June 23 Reading through the Bible

2 KINGS 4:18-5:27
ACTS 15:1-35
PSALM 141:1-10
PROVERBS 17:23

2 KINGS 4:18-5:27
One day when her [the Shunemite woman's] child was older, he went out to visit his father, who was working with the harvesters. 19 Suddenly he complained, " My head hurts! My head hurts!" His father said to one of the servants, " Carry him home to his mother." 20 So the servant took him home, and his mother held him on her lap. But around noontime he died. 21 She carried him up to the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and left him there. 22 She sent a message to her husband: " Send one of the servants and a donkey so that I can hurry to the man of God and come right back." 23 " Why today?" he asked. " It is neither a new moon festival nor a Sabbath." But she said, " It's all right." 24 So she saddled the donkey and said to the servant, " Hurry! Don't slow down on my account unless I tell you to." 25 As she approached the man of God at Mount Carmel, Elisha saw her in the distance. He said to Gehazi, " Look, the woman from Shunem is coming. 26 Run out to meet her and ask her, ` Is everything all right with you, with your husband, and with your child?' " " Yes," the woman told Gehazi, " everything is fine." 27 But when she came to the man of God at the mountain, she fell to the ground before him and caught hold of his feet. Gehazi began to push her away, but the man of God said, " Leave her alone. Something is troubling her deeply, and the LORD has not told me what it is." 28 Then she said, " It was you, my lord, who said I would have a son. And didn't I tell you not to raise my hopes?" 29 Then Elisha said to Gehazi, " Get ready to travel; take my staff and go! Don't talk to anyone along the way. Go quickly and lay the staff on the child's face." 30 But the boy's mother said, " As surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, I won't go home unless you go with me." So Elisha returned with her. 31 Gehazi hurried on ahead and laid the staff on the child's face, but nothing happened. There was no sign of life. He returned to meet Elisha and told him, " The child is still dead." 32 When Elisha arrived, the child was indeed dead, lying there on the prophet's bed. 33 He went in alone and shut the door behind him and prayed to the LORD. 34 Then he lay down on the child's body, placing his mouth on the child's mouth, his eyes on the child's eyes, and his hands on the child's hands. And the child's body began to grow warm again! 35 Elisha got up and walked back and forth in the room a few times. Then he stretched himself out again on the child. This time the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes! 36 Then Elisha summoned Gehazi. " Call the child's mother!" he said. And when she came in, Elisha said, " Here, take your son!" 37 She fell at his feet, overwhelmed with gratitude. Then she picked up her son and carried him downstairs. 38 Elisha now returned to Gilgal, but there was a famine in the land. One day as the group of prophets was seated before him, he said to his servant, " Put on a large kettle and make some stew for these men." 39 One of the young men went out into the field to gather vegetables and came back with a pocketful of wild gourds. He shredded them and put them into the kettle without realizing they were poisonous. 40 But after the men had eaten a bite or two they cried out, " Man of God, there's poison in this stew!" So they would not eat it. 41 Elisha said, " Bring me some flour." Then he threw it into the kettle and said, " Now it's all right; go ahead and eat." And then it did not harm them!42 One day a man from Baal-shalishah brought the man of God a sack of fresh grain and twenty loaves of barley bread made from the first grain of his harvest. Elisha said, " Give it to the group of prophets so they can eat." 43 " What?" his servant exclaimed. " Feed one hundred people with only this?" But Elisha repeated, " Give it to the group of prophets so they can eat, for the LORD says there will be plenty for all. There will even be some left over!" 44 And sure enough, there was plenty for all and some left over, just as the LORD had promised.5:1 THE king of Aram had high admiration for Naaman, the commander of his army, because through him the LORD had given Aram great victories. But though Naaman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy. 2 Now groups of Aramean raiders had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a young girl who had been given to Naaman's wife as a maid. 3 One day the girl said to her mistress, " I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy." 4 So Naaman told the king what the young girl from Israel had said. 5 " Go and visit the prophet," the king told him. " I will send a letter of introduction for you to carry to the king of Israel." So Naaman started out, taking as gifts 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothing. 6 The letter to the king of Israel said: " With this letter I present my servant Naaman. I want you to heal him of his leprosy." 7 When the king of Israel read it, he tore his clothes in dismay and said, " This man sends me a leper to heal! Am I God, that I can kill and give life? He is only trying to find an excuse to invade us again." 8 But when Elisha, the man of God, heard about the king's reaction, he sent this message to him: " Why are you so upset? Send Naaman to me, and he will learn that there is a true prophet here in Israel." 9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and waited at the door of Elisha's house. 10 But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message: " Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of leprosy." 11 But Naaman became angry and stalked away. " I thought he would surely come out to meet me!" he said. " I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the LORD his God and heal me! 12 Aren't the Abana River and Pharpar River of Damascus better than all the rivers of Israel put together? Why shouldn't I wash in them and be healed?" So Naaman turned and went away in a rage. 13 But his officers tried to reason with him and said, " Sir, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, wouldn't you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply to go and wash and be cured!" 14 So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his flesh became as healthy as a young child's, and he was healed! 15 Then Naaman and his entire party went back to find the man of God. They stood before him, and Naaman said, " I know at last that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Now please accept my gifts." 16 But Elisha replied, " As surely as the LORD lives, whom I serve, I will not accept any gifts." And though Naaman urged him to take the gifts, Elisha refused. 17 Then Naaman said, " All right, but please allow me to load two of my mules with earth from this place, and I will take it back home with me. From now on I will never again offer any burnt offerings or sacrifices to any other god except the LORD. 18 However, may the LORD pardon me in this one thing. When my master the king goes into the temple of the god Rimmon to worship there and leans on my arm, may the LORD pardon me when I bow, too." 19 " Go in peace," Elisha said. So Naaman started home again. 20 But Gehazi, Elisha's servant, said to himself, " My master should not have let this Aramean get away without accepting his gifts. As surely as the LORD lives, I will chase after him and get something from him." 21 So Gehazi set off after him. When Naaman saw him running after him, he climbed down from his chariot and went to meet him. " Is everything all right?" Naaman asked. 22 " Yes," Gehazi said, " but my master has sent me to tell you that two young prophets from the hill country of Ephraim have just arrived. He would like 75 pounds of silver and two sets of clothing to give to them." 23 " By all means, take 150 pounds of silver," Naaman insisted. He gave him two sets of clothing, tied up the money in two bags, and sent two of his servants to carry the gifts for Gehazi. 24 But when they arrived at the hill, Gehazi took the gifts from the servants and sent the men back. Then he hid the gifts inside the house. 25 When he went in to his master, Elisha asked him, " Where have you been, Gehazi?" " I haven't been anywhere," he replied. 26 But Elisha asked him, " Don't you realize that I was there in spirit when Naaman stepped down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to receive money and clothing and olive groves and vineyards and sheep and oxen and servants? 27 Because you have done this, you and your children and your children's children will suffer from Naaman's leprosy forever." When Gehazi left the room, he was leprous; his skin was as white as snow.

ACTS 15:1-35
While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the Christians: " Unless you keep the ancient Jewish custom of circumcision taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." 2 Paul and Barnabas, disagreeing with them, argued forcefully and at length. Finally, Paul and Barnabas were sent to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local believers, to talk to the apostles and elders about this question. 3 The church sent the delegates to Jerusalem, and they stopped along the way in Phoenicia and Samaria to visit the believers. They told them--much to everyone's joy--that the Gentiles, too, were being converted. 4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas were welcomed by the whole church, including the apostles and elders. They reported on what God had been doing through their ministry. 5 But then some of the men who had been Pharisees before their conversion stood up and declared that all Gentile converts must be circumcised and be required to follow the law of Moses. 6 So the apostles and church elders got together to decide this question. 7 At the meeting, after a long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them as follows: " Brothers, you all know that God chose me from among you some time ago to preach to the Gentiles so that they could hear the Good News and believe. 8 God, who knows people's hearts, confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he gave him to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he also cleansed their hearts through faith. 10 Why are you now questioning God's way by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? 11 We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the special favor of the Lord Jesus." 12 There was no further discussion, and everyone listened as Barnabas and Paul told about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 When they had finished, James stood and said, " Brothers, listen to me. 14 Peter has told you about the time God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for himself. 15 And this conversion of Gentiles agrees with what the prophets predicted. For instance, it is written:16 ` Afterward I will return,
and I will restore the fallen kingdom of David.
From the ruins I will rebuild it,
and I will restore it,
17 so that the rest of humanity might find the Lord,
including the Gentiles--
all those I have called to be mine.
This is what the Lord says,
18 he who made these things known long ago.'
19 And so my judgment is that we should stop troubling the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 except that we should write to them and tell them to abstain from eating meat sacrificed to idols, from sexual immorality, and from consuming blood or eating the meat of strangled animals. 21 For these laws of Moses have been preached in Jewish synagogues in every city on every Sabbath for many generations." 22 Then the apostles and elders and the whole church in Jerusalem chose delegates, and they sent them to Antioch of Syria with Paul and Barnabas to report on this decision. The men chosen were two of the church leaders*--Judas (also called Barsabbas) and Silas. 23 This is the letter they took along with them: " This letter is from the apostles and elders, your brothers in Jeru-salem. It is written to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. Greetings! 24 " We understand that some men from here have troubled you and upset you with their teaching, but they had no such instructions from us. 25 So it seemed good to us, having unanimously agreed on our decision, to send you these official representatives, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 So we are sending Judas and Silas to tell you what we have decided con-cerning your question. 28 " For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these requirements: 29 You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or eating the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell."30 The four messengers went at once to Antioch, where they called a general meeting of the Christians and delivered the letter. 31 And there was great joy throughout the church that day as they read this encouraging message. 32 Then Judas and Silas, both being prophets, spoke extensively to the Christians, encouraging and strengthening their faith. 33 They stayed for a while, and then Judas and Silas were sent back to Jerusalem, with the blessings of the Christians, to those who had sent them. 35 Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch to assist many others who were teaching and preaching the word of the Lord there.

PSALM 141:1-10
A psalm of David.
1 O LORD, I am calling to you. Please hurry!
Listen when I cry to you for help!
2 Accept my prayer as incense offered to you,
and my upraised hands as an evening offering.
3 Take control of what I say, O LORD,
and keep my lips sealed.
4 Don't let me lust for evil things;
don't let me participate in acts of wickedness.
Don't let me share in the delicacies
of those who do evil.
5 Let the godly strike me!
It will be a kindness!
If they reprove me, it is soothing medicine.
Don't let me refuse it.
But I am in constant prayer
against the wicked and their deeds.
6 When their leaders are thrown down from a cliff,
they will listen to my words and find them pleasing.
7 Even as a farmer breaks up the soil and brings up rocks,
so the bones of the wicked will be scattered without a decent burial.
8 I look to you for help, O Sovereign LORD.
You are my refuge; don't let them kill me.
9 Keep me out of the traps they have set for me,
out of the snares of those who do evil.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own snares,
but let me escape.

PROVERBS 17:23
The wicked accept secret bribes to pervert justice.

June 22 Reading through the Bible!

2 KINGS 3:1-4:17
ACTS 14:8-28
PSALM 140:1-13
PROVERBS 17:22

2 KINGS 3:1-4:17
Ahab's son Joram began to rule over Israel in the eighteenth year of King Jehoshaphat's reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria twelve years. 2 He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, but he was not as wicked as his father and mother. He at least tore down the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had set up. 3 Nevertheless he continued in the sins of idolatry that Jeroboam son of Nebat had led the people of Israel to commit. 4 King Mesha of Moab and his people were sheep breeders. They used to pay the king of Israel an annual tribute of 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. 5 But after Ahab's death, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6 So King Joram mustered the army of Israel and marched from Samaria. 7 On the way, he sent this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: " The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you help me fight him?" And Jehoshaphat replied, " Why, of course! You and I are brothers, and my troops are yours to command. Even my horses are at your service." 8 Then Jehoshaphat asked, " What route will we take?" " We will attack from the wilderness of Edom," Joram replied. 9 The king of Edom and his troops joined them, and all three armies traveled along a roundabout route through the wilderness for seven days. But there was no water for the men or their pack animals.10 " What should we do?" the king of Israel cried out. " The LORD has brought the three of us here to let the king of Moab defeat us." 11 But King Jehoshaphat of Judah asked, " Is there no prophet of the LORD with us? If there is, we can ask the LORD what to do." One of King Joram's officers replied, " Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to be Elijah's personal assistant." 12 Jehoshaphat said, " Then the LORD will speak through him." So the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom went to consult with Elisha. 13 " I want no part of you," Elisha said to the king of Israel. " Go to the pagan prophets of your father and mother!" But King Joram said, " No! For it was the LORD who called us three kings here to be destroyed by the king of Moab!" 14 Elisha replied, " As surely as the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, I would not bother with you except for my respect for King Jehoshaphat of Judah. 15 Now bring me someone who can play the harp." While the harp was being played, the power of the LORD came upon Elisha, 16 and he said, " This is what the LORD says: This dry valley will be filled with pools of water! 17 You will see neither wind nor rain, says the LORD, but this valley will be filled with water. You will have plenty for yourselves and for your cattle and your other animals. 18 But this is only a simple thing for the LORD, for he will make you victorious over the army of Moab! 19 You will conquer the best of their cities, even the fortified ones. You will cut down all their trees, stop up all their springs, and ruin all their good land with stones." 20 And sure enough, the next day at about the time when the morning sacrifice was offered, water suddenly appeared! It was flowing from the direction of Edom, and soon there was water everywhere.21 Meanwhile, when the people of Moab heard about the three armies marching against them, they mobilized every man who could fight, young and old, and stationed themselves along their border. 22 But when they got up the next morning, the sun was shining across the water, making it look as red as blood. 23 " It's blood!" the Moabites exclaimed. " The three armies have attacked and killed each other! Let's go and collect the plunder!" 24 When they arrived at the Israelite camp, the army of Israel rushed out and attacked the Moabites, who turned and ran. The army of Israel chased them into the land of Moab, destroying everything as they went. 25 They destroyed the cities, covered their good land with stones, stopped up the springs, and cut down the good trees. Finally, only Kir-hareseth was left, but even that came under attack.26 When the king of Moab saw that he was losing the battle, he led seven hundred of his warriors in a desperate attempt to break through the enemy lines near the king of Edom, but they failed to escape. 27 So he took his oldest son, who would have been the next king, and sacrificed him as a burnt offering on the wall. As a result, the anger against Israel was great, so they withdrew and returned to their own land. 4:1 ONE day the widow of one of Elisha's fellow prophets came to Elisha and cried out to him, " My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the LORD. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves." 2 " What can I do to help you?" Elisha asked. " Tell me, what do you have in the house?" " Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil," she replied. 3 And Elisha said, " Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. 4 Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting the jars aside as they are filled." 5 So she did as she was told. Her sons brought many jars to her, and she filled one after another. 6 Soon every container was full to the brim! " Bring me another jar," she said to one of her sons. " There aren't any more!" he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing. 7 When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, " Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and there will be enough money left over to support you and your sons." 8 One day Elisha went to the town of Shunem. A wealthy woman lived there, and she invited him to eat some food. From then on, whenever he passed that way, he would stop there to eat. 9 She said to her husband, " I am sure this man who stops in from time to time is a holy man of God. 10 Let's make a little room for him on the roof and furnish it with a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp. Then he will have a place to stay whenever he comes by." 11 One day Elisha returned to Shunem, and he went up to his room to rest. 12 He said to his servant Gehazi, " Tell the woman I want to speak to her." When she arrived, 13 Elisha said to Gehazi, " Tell her that we appreciate the kind concern she has shown us. Now ask her what we can do for her. Does she want me to put in a good word for her to the king or to the commander of the army?" " No," she replied, " my family takes good care of me." 14 Later Elisha asked Gehazi, " What do you think we can do for her?" He suggested, " She doesn't have a son, and her husband is an old man." 15 " Call her back again," Elisha told him. When the woman returned, Elisha said to her as she stood in the doorway, 16 " Next year at about this time you will be holding a son in your arms!" " No, my lord!" she protested. " Please don't lie to me like that, O man of God." 17 But sure enough, the woman soon became pregnant. And at that time the following year she had a son, just as Elisha had said.

ACTS 14:8-28
While they were at Lystra, Paul and Barnabas came upon a man with crippled feet. He had been that way from birth, so he had never walked. 9 He was listening as Paul preached, and Paul noticed him and realized he had faith to be healed. 10 So Paul called to him in a loud voice, " Stand up!" And the man jumped to his feet and started walking. 11 When the listening crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, " These men are gods in human bodies!" 12 They decided that Barnabas was the Greek god Zeus and that Paul, because he was the chief speaker, was Hermes. 13 The temple of Zeus was located on the outskirts of the city. The priest of the temple and the crowd brought oxen and wreaths of flowers, and they prepared to sacrifice to the apostles at the city gates.14 But when Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening, they tore their clothing in dismay and ran out among the people, shouting, 15 " Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings like yourselves! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. 16 In earlier days he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, 17 but he never left himself without a witness. There were always his reminders, such as sending you rain and good crops and giving you food and joyful hearts." 18 But even so, Paul and Barnabas could scarcely restrain the people from sacrificing to them. 19 Now some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and turned the crowds into a murderous mob. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, apparently dead. 20 But as the believers stood around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe. 21 After preaching the Good News in Derbe and making many disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned again to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, 22 where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that they must enter into the Kingdom of God through many tribulations. 23 Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church and prayed for them with fasting, turning them over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had come to trust. 24 Then they traveled back through Pisidia to Pamphylia. 25 They preached again in Perga, then went on to Attalia. 26 Finally, they returned by ship to Antioch of Syria, where their journey had begun and where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 27 Upon arriving in Antioch, they called the church together and reported about their trip, telling all that God had done and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles, too. 28 And they stayed there with the believers in Antioch for a long time.

PSALM 140:1-13
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 O LORD, rescue me from evil people.
Preserve me from those who are violent,
2 those who plot evil in their hearts
and stir up trouble all day long.
3 Their tongues sting like a snake;
the poison of a viper drips from their lips.
Interlude4 O LORD, keep me out of the hands of the wicked.
Preserve me from those who are violent,
for they are plotting against me.
5 The proud have set a trap to catch me;
they have stretched out a net;
they have placed traps all along the way.
Interlude6 I said to the LORD, " You are my God!"
Listen, O LORD, to my cries for mercy!
7 O Sovereign LORD, my strong savior,
you protected me on the day of battle.
8 LORD, do not give in to their evil desires.
Do not let their evil schemes succeed, O God.
Interlude9 Let my enemies be destroyed
by the very evil they have planned for me.
10 Let burning coals fall down on their heads,
or throw them into the fire,
or into deep pits from which they can't escape.
11 Don't let liars prosper here in our land.
Cause disaster to fall with great force on the violent.
12 But I know the LORD will surely help those they persecute;
he will maintain the rights of the poor.
13 Surely the godly are praising your name,
for they will live in your presence.

PROVERBS 17:22
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength.

June 21 Reading through the Bible

2 KINGS 1:1-2:25
ACTS 13:42-14:7
PSALM 139:1-24
PROVERBS 17:19-21

2 KINGS 1:1-2:25
After King Ahab's death, the nation of Moab declared its independence from Israel. 2 One day Israel's new king, Ahaziah, fell through the latticework of an upper room at his palace in Samaria, and he was seriously injured. So he sent messengers to the temple of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether he would recover. 3 But the angel of the LORD told Elijah, who was from Tishbe, " Go and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ` Why are you going to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether the king will get well? Is there no God in Israel? 4 Now, therefore, this is what the LORD says: You will never leave the bed on which you are lying, but you will surely die.' " So Elijah went to deliver the message. 5 When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, " Why have you returned so soon?" 6 They replied, " A man came up to us and said, `Go back to the king and give him this message from the LORD: Why are you sending men to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether you will get well? Is there no God in Israel? Now, since you have done this, you will never leave the bed on which you are lying, but you will surely die.' " 7 " Who was this man?" the king demanded. " What did he look like?" 8 They replied, " He was a hairy man, and he wore a leather belt around his waist." " It was Elijah from Tishbe!" the king exclaimed. 9 Then he sent an army captain with fifty soldiers to arrest him. They found him sitting on top of a hill. The captain said to him, " Man of God, the king has commanded you to come along with us." 10 But Elijah replied to the captain, " If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men!" Then fire fell from heaven and killed them all. 11 So the king sent another captain with fifty men. The captain said to him, " Man of God, the king says that you must come down right away." 12 Elijah replied, " If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men!" And again the fire of God fell from heaven and killed them all. 13 Once more the king sent a captain with fifty men. But this time the captain fell to his knees before Elijah. He pleaded with him, " O man of God, please spare my life and the lives of these, your fifty servants. 14 See how the fire from heaven has destroyed the first two groups. But now please spare my life!" 15 Then the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, " Don't be afraid. Go with him." So Elijah got up and went to the king. 16 And Elijah said to the king, " This is what the LORD says: Why did you send messengers to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether you will get well? Is there no God in Israel? Now, since you have done this, you will never leave the bed on which you are lying, but you will surely die." 17 So Ahaziah died, just as the LORD had promised through Elijah. Since Ahaziah did not have a son to succeed him, his brother Joram became the next king. This took place in the second year of the reign of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. 18 The rest of the events in Ahaziah's reign are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel.2:1 WHEN the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal. 2 And Elijah said to Elisha, " Stay here, for the LORD has told me to go to Bethel." But Elisha replied, " As surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you!" So they went on together to Bethel. 3 The group of prophets from Bethel came to Elisha and asked him, " Did you know that the LORD is going to take your master away from you today?" " Quiet!" Elisha answered. " Of course I know it." 4 Then Elijah said to Elisha, " Stay here, for the LORD has told me to go to Jericho." But Elisha replied again, " As surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you." So they went on together to Jericho. 5 Then the group of prophets from Jericho came to Elisha and asked him, " Did you know that the LORD is going to take your master away from you today?" " Quiet!" he answered again. " Of course I know it." 6 Then Elijah said to Elisha, " Stay here, for the LORD has told me to go to the Jordan River." But again Elisha replied, " As surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you." So they went on together. 7 Fifty men from the group of prophets also went and watched from a distance as Elijah and Elisha stopped beside the Jordan River. 8 Then Elijah folded his cloak together and struck the water with it. The river divided, and the two of them went across on dry ground! 9 When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, " What can I do for you before I am taken away?" And Elisha replied, " Please let me become your rightful successor." 10 " You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah replied. " If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your request. But if not, then you won't." 11 As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire. It drove between them, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 Elisha saw it and cried out, " My father! My father! The chariots and charioteers of Israel!" And as they disappeared from sight, Elisha tore his robe in two. 13 Then Elisha picked up Elijah's cloak and returned to the bank of the Jordan River. 14 He struck the water with the cloak and cried out, " Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" Then the river divided, and Elisha went across. 15 When the group of prophets from Jericho saw what happened, they exclaimed, " Elisha has become Elijah's successor!" And they went to meet him and bowed down before him. 16 " Sir," they said, " just say the word and fifty of our strongest men will search the wilderness for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has left him on some mountain or in some valley." " No," Elisha said, " don't send them." 17 But they kept urging him until he was embarrassed, and he finally said, " All right, send them." So fifty men searched for three days but did not find Elijah. 18 Elisha was still at Jericho when they returned. " Didn't I tell you not to go?" he asked.19 Now the leaders of the town of Jericho visited Elisha. " We have a problem, my lord," they told him. " This town is located in beautiful natural surroundings, as you can see. But the water is bad, and the land is unproductive." 20 Elisha said, " Bring me a new bowl with salt in it." So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went out to the spring that supplied the town with water and threw the salt into it. And he said, " This is what the LORD says: I have made this water wholesome. It will no longer cause death or infertility." 22 And sure enough! The water has remained wholesome ever since, just as Elisha said. 23 Elisha left Jericho and went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, a group of boys from the town began mocking and making fun of him. " Go away, you baldhead!" they chanted. " Go away, you baldhead!" 24 Elisha turned around and looked at them, and he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of them. 25 From there Elisha went to Mount Carmel and finally returned to Samaria.

ACTS 13:42-14:7
As Paul and Barnabas left the synagogue that day, the people asked them to return again and speak about these things the next week. 43 Many Jews and godly converts to Judaism who worshiped at the synagogue followed Paul and Barnabas, and the two men urged them, " By God's grace, remain faithful." 44 The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jewish leaders saw the crowds, they were jealous; so they slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said. 46 Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, " It was necessary that this Good News from God be given first to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life--well, we will offer it to Gentiles. 47 For this is as the Lord commanded us when he said, ` I have made you a light to the Gentiles,
to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.'"
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message; and all who were appointed to eternal life became believers. 49 So the Lord's message spread throughout that region. 50 Then the Jewish leaders stirred up both the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town. 51 But they shook off the dust of their feet against them and went to the city of Iconium. 52 And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.14:1 IN Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went together to the synagogue and preached with such power that a great number of both Jews and Gentiles believed. 2 But the Jews who spurned God's message stirred up distrust among the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas, saying all sorts of evil things about them. 3 The apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. The Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders. 4 But the people of the city were divided in their opinion about them. Some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. 5 A mob of Gentiles and Jews, along with their leaders, decided to attack and stone them. 6 When the apostles learned of it, they fled for their lives. They went to the region of Lycaonia, to the cities of Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding area, 7 and they preached the Good News there.

PSALM 139:1-24
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 O LORD, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my every thought when far away.
3 You chart the path ahead of me
and tell me where to stop and rest.
Every moment you know where I am.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, LORD.
5 You both precede and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to know!
7 I can never escape from your spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night--
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are both alike to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous--and how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God!
They are innumerable!
18 I can't even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up in the morning,
you are still with me!
19 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
Get out of my life, you murderers!
20 They blaspheme you;
your enemies take your name in vain.
21 O LORD, shouldn't I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn't I despise those who resist you?
22 Yes, I hate them with complete hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

PROVERBS 17:19-21
Anyone who loves to quarrel loves sin; anyone who speaks boastfully invites disaster. The crooked heart will not prosper; the twisted tongue tumbles into trouble. It is painful to be the parent of a fool; there is no joy for the father of a rebel.

June 20 Reading through the Bible

1 KINGS 22:1-53
ACTS 13:16-41
PSALM 138:1-8
PROVERBS 17:17-18

1 KINGS 22:1-53
For three years there was no war between Aram and Israel. 2 Then during the third year, King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to visit King Ahab of Israel. 3 During the visit, Ahab said to his officials, " Do you realize that the Arameans are still occupying our city of Ramoth-gilead? And we haven't done a thing about it!" 4 Then he turned to Jehoshaphat and asked, " Will you join me in fighting against Ramoth-gilead?" And Jehoshaphat replied to King Ahab, " Why, of course! You and I are brothers, and my troops are yours to command. Even my horses are at your service." 5 Then Jehoshaphat added, " But first let's find out what the LORD says." 6 So King Ahab summoned his prophets, about four hundred of them, and asked them, " Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead or not?"They all replied, " Go right ahead! The Lord will give you a glorious victory!" 7 But Jehoshaphat asked, " Isn't there a prophet of the LORD around, too? I would like to ask him the same question." 8 King Ahab replied, " There is still one prophet of the LORD, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything but bad news for me! His name is Micaiah son of Imlah." " You shouldn't talk like that," Jehoshaphat said. " Let's hear what he has to say." 9 So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, " Quick! Go and get Micaiah son of Imlah." 10 King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah, dressed in their royal robes, were sitting on thrones at the threshing floor near the gate of Samaria. All of Ahab's prophets were prophesying there in front of them. 11 One of them, Zedekiah son of Kenaanah, made some iron horns and proclaimed, " This is what the LORD says: With these horns you will gore the Arameans to death!" 12 All the other prophets agreed. " Yes," they said, " go up to Ramoth-gilead and be victorious, for the LORD will give you victory!" 13 Meanwhile, the messenger who went to get Micaiah said to him, " Look, all the prophets are promising victory for the king. Be sure that you agree with them and promise success." 14 But Micaiah replied, " As surely as the LORD lives, I will say only what the LORD tells me to say." 15 When Micaiah arrived before the king, Ahab asked him, " Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead or not?" And Micaiah replied, " Go right ahead! The LORD will give the king a glorious victory!" 16 But the king replied sharply, " How many times must I demand that you speak only the truth when you speak for the LORD?" 17 So Micaiah told him, " In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, ` Their master has been killed. Send them home in peace.' " 18 " Didn't I tell you?" the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat. " He does it every time. He never prophesies anything but bad news for me." 19 Then Micaiah continued, " Listen to what the LORD says! I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the armies of heaven around him, on his right and on his left. 20 And the LORD said, ` Who can entice Ahab to go into battle against Ramoth-gilead so that he can be killed there?' There were many suggestions, 21 until finally a spirit approached the LORD and said, ` I can do it!' 22 " ` How will you do this?' the LORD asked. " And the spirit replied, ` I will go out and inspire all Ahab's prophets to speak lies.' " ` You will succeed,' said the LORD. ` Go ahead and do it.' 23 " So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of your prophets. For the LORD has determined disaster for you." 24 Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah walked up to Micaiah and slapped him across the face. " When did the Spirit of the LORD leave me to speak to you?" he demanded. 25 And Micaiah replied, " You will find out soon enough when you find yourself hiding in some secret room!" 26 King Ahab of Israel then ordered, " Arrest Micaiah and take him back to Amon, the governor of the city, and to my son Joash. 27 Give them this order from the king: ` Put this man in prison, and feed him nothing but bread and water until I return safely from the battle!' " 28 But Micaiah replied, " If you return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me!" Then he added to those standing around, " Take note of what I have said." 29 So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah led their armies against Ramoth-gilead. 30 Now King Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, " As we go into battle, I will disguise myself so no one will recognize me, but you wear your royal robes." So Ahab disguised himself, and they went into battle. 31 Now the king of Aram had issued these orders to his thirty-two charioteers: " Attack only the king of Israel!" 32 So when the Aramean charioteers saw Jehoshaphat in his royal robes, they went after him. " There is the king of Israel!" they shouted. But when Jehoshaphat cried out, 33 the charioteers realized he was not the king of Israel, and they stopped chasing him. 34 An Aramean soldier, however, randomly shot an arrow at the Israelite troops, and the arrow hit the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. " Get me out of here!" Ahab groaned to the driver of his chariot. " I have been badly wounded!" 35 The battle raged all that day, and Ahab was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. The blood from his wound ran down to the floor of his chariot, and as evening arrived he died. 36 Just as the sun was setting, the cry ran through his troops: " It's all over--return home!" 37 So the king died, and his body was taken to Samaria and buried there. 38 Then his chariot was washed beside the pool of Samaria, where the prostitutes bathed, and dogs came and licked the king's blood, just as the LORD had promised. 39 The rest of the events in Ahab's reign and the story of the ivory palace and the cities he built are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. 40 When Ahab died, he was buried among his ancestors. Then his son Ahaziah became the next king. 41 Jehoshaphat son of Asa began to rule over Judah in the fourth year of King Ahab's reign in Israel. 42 He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. 43 Jehoshaphat was a good king, following the example of his father, Asa. He did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight. During his reign, however, he failed to remove all the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there. 44 Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel. 45 The rest of the events in Jehoshaphat's reign, the extent of his power, and the wars he waged are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. 46 He banished from the land the rest of the shrine prostitutes, who still continued their practices from the days of his father, Asa. 47 There was no king in Edom at that time, only a deputy. 48 Jehoshaphat also built a fleet of trading ships to sail to Ophir for gold. But the ships never set sail, for they were wrecked at Ezion-geber. 49 At that time Ahaziah son of Ahab proposed to Jehoshaphat, " Let my men sail an expedition with your men." But Jehoshaphat refused the offer. 50 When Jehoshaphat died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Jehoram became the next king. 51 Ahaziah son of Ahab began to rule over Israel in the seventeenth year of King Jehoshaphat's reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria two years. 52 But he did what was evil in the LORD's sight, following the example of his father and mother and the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had led Israel into the sin of idolatry. 53 He served Baal and worshiped him, arousing the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, just as his father had done.

ACTS 13:16-41
So Paul stood, lifted his hand to quiet them [those in the synagogue], and started speaking. " People of Israel," he said, " and you devout Gentiles who fear the God of Israel, listen to me. 17 " The God of this nation of Israel chose our ancestors and made them prosper in Egypt. Then he powerfully led them out of their slavery. 18 He put up with them through forty years of wandering around in the wilderness. 19 Then he destroyed seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to Israel as an inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years. After that, judges ruled until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 Then the people begged for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years. 22 But God removed him from the kingship and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ` David son of Jesse is a man after my own heart, for he will do everything I want him to.' 23 " And it is one of King David's descendants, Jesus, who is God's promised Savior of Israel! 24 But before he came, John the Baptist preached the need for everyone in Israel to turn from sin and turn to God and be baptized. 25 As John was finishing his ministry he asked, ` Do you think I am the Messiah? No! But he is coming soon--and I am not even worthy to be his slave.' 26 " Brothers--you sons of Abraham, and also all of you devout Gentiles who fear the God of Israel--this salvation is for us! 27 The people in Jerusalem and their leaders fulfilled prophecy by condemning Jesus to death. They didn't recognize him or realize that he is the one the prophets had written about, though they hear the prophets' words read every Sabbath. 28 They found no just cause to execute him, but they asked Pilate to have him killed anyway. 29 " When they had fulfilled all the prophecies concerning his death, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead! 31 And he appeared over a period of many days to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem--these are his witnesses to the people of Israel. 32 " And now Barnabas and I are here to bring you this Good News. God's promise to our ancestors has come true in our own time, 33 in that God raised Jesus. This is what the second psalm is talking about when it says concerning Jesus, ` You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.'
34 For God had promised to raise him from the dead, never again to die. This is stated in the Scripture that says, ` I will give you the sacred blessings I promised to David.' 35 Another psalm explains more fully, saying, ` You will not allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.' 36 Now this is not a reference to David, for after David had served his generation according to the will of God, he died and was buried, and his body decayed. 37 No, it was a reference to someone else--someone whom God raised and whose body did not decay. 38 " Brothers, listen! In this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. 39 Everyone who believes in him is freed from all guilt and declared right with God--something the Jewish law could never do. 40 Be careful! Don't let the prophets' words apply to you. For they said,41 ` Look you mockers,
be amazed and die!
For I am doing something in your own day,
something you wouldn't believe
even if someone told you about it.'"

PSALM 138:1-8
A psalm of David.
1 I give you thanks, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will sing your praises before the gods.
2 I bow before your holy Temple as I worship.
I will give thanks to your name
for your unfailing love and faithfulness,
because your promises are backed
by all the honor of your name.
3 When I pray, you answer me;
you encourage me by giving me the strength I need.
4 Every king in all the earth will give you thanks, O LORD,
for all of them will hear your words.
5 Yes, they will sing about the LORD's ways,
for the glory of the LORD is very great.
6 Though the LORD is great, he cares for the humble,
but he keeps his distance from the proud.
7 Though I am surrounded by troubles,
you will preserve me against the anger of my enemies.
You will clench your fist against my angry enemies!
Your power will save me.
8 The LORD will work out his plans for my life--
for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever.
Don't abandon me, for you made me.

PROVERBS 17:17-18
A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need. It is poor judgment to co-sign a friend's note, to become responsible for a neighbor's debts.

June 19 Reading through the Bible

1 KINGS 20:1-21:29
ACTS 12:24-13:15
PSALM 137:1-9
PROVERBS 17:16

1 KINGS 20:1-21:29
Now King Ben-hadad of Aram mobilized his army, supported by the chariots and horses of thirty-two allied kings. They went to besiege Samaria, the Israelite capital, and launched attacks against it. 2 Ben-hadad sent messengers into the city to relay this message to King Ahab of Israel: " This is what Ben-hadad says: 3 ` Your silver and gold are mine, and so are the best of your wives and children!' " 4 " All right, my lord," Ahab replied. " All that I have is yours!" 5 Soon Ben-hadad's messengers returned again and said, " This is what Ben-hadad says: ` I have already demanded that you give me your silver, gold, wives, and children. 6 But about this time tomorrow I will send my officials to search your palace and the homes of your people. They will take away everything you consider valuable!' " 7 Then Ahab summoned all the leaders of the land and said to them, " Look how this man is stirring up trouble! I already agreed when he sent the message demanding that I give him my wives and children and silver and gold." 8 " Don't give in to any more demands," the leaders and people advised. 9 So Ahab told the messengers from Ben-hadad, " Say this to my lord the king: ` I will give you everything you asked for the first time, but this last demand of yours I simply cannot meet.' " So the messengers returned to Ben-hadad with the response. 10 Then Ben-hadad sent this message to Ahab: " May the gods bring tragedy on me, and even worse than that, if there remains enough dust from Samaria to provide more than a handful for each of my soldiers." 11 The king of Israel sent back this answer: " A warrior still dressing for battle should not boast like a warrior who has already won." 12 This reply of Ahab's reached Ben-hadad and the other kings as they were drinking in their tents. " Prepare to attack!" Ben-hadad commanded his officers. So they prepared to attack the city. 13 Then a prophet came to see King Ahab and told him, " This is what the LORD says: Do you see all these enemy forces? Today I will hand them all over to you. Then you will know that I am the LORD." 14 Ahab asked, " How will he do it?" And the prophet replied, " This is what the LORD says: The troops of the provincial commanders will do it." " Should we attack first?" Ahab asked. " Yes," the prophet answered. 15 So Ahab mustered the troops of the 232 provincial commanders. Then he called out the rest of his army of seven thousand men. 16 About noontime, as Ben-hadad and the thirty-two allied kings were still in their tents getting drunk, 17 the troops of the provincial commanders marched out of the city. As they approached, Ben-hadad's scouts reported to him, " Some troops are coming from Samaria." 18 " Take them alive," Ben-hadad commanded, " whether they have come for peace or for war." 19 But by now Ahab's provincial commanders had led the army out to fight. 20 Each Israelite soldier killed his Aramean opponent, and suddenly the entire Aramean army panicked and fled. The Israelites chased them, but King Ben-hadad and a few others escaped on horses. 21 However, the other horses and chariots were destroyed, and the Arameans were killed in a great slaughter. 22 Afterward the prophet said to King Ahab, " Get ready for another attack by the king of Aram next spring." 23 After their defeat, Ben-hadad's officers said to him, " The Israelite gods are gods of the hills; that is why they won. But we can beat them easily on the plains. 24 Only this time replace the kings with field commanders! 25 Recruit another army like the one you lost. Give us the same number of horses, chariots, and men, and we will fight against them in the plains. There's not a shadow of a doubt that we will beat them." So King Ben-hadad did as they suggested. 26 The following spring he called up the Aramean army and marched out against Israel, this time at Aphek. 27 Israel then mustered its army, set up supply lines, and moved into the battle. But the Israelite army looked like two little flocks of goats in comparison to the vast Aramean forces that filled the countryside! 28 Then the man of God went to the king of Israel and said, " This is what the LORD says: The Arameans have said that the LORD is a god of the hills and not of the plains. So I will help you defeat this vast army. Then you will know that I am the LORD." 29 The two armies camped opposite each other for seven days, and on the seventh day the battle began. The Israelites killed 100,000 Aramean foot soldiers in one day. 30 The rest fled behind the walls of Aphek, but the wall fell on them and killed another 27,000. Ben-hadad fled into the city and hid in a secret room. 31 Ben-hadad's officers said to him, " Sir, we have heard that the kings of Israel are very merciful. So let's humble ourselves by wearing sackcloth and putting ropes on our heads. Then perhaps King Ahab will let you live." 32 So they put on sackcloth and ropes and went to the king of Israel and begged, " Your servant Ben-hadad says, ` Please let me live!' " The king of Israel responded, " Is he still alive? He is my brother!" 33 The men were quick to grasp at this straw of hope, and they replied, " Yes, your brother Ben-hadad!" " Go and get him," the king of Israel told them. And when Ben-hadad arrived, Ahab invited him up into his chariot! 34 Ben-hadad told him, " I will give back the towns my father took from your father, and you may establish places of trade in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria." Then Ahab said, " I will let you go under these conditions." So they made a treaty, and Ben-hadad was set free. 35 Meanwhile, the LORD instructed one of the group of prophets to say to another man, " Strike me!" But the man refused to strike the prophet. 36 Then the prophet told him, " Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, a lion will kill you as soon as you leave me." And sure enough, when he had gone, a lion attacked and killed him. 37 Then the prophet turned to another man and said, " Strike me!" So he struck the prophet and wounded him. 38 The prophet waited for the king beside the road, having placed a bandage over his eyes to disguise himself. 39 As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, " Sir, I was in the battle, and a man brought me a prisoner. He said, ` Guard this man; if for any reason he gets away, you will either die or pay a fine of seventy-five pounds of silver!' 40 But while I was busy doing something else, the prisoner disappeared!" " Well, it's your own fault," the king replied. " You have determined your own judgment."41 Then the prophet pulled the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 And the prophet told him, " This is what the LORD says: Because you have spared the man I said must be destroyed, now you must die in his place, and your people will die instead of his people." 43 So the king of Israel went home to Samaria angry and sullen. 21:1 KING Ahab had a palace in Jezreel, and near the palace was a vineyard owned by a man named Naboth. 2 One day Ahab said to Naboth, " Since your vineyard is so convenient to the palace, I would like to buy it to use as a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or if you prefer, I will pay you for it." 3 But Naboth replied, " The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance that was passed down by my ancestors." 4 So Ahab went home angry and sullen because of Naboth's answer. The king went to bed with his face to the wall and refused to eat! 5 " What in the world is the matter?" his wife, Jezebel, asked him. " What has made you so upset that you are not eating?" 6 " I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or to trade it, and he refused!" Ahab told her. 7 " Are you the king of Israel or not?" Jezebel asked. " Get up and eat and don't worry about it. I'll get you Naboth's vineyard!" 8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and other leaders of the city where Naboth lived. 9 In her letters she commanded: " Call the citizens together for fasting and prayer and give Naboth a place of honor. 10 Find two scoundrels who will accuse him of cursing God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death." 11 So the elders and other leaders followed the instructions Jezebel had written in the letters. 12 They called for a fast and put Naboth at a prominent place before the people. 13 Then two scoundrels accused him before all the people of cursing God and the king. So he was dragged outside the city and stoned to death. 14 The city officials then sent word to Jezebel, " Naboth has been stoned to death." 15 When Jezebel heard the news, she said to Ahab, " You know the vineyard Naboth wouldn't sell you? Well, you can have it now! He's dead!" 16 So Ahab immediately went down to the vineyard to claim it. 17 But the LORD said to Elijah, who was from Tishbe, 18 " Go down to meet King Ahab, who rules in Samaria. He will be at Naboth's vineyard in Jezreel, taking possession of it. 19 Give him this message: ` This is what the LORD says: Isn't killing Naboth bad enough? Must you rob him, too? Because you have done this, dogs will lick your blood outside the city just as they licked the blood of Naboth!' " 20 " So my enemy has found me!" Ahab exclaimed to Elijah. " Yes," Elijah answered, " I have come because you have sold yourself to what is evil in the LORD's sight. 21 The LORD is going to bring disaster to you and sweep you away. He will not let a single one of your male descendants, slave or free alike, survive in Israel! 22 He is going to destroy your family as he did the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat and the family of Baasha son of Ahijah, for you have made him very angry and have led all of Israel into sin. 23 The LORD has also told me that the dogs of Jezreel will eat the body of your wife, Jezebel, at the city wall. 24 The members of your family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures." 25 No one else so completely sold himself to what was evil in the LORD's sight as did Ahab, for his wife, Jezebel, influenced him. 26 He was especially guilty because he worshiped idols just as the Amorites had done--the people whom the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 27 When Ahab heard this message, he tore his clothing, dressed in sackcloth, and fasted. He even slept in sackcloth and went about in deep mourning.28 Then another message from the LORD came to Elijah, who was from Tishbe: 29 " Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has done this, I will not do what I promised during his lifetime. It will happen to his sons; I will destroy all his descendants."

ACTS 12:24-13:15
But God's Good News was spreading rapidly, and there were many new believers. 25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission in Jerusalem, they returned to Antioch, taking John Mark with them. 13:1 AMONG the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called " the black man"), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul. 2 One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, " Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work I have for them." 3 So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way. 4 Sent out by the Holy Spirit, Saul and Barnabas went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus. 5 There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. (John Mark went with them as their assistant.) 6 Afterward they preached from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, a man of considerable insight and understanding. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Saul and Barnabas said. He was trying to turn the governor away from the Christian faith.9 Then Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked the sorcerer in the eye and said, 10 " You son of the Devil, full of every sort of trickery and villainy, enemy of all that is good, will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? 11 And now the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be stricken awhile with blindness." Instantly mist and darkness fell upon him, and he began wandering around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him. 12 When the governor saw what had happened, he believed and was astonished at what he learned about the Lord. 13 Now Paul and those with him left Paphos by ship for Pamphylia,* landing at the port town of Perga. There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. 14 But Barnabas and Paul traveled inland to Antioch of Pisidia. On the Sabbath they went to the synagogue for the services. 15 After the usual readings from the books of Moses and from the Prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message: " Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for us, come and give it!"

PSALM 137:1-9
Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept
as we thought of Jerusalem.
2 We put away our lyres,
hanging them on the branches of the willow trees.
3 For there our captors demanded a song of us.
Our tormentors requested a joyful hymn:
" Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!"
4 But how can we sing the songs of the LORD
while in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget its skill upon the harp.
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I fail to remember you,
if I don't make Jerusalem my highest joy.
7 O LORD, remember what the Edomites did
on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem.
" Destroy it!" they yelled.
" Level it to the ground!"
8 O Babylon, you will be destroyed.
Happy is the one who pays you back
for what you have done to us.
9 Happy is the one who takes your babies
and smashes them against the rocks!

PROVERBS 17:16
It is senseless to pay tuition to educate a fool who has no heart for wisdom.

June 18 Reading through the Bible

1 KINGS 19:1-21
ACTS 12:1-23
PSALM 136:1-26
PROVERBS 17:14-15

1 KINGS 19:1-21
When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel what Elijah had done and that he had slaughtered the prophets of Baal. 2 So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: " May the gods also kill me if by this time tomorrow I have failed to take your life like those whom you killed." 3 Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. 4 Then he went on alone into the desert, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. " I have had enough, LORD," he said. " Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." 5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, " Get up and eat!" 6 He looked around and saw some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 Then the angel of the LORD came again and touched him and said, " Get up and eat some more, for there is a long journey ahead of you." 8 So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. 9 There he came to a cave, where he spent the night. But the LORD said to him, " What are you doing here, Elijah?" 10 Elijah replied, " I have zealously served the LORD God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I alone am left, and now they are trying to kill me, too." 11 " Go out and stand before me on the mountain," the LORD told him. And as Elijah stood there, the LORD passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, " What are you doing here, Elijah?" 14 He replied again, " I have zealously served the LORD God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I alone am left, and now they are trying to kill me, too."15 Then the LORD told him, " Go back the way you came, and travel to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive there, anoint Hazael to be king of Aram. 16 Then anoint Jehu son of Nimshi to be king of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah to replace you as my prophet. 17 Anyone who escapes from Hazael will be killed by Jehu, and those who escape Jehu will be killed by Elisha! 18 Yet I will preserve seven thousand others in Israel who have never bowed to Baal or kissed him!" 19 So Elijah went and found Elisha son of Shaphat plowing a field with a team of oxen. There were eleven teams of oxen ahead of him, and he was plowing with the twelfth team. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak across his shoulders and walked away again. 20 Elisha left the oxen standing there, ran after Elijah, and said to him, " First let me go and kiss my father and mother good-bye, and then I will go with you!" Elijah replied, " Go on back! But consider what I have done to you." 21 Elisha then returned to his oxen, killed them, and used the wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the other plowmen, and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as his assistant.

ACTS 12:1-23
About that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church. 2 He had the apostle James (John's brother) killed with a sword. 3 When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish leaders, he arrested Peter during the Passover celebration 4 and imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod's intention was to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover. 5 But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him. 6 The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, chained between two soldiers, with others standing guard at the prison gate. 7 Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel tapped him on the side to awaken him and said, " Quick! Get up!" And the chains fell off his wrists. 8 Then the angel told him, " Get dressed and put on your sandals." And he did. " Now put on your coat and follow me," the angel ordered. 9 So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn't realize it was really happening. 10 They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate to the street, and this opened to them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.11 Peter finally realized what had happened. " It's really true!" he said to himself. " The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jews were hoping to do to me!" 12 After a little thought, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. 13 He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. 14 When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, " Peter is standing at the door!" 15 " You're out of your mind," they said. When she insisted, they decided, " It must be his angel."16 Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally went out and opened the door, they were amazed. 17 He motioned for them to quiet down and told them what had happened and how the Lord had led him out of jail. " Tell James and the other brothers what happened," he said. And then he went to another place. 18 At dawn, there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter. 19 Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough search for him. When he couldn't be found, Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while. 20 Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they sent a delegation to make peace with him because their cities were dependent upon Herod's country for their food. They made friends with Blastus, Herod's personal assistant, 21 and an appointment with Herod was granted. When the day arrived, Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to them. 22 The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, " It is the voice of a god, not of a man!" 23 Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people's worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died.

PSALM 136:1-26
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His faithful love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His faithful love endures forever.
4 Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.
His faithful love endures forever.
5 Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully.
His faithful love endures forever.
6 Give thanks to him who placed the earth on the water.
His faithful love endures forever.
7 Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights--
His faithful love endures forever.
8 the sun to rule the day,
His faithful love endures forever.
9 and the moon and stars to rule the night.
His faithful love endures forever.
10 Give thanks to him who killed the firstborn of Egypt.
His faithful love endures forever.
11 He brought Israel out of Egypt.
His faithful love endures forever.
12 He acted with a strong hand and powerful arm.
His faithful love endures forever.
13 Give thanks to him who parted the Red Sea.
His faithful love endures forever.
14 He led Israel safely through,
His faithful love endures forever.
15 but he hurled Pharaoh and his army into the sea.
His faithful love endures forever.
16 Give thanks to him who led his people through the wilderness.
His faithful love endures forever.
17 Give thanks to him who struck down mighty kings.
His faithful love endures forever.
18 He killed powerful kings--
His faithful love endures forever.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites,
His faithful love endures forever.
20 and Og king of Bashan.
His faithful love endures forever.
21 God gave the land of these kings as an inheritance--
His faithful love endures forever.
22 a special possession to his servant Israel.
His faithful love endures forever.
23 He remembered our utter weakness.
His faithful love endures forever.
24 He saved us from our enemies.
His faithful love endures forever.
25 He gives food to every living thing.
His faithful love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His faithful love endures forever.

PROVERBS 17:14-15
Beginning a quarrel is like opening a floodgate, so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out. The LORD despises those who acquit the guilty and condemn the innocent.

June 17 Reading through the Bible

1 KINGS 18:1-46
ACTS 11:1-30
PSALM 135:1-21
PROVERBS 17:12-13

1 KINGS 18:1-46
After many months passed, in the third year of the drought, the LORD said to Elijah, " Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!" 2 So Elijah went to appear before Ahab. Meanwhile, the famine had become very severe in Samaria. 3 So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah was a devoted follower of the LORD. 4 Once when Jezebel had tried to kill all the LORD's prophets, Obadiah had hidden one hundred of them in two caves. He had put fifty prophets in each cave and had supplied them with food and water.) 5 Ahab said to Obadiah, " We must check every spring and valley to see if we can find enough grass to save at least some of my horses and mules." 6 So they divided the land between them. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. 7 As Obadiah was walking along, he saw Elijah coming toward him. Obadiah recognized him at once and fell to the ground before him. " Is it really you, my lord Elijah?" he asked. 8 " Yes, it is," Elijah replied. " Now go and tell your master I am here."9 " Oh, sir," Obadiah protested, " what harm have I done to you that you are sending me to my death at the hands of Ahab? 10 For I swear by the LORD your God that the king has searched every nation and kingdom on earth from end to end to find you. And each time when he was told, ` Elijah isn't here,' King Ahab forced the king of that nation to swear to the truth of his claim. 11 And now you say, ` Go and tell your master that Elijah is here'! 12 But as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the LORD will carry you away to who knows where. When Ahab comes and cannot find you, he will kill me. Yet I have been a true servant of the LORD all my life. 13 Has no one told you, my lord, about the time when Jezebel was trying to kill the LORD's prophets? I hid a hundred of them in two caves and supplied them with food and water. 14 And now you say, ` Go and tell your master that Elijah is here'! Sir, if I do that, I'm as good as dead!" 15 But Elijah said, " I swear by the LORD Almighty, in whose presence I stand, that I will present myself to Ahab today." 16 So Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah had come, and Ahab went out to meet him. 17 " So it's you, is it--Israel's troublemaker?" Ahab asked when he saw him. 18 " I have made no trouble for Israel," Elijah replied. " You and your family are the troublemakers, for you have refused to obey the commands of the LORD and have worshiped the images of Baal instead. 19 Now bring all the people of Israel to Mount Carmel, with all 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who are supported by Jezebel." 20 So Ahab summoned all the people and the prophets to Mount Carmel. 21 Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, " How long are you going to waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!" But the people were completely silent.22 Then Elijah said to them, " I am the only prophet of the LORD who is left, but Baal has 450 prophets. 23 Now bring two bulls. The prophets of Baal may choose whichever one they wish and cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood of their altar, but without setting fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood on the altar, but not set fire to it. 24 Then call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the true God!" And all the people agreed. 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, " You go first, for there are many of you. Choose one of the bulls and prepare it and call on the name of your god. But do not set fire to the wood." 26 So they prepared one of the bulls and placed it on the altar. Then they called on the name of Baal all morning, shouting, " O Baal, answer us!" But there was no reply of any kind. Then they danced wildly around the altar they had made. 27 About noontime Elijah began mocking them. " You'll have to shout louder," he scoffed, " for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or he is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or he is asleep and needs to be wakened!" 28 So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out. 29 They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no reply, no voice, no answer.30 Then Elijah called to the people, " Come over here!" They all crowded around him as he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down. 31 He took twelve stones, one to represent each of the tribes of Israel, 32 and he used the stones to rebuild the LORD's altar. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold about three gallons. 33 He piled wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces, and laid the pieces on the wood. Then he said, " Fill four large jars with water, and pour the water over the offering and the wood." After they had done this, 34 he said, " Do the same thing again!" And when they were finished, he said, " Now do it a third time!" So they did as he said, 35 and the water ran around the altar and even overflowed the trench. 36 At the customary time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, " O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. 37 O LORD, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself." 38 Immediately the fire of the LORD flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the ditch! 39 And when the people saw it, they fell on their faces and cried out, " The LORD is God! The LORD is God!"40 Then Elijah commanded, " Seize all the prophets of Baal. Don't let a single one escape!" So the people seized them all, and Elijah took them down to the Kishon Valley and killed them there. 41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, " Go and enjoy a good meal! For I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!" 42 So Ahab prepared a feast. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and fell to the ground and prayed. 43 Then he said to his servant, " Go and look out toward the sea."The servant went and looked, but he returned to Elijah and said, " I didn't see anything." Seven times Elijah told him to go and look, and seven times he went. 44 Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, " I saw a little cloud about the size of a hand rising from the sea." Then Elijah shouted, " Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ` Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don't hurry, the rain will stop you!' " 45 And sure enough, the sky was soon black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel. 46 Now the LORD gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab's chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel.

ACTS 11:1-30
Soon the news reached the apostles and other believers in Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God. 2 But when Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, some of the Jewish believers criticized him. 3 " You entered the home of Gentiles and even ate with them!" they said. 4 Then Peter told them exactly what had happened. 5 " One day in Joppa," he said, " while I was praying, I went into a trance and saw a vision. Something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners from the sky. And it came right down to me. 6 When I looked inside the sheet, I saw all sorts of small animals, wild animals, reptiles, and birds that we are not allowed to eat. 7 And I heard a voice say, ` Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.' 8 " ` Never, Lord,' I replied. ` I have never eaten anything forbidden by our Jewish laws.' 9 " But the voice from heaven came again, ` If God says something is acceptable, don't say it isn't.' 10 " This happened three times before the sheet and all it contained was pulled back up to heaven. 11 Just then three men who had been sent from Caesarea arrived at the house where I was staying. 12 The Holy Spirit told me to go with them and not to worry about their being Gentiles. These six brothers here accompanied me, and we soon arrived at the home of the man who had sent for us. 13 He told us how an angel had appeared to him in his home and had told him, ` Send messengers to Joppa to find Simon Peter. 14 He will tell you how you and all your household will be saved!' 15 " Well, I began telling them the Good News, but just as I was getting started, the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at the beginning. 16 Then I thought of the Lord's words when he said, ` John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' 17 And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to argue?" 18 When the others heard this, all their objections were answered and they began praising God. They said, " God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of turning from sin and receiving eternal life." 19 Meanwhile, the believers who had fled from Jerusalem during the persecution after Stephen's death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the Good News, but only to Jews. 20 However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. 21 The power of the Lord was upon them, and large numbers of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord. 22 When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw this proof of God's favor, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. 24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And large numbers of people were brought to the Lord. 25 Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to find Saul. 26 When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching great numbers of people. (It was there at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.) 27 During this time, some prophets traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them named Agabus stood up in one of the meetings to predict by the Spirit that a great famine was coming upon the entire Roman world. (This was fulfilled during the reign of Claudius.) 29 So the believers in Antioch decided to send relief to the brothers and sisters* in Judea, everyone giving as much as they could. 30 This they did, entrusting their gifts to Barnabas and Saul to take to the elders of the church in Jerusalem.

PSALM 135:1-21
Praise the LORD!
Praise the name of the LORD!
Praise him, you who serve the LORD,
2 you who serve in the house of the LORD,
in the courts of the house of our God.
3 Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
celebrate his wonderful name with music.
4 For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel for his own special treasure.
5 I know the greatness of the LORD--
that our Lord is greater than any other god.
6 The LORD does whatever pleases him
throughout all heaven and earth,
and on the seas and in their depths.
7 He causes the clouds to rise over the earth.
He sends the lightning with the rain
and releases the wind from his storehouses.
8 He destroyed the firstborn in each Egyptian home,
both people and animals.
9 He performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt;
Pharaoh and all his people watched.
10 He struck down great nations
and slaughtered mighty kings--
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
and all the kings of Canaan.
12 He gave their land as an inheritance,
a special possession to his people Israel.
13 Your name, O LORD, endures forever;
your fame, O LORD, is known to every generation.
14 For the LORD will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants.
15 Their idols are merely things of silver and gold,
shaped by human hands.
16 They cannot talk, though they have mouths,
or see, though they have eyes!
17 They cannot hear with their ears
or smell with their noses.
18 And those who make them are just like them,
as are all who trust in them.
19 O Israel, praise the LORD!
O priests of Aaron, praise the LORD!
20 O Levites, praise the LORD!
All you who fear the LORD, praise the LORD!
21 The LORD be praised from Zion,
for he lives here in Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD!

PROVERBS 17:12-13
It is safer to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than to confront a fool caught in folly. If you repay evil for good, evil will never leave your house.

June 16 Reading through the Bible

1 KINGS 15:25-17:24
ACTS 10:24-48
PSALM 134:1-3
PROVERBS 17:9-11

1 KINGS 15:25-17:24
Nadab son of Jeroboam began to rule over Israel in the second year of King Asa's reign in Judah. He reigned in Israel two years. 26 But he did what was evil in the LORD's sight and followed the example of his father, continuing the sins of idolatry that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit. 27 Then Baasha son of Ahijah, from the tribe of Issachar, plotted against Nadab and assassinated him while he and the Israelite army were laying siege to the Philistine town of Gibbethon. 28 Baasha killed Nadab in the third year of King Asa's reign in Judah, and he became the next king of Israel. 29 He immediately killed all the descendants of King Jeroboam, so that not one of the royal family was left, just as the LORD had promised concerning Jeroboam by the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh. 30 This was done because Jeroboam had aroused the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, by the sins he had committed and the sins he had led Israel to commit. 31 The rest of the events in Nadab's reign and all his deeds are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. 32 There was constant war between Asa and King Baasha of Israel. 33 Baasha began to rule over Israel in the third year of King Asa's reign in Judah. Baasha reigned in Tirzah twenty-four years. 34 But he did what was evil in the LORD's sight and followed the example of Jeroboam, continuing the sins of idolatry that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit.16:1 THIS message from the LORD was delivered to King Baasha by the prophet Jehu son of Hanani: 2 " I lifted you out of the dust to make you ruler of my people Israel, but you have followed the evil example of Jeroboam. You have aroused my anger by causing my people to sin. 3 So now I will destroy you and your family, just as I destroyed the descendants of Jeroboam son of Nebat. 4 Those of your family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by the vultures." 5 The rest of the events in Baasha's reign and the extent of his power are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. 6 When Baasha died, he was buried in Tirzah. Then his son Elah became the next king. 7 This message from the LORD had been spoken against Baasha and his family through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani. It was delivered because Baasha had done what was evil in the LORD's sight, arousing him to anger by his sins, just like the family of Jeroboam, and also because Baasha had destroyed the family of Jeroboam. 8 Elah son of Baasha began to rule over Israel from Tirzah in the twenty-sixth year of King Asa's reign in Judah. He reigned in Israel two years. 9 Then Zimri, who commanded half of the royal chariots, made plans to kill him. One day in Tirzah, Elah was getting drunk at the home of Arza, the supervisor of the palace. 10 Zimri walked in and struck him down and killed him. This happened in the twenty-seventh year of King Asa's reign in Judah. Then Zimri became the next king. 11 Zimri immediately killed the entire royal family of Baasha, and he did not leave a single male child. He even destroyed distant relatives and friends. 12 So Zimri destroyed the dynasty of Baasha as the LORD had promised through the prophet Jehu. 13 This happened because of the sins of Baasha and his son Elah and because of all the sins they led Israel to commit, arousing the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, with their idols. 14 The rest of the events in Elah's reign and all his deeds are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. 15 Zimri began to rule over Israel from Tirzah in the twenty-seventh year of King Asa's reign in Judah, but he reigned only seven days. When the army of Israel, which was then engaged in attacking the Philistine town of Gibbethon, 16 heard that Zimri had assassinated the king, they chose Omri, commander of the army, as their new king. 17 So Omri led the army of Israel away from Gibbethon to attack Tirzah, Israel's capital. 18 When Zimri saw that the city had been taken, he went into the citadel of the king's house and burned it down over himself and died in the flames. 19 For he, too, had done what was evil in the LORD's sight and followed the example of Jeroboam, continuing the sins of idolatry that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit. 20 The rest of the events of Zimri's reign and his conspiracy are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. 21 But now the people of Israel were divided into two groups. Half the people tried to make Tibni son of Ginath their king, while the other half supported Omri. 22 But Omri's supporters defeated the supporters of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni was killed, and Omri became the next king. 23 Omri began to rule over Israel in the thirty-first year of King Asa's reign in Judah. He reigned twelve years in all, six of them in Tirzah. 24 Then Omri bought the hill now known as Samaria from its owner, Shemer, for 150 pounds of silver. He built a city on it and called the city Samaria in honor of Shemer. 25 But Omri did what was evil in the LORD's sight, even more than any of the kings before him. 26 He followed the example of Jeroboam, continuing the sins of idolatry that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit. Thus, he aroused the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel. 27 The rest of the events in Omri's reign, the extent of his power, and all his deeds are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. 28 When Omri died, he was buried in Samaria. Then his son Ahab became the next king. 29 Ahab son of Omri began to rule over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of King Asa's reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria twenty-two years. 30 But Ahab did what was evil in the LORD's sight, even more than any of the kings before him. 31 And as though it were not enough to live like Jeroboam, he married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and he began to worship Baal. 32 First he built a temple and an altar for Baal in Samaria. 33 Then he set up an Asherah pole. He did more to arouse the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, than any of the other kings of Israel before him. 34 It was during his reign that Hiel, a man from Bethel, rebuilt Jericho. When he laid the foundations, his oldest son, Abiram, died. And when he finally completed it by setting up the gates, his youngest son, Segub, died. This all happened according to the message from the LORD concerning Jericho spoken by Joshua son of Nun.17:1 NOW Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, " As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives--the God whom I worship and serve--there will be no dew or rain during the next few years unless I give the word!" 2 Then the LORD said to Elijah, 3 " Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook at a place east of where it enters the Jordan River. 4 Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food." 5 So Elijah did as the LORD had told him and camped beside Kerith Brook. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land. 8 Then the LORD said to Elijah, 9 " Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. There is a widow there who will feed you. I have given her my instructions." 10 So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, " Would you please bring me a cup of water?" 11 As she was going to get it, he called to her, " Bring me a bite of bread, too." 12 But she said, " I swear by the LORD your God that I don't have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die." 13 But Elijah said to her, " Don't be afraid! Go ahead and cook that ` last meal,' but bake me a little loaf of bread first. Afterward there will still be enough food for you and your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There will always be plenty of flour and oil left in your containers until the time when the LORD sends rain and the crops grow again!" 15 So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her son continued to eat from her supply of flour and oil for many days. 16 For no matter how much they used, there was always enough left in the containers, just as the LORD had promised through Elijah. 17 Some time later, the woman's son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died. 18 She then said to Elijah, " O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to punish my sins by killing my son?" 19 But Elijah replied, " Give me your son." And he took the boy's body from her, carried him up to the upper room, where he lived, and laid the body on his bed. 20 Then Elijah cried out to the LORD, " O LORD my God, why have you brought tragedy on this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?" 21 And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the LORD, " O LORD my God, please let this child's life return to him." 22 The LORD heard Elijah's prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he came back to life! 23 Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. " Look, your son is alive!" he said. 24 Then the woman told Elijah, " Now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the LORD truly speaks through you."

ACTS 10:24-48
They [Peter and the other believers] arrived in Caesarea the following day. Cornelius was waiting for him and had called together his relatives and close friends to meet Peter. 25 As Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell to the floor before him in worship. 26 But Peter pulled him up and said, " Stand up! I'm a human being like you!" 27 So Cornelius got up, and they talked together and went inside where the others were assembled. 28 Peter told them, " You know it is against the Jewish laws for me to come into a Gentile home like this. But God has shown me that I should never think of anyone as impure. 29 So I came as soon as I was sent for. Now tell me why you sent for me." 30 Cornelius replied, " Four days ago I was praying in my house at three o'clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, a man in dazzling clothes was standing in front of me. 31 He told me, ` Cornelius, your prayers have been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been noticed by God! 32 Now send some men to Joppa and summon Simon Peter. He is staying in the home of Simon, a leatherworker who lives near the shore.' 33 So I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now here we are, waiting before God to hear the message the Lord has given you." 34 Then Peter replied, " I see very clearly that God doesn't show partiality. 35 In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. 36 I'm sure you have heard about the Good News for the people of Israel--that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what happened all through Judea, beginning in Galilee after John the Baptist began preaching. 38 And no doubt you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with him. 39 " And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Israel and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by crucifying him, 40 but God raised him to life three days later. Then God allowed him to appear, 41 not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen beforehand to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is ordained of God to be the judge of all--the living and the dead. 43 He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name." 44 Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who had heard the message. 45 The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles, too. 46 And there could be no doubt about it, for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter asked, 47 " Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?" 48 So he gave orders for them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterward Cornelius asked him to stay with them for several days.

PSALM 134:1-3
A song for the ascent to Jerusalem.
1 Oh, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD,
you who serve as night watchmen in the house of the LORD.
2 Lift your hands in holiness,
and bless the LORD.
3 May the LORD, who made heaven and earth,
bless you from Jerusalem.

PROVERBS 17:9-11
Disregarding another person's faults preserves love; telling about them separates close friends. A single rebuke does more for a person of understanding than a hundred lashes on the back of a fool. Evil people seek rebellion, but they will be severely punished.