Daily Bible reading

[Martin Jr.]

October 25, 2008
Ephesians 4: 7 - 16 Each of us has received God's favor in the measure in which Christ bestows it. Thus you find Scripture saying: " When he ascended on high, he took a host of captives and gave gifts to men." "He ascended" - what does this mean but that he had first descended into the lower regions of the earth? He who descended is the very one who ascended high above the heavens, that he might fill all men with his gifts.
It is he who gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers in roles of service for the faithful to build up the body of Christ, till we become one in faith and in the knowledge of God's Son, and form that perfect man who is Christ come to full stature.
Let us, then, be children no longer, tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of doctrine that originates in human trickery and skill in proposing error. Rather, let us profess the truth in love and the full maturity of Christ the head. Through him the whole body grows, and with the proper functioning of the members joined firmly together by each supporting ligament, builds itself up in love.
Luke 13: 1 - 9
At that time, some were present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. He said in reply: " Do you think that these Galilians were the greatest sinners in Galilee just because they suffered this? By no means! But I tell you, you will all come to the same end unless you reform. Or take those eighteen who were killed by a falling tower in Siloam. Do you think they were more guilty than anyone else who lived in Jerusalem" Certainly not! But I tell you, you will all come the the same end unless you reform."
Jesus spoke this parable" A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he came out looking for fruit on it but did not find any. He said to the vinedresser, 'Look here! For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree and found none. Cut it down. Why should it clutter up the ground?' In answer, the man said, 'Sir, leave it another year, while I hoe around it and manure it; then perhaps it will bear fruit. If not, it shall be cut down.'"

[Martin Jr.]

Sunday, October 26, 2008
Exodus 22: 20-26
"You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry. My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword; then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans."
"If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my people, you shall not act like an extortioner toward him by demanding interest from him. If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, you shall return it to him before sunset; for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body. What else has he to sleep in? If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate.
Psalms 18: 2-4, 47, 51
I love you, O Lord, my strength, O Lord, my rock of refuge, my shield, the horh of my salvation, my stronghold! Praised be the Lord, I exclaim, and I am safe from my enemies. The Lord live! And blessed by my Rock! Extolled by God my savior. You who gave great victories to your king and showed kindness to your anointed, David and his posterity forever.
1 Thessalonians 1: 5 - 10
Our preachings of the gospel proved not a mere matter of words for you but one of power; it was carried on in the Holy Spirit and out of complete conviction. You know well as we do what we proved to be like when, while still among you, we acted on your behalf. You, in turn, became imitators of us and of the Lord, receiving the word despite great trials, with the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. Thus you became a model for all the believers of Macedonia and Achaia. The word of the Lord has echoed forth from you resoundingly. This is true not only in Macedonia and Achaia; throughout every region your faith in God is celebrated, which makes it needless for us to say anything more. The people of those parts are reporting what and how you turned to God from idols, to serve him who is the living and true God and to await from heaven the Son he raised from the dead - Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.
Matthew 22: 34-40
When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees they assembled in a body; and one of them, a lawyer, in an attempt to trip him up, asked him, "Teacher, which commandment of the law is the greatest?" Jesus said to him? "'You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. The second is like it; 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments the whole law is based, and the prophets as well."

[Nicky]

Thanks, those are great!

[Martin Jr.]

Readings for October 27, 2008
Ephesians 4: 32 through 5: 8
In place of these, be kind to one another, compassionate, and mutually forgiving, just as God has forgiven you in Christ. Be imitators of God as his dear children. Follow the way of love, even as Christ loved you. He gave himself to us as an offering to God, a gift of pleasing fragrance. As for lewd conduct or promiscuousness or lust of any sort, let them not even be mentioned among you; your holiness forbids this. Nor should there be any obscene, silly, or suggestive talk; all that is out of place. Instead, give thanks. Make no mistake about this; no fornicator, no unclean of lustful person - in effect an idoltor - has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with worthless arguments. These are sins that bring God's wrath down on the disobedient; therefore have nothing to do with them. There was a time when you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Well, then, live as children of light.
Psalms 1: 1 - 6
Happy the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, but delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on his law day and night. He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season and whose leaves never fade.
Luke 6: 13: 10 - 17
On a sabbath day he was teaching in one of the synagogues. There was a woman there who for eighteen years, had been possessed by a spirit which drained her strength. She was badly stooped - quite incapable of standing erect. When Jesus saw her, he called her to him and said, "Woman, you are free of your infirmity." He laid his hand on her, and immediately she stood up straight and began thanking God. The chief of the synagogue indignant that Jesus should have healed on the sabbath, said to the congregation: "There are six days for working. come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath." The Lord said in reply: "O you hypocrites! Which of you does not let his ox or ass out of the stall on the sabbath to water it? Should not this daughter of Abraham here who has been in the bondage of Satan for eighteen years have been released from her shackles on the sabbath? At these words, his opponents were covered with confusion; meanwhile, everyone else rejoiced at the marvels Jesus was accomplishing.

[Martin Jr.]

Tuesday, Ocotber 28, 2008
Ephesians 2: 19 - 22
This means that you are strangers and aliens no longer. No, you are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God. You form a building which rises on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is fitted together and takes shape as a holy temple in the Lord; in him you are being built into this temple, to become a dwelling place for God in the Spirit.
Psalms 19: 2 - 5
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiork. Day pours out the word to day, and night to night imparts knowledge; not a word nor a discourse whose voice is not heard; through all the earth their voice resounds, and to the ends of the world, their message.
Luke 6: 12 - 16
Then he went out to the mountain to pray, spending the night in communion with God. At daybreak he called his disciples and selected twelve of them to be his apostles: Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter, and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who turned traitor.

[Martin Jr.]

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and enkindle in them the fire of your love.
Ephesians 6: 1 - 9
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for that is what is expected of you. "Honor your father and mother" is the first commandment to carry a promise with it - "That it may go well with you, and that you may have long life on the earth."
Slaves, obey your human masters with the reverence, the awe, and the sincerity you owe to Christ. Do not render service for appearance only and to please men, but do God's will with your whole heart as slaves of Christ. Give your service willingly, doing it for the Lord rather than men. You know that each one, whether slave or free, will be repaid by the Lord for whatever good he does.
Masters, act in a similar way toward your slaves. Stop threatening them. Remember that you and they have a Master in heaven who plays no favorites.
Psalms 145: 10 - 14
You who give victory to kings, and deliver David, your servant from the evil sword - Deliver me; and rescue me from the hands of aliens, Whose mouths swear false promises while their right hands are raised in perjury. May our sons be like plants well nurtured in their youth, our daughters like wrought columns such as stand at the corners of the temple. May our garners be full, affording every kind of store; may our sheep be in the thousands, and increase to myriads in our meadows; may our oxen by well laden. May there be no breach in the walls, no exile, no outcry in our streets.
Luke 13: 22 - 30
He went through cities and towns teaching - all the while making his way toward Jerusalem. Someone asked him, "Lord, are they few in number who are to be saved?" He replied: "Try to come in through the narrow door. Many I tell you, will try to enter and be unable. When once the master of the house has risen to lock the door and you stand outside knocking and saying, 'sir, open for us,' he will say in reply, 'I do not know where you come from.' Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in your company. You taught us in our streets.' But he will answer, 'I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Away from me, you evildoers!'
There will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets safe in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves rejected. People will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and will take their place at the feast in the kingdom of God. Some who are last will be first and some who are first will be last."

[burnt]

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and enkindle in them the fire of your love.
Ephesians 6: 1 - 9
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for that is what is expected of you. "Honor your father and mother" is the first commandment to carry a promise with it - "That it may go well with you, and that you may have long life on the earth."
Slaves, obey your human masters with the reverence, the awe, and the sincerity you owe to Christ. Do not render service for appearance only and to please men, but do God's will with your whole heart as slaves of Christ. Give your service willingly, doing it for the Lord rather than men. You know that each one, whether slave or free, will be repaid by the Lord for whatever good he does.
Masters, act in a similar way toward your slaves. Stop threatening them. Remember that you and they have a Master in heaven who plays no favorites.
Psalms 145: 10 - 14
You who give victory to kings, and deliver David, your servant from the evil sword - Deliver me; and rescue me from the hands of aliens, Whose mouths swear false promises while their right hands are raised in perjury. May our sons be like plants well nurtured in their youth, our daughters like wrought columns such as stand at the corners of the temple. May our garners be full, affording every kind of store; may our sheep be in the thousands, and increase to myriads in our meadows; may our oxen by well laden. May there be no breach in the walls, no exile, no outcry in our streets.
Luke 13: 22 - 30
He went through cities and towns teaching - all the while making his way toward Jerusalem. Someone asked him, "Lord, are they few in number who are to be saved?" He replied: "Try to come in through the narrow door. Many I tell you, will try to enter and be unable. When once the master of the house has risen to lock the door and you stand outside knocking and saying, 'sir, open for us,' he will say in reply, 'I do not know where you come from.' Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in your company. You taught us in our streets.' But he will answer, 'I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Away from me, you evildoers!'
There will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets safe in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves rejected. People will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and will take their place at the feast in the kingdom of God. Some who are last will be first and some who are first will be last."

That last passage must be one of the most sobering in the Bible. ("I tell you, I do not know . . . you . . .) Being loosely associated with Christianity is not going to get us there.

[Martin Jr.]

October 30, 2008
Ephesians 6: 10 - 20
Finaly, draw your strength from the Lord and his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. Our battle is not against human forces but against the principalities and powers, the rulers of this world of darkness, the evil spirits in regions above. You must put on the armor of God if you are to resist on the evil day; do all that your duty requires, and hold your ground. Stand fast, with the truth as the belt around your waist, justice as your breastplate, and zeal to propagate the gospel of peace as your footgear. In all circumstances hold faith up before you as your shield; it will help you extinguish the fiery darts of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, the word of God.
At every opportunity pray in the Spirit, using prayers and petitions of every sort. Pray constantly and attentively for all in the holy company. Pray for me that God may put his word on my lips, that I may courageously make known the mystery of the gospel - that mystery for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may have courage to proclaim it as I ought.
Psalms 144: 1,2, 9,10
O Lord, to you I call; hasten to me; hearken to my voice when I call upon you. Let my prayer come like incense before you; the lifting up of my hands like the evening sacrifice.
Keep me from the trap they have set for me, and from the snares of evildoers. Let all the wicked fall, each into his own net, while I escape.
Luke 13: 31 - 35
It was then that certain Pharisees came to him. "Go on your way!" they said "Leave this place! Herod is trying to kill you." His answer was: "Go tell that fox, 'Today and tomorrow I cast out devils and perform cures, and on the third day my purpose is accomplished. For all that, I must proceed on course today, tomorrow, and the day after, since no prophet can be allowed to die anywhere except in Jerusalem.'
" O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you slay the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I wanted to gather your children together as a mother bird collects her young under her wings, and you refused me! Your temple will be abandoned. I say to you, you shall not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

[Martin Jr.]

October 31, 2008
Philippians 1: 1 - 11
I give thanks to my God every time I think of you - which is constantly, in every prayer I utter - rejoicing, as I plead on your behalf, at the way you have all continually helped promote the gospel from the very first day.
I am sure of this much: that he who has begun the good work in you will carry it through to completion, right up to the day of Christ Jesus. It is only right that I should entertain such expectations in your regard since I hold all of you dear - you who, to a man, are sharers of my gracious lot when I lie in prison or am summoned to defend the solid grounds on which the gospel rests. God himself can testify how much I long for each of you with the affection of Christ Jesus! My prayer is that your love may more and more abound, both in understanding and wealth of experience, so that with a clear conscience and blameless conduct you may learn to value the things that really matter, up to the very day of Christ. It is my wish that you may be found rich in the harvest of justice which Jesus Christ has ripened in you, to the glory and praise of God.
Psalms 111: 1 - 6
I will give thnks to the lord with all my heart in the company and assembly of the just. Great are the works of the Lord exquisite in all their delights. Majesty and glory are his work, and his justice endures forever. He has won renown for his wondrous deeds; gracious and merciful is the Lord. He has given food to those who fear him; he will forever be mindful of his covenant. He has made known to his people the power of his works giving them the inheritance of the nations.
Luke 14: 1 - 6
When Jesus came on a sabbath to eat a meal in the house of one of the leading Pharisees, they observed him closely. Directly in front of him was a man who suffered from dropsy. Jesus asked the lawyers and the Pharisees, "Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?" At this they kept silent. He took the man, healed him, and sent him on his way. Then he addressed himself to them: "If one of you has a son or an ox and he falls into a pit, will he not immediately rescue him on the sabbath day?" This they could not answer.

[Martin Jr.]

November 1, 2008
Revelations 7: 2 - 4 9 - 14
After this I sw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth; they held in check the earth's four winds so that no wind blew on land or sea or through any tree. I saw another angel come up from the east holding the seal of the living God. He cried out at the top of his voice to the four angels who were given power to ravage the land and the sea, "Do no harm to the land or the sea or the trees until we imprint this seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God." I heard the number of those who were so marked - one hundred and forty-four thousand from every tribe of Israel;
After this I saw before me a huge crowd which no one could count from every nation and race, people and tongue. They stood before the throne and the Lamb, dressed in long white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, "Salvation is from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb!"
All the angels who were standing around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures fell down before the throne to worship God. they said: "Amen! Praise and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving and honor, power and might, to our God forever and ever. Amen!"
Psalms 24: 1 - 6
The Lord's are the earth and its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it. For he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Who can ascend the mountain of the lord? or who may stand in his holy place? He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain, or swears deceitfully to his neighbor. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, a reward from God his savior. Such is the race that seeks for him, that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
1 John 3: 1 - 3
See what love the Father has bestowed on us in letting us be called children of God! Yet that is what we are. The reason the world does not recognize us is that it never recognized the Son. Dearly beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall later be has not yet come to light. We know that when it comes to light we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope based on him keeps himself pure, as he is pure.
Matthew 5: 1 - 12
When he saw the crowds he went up on the mountainside. After he had sat down his disciples gathered around him, and he began to teach them:
"How blest are the poor in spirit; the reign of God is theirs.
Blest too are the sorrowing; they shall be consoled.
Blest are the lowly; they shall inherit the land
Blest are they who hunger and thirst for holiness; they shall have their fill.
Blest are they who show mercy; mercy shall be theirs.
Blest are the single-hearted for they shall see God.
Blest too the peacemakers; they shall be called sons of God.
Blest are those persecuted for holiness' sake; the reign of God is theirs.
Blest are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of slander against you because of me.
Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is great in heaven; they persecuted the prophets before you in the very same way.

[Martin Jr.]

November 2, 2008
Wisdom 3: 1 - 9
But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace. For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble; They shall judge nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord shall be their King forever. those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love.
Psalms 27: 1, 4, 7-9, 13-14
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life's refuge; of whom shuold I be afraid?
One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek; To dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, That I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate his temple.
Hear, O Lord, the sound of my call; have pity on me, and answer me. Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks; your presence, O Lord, I seek. Hide not your face from me; do not in anger repel your servant. You are my helper; cast me not off; forsake me not, O God my savior.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living, Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord.
Romans 6: 3 - 9
Are you not aware thet we who were baptized in to Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Through baptism into his death we were buried with him, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live a new life. If we have been united with him through likeness to his death, so shall we be through a like resurrection. this we know, our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed and we might be slaves to sin no longer. A man who is dead has been freed from sin. If we have died with Christ, we believe that we are also to live with him. We know that Christ, once raised from the dead, will never die again; death has no more power over him.
John 6: 37 - 40
"All that the Father gives me shall come to me; no one who comes will I ever reject, because it is not to do my own will that I have come down from heaven, but to do the will of him who sent me. It is the will of him who sent me that I should lose nothing of what he has given me; rather, that I should raise it up on the last day. Indeed, this is the will of my Father that everyone who looks upon the son and believes in him shall have eternal life. Him I will raise up on the last day."

[Martin Jr.]

November 3, 2008
Philippians 2: 1 - 4
In the name of the encouragement you owe me in Christ, in the name of the solace that love can give, of fellowship in spirit, compassion, and pity, I beg you: make my joy complete by your unanimity, possessing the one love united in spirit and ideals. Never act out of rivalry or conceit; rather, let all parties think humbly of others as superior to themselves, each of you looking to others' interest rather then to his own.
Psalms 131: 1 - 3
O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes haughty; I busy not myself with great things, nor with things too sublime for me. Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child on its mother's lap, so is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord, both now and forever.
Luke 14: 12 - 14
He said to the one who had invited him: "Whenever you give a lunch or dinner, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or wealthy neighbors. They might invite you in return and thus repay you. No, when you have a reception, invite beggars and the crippled, the lame and the blind. You should be pleased that they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid in the resurrection of the Just."