THEINC-HIM Daily Bible Meditation - December 31 - Full Text - Happy New Year's Eve!

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

THEINC-HIM Daily Bible Meditation

DECEMBER 31

PSALMS: 31, 61, 91, 121

PROVERBS: 31

OLD TESTAMENT: NUMBERS 33:40 - 35:34

NEW TESTAMENT: LUKE 5:12 - 28

PSALMS: 31

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹ In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;

let me never be put to shame;

deliver me in your righteousness.

² Turn your ear to me,

come quickly to my rescue;

be my rock of refuge,

a strong fortress to save me.

³ Since you are my rock and my fortress,

for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

⁴ Free me from the trap that is set for me,

for you are my refuge.

⁵ Into your hands I commit my spirit;

redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.

⁶ I hate those who cling to worthless idols;

I trust in the LORD.

⁷ I will be glad and rejoice in your love,

for you saw my affliction

and knew the anguish of my soul.

⁸ You have not handed me over to the enemy

but have set my feet in a spacious place.

⁹ Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;

my eyes grow weak with sorrow,

my soul and my body with grief.

¹⁰ My life is consumed by anguish

and my years by groaning;

my strength fails because of my affliction, ^A

and my bones grow weak. ¹

¹¹ Because of all my enemies,

I am the utter contempt of my neighbors;

I am a dread to my friends--

those who see me on the street flee from me.

¹² I am forgotten by them as though I were dead;

I have become like broken pottery.

¹³ For I hear the slander of many;

there is terror on every side;

they conspire against me

and plot to take my life.

¹⁴ But I trust in you, O LORD;

I say, "You are my God."

¹⁵ My times are in your hands;

deliver me from my enemies

and from those who pursue me.

¹⁶ Let your face shine on your servant;

save me in your unfailing love.

¹⁷ Let me not be put to shame, O LORD,

for I have cried out to you;

but let the wicked be put to shame

and lie silent in the grave. ^B

¹⁸ Let their lying lips be silenced,

for with pride and contempt

they speak arrogantly against the righteous.

¹⁹ How great is your goodness,

which you have stored up for those who fear you,

which you bestow in the sight of men

on those who take refuge in you.

²⁰ In the shelter of your presence you hide them

from the intrigues of men;

in your dwelling you keep them safe ²

from accusing tongues.

²¹ Praise be to the LORD,

for he showed his wonderful love to me

when I was in a besieged city.

²² In my alarm I said,

"I am cut off from your sight!"

Yet you heard my cry for mercy

when I called to you for help.

²³ Love the LORD, all his saints!

The LORD preserves the faithful,

but the proud he pays back in full.

²⁴ Be strong and take heart,

all you who hope in the LORD. ³

PSALMS: 61

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David.

¹ Hear my cry, O God;

listen to my prayer.

² From the ends of the earth I call to you,

I call as my heart grows faint;

lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

³ For you have been my refuge,

a strong tower against the foe.

⁴ I long to dwell in your tent forever

and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.

Selah

⁵ For you have heard my vows, O God;

you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

⁶ Increase the days of the king's life,

his years for many generations.

⁷ May he be enthroned in God's presence forever;

appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.

⁸ Then will I ever sing praise to your name

and fulfill my vows day after day. ⁴

PSALMS: 91

¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. ^A

² I will say ^B of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust."

³ Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare

and from the deadly pestilence.

⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

nor the plague that destroys at midday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

⁸ You will only observe with your eyes

and see the punishment of the wicked.

⁹ If you make the Most High your dwelling--

even the LORD, who is my refuge--

¹⁰then no harm will befall you,

no disaster will come near your tent.

¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways;

¹² they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

¹³ You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;

you will trample the great lion and the serpent. ⁵

¹⁴ "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

¹⁵ He will call upon me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.

¹⁶ With long life will I satisfy him

and show him my salvation." ⁶

PSALMS: 121

A song of ascents.

¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills--

where does my help come from?

² My help comes from the LORD,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip--

he who watches over you will not slumber;

⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The LORD watches over you--

the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

⁷ The LORD will keep you from all harm--

he will watch over your life;

⁸ the LORD will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore. ⁷

PROVERBS: 31

31 ¹ The sayings of King Lemuel--an oracle ^A his mother taught him:

² "O my son, O son of my womb,

O son of my vows, ^B

³ do not spend your strength on women,

your vigor on those who ruin kings.

⁴ "It is not for kings, O Lemuel--

not for kings to drink wine,

not for rulers to crave beer,

⁵ lest they drink and forget what the law decrees,

and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.

⁶ Give beer to those who are perishing,

wine to those who are in anguish;

⁷ let them drink and forget their poverty

and remember their misery no more.

⁸ "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,

for the rights of all who are destitute.

⁹ Speak up and judge fairly;

defend the rights of the poor and needy." ⁸

^{10 C} A wife of noble character who can find?

She is worth far more than rubies.

¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her

and lacks nothing of value.

¹² She brings him good, not harm,

all the days of her life.

¹³ She selects wool and flax

and works with eager hands.

¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,

bringing her food from afar.

¹⁵ She gets up while it is still dark;

she provides food for her family

and portions for her servant girls.

¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;

out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;

her arms are strong for her tasks.

¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,

and her lamp does not go out at night.

¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff

and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor

and extends her hands to the needy.

²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;

for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

²² She makes coverings for her bed;

she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate,

where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,

and supplies the merchants with sashes.

²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;

she can laugh at the days to come.

²⁶ She speaks with wisdom, ⁹

and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.

²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:

²⁹ "Many women do noble things,

but you surpass them all."

³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

³¹ Give her the reward she has earned,

and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.¹⁰

OLD TESTAMENT: NUMBERS 33:40 - 35:34

⁴¹ They left Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.

⁴² They left Zalmonah and camped at Punon.

⁴³ They left Punon and camped at Oboth.

⁴⁴ They left Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim, on the border of Moab.

⁴⁵ They left Iyim ^C and camped at Dibon Gad.

⁴⁶ They left Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim.

⁴⁷ They left Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, near Nebo.

⁴⁸ They left the mountains of Abarim and camped on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho. ^{D 49} There on the plains of Moab they camped along the Jordan from Beth Jeshimoth to Abel Shittim.

⁵⁰ On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho the LORD said to Moses,

⁵¹ "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: `When you cross the Jordan into Canaan,

⁵² drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places. ⁵³ Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess. ⁵⁴ Distribute the land by lot, according to your clans. To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one. Whatever falls to them by lot will be theirs. Distribute it according to your ancestral tribes.

⁵⁵ "`But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. ⁵⁶ And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them.'"

34 ^{1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Command the Israelites and say to them: `When you enter Canaan, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance will have these boundaries:}

³ "`Your southern side will include some of the Desert of Zin along the border of Edom. On the east, your southern boundary will start from the end of the Salt Sea, ^{A 4} cross south of Scorpion ^B Pass, continue on to Zin and go south of Kadesh Barnea. Then it will go to Hazar Addar and over to Azmon, ⁵ where it will turn, join the Wadi of Egypt and end at the Sea. ^{C 11}

⁶ "`Your western boundary will be the coast of the Great Sea. This will be your boundary on the west.

⁷ "`For your northern boundary, run a line from the Great Sea to Mount Hor ⁸and from Mount Hor to Lebo ^D Hamath. Then the boundary will go to Zedad, ⁹ continue to Ziphron and end at Hazar Enan. This will be your boundary on the north.

¹⁰ "`For your eastern boundary, run a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham. ¹¹ The boundary will go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain and continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Kinnereth. ^{E 12} Then the boundary will go down along the Jordan and end at the Salt Sea.

"`This will be your land, with its boundaries on every side.'"

¹³ Moses commanded the Israelites: "Assign this land by lot as an inheritance. The LORD has ordered that it be given to the nine and a half tribes, ¹⁴ because the families of the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance.

¹⁵ These two and a half tribes have received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan of Jericho, ^F toward the sunrise."

¹⁶ The LORD said to Moses, ¹⁷ "These are the names of the men who are to assign the land for you as an inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun. ¹⁸ And appoint one leader from each tribe to help assign the land. ¹⁹ These are their names:

Caleb son of Jephunneh,

from the tribe of Judah;

²⁰ Shemuel son of Ammihud,

from the tribe of Simeon;

²¹ Elidad son of Kislon,

from the tribe of Benjamin;

²² Bukki son of Jogli,

the leader from the tribe of Dan;

²³ Hanniel son of Ephod,

the leader from the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph;

²⁴ Kemuel son of Shiphtan,

the leader from the tribe of Ephraim son of Joseph;

²⁵ Elizaphan son of Parnach,

^{the leader from the tribe of Zebulun; 12 [12]}

²⁶ Paltiel son of Azzan,

the leader from the tribe of Issachar;

²⁷ Ahihud son of Shelomi,

the leader from the tribe of Asher;

²⁸ Pedahel son of Ammihud,

the leader from the tribe of Naphtali."

²⁹ These are the men the LORD commanded to assign the inheritance to the Israelites in the land of Canaan.

35 ¹ On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, ^A the LORD said to Moses, ² "Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. And give them pasturelands around the towns.

³ Then they will have towns to live in and pasturelands for their cattle, flocks and all their other livestock.

⁴ "The pasturelands around the towns that you give the Levites will extend out fifteen hundred feet ^B from the town wall. ⁵ Outside the town, measure three thousand feet ^C on the east side, three thousand on the south side, three thousand on the west and three thousand on the north, with the town in the center. They will have this area as pastureland for the towns.

⁶ "Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone may flee. In addition, give them forty-two other towns. ⁷ In all you must give the Levites forty-eight towns, together with their pasturelands. ⁸ The towns you give the Levites from the land the Israelites possess are to be given in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: Take many towns from a tribe that has many, but few from one that has few."

⁹ Then the LORD said to Moses: ¹⁰ "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: `When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, ¹¹ select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone accidentally may flee. ¹² They will be places of refuge from the avenger, so that a person accused of murder may not die before he stands trial before the assembly. ¹³ These six towns you give will be your cities of refuge. ¹⁴ Give three on this side of the Jordan and three in Canaan as cities of refuge. ¹⁵ These six towns will be a place of refuge for Israelites, aliens and any other people living among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there.

¹⁶ "`If a man strikes someone with an iron object so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death. ¹⁷ Or if anyone has a stone in his hand that could kill, and he strikes someone so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death. ¹⁸ Or if anyone has a ¹² wooden object in his hand that could kill, and he hits someone so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death. ¹⁹ The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death. ²⁰ If anyone with malice aforethought shoves another or throws something at him intentionally so that he dies ²¹ or if in hostility he hits him with his fist so that he dies, that person shall be put to death; he is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.

²² "`But if without hostility someone suddenly shoves another or throws something at him unintentionally

²³ or, without seeing him, drops a stone on him that could kill him, and he dies, then since he was not his enemy and he did not intend to harm him, ²⁴ the assembly must judge between him and the avenger of blood according to these regulations. ²⁵ The assembly must protect the one accused of murder from the avenger of blood and send him back to the city of refuge to which he fled. He must stay there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

²⁶ "`But if the accused ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which he has fled

²⁷ and the avenger of blood finds him outside the city, the avenger of blood may kill the accused without being guilty of murder. ²⁸ The accused must stay in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest; only after the death of the high priest may he return to his own property.

²⁹ "`These are to be legal requirements for you throughout the generations to come, wherever you live.

³⁰ "`Anyone who kills a person is to be put to death as a murderer only on the testimony of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.

³¹ "`Do not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer, who deserves to die. He must surely be put to death.

³² "`Do not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a city of refuge and so allow him to go back and live on his own land before the death of the high priest.

³³ "`Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. ³⁴ Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the LORD, dwell among the Israelites.' " ¹³

NEW TESTAMENT: LUKE 5:12 - 28

¹² While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. ^C When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."

¹³ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him.

¹⁴ Then Jesus ordered him, "Don't tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them."

¹⁵ Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. ¹⁶ But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

¹⁷ One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. ¹⁸ Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. ¹⁹ When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

²⁰ When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

²¹ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

²² Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?

²³ Which is easier: to say, `Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, `Get up and walk'? ²⁴ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." He said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." ^{25 Immediately} he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. ²⁶ Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today."

²⁷ After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, ²⁸ and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. ¹⁴

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

12 ^[13] Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

13 ^[14] Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

14 ^[15] 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