THEINC-HIM DAILY BIBLE MEDITATION: THEINC-HIM Daily Bible Meditation - December 22 - Full Text

Friday, December 22, 2017

THEINC-HIM Daily Bible Meditation - December 22 - Full Text - Shabbat Shalom!

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

THEINC-HIM Daily Bible Meditation

DECEMBER 22

PSALMS: 22, 52, 82, 112, 142

PROVERBS: 22

OLD TESTAMENT: NUMBERS 19:1 - 20:29

NEW TESTAMENT: LUKE 1:1 - 25

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 me ^B in the dust of death.

¹⁶Dogs have surrounded me;

a band of evil men has encircled me,

they have pierced ^C 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;

save ^D 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 you ^E 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 maskil ^A 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 you ^A 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

¹Praise ^A 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 horn ^D 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 maskil ^A 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

22 ¹ 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.

⁶Train ^A 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 thirty ^B 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: NUMBERS 19:1 - 20:29

19 ¹The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: ²"This is a requirement of the law that the LORD has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect or blemish and that has never been under a yoke. ³ Give it to Eleazar the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. ⁴Then Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting. ⁵ While he watches, the heifer is to be burned--its hide, flesh, blood and offal. ⁶ The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer. ⁷ After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water. He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean till evening. ⁸ The man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he too will be unclean till evening.

⁹ "A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They shall be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin. ¹⁰ The man who gathers up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he too will be unclean till evening. This will be a lasting ordinance both for the Israelites and for the aliens living among them.

¹¹ "Whoever touches the dead body of anyone will be unclean for seven days. ¹²He must purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third and seventh days, he will not be clean. ¹³Whoever touches the dead body of anyone and fails to purify himself defiles the LORD's tabernacle. That person must be cut off from Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on him, he is unclean; his uncleanness remains on him.

¹⁴"This is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days, ¹⁵ and every open container without a lid fastened on it will be unclean.

¹⁶ "Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.

¹⁷ "For the unclean person, put some ashes from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them. ¹⁸ Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave or someone who has been killed or someone who has died a natural death.

¹⁹ The man who is clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify him. The person being cleansed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and that evening he will be clean. ²⁰ But if a person who is unclean does not purify himself, he must be cut off from the community, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on him, and he is unclean. ²¹ This is a lasting ordinance for them.

"The man who sprinkles the water of cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of cleansing will be unclean ¹² till evening. ²² Anything that an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening."

20 ¹In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.

²Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. ³They quarreled with Moses and said, "If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the LORD! ⁴Why did you bring the LORD's community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? ⁵Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!"

⁶Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. ⁷The LORD said to Moses, ⁸"Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink."

⁹So Moses took the staff from the LORD's presence, just as he commanded him.

¹⁰He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" ¹¹Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

¹²But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them."

¹³These were the waters of Meribah, ^A where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD and where he showed himself holy among them.

¹⁴Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying:

"This is what your brother Israel says: You know about all the hardships that have come upon us. ¹⁵Our forefathers went down into Egypt, and we lived there many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers, ¹⁶but when we cried out to the LORD, he heard our cry and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt.

"Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. ¹⁷Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the king's highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have ¹³ passed through your territory."

¹⁸But Edom answered:

"You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword."

¹⁹The Israelites replied:

"We will go along the main road, and if we or our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We only want to pass through on foot--nothing else."

²⁰Again they answered:

"You may not pass through."

Then Edom came out against them with a large and powerful army. ²¹Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory, Israel turned away from them.

²²The whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor.

²³At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom, the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ²⁴"Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah.

²⁵ Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor. ²⁶ Remove Aaron's garments and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will die there."

²⁷Moses did as the LORD commanded: They went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community. ²⁸Moses removed Aaron's garments and put them on his son Eleazar. And Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, ²⁹and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died, the entire house of Israel mourned for him thirty days.¹⁴

NEW TESTAMENT: LUKE 1:1 - 25

1 ¹Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been ^fulfilled
A among us, ²just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. ³Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, ⁴so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

⁵In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.

⁶Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. ⁷But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.

⁸Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, ⁹he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

¹¹Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ¹²When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.

¹³But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.

⁴He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, ¹⁵for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. ^B ¹⁶Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

¹⁸Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."

¹⁹The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time."

²¹Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. ²²When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.

²³When his time of service was completed, he returned home. ²⁴After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. ²⁵"The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people." ¹⁵

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

THEINC-HIM DAILY BIBLE MEDITATION

Friday, December 22, 2017

THEINC-HIM Daily Bible Meditation - December 22 - Full Text - Shabbat Shalom!

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John 3:16-21