Friday, August 15

10Now Jacob went out from the Well of Oath and went toward Haran.

11So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. Then he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.

12Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

13So behold, the Lord stood above it and said, 'I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. Do not fear, the land on which you lie I will give to you and your seed.

14Also, your seed shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed.

15Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.'

16Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, 'The Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.'

17So he was afraid and said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.'

27It will be when these days are over, on the eighth day, the priests shall offer your whole burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar, and I shall accept you,' says the Lord.'

1Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary that faces toward the east, but it was shut.

2So the Lord said to me, 'This gate shall be shut. It shall not be opened, and no man shall pass through it, because the Lord God of Israel will enter by it; therefore, it shall be shut.

3As for the prince, he will sit in it to eat bread before the Lord. He will go in by way of the gate chamber and go out the same way.'

4Then He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, the house of the Lord was full of glory; and I fell on my face.

1Wisdom built her house, And she supported it with seven pillars.

2She offered her sacrifices; She mixed her wine in a bowl And prepared her table.

3She sent her servants, Inviting people to the bowl with a lofty proclamation, saying,

4"He who is without discernment, Let him turn aside to me"; And to those in need of discernment, she says,

5"Come, eat my bread And drink the wine I mixed for you;

6Forsake lack of discernment, and you shall live; Seek discernment so you may live, And keep straight your understanding with knowledge."

7He who chastises evil men shall receive dishonor to himself, And he who reproves the ungodly man shall be blamed himself.

8Do not reprove evil men, so they may not hate you; Reprove a wise man, and he will love you.

9Give the opportunity to a wise man, and he will be wiser; Instruct a righteous man, and he shall continue to receive it.

10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the counsel of saints is understanding; For to know the law is characteristic of a good mind.

11For in this manner you will live a long time, And the years of your life shall be increased.

39Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,

40and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.

41And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

42Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

43But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

45Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.'

46'My soul magnifies the Lord,

47And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

48For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

49For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.

50And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.

51He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

52He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.

53He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.

54He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,

55As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.'

56And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.

5Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,

6who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,

7but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.

8And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

9Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,

10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,

11and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

12For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you.

13For we are not writing any other things to you than what you read or understand. Now I trust you will understand, even to the end

14(as also you have understood us in part), that we are your boast as you also are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus.

15And in this confidence I intended to come to you before, that you might have a second benefit—

16to pass by way of you to Macedonia, to come again from Macedonia to you, and be helped by you on my way to Judea.

17Therefore, when I was planning this, did I do it lightly? Or the things I plan, do I plan according to the flesh, that with me there should be Yes, Yes, and No, No?

18But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No.

19For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me, Silvanus, and Timothy—was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes.

20For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.

38Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.

39And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.

40But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, 'Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.'

41And Jesus answered and said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.

42But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.'

1Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.'

2So He said to them, 'When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

3Give us day by day our daily bread.

4And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.'

5And He said to them, 'Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves;

6for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him';

7and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?

8I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

9'So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

10For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

11If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?

12Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

13If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!'

14And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled.

15But some of them said, 'He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.'

16Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven.

17But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: 'Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls.

18If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.

19And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.

20But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.

21When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.

22But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.

23He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

24'When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'

25And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order.

26Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.'

27And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, 'Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!'

28But He said, 'More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!'

23The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him,

24saying: 'Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.

25Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.

26Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.

27Last of all the woman died also.

28Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.'

29Jesus answered and said to them, 'You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.

30For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.

31But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying,

32'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.'

33And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.