May 31 Reading through the Bible

 

2 SAMUEL 17:1-29
JOHN 19:23-42
PSALM 119:129-152
PROVERBS 16:12-13

2 SAMUEL 17:1-29
Now Ahithophel urged Absalom, " Let me choose twelve thousand men to start out after David tonight. 2 I will catch up to him while he is weary and discouraged. He and his troops will panic, and everyone will run away. Then I will kill only the king, 3 and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride returns to her husband. After all, it is only this man's life that you seek. Then all the people will remain unharmed and peaceful." 4 This plan seemed good to Absalom and to all the other leaders of Israel. 5 But then Absalom said, " Bring in Hushai the Arkite. Let's see what he thinks about this." 6 When Hushai arrived, Absalom told him what Ahithophel had said. Then he asked, " What is your opinion? Should we follow Ahithophel's advice? If not, speak up." 7 " Well," Hushai replied, " this time I think Ahithophel has made a mistake. 8 You know your father and his men; they are mighty warriors. Right now they are probably as enraged as a mother bear who has been robbed of her cubs. And remember that your father is an experienced soldier. He won't be spending the night among the troops. 9 He has probably already hidden in some pit or cave. And when he comes out and attacks and a few of your men fall, there will be panic among your troops, and everyone will start shouting that your men are being slaughtered. 10 Then even the bravest of them, though they have the heart of a lion, will be paralyzed with fear. For all Israel knows what a mighty man your father is and how courageous his warriors are. 11 " I suggest that you mobilize the entire army of Israel, bringing them from as far away as Dan and Beersheba. That way you will have an army as numerous as the sand on the seashore. And I think that you should personally lead the troops. 12 When we find David, we can descend on him like the dew that falls to the ground, so that not one of his men is left alive. 13 And if David has escaped into some city, you will have the entire army of Israel there at your command. Then we can take ropes and drag the walls of the city into the nearest valley until every stone is torn down." 14 Then Absalom and all the leaders of Israel said, " Hushai's advice is better than Ahithophel's." For the LORD had arranged to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel, which really was the better plan, so that he could bring disaster upon Absalom! 15 Then Hushai reported to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, what Ahithophel had said and what he himself had suggested instead. 16 " Quick!" he told them. " Find David and urge him not to stay at the shallows of the Jordan River tonight. He must go across at once into the wilderness beyond. Otherwise he will die and his entire army with him." 17 Jonathan and Ahimaaz had been staying at En-rogel so as not to be seen entering and leaving the city. Arrangements had been made for a servant girl to bring them the message they were to take to King David. 18 But a boy saw them leaving En-rogel to go to David, and he told Absalom about it. Meanwhile, they escaped to Bahurim, where a man hid them inside a well in his courtyard. 19 The man's wife put a cloth over the top of the well with grain on it to dry in the sun; so no one suspected they were there. 20 When Absalom's men arrived, they asked her, " Have you seen Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" She replied, " They were here, but they crossed the brook." Absalom's men looked for them without success and returned to Jerusalem. 21 Then the two men crawled out of the well and hurried on to King David. " Quick!" they told him, " cross the Jordan tonight!" And they told him how Ahithophel had advised that he be captured and killed. 22 So David and all the people with him went across the Jordan River during the night, and they were all on the other bank before dawn. 23 Meanwhile, Ahithophel was publicly disgraced when Absalom refused his advice. So he saddled his donkey, went to his hometown, set his affairs in order, and hanged himself. He died there and was buried beside his father. 24 David soon arrived at Mahanaim. By now, Absalom had mobilized the entire army of Israel and was leading his troops across the Jordan River. 25 Absalom had appointed Amasa as commander of his army, replacing Joab, who had been commander under David. (Amasa was Joab's cousin. His father was Jether, an Ishmaelite. His mother, Abigail daughter of Nahash, was the sister of Joab's mother, Zeruiah.) 26 Absalom and the Israelite army set up camp in the land of Gilead. 27 When David arrived at Mahanaim, he was warmly greeted by Shobi son of Nahash of Rabbah, an Ammonite, and by Makir son of Ammiel of Lo-debar, and by Barzillai of Gilead from Rogelim. 28 They brought sleeping mats, cooking pots, serving bowls, wheat and barley flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, 29 honey, butter, sheep, and cheese for David and those who were with him. For they said, " You must all be very tired and hungry and thirsty after your long march through the wilderness."

JOHN 19:23-42
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. 24 So they said, " Let's not tear it but throw dice to see who gets it." This fulfilled the Scripture that says, " They divided my clothes among themselves and threw dice for my robe." So that is what they did. 25 Standing near the cross were Jesus' mother, and his mother's sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, " Woman, he is your son." 27 And he said to this disciple, " She is your mother." And from then on this disciple took her into his home. 28 Jesus knew that everything was now finished, and to fulfill the Scriptures he said, " I am thirsty." 29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. 30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, " It is finished!" Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. 31 The Jewish leaders didn't want the victims hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath at that, because it was the Passover), so they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. 33 But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was dead already, so they didn't break his legs. 34 One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water flowed out. 35 This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account; it is presented so that you also can believe. 36 These things happened in fulfillment of the Scriptures that say, " Not one of his bones will be broken," 37 and " They will look on him whom they pierced." 38 Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take Jesus' body down. When Pilate gave him permission, he came and took the body away. 39 Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night, also came, bringing about seventy-five pounds of embalming ointment made from myrrh and aloes. 40 Together they wrapped Jesus' body in a long linen cloth with the spices, as is the Jewish custom of burial. 41 The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. 42 And so, because it was the day of preparation before the Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

PSALM 119:129-152
Your decrees are wonderful.
No wonder I obey them!
130 As your words are taught, they give light;
even the simple can understand them.
131 I open my mouth, panting expectantly,
longing for your commands.
132 Come and show me your mercy,
as you do for all who love your name.
133 Guide my steps by your word,
so I will not be overcome by any evil.
134 Rescue me from the oppression of evil people;
then I can obey your commandments.
135 Look down on me with love;
teach me all your principles.
136 Rivers of tears gush from my eyes
because people disobey your law.
137 O LORD, you are righteous,
and your decisions are fair.
138 Your decrees are perfect;
they are entirely worthy of our trust.
139 I am overwhelmed with rage,
for my enemies have disregarded your words.
140 Your promises have been thoroughly tested;
that is why I love them so much.
141 I am insignificant and despised,
but I don't forget your commandments.
142 Your justice is eternal,
and your law is perfectly true.
143 As pressure and stress bear down on me,
I find joy in your commands.
144 Your decrees are always fair;
help me to understand them, that I may live.
145 I pray with all my heart; answer me, LORD!
I will obey your principles.
146 I cry out to you; save me,
that I may obey your decrees.
147 I rise early, before the sun is up;
I cry out for help and put my hope in your words.
148 I stay awake through the night,
thinking about your promise.
149 In your faithful love, O LORD, hear my cry;
in your justice, save my life.
150 Those lawless people are coming near to attack me;
they live far from your law.
151 But you are near, O LORD,
and all your commands are true.
152 I have known from my earliest days
that your decrees never change.

PROVERBS 16:12-13
A king despises wrongdoing, for his rule depends on his justice. The king is pleased with righteous lips; he loves those who speak honestly.

May 30 Reading through the Bible

 

2 SAMUEL 15:23-16:23
JOHN 18:25-19:22
PSALM 119:113-128
PROVERBS 16:10-11

2 SAMUEL 15:23-16:23
There was deep sadness throughout the land as the king and his followers passed by. They crossed the Kidron Valley and then went out toward the wilderness. 24 Abiathar and Zadok and the Levites took the Ark of the Covenant of God and set it down beside the road. Then they offered sacrifices there until everyone had passed by. 25 David instructed Zadok to take the Ark of God back into the city. " If the LORD sees fit," David said, " he will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernacle again. 26 But if he is through with me, then let him do what seems best to him." 27 Then the king told Zadok the priest, " Look, here is my plan. You and Abiathar should return quietly to the city with your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan. 28 I will stop at the shallows of the Jordan River and wait there for a message from you. Let me know what happens in Jerusalem before I disappear into the wilderness." 29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the Ark of God back to the city and stayed there. 30 David walked up the road that led to the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went. His head was covered and his feet were bare as a sign of mourning. And the people who were with him covered their heads and wept as they climbed the mountain. 31 When someone told David that his adviser Ahithophel was now backing Absalom, David prayed, " O LORD, let Ahithophel give Absalom foolish advice!" 32 As they reached the spot at the top of the Mount of Olives where people worshiped God, David found Hushai the Arkite waiting for him. Hushai had torn his clothing and put dirt on his head as a sign of mourning. 33 But David told him, " If you go with me, you will only be a burden. 34 Return to Jerusalem and tell Absalom, ` I will now be your adviser, just as I was your father's adviser in the past.' Then you can frustrate and counter Ahithophel's advice. 35 Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, are there. Tell them the plans that are being made to capture me, 36 and they will send their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan to find me and tell me what is going on." 37 So David's friend Hushai returned to Jerusalem, getting there just as Absalom arrived.16:1 DAVID was just past the top of the hill when Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, caught up with him. He was leading two donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred clusters of raisins, one hundred bunches of summer fruit, and a skin of wine. 2 " What are these for?" the king asked Ziba. And Ziba replied, " The donkeys are for your people to ride on, and the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat. The wine is to be taken with you into the wilderness for those who become faint." 3 " And where is Mephibosheth?" the king asked him. " He stayed in Jerusalem," Ziba replied. " He said, ` Today I will get back the kingdom of my grandfather Saul.' " 4 " In that case," the king told Ziba, " I give you everything Mephibosheth owns." " Thank you, sir," Ziba replied. " I will always do whatever you want me to do." 5 As David and his party passed Bahurim, a man came out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei son of Gera, a member of Saul's family. 6 He threw stones at the king and the king's officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded them. 7 " Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!" he shouted at David. 8 " The LORD is paying you back for murdering Saul and his family. You stole his throne, and now the LORD has given it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own medicine, you murderer!" 9 " Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?" Abishai son of Zeruiah demanded. " Let me go over and cut off his head!" 10 " No!" the king said. " What am I going to do with you sons of Zeruiah! If the LORD has told him to curse me, who am I to stop him?" 11 Then David said to Abishai and the other officers, " My own son is trying to kill me. Shouldn't this relative of Saul have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to do it. 12 And perhaps the LORD will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses." 13 So David and his men continued on, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing as he went and throwing stones at David and tossing dust into the air. 14 The king and all who were with him grew weary along the way, so they rested when they reached the Jordan River. 15 Meanwhile, Absalom and his men arrived at Jerusalem, accompanied by Ahithophel. 16 When David's friend Hushai the Arkite arrived, he went immediately to see Absalom. " Long live the king!" he exclaimed. " Long live the king!" 17 " Is this the way you treat your friend David?" Absalom asked him. " Why aren't you with him?" 18 " I'm here because I work for the man who is chosen by the LORD and by Israel," Hushai replied. 19 " And anyway, why shouldn't I serve you? I helped your father, and now I will help you!" 20 Then Absalom turned to Ahithophel and asked him, " What should I do next?" 21 Ahithophel told him, " Go and sleep with your father's concubines, for he has left them here to keep the house. Then all Israel will know that you have insulted him beyond hope of reconciliation, and they will give you their support." 22 So they set up a tent on the palace roof where everyone could see it, and Absalom went into the tent to sleep with his father's concubines. 23 Absalom followed Ahithophel's advice, just as David had done. For every word Ahithophel spoke seemed as wise as though it had come directly from the mouth of God.

JOHN 18:25-19:22
Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire, they [the guards] asked him again, " Aren't you one of his disciples?" " I am not," he said. 26 But one of the household servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, " Didn't I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?" 27 Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed. 28 Jesus' trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn't go in themselves because it would defile them, and they wouldn't be allowed to celebrate the Passover feast. 29 So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, " What is your charge against this man?" 30 " We wouldn't have handed him over to you if he weren't a criminal!" they retorted. 31 " Then take him away and judge him by your own laws," Pilate told them. " Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone," the Jewish leaders replied. 32 This fulfilled Jesus' prediction about the way he would die. 33 Then Pilate went back inside and called for Jesus to be brought to him. " Are you the King of the Jews?" he asked him. 34 Jesus replied, " Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?" 35 " Am I a Jew?" Pilate asked. " Your own people and their leading priests brought you here. Why? What have you done?" 36 Then Jesus answered, " I am not an earthly king. If I were, my followers would have fought when I was arrested by the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world." 37 Pilate replied, " You are a king then?" " You say that I am a king, and you are right," Jesus said. " I was born for that purpose. And I came to bring truth to the world. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true." 38 " What is truth?" Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, " He is not guilty of any crime. 39 But you have a custom of asking me to release someone from prison each year at Passover. So if you want me to, I'll release the King of the Jews." 40 But they shouted back, " No! Not this man, but Barabbas!" (Barabbas was a criminal.)19:1 THEN Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. 2 The soldiers made a crown of long, sharp thorns and put it on his head, and they put a royal purple robe on him. 3 " Hail! King of the Jews!" they mocked, and they hit him with their fists. 4 Pilate went outside again and said to the people, " I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty." 5 Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, " Here is the man!" 6 When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, " Crucify! Crucify!" " You crucify him," Pilate said. " I find him not guilty." 7 The Jewish leaders replied, " By our laws he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God." 8 When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever. 9 He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, " Where are you from?" But Jesus gave no answer. 10 " You won't talk to me?" Pilate demanded. " Don't you realize that I have the power to release you or to crucify you?" 11 Then Jesus said, " You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who brought me to you has the greater sin." 12 Then Pilate tried to release him, but the Jewish leaders told him, " If you release this man, you are not a friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is a rebel against Caesar." 13 When they said this, Pilate brought Jesus out to them again. Then Pilate sat down on the judgment seat on the platform that is called the Stone Pavement (in Hebrew, Gabbatha). 14 It was now about noon of the day of preparation for the Passover. And Pilate said to the people, " Here is your king!" 15 " Away with him," they yelled. " Away with him--crucify him!" " What? Crucify your king?" Pilate asked. " We have no king but Caesar," the leading priests shouted back. 16 Then Pilate gave Jesus to them to be crucified.So they took Jesus and led him away. 17 Carrying the cross by himself, Jesus went to the place called Skull Hill (in Hebrew, Golgotha). 18 There they crucified him. There were two others crucified with him, one on either side, with Jesus between them. 19 And Pilate posted a sign over him that read, " Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." 20 The place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and the sign was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, so that many people could read it. 21 Then the leading priests said to Pilate, " Change it from ` The King of the Jews' to ` He said, I am King of the Jews.' "22 Pilate replied, " What I have written, I have written. It stays exactly as it is."

PSALM 119:113-128
I hate those who are undecided about you,
but my choice is clear--I love your law.
114 You are my refuge and my shield;
your word is my only source of hope.
115 Get out of my life, you evil-minded people,
for I intend to obey the commands of my God.
116 LORD, sustain me as you promised, that I may live!
Do not let my hope be crushed.
117 Sustain me, and I will be saved;
then I will meditate on your principles continually.
118 But you have rejected all who stray from your principles.
They are only fooling themselves.
119 All the wicked of the earth are the scum you skim off;
no wonder I love to obey your decrees!
120 I tremble in fear of you;
I fear your judgments.
121 Don't leave me to the mercy of my enemies,
for I have done what is just and right.
122 Please guarantee a blessing for me.
Don't let those who are arrogant oppress me!
123 My eyes strain to see your deliverance,
to see the truth of your promise fulfilled.
124 I am your servant;
deal with me in unfailing love,
and teach me your principles.
125 Give discernment to me, your servant;
then I will understand your decrees.
126 LORD, it is time for you to act,
for these evil people have broken your law.
127 Truly, I love your commands
more than gold, even the finest gold.
128 Truly, each of your commandments is right.
That is why I hate every false way.

PROVERBS 16:10-11
The king speaks with divine wisdom; he must never judge unfairly. The LORD demands fairness in every business deal; he sets the standard.

May 29 Reading through the Bible

 

2 SAMUEL 14:1-15:22
JOHN 18:1-24
PSALM 119:97-112
PROVERBS 16:8-9

2 SAMUEL 14:1-15:22
Joab realized how much the king longed to see Absalom. 2 So he sent for a woman from Tekoa who had a reputation for great wisdom. He said to her, " Pretend you are in mourning; wear mourning clothes and don't bathe or wear any perfume. Act like a woman who has been in deep sorrow for a long time. 3 Then go to the king and tell him the story I am about to tell you." Then Joab told her what to say. 4 When the woman approached the king, she fell with her face down to the floor in front of him and cried out, " O king! Help me!" 5 " What's the trouble?" the king asked. " I am a widow," she replied. 6 " My two sons had a fight out in the field. And since no one was there to stop it, one of them was killed. 7 Now the rest of the family is demanding, ` Let us have your son. We will execute him for murdering his brother. He doesn't deserve to inherit his family's property.' But if I do that, I will have no one left, and my husband's name and family will disappear from the face of the earth." 8 " Leave it to me," the king told her. " Go home, and I'll see to it that no one touches him." 9 " Oh, thank you, my lord," she replied. " And I'll take the responsibility if you are criticized for helping me like this." 10 " Don't worry about that!" the king said. " If anyone objects, bring them to me. I can assure you they will never complain again!" 11 Then she said, " Please swear to me by the LORD your God that you won't let anyone take vengeance against my son. I want no more bloodshed." " As surely as the LORD lives," he replied, " not a hair on your son's head will be disturbed!" 12 " Please let me ask one more thing of you!" she said. " Go ahead," he urged. " Speak!" 13 She replied, " Why don't you do as much for all the people of God as you have promised to do for me? You have convicted yourself in making this decision, because you have refused to bring home your own banished son. 14 All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. That is why God tries to bring us back when we have been separated from him. He does not sweep away the lives of those he cares about--and neither should you! 15 " But I have come to plead with you for my son because my life and my son's life have been threatened. I said to myself, ` Perhaps the king will listen to me 16 and rescue us from those who would cut us off from God's people. 17 Yes, the king will give us peace of mind again.' I know that you are like an angel of God and can discern good from evil. May the LORD your God be with you." 18 " I want to know one thing," the king replied. " Yes, my lord?" she asked. 19 " Did Joab send you here?" And the woman replied, " My lord the king, how can I deny it? Nobody can hide anything from you. Yes, Joab sent me and told me what to say. 20 He did it to place the matter before you in a different light. But you are as wise as an angel of God, and you understand everything that happens among us!" 21 So the king sent for Joab and told him, " All right, go and bring back the young man Absalom." 22 Joab fell to the ground before the king and blessed him and said, " At last I know that I have gained your approval, for you have granted me this request!" 23 Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 24 But the king gave this order: " Absalom may go to his own house, but he must never come into my presence." So Absalom did not see the king. 25 Now no one in Israel was as handsome as Absalom. From head to foot, he was the perfect specimen of a man. 26 He cut his hair only once a year, and then only because it was too heavy to carry around. When he weighed it out, it came to five pounds! 27 He had three sons and one daughter. His daughter's name was Tamar, and she was very beautiful. 28 Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years without getting to see the king. 29 Then Absalom sent for Joab to ask him to intercede for him, but Joab refused to come. Absalom sent for him a second time, but again Joab refused to come. 30 So Absalom said to his servants, " Go and set fire to Joab's barley field, the field next to mine." So they set his field on fire, as Absalom had commanded. 31 Then Joab came to Absalom and demanded, " Why did your servants set my field on fire?" 32 And Absalom replied, " Because I wanted you to ask the king why he brought me back from Geshur if he didn't intend to see me. I might as well have stayed there. Let me see the king; if he finds me guilty of anything, then let him execute me." 33 So Joab told the king what Absalom had said. Then at last David summoned his estranged son, and Absalom came and bowed low before the king, and David kissed him.15:1 AFTER this, Absalom bought a chariot and horses, and he hired fifty footmen to run ahead of him. 2 He got up early every morning and went out to the gate of the city. When people brought a case to the king for judgment, Absalom would ask where they were from, and they would tell him their tribe. 3 Then Absalom would say, " You've really got a strong case here! It's too bad the king doesn't have anyone to hear it. 4 I wish I were the judge. Then people could bring their problems to me, and I would give them justice!" 5 And when people tried to bow before him, Absalom wouldn't let them. Instead, he took them by the hand and embraced them. 6 So in this way, Absalom stole the hearts of all the people of Israel. 7 After four years, Absalom said to the king, " Let me go to Hebron to offer a sacrifice to the LORD in fulfillment of a vow I made to him. 8 For while I was at Geshur, I promised to sacrifice to him in Hebron if he would bring me back to Jerusalem." 9 " All right," the king told him. " Go and fulfill your vow." So Absalom went to Hebron. 10 But while he was there, he sent secret messengers to every part of Israel to stir up a rebellion against the king. " As soon as you hear the trumpets," his message read, " you will know that Absalom has been crowned king in Hebron." 11 He took two hundred men from Jerusalem with him as guests, but they knew nothing of his intentions. 12 While he was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel, one of David's counselors who lived in Giloh. Soon many others also joined Absalom, and the conspiracy gained momentum. 13 A messenger soon arrived in Jerusalem to tell King David, " All Israel has joined Absalom in a conspiracy against you!" 14 " Then we must flee at once, or it will be too late!" David urged his men. " Hurry! If we get out of the city before he arrives, both we and the city of Jerusalem will be spared from disaster." 15 " We are with you," his advisers replied. " Do what you think is best." 16 So the king and his household set out at once. He left no one behind except ten of his concubines to keep the palace in order. 17 The king and his people set out on foot, and they paused at the edge of the city 18 to let David's troops move past to lead the way. There were six hundred Gittites who had come with David from Gath, along with the king's bodyguard. 19 Then the king turned to Ittai, the captain of the Gittites, and asked, " Why are you coming with us? Go on back with your men to King Absalom, for you are a guest in Israel, a foreigner in exile. 20 You arrived only yesterday, and now should I force you to wander with us? I don't even know where we will go. Go on back and take your troops with you, and may the LORD show you his unfailing love and faithfulness." 21 But Ittai said to the king, " I vow by the LORD and by your own life that I will go wherever you go, no matter what happens--whether it means life or death." 22 David replied, " All right, come with us." So Ittai and his six hundred men and their families went along.

JOHN 18:1-24
After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. 2 Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had gone there many times with his disciples. 3 The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a battalion of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove. 4 Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him. Stepping forward to meet them, he asked, " Whom are you looking for?" 5 " Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. " I am he," Jesus said. Judas was standing there with them when Jesus identified himself. 6 And as he said, " I am he," they all fell backward to the ground! 7 Once more he asked them, " Whom are you searching for?" And again they replied, " Jesus of Nazareth." 8 " I told you that I am he," Jesus said. " And since I am the one you want, let these others go." 9 He did this to fulfill his own statement: " I have not lost a single one of those you gave me." 10 Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest's servant. 11 But Jesus said to Peter, " Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup the Father has given me?" 12 So the soldiers, their commanding officer, and the Temple guards arrested Jesus and tied him up. 13 First they took him to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14 Caiaphas was the one who had told the other Jewish leaders, " Better that one should die for all." 15 Simon Peter followed along behind, as did another of the disciples. That other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the courtyard with Jesus. 16 Peter stood outside the gate. Then the other disciple spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in. 17 The woman asked Peter, " Aren't you one of Jesus' disciples?" " No," he said, " I am not." 18 The guards and the household servants were standing around a charcoal fire they had made because it was cold. And Peter stood there with them, warming himself. 19 Inside, the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them. 20 Jesus replied, " What I teach is widely known, because I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple. I have been heard by people everywhere, and I teach nothing in private that I have not said in public. 21 Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said." 22 One of the Temple guards standing there struck Jesus on the face. " Is that the way to answer the high priest?" he demanded. 23 Jesus replied, " If I said anything wrong, you must give evidence for it. Should you hit a man for telling the truth?" 24 Then Annas bound Jesus and sent him to Caiaphas, the high priest.

PSALM 119:97-112
Oh, how I love your law!
I think about it all day long.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
for your commands are my constant guide.
99 Yes, I have more insight than my teachers,
for I am always thinking of your decrees.
100 I am even wiser than my elders,
for I have kept your commandments.
101 I have refused to walk on any path of evil,
that I may remain obedient to your word.
102 I haven't turned away from your laws,
for you have taught me well.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste;
they are sweeter than honey.
104 Your commandments give me understanding;
no wonder I hate every false way of life.
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet
and a light for my path.
106 I've promised it once, and I'll promise again:
I will obey your wonderful laws.
107 I have suffered much, O LORD;
restore my life again, just as you promised.
108 LORD, accept my grateful thanks
and teach me your laws.
109 My life constantly hangs in the balance,
but I will not stop obeying your law.
110 The wicked have set their traps for me along your path,
but I will not turn from your commandments.
111 Your decrees are my treasure;
they are truly my heart's delight.
112 I am determined to keep your principles,
even forever, to the very end.

PROVERBS 16:8-9
It is better to be poor and godly than rich and dishonest. We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.

May 28 Reading through the Bible

2 SAMUEL 13:1-39
JOHN 17:1-26
PSALM 119:81-96
PROVERBS 16:6-7

2 SAMUEL 13:1-39
David's son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. And Amnon, her half brother, fell desperately in love with her. 2 Amnon became so obsessed with Tamar that he became ill. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible that he could ever fulfill his love for her. 3 Now Amnon had a very crafty friend--his cousin Jonadab. He was the son of David's brother Shimea. 4 One day Jonadab said to Amnon, " What's the trouble? Why should the son of a king look so dejected morning after morning?" So Amnon told him, " I am in love with Tamar, Absalom's sister." 5 " Well," Jonadab said, " I'll tell you what to do. Go back to bed and pretend you are sick. When your father comes to see you, ask him to let Tamar come and prepare some food for you. Tell him you'll feel better if she feeds you." 6 So Amnon pretended to be sick. And when the king came to see him, Amnon asked him, " Please let Tamar come to take care of me and cook something for me to eat." 7 So David agreed and sent Tamar to Amnon's house to prepare some food for him. 8 When Tamar arrived at Amnon's house, she went to the room where he was lying down so he could watch her mix some dough. Then she baked some special bread for him. 9 But when she set the serving tray before him, he refused to eat. " Everyone get out of here," Amnon told his servants. So they all left. 10 Then he said to Tamar, " Now bring the food into my bedroom and feed it to me here." So Tamar took it to him. 11 But as she was feeding him, he grabbed her and demanded, " Come to bed with me, my darling sister." 12 " No, my brother!" she cried. " Don't be foolish! Don't do this to me! You know what a serious crime it is to do such a thing in Israel. 13 Where could I go in my shame? And you would be called one of the greatest fools in Israel. Please, just speak to the king about it, and he will let you marry me." 14 But Amnon wouldn't listen to her, and since he was stronger than she was, he raped her. 15 Then suddenly Amnon's love turned to hate, and he hated her even more than he had loved her. " Get out of here!" he snarled at her. 16 " No, no!" Tamar cried. " To reject me now is a greater wrong than what you have already done to me." But Amnon wouldn't listen to her. 17 He shouted for his servant and demanded, " Throw this woman out, and lock the door behind her!" 18 So the servant put her out. She was wearing a long, beautiful robe, as was the custom in those days for the king's virgin daughters. 19 But now Tamar tore her robe and put ashes on her head. And then, with her face in her hands, she went away crying. 20 Her brother Absalom saw her and asked, " Is it true that Amnon has been with you? Well, don't be so upset. Since he's your brother anyway, don't worry about it." So Tamar lived as a desolate woman in Absalom's house. 21 When King David heard what had happened, he was very angry. 22 And though Absalom never spoke to Amnon about it, he hated Amnon deeply because of what he had done to his sister. 23 Two years later, when Absalom's sheep were being sheared at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, Absalom invited all the king's sons to come to a feast. 24 He went to the king and said, " My sheep-shearers are now at work. Would the king and his servants please come to celebrate the occasion with me?" 25 The king replied, " No, my son. If we all came, we would be too much of a burden on you." Absalom pressed him, but the king wouldn't come, though he sent his thanks. 26 " Well, then," Absalom said, " if you can't come, how about sending my brother Amnon instead?" " Why Amnon?" the king asked. 27 But Absalom kept on pressing the king until he finally agreed to let all his sons attend, including Amnon. 28 Absalom told his men, " Wait until Amnon gets drunk; then at my signal, kill him! Don't be afraid. I'm the one who has given the command. Take courage and do it!" 29 So at Absalom's signal they murdered Amnon. Then the other sons of the king jumped on their mules and fled. 30 As they were on the way back to Jerusalem, this report reached David: " Absalom has killed all your sons; not one is left alive!" 31 The king jumped up, tore his robe, and fell prostrate on the ground. His advisers also tore their clothes in horror and sorrow. 32 But just then Jonadab, the son of David's brother Shimea, arrived and said, " No, not all your sons have been killed! It was only Amnon! Absalom has been plotting this ever since Amnon raped his sister Tamar. 33 No, your sons aren't all dead! It was only Amnon." 34 Meanwhile Absalom escaped. Then the watchman on the Jerusalem wall saw a great crowd coming toward the city from the west. He ran to tell the king, " I see a crowd of people coming from the Horonaim road along the side of the hill." 35 " Look!" Jonadab told the king. " There they are now! Your sons are coming, just as I said." 36 They soon arrived, weeping and sobbing, and the king and his officials wept bitterly with them. 37 And David mourned many days for his son Amnon. Absalom fled to his grandfather, Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. 38 He stayed there in Geshur for three years. 39 And David, now reconciled to Amnon's death, longed to be reunited with his son Absalom.

JOHN 17:1-26
When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he looked up to heaven and said, " Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. 2 For you have given him authority over everyone in all the earth. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. 3 And this is the way to have eternal life--to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. 4 I brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you told me to do. 5 And now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began. 6 " I have told these men about you. They were in the world, but then you gave them to me. Actually, they were always yours, and you gave them to me; and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, 8 for I have passed on to them the words you gave me; and they accepted them and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me. 9 " My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. 10 And all of them, since they are mine, belong to you; and you have given them back to me, so they are my glory! 11 Now I am departing the world; I am leaving them behind and coming to you. Holy Father, keep them and care for them--all those you have given me--so that they will be united just as we are. 12 During my time here, I have kept them safe. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold. 13 " And now I am coming to you. I have told them many things while I was with them so they would be filled with my joy. 14 I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not. 15 I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They are not part of this world any more than I am. 17 Make them pure and holy by teaching them your words of truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. 19 And I give myself entirely to you so they also might be entirely yours. 20 " I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me because of their testimony. 21 My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father--that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me. 22 " I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are--23 I in them and you in me, all being perfected into one. Then the world will know that you sent me and will understand that you love them as much as you love me. 24 Father, I want these whom you've given me to be with me, so they can see my glory. You gave me the glory because you loved me even before the world began! 25 " O righteous Father, the world doesn't know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. 26 And I have revealed you to them and will keep on revealing you. I will do this so that your love for me may be in them and I in them."

PSALM 119:81-96
I faint with longing for your salvation;
but I have put my hope in your word.
82 My eyes are straining to see your promises come true.
When will you comfort me?
83 I am shriveled like a wineskin in the smoke, exhausted with waiting.
But I cling to your principles and obey them.
84 How long must I wait?
When will you punish those who persecute me?
85 These arrogant people who hate your law
have dug deep pits for me to fall into.
86 All your commands are trustworthy.
Protect me from those who hunt me down without cause.
87 They almost finished me off,
but I refused to abandon your commandments.
88 In your unfailing love, spare my life;
then I can continue to obey your decrees.
89 Forever, O LORD,
your word stands firm in heaven.
90 Your faithfulness extends to every generation,
as enduring as the earth you created.
91 Your laws remain true today,
for everything serves your plans.
92 If your law hadn't sustained me with joy,
I would have died in my misery.
93 I will never forget your commandments,
for you have used them to restore my joy and health.
94 I am yours; save me!
For I have applied myself to obey your commandments.
95 Though the wicked hide along the way to kill me,
I will quietly keep my mind on your decrees.
96 Even perfection has its limits,
but your commands have no limit.

PROVERBS 16:6-7

Unfailing love and faithfulness cover sin; evil is avoided by fear of the LORD. When the ways of people please the LORD, he makes even their enemies live at peace with them. 

May 27 Reading through the Bible

2 SAMUEL 12:1-31
JOHN 16:1-33
PSALM 119:65-80
PROVERBS 16:4-5

2 SAMUEL 12:1-31
So the LORD sent Nathan the prophet to tell David this story: " There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor. 2 The rich man owned many sheep and cattle. 3 The poor man owned nothing but a little lamb he had worked hard to buy. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man's own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. 4 One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing a lamb from his own flocks for food, he took the poor man's lamb and killed it and served it to his guest." 5 David was furious. " As surely as the LORD lives," he vowed, " any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! 6 He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity." 7 Then Nathan said to David, " You are that man! The LORD, the God of Israel, says, ` I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul. 8 I gave you his house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more. 9 Why, then, have you despised the word of the LORD and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah and stolen his wife. 10 From this time on, the sword will be a constant threat to your family, because you have despised me by taking Uriah's wife to be your own. 11 " ` Because of what you have done, I, the LORD, will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man, and he will go to bed with them in public view. 12 You did it secretly, but I will do this to you openly in the sight of all Israel.' " 13 Then David confessed to Nathan, " I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, " Yes, but the LORD has forgiven you, and you won't die for this sin. 14 But you have given the enemies of the LORD great opportunity to despise and blaspheme him, so your child will die." 15 After Nathan returned to his home, the LORD made Bathsheba's baby deathly ill. 16 David begged God to spare the child. He went without food and lay all night on the bare ground. 17 The leaders of the nation pleaded with him to get up and eat with them, but he refused. 18 Then on the seventh day the baby died. David's advisers were afraid to tell him. " He was so broken up about the baby being sick," they said. " What will he do to himself when we tell him the child is dead?" 19 But when David saw them whispering, he realized what had happened. " Is the baby dead?" he asked. " Yes," they replied. 20 Then David got up from the ground, washed himself, put on lotions, and changed his clothes. Then he went to the Tabernacle and worshiped the LORD. After that, he returned to the palace and ate. 21 His advisers were amazed. " We don't understand you," they told him. " While the baby was still living, you wept and refused to eat. But now that the baby is dead, you have stopped your mourning and are eating again." 22 David replied, " I fasted and wept while the child was alive, for I said, ` Perhaps the LORD will be gracious to me and let the child live.' 23 But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me." 24 Then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, and slept with her. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved the child 25 and sent word through Nathan the prophet that his name should be Jedidiah--" beloved of the LORD"--because the LORD loved him. 26 Meanwhile, Joab and the Israelite army were successfully ending their siege of Rabbah, the capital of Ammon. 27 Joab sent messengers to tell David, " I have fought against Rabbah and captured its water supply. 28 Now bring the rest of the army and finish the job, so you will get credit for the victory instead of me." 29 So David led the rest of his army to Rabbah and captured it. 30 David removed the crown from the king's head, and it was placed on David's own head. The crown was made of gold and set with gems, and it weighed about seventy-five pounds. David took a vast amount of plunder from the city. 31 He also made slaves of the people of Rabbah and forced them to labor with saws, picks, and axes, and to work in the brick kilns. That is how he dealt with the people of all the Ammonite cities. Then David and his army returned to Jerusalem.

JOHN 16:1-33
" I [Jesus] have told you these things so that you won't fall away. 2 For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing God a service. 3 This is because they have never known the Father or me. 4 Yes, I'm telling you these things now, so that when they happen, you will remember I warned you. I didn't tell you earlier because I was going to be with you for a while longer. 5 " But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and none of you has asked me where I am going. 6 Instead, you are very sad. 7 But it is actually best for you that I go away, because if I don't, the Counselor won't come. If I do go away, he will come because I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convince the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 The world's sin is unbelief in me. 10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. 11 Judgment will come because the prince of this world has already been judged. 12 " Oh, there is so much more I want to tell you, but you can't bear it now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not be presenting his own ideas; he will be telling you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by revealing to you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that the Father has is mine; this is what I mean when I say that the Spirit will reveal to you whatever he receives from me. 16 " In just a little while I will be gone, and you won't see me anymore. Then, just a little while after that, you will see me again." 17 The disciples asked each other, " What does he mean when he says, ` You won't see me, and then you will see me'? And what does he mean when he says, ` I am going to the Father'? 18 And what does he mean by ` a little while'? We don't understand." 19 Jesus realized they wanted to ask him, so he said, " Are you asking yourselves what I meant? I said in just a little while I will be gone, and you won't see me anymore. Then, just a little while after that, you will see me again. 20 Truly, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy when you see me again. 21 It will be like a woman experiencing the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives place to joy because she has brought a new person into the world. 22 You have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy. 23 At that time you won't need to ask me for anything. The truth is, you can go directly to the Father and ask him, and he will grant your request because you use my name. 24 You haven't done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy. 25 " I have spoken of these matters in parables, but the time will come when this will not be necessary, and I will tell you plainly all about the Father. 26 Then you will ask in my name. I'm not saying I will ask the Father on your behalf, 27 for the Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God. 28 Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and I will leave the world and return to the Father." 29 Then his disciples said, " At last you are speaking plainly and not in parables. 30 Now we understand that you know everything and don't need anyone to tell you anything. From this we believe that you came from God." 31 Jesus asked, " Do you finally believe? 32 But the time is coming--in fact, it is already here--when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. 33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."

PSALM 119:65-80
You have done many good things for me, LORD,
just as you promised.
66 I believe in your commands;
now teach me good judgment and knowledge.
67 I used to wander off until you disciplined me;
but now I closely follow your word.
68 You are good and do only good;
teach me your principles.
69 Arrogant people have made up lies about me,
but in truth I obey your commandments with all my heart.
70 Their hearts are dull and stupid,
but I delight in your law.
71 The suffering you sent was good for me,
for it taught me to pay attention to your principles.
72 Your law is more valuable to me
than millions in gold and silver!
73 You made me; you created me.
Now give me the sense to follow your commands.
74 May all who fear you find in me a cause for joy,
for I have put my hope in your word.
75 I know, O LORD, that your decisions are fair;
you disciplined me because I needed it.
76 Now let your unfailing love comfort me,
just as you promised me, your servant.
77 Surround me with your tender mercies so I may live,
for your law is my delight.
78 Bring disgrace upon the arrogant people who lied about me;
meanwhile, I will concentrate on your commandments.
79 Let me be reconciled
with all who fear you and know your decrees.
80 May I be blameless in keeping your principles;
then I will never have to be ashamed.

PROVERBS 16:4-5

The LORD has made everything for his own purposes, even the wicked for punishment. The LORD despises pride; be assured that the proud will be punished. 

May 26 Reading through the Bible

 

2 SAMUEL 9:1-11:27
JOHN 15:1-27
PSALM 119:49-64
PROVERBS 16:1-3

2 SAMUEL 9:1-11:27
One day David began wondering if anyone in Saul's family was still alive, for he had promised Jonathan that he would show kindness to them. 2 He summoned a man named Ziba, who had been one of Saul's servants. " Are you Ziba?" the king asked. " Yes sir, I am," Ziba replied. 3 The king then asked him, " Is anyone still alive from Saul's family? If so, I want to show God's kindness to them in any way I can." Ziba replied, " Yes, one of Jonathan's sons is still alive, but he is crippled." 4 " Where is he?" the king asked. " In Lo-debar," Ziba told him, " at the home of Makir son of Ammiel." 5 So David sent for him and brought him from Makir's home. 6 His name was Mephibosheth; he was Jonathan's son and Saul's grandson. When he came to David, he bowed low in great fear and said, " I am your servant." 7 But David said, " Don't be afraid! I've asked you to come so that I can be kind to you because of my vow to your father, Jonathan. I will give you all the land that once belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you may live here with me at the palace!" 8 Mephibosheth fell to the ground before the king. " Should the king show such kindness to a dead dog like me?" he exclaimed. 9 Then the king summoned Saul's servant Ziba and said, " I have given your master's grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10 You and your sons and servants are to farm the land for him to produce food for his family. But Mephibosheth will live here at the palace with me." Ziba, who had fifteen sons and twenty servants, replied, 11 " Yes, my lord; I will do all that you have commanded." And from that time on, Mephibosheth ate regularly with David, as though he were one of his own sons. 12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica. And from then on, all the members of Ziba's household were Mephibosheth's servants. 13 And Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both feet, moved to Jerusalem to live at the palace.10:1 SOME time after this, King Nahash of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king. 2 David said, " I am going to show complete loyalty to Hanun because his father, Nahash, was always completely loyal to me." So David sent ambassadors to express sympathy to Hanun about his father's death. But when David's ambassadors arrived in the land of Ammon, 3 Hanun's advisers said to their master, " Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the city so that they can come in and conquer it!" 4 So Hanun seized David's ambassadors and shaved off half of each man's beard, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame. 5 When David heard what had happened, he sent messengers to tell the men to stay at Jericho until their beards grew out, for they were very embarrassed by their appearance. 6 Now the people of Ammon realized how seriously they had angered David, so they hired twenty thousand Aramean mercenaries from the lands of Beth-rehob and Zobah, one thousand from the king of Maacah, and twelve thousand from the land of Tob. 7 When David heard about this, he sent Joab and the entire Israelite army to fight them. 8 The Ammonite troops drew up their battle lines at the entrance of the city gates, while the Arameans from Zobah and Rehob and the men from Tob and Maacah positioned themselves to fight in the open fields. 9 When Joab saw that he would have to fight on two fronts, he chose the best troops in his army. He placed them under his personal command and led them out to fight the Arameans in the fields. 10 He left the rest of the army under the command of his brother Abishai, who was to attack the Ammonites. 11 " If the Arameans are too strong for me, then come over and help me," Joab told his brother. " And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will come and help you. 12 Be courageous! Let us fight bravely to save our people and the cities of our God. May the LORD's will be done." 13 When Joab and his troops attacked, the Arameans began to run away. 14 And when the Ammonites saw the Arameans running, they ran from Abishai and retreated into the city. After the battle was over, Joab returned to Jerusalem. 15 The Arameans now realized that they were no match for Israel. So when they regrouped, 16 they were joined by additional Aramean troops summoned by Hadadezer from the other side of the Euphrates River. These troops arrived at Helam under the command of Shobach, the commander of all Hadadezer's forces. 17 When David heard what was happening, he mobilized all Israel, crossed the Jordan River, and led the army to Helam. The Arameans positioned themselves there in battle formation and then attacked David. 18 But again the Arameans fled from the Israelites. This time David's forces killed seven hundred charioteers and forty thousand horsemen, including Shobach, the commander of their army. 19 When Hadadezer and his Aramean allies realized they had been defeated by Israel, they surrendered to them and became their subjects. After that, the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites.11:1 THE following spring, the time of year when kings go to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to destroy the Ammonites. In the process they laid siege to the city of Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem. 2 Late one afternoon David got out of bed after taking a nap and went for a stroll on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. 3 He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, " She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite." 4 Then David sent for her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. (She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period.) Then she returned home. 5 Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent a message to inform David. 6 So David sent word to Joab: " Send me Uriah the Hittite." 7 When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the army were getting along and how the war was progressing. 8 Then he told Uriah, " Go on home and relax." David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace. 9 But Uriah wouldn't go home. He stayed that night at the palace entrance with some of the king's other servants. 10 When David heard what Uriah had done, he summoned him and asked, " What's the matter with you? Why didn't you go home last night after being away for so long?" 11 Uriah replied, " The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and Joab and his officers are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I will never be guilty of acting like that." 12 " Well, stay here tonight," David told him, " and tomorrow you may return to the army." So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 Then David invited him to dinner and got him drunk. But even then he couldn't get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again he slept at the palace entrance. 14 So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. 15 The letter instructed Joab, " Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed." 16 So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy's strongest men were fighting. 17 And Uriah was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers. 18 Then Joab sent a battle report to David. 19 He told his messenger, " Report all the news of the battle to the king. 20 But he might get angry and ask, ` Why did the troops go so close to the city? Didn't they know there would be shooting from the walls? 21 Wasn't Gideon's son Abimelech killed at Thebez by a woman who threw a millstone down on him?' Then tell him, ` Uriah the Hittite was killed, too.' " 22 So the messenger went to Jerusalem and gave a complete report to David. 23 " The enemy came out against us," he said. " And as we chased them back to the city gates, 24 the archers on the wall shot arrows at us. Some of our men were killed, including Uriah the Hittite." 25 " Well, tell Joab not to be discouraged," David said. " The sword kills one as well as another! Fight harder next time, and conquer the city!" 26 When Bathsheba heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the LORD was very displeased with what David had done.

JOHN 15:1-27
" I [Jesus] am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned for greater fruitfulness by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me. 5 " Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! 8 My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father. 9 " I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you. 13 And here is how to measure it--the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends. 14 You are my friends if you obey me. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a master doesn't confide in his servants. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16 You didn't choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17 I command you to love each other. 18 " When the world hates you, remember it hated me before it hated you. 19 The world would love you if you belonged to it, but you don't. I chose you to come out of the world, and so it hates you. 20 Do you remember what I told you? ` A servant is not greater than the master.' Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you! 21 The people of the world will hate you because you belong to me, for they don't know God who sent me. 22 They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Anyone who hates me hates my Father, too. 24 If I hadn't done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be counted guilty. But as it is, they saw all that I did and yet hated both of us--me and my Father. 25 This has fulfilled what the Scriptures said: ` They hated me without cause.' 26 " But I will send you the Counselor--the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will tell you all about me. 27 And you must also tell others about me because you have been with me from the beginning."

PSALM 119:49-64
Remember your promise to me,
for it is my only hope.
50 Your promise revives me;
it comforts me in all my troubles.
51 The proud hold me in utter contempt,
but I do not turn away from your law.
52 I meditate on your age-old laws;
O LORD, they comfort me.
53 I am furious with the wicked,
those who reject your law.
54 Your principles have been the music of my life
throughout the years of my pilgrimage.
55 I reflect at night on who you are, O LORD,
and I obey your law because of this.
56 This is my happy way of life:
obeying your commandments.
57 LORD, you are mine!
I promise to obey your words!
58 With all my heart I want your blessings.
Be merciful just as you promised.
59 I pondered the direction of my life,
and I turned to follow your statutes.
60 I will hurry, without lingering,
to obey your commands.
61 Evil people try to drag me into sin,
but I am firmly anchored to your law.
62 At midnight I rise to thank you
for your just laws.
63 Anyone who fears you is my friend--
anyone who obeys your commandments.
64 O LORD, the earth is full of your unfailing love;
teach me your principles.

PROVERBS 16:1-3
We can gather our thoughts, but the LORD gives the right answer. People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their motives. Commit your work to the LORD, and then your plans will succeed.

May 25 Reading through the Bible

 

2 SAMUEL 7:1-8:18
JOHN 14:15-31
PSALM 119:33-48
PROVERBS 15:33

2 SAMUEL 7:1-8:18
When the LORD had brought peace to the land and King David was settled in his palace, 2 David summoned Nathan the prophet. " Look!" David said. " Here I am living in this beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of God is out in a tent!" 3 Nathan replied, " Go ahead and do what you have in mind, for the LORD is with you." 4 But that same night the LORD said to Nathan, 5 " Go and tell my servant David, ` This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a temple to live in? 6 I have never lived in a temple, from the day I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until now. My home has always been a tent, moving from one place to another. 7 And I have never once complained to Israel's leaders, the shepherds of my people Israel. I have never asked them, " Why haven't you built me a beautiful cedar temple?"' 8 " Now go and say to my servant David, ` This is what the LORD Almighty says: I chose you to lead my people Israel when you were just a shepherd boy, tending your sheep out in the pasture. 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies. Now I will make your name famous throughout the earth! 10 And I have provided a permanent homeland for my people Israel, a secure place where they will never be disturbed. It will be their own land where wicked nations won't oppress them as they did in the past, 11 from the time I appointed judges to rule my people. And I will keep you safe from all your enemies. " ` And now the LORD declares that he will build a house for you--a dynasty of kings! 12 For when you die, I will raise up one of your descendants, and I will make his kingdom strong. 13 He is the one who will build a house--a temple--for my name. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will use other nations to punish him. 15 But my unfailing love will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed before you. 16 Your dynasty and your kingdom will continue for all time before me, and your throne will be secure forever.' "17 So Nathan went back to David and told him everything the LORD had said. 18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and prayed, " Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19 And now, Sovereign LORD, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving me a lasting dynasty! Do you deal with everyone this way, O Sovereign LORD? 20 What more can I say? You know what I am really like, Sovereign LORD. 21 For the sake of your promise and according to your will, you have done all these great things and have shown them to me. 22 " How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you--there is no other God. We have never even heard of another god like you! 23 What other nation on earth is like Israel? What other nation, O God, have you redeemed from slavery to be your own people? You made a great name for yourself when you rescued your people from Egypt. You performed awesome miracles and drove out the nations and gods that stood in their way. 24 You made Israel your people forever, and you, O LORD, became their God. 25 " And now, O LORD God, do as you have promised concerning me and my family. Confirm it as a promise that will last forever. 26 And may your name be honored forever so that all the world will say, ` The LORD Almighty is God over Israel!' And may the dynasty of your servant David be established in your presence.27 " O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, I have been bold enough to pray this prayer because you have revealed that you will build a house for me--an eternal dynasty! 28 For you are God, O Sovereign LORD. Your words are truth, and you have promised these good things to me, your servant. 29 And now, may it please you to bless me and my family so that our dynasty may continue forever before you. For when you grant a blessing to your servant, O Sovereign LORD, it is an eternal blessing!" 8:1 AFTER this, David subdued and humbled the Philistines by conquering Gath, their largest city. 2 David also conquered the land of Moab. He made the people lie down on the ground in a row, and he measured them off in groups with a length of rope. He measured off two groups to be executed for every one group to be spared. The Moabites who were spared became David's servants and brought him tribute money. 3 David also destroyed the forces of Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when Hadadezer marched out to strengthen his control along the Euphrates River. 4 David captured seventeen hundred charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Then he crippled all but one hundred of the chariot horses.5 When Arameans from Damascus arrived to help Hadadezer, David killed twenty-two thousand of them. 6 Then he placed several army garrisons in Damascus, the Aramean capital, and the Arameans became David's subjects and brought him tribute money. So the LORD gave David victory wherever he went. 7 David brought the gold shields of Hadadezer's officers to Jerusalem, 8 along with a large amount of bronze from Hadadezer's cities of Tebah and Berothai. 9 When King Toi of Hamath heard that David had destroyed the army of Hadadezer, 10 he sent his son Joram to congratulate David on his success. Hadadezer and Toi had long been enemies, and there had been many wars between them. Joram presented David with many gifts of silver, gold, and bronze. 11 King David dedicated all these gifts to the LORD, along with the silver and gold he had set apart from the other nations he had subdued--12 Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek--and from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah. 13 So David became very famous. After his return he destroyed eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 14 He placed army garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became David's subjects. This was another example of how the LORD made David victorious wherever he went. 15 David reigned over all Israel and was fair to everyone. 16 Joab son of Zeruiah was commander of the army. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian. 17 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were the priests. Seraiah was the court secretary. 18 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was captain of the king's bodyguard. David's sons served as priestly leaders.

JOHN 14:15-31
" If you love me [Jesus], obey my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. 18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans--I will come to you. 19 In just a little while the world will not see me again, but you will. For I will live again, and you will, too. 20 When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Those who obey my commandments are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them, and I will love them. And I will reveal myself to each one of them." 22 Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, " Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?" 23 Jesus replied, " All those who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and live with them. 24 Anyone who doesn't love me will not do what I say. And remember, my words are not my own. This message is from the Father who sent me. 25 I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26 But when the Father sends the Counselor as my representative--and by the Counselor I mean the Holy Spirit--he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I myself have told you. 27 " I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid. 28 Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really love me, you will be very happy for me, because now I can go to the Father, who is greater than I am. 29 I have told you these things before they happen so that you will believe when they do happen. 30 " I don't have much more time to talk to you, because the prince of this world approaches. He has no power over me, 31 but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let's be going."

PSALM 119:33-48
Teach me, O LORD,
to follow every one of your principles.
34 Give me understanding and I will obey your law;
I will put it into practice with all my heart.
35 Make me walk along the path of your commands,
for that is where my happiness is found.
36 Give me an eagerness for your decrees;
do not inflict me with love for money!
37 Turn my eyes from worthless things,
and give me life through your word.
38 Reassure me of your promise,
which is for those who honor you.
39 Help me abandon my shameful ways;
your laws are all I want in life.
40 I long to obey your commandments!
Renew my life with your goodness.
41 LORD, give to me your unfailing love,
the salvation that you promised me.
42 Then I will have an answer for those who taunt me,
for I trust in your word.
43 Do not snatch your word of truth from me,
for my only hope is in your laws.
44 I will keep on obeying your law
forever and forever.
45 I will walk in freedom,
for I have devoted myself to your commandments.
46 I will speak to kings about your decrees,
and I will not be ashamed.
47 How I delight in your commands!
How I love them!
48 I honor and love your commands.
I meditate on your principles.

PROVERBS 15:33
Fear of the LORD teaches a person to be wise; humility precedes honor.

May 24 Reading through the Bible

 

2 SAMUEL 4:1-6:23
JOHN 13:31-14:14
PSALM 119:17-32
PROVERBS 15:31-32

2 SAMUEL 4:1-6:23
When Ishbosheth heard about Abner's death at Hebron, he lost all courage, and his people were paralyzed with fear. 2 Now there were two brothers, Baanah and Recab, who were captains of Ishbosheth's raiding parties. They were sons of Rimmon, a member of the tribe of Benjamin who lived in Beeroth. The town of Beeroth is now part of Benjamin's territory 3 because the original people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim, where they still live as foreigners. 4 (Saul's son Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth, who was crippled as a child. He was five years old when Saul and Jonathan were killed at the battle of Jezreel. When news of the battle reached the capital, the child's nurse grabbed him and fled. But she fell and dropped him as she was running, and he became crippled as a result.) 5 One day Recab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, went to Ishbosheth's home around noon as he was taking a nap. 6 The doorkeeper, who had been sifting wheat, became drowsy and fell asleep. So Recab and Baanah slipped past the doorkeeper, went into Ishbosheth's bedroom, and stabbed him in the stomach. Then they escaped. 7 But before leaving, they cut off his head as he lay there on his bed. Taking his head with them, they fled across the Jordan Valley through the night. 8 They arrived at Hebron and presented Ishbosheth's head to David. " Look!" they exclaimed. " Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of your enemy Saul who tried to kill you. Today the LORD has given you revenge on Saul and his entire family!" 9 But David said to Recab and Baanah, " As surely as the LORD lives, the one who saves me from my enemies, I will tell you the truth. 10 Once before, someone told me, ` Saul is dead,' thinking he was bringing me good news. But I seized him and killed him at Ziklag. That's the reward I gave him for his news! 11 Now what reward should I give the wicked men who have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed? Should I not also demand your very lives?" 12 So David ordered his young men to kill them, and they did. They cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies beside the pool in Hebron. Then they took Ishbosheth's head and buried it in Abner's tomb in Hebron.5:1 THEN all the tribes of Israel went to David at Hebron and told him, " We are all members of your family. 2 For a long time, even while Saul was our king, you were the one who really led Israel. And the LORD has told you, ` You will be the shepherd of my people Israel. You will be their leader.' " 3 So there at Hebron, David made a covenant with the leaders of Israel before the LORD. And they anointed him king of Israel. 4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in all. 5 He had reigned over Judah from Hebron for seven years and six months, and from Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years. 6 David then led his troops to Jerusalem to fight against the Jebusites. " You'll never get in here," the Jebusites taunted. " Even the blind and lame could keep you out!" For the Jebusites thought they were safe. 7 But David captured the fortress of Zion, now called the City of David. 8 When the insulting message from the defenders of the city reached David, he told his own troops, " Go up through the water tunnel into the city and destroy those ` lame' and ` blind' Jebusites. How I hate them." That is the origin of the saying, " The blind and the lame may not enter the house." 9 So David made the fortress his home, and he called it the City of David. He built additional fortifications around the city, starting at the Millo and working inward. 10 And David became more and more powerful, because the LORD God Almighty was with him. 11 Then King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with carpenters and stonemasons to build him a palace. Hiram also sent many cedar logs for lumber. 12 And David realized that the LORD had made him king over Israel and had made his kingdom great for the sake of his people Israel.13 After moving from Hebron to Jerusalem, David married more wives and concubines, and he had many sons and daughters. 14 These are the names of David's sons who were born in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet. 17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king of Israel, they mobilized all their forces to capture him. But David was told they were coming and went into the stronghold. 18 The Philistines arrived and spread out across the valley of Rephaim. 19 So David asked the LORD, " Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?" The LORD replied, " Yes, go ahead. I will certainly give you the victory." 20 So David went to Baal-perazim and defeated the Philistines there. " The LORD has done it!" David exclaimed. " He burst through my enemies like a raging flood!" So David named that place Baal-perazim (which means " the Lord who bursts through"). 21 The Philistines had abandoned their idols there, so David and his troops confiscated them. 22 But after a while the Philistines returned and again spread out across the valley of Rephaim. 23 And once again David asked the LORD what to do. " Do not attack them straight on," the LORD replied. " Instead, circle around behind them and attack them near the balsam trees. 24 When you hear a sound like marching feet in the tops of the balsam trees, attack! That will be the signal that the LORD is moving ahead of you to strike down the Philistines." 25 So David did what the LORD commanded, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.6:1 THEN David mobilized thirty thousand special troops. 2 He led them to Baalah of Judah to bring home the Ark of God, which bears the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. 3 They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the hillside home of Abinadab. Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadab's sons, were guiding the cart 4 with the Ark of God on it, with Ahio walking in front. 5 David and all the people of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with all their might, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments--lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals. 6 But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah put out his hand to steady the Ark of God. 7 Then the LORD's anger blazed out against Uzzah for doing this, and God struck him dead beside the Ark of God. 8 David was angry because the LORD's anger had blazed out against Uzzah. He named that place Perez-uzzah (which means " outbreak against Uzzah"). It is still called that today. 9 David was now afraid of the LORD and asked, " How can I ever bring the Ark of the LORD back into my care?" 10 So David decided not to move the Ark of the LORD into the City of David. He took it instead to the home of Obed-edom of Gath. 11 The Ark of the LORD remained there with the family of Obed-edom for three months, and the LORD blessed him and his entire household. 12 Then King David was told, " The LORD has blessed Obed-edom's home and everything he has because of the Ark of God." So David went there and brought the Ark to the City of David with a great celebration. 13 After the men who were carrying it had gone six steps, they stopped and waited so David could sacrifice an ox and a fattened calf. 14 And David danced before the LORD with all his might, wearing a priestly tunic. 15 So David and all Israel brought up the Ark of the LORD with much shouting and blowing of trumpets. 16 But as the Ark of the LORD entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she was filled with contempt for him. 17 The Ark of the LORD was placed inside the special tent that David had prepared for it. And David sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD. 18 When he had finished, David blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty. 19 Then he gave a gift of food to every man and woman in Israel: a loaf of bread, a cake of dates, and a cake of raisins. Then everyone went home. 20 When David returned home to bless his family, Michal came out to meet him and said in disgust, " How glorious the king of Israel looked today! He exposed himself to the servant girls like any indecent person might do!" 21 David retorted to Michal, " I was dancing before the LORD, who chose me above your father and his family! He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the LORD. So I am willing to act like a fool in order to show my joy in the LORD. 22 Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, but I will be held in honor by the girls of whom you have spoken!" 23 So Michal, the daughter of Saul, remained childless throughout her life.

JOHN 13:31-14:14
As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, " The time has come for me, the Son of Man, to enter into my glory, and God will receive glory because of all that happens to me. 32 And God will bring me into my glory very soon. 33 Dear children, how brief are these moments before I must go away and leave you! Then, though you search for me, you cannot come to me--just as I told the Jewish leaders. 34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." 36 Simon Peter said, " Lord, where are you going?" And Jesus replied, " You can't go with me now, but you will follow me later." 37 " But why can't I come now, Lord?" he asked. " I am ready to die for you." 38 Jesus answered, " Die for me? No, before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.14:1 " DON'T be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me. 2 There are many rooms in my Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly. 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4 And you know where I am going and how to get there." 5 " No, we don't know, Lord," Thomas said. " We haven't any idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6 Jesus told him, " I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known who I am, then you would have known who my Father is. From now on you know him and have seen him!" 8 Philip said, " Lord, show us the Father and we will be satisfied." 9 Jesus replied, " Philip, don't you even yet know who I am, even after all the time I have been with you? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking to see him? 10 Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. 11 Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of what you have seen me do. 12 " The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, because the work of the Son brings glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask anything in my name, and I will do it!"

PSALM 119:17-32
Be good to your servant,
that I may live and obey your word.
18 Open my eyes to see
the wonderful truths in your law.
19 I am but a foreigner here on earth;
I need the guidance of your commands.
Don't hide them from me!
20 I am overwhelmed continually
with a desire for your laws.
21 You rebuke those cursed proud ones
who wander from your commands.
22 Don't let them scorn and insult me,
for I have obeyed your decrees.
23 Even princes sit and speak against me,
but I will meditate on your principles.
24 Your decrees please me;
they give me wise advice.
25 I lie in the dust, completely discouraged;
revive me by your word.
26 I told you my plans, and you answered.
Now teach me your principles.
27 Help me understand the meaning of your commandments,
and I will meditate on your wonderful miracles.
28 I weep with grief;
encourage me by your word.
29 Keep me from lying to myself;
give me the privilege of knowing your law.
30 I have chosen to be faithful;
I have determined to live by your laws.
31 I cling to your decrees.
LORD, don't let me be put to shame!
32 If you will help me,
I will run to follow your commands.

PROVERBS 15:31-32
If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise. If you reject criticism, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding.

May 23 Reading through the Bible

2 SAMUEL 2:12-3:39
JOHN 13:1-30
PSALM 119:1-16
PROVERBS 15:29-30

2 SAMUEL 2:12-3:39
One day Abner led some of Ishbosheth's troops from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13 About the same time, Joab son of Zeruiah led David's troops from Hebron, and they met Abner at the pool of Gibeon. The two groups sat down there, facing each other from opposite sides of the pool. 14 Then Abner suggested to Joab, " Let's have a few of our warriors put on an exhibition of hand-to-hand combat." " All right," Joab agreed. 15 So twelve men were chosen from each side to fight against each other. 16 Each one grabbed his opponent by the hair and thrust his sword into the other's side so that all of them died. The place has been known ever since as the Field of Swords. 17 The two armies then began to fight each other, and by the end of the day Abner and the men of Israel had been defeated by the forces of David. 18 Joab, Abishai, and Asahel, the three sons of Zeruiah, were among David's forces that day. Asahel could run like a deer, 19 and he began chasing Abner. He was relentless and single-minded in his pursuit. 20 When Abner looked back and saw him coming, he called out, " Is that you, Asahel?" " Yes, it is," he replied. 21 " Go fight someone else!" Abner warned. " Take on one of the younger men and strip him of his weapons." But Asahel refused and kept right on chasing Abner. 22 Again Abner shouted to him, " Get away from here! I will never be able to face your brother Joab if I have to kill you!" 23 But Asahel would not give up, so Abner thrust the butt end of his spear through Asahel's stomach, and the spear came out through his back. He stumbled to the ground and died there. And everyone who came by that spot stopped and stood still when they saw Asahel lying there. 24 When Joab and Abishai found out what had happened, they set out after Abner. The sun was just going down as they arrived at the hill of Ammah near Giah, along the road to the wilderness of Gibeon. 25 Abner's troops from the tribe of Benjamin regrouped there at the top of the hill to take a stand. 26 Abner shouted down to Joab, " Must we always solve our differences with swords? Don't you realize the only thing we will gain is bitterness toward each other? When will you call off your men from chasing their Israelite brothers?" 27 Then Joab said, " God only knows what would have happened if you hadn't spoken, for we would have chased you all night if necessary." 28 So Joab blew his trumpet, and his men stopped chasing the troops of Israel. 29 All that night Abner and his men retreated through the Jordan Valley. They crossed the Jordan River, traveling all through the morning, and they did not stop until they arrived at Mahanaim.30 Meanwhile, Joab and his men also returned home. When Joab counted his casualties, he discovered that only nineteen men were missing, in addition to Asahel. 31 But three hundred and sixty of Abner's men, all from the tribe of Benjamin, had been killed. 32 Joab and his men took Asahel's body to Bethlehem and buried him there beside his father. Then they traveled all night and reached Hebron at daybreak. 3:1 THAT was the beginning of a long war between those who had been loyal to Saul and those who were loyal to David. As time passed David became stronger and stronger, while Saul's dynasty became weaker and weaker. 2 These were the sons who were born to David in Hebron: The oldest was Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam of Jezreel. 3 The second was Kileab, whose mother was Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel. The third was Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur. 4 The fourth was Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith. The fifth was Shephatiah, whose mother was Abital. 5 The sixth was Ithream, whose mother was David's wife Eglah. These sons were all born to David in Hebron. 6 As the war went on, Abner became a powerful leader among those who were loyal to Saul's dynasty. 7 One day Ishbosheth, Saul's son, accused Abner of sleeping with one of his father's concubines, a woman named Rizpah. 8 Abner became furious. " Am I a Judean dog to be kicked around like this?" he shouted. " After all I have done for you and your father by not betraying you to David, is this my reward--that you find fault with me about this woman? 9 May God deal harshly with me if I don't help David get all that the LORD has promised him! 10 I should just go ahead and give David the rest of Saul's kingdom. I should set him up as king over Israel as well as Judah, from Dan to Beersheba." 11 Ishbosheth didn't dare say another word because he was afraid of what Abner might do. 12 Then Abner sent messengers to David, saying, " Let's make an agreement, and I will help turn the entire nation of Israel over to you." 13 " All right," David replied, " but I will not negotiate with you unless you bring back my wife Michal, Saul's daughter, when you come." 14 David then sent this message to Ishbosheth, Saul's son: " Give me back my wife Michal, for I bought her with the lives of one hundred Philistines." 15 So Ishbosheth took Michal away from her husband Palti son of Laish. 16 Palti followed along behind her as far as Bahurim, weeping as he went. Then Abner told him, " Go back home!" So Palti returned. 17 Meanwhile, Abner had consulted with the leaders of Israel. " For some time now," he told them, " you have wanted to make David your king. 18 Now is the time! For the LORD has said, ` I have chosen David to save my people from the Philistines and from all their other enemies.' " 19 Abner also spoke with the leaders of the tribe of Benjamin. Then he went to Hebron to tell David that all the people of Israel and Benjamin supported him. 20 When Abner came to Hebron with his twenty men, David entertained them with a great feast. 21 Then Abner said to David, " Let me go and call all the people of Israel to your side. They will make a covenant with you to make you their king. Then you will be able to rule over everything your heart desires." So David sent Abner safely on his way. 22 But just after Abner left, Joab and some of David's troops returned from a raid, bringing much plunder with them. 23 When Joab was told that Abner had just been there visiting the king and had been sent away in safety, 24 he rushed to see the king. " What have you done?" he demanded. " What do you mean by letting Abner get away? 25 You know perfectly well that he came to spy on you and to discover everything you are doing!"26 Joab then left David and sent messengers to catch up with Abner. They found him at the pool of Sirah and brought him back with them. But David knew nothing about it. 27 When Abner arrived at Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gateway as if to speak with him privately. But then he drew his dagger and killed Abner in revenge for killing his brother Asahel. 28 When David heard about it, he declared, " I vow by the LORD that I and my people are innocent of this crime against Abner. 29 Joab and his family are the guilty ones. May his family in every generation be cursed with a man who has open sores or leprosy or who walks on crutches or who dies by the sword or who begs for food!" 30 So Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner because Abner had killed their brother Asahel at the battle of Gibeon. 31 Then David said to Joab and all those who were with him, " Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth. Go into deep mourning for Abner." And King David himself walked behind the procession to the grave. 32 They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king and all the people wept at his graveside. 33 Then the king sang this funeral song for Abner: " Should Abner have died as fools die?
34 Your hands were not bound;
your feet were not chained.
No, you were murdered--
the victim of a wicked plot."
All the people wept again for Abner. 35 David had refused to eat anything the day of the funeral, and now everyone begged him to eat. But David had made a vow, saying, " May God kill me if I eat anything before sundown." 36 This pleased the people very much. In fact, everything the king did pleased them! 37 So everyone in Judah and Israel knew that David was not responsible for Abner's death. 38 Then King David said to the people, " Do you not realize that a great leader and a great man has fallen today in Israel? 39 And even though I am the anointed king, these two sons of Zeruiah--Joab and Abishai--are too strong for me to control. So may the LORD repay these wicked men for their wicked deeds."

JOHN 13:1-30
Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He now showed the disciples the full extent of his love. 2 It was time for supper, and the Devil had already enticed Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to carry out his plan to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him. 6 When he came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, " Lord, why are you going to wash my feet?" 7 Jesus replied, " You don't understand now why I am doing it; someday you will." 8 " No," Peter protested, " you will never wash my feet!" Jesus replied, " But if I don't wash you, you won't belong to me." 9 Simon Peter exclaimed, " Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!" 10 Jesus replied, " A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you are clean, but that isn't true of everyone here." 11 For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, " Not all of you are clean."12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, " Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ` Teacher' and ` Lord,' and you are right, because it is true. 14 And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 How true it is that a servant is not greater than the master. Nor are messengers more important than the one who sends them. 17 You know these things--now do them! That is the path of blessing. 18 " I am not saying these things to all of you; I know so well each one of you I chose. The Scriptures declare, ` The one who shares my food has turned against me,' and this will soon come true. 19 I tell you this now, so that when it happens you will believe I am the Messiah. 20 Truly, anyone who welcomes my messenger is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Father who sent me." 21 Now Jesus was in great anguish of spirit, and he exclaimed, " The truth is, one of you will betray me!" 22 The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean. 23 One of Jesus' disciples, the one Jesus loved, was sitting next to Jesus at the table. 24 Simon Peter motioned to him to ask who would do this terrible thing. 25 Leaning toward Jesus, he asked, " Lord, who is it?" 26 Jesus said, " It is the one to whom I give the bread dipped in the sauce." And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. 27 As soon as Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, " Hurry. Do it now." 28 None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant. 29 Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor. 30 So Judas left at once, going out into the night.

PSALM 119:1-16
Happy are people of integrity,>
who follow the law of the LORD.
2 Happy are those who obey his decrees
and search for him with all their hearts.
3 They do not compromise with evil,
and they walk only in his paths.
4 You have charged us
to keep your commandments carefully.
5 Oh, that my actions would consistently
reflect your principles!
6 Then I will not be disgraced
when I compare my life with your commands.
7 When I learn your righteous laws,
I will thank you by living as I should!
8 I will obey your principles.
Please don't give up on me!
9 How can a young person stay pure?
By obeying your word and following its rules.
10 I have tried my best to find you--
don't let me wander from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O LORD;
teach me your principles.
13 I have recited aloud
all the laws you have given us.
14 I have rejoiced in your decrees
as much as in riches.
15 I will study your commandments
and reflect on your ways.
16 I will delight in your principles
and not forget your word.

PROVERBS 15:29-30

The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayers of the righteous. A cheerful look brings joy to the heart; good news makes for good health.