I

love you.

Good

Night

Daily Bible Reading Psalm 71

Psalm 71

1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;

    let me never be put to shame.

2 In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me;

    turn your ear to me and save me.

3 Be my rock of refuge,

    to which I can always go;

give the command to save me,

    for you are my rock and my fortress.

4 Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,

    from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.

5 For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord,

    my confidence since my youth.

6 From birth I have relied on you;

    you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.

    I will ever praise you.

7 I have become a sign to many;

    you are my strong refuge.

8 My mouth is filled with your praise,

    declaring your splendor all day long.

9 Do not cast me away when I am old;

    do not forsake me when my strength is gone.

10 For my enemies speak against me;

    those who wait to kill me conspire together.

11 They say, “God has forsaken him;

    pursue him and seize him,

    for no one will rescue him.”

12 Do not be far from me, my God;

    come quickly, God, to help me.

13 May my accusers perish in shame;

    may those who want to harm me

    be covered with scorn and disgrace.

14 As for me, I will always have hope;

    I will praise you more and more.

15 My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds,

    of your saving acts all day long—

    though I know not how to relate them all.

16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord;

    I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.

17 Since my youth, God, you have taught me,

    and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.

18 Even when I am old and gray,

    do not forsake me, my God,

till I declare your power to the next generation,

    your mighty acts to all who are to come.

19 Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,

    you who have done great things.

    Who is like you, God?

20 Though you have made me see troubles,

    many and bitter,

    you will restore my life again;

from the depths of the earth

    you will again bring me up.

21 You will increase my honor

    and comfort me once more.

22 I will praise you with the harp

    for your faithfulness, my God;

I will sing praise to you with the lyre,

    Holy One of Israel.

23 My lips will shout for joy

    when I sing praise to you—

    I whom you have delivered.

24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts

    all day long,

for those who wanted to harm me

    have been put to shame and confusion.

Time

space energy and matter.

Just all the sudden decided to create themselves one day.

From nothing

Yeah.

Okay.

Sure.

But belief in a risen savior is popostuous?

Yeah.

Makes sense to me.

Stuff cont

Everybody busy rushing around worshiping money or the stuff it can buy.

Not even realizing there will come a day they won't even remember why they wanted the stuff they do to begin with.

Who better to give it away to try an help reasonable people?

Than people who've experienced the supernatural?

And realize it doesn't count for anything.

I love you Lucy.

I

love you.

Good

Night

Daily Bible Reading Job 12

Job 12

12 Then Job replied:

2 “Doubtless you are the only people who matter,

    and wisdom will die with you!

3 But I have a mind as well as you;

    I am not inferior to you.

    Who does not know all these things?

4 “I have become a laughingstock to my friends,

    though I called on God and he answered—

    a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!

5 Those who are at ease have contempt for misfortune

    as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.

6 The tents of marauders are undisturbed,

    and those who provoke God are secure—

    those God has in his hand.

7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you,

    or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;

8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,

    or let the fish in the sea inform you.

9 Which of all these does not know

    that the hand of the Lord has done this?

10 In his hand is the life of every creature

    and the breath of all mankind.

11 Does not the ear test words

    as the tongue tastes food?

12 Is not wisdom found among the aged?

    Does not long life bring understanding?

13 “To God belong wisdom and power;

    counsel and understanding are his.

14 What he tears down cannot be rebuilt;

    those he imprisons cannot be released.

15 If he holds back the waters, there is drought;

    if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.

16 To him belong strength and insight;

    both deceived and deceiver are his.

17 He leads rulers away stripped

    and makes fools of judges.

18 He takes off the shackles put on by kings

    and ties a loincloth around their waist.

19 He leads priests away stripped

    and overthrows officials long established.

20 He silences the lips of trusted advisers

    and takes away the discernment of elders.

21 He pours contempt on nobles

    and disarms the mighty.

22 He reveals the deep things of darkness

    and brings utter darkness into the light.

23 He makes nations great, and destroys them;

    he enlarges nations, and disperses them.

24 He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;

    he makes them wander in a trackless waste.

25 They grope in darkness with no light;

    he makes them stagger like drunkards.

I

love you.

I

love you.

Good

Night

Daily Bible Reading Romans 7

Romans 7

Released From the Law, Bound to Christ

7 Do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives? 2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him. 3 So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.

4 So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

The Law and Sin

7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. 9 Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.

13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Yesterdays Daily Bible Reading Matthew 7

Matthew 7

Judging Others

7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Ask, Seek, Knock

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

The Narrow and Wide Gates

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

True and False Prophets

15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

True and False Disciples

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

The Wise and Foolish Builders

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

I

love you.

Good

Afternoon Beautiful.

I

love you.

Good

Night

Daily Bible Reading Psalm 121

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

    where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the Lord,

    the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—

    he who watches over you will not slumber;

4 indeed, he who watches over Israel

    will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you—

    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

6 the sun will not harm you by day,

    nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—

    he will watch over your life;

8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going

    both now and forevermore.

I

love you

I

love you.

Good night.

Blogger screwing up.
Can't post pictures.

I love you.

Daily Bible Reading Luke 15

Luke 15 

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

The Parable of the Lost Coin

8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Parable of the Lost Son

11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

I

Love you.

I

love you.

Good

Night

Stuff

The longer I live the more convinced about how meaningless it all is.

When youre at the end of your life?

None of it's gonna matter to you.

You'll be lucky to be able to use most of it.

Or to be able to get on a ladder and get it down off the shelf.

Spend your whole life just trying to get everything for yourself.

Then?

It just doesn't matter anymore.

Nobody's gonna want it.

Not much of it anyway.

It will be out of date.

Out of style.

Nobody will have room for it

Nobody's gonna want to take the time to come and get it.

People spend their whole lives accumulating stuff.

Mostly to show off to others seems like.

"Hey, look what I got you don't."

Same on social media.

Then if by some strange happenstance you end up with greater wealth than them?

They don't wanna come around you anymore.

People end up with more than what they can take care of.

Have to start downsizing.

Selling it off.

So what good did it do you?

Other than you got to enjoy it for a lil while?

I agree with the love of my life.

Id rather have adventures than stuff.

Particularly with her :-).

Ecclesiastes 1: 1-3

Everything Is Meaningless

1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:

2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!”

    says the Teacher.

“Utterly meaningless!

    Everything is meaningless.”

3 What do people gain from all their labors

    at which they toil under the sun?

You know?

Not that long ago I was told:

"I know a lot more about you than you do me.

You could have handled things a lot different than you did."

Now exactly what this person knows about me 

and why they felt compelled to tell me such is a mystery to me.

But I will say this.

Yeah.

I could have handled things a lot differently than I did.

Guess what?

I didn't.

I did things how I saw fit.

It's my life.

Why in the world Im ever gonna care about what some wanna be big fish 

in a little pond cares about how I did things is beyond me.

If it was them?

Then they could do things how they saw fit.

The fact of the matter is.

It wasn't them.

For a reason.

I love you Bambi.

Daily Bible Reading Galatians 6

Galatians 6

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4 Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5 for each one should carry their own load. 6 Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.

7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Not Circumcision but the New Creation

11 See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!

12 Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. 14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. 16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God.

17 From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

I

love you.

I

Love you.

Good

Night

Daily Bible Reading 2 Corinthians 9

2 Corinthians 9

There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the Lord’s people. 2 For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. 3 But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready, as I said you would be. 4 For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we—not to say anything about you—would be ashamed of having been so confident. 5 So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given.

Generosity Encouraged

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;

    their righteousness endures forever.”

10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

I

love you.

I

Love you.

Good

Night

Always

makes me think of you.

:-)

I love you.

Daily Bible reading Genesis 2

Genesis 2

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Adam and Eve

4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones

    and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called ‘woman,’

    for she was taken out of man.”

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

I

love you.

I

Love you.

Good

Night

Daily Bible Reading John 7

John 7

Jesus Goes to the Festival of Tabernacles

7 After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. 2 But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, 3 Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. 4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

6 Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. 8 You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee.

10 However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. 11 Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking, “Where is he?”

12 Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”

Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” 13 But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.

Jesus Teaches at the Festival

14 Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. 15 The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?”

16 Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. 17 Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. 18 Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”

20 “You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”

21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. 22 Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. 23 Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? 24 Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”

Division Over Who Jesus Is

25 At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26 Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? 27 But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”

28 Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29 but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”

30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?”

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

33 Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? 36 What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”

37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”

41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” 43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.

Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders

45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.

47 “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. 48 “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”

50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”

52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”

I

Love you.

I

love you.

Good

Night

Daily Bible Reading Psalm 88

Psalm 88

Lord, you are the God who saves me;

    day and night I cry out to you.

2 May my prayer come before you;

    turn your ear to my cry.

3 I am overwhelmed with troubles

    and my life draws near to death.

4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;

    I am like one without strength.

5 I am set apart with the dead,

    like the slain who lie in the grave,

whom you remember no more,

    who are cut off from your care.

6 You have put me in the lowest pit,

    in the darkest depths.

7 Your wrath lies heavily on me;

    you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.

8 You have taken from me my closest friends

    and have made me repulsive to them.

I am confined and cannot escape;

9 my eyes are dim with grief.

I call to you, Lord, every day;

    I spread out my hands to you.

10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?

    Do their spirits rise up and praise you?

11 Is your love declared in the grave,

    your faithfulness in Destruction?

12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,

    or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

13 But I cry to you for help, Lord;

    in the morning my prayer comes before you.

14 Why, Lord, do you reject me

    and hide your face from me?

15 From my youth I have suffered and been close to death;

    I have borne your terrors and am in despair.

16 Your wrath has swept over me;

    your terrors have destroyed me.

17 All day long they surround me like a flood;

    they have completely engulfed me.

18 You have taken from me friend and neighbor—

    darkness is my closest friend.

Happened

Upon first meeting.

I

love you.

:-)

Daily Bible Reading Mark 5

Mark 5

Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed Man

They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”

9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman

21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him.

A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”

36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 But they laughed at him.

After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

I

Love you.

I

love you.

Good

Night

Daily Bible Reading Proverbs 17

Proverbs 17

Better a dry crust with peace and quiet

    than a house full of feasting, with strife.

2 A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son

    and will share the inheritance as one of the family.

3 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,

    but the Lord tests the heart.

4 A wicked person listens to deceitful lips;

    a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

5 Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker;

    whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.

6 Children’s children are a crown to the aged,

    and parents are the pride of their children.

7 Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool—

    how much worse lying lips to a ruler!

8 A bribe is seen as a charm by the one who gives it;

    they think success will come at every turn.

9 Whoever would foster love covers over an offense,

    but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

10 A rebuke impresses a discerning person

    more than a hundred lashes a fool.

11 Evildoers foster rebellion against God;

    the messenger of death will be sent against them.

12 Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs

    than a fool bent on folly.

13 Evil will never leave the house

    of one who pays back evil for good.

14 Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam;

    so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

15 Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent—

    the Lord detests them both.

16 Why should fools have money in hand to buy wisdom,

    when they are not able to understand it?

17 A friend loves at all times,

    and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

18 One who has no sense shakes hands in pledge

    and puts up security for a neighbor.

19 Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin;

    whoever builds a high gate invites destruction.

20 One whose heart is corrupt does not prosper;

    one whose tongue is perverse falls into trouble.

21 To have a fool for a child brings grief;

    there is no joy for the parent of a godless fool.

22 A cheerful heart is good medicine,

    but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

23 The wicked accept bribes in secret

    to pervert the course of justice.

24 A discerning person keeps wisdom in view,

    but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

25 A foolish son brings grief to his father

    and bitterness to the mother who bore him.

26 If imposing a fine on the innocent is not good,

    surely to flog honest officials is not right.

27 The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint,

    and whoever has understanding is even-tempered.

28 Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent,

    and discerning if they hold their tongues.