2 Samuel 1

• 1. After the death of Saul, David returned from his victory over the Amalekites and spent two days in Ziklag.
• 2. On the third day after David's return, a man arrived from the Israelite battlefront. He had torn his clothes and put dirt on his head to show that he was in mourning. He fell to the ground before David in deep respect.
• 3. "Where have you come from?" David asked. "I escaped from the Israelite camp," the man replied.
• 4. "What happened?" David demanded. "Tell me how the battle went." The man replied, "Our entire army fled. Many men are dead and wounded on the battlefield, and Saul and his son Jonathan have been killed."
• 5. "How do you know that Saul and Jonathan are dead?" David demanded.
• 6. The young man answered, "I happened to be on Mount Gilboa. I saw Saul there leaning on his spear with the enemy chariots closing in on him.
• 7. When he turned and saw me, he cried out for me to come to him. `How can I help?' I asked him.
• 8. And he said to me, `Who are you?' I replied, `I am an Amalekite.'
• 9. Then he begged me, `Come over here and put me out of my misery, for I am in terrible pain and want to die.'
• 10. "So I killed him," the Amalekite told David, "for I knew he couldn't live. Then I took his crown and one of his bracelets so I could bring them to you, my lord."
• 11. David and his men tore their clothes in sorrow when they heard the news.
• 12. They mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the LORD's army and the nation of Israel, because so many had died that day.
• 13. Then David said to the young man who had brought the news, "Where are you from?" And he replied, "I am a foreigner, an Amalekite, who lives in your land."
• 14. "Were you not afraid to kill the LORD's anointed one?" David asked.
• 15. Then David said to one of his men, "Kill him!" So the man thrust his sword into the Amalekite and killed him.
• 16. "You die self-condemned," David said, "for you yourself confessed that you killed the LORD's anointed one."
• 17. Then David composed a funeral song for Saul and Jonathan.
• 18. Later he commanded that it be taught to all the people of Judah. It is known as the Song of the Bow, and it is recorded in The Book of Jashar.
• 19. Your pride and joy, O Israel, lies dead on the hills! How the mighty heroes have fallen!
• 20. Don't announce the news in Gath, or the Philistines will rejoice. Don't proclaim it in the streets of Ashkelon, or the pagans will laugh in triumph.
• 21. O mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you or your slopes. For there the shield of the mighty was defiled; the shield of Saul will no longer be anointed with oil.
• 22. Both Saul and Jonathan killed their strongest foes; they did not return from battle empty-handed.
• 23. How beloved and gracious were Saul and Jonathan! They were together in life and in death. They were swifter than eagles; they were stronger than lions.
• 24. O women of Israel, weep for Saul, for he dressed you in fine clothing and gold ornaments.
• 25. How the mighty heroes have fallen in battle! Jonathan lies dead upon the hills.
• 26. How I weep for you, my brother Jonathan! Oh, how much I loved you! And your love for me was deep, deeper than the love of women!
• 27. How the mighty heroes have fallen! Stripped of their weapons, they lie dead.

1 Corinthians 12

• 1. And now, dear brothers and sisters, I will write about the special abilities the Holy Spirit gives to each of us, for I must correct your misunderstandings about them.
• 2. You know that when you were still pagans you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols.
• 3. So I want you to know how to discern what is truly from God: No one speaking by the Spirit of God can curse Jesus, and no one is able to say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
• 4. Now there are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all.
• 5. There are different kinds of service in the church, but it is the same Lord we are serving.
• 6. There are different ways God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work through all of us.
• 7. A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church.
• 8. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another he gives the gift of special knowledge.
• 9. The Spirit gives special faith to another, and to someone else he gives the power to heal the sick.
• 10. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and to another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to know whether it is really the Spirit of God or another spirit that is speaking. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, and another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.
• 11. It is the one and only Holy Spirit who distributes these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.
• 12. The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up only one body. So it is with the body of Christ.
• 13. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into Christ's body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit.
• 14. Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part.
• 15. If the foot says, "I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand," that does not make it any less a part of the body.
• 16. And if the ear says, "I am not part of the body because I am only an ear and not an eye," would that make it any less a part of the body?
• 17. Suppose the whole body were an eye--then how would you hear? Or if your whole body were just one big ear, how could you smell anything?
• 18. But God made our bodies with many parts, and he has put each part just where he wants it.
• 19. What a strange thing a body would be if it had only one part!
• 20. Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.
• 21. The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you." The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you."
• 22. In fact, some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary.
• 23. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect from the eyes of others those parts that should not be seen,
• 24. while other parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity.
• 25. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other equally.
• 26. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
• 27. Now all of you together are Christ's body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it.
• 28. Here is a list of some of the members that God has placed in the body of Christ: first are apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers, then those who do miracles, those who have the gift of healing, those who can help others, those who can get others to work together, those who speak in unknown languages.
• 29. Is everyone an apostle? Of course not. Is everyone a prophet? No. Are all teachers? Does everyone have the power to do miracles?
• 30. Does everyone have the gift of healing? Of course not. Does God give all of us the ability to speak in unknown languages? Can everyone interpret unknown languages? No!
• 31. And in any event, you should desire the most helpful gifts. First, however, let me tell you about something else that is better than any of them!

Ezekiel 10

• 1. As I looked, I saw what appeared to be a throne of blue sapphire above the crystal surface over the heads of the cherubim.
• 2. Then the LORD spoke to the man in linen clothing and said, "Go in between the whirling wheels beneath the cherubim, and take a handful of glowing coals and scatter them over the city." He did this as I watched.
• 3. The cherubim were standing at the south end of the Temple when the man went in, and the cloud of glory filled the inner courtyard.
• 4. Then the glory of the LORD rose up from above the cherubim and went over to the door of the Temple. The Temple was filled with this cloud of glory, and the Temple courtyard glowed brightly with the glory of the LORD.
• 5. The moving wings of the cherubim sounded like the voice of God Almighty and could be heard clearly in the outer courtyard.
• 6. The LORD said to the man in linen clothing, "Go between the cherubim and take some burning coals from between the wheels." So the man went in and stood beside one of the wheels.
• 7. Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand and took some live coals from the fire burning among them. He put the coals into the hands of the man in linen clothing, and the man took them and went out.
• 8. (All the cherubim had what looked like human hands hidden beneath their wings.)
• 9. Each of the four cherubim had a wheel beside him, and the wheels sparkled like chrysolite.
• 10. All four wheels looked the same; each wheel had a second wheel turning crosswise within it.
• 11. The cherubim could move forward in any of the four directions they faced, without turning as they moved. They went straight in the direction in which their heads were turned, never turning aside.
• 12. Both the cherubim and the wheels were covered with eyes. The cherubim had eyes all over their bodies, including their hands, their backs, and their wings.
• 13. I heard someone refer to the wheels as "the whirling wheels."
• 14. Each of the four cherubim had four faces--the first was the face of an ox, the second was a human face, the third was the face of a lion, and the fourth was the face of an eagle.
• 15. Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the same living beings I had seen beside the Kebar River.
• 16. When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved with them. When they rose into the air, the wheels stayed beside them, going with them as they flew.
• 17. When the cherubim stood still, the wheels also stopped, for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.
• 18. Then the glory of the LORD moved from the door of the Temple and hovered above the cherubim.
• 19. And as I watched, the cherubim flew with their wheels to the east gate of the LORD's Temple. And the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them.
• 20. These were the same living beings I had seen beneath the God of Israel when I was by the Kebar River. I knew they were cherubim,
• 21. for each had four faces and four wings and what looked like human hands under their wings.
• 22. Their faces, too, were just like the faces of the beings I had seen at the Kebar, and they traveled straight ahead, just as the others had.

New Living Translation: 250 of 365 days.