Sunday, October 17

14Now when Abram heard his brother Lot was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants, born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.

15So he divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked and pursued them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.

16So he brought back all the cavalry of Sodom, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.

17Then the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley), after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and the kings with him.

18Now Melchizedek the king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.

19He blessed Abram and said, 'Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth;

20and blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hands.' Then Abram gave him a tithe of all.

8Behold, I am delivering the land in your presence; go in and inherit the land I swore to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—to give it to them and their seed after them.'

9'So I spoke to you at that time, saying, 'I alone am not able to bear you.

10The Lord your God multiplied you, and here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude.

11May the Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, and bless you, just as He said.

12How can I alone bear your labors, your burdens, and your lawsuits?

13Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them leaders over you.'

14'Then you answered me and said, 'The thing you told us to do is good.'

15So I took from you wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men and made them leaders over you: leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens; judges to interpret the law for you.

16'Then I commanded your judges at that time, saying, 'Hear the cases between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the resident alien with him.

17You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall judge the small and the great; you shall not shrink before any man's presence, for the judgment is God's. The case too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.'

14Indeed, heaven and heaven of heaven belong to the Lord your God, also the earth and everything in it.

15The Lord chose your fathers to love them; and He chose their seed after them, you above all nations, as it is this day.

16Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stiff-necked any longer.

17For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.

18He administers justice for the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, and loves the resident alien, giving him food and clothing.

19Therefore, love the resident aliens, for you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.

20You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and hold fast to Him, and take oaths in His name.

21He is your boast and your God, who did these great and glorious things for you, the things you saw with your own eyes.

36Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, 'Peace to you.'

37But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.

38And He said to them, 'Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?

39Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.'

40When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.

41But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, 'Have you any food here?'

42So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.

43And He took it and ate in their presence.

44Then He said to them, 'These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.'

45And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

46Then He said to them, 'Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,

47and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

48And you are witnesses of these things.

49Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.'

50And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.

51Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.

52And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,

53and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.

16And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.' 'Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord.

17Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.'

18'I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.'

1Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

7Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.

8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

9Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.

10We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.

11For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp.

12Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

13Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.

14For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.

15Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

16But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

5'A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.

6Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.

7And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.

8But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.' When He had said these things He cried, 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear!'

9Then His disciples asked Him, saying, 'What does this parable mean?'

10And He said, 'To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that 'Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.'

11'Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

12Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

13But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.

14Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.

15But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

1Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: 'Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,

2as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.

3And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

4I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.

5And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

6'I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.

7Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You.

8For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.

9'I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.

10And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.

11Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.

12While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

13But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.