²⁷ Turn from evil and do good;

then you will dwell in the land forever.

²⁸ For the LORD loves the just

and will not forsake his faithful ones.

They will be protected forever,

but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;

²⁹ the righteous will inherit the land

and dwell in it forever.

³⁰ The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,

and his tongue speaks what is just.

³¹ The law of his God is in his heart;

his feet do not slip.

³² The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,

seeking their very lives;

³³ but the LORD will not leave them in their power

or let them be condemned when brought to trial. ⁵

³⁴ Wait for the LORD

and keep his way.

He will exalt you to inherit the land;

when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

³⁵ I have seen a wicked and ruthless man

flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,

³⁶ but he soon passed away and was no more;

though I looked for him, he could not be found.

³⁷ Consider the blameless, observe the upright;

there is a future ^B for the man of peace.

³⁸ But all sinners will be destroyed;

the future ^C of the wicked will be cut off.

³⁹ The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;

he is their stronghold in time of trouble.

⁴⁰ The LORD helps them and delivers them;

he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

because they take refuge in him. ⁶

PSALMS: 67

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.

¹ May God be gracious to us and bless us

and make his face shine upon us,

Selah

² that your ways may be known on earth,

your salvation among all nations.

³ May the peoples praise you, O God;

may all the peoples praise you.

⁴ May the nations be glad and sing for joy,

for you rule the peoples justly

and guide the nations of the earth.

Selah

⁵ May the peoples praise you, O God;

may all the peoples praise you.

⁶ Then the land will yield its harvest,

and God, our God, will bless us.

⁷ God will bless us,

and all the ends of the earth will fear him. ⁷

PSALMS: 97

¹ The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad;

let the distant shores rejoice.

² Clouds and thick darkness surround him;

righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

³ Fire goes before him

and consumes his foes on every side.

⁴ His lightning lights up the world;

the earth sees and trembles.

⁵ The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,

before the Lord of all the earth.

⁶ The heavens proclaim his righteousness,

and all the peoples see his glory.

⁷ All who worship images are put to shame,

those who boast in idols--

worship him, all you gods!

⁸ Zion hears and rejoices

and the villages of Judah are glad

because of your judgments, O LORD.

⁹ For you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth;

you are exalted far above all gods.

¹⁰ Let those who love the LORD hate evil,

for he guards the lives of his faithful ones

and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

¹¹ Light is shed upon the righteous

and joy on the upright in heart.

¹² Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous,

and praise his holy name. ⁸

PSALMS: 127

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

¹ Unless the LORD builds the house,

its builders labor in vain.

Unless the LORD watches over the city,

the watchmen stand guard in vain.

² In vain you rise early

and stay up late,

toiling for food to eat--

for he grants sleep to ^A those he loves.

³ Sons are a heritage from the LORD,

children a reward from him.

⁴ Like arrows in the hands of a warrior

are sons born in one's youth.

⁵ Blessed is the man

whose quiver is full of them.

They will not be put to shame

when they contend with their enemies in the gate. ⁹

PROVERBS: 7

7 ¹ My son, keep my words

and store up my commands within you.

² Keep my commands and you will live;

guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.

³ Bind them on your fingers;

write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴ Say to wisdom, "You are my sister,"

and call understanding your kinsman;

⁵ they will keep you from the adulteress,

from the wayward wife with her seductive words.

⁶ At the window of my house

I looked out through the lattice.

⁷ I saw among the simple,

I noticed among the young men,

a youth who lacked judgment.

⁸ He was going down the street near her corner,

walking along in the direction of her house

⁹ at twilight, as the day was fading,

as the dark of night set in.

¹⁰ Then out came a woman to meet him,

dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.

¹¹ (She is loud and defiant,

her feet never stay at home;

¹² now in the street, now in the squares,

at every corner she lurks.)

¹³ She took hold of him and kissed him

and with a brazen face she said:

¹⁴ "I have fellowship offerings ^A at home;

today I fulfilled my vows.

¹⁵ So I came out to meet you; ¹⁰

I looked for you and have found you!

¹⁶ I have covered my bed

with colored linens from Egypt.

¹⁷ I have perfumed my bed

with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.

¹⁸ Come, let's drink deep of love till morning;

let's enjoy ourselves with love!

¹⁹ My husband is not at home;

he has gone on a long journey.

²⁰ He took his purse filled with money

and will not be home till full moon."

²¹ With persuasive words she led him astray;

she seduced him with her smooth talk.

²² All at once he followed her

like an ox going to the slaughter,

like a deer ^B stepping into a noose ^C

²³ till an arrow pierces his liver,

like a bird darting into a snare,

little knowing it will cost him his life.

²⁴ Now then, my sons, listen to me;

pay attention to what I say.

²⁵ Do not let your heart turn to her ways

or stray into her paths.

²⁶ Many are the victims she has brought down;

her slain are a mighty throng.

²⁷ Her house is a highway to the grave, ^D

leading down to the chambers of death. ¹¹

OLD TESTAMENT: 2 SAMUEL 12:1 - 31

12 ¹ The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. ² The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, ³ but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

⁴ "Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him."

⁵ David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! ⁶ He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity."

⁷ Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: `I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 

⁹ Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.' ¹² 

¹¹ "This is what the LORD says: `Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight.

¹² You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.' "

¹³ Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD."

Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. ¹⁴ But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, ^A the son born to you will die."

¹⁵ After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. ¹⁶ David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground. ¹⁷ The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.

¹⁸ On the seventh day the child died. David's servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, "While the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate."

¹⁹ David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he asked.

"Yes," they replied, "he is dead." ^{13 20} Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.

²¹ His servants asked him, "Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!"

²² He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, `Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.' ²³ But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me."

²⁴ Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him; ²⁵ and because the LORD loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah. ^B

²⁶ Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel. ²⁷ Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, "I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply. ²⁸ Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I will take the city, and it will be named after me."

²⁹ So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it. 

³⁰ He took the crown from the head of their king ^C--its weight was a talent ^D of gold, and it was set with precious stones--and it was placed on David's head. He took a great quantity of plunder from the city ³¹ and brought out the people who were ¹⁴ there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking. ^E He did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then David and his entire army returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁵

NEW TESTAMENT: JOHN 16:1 - 33

16 ¹ "All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. ² They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. ³ They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. ⁴ I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you.

⁵ "Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, `Where are you going?' 

⁶ Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. ⁷ But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸ When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt ^A in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹ in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; ¹⁰ in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹ and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

¹² "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. ¹³ But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. ¹⁴ He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. ¹⁵ All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

¹⁶ "In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me."

¹⁷ Some of his disciples said to one another, "What does he ¹⁶ mean by saying, `In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,' and `Because I am going to the Father'?" ¹⁸ They kept asking, "What does he mean by `a little while'? We don't understand what he is saying."

¹⁹ Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, "Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, `In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'? ²⁰ I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. ²¹ A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. ²² So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. ²³ In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ²⁴ Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

²⁵ "Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. ²⁶ In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. ²⁷ No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. ²⁸ I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father." ^{17 29} Then Jesus' disciples said, "Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. ³⁰ Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God."

³¹ "You believe at last!" ^B Jesus answered. ³² "But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.

³³ "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." ¹⁸

1 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

2 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

3 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

4 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

5 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

6 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

7 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

8 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

9 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

10 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

11 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

12 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

13 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

14 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

15 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

16 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

17 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

18 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

 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