Thursday, January 7

1And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples

2he said to them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?'

3So they said to him, 'We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.' And he said to them, 'Into what then were you baptized?'

4So they said, 'Into John's baptism.' Then Paul said, 'John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.'

5When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

6And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.

7Now the men were about twelve in all.

8And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God.

7Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

8Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

9Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

11Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

12There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?

13Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit';

14whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

15Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.'

16But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

17Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

1Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!

2Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.

3Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.

4Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.

5You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.

6You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.

7Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.

8You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

9Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!

29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

30This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.'

31I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.'

32And John bore witness, saying, 'I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.

33I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'

34And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.'

31Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, 'Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.

32For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.

33They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.'

34But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.