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GRACE Presented To:
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GRACE
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Grace for the Moment Daily Bible Copyright © 2006 by Max Lucado The Holy Bible, New Century Version® Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Publisher is pleased hereby to grant permission for the New Century Version to be quoted or reprinted without prior written permission with the following qualifications: (1) up to and including one thousand (1,000) verses may be quoted, except: (a) the verses being quoted may not comprise as much as 50 percent of the work in which they are quoted, and/or (b) the verses quoted may not comprise an entire book of the Bible when quoted; (2) all NCV quotations must conform accurately to the NCV text. Quotations from this Bible may be identified in written form with the abbreviation (NCV) in less formal documents, such as bulletins, newsletters, curriculum, media pieces, posters, transparencies, and where space is limited. A proper credit line must appear on the title or copyright page of any work quoting from the New Century Version, as follows: “Scriptures quoted from The Holy Bible, New Century Version®, copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.” Quotations of more than 1,000 verses, or other permission requests, must be approved by Thomas Nelson, Inc., in writing in advance of use. All excerpts used by permission. The preliminary research and development on the New Century Version was done by the World Bible Translation Center, Inc., Fort Worth, Texas 76182. Cover art: The DesignWorks Group, Inc. Printed in the United States of America. All Rights Reserved. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9—10 09 08 07 06
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Table of Contents
January ...............................................................................................................................................
1
February ............................................................................................................................................ 109
March ................................................................................................................................................. 207
April.................................................................................................................................................... 315
May...................................................................................................................................................... 422
June ..................................................................................................................................................... 531
July....................................................................................................................................................... 645
August................................................................................................................................................ 753
September......................................................................................................................................... 842
October .............................................................................................................................................. 945
November.......................................................................................................................................... 1054
December.......................................................................................................................................... 1164
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Introduction
Dear Friend, May the words of this book, God’s book, grant you eternal strength. May he steal your heart with heavenglimpses and steel your character with strength-portions. He will. God will meet your needs of today, today. This is his plan, help in the hour of need. Grace for the moment. The concerns of tomorrow will be met tomorrow. Provisions for next week will arrive next week. God meets the needs of the day, each day. For that reason Jesus taught us to pray: “Give us the food we need for each day.” (Luke 11:3) Bread represents our basic need. We need only a couple of things every day: breath, bread, a cherrytopped chocolate ice cream sundae . . . (ok, the cherry is optional). Christ explains God’s schedule for meeting such needs. Day by day. We don’t pray for an annual allotment or monthly shipment of bread. He gives not a bakery or a truckload. He gives daily portions. When the wilderness wandering Israelites grew hungry, he responded with daily downpours of manna and coveys of quail. God told them to gather just enough food for the day, but some didn’t listen. “But some of the people did not listen to Moses and kept part of it to eat the next morning. It became full of worms and began to stink . . .” (Exodus 16:20). Don’t we do likewise? Try to solve tomorrow’s problems with today’s resources and today stinks. It gets wormy. Jesus could not have been more forthright: “Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well. So don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:33–34). Trust God, friend. “Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it.” (Hebrews 4:16, emphasis mine). God gives grace for the moment. And in this moment, through these pages, may he amply provide for you.
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Preface
God intended for everyone to be able to read and understand his Word. The Old Testament is written in Hebrew, the language of the people of Israel. Through the use of vivid stories based on real events and beautiful poetry, it appeals to the minds and hearts of the educated and the uneducated. The New Testament was first written in the simple Greek of everyday life, not in the Latin of Roman courts or the classical Greek of the academies. Even Jesus, the Master Teacher, taught spiritual principles by comparing them to such familiar terms as pearls, seeds, rocks, trees, and sheep. Likewise, the New Century Version translates the Scriptures in familiar, everyday words of our times. The New Century Version is a translation of God’s Word from the original Hebrew and Greek languages. A previous edition of the complete New Century Version, the International Children’s Bible, was published in 1986. A Trustworthy Translation Two basic premises guided the translation process of the New Century Version. The first concern was that the translation be faithful to the manuscripts in the original languages. A team composed of the World Bible Translation Center and fifty additional, highly qualified and experienced Bible scholars and translators was assembled. The team included people with translation experience on such accepted versions as the New International Version, the New American Standard Bible, and the New King James Version. The most recent scholarship and the best available Hebrew and Greek texts were used, principally the third edition of the United Bible Societies’ Greek text and the latest edition of the Biblia Hebraica, along with the Septuagint. A Clear Translation The second concern was to make the language clear enough for anyone to read the Bible and understand it. In maintaining clear language, several guidelines were followed. Vocabulary choice has been based upon The Living Word Vocabulary by Dr. Edgar Dale and Dr. Joseph O’Rourke (Worldbook-Childcraft International, 1981), which is the standard used by the editors of The World Book Encyclopedia to determine appropriate vocabulary. For difficult words that have no simpler synonyms, footnotes and references are provided. Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page and are indicated in the text by an n (for “note”). The New Century Version aids understanding by putting concepts into natural terms. Modern measurements and geographical locations have been used as much as possible. For instance, terms such as “shekels,” “cubits,” “omer,” and “hin” have been converted to modern equivalents of weights and measures. Where geographical references are identical, the modern name has been used, such as the “Mediterranean Sea” instead of “Great Sea” or “Western Sea.” Also, to minimize confusion, the most familiar name for a place is used consistently instead of using variant names for the same place. “Lake Galilee” is used throughout the text rather than its variant forms, “Sea of Kinnereth,” “Lake Gennesaret,” and “Sea of Tiberias.” Ancient customs are often unfamiliar to modern readers. Customs such as shaving a man’s beard to shame him or walking between the halves of a dead animal to seal an agreement are meaningless to most people today. So these are clarified either in the text or in a footnote.
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Preface
Since meanings of words change with time, care has been taken to avoid potential misunderstandings. Frequently in the Old Testament God tells his people to “devote” something to him, as when he tells the Israelites to devote Jericho and everything in it to him. While we might understand this to mean he is telling them to keep it safe and holy, the exact opposite is true. He is telling them to destroy it totally as an offering to him. The New Century Version communicates the idea clearly by translating “devoted” in these situations as “destroyed as an offering to the LORD.” Rhetorical questions in many instances have been stated according to their implied answer. The psalmist’s question “What god is so great as our God?” has been stated more directly as “No god is as great as our God.” Figures of speech have been translated according to their meanings. For instance, the expression “the Virgin Daughter of Zion,” which is frequently used in the Old Testament, is simply translated “the people of Jerusalem.” Idiomatic expressions of the biblical languages are translated to communicate the same meaning to today’s reader that would have been understood by the original audience. For example, the Hebrew idiom “he rested with his fathers” is translated by its meaning—“he died.” Obscure terms have been clarified. In the Old Testament God frequently condemns the people for their “high places” and “Asherah poles.” The New Century Version translates these according to their meanings, which would have been understood by the Hebrews. “High places” is translated “places where gods were worshiped,” and “Asherah poles” is translated “Asherah idols.” Gender language has been rendered in keeping with the principles of meaning-based translation. In the interest of providing the best rendering of the original Hebrew and Greek texts in contemporary English, appropriate gender terms are used whenever it is possible to do so without hindering clarity or accuracy. Masculine terms are used when the meaning of the original has to do with males, including references to deity and to male cultural situations such as the military and the priesthood. Feminine terms are used when the meaning of the original has to do with females. When the meaning of the original has to do with both males and females, nongendered terms are used. (In such cases, the masculine resumptive pronoun has sometimes been preferred to changing person or number.) The divine name YHWH, the tetragrammaton, has been indicated in the New Century Version by putting “LORD,” and sometimes “GOD,” in capital letters, following the tradition of other English versions. This is to distinguish it from Adonai, another Hebrew word that is translated “Lord.” Proper English style has been maintained while clarifying concepts and communication. The beauty of the Hebrew parallelism in poetry and the wordplays have been retained, and the images of the ancient languages have been captured in equivalent English images wherever possible. Study Aids Other features to enhance understanding of the text include subject headings throughout the text to identify speakers and topics and footnotes offering additional information on selected verses. Our Prayer It is with great humility and prayerfulness that this Bible is presented. We acknowledge the infallibility of God’s Word, as well as our own human frailty. We pray that God has worked through us as his vessels so that we all might better learn his truth for ourselves and that it might richly grow in our lives. It is to his glory that this Bible is given. THE PUBLISHER
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January 1
Ja n u a r y 1
Made in His Image Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image and likeness.” Genesis 1:26
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magine God’s creativity. Of all we don’t know about the creation, there is one thing we do know—he did it with a smile. He must’ve had a blast. Painting the stripes on the zebra, hanging the stars in the sky, putting the gold in the sunset. What creativity! Stretching the neck of the giraffe, putting the flutter in the mockingbird’s wings, planting the giggle in the hyena. What a time he had. Like a whistling carpenter in his workshop, he loved every bit of it. He poured himself into the work. So intent was his creativity that he took a day off at the end of the week just to rest. And then, as a finale to a brilliant performance, he made man. With his typical creative flair, he began with a useless mound of dirt and ended up with an invaluable species called a human. A human who had the unique honor to bear the stamp, “In His Image.” from No Wonder They Call Him the Savior
Genesis 1:1—2:25 The Beginning of the World In the beginning God created the sky and the earth. 2The earth was empty and had no form. Darkness covered the ocean, and God’s Spirit was moving over the water. 3Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good, so he divided the light from the darkness. 5God named the light “day” and the darkness “night.” Evening passed, and morning came. This was the first day. 6Then God said, “Let there be something to divide the water in two.” 7So God made the air and placed some of the water above the air and some below it. 8God named the air “sky.” Evening passed, and morning came. This was the second day. 9Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered together so the dry land will appear.” And it happened. 10God named the dry land “earth” and the water that was gathered together “seas.” God saw that this was good.
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11Then God said, “Let the earth produce plants—
some to make grain for seeds and others to make fruits with seeds in them. Every seed will produce more of its own kind of plant.” And it happened. 12The earth produced plants with grain for seeds and trees that made fruits with seeds in them. Each seed grew its own kind of plant. God saw that all this was good. 13Evening passed, and morning came. This was the third day. 14Then God said, “Let there be lights in the sky to separate day from night. These lights will be used for signs, seasons, days, and years. 15They will be in the sky to give light to the earth.” And it happened. 16So God made the two large lights. He made the brighter light to rule the day and made the smaller light to rule the night. He also made the stars. 17God put all these in the sky to shine on the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that all these things were good. 19Evening passed, and morning came. This was the fourth day. 20Then God said, “Let the water be filled with living things, and let birds fly in the air above the earth.” 1
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January 1 21So
God created the large sea animals and every living thing that moves in the sea. The sea is filled with these living things, with each one producing more of its own kind. He also made every bird that flies, and each bird produced more of its own kind. God saw that this was good. 22God blessed them and said, “Have many young ones so that you may grow in number. Fill the water of the seas, and let the birds grow in number on the earth.” 23Evening passed, and morning came. This was the fifth day. 24Then God said, “Let the earth be filled with animals, each producing more of its own kind. Let there be tame animals and small crawling animals and wild animals, and let each produce more of its kind.” And it happened. 25So God made the wild animals, the tame animals, and all the small crawling animals to produce more of their own kind. God saw that this was good. 26Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image and likeness. And let them rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the tame animals, over all the earth, and over all the small crawling animals on the earth.” 27So God created human beings in his image. In the image of God he created them. He created them male and female. 28God blessed them and said, “Have many children and grow in number. Fill the earth and be its master. Rule over the fish in the sea and over the birds in the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29God said, “Look, I have given you all the plants that have grain for seeds and all the trees whose fruits have seeds in them. They will be food for you. 30I have given all the green plants as food for every wild animal, every bird of the air, and every small crawling animal.” And it happened. 31God looked at everything he had made, and it was very good. Evening passed, and morning came. This was the sixth day.
The Seventh Day—Rest So the sky, the earth, and all that filled them were finished. 2By the seventh day God finished the work he had been doing, so he rested from all his work. 3God blessed the seventh day and made it a holy day, because on that day he rested from all the work he had done in creating the world.
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The First People 4This is the story of the creation of the sky and the earth. When the LORD God first made the earth and the sky, 5there were still no plants on the earth. Nothing was growing in the fields because the LORD God had not yet made it rain on the land. And there was no person to care for the ground, 6but a mist would rise up from the earth and water all the ground. 7Then the LORD God took dust from the ground and formed a man from it. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nose, and the man became a living person. 8Then the LORD God planted a garden in the east, in a place called Eden, and put the man he had formed into it. 9The LORD God caused every beautiful tree and every tree that was good for food to grow out of the ground. In the middle of the garden, God put the tree that gives life and also the tree that gives the knowledge of good and evil. 10A river flowed through Eden and watered the garden. From there the river branched out to become four rivers. 11The first river, named Pishon, flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12The gold of that land is excellent. Bdellium and onyxn are also found there. 13The second river, named Gihon, flows around the whole land of Cush. 14The third river, named Tigris, flows out of Assyria toward the east. The fourth river is the Euphrates. 15The LORD God put the man in the garden of Eden to care for it and work it. 16The LORD God commanded him, “You may eat the fruit from any tree in the garden, 17but you must not eat the fruit from the tree which gives the knowledge of good and evil. If you ever eat fruit from that tree, you will die!”
The First Woman 18Then
the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is right for him.” 19From the ground God formed every wild animal and every bird in the sky, and he brought them to the man so the man could name them. Whatever the man called each living thing, that became its name. 20The man gave names to all the tame animals, to the birds in the sky, and to all the wild animals. But Adamn did not find a helper that was right for him. 21So the LORD Genesis 2:12 bdellium and onyx Bdellium is an expensive, sweet-smelling resin like myrrh, and onyx is a gem. Genesis 2:20 Adam This is the name of the first man. It also means “humans,” including men and women.
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January 1
God caused the man to sleep very deeply, and while he was asleep, God removed one of the man’s ribs. Then God closed up the man’s skin at the place where he took the rib. 22The LORD God used the rib from the man to make a woman, and then he brought the woman to the man. 23And the man said, “Now, this is someone whose bones came from my bones, whose body came from my body. I will call her ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of man.” 24So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one body. 25The man and his wife were naked, but they were not ashamed.
Psalm 1:1–6 BOOK 1 Two Ways to Live Happy are those who don’t listen to the wicked, who don’t go where sinners go, who don’t do what evil people do. 2They love the LORD’s teachings, and they think about those teachings day and night. 3They are strong, like a tree planted by a river. The tree produces fruit in season, and its leaves don’t die. Everything they do will succeed.
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4But
wicked people are not like that. They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5So the wicked will not escape God’s punishment. Sinners will not worship with God’s people. 6This is because the LORD takes care of his people, but the wicked will be destroyed.
Proverbs 1:1–7 The Importance of Proverbs These are the wise words of Solomon son of David, king of Israel. 2They teach wisdom and self-control; they will help you understand wise words.
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3They
will teach you how to be wise and selfcontrolled and will teach you to do what is honest and fair and right. 4They make the uneducated wise and give knowledge and sense to the young. 5Wise people can also listen and learn; even they can find good advice in these words. 6Then anyone can understand wise words and stories, the words of the wise and their riddles. 7Knowledge
begins with respect for the LORD, but fools hate wisdom and discipline.
Matthew 1:1–25 The Family History of Jesus This is the family history of Jesus Christ. He came from the family of David, and David came from the family of Abraham. 2Abraham was the fathern of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers. 3Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah. (Their mother was Tamar.) Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Ram. 4Ram was the father of Amminadab. Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon. 5Salmon was the father of Boaz. (Boaz’s mother was Rahab.) Boaz was the father of Obed. (Obed’s mother was Ruth.) Obed was the father of Jesse. 6Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon. (Solomon’s mother had been Uriah’s wife.) 7Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam was the father of Abijah. Abijah was the father of Asa.n 8Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram. Jehoram was the ancestor of Uzziah.
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Matthew 1:2 father “Father” in Jewish lists of ancestors can sometimes mean grandfather or more distant relative. Matthew 1:7 Asa Some Greek copies read “Asaph,” another name for Asa (see 1 Chronicles 3:10).
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January 2 9Uzziah
was the father of Jotham. Jotham was the father of Ahaz. Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah. 10Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh. Manasseh was the father of Amon. Amon was the father of Josiah. 11Josiah was the grandfather of Jehoiachinn and his brothers. (This was at the time that the people were taken to Babylon.) 12After they were taken to Babylon: Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the grandfather of Zerubbabel. 13Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud. Abiud was the father of Eliakim. Eliakim was the father of Azor. 14Azor was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Akim. Akim was the father of Eliud. 15Eliud was the father of Eleazar. Eleazar was the father of Matthan. Matthan was the father of Jacob. 16Jacob was the father of Joseph. Joseph was the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus. Jesus is called the Christ. 17So there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David. And there were fourteen generations from David until the people were taken to Babylon. And there were fourteen generations from the time when the people were taken to Babylon until Christ was born.
The Birth of Jesus Christ 18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
His mother Mary was engagedn to marry Joseph, but before they married, she learned she was pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit. 19Because Mary’s husband, Joseph, was a good man, he did not want to disgrace her in public, so he planned to divorce her secretly. 20While Joseph thought about these things, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, descendant of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the baby in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus,n because he will save his people from their sins.” 22All this happened to bring about what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23“The virgin will be pregnant. She will have a son, and they will name him Immanuel,”n which means “God is with us.” 24When Joseph woke up, he did what the Lord’s angel had told him to do. Joseph took Mary as his wife, 25but he did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to the son. And Joseph named him Jesus. Matthew 1:11 Jehoiachin The Greek reads “Jeconiah,” another name for Jehoiachin (see 2 Kings 24:6 and 1 Chronicles 3:16). Matthew 1:18 engaged For the Jewish people an engagement was a lasting agreement, which could only be broken by a divorce. If a bride-to-be was unfaithful, it was considered adultery, and she could be put to death. Matthew 1:21 Jesus The name “Jesus” means “salvation.” Matthew 1:23 “The virgin . . . Immanuel” Quotation from Isaiah 7:14.
Ja n u a r y 2
Love Protects The LORD God made clothes from animal skins for the man and his wife and dressed them. Genesis 3:21
T
hat simple sentence suggests three powerful scenes. Scene 1: God slays an animal. For the first time in the history of the earth, dirt is stained with blood. Innocent blood. The beast committed no sin. The creature did not deserve to die. Adam and Eve did. The couple deserves to die, but they live . . . Scene 2: Clothing is made. The shaper of the stars now becomes a tailor. 4
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January 2
And in Scene 3: God dresses them. “The LORD . . . dressed them.” Adam and Eve are on their way out of the garden. They’ve been told to leave, but now God tells them to stop. “Those fig leaves,” he says, shaking his head, “will never do.” And he produces some clothing. But he doesn’t throw the garments at their feet and tell them to get dressed. He dresses them himself. As a father would zip up the jacket of a preschooler. God covers them. from A Love Worth Giving
Genesis 3:1—4:26 The Beginning of Sin Now the snake was the most clever of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day the snake said to the woman, “Did God really say that you must not eat fruit from any tree in the garden?” 2The woman answered the snake, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden. 3But God told us, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. You must not even touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4But the snake said to the woman, “You will not die. 5God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree, you will learn about good and evil and you will be like God!” 6The woman saw that the tree was beautiful, that its fruit was good to eat, and that it would make her wise. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of the fruit to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. 7Then, it was as if their eyes were opened. They realized they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and made something to cover themselves. 8Then they heard the LORD God walking in the garden during the cool part of the day, and the man and his wife hid from the LORD God among the trees in the garden. 9But the LORD God called to the man and said, “Where are you?” 10The man answered, “I heard you walking in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” 11God asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat fruit from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” 12The man said, “You gave this woman to me and she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.” 13Then the LORD God said to the woman, “How could you have done such a thing?” She answered, “The snake tricked me, so I ate the fruit.”
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14The
LORD God said to the snake, “Because you did this, a curse will be put on you. You will be cursed as no other animal, tame or wild, will ever be. You will crawl on your stomach, and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15I will make you and the woman enemies to each other. Your descendants and her descendants will be enemies. One of her descendants will crush your head, and you will bite his heel.” 16Then God said to the woman, “I will cause you to have much trouble when you are pregnant, and when you give birth to children, you will have great pain. You will greatly desire your husband, but he will rule over you.” 17Then God said to the man, “You listened to what your wife said, and you ate fruit from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat. “So I will put a curse on the ground, and you will have to work very hard for your food. In pain you will eat its food all the days of your life. 18The ground will produce thorns and weeds for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19You will sweat and work hard for your food. Later you will return to the ground, because you were taken from it. You are dust, and when you die, you will return to the dust.” 20The man named his wife Eve,n because she was the mother of all the living. Genesis 3:20 Eve This name sounds like the Hebrew word meaning “alive.”
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January 2 21The
LORD God made clothes from animal skins for the man and his wife and dressed them. 22Then the LORD God said, “Humans have become like one of us; they know good and evil. We must keep them from eating some of the fruit from the tree of life, or they will live forever.” 23So the LORD God forced Adam out of the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24After God forced humans out of the garden, he placed angels and a sword of fire that flashed around in every direction on its eastern border. This kept people from getting to the tree of life.
The First Family Adam had sexual relations with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.n Eve said, “With the LORD’s help, I have given birth to a man.” 2After that, Eve gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Abel took care of flocks, and Cain became a farmer. 3Later, Cain brought some food from the ground as a gift to God. 4Abel brought the best parts from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD accepted Abel and his gift, 5but he did not accept Cain and his gift. So Cain became very angry and felt rejected. 6The LORD asked Cain, “Why are you angry? Why do you look so unhappy? 7If you do things well, I will accept you, but if you do not do them well, sin is ready to attack you. Sin wants you, but you must rule over it.” 8Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out into the field.” While they were out in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 9Later, the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” Cain answered, “I don’t know. Is it my job to take care of my brother?” 10Then the LORD said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground. 11And now you will be cursed in your work with the ground, the same ground where your brother’s blood fell and where your hands killed him. 12You will work the ground, but it will not grow good crops for you anymore, and you will wander around on the earth.” 13Then Cain said to the LORD, “This punishment is more than I can stand! 14Today you have forced me to stop working the ground, and now I must hide from you. I must wander around on the earth, and anyone who meets me can kill me.”
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15The LORD said to Cain, “No! If anyone kills you, I
will punish that person seven times more.” Then the LORD put a mark on Cain warning anyone who met him not to kill him.
Cain’s Family 16So Cain went away from the LORD and lived in the land of Nod,n east of Eden. 17He had sexual relations with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. At that time Cain was building a city, which he named after his son Enoch. 18Enoch had a son named Irad, Irad had a son named Mehujael, Mehujael had a son named Methushael, and Methushael had a son named Lamech. 19Lamech married two women, Adah and Zillah. 20Adah gave birth to Jabal, who became the first person to live in tents and raise cattle. 21Jabal’s brother was Jubal, the first person to play the harp and flute. 22Zillah gave birth to Tubal-Cain, who made tools out of bronze and iron. The sister of TubalCain was Naamah. 23Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice! You wives of Lamech, listen to what I say. I killed a man for wounding me, a young man for hitting me. 24If Cain’s killer is punished seven times, then Lamech’s killer will be punished seventyseven times.”
Adam and Eve Have a New Son 25Adam
had sexual relations with his wife Eve again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Sethn and said, “God has given me another child. He will take the place of Abel, who was killed by Cain.” 26Seth also had a son, and they named him Enosh. At that time people began to pray to the LORD.
Psalm 2:1–6 The Lord’s Chosen King Why are the nations so angry? Why are the people making useless plans? 2The kings of the earth prepare to fight,
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Genesis 4:1 Cain This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “I have given birth.” Genesis 4:16 Nod This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “wander.” Genesis 4:25 Seth This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “to give.”
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January 2
and their leaders make plans together against the LORD and his appointed one. 3They say, “Let’s break the chains that hold us back and throw off the ropes that tie us down.” 4But
the one who sits in heaven laughs; the Lord makes fun of them. 5Then the LORD warns them and frightens them with his anger. 6He says, “I have appointed my own king to rule in Jerusalem on my holy mountain, Zion.”
Proverbs 1:8–9 Warnings Against Evil 8My
child, listen to your father’s teaching and do not forget your mother’s advice. 9Their teaching will be like flowers in your hair or a necklace around your neck.
Matthew 2:1–23 Wise Men Come to Visit Jesus Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was king. When Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. 2They asked, “Where is the baby who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” 3When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, as were all the people in Jerusalem. 4Herod called a meeting of all the leading priests and teachers of the law and asked them where the Christ would be born. 5They answered, “In the town of Bethlehem in Judea. The prophet wrote about this in the Scriptures: 6‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not just an insignificant village in Judah. A ruler will come from you who will be like a shepherd for my people Israel.’ ” Micah 5:2 7Then Herod had a secret meeting with the wise men and learned from them the exact time they first saw the star. 8He sent the wise men to Bethlehem, saying, “Look carefully for the child. When you find him, come tell me so I can worship him too.”
2
9After
the wise men heard the king, they left. The star that they had seen in the east went before them until it stopped above the place where the child was. 10When the wise men saw the star, they were filled with joy. 11They came to the house where the child was and saw him with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their gifts and gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12But God warned the wise men in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they returned to their own country by a different way.
Jesus’ Parents Take Him to Eg ypt 13After they left, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt, because Herod is starting to look for the child so he can kill him. Stay in Egypt until I tell you to return.” 14So Joseph got up and left for Egypt during the night with the child and his mother. 15And Joseph stayed in Egypt until Herod died. This happened to bring about what the Lord had said through the prophet: “I called my son out of Egypt.”n
Herod Kills the Baby Boys 16When Herod saw that the wise men had tricked him, he was furious. So he gave an order to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and in the surrounding area who were two years old or younger. This was in keeping with the time he learned from the wise men. 17So what God had said through the prophet Jeremiah came true: 18“A voice was heard in Ramah of painful crying and deep sadness: Rachel crying for her children. She refused to be comforted, because her children are dead.” Jeremiah 31:15
Joseph and Mary Return Herod died, an angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream while he was in Egypt. 20The angel said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, because the people who were trying to kill the child are now dead.” 19After
Matthew 2:15 “I called . . . Egypt.” Quotation from Hosea 11:1.
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January 3 21So
Joseph took the child and his mother and went to Israel. 22But he heard that Archelaus was now king in Judea since his father Herod had died. So Joseph was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the area of Galilee, 23to a town
called Nazareth, and lived there. And so what God had said through the prophets came true: “He will be called a Nazarene.”n Matthew 2:23 Nazarene A person from the town of Nazareth. Matthew may be referring to Isaiah 11:1, where the Hebrew word translated “branch” sounds like “Nazarene.”
Ja n u a r y 3
A Holy Task Obey the LORD with great fear. Psalm 2:11
M
ary and Mary [Magdalene] knew a task had to be done—Jesus’ body had to be prepared for burial. Peter didn’t offer to do it. Andrew didn’t volunteer . . . So the two Marys decide to do it . . . I wonder if halfway to the tomb they had sat down and reconsidered. What if they’d looked at each other and shrugged, “What’s the use?” What if they had given up? What if one had thrown up her arms in frustration and bemoaned, “I’m tired of being the only one who cares. Let Andrew do something for a change. Let Nathanael show some leadership.” Whether or not they were tempted to, I’m glad they didn’t quit. That would have been tragic. You see, we know something they didn’t. We know the Father was watching. Mary and Mary thought they were alone. They weren’t. They thought their journey was unnoticed. They were wrong. God knew. from He Still Moves Stones
Genesis 5:1—6:22 Adam’s Family History This is the family history of Adam. When God created human beings, he made them in his own likeness. 2He created them male and female, and on that day he blessed them and named them human beings. 3When Adam was 130 years old, he became the father of another son in his likeness and image, and Adam named him Seth. 4After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 5So Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died. 6When Seth was 105 years old, he had a son named Enosh. 7After Enosh was born, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. 8So Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died. 9When Enosh was 90 years old, he had a son
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8
named Kenan. 10After Kenan was born, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. 11So Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died. 12When Kenan was 70 years old, he had a son named Mahalalel. 13After Mahalalel was born, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. 14So Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died. 15When Mahalalel was 65 years old, he had a son named Jared. 16After Jared was born, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. 17So Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then he died. 18When Jared was 162 years old, he had a son named Enoch. 19After Enoch was born, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20So Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died. 21When Enoch was 65 years old, he had a son named Methuselah. 22After Methuselah was born, Enoch walked with God 300 years more and had
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January 3 23So
other sons and daughters. Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 24Enoch walked with God; one day Enoch could not be found, because God took him. 25When Methuselah was 187 years old, he had a son named Lamech. 26After Lamech was born, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27So Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died. 28When Lamech was 182, he had a son. 29Lamech named his son Noahn and said, “He will comfort us in our work, which comes from the ground the LORD has cursed.” 30After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 31So Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then he died. 32After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
The Human Race Becomes Evil The number of people on earth began to grow, and daughters were born to them. 2When the sons of God saw that these girls were beautiful, they married any of them they chose. 3The LORD said, “My Spirit will not remain in human beings forever, because they are flesh. They will live only 120 years.” 4The Nephilim were on the earth in those days and also later. That was when the sons of God had sexual relations with the daughters of human beings. These women gave birth to children, who became famous and were the mighty warriors of long ago. 5The LORD saw that the human beings on the earth were very wicked and that everything they thought about was evil. 6He was sorry he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7So the LORD said, “I will destroy all human beings that I made on the earth. And I will destroy every animal and everything that crawls on the earth and the birds of the air, because I am sorry I have made them.” 8But Noah pleased the LORD.
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Noah and the Great Flood 9This is the family history of Noah. Noah was a good man, the most innocent man of his time, and he walked with God. 10He had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11People on earth did what God said was evil, and violence was everywhere. 12When God saw that everyone on the earth did only evil, 13he said to Noah, “Be-
cause people have made the earth full of violence, I will destroy all of them from the earth. 14Build a boat of cypress wood for yourself. Make rooms in it and cover it inside and outside with tar. 15This is how big I want you to build the boat: four hundred fifty feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. 16Make an opening around the top of the boat that is eighteen inches high from the edge of the roof down. Put a door in the side of the boat. Make an upper, middle, and lower deck in it. 17I will bring a flood of water on the earth to destroy all living things that live under the sky, including everything that has the breath of life. Everything on the earth will die. 18But I will make an agreement with you—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives will all go into the boat. 19Also, you must bring into the boat two of every living thing, male and female. Keep them alive with you. 20Two of every kind of bird, animal, and crawling thing will come to you to be kept alive. 21Also gather some of every kind of food and store it on the boat as food for you and the animals.” 22Noah did everything that God commanded him.
Psalm 2:7–12 7Now
I will tell you what the LORD has declared: He said to me, “You are my son. Today I have become your father. 8If you ask me, I will give you the nations; all the people on earth will be yours. 9You will rule over them with an iron rod. You will break them into pieces like pottery.” 10So,
kings, be wise; rulers, learn this lesson. 11Obey the LORD with great fear. Be happy, but tremble. 12Show that you are loyal to his son, or you will be destroyed by his anger, because he can quickly become angry. But happy are those who trust him for protection.
Proverbs 1:10–19 10My
child, if sinners try to lead you into sin, do not follow them.
Genesis 5:29 Noah This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “rest.”
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January 3 11They
will say, “Come with us. Let’s ambush and kill someone; let’s attack some innocent people just for fun. 12Let’s swallow them alive, as death does; let’s swallow them whole, as the grave does. 13We will take all kinds of valuable things and fill our houses with stolen goods. 14Come join us, and we will share with you stolen goods.” 15My child, do not go along with them; do not do what they do. 16They are eager to do evil and are quick to kill. 17It is useless to spread out a net right where the birds can see it. 18But sinners will fall into their own traps; they will only catch themselves! 19All greedy people end up this way; greed kills selfish people.
Matthew 3:1–17 The Work of John the Baptist About that time John the Baptist began preaching in the desert area of Judea. 2John said, “Change your hearts and lives because the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3John the Baptist is the one Isaiah the prophet was talking about when he said: “This is a voice of one who calls out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way for the Lord. Isaiah 40:3 Make the road straight for him.’ ” 4John’s clothes were made from camel’s hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food, he ate locusts and wild honey. 5Many people came from Jerusalem and Judea and all the area around the Jordan River to hear John. 6They confessed their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan River.
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10
7Many
of the Pharisees and Sadducees came to the place where John was baptizing people. When John saw them, he said, “You are snakes! Who warned you to run away from God’s coming punishment? 8Do the things that show you really have changed your hearts and lives. 9And don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘Abraham is our father.’ I tell you that God could make children for Abraham from these rocks. 10The ax is now ready to cut down the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.n 11“I baptize you with water to show that your hearts and lives have changed. But there is one coming after me who is greater than I am, whose sandals I am not good enough to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12He will come ready to clean the grain, separating the good grain from the chaff. He will put the good part of the grain into his barn, but he will burn the chaff with a fire that cannot be put out.”n
Jesus Is Baptized by John 13At
that time Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River and wanted John to baptize him. 14But John tried to stop him, saying, “Why do you come to me to be baptized? I need to be baptized by you!” 15Jesus answered, “Let it be this way for now. We should do all things that are God’s will.” So John agreed to baptize Jesus. 16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. Then heaven opened, and he saw God’s Spirit coming down on him like a dove. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with him.” Matthew 3:10 The ax . . . fire. This means that God is ready to punish his people who do not obey him. Matthew 3:12 He will . . . out. This means that Jesus will come to separate good people from bad people, saving the good and punishing the bad.