Friday, October 1

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.

8But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods.

9But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?

10You observe days and months and seasons and years.

11I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.

12Brethren, I urge you to become like me, for I became like you. You have not injured me at all.

13You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first.

14And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

15What then was the blessing you enjoyed? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me.

16Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?

17They zealously court you, but for no good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them.

18But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you.

19My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,

20I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I have doubts about you.

21Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law?

1Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary.

2For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary;

3and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All,

4which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;

5and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

6Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services.

7But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins committed in ignorance;

17And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases,

18as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed.

19And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.

20'Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God.

21Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh.

22Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake.

23Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

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!'