Exodus 4

• 1. Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to you'?"
• 2. Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?A staff," he replied.
• 3. The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.
• 4. Then the LORD said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.
• 5. "This," said the LORD, "is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers-the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob-has appeared to you."
• 6. Then the LORD said, "Put your hand inside your cloak." So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was leprous, like snow.
• 7. "Now put it back into your cloak," he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.
• 8. Then the LORD said, "If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second.
• 9. But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground."
• 10. Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue."
• 11. The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
• 12. Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."
• 13. But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it."
• 14. Then the LORD's anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you.
• 15. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do.
• 16. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him.
• 17. But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it."
• 18. Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, "Let me go back to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive." Jethro said, "Go, and I wish you well."
• 19. Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead."
• 20. So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.
• 21. The LORD said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.
• 22. Then say to Pharaoh, 'This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son,
• 23. and I told you, "Let my son go, so he may worship me." But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.'"
• 24. At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met {Moses} and was about to kill him.
• 25. But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son's foreskin and touched {Moses'} feet with it. "Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me," she said.
• 26. So the LORD let him alone. (At that time she said "bridegroom of blood," referring to circumcision.)
• 27. The LORD said to Aaron, "Go into the desert to meet Moses." So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him.
• 28. Then Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say, and also about all the miraculous signs he had commanded him to perform.
• 29. Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites,
• 30. and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people,
• 31. and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.

Luke 9

• 1. When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases,
• 2. and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
• 3. He told them: "Take nothing for the journey--no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic.
• 4. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town.
• 5. If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them."
• 6. So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.
• 7. Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead,
• 8. others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life.
• 9. But Herod said, "I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?" And he tried to see him.
• 10. When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida,
• 11. but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.
• 12. Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here."
• 13. He replied, "You give them something to eat."
• 14. They answered, "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish--unless we go and buy food for all this crowd." (About five thousand men were there.)
• 15. But he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each." The disciples did so, and everybody sat down.
• 16. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people.
• 17. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
• 18. Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?"
• 19. They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life."
• 20. "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God."
• 21. Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.
• 22. And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."
• 23. Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
• 24. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
• 25. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?
• 26. If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
• 27. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God."
• 28. About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.
• 29. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.
• 30. Two men, Moses and Elijah,
• 31. appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.
• 32. Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
• 33. As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters--one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what he was saying.)
• 34. While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.
• 35. A voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him."
• 36. When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.
• 37. The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him.
• 38. A man in the crowd called out, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.
• 39. A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him.
• 40. I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not."
• 41. "O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here."
• 42. Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father.
• 43. And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.
• 44. While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, "Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men."
• 45. But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.
• 46. An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest.
• 47. Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him.
• 48. Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all--he is the greatest."
• 49. "Master," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us."
• 50. "Do not stop him," Jesus said, "for whoever is not against you is for you."
• 51. As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
• 52. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him;
• 53. but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem.
• 54. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?"
• 55. But Jesus turned and rebuked them,
• 56. and they went to another village.
• 57. As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."
• 58. Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
• 59. He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
• 60. Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
• 61. Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good bye to my family."
• 62. Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

Job 22

• 1. Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
• 2. "Can a man be of benefit to God? Can even a wise man benefit him?
• 3. What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous? What would he gain if your ways were blameless?
• 4. "Is it for your piety that he rebukes you and brings charges against you?
• 5. Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless?
• 6. You demanded security from your brothers for no reason; you stripped men of their clothing, leaving them naked.
• 7. You gave no water to the weary and you withheld food from the hungry,
• 8. though you were a powerful man, owning land- an honored man, living on it.
• 9. And you sent widows away empty-handed and broke the strength of the fatherless.
• 10. That is why snares are all around you, why sudden peril terrifies you,
• 11. why it is so dark you cannot see, and why a flood of water covers you.
• 12. "Is not God in the heights of heaven? And see how lofty are the highest stars!
• 13. Yet you say, 'What does God know? Does he judge through such darkness?
• 14. Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.'
• 15. Will you keep to the old path that evil men have trod?
• 16. They were carried off before their time, their foundations washed away by a flood.
• 17. They said to God, 'Leave us alone! What can the Almighty do to us?'
• 18. Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things, so I stand aloof from the counsel of the wicked.
• 19. "The righteous see their ruin and rejoice; the innocent mock them, saying,
• 20. 'Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire devours their wealth.'
• 21. "Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you.
• 22. Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart.
• 23. If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent
• 24. and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,
• 25. then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you.
• 26. Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God.
• 27. You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows.
• 28. What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways.
• 29. When men are brought low and you say, 'Lift them up!' then he will save the downcast.
• 30. He will deliver even one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."

New International Version

48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | Day 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 |