1 Kings 15

• 1. Abijam began to rule over Judah in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam's reign in Israel.
• 2. He reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother was Maacah, the daughter of Absalom.
• 3. He committed the same sins as his father before him, and his heart was not right with the LORD his God, as the heart of his ancestor David had been.
• 4. But for David's sake, the LORD his God allowed his dynasty to continue, and he gave Abijam a son to rule after him in Jerusalem.
• 5. For David had done what was pleasing in the LORD's sight and had obeyed the LORD's commands throughout his life, except in the affair concerning Uriah the Hittite.
• 6. There was war between Abijam and Jeroboam throughout Abijam's reign.
• 7. The rest of the events in Abijam's reign and all his deeds are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. There was constant war between Abijam and Jeroboam.
• 8. When Abijam died, he was buried in the City of David. Then his son Asa became the next king.
• 9. Asa began to rule over Judah in the twentieth year of Jeroboam's reign in Israel.
• 10. He reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother was Maacah, the daughter of Absalom.
• 11. Asa did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight, as his ancestor David had done.
• 12. He banished the shrine prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols his ancestors had made.
• 13. He even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. He cut down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
• 14. Although the pagan shrines were not completely removed, Asa remained faithful to the LORD throughout his life.
• 15. He brought into the Temple of the LORD the silver and gold and the utensils that he and his father had dedicated.
• 16. There was constant war between King Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel.
• 17. King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from entering or leaving King Asa's territory in Judah.
• 18. Asa responded by taking all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the LORD's Temple and the royal palace. He sent it with some of his officials to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon and grandson of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, along with this message:
• 19. "Let us renew the treaty that existed between your father and my father. See, I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel so that he will leave me alone."
• 20. Ben-hadad agreed to King Asa's request and sent his armies to attack Israel. They conquered the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Kinnereth, with all the land of Naphtali.
• 21. As soon as Baasha of Israel heard what was happening, he abandoned his project of fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah.
• 22. Then King Asa sent an order throughout Judah, requiring that everyone, without exception, help to carry away the building stones and timbers that Baasha had been using to fortify Ramah. Asa used these materials to fortify the town of Geba in Benjamin and the town of Mizpah.
• 23. The rest of the events in Asa's reign, the extent of his power, and the names of the cities he built are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. In his old age his feet became diseased.
• 24. When Asa died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Jehoshaphat became the next king.
• 25. Nadab son of Jeroboam began to rule over Israel in the second year of King Asa's reign in Judah. He reigned in Israel two years.
• 26. But he did what was evil in the LORD's sight and followed the example of his father, continuing the sins of idolatry that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit.
• 27. Then Baasha son of Ahijah, from the tribe of Issachar, plotted against Nadab and assassinated him while he and the Israelite army were laying siege to the Philistine town of Gibbethon.
• 28. Baasha killed Nadab in the third year of King Asa's reign in Judah, and he became the next king of Israel.
• 29. He immediately killed all the descendants of King Jeroboam, so that not one of the royal family was left, just as the LORD had promised concerning Jeroboam by the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh.
• 30. This was done because Jeroboam had aroused the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, by the sins he had committed and the sins he had led Israel to commit.
• 31. The rest of the events in Nadab's reign and all his deeds are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. Baasha Rules in Israel
• 32. There was constant war between Asa and King Baasha of Israel.
• 33. Baasha began to rule over Israel in the third year of King Asa's reign in Judah. Baasha reigned in Tirzah twenty-four years.
• 34. But he did what was evil in the LORD's sight and followed the example of Jeroboam, continuing the sins of idolatry that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit.

Colossians 2

• 1. I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other friends who have never known me personally.
• 2. My goal is that they will be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have full confidence because they have complete understanding of God's secret plan, which is Christ himself.
• 3. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
• 4. I am telling you this so that no one will be able to deceive you with persuasive arguments.
• 5. For though I am far away from you, my heart is with you. And I am very happy because you are living as you should and because of your strong faith in Christ.
• 6. And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to him.
• 7. Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done.
• 8. Don't let anyone lead you astray with empty philosophy and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the evil powers of this world, and not from Christ.
• 9. For in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body,
• 10. and you are complete through your union with Christ. He is the Lord over every ruler and authority in the universe.
• 11. When you came to Christ, you were "circumcised," but not by a physical procedure. It was a spiritual procedure--the cutting away of your sinful nature.
• 12. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to a new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.
• 13. You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins.
• 14. He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ's cross.
• 15. In this way, God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross of Christ.
• 16. So don't let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new-moon ceremonies or Sabbaths.
• 17. For these rules were only shadows of the real thing, Christ himself.
• 18. Don't let anyone condemn you by insisting on self-denial. And don't let anyone say you must worship angels, even though they say they have had visions about this. These people claim to be so humble, but their sinful minds have made them proud.
• 19. But they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For we are joined together in his body by his strong sinews, and we grow only as we get our nourishment and strength from God.
• 20. You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the evil powers of this world. So why do you keep on following rules of the world, such as,
• 21. "Don't handle, don't eat, don't touch."
• 22. Such rules are mere human teaching about things that are gone as soon as we use them.
• 23. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, humility, and severe bodily discipline. But they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person's evil thoughts and desires.

Ezekiel 45

• 1. "When you divide the land among the tribes of Israel, you must set aside a section of it for the LORD as his holy portion. This piece of land will be 8 1/3 miles long and 6 2/3 miles wide. The entire area will be holy ground.
• 2. A section of this land, measuring 875 feet by 875 feet, will be set aside for the Temple. An additional strip of land 87 1/2 feet wide is to be left empty all around it.
• 3. Within the larger sacred area, measure out a portion of land 8 1/3 miles long and 3 1/3 miles wide. Within it the sanctuary of the Most Holy Place will be located.
• 4. This area will be a holy land, set aside for the priests who minister to the LORD in the sanctuary. They will use it for their homes, and my Temple will be located within it.
• 5. The strip of sacred land next to it, also 8 1/3 miles long and 3 1/3 miles wide, will be a living area for the Levites who work at the Temple. It will be their possession and a place for their towns.
• 6. "Adjacent to the larger sacred area will be a section of land 8 1/3 miles long and 1 2/3 miles wide. This will be set aside to be a city where anyone in Israel can come and live.
• 7. "Two special sections of land will be set apart for the prince. One section will share a border with the east side of the sacred lands and city, and the second section will share a border on the west side. Then the far eastern and western borders of the prince's lands will line up with the eastern and western boundaries of the tribal areas.
• 8. These sections of land will be the prince's allotment. "My princes will no longer oppress and rob my people; they will assign the rest of the land to the people, giving an allotment to each tribe.
• 9. For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Enough, you princes of Israel! Stop all your violence and oppression and do what is just and right. Quit robbing and cheating my people out of their land! Stop expelling them from their homes!
• 10. You must use only honest weights and scales, honest dry volume measures, and honest liquid volume measures.
• 11. The homer will be your standard unit for measuring volume. The ephah and the bath will each measure one-tenth of a homer.
• 12. The standard unit for weight will be the silver shekel. One shekel consists of twenty gerahs, and sixty shekels are equal to one mina.
• 13. "This is the tax you must give to the prince: one bushel of wheat or barley for every sixty you harvest,
• 14. one percent of your olive oil,
• 15. and one sheep for every two hundred in your flocks in Israel. These will be the grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings that will make atonement for the people who bring them, says the Sovereign LORD.
• 16. All the people of Israel must join the prince in bringing their offerings.
• 17. The prince will be required to provide offerings that are given at the religious festivals, the new moon celebrations, the Sabbath days, and all other similar occasions. He will provide the sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings, and peace offerings to make reconciliation for the people of Israel.
• 18. "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: In early spring, on the first day of each new year, sacrifice a young bull with no physical defects to purify the Temple.
• 19. The priest will take some of the blood of this sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the Temple, the four corners of the upper ledge on the altar, and the gateposts at the entrance to the inner courtyard.
• 20. Do this also on the seventh day of the new year for anyone who has sinned through error or ignorance. In that way, you will make atonement for the Temple.
• 21. "On the fourteenth day of the new year, you must celebrate the Passover. This festival will last for seven days. Only bread without yeast may be eaten during that time.
• 22. On the day of Passover the prince will provide a young bull as a sin offering for himself and the people of Israel.
• 23. On each of the seven days of the feast he will prepare a burnt offering to the LORD. This daily offering will consist of seven young bulls and seven rams without any defects. A male goat will also be given each day for a sin offering.
• 24. The prince will provide a half bushel of flour as a grain offering and a gallon of olive oil with each young bull and ram.
• 25. "During the seven days of the Festival of Shelters, which occurs every year in early autumn, the prince will provide these same sacrifices for the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the grain offering, along with the required olive oil.

New Living Translation: 285 of 365 days.