2 Samuel 15

• 1. After this, Absalom bought a chariot and horses, and he hired fifty footmen to run ahead of him.
• 2. He got up early every morning and went out to the gate of the city. When people brought a case to the king for judgment, Absalom would ask where they were from, and they would tell him their tribe.
• 3. Then Absalom would say, "You've really got a strong case here! It's too bad the king doesn't have anyone to hear it.
• 4. I wish I were the judge. Then people could bring their problems to me, and I would give them justice!"
• 5. And when people tried to bow before him, Absalom wouldn't let them. Instead, he took them by the hand and embraced them.
• 6. So in this way, Absalom stole the hearts of all the people of Israel.
• 7. After four years, Absalom said to the king, "Let me go to Hebron to offer a sacrifice to the LORD in fulfillment of a vow I made to him.
• 8. For while I was at Geshur, I promised to sacrifice to him in Hebron if he would bring me back to Jerusalem."
• 9. "All right," the king told him. "Go and fulfill your vow." So Absalom went to Hebron.
• 10. But while he was there, he sent secret messengers to every part of Israel to stir up a rebellion against the king. "As soon as you hear the trumpets," his message read, "you will know that Absalom has been crowned king in Hebron."
• 11. He took two hundred men from Jerusalem with him as guests, but they knew nothing of his intentions.
• 12. While he was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel, one of David's counselors who lived in Giloh. Soon many others also joined Absalom, and the conspiracy gained momentum.
• 13. A messenger soon arrived in Jerusalem to tell King David, "All Israel has joined Absalom in a conspiracy against you!"
• 14. "Then we must flee at once, or it will be too late!" David urged his men. "Hurry! If we get out of the city before he arrives, both we and the city of Jerusalem will be spared from disaster."
• 15. "We are with you," his advisers replied. "Do what you think is best."
• 16. So the king and his household set out at once. He left no one behind except ten of his concubines to keep the palace in order.
• 17. The king and his people set out on foot, and they paused at the edge of the city
• 18. to let David's troops move past to lead the way. There were six hundred Gittites who had come with David from Gath, along with the king's bodyguard.
• 19. Then the king turned to Ittai, the captain of the Gittites, and asked, "Why are you coming with us? Go on back with your men to King Absalom, for you are a guest in Israel, a foreigner in exile.
• 20. You arrived only yesterday, and now should I force you to wander with us? I don't even know where we will go. Go on back and take your troops with you, and may the LORD show you his unfailing love and faithfulness. "
• 21. But Ittai said to the king, "I vow by the LORD and by your own life that I will go wherever you go, no matter what happens--whether it means life or death."
• 22. David replied, "All right, come with us." So Ittai and his six hundred men and their families went along.
• 23. There was deep sadness throughout the land as the king and his followers passed by. They crossed the Kidron Valley and then went out toward the wilderness.
• 24. Abiathar and Zadok and the Levites took the Ark of the Covenant of God and set it down beside the road. Then they offered sacrifices there until everyone had passed by.
• 25. David instructed Zadok to take the Ark of God back into the city. "If the LORD sees fit," David said, "he will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernacle again.
• 26. But if he is through with me, then let him do what seems best to him."
• 27. Then the king told Zadok the priest, "Look, here is my plan. You and Abiathar should return quietly to the city with your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan.
• 28. I will stop at the shallows of the Jordan River and wait there for a message from you. Let me know what happens in Jerusalem before I disappear into the wilderness."
• 29. So Zadok and Abiathar took the Ark of God back to the city and stayed there.
• 30. David walked up the road that led to the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went. His head was covered and his feet were bare as a sign of mourning. And the people who were with him covered their heads and wept as they climbed the mountain.
• 31. When someone told David that his adviser Ahithophel was now backing Absalom, David prayed, "O LORD, let Ahithophel give Absalom foolish advice!"
• 32. As they reached the spot at the top of the Mount of Olives where people worshiped God, David found Hushai the Arkite waiting for him. Hushai had torn his clothing and put dirt on his head as a sign of mourning.
• 33. But David told him, "If you go with me, you will only be a burden.
• 34. Return to Jerusalem and tell Absalom, `I will now be your adviser, just as I was your father's adviser in the past.' Then you can frustrate and counter Ahithophel's advice.
• 35. Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, are there. Tell them the plans that are being made to capture me,
• 36. and they will send their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan to find me and tell me what is going on."
• 37. So David's friend Hushai returned to Jerusalem, getting there just as Absalom arrived.

2 Corinthians 8

• 1. Now I want to tell you, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done for the churches in Macedonia.
• 2. Though they have been going through much trouble and hard times, their wonderful joy and deep poverty have overflowed in rich generosity.
• 3. For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford but far more. And they did it of their own free will.
• 4. They begged us again and again for the gracious privilege of sharing in the gift for the Christians in Jerusalem.
• 5. Best of all, they went beyond our highest hopes, for their first action was to dedicate themselves to the Lord and to us for whatever directions God might give them.
• 6. So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to complete your share in this ministry of giving.
• 7. Since you excel in so many ways--you have so much faith, such gifted speakers, such knowledge, such enthusiasm, and such love for us--now I want you to excel also in this gracious ministry of giving.
• 8. I am not saying you must do it, even though the other churches are eager to do it. This is one way to prove your love is real.
• 9. You know how full of love and kindness our Lord Jesus Christ was. Though he was very rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.
• 10. I suggest that you finish what you started a year ago, for you were the first to propose this idea, and you were the first to begin doing something about it.
• 11. Now you should carry this project through to completion just as enthusiastically as you began it. Give whatever you can according to what you have.
• 12. If you are really eager to give, it isn't important how much you are able to give. God wants you to give what you have, not what you don't have.
• 13. Of course, I don't mean you should give so much that you suffer from having too little. I only mean that there should be some equality.
• 14. Right now you have plenty and can help them. Then at some other time they can share with you when you need it. In this way, everyone's needs will be met.
• 15. Do you remember what the Scriptures say about this? "Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough."
• 16. I am thankful to God that he has given Titus the same enthusiasm for you that I have.
• 17. He welcomed our request that he visit you again. In fact, he himself was eager to go and see you.
• 18. We are also sending another brother with Titus. He is highly praised in all the churches as a preacher of the Good News.
• 19. He was appointed by the churches to accompany us as we take the offering to Jerusalem--a service that glorifies the Lord and shows our eagerness to help.
• 20. By traveling together we will guard against any suspicion, for we are anxious that no one should find fault with the way we are handling this generous gift.
• 21. We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to know we are honorable.
• 22. And we are also sending with them another brother who has been thoroughly tested and has shown how earnest he is on many occasions. He is now even more enthusiastic because of his increased confidence in you.
• 23. If anyone asks about Titus, say that he is my partner who works with me to help you. And these brothers are representatives of the churches. They are splendid examples of those who bring glory to Christ.
• 24. So show them your love, and prove to all the churches that our boasting about you is justified.

Ezekiel 22

• 1. Now this message came to me from the LORD:
• 2. "Son of man, are you ready to judge Jerusalem? Are you ready to judge this city of murderers? Denounce her terrible deeds in public,
• 3. and give her this message from the Sovereign LORD: O city of murderers, doomed and damned--city of idols, filthy and foul--
• 4. you are guilty of both murder and idolatry. Your day of destruction has come! You have reached the end of your years. I will make you an object of mockery throughout the world.
• 5. O infamous city, filled with confusion, you will be mocked by people both far and near.
• 6. "Every leader in Israel who lives within your walls is bent on murder.
• 7. Fathers and mothers are contemptuously ignored. Resident foreigners are forced to pay for protection. Orphans and widows are wronged and oppressed.
• 8. Inside your walls you despise my holy things and violate my Sabbath days of rest.
• 9. People accuse others falsely and send them to their death. You are filled with idol worshipers and people who take part in lewd activities.
• 10. Men sleep with their fathers' wives and have intercourse with women who are menstruating.
• 11. Within your walls live men who commit adultery with their neighbors' wives, who defile their daughters-in-law or who rape their own sisters.
• 12. There are hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortioners everywhere! They never even think of me and my commands, says the Sovereign LORD.
• 13. "But now I clap my hands in indignation over your dishonest gain and bloodshed.
• 14. How strong and courageous will you be in my day of reckoning? I, the LORD, have spoken! I will do what I have said.
• 15. I will scatter you among the nations and purge you of your wickedness.
• 16. And when you have been dishonored among the nations, you will know that I am the LORD."
• 17. Then this message came to me from the LORD:
• 18. "Son of man, the people of Israel are the worthless slag that remains after silver is smelted. They are the dross that is left over--a useless mixture of copper, tin, iron, and lead.
• 19. So give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: Because you are all worthless slag, I will bring you to my crucible in Jerusalem.
• 20. I will melt you down in the heat of my fury, just as copper, tin, iron, and lead are melted down in a furnace.
• 21. I will gather you together and blow the fire of my anger upon you,
• 22. and you will melt like silver in fierce heat. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out my fury on you."
• 23. Again a message came to me from the LORD:
• 24. "Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: In the day of my indignation, you will become like an uncleared wilderness or a desert without rain.
• 25. Your princes plot conspiracies just as lions stalk their prey. They devour innocent people, seizing treasures and extorting wealth. They increase the number of widows in the land.
• 26. Your priests have violated my laws and defiled my holy things. To them there is no difference between what is holy and what is not. And they do not teach my people the difference between what is ceremonially clean and unclean. They disregard my Sabbath days so that my holy name is greatly dishonored among them.
• 27. Your leaders are like wolves, who tear apart their victims. They actually destroy people's lives for profit!
• 28. And your prophets announce false visions and speak false messages. They say, `My message is from the Sovereign LORD,' when the LORD hasn't spoken a single word to them. They repair cracked walls with whitewash!
• 29. Even common people oppress the poor, rob the needy, and deprive foreigners of justice.
• 30. "I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn't have to destroy the land, but I found no one.
• 31. So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them in the fire of my anger. I will heap on them the full penalty for all their sins, says the Sovereign LORD."

New Living Translation: 262 of 365 days.