1 Kings 21

• 1. King Ahab had a palace in Jezreel, and near the palace was a vineyard owned by a man named Naboth.
• 2. One day Ahab said to Naboth, "Since your vineyard is so convenient to the palace, I would like to buy it to use as a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or if you prefer, I will pay you for it."
• 3. But Naboth replied, "The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance that was passed down by my ancestors."
• 4. So Ahab went home angry and sullen because of Naboth's answer. The king went to bed with his face to the wall and refused to eat!
• 5. "What in the world is the matter?" his wife, Jezebel, asked him. "What has made you so upset that you are not eating?"
• 6. "I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or to trade it, and he refused!" Ahab told her.
• 7. "Are you the king of Israel or not?" Jezebel asked. "Get up and eat and don't worry about it. I'll get you Naboth's vineyard!"
• 8. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and other leaders of the city where Naboth lived.
• 9. In her letters she commanded: "Call the citizens together for fasting and prayer and give Naboth a place of honor.
• 10. Find two scoundrels who will accuse him of cursing God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death."
• 11. So the elders and other leaders followed the instructions Jezebel had written in the letters.
• 12. They called for a fast and put Naboth at a prominent place before the people.
• 13. Then two scoundrels accused him before all the people of cursing God and the king. So he was dragged outside the city and stoned to death.
• 14. The city officials then sent word to Jezebel, "Naboth has been stoned to death."
• 15. When Jezebel heard the news, she said to Ahab, "You know the vineyard Naboth wouldn't sell you? Well, you can have it now! He's dead!"
• 16. So Ahab immediately went down to the vineyard to claim it.
• 17. But the LORD said to Elijah, who was from Tishbe,
• 18. "Go down to meet King Ahab, who rules in Samaria. He will be at Naboth's vineyard in Jezreel, taking possession of it.
• 19. Give him this message: `This is what the LORD says: Isn't killing Naboth bad enough? Must you rob him, too? Because you have done this, dogs will lick your blood outside the city just as they licked the blood of Naboth!'"
• 20. "So my enemy has found me!" Ahab exclaimed to Elijah. "Yes," Elijah answered, "I have come because you have sold yourself to what is evil in the LORD's sight.
• 21. The LORD is going to bring disaster to you and sweep you away. He will not let a single one of your male descendants, slave or free alike, survive in Israel!
• 22. He is going to destroy your family as he did the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat and the family of Baasha son of Ahijah, for you have made him very angry and have led all of Israel into sin.
• 23. The LORD has also told me that the dogs of Jezreel will eat the body of your wife, Jezebel, at the city wall.
• 24. The members of your family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures."
• 25. No one else so completely sold himself to what was evil in the LORD's sight as did Ahab, for his wife, Jezebel, influenced him.
• 26. He was especially guilty because he worshiped idols just as the Amorites had done--the people whom the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites.
• 27. When Ahab heard this message, he tore his clothing, dressed in sackcloth, and fasted. He even slept in sackcloth and went about in deep mourning.
• 28. Then another message from the LORD came to Elijah, who was from Tishbe:
• 29. "Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has done this, I will not do what I promised during his lifetime. It will happen to his sons; I will destroy all his descendants."

1 Thessalonians 4

• 1. Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You are doing this already, and we encourage you to do so more and more.
• 2. For you remember what we taught you in the name of the Lord Jesus.
• 3. God wants you to be holy, so you should keep clear of all sexual sin.
• 4. Then each of you will control your body and live in holiness and honor--
• 5. not in lustful passion as the pagans do, in their ignorance of God and his ways.
• 6. Never cheat a Christian brother in this matter by taking his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before.
• 7. God has called us to be holy, not to live impure lives.
• 8. Anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human rules but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
• 9. But I don't need to write to you about the Christian love that should be shown among God's people. For God himself has taught you to love one another.
• 10. Indeed, your love is already strong toward all the Christians in all of Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we beg you to love them more and more.
• 11. This should be your ambition: to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we commanded you before.
• 12. As a result, people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others to meet your financial needs.
• 13. And now, brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope.
• 14. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus comes, God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died.
• 15. I can tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not rise to meet him ahead of those who are in their graves.
• 16. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves.
• 17. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever.
• 18. So comfort and encourage each other with these words.

Daniel 3

• 1. King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
• 2. Then he sent messages to the princes, prefects, governors, advisers, counselors, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials to come to the dedication of the statue he had set up.
• 3. When all these officials had arrived and were standing before the image King Nebuchadnezzar had set up,
• 4. a herald shouted out, "People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king's command!
• 5. When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar's gold statue.
• 6. Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace."
• 7. So at the sound of the musical instruments, all the people, whatever their race or nation or language, bowed to the ground and worshiped the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
• 8. But some of the astrologers went to the king and informed on the Jews.
• 9. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "Long live the king!
• 10. You issued a decree requiring all the people to bow down and worship the gold statue when they hear the sound of the musical instruments.
• 11. That decree also states that those who refuse to obey must be thrown into a blazing furnace.
• 12. But there are some Jews--Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego--whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon. They have defied Your Majesty by refusing to serve your gods or to worship the gold statue you have set up."
• 13. Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be brought before him. When they were brought in,
• 14. Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up?
• 15. I will give you one more chance. If you bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments, all will be well. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. What god will be able to rescue you from my power then?"
• 16. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.
• 17. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty.
• 18. But even if he doesn't, Your Majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up."
• 19. Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual.
• 20. Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.
• 21. So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully clothed.
• 22. And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames leaped out and killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in!
• 23. So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell down into the roaring flames.
• 24. But suddenly, as he was watching, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, "Didn't we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?Yes," they said, "we did indeed, Your Majesty."
• 25. "Look!" Nebuchadnezzar shouted. "I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire. They aren't even hurt by the flames! And the fourth looks like a divine being!"
• 26. Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire.
• 27. Then the princes, prefects, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn't even smell of smoke!
• 28. Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king's command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
• 29. Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be crushed into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!"
• 30. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.

New Living Translation: 291 of 365 days.