2 Chronicles 1

• 1. Solomon, the son of King David, now took firm control of the kingdom, for the LORD his God was with him and made him very powerful.
• 2. He called together all Israel--the generals and captains of the army, the judges, and all the political and clan leaders.
• 3. Then Solomon led the entire assembly to the hill at Gibeon where God's Tabernacle was located. This was the Tabernacle that Moses, the LORD's servant, had constructed in the wilderness.
• 4. David had already moved the Ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the special tent he had prepared for it in Jerusalem.
• 5. But the bronze altar made by Bezalel son of Uri and grandson of Hur was still at Gibeon in front of the Tabernacle of the LORD. So Solomon and the people gathered in front of it to consult the LORD.
• 6. There in front of the Tabernacle, Solomon went up to the bronze altar in the LORD's presence and sacrificed a thousand burnt offerings on it.
• 7. That night God appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, "What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!"
• 8. Solomon replied to God, "You have been so faithful and kind to my father, David, and now you have made me king in his place.
• 9. Now, LORD God, please keep your promise to David my father, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth!
• 10. Give me wisdom and knowledge to rule them properly, for who is able to govern this great nation of yours?"
• 11. God said to Solomon, "Because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you did not ask for personal wealth and honor or the death of your enemies or even a long life, but rather you asked for wisdom and knowledge to properly govern my people,
• 12. I will certainly give you the wisdom and knowledge you requested. And I will also give you riches, wealth, and honor such as no other king has ever had before you or will ever have again!"
• 13. Then Solomon returned to Jerusalem from the Tabernacle at the hill of Gibeon, and he reigned over Israel.
• 14. Solomon built up a huge military force, which included fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses. He stationed many of them in the chariot cities, and some near him in Jerusalem.
• 15. During Solomon's reign, silver and gold were as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones. And valuable cedarwood was as common as the sycamore wood that grows in the foothills of Judah.
• 16. Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and from Cilicia; the king's traders acquired them from Cilicia at the standard price.
• 17. At that time, Egyptian chariots delivered to Jerusalem could be purchased for 600 pieces of silver, and horses could be bought for 150 pieces of silver. Many of these were then resold to the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.

1 John 1

• 1. The one who existed from the beginning is the one we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of life.
• 2. This one who is life from God was shown to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and announce to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was shown to us.
• 3. We are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
• 4. We are writing these things so that our joy will be complete.
• 5. This is the message he has given us to announce to you: God is light and there is no darkness in him at all.
• 6. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness. We are not living in the truth.
• 7. But if we are living in the light of God's presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin.
• 8. If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth.
• 9. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.
• 10. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

Micah 7

• 1. What misery is mine! I feel like the fruit picker after the harvest who can find nothing to eat. Not a cluster of grapes or a single fig can be found to satisfy my hunger.
• 2. The godly people have all disappeared; not one fair-minded person is left on the earth. They are all murderers, even setting traps for their own brothers.
• 3. They go about their evil deeds with both hands. How skilled they are at using them! Officials and judges alike demand bribes. The people with money and influence pay them off, and together they scheme to twist justice.
• 4. Even the best of them is like a brier; the straightest is more crooked than a hedge of thorns. But your judgment day is coming swiftly now. Your time of punishment is here.
• 5. Don't trust anyone--not your best friend or even your wife!
• 6. For the son despises his father. The daughter defies her mother. The daughter-in-law defies her mother-in-law. Your enemies will be right in your own household.
• 7. As for me, I look to the LORD for his help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me.
• 8. Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD himself will be my light.
• 9. I will be patient as the LORD punishes me, for I have sinned against him. But after that, he will take up my case and punish my enemies for all the evil they have done to me. The LORD will bring me out of my darkness into the light, and I will see his righteousness.
• 10. Then my enemies will see that the LORD is on my side. They will be ashamed that they taunted me, saying, "Where is the LORD--that God of yours?" With my own eyes I will see them trampled down like mud in the streets.
• 11. In that day, Israel, your cities will be rebuilt, and your borders will be extended.
• 12. People from many lands will come and honor you--from Assyria all the way to the towns of Egypt, and from Egypt all the way to the Euphrates River, and from many distant seas and mountains.
• 13. But the land will become empty and desolate because of the wickedness of those who live there.
• 14. O LORD, come and rule your people; lead your flock in green pastures. Help them to live in peace and prosperity. Let them enjoy the fertile pastures of Bashan and Gilead as they did long ago.
• 15. "Yes," says the LORD, "I will do mighty miracles for you, like those I did when I rescued you from slavery in Egypt."
• 16. All the nations of the world will stand amazed at what the LORD will do for you. They will be embarrassed that their power is so insignificant. They will stand in silent awe, deaf to everything around them.
• 17. They will come to realize what lowly creatures they really are. Like snakes crawling from their holes, they will come out to meet the LORD our God. They will fear him greatly, trembling in terror at his presence.
• 18. Where is another God like you, who pardons the sins of the survivors among his people? You cannot stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing mercy.
• 19. Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!
• 20. You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love as you promised with an oath to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago.

New Living Translation: 336 of 365 days.