Joshua 24

• 1. Then Joshua summoned all the people of Israel to Shechem, along with their elders, leaders, judges, and officers. So they came and presented themselves to God.
• 2. Joshua said to the people, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River, and they worshiped other gods.
• 3. But I took your ancestor Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him into the land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants through his son Isaac.
• 4. To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the hill country of Seir, while Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
• 5. "Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I brought terrible plagues on Egypt; and afterward I brought you out as a free people.
• 6. But when your ancestors arrived at the Red Sea, the Egyptians chased after you with chariots and horses.
• 7. When you cried out to the LORD, I put darkness between you and the Egyptians. I brought the sea crashing down on the Egyptians, drowning them. With your very own eyes you saw what I did. Then you lived in the wilderness for many years.
• 8. "Finally, I brought you into the land of the Amorites on the east side of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave you victory over them, and you took possession of their land.
• 9. Then Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, started a war against Israel. He asked Balaam son of Beor to curse you,
• 10. but I would not listen to him. Instead, I made Balaam bless you, and so I rescued you from Balak.
• 11. "When you crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho, the men of Jericho fought against you. There were also many others who fought you, including the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I gave you victory over them.
• 12. And I sent hornets ahead of you to drive out the two kings of the Amorites. It was not your swords or bows that brought you victory.
• 13. I gave you land you had not worked for, and I gave you cities you did not build--the cities in which you are now living. I gave you vineyards and olive groves for food, though you did not plant them.
• 14. "So honor the LORD and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD alone.
• 15. But if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD."
• 16. The people replied, "We would never forsake the LORD and worship other gods.
• 17. For the LORD our God is the one who rescued us and our ancestors from slavery in the land of Egypt. He performed mighty miracles before our very eyes. As we traveled through the wilderness among our enemies, he preserved us.
• 18. It was the LORD who drove out the Amorites and the other nations living here in the land. So we, too, will serve the LORD, for he alone is our God."
• 19. Then Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and sins.
• 20. If you forsake the LORD and serve other gods, he will turn against you and destroy you, even though he has been so good to you."
• 21. But the people answered Joshua, saying, "No, we are determined to serve the LORD!"
• 22. "You are accountable for this decision," Joshua said. "You have chosen to serve the LORD.Yes," they replied, "we are accountable."
• 23. "All right then," Joshua said, "destroy the idols among you, and turn your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel."
• 24. The people said to Joshua, "We will serve the LORD our God. We will obey him alone."
• 25. So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day at Shechem, committing them to a permanent and binding contract between themselves and the LORD.
• 26. Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. As a reminder of their agreement, he took a huge stone and rolled it beneath the oak tree beside the Tabernacle of the LORD.
• 27. Joshua said to all the people, "This stone has heard everything the LORD said to us. It will be a witness to testify against you if you go back on your word to God."
• 28. Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.
• 29. Soon after this, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110.
• 30. They buried him in the land he had inherited, at Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
• 31. Israel served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the leaders who outlived him--those who had personally experienced all that the LORD had done for Israel.
• 32. The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought along with them when they left Egypt, were buried at Shechem, in the parcel of ground Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor for one hundred pieces of silver. This land was located in the territory allotted to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph.
• 33. Eleazar son of Aaron also died. He was buried in the hill country of Ephraim, in the town of Gibeah, which had been given to his son Phinehas.

Acts 4

• 1. While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the leading priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees came over to them.
• 2. They were very disturbed that Peter and John were claiming, on the authority of Jesus, that there is a resurrection of the dead.
• 3. They arrested them and, since it was already evening, jailed them until morning.
• 4. But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so that the number of believers totaled about five thousand men, not counting women and children.
• 5. The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem.
• 6. Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest.
• 7. They brought in the two disciples and demanded, "By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?"
• 8. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Leaders and elders of our nation,
• 9. are we being questioned because we've done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed?
• 10. Let me clearly state to you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed in the name and power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, the man you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead.
• 11. For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, 'The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.'
• 12. There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them."
• 13. The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men who had had no special training. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.
• 14. But since the man who had been healed was standing right there among them, the council had nothing to say.
• 15. So they sent Peter and John out of the council chamber and conferred among themselves.
• 16. "What should we do with these men?" they asked each other. "We can't deny they have done a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it.
• 17. But perhaps we can stop them from spreading their propaganda. We'll warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus' name again."
• 18. So they called the apostles back in and told them never again to speak or teach about Jesus.
• 19. But Peter and John replied, "Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him?
• 20. We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things we have seen and heard."
• 21. The council then threatened them further, but they finally let them go because they didn't know how to punish them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God
• 22. for this miraculous sign--the healing of a man who had been lame for more than forty years.
• 23. As soon as they were freed, Peter and John found the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said.
• 24. Then all the believers were united as they lifted their voices in prayer: "O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them--
• 25. you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor King David, your servant, saying, 'Why did the nations rage? Why did the people waste their time with futile plans?
• 26. The kings of the earth prepared for battle; the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah.'
• 27. "That is what has happened here in this city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed.
• 28. In fact, everything they did occurred according to your eternal will and plan.
• 29. And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give your servants great boldness in their preaching.
• 30. Send your healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
• 31. After this prayer, the building where they were meeting shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they preached God's message with boldness.
• 32. All the believers were of one heart and mind, and they felt that what they owned was not their own; they shared everything they had.
• 33. And the apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's great favor was upon them all.
• 34. There was no poverty among them, because people who owned land or houses sold them
• 35. and brought the money to the apostles to give to others in need.
• 36. For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means "Son of Encouragement"). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus.
• 37. He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles for those in need.

Jeremiah 13

• 1. This is what the LORD said to me: "Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not wash it."
• 2. So I bought the belt as the LORD directed me and put it around my waist.
• 3. Then the LORD gave me another message:
• 4. "Take the linen belt you are wearing, and go to the Euphrates River. Hide it there in a hole in the rocks."
• 5. So I went and hid it at the Euphrates as the LORD had instructed me.
• 6. A long time afterward, the LORD said to me, "Go back to the Euphrates and get the linen belt that I told you to hide there."
• 7. So I went to the Euphrates and dug it out of the hole where I had hidden it. But now it was mildewed and falling apart. The belt was useless.
• 8. Then I received this message from the LORD:
• 9. "The LORD says: This illustrates how I will rot away the pride of Judah and Jerusalem.
• 10. These wicked people refuse to listen to me. They stubbornly follow their own desires and worship idols. Therefore, they will become like this linen belt--good for nothing!
• 11. As a belt clings to a person's waist, so I created Judah and Israel to cling to me," says the LORD. "They were to be my people, my pride, my glory--an honor to my name. But they would not listen to me.
• 12. "So tell them, `The LORD, the God of Israel, says: All your wineskins will be full of wine.' And they will reply, `Of course, you don't need to tell us how prosperous we will be!'
• 13. Then tell them, `No, this is what the LORD means: I will make everyone in this land so confused that they will seem drunk--from the king sitting on David's throne and from the priests and the prophets, right on down to the common people.
• 14. I will smash them one against the other, even parents against children, says the LORD. I will not let my pity or mercy or compassion keep me from destroying them.'"
• 15. Listen! Do not be proud, for the LORD has spoken.
• 16. Give glory to the LORD your God before it is too late. Acknowledge him before he brings darkness upon you, causing you to stumble and fall on the dark mountains. For then, when you look for light, you will find only terrible darkness.
• 17. And if you still refuse to listen, I will weep alone because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears because the LORD's flock will be led away into exile.
• 18. Say to the king and his mother, "Come down from your thrones and sit in the dust, for your glorious crowns will soon be snatched from your heads."
• 19. The towns of the Negev will close their gates, and no one will be able to open them. The people of Judah will be taken away as captives. They will all be carried into exile.
• 20. See the armies marching down from the north! Where is your flock--your beautiful flock--that he gave you to care for?
• 21. How will you feel when the LORD sets your foreign allies over you as rulers? You will writhe in pain like a woman giving birth!
• 22. You may ask yourself, "Why is all this happening to me?" It is because of your many sins! That is why you have been raped and destroyed by invading armies.
• 23. Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard take away its spots? Neither can you start doing good, for you always do evil.
• 24. "I will scatter you, just as chaff is scattered by the winds blowing in from the desert.
• 25. This is your allotment, that which is due you," says the LORD. "I have measured it out especially for you, because you have forgotten me and put your trust in false gods.
• 26. I myself will expose you to shame.
• 27. I am keenly aware of your adultery and lust, and your abominable idol worship out in the fields and on the hills. Your destruction is sure, Jerusalem! How long will it be before you are pure?"

New Living Translation: 198 of 365 days.