Tuesday, December 20, 2011 - Nabal and Abigal

9:30 a.m. Prayer/Devotion

11:00 - Cardio Hip Hop Abs

May 19 Reading "One Year Bible"

1 Samuel 24:1-25:44; John 10:22-42; psalm 116:1-19; Proverbs 15:20-21

1 Samuel 24-25:44

New Living Translation (NLT)

1 Samuel 24

David Spares Saul’s Life

 ^{1 [a]}After Saul returned from fighting the Philistines, he was told that David had gone into the wilderness of En-gedi. ² So Saul chose 3,000 elite troops from all Israel and went to search for David and his men near the rocks of the wild goats. ³ At the place where the road passes some sheepfolds, Saul went into a cave to relieve himself. But as it happened, David and his men were hiding farther back in that very cave!
 ⁴ “Now’s your opportunity!” David’s men whispered to him. “Today the Lord is telling you, ‘I will certainly put your enemy into your power, to do with as you wish.’” So David crept forward and cut off a piece of the hem of Saul’s robe.
 ⁵ But then David’s conscience began bothering him because he had cut Saul’s robe. ⁶ “The Lord knows I shouldn’t have done that to my lord the king,” he said to his men. “The Lord forbid that I should do this to my lord the king and attack the Lord’s anointed one, for the Lord himself has chosen him.” ⁷ So David restrained his men and did not let them kill Saul.
   After Saul had left the cave and gone on his way, ⁸ David came out and shouted after him, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked around, David bowed low before him.
 ⁹ Then he shouted to Saul, “Why do you listen to the people who say I am trying to harm you? ¹⁰ This very day you can see with your own eyes it isn’t true. For the Lord placed you at my mercy back there in the cave. Some of my men told me to kill you, but I spared you. For I said, ‘I will never harm the king—he is the Lord’s anointed one.’ ¹¹ Look, my father, at what I have in my hand. It is a piece of the hem of your robe! I cut it off, but I didn’t kill you. This proves that I am not trying to harm you and that I have not sinned against you, even though you have been hunting for me to kill me.
 ¹² “May the Lord judge between us. Perhaps the Lord will punish you for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never harm you. ¹³ As that old proverb says, ‘From evil people come evil deeds.’ So you can be sure I will never harm you. ¹⁴ Who is the king of Israel trying to catch anyway? Should he spend his time chasing one who is as worthless as a dead dog or a single flea? ¹⁵ May the Lord therefore judge which of us is right and punish the guilty one. He is my advocate, and he will rescue me from your power!”
 ¹⁶ When David had finished speaking, Saul called back, “Is that really you, my son David?” Then he began to cry. ¹⁷ And he said to David, “You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil. ¹⁸ Yes, you have been amazingly kind to me today, for when the Lord put me in a place where you could have killed me, you didn’t do it. ¹⁹ Who else would let his enemy get away when he had him in his power? May the Lord reward you well for the kindness you have shown me today. ²⁰ And now I realize that you are surely going to be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will flourish under your rule. ²¹ Now swear to me by the Lord that when that happens you will not kill my family and destroy my line of descendants!”
 ²² So David promised this to Saul with an oath. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went back to their stronghold.

1 Samuel 25

The Death of Samuel

 ¹ Now Samuel died, and all Israel gathered for his funeral. They buried him at his house in Ramah.

Nabal Angers David

   Then David moved down to the wilderness of Maon.^{[b] 2} There was a wealthy man from Maon who owned property near the town of Carmel. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, and it was sheep-shearing time. ³ This man’s name was Nabal, and his wife, Abigail, was a sensible and beautiful woman. But Nabal, a descendant of Caleb, was crude and mean in all his dealings. ⁴ When David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep, ⁵ he sent ten of his young men to Carmel with this message for Nabal: ⁶ “Peace and prosperity to you, your family, and everything you own! ⁷ I am told that it is sheep-shearing time. While your shepherds stayed among us near Carmel, we never harmed them, and nothing was ever stolen from them. ⁸ Ask your own men, and they will tell you this is true. So would you be kind to us, since we have come at a time of celebration? Please share any provisions you might have on hand with us and with your friend David.” ⁹ David’s young men gave this message to Nabal in David’s name, and they waited for a reply.
 ¹⁰ “Who is this fellow David?” Nabal sneered to the young men. “Who does this son of Jesse think he is? There are lots of servants these days who run away from their masters. ¹¹ Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I’ve slaughtered for my shearers and give it to a band of outlaws who come from who knows where?”
 ¹² So David’s young men returned and told him what Nabal had said. ¹³ “Get your swords!” was David’s reply as he strapped on his own. Then 400 men started off with David, and 200 remained behind to guard their equipment.
 ¹⁴ Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s servants went to Abigail and told her, “David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he screamed insults at them. ¹⁵ These men have been very good to us, and we never suffered any harm from them. Nothing was stolen from us the whole time they were with us. ¹⁶ In fact, day and night they were like a wall of protection to us and the sheep. ¹⁷ You need to know this and figure out what to do, for there is going to be trouble for our master and his whole family. He’s so ill-tempered that no one can even talk to him!”
 ¹⁸ Abigail wasted no time. She quickly gathered 200 loaves of bread, two wineskins full of wine, five sheep that had been slaughtered, nearly a bushel^[c] of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 fig cakes. She packed them on donkeys ¹⁹ and said to her servants, “Go on ahead. I will follow you shortly.” But she didn’t tell her husband Nabal what she was doing.
 ²⁰ As she was riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming toward her. ²¹ David had just been saying, “A lot of good it did to help this fellow. We protected his flocks in the wilderness, and nothing he owned was lost or stolen. But he has repaid me evil for good. ²² May God strike me and kill me^[d] if even one man of his household is still alive tomorrow morning!”

Abigail Intercedes for Nabal

 ²³ When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed low before him. ²⁴ She fell at his feet and said, “I accept all blame in this matter, my lord. Please listen to what I have to say. ²⁵ I know Nabal is a wicked and ill-tempered man; please don’t pay any attention to him. He is a fool, just as his name suggests.^[e] But I never even saw the young men you sent. ²⁶ “Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, since the Lord has kept you from murdering and taking vengeance into your own hands, let all your enemies and those who try to harm you be as cursed as Nabal is. ²⁷ And here is a present that I, your servant, have brought to you and your young men. ²⁸ Please forgive me if I have offended you in any way. The Lord will surely reward you with a lasting dynasty, for you are fighting the Lord’s battles. And you have not done wrong throughout your entire life.
 ²⁹ “Even when you are chased by those who seek to kill you, your life is safe in the care of the Lord your God, secure in his treasure pouch! But the lives of your enemies will disappear like stones shot from a sling! ³⁰ When the Lord has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel, ³¹ don’t let this be a blemish on your record. Then your conscience won’t have to bear the staggering burden of needless bloodshed and vengeance. And when the Lord has done these great things for you, please remember me, your servant!”
 ³² David replied to Abigail, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you to meet me today! ³³ Thank God for your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and from carrying out vengeance with my own hands. ³⁴ For I swear by the Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept me from hurting you, that if you had not hurried out to meet me, not one of Nabal’s men would still be alive tomorrow morning.” ³⁵ Then David accepted her present and told her, “Return home in peace. I have heard what you said. We will not kill your husband.”
 ³⁶ When Abigail arrived home, she found that Nabal was throwing a big party and was celebrating like a king. He was very drunk, so she didn’t tell him anything about her meeting with David until dawn the next day. ³⁷ In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him what had happened. As a result he had a stroke,^[f] and he lay paralyzed on his bed like a stone. ³⁸ About ten days later, the Lord struck him, and he died.

David Marries Abigail

 ³⁹ When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise the Lord, who has avenged the insult I received from Nabal and has kept me from doing it myself. Nabal has received the punishment for his sin.” Then David sent messengers to Abigail to ask her to become his wife. ⁴⁰ When the messengers arrived at Carmel, they told Abigail, “David has sent us to take you back to marry him.”
 ⁴¹ She bowed low to the ground and responded, “I, your servant, would be happy to marry David. I would even be willing to become a slave, washing the feet of his servants!” ⁴² Quickly getting ready, she took along five of her servant girls as attendants, mounted her donkey, and went with David’s messengers. And so she became his wife. ⁴³ David also married Ahinoam from Jezreel, making both of them his wives. ⁴⁴ Saul, meanwhile, had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to a man from Gallim named Palti son of Laish.

Footnotes:

1. 1 Samuel 24:1 Verses 24:1-22 are numbered 24:2-23 in Hebrew text.
2. 1 Samuel 25:1 As in Greek version (see also 25:2); Hebrew reads Paran.
3. 1 Samuel 25:18 Hebrew 5 seahs [30 liters].
4. 1 Samuel 25:22 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads May God strike and kill the enemies of David.
5. 1 Samuel 25:25 The name Nabal means “fool.”
6. 1 Samuel 25:37 Hebrew his heart failed him.

John 10:22-42

New Living Translation (NLT)

Jesus Claims to Be the Son of God

 ²² It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication. ²³ He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon’s Colonnade. ²⁴ The people surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. ²⁶ But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, ²⁹ for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else.^[a] No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. ³⁰ The Father and I are one.”
 ³¹ Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. ³² Jesus said, “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?”
 ³³ They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.”
 ³⁴ Jesus replied, “It is written in your own Scriptures^[b] that God said to certain leaders of the people, ‘I say, you are gods!’^{[c] 35} And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God’s message were called ‘gods,’ ³⁶ why do you call it blasphemy when I say, ‘I am the Son of God’? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world. ³⁷ Don’t believe me unless I carry out my Father’s work. ³⁸ But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don’t believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.”
 ³⁹ Once again they tried to arrest him, but he got away and left them. ⁴⁰ He went beyond the Jordan River near the place where John was first baptizing and stayed there awhile. ⁴¹ And many followed him. “John didn’t perform miraculous signs,” they remarked to one another, “but everything he said about this man has come true.” ⁴² And many who were there believed in Jesus.

Footnotes:

1. John 10:29 Other manuscripts read for what my Father has given me is more powerful than anything; still others read for regarding that which my Father has given me, he is greater than all.
2. John 10:34 Greek your own law.
3. John 10:34 Ps 82:6.

Psalm 116:1-19

New Living Translation (NLT)

Psalm 116

 ¹ I love the Lord because he hears my voice
      and my prayer for mercy.
 ² Because he bends down to listen,
      I will pray as long as I have breath!
 ³ Death wrapped its ropes around me;
      the terrors of the grave^[a] overtook me.
      I saw only trouble and sorrow.
 ⁴ Then I called on the name of the Lord:
      “Please, Lord, save me!”
 ⁵ How kind the Lord is! How good he is!
      So merciful, this God of ours!
 ⁶ The Lord protects those of childlike faith;
      I was facing death, and he saved me.
 ⁷ Let my soul be at rest again,
      for the Lord has been good to me.
 ⁸ He has saved me from death,
      my eyes from tears,
      my feet from stumbling.
 ⁹ And so I walk in the Lord’s presence
      as I live here on earth!
 ¹⁰ I believed in you, so I said,
      “I am deeply troubled, Lord.”
 ¹¹ In my anxiety I cried out to you,
      “These people are all liars!”
 ¹² What can I offer the Lord
      for all he has done for me?
 ¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation
      and praise the Lord’s name for saving me.
 ¹⁴ I will keep my promises to the Lord
      in the presence of all his people.
 ¹⁵ The Lord cares deeply
      when his loved ones die.
 ¹⁶ O Lord, I am your servant;
      yes, I am your servant, born into your household;
      you have freed me from my chains.
 ¹⁷ I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving
      and call on the name of the Lord.
 ¹⁸ I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
      in the presence of all his people—
 ¹⁹ in the house of the Lord
      in the heart of Jerusalem.
   Praise the Lord!

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 116:3 Hebrew of Sheol.

Proverbs 15:20-21

New Living Translation (NLT)

 ²⁰ Sensible children bring joy to their father;
      foolish children despise their mother.
 ²¹ Foolishness brings joy to those with no sense;
      a sensible person stays on the right path.

Monday, December 19, 2011 - Saul continues to hunt down David

My vacation officially starts today.  I went to the emergency yesterday, not feeling well at all.
I thank God that I'm still on this side of the dirt :) .. I thank God that I"m on vacation and not at work
feeling like this.  God, give me strength.  I still desire to give you my first fruit..always, when I'm feeling great, when I'm feeling not so great.  I owe you everything!

8:30 a.m. Prayer/Devotion

?? - Work out - not sure if I will force myself

1 Samuel 22:1-23:29;John 10:1-21; Psalm 115:1-18; Proverbs 15:18-19
May 18 One Year Bible Reading

1 Samuel 22-23:29

New Living Translation (NLT)

1 Samuel 22

David at the Cave of Adullam

 ¹ So David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. Soon his brothers and all his other relatives joined him there. ² Then others began coming—men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented—until David was the captain of about 400 men. ³ Later David went to Mizpeh in Moab, where he asked the king, “Please allow my father and mother to live here with you until I know what God is going to do for me.” ⁴ So David’s parents stayed in Moab with the king during the entire time David was living in his stronghold.
 ⁵ One day the prophet Gad told David, “Leave the stronghold and return to the land of Judah.” So David went to the forest of Hereth.
 ⁶ The news of his arrival in Judah soon reached Saul. At the time, the king was sitting beneath the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, holding his spear and surrounded by his officers.
 ⁷ “Listen here, you men of Benjamin!” Saul shouted to his officers when he heard the news. “Has that son of Jesse promised every one of you fields and vineyards? Has he promised to make you all generals and captains in his army?^{[a] 8} Is that why you have conspired against me? For not one of you told me when my own son made a solemn pact with the son of Jesse. You’re not even sorry for me. Think of it! My own son—encouraging him to kill me, as he is trying to do this very day!”
 ⁹ Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing there with Saul’s men, spoke up. “When I was at Nob,” he said, “I saw the son of Jesse talking to the priest, Ahimelech son of Ahitub. ¹⁰ Ahimelech consulted the Lord for him. Then he gave him food and the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

The Slaughter of the Priests

 ¹¹ King Saul immediately sent for Ahimelech and all his family, who served as priests at Nob. ¹² When they arrived, Saul shouted at him, “Listen to me, you son of Ahitub!”   “What is it, my king?” Ahimelech asked.
 ¹³ “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me?” Saul demanded. “Why did you give him food and a sword? Why have you consulted God for him? Why have you encouraged him to kill me, as he is trying to do this very day?”
 ¹⁴ “But sir,” Ahimelech replied, “is anyone among all your servants as faithful as David, your son-in-law? Why, he is the captain of your bodyguard and a highly honored member of your household! ¹⁵ This was certainly not the first time I had consulted God for him! May the king not accuse me and my family in this matter, for I knew nothing at all of any plot against you.”
 ¹⁶ “You will surely die, Ahimelech, along with your entire family!” the king shouted. ¹⁷ And he ordered his bodyguards, “Kill these priests of the Lord, for they are allies and conspirators with David! They knew he was running away from me, but they didn’t tell me!” But Saul’s men refused to kill the Lord’s priests.
 ¹⁸ Then the king said to Doeg, “You do it.” So Doeg the Edomite turned on them and killed them that day, eighty-five priests in all, still wearing their priestly garments. ¹⁹ Then he went to Nob, the town of the priests, and killed the priests’ families—men and women, children and babies—and all the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats.
 ²⁰ Only Abiathar, one of the sons of Ahimelech, escaped and fled to David. ²¹ When he told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord, ²² David exclaimed, “I knew it! When I saw Doeg the Edomite there that day, I knew he was sure to tell Saul. Now I have caused the death of all your father’s family. ²³ Stay here with me, and don’t be afraid. I will protect you with my own life, for the same person wants to kill us both.”

1 Samuel 23

David Protects the Town of Keilah

 ¹ One day news came to David that the Philistines were at Keilah stealing grain from the threshing floors. ² David asked the Lord, “Should I go and attack them?”   “Yes, go and save Keilah,” the Lord told him.
 ³ But David’s men said, “We’re afraid even here in Judah. We certainly don’t want to go to Keilah to fight the whole Philistine army!”
 ⁴ So David asked the Lord again, and again the Lord replied, “Go down to Keilah, for I will help you conquer the Philistines.”
 ⁵ So David and his men went to Keilah. They slaughtered the Philistines and took all their livestock and rescued the people of Keilah. ⁶ Now when Abiathar son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, he brought the ephod with him.
 ⁷ Saul soon learned that David was at Keilah. “Good!” he exclaimed. “We’ve got him now! God has handed him over to me, for he has trapped himself in a walled town!” ⁸ So Saul mobilized his entire army to march to Keilah and besiege David and his men.
 ⁹ But David learned of Saul’s plan and told Abiathar the priest to bring the ephod and ask the Lord what he should do. ¹⁰ Then David prayed, “O Lord, God of Israel, I have heard that Saul is planning to come and destroy Keilah because I am here. ¹¹ Will the leaders of Keilah betray me to him?^[b] And will Saul actually come as I have heard? O Lord, God of Israel, please tell me.”
   And the Lord said, “He will come.”
 ¹² Again David asked, “Will the leaders of Keilah betray me and my men to Saul?”
   And the Lord replied, “Yes, they will betray you.”

David Hides in the Wilderness

 ¹³ So David and his men—about 600 of them now—left Keilah and began roaming the countryside. Word soon reached Saul that David had escaped, so he didn’t go to Keilah after all. ¹⁴ David now stayed in the strongholds of the wilderness and in the hill country of Ziph. Saul hunted him day after day, but God didn’t let Saul find him. ¹⁵ One day near Horesh, David received the news that Saul was on the way to Ziph to search for him and kill him. ¹⁶ Jonathan went to find David and encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God. ¹⁷ “Don’t be afraid,” Jonathan reassured him. “My father will never find you! You are going to be the king of Israel, and I will be next to you, as my father, Saul, is well aware.” ¹⁸ So the two of them renewed their solemn pact before the Lord. Then Jonathan returned home, while David stayed at Horesh.
 ¹⁹ But now the men of Ziph went to Saul in Gibeah and betrayed David to him. “We know where David is hiding,” they said. “He is in the strongholds of Horesh on the hill of Hakilah, which is in the southern part of Jeshimon. ²⁰ Come down whenever you’re ready, O king, and we will catch him and hand him over to you!”
 ²¹ “The Lord bless you,” Saul said. “At last someone is concerned about me! ²² Go and check again to be sure of where he is staying and who has seen him there, for I know that he is very crafty. ²³ Discover his hiding places, and come back when you are sure. Then I’ll go with you. And if he is in the area at all, I’ll track him down, even if I have to search every hiding place in Judah!” ²⁴ So the men of Ziph returned home ahead of Saul.
   Meanwhile, David and his men had moved into the wilderness of Maon in the Arabah Valley south of Jeshimon. ²⁵ When David heard that Saul and his men were searching for him, he went even farther into the wilderness to the great rock, and he remained there in the wilderness of Maon. But Saul kept after him in the wilderness.
 ²⁶ Saul and David were now on opposite sides of a mountain. Just as Saul and his men began to close in on David and his men, ²⁷ an urgent message reached Saul that the Philistines were raiding Israel again. ²⁸ So Saul quit chasing David and returned to fight the Philistines. Ever since that time, the place where David was camped has been called the Rock of Escape.^{[c] 29 [d]}David then went to live in the strongholds of En-gedi.

Footnotes:

1. 1 Samuel 22:7 Hebrew commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds?
2. 1 Samuel 23:11 Some manuscripts lack the first sentence of 23:11.
3. 1 Samuel 23:28 Hebrew Sela-hammahlekoth.
4. 1 Samuel 23:29 Verse 23:29 is numbered 24:1 in Hebrew text.

John 10:1-21

New Living Translation (NLT)

John 10

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

   “I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! ² But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.” ⁶ Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, ⁷ so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All who came before me^[a] were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved.^[b] They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. ¹⁰ The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
 ¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. ¹² A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. ¹³ The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.
 ¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, ¹⁵ just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.
 ¹⁷ “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. ¹⁸ No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”
 ¹⁹ When he said these things, the people^[c] were again divided in their opinions about him. ²⁰ Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?” ²¹ Others said, “This doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Footnotes:

1. John 10:8 Some manuscripts do not include before me.
2. John 10:9 Or will find safety.
3. John 10:19 Greek Jewish people; also in 10:24, 31.

Psalm 115:1-18

New Living Translation (NLT)

Psalm 115

 ¹ Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
      but to your name goes all the glory
      for your unfailing love and faithfulness.
 ² Why let the nations say,
      “Where is their God?”
 ³ Our God is in the heavens,
      and he does as he wishes.
 ⁴ Their idols are merely things of silver and gold,
      shaped by human hands.
 ⁵ They have mouths but cannot speak,
      and eyes but cannot see.
 ⁶ They have ears but cannot hear,
      and noses but cannot smell.
 ⁷ They have hands but cannot feel,
      and feet but cannot walk,
      and throats but cannot make a sound.
 ⁸ And those who make idols are just like them,
      as are all who trust in them.
 ⁹ O Israel, trust the Lord!
      He is your helper and your shield.
 ¹⁰ O priests, descendants of Aaron, trust the Lord!
      He is your helper and your shield.
 ¹¹ All you who fear the Lord, trust the Lord!
      He is your helper and your shield.
 ¹² The Lord remembers us and will bless us.
      He will bless the people of Israel
      and bless the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
 ¹³ He will bless those who fear the Lord,
      both great and lowly.
 ¹⁴ May the Lord richly bless
      both you and your children.
 ¹⁵ May you be blessed by the Lord,
      who made heaven and earth.
 ¹⁶ The heavens belong to the Lord,
      but he has given the earth to all humanity.
 ¹⁷ The dead cannot sing praises to the Lord,
      for they have gone into the silence of the grave.
 ¹⁸ But we can praise the Lord
      both now and forever!
   Praise the Lord!

Proverbs 15:18-19

New Living Translation (NLT)

 ¹⁸ A hot-tempered person starts fights;
      a cool-tempered person stops them.
 ¹⁹ A lazy person’s way is blocked with briers,
      but the path of the upright is an open highway.

Friday, December 16, 2011 - Jonathan helps David

4:50 a.m. Prayer/Devotion

5:40 a.m. - Cardio/Total body weights

May 17 Reading - One year bible

1 Samuel 20:1-21:15; John 9:1-41; Psalm 113:1-114:8; Proverbs 15:15-17

1 Samuel 20-21:15

New Living Translation (NLT)

1 Samuel 20

Jonathan Helps David

   David now fled from Naioth in Ramah and found Jonathan. “What have I done?” he exclaimed. “What is my crime? How have I offended your father that he is so determined to kill me?” ² “That’s not true!” Jonathan protested. “You’re not going to die. He always tells me everything he’s going to do, even the little things. I know my father wouldn’t hide something like this from me. It just isn’t so!”
 ³ Then David took an oath before Jonathan and said, “Your father knows perfectly well about our friendship, so he has said to himself, ‘I won’t tell Jonathan—why should I hurt him?’ But I swear to you that I am only a step away from death! I swear it by the Lord and by your own soul!”
 ⁴ “Tell me what I can do to help you,” Jonathan exclaimed.
 ⁵ David replied, “Tomorrow we celebrate the new moon festival. I’ve always eaten with the king on this occasion, but tomorrow I’ll hide in the field and stay there until the evening of the third day. ⁶ If your father asks where I am, tell him I asked permission to go home to Bethlehem for an annual family sacrifice. ⁷ If he says, ‘Fine!’ you will know all is well. But if he is angry and loses his temper, you will know he is determined to kill me. ⁸ Show me this loyalty as my sworn friend—for we made a solemn pact before the Lord—or kill me yourself if I have sinned against your father. But please don’t betray me to him!”
 ⁹ “Never!” Jonathan exclaimed. “You know that if I had the slightest notion my father was planning to kill you, I would tell you at once.”
 ¹⁰ Then David asked, “How will I know whether or not your father is angry?”
 ¹¹ “Come out to the field with me,” Jonathan replied. And they went out there together. ¹² Then Jonathan told David, “I promise by the Lord, the God of Israel, that by this time tomorrow, or the next day at the latest, I will talk to my father and let you know at once how he feels about you. If he speaks favorably about you, I will let you know. ¹³ But if he is angry and wants you killed, may the Lord strike me and even kill me if I don’t warn you so you can escape and live. May the Lord be with you as he used to be with my father. ¹⁴ And may you treat me with the faithful love of the Lord as long as I live. But if I die, ¹⁵ treat my family with this faithful love, even when the Lord destroys all your enemies from the face of the earth.”
 ¹⁶ So Jonathan made a solemn pact with David,^[a] saying, “May the Lord destroy all your enemies!” ¹⁷ And Jonathan made David reaffirm his vow of friendship again, for Jonathan loved David as he loved himself.
 ¹⁸ Then Jonathan said, “Tomorrow we celebrate the new moon festival. You will be missed when your place at the table is empty. ¹⁹ The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid before, and wait there by the stone pile.^{[b] 20} I will come out and shoot three arrows to the side of the stone pile as though I were shooting at a target. ²¹ Then I will send a boy to bring the arrows back. If you hear me tell him, ‘They’re on this side,’ then you will know, as surely as the Lord lives, that all is well, and there is no trouble. ²² But if I tell him, ‘Go farther—the arrows are still ahead of you,’ then it will mean that you must leave immediately, for the Lord is sending you away. ²³ And may the Lord make us keep our promises to each other, for he has witnessed them.”
 ²⁴ So David hid himself in the field, and when the new moon festival began, the king sat down to eat. ²⁵ He sat at his usual place against the wall, with Jonathan sitting opposite him^[c] and Abner beside him. But David’s place was empty. ²⁶ Saul didn’t say anything about it that day, for he said to himself, “Something must have made David ceremonially unclean.” ²⁷ But when David’s place was empty again the next day, Saul asked Jonathan, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse been here for the meal either yesterday or today?”
 ²⁸ Jonathan replied, “David earnestly asked me if he could go to Bethlehem. ²⁹ He said, ‘Please let me go, for we are having a family sacrifice. My brother demanded that I be there. So please let me get away to see my brothers.’ That’s why he isn’t here at the king’s table.”
 ³⁰ Saul boiled with rage at Jonathan. “You stupid son of a whore!”^[d] he swore at him. “Do you think I don’t know that you want him to be king in your place, shaming yourself and your mother? ³¹ As long as that son of Jesse is alive, you’ll never be king. Now go and get him so I can kill him!”
 ³² “But why should he be put to death?” Jonathan asked his father. “What has he done?” ³³ Then Saul hurled his spear at Jonathan, intending to kill him. So at last Jonathan realized that his father was really determined to kill David.
 ³⁴ Jonathan left the table in fierce anger and refused to eat on that second day of the festival, for he was crushed by his father’s shameful behavior toward David.
 ³⁵ The next morning, as agreed, Jonathan went out into the field and took a young boy with him to gather his arrows. ³⁶ “Start running,” he told the boy, “so you can find the arrows as I shoot them.” So the boy ran, and Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him. ³⁷ When the boy had almost reached the arrow, Jonathan shouted, “The arrow is still ahead of you. ³⁸ Hurry, hurry, don’t wait.” So the boy quickly gathered up the arrows and ran back to his master. ³⁹ He, of course, suspected nothing; only Jonathan and David understood the signal. ⁴⁰ Then Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy and told him to take them back to town.
 ⁴¹ As soon as the boy was gone, David came out from where he had been hiding near the stone pile.^[e] Then David bowed three times to Jonathan with his face to the ground. Both of them were in tears as they embraced each other and said good-bye, especially David.
 ⁴² At last Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn loyalty to each other in the Lord’s name. The Lord is the witness of a bond between us and our children forever.” Then David left, and Jonathan returned to the town.^[f]

1 Samuel 21

David Runs from Saul

 ^{1 [g]}David went to the town of Nob to see Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he saw him. “Why are you alone?” he asked. “Why is no one with you?” ² “The king has sent me on a private matter,” David said. “He told me not to tell anyone why I am here. I have told my men where to meet me later. ³ Now, what is there to eat? Give me five loaves of bread or anything else you have.”
 ⁴ “We don’t have any regular bread,” the priest replied. “But there is the holy bread, which you can have if your young men have not slept with any women recently.”
 ⁵ “Don’t worry,” David replied. “I never allow my men to be with women when they are on a campaign. And since they stay clean even on ordinary trips, how much more on this one!”
 ⁶ Since there was no other food available, the priest gave him the holy bread—the Bread of the Presence that was placed before the Lord in the Tabernacle. It had just been replaced that day with fresh bread.
 ⁷ Now Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s chief herdsman, was there that day, having been detained before the Lord.^[h]
 8 David asked Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or sword? The king’s business was so urgent that I didn’t even have time to grab a weapon!”
 ⁹ “I only have the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah,” the priest replied. “It is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. Take that if you want it, for there is nothing else here.”
   “There is nothing like it!” David replied. “Give it to me!”
 ¹⁰ So David escaped from Saul and went to King Achish of Gath. ¹¹ But the officers of Achish were unhappy about his being there. “Isn’t this David, the king of the land?” they asked. “Isn’t he the one the people honor with dances, singing,
   ‘Saul has killed his thousands,
      and David his ten thousands’?”
 ¹² David heard these comments and was very afraid of what King Achish of Gath might do to him. ¹³ So he pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down his beard.
 ¹⁴ Finally, King Achish said to his men, “Must you bring me a madman? ¹⁵ We already have enough of them around here! Why should I let someone like this be my guest?”

Footnotes:

1. 1 Samuel 20:16 Hebrew with the house of David.
2. 1 Samuel 20:19 Hebrew the stone Ezel. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
3. 1 Samuel 20:25 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads with Jonathan standing.
4. 1 Samuel 20:30 Hebrew You son of a perverse and rebellious woman.
5. 1 Samuel 20:41 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads near the south edge.
6. 1 Samuel 20:42 This sentence is numbered 21:1 in Hebrew text.
7. 1 Samuel 21:1 Verses 21:1-15 are numbered 21:2-16 in Hebrew text.
8. 1 Samuel 21:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.

John 9:1-41

New Living Translation (NLT)

John 9

Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

 ¹ As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. ² “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” ³ “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. ⁴ We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us.^[a] The night is coming, and then no one can work. ⁵ But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”
 ⁶ Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. ⁷ He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!
 ⁸ His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹ Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!”
   But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!”
 ¹⁰ They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?”
 ¹¹ He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!”
 ¹² “Where is he now?” they asked.
   “I don’t know,” he replied.
 ¹³ Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, ¹⁴ because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. ¹⁵ The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!”
 ¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.
 ¹⁷ Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?”
   The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.”
 ¹⁸ The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. ¹⁹ They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?”
 ²⁰ His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, ²¹ but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” ²² His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. ²³ That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
 ²⁴ So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this,^[b] because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.”
 ²⁵ “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”
 ²⁶ “But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?”
 ²⁷ “Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
 ²⁸ Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! ²⁹ We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.”
 ³⁰ “Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? ³¹ We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. ³² Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.”
 ³⁴ “You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.

Spiritual Blindness

 ³⁵ When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?^[c]” ³⁶ The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”
 ³⁷ “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”
 ³⁸ “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.
 ³⁹ Then Jesus told him,^[d] “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see^[e] that they are blind.”
 ⁴⁰ Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?”
 ⁴¹ “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.

Footnotes:

1. John 9:4 Other manuscripts read I must quickly carry out the tasks assigned me by the one who sent me; still others read We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me.
2. John 9:24 Or Give glory to God, not to Jesus; Greek reads Give glory to God.
3. John 9:35 Some manuscripts read the Son of God? “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
4. John 9:39 Some manuscripts do not include “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus. Then Jesus told him.
5. John 9:39 Greek those who see.

Psalm 113-114:8

New Living Translation (NLT)

Psalm 113

 ¹ Praise the Lord!
   Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord.
      Praise the name of the Lord!
 ² Blessed be the name of the Lord
      now and forever.
 ³ Everywhere—from east to west—
      praise the name of the Lord.
 ⁴ For the Lord is high above the nations;
      his glory is higher than the heavens.
 ⁵ Who can be compared with the Lord our God,
      who is enthroned on high?
 ⁶ He stoops to look down
      on heaven and on earth.
 ⁷ He lifts the poor from the dust
      and the needy from the garbage dump.
 ⁸ He sets them among princes,
      even the princes of his own people!
 ⁹ He gives the childless woman a family,
      making her a happy mother.
   Praise the Lord!

Psalm 114

 ¹ When the Israelites escaped from Egypt—
      when the family of Jacob left that foreign land—
 ² the land of Judah became God’s sanctuary,
      and Israel became his kingdom.
 ³ The Red Sea^[a] saw them coming and hurried out of their way!
      The water of the Jordan River turned away.
 ⁴ The mountains skipped like rams,
      the hills like lambs!
 ⁵ What’s wrong, Red Sea, that made you hurry out of their way?
      What happened, Jordan River, that you turned away?
 ⁶ Why, mountains, did you skip like rams?
      Why, hills, like lambs?
 ⁷ Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
      at the presence of the God of Jacob.
 ⁸ He turned the rock into a pool of water;
      yes, a spring of water flowed from solid rock.

Footnotes:

Proverbs 15:15-17

New Living Translation (NLT)

 ¹⁵ For the despondent, every day brings trouble;
      for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.
 ¹⁶ Better to have little, with fear for the Lord,
      than to have great treasure and inner turmoil.
 ¹⁷ A bowl of vegetables with someone you love
      is better than steak with someone you hate.

Thursday, December 15, 2011 - Sau Becomes Jealous of David

4:50 a.m. Prayer/Devotion
5:50 a.m. - 6:50 a.m. Pure Cardio/Weights "Lower Body"

May 16 - One Year Bible
1 Samuel 18:5-19:24; John 8:31-59; Psalm 112:1-10; Proverbs 15:12-14

1 Samuel 18:5-19:24

New Living Translation (NLT)

 ⁵ Whatever Saul asked David to do, David did it successfully. So Saul made him a commander over the men of war, an appointment that was welcomed by the people and Saul’s officers alike.
 ⁶ When the victorious Israelite army was returning home after David had killed the Philistine, women from all the towns of Israel came out to meet King Saul. They sang and danced for joy with tambourines and cymbals.^{[a] 7} This was their song:
   “Saul has killed his thousands,
      and David his ten thousands!”
 ⁸ This made Saul very angry. “What’s this?” he said. “They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!” ⁹ So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
 ¹⁰ The very next day a tormenting spirit^[b] from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave in his house like a madman. David was playing the harp, as he did each day. But Saul had a spear in his hand, ¹¹ and he suddenly hurled it at David, intending to pin him to the wall. But David escaped him twice.
 ¹² Saul was then afraid of David, for the Lord was with David and had turned away from Saul. ¹³ Finally, Saul sent him away and appointed him commander over 1,000 men, and David faithfully led his troops into battle.
 ¹⁴ David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the Lord was with him. ¹⁵ When Saul recognized this, he became even more afraid of him. ¹⁶ But all Israel and Judah loved David because he was so successful at leading his troops into battle.

David Marries Saul’s Daughter

 ¹⁷ One day Saul said to David, “I am ready to give you my older daughter, Merab, as your wife. But first you must prove yourself to be a real warrior by fighting the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “I’ll send him out against the Philistines and let them kill him rather than doing it myself.” ¹⁸ “Who am I, and what is my family in Israel that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” David exclaimed. “My father’s family is nothing!” ¹⁹ So^[c] when the time came for Saul to give his daughter Merab in marriage to David, he gave her instead to Adriel, a man from Meholah.
 ²⁰ In the meantime, Saul’s daughter Michal had fallen in love with David, and Saul was delighted when he heard about it. ²¹ “Here’s another chance to see him killed by the Philistines!” Saul said to himself. But to David he said, “Today you have a second chance to become my son-in-law!”
 ²² Then Saul told his men to say to David, “The king really likes you, and so do we. Why don’t you accept the king’s offer and become his son-in-law?”
 ²³ When Saul’s men said these things to David, he replied, “How can a poor man from a humble family afford the bride price for the daughter of a king?”
 ²⁴ When Saul’s men reported this back to the king, ²⁵ he told them, “Tell David that all I want for the bride price is 100 Philistine foreskins! Vengeance on my enemies is all I really want.” But what Saul had in mind was that David would be killed in the fight.
 ²⁶ David was delighted to accept the offer. Before the time limit expired, ²⁷ he and his men went out and killed 200 Philistines. Then David fulfilled the king’s requirement by presenting all their foreskins to him. So Saul gave his daughter Michal to David to be his wife.
 ²⁸ When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and how much his daughter Michal loved him, ²⁹ Saul became even more afraid of him, and he remained David’s enemy for the rest of his life.
 ³⁰ Every time the commanders of the Philistines attacked, David was more successful against them than all the rest of Saul’s officers. So David’s name became very famous.

1 Samuel 19

Saul Tries to Kill David

 ¹ Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. But Jonathan, because of his strong affection for David, ² told him what his father was planning. “Tomorrow morning,” he warned him, “you must find a hiding place out in the fields. ³ I’ll ask my father to go out there with me, and I’ll talk to him about you. Then I’ll tell you everything I can find out.” ⁴ The next morning Jonathan spoke with his father about David, saying many good things about him. “The king must not sin against his servant David,” Jonathan said. “He’s never done anything to harm you. He has always helped you in any way he could. ⁵ Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the Lord brought a great victory to all Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you murder an innocent man like David? There is no reason for it at all!”
 ⁶ So Saul listened to Jonathan and vowed, “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be killed.”
 ⁷ Afterward Jonathan called David and told him what had happened. Then he brought David to Saul, and David served in the court as before.
 ⁸ War broke out again after that, and David led his troops against the Philistines. He attacked them with such fury that they all ran away.
 ⁹ But one day when Saul was sitting at home, with spear in hand, the tormenting spirit^[d] from the Lord suddenly came upon him again. As David played his harp, ¹⁰ Saul hurled his spear at David. But David dodged out of the way, and leaving the spear stuck in the wall, he fled and escaped into the night.

Michal Saves David’s Life

 ¹¹ Then Saul sent troops to watch David’s house. They were told to kill David when he came out the next morning. But Michal, David’s wife, warned him, “If you don’t escape tonight, you will be dead by morning.” ¹² So she helped him climb out through a window, and he fled and escaped. ¹³ Then she took an idol^[e] and put it in his bed, covered it with blankets, and put a cushion of goat’s hair at its head. ¹⁴ When the troops came to arrest David, she told them he was sick and couldn’t get out of bed.
 ¹⁵ But Saul sent the troops back to get David. He ordered, “Bring him to me in his bed so I can kill him!” ¹⁶ But when they came to carry David out, they discovered that it was only an idol in the bed with a cushion of goat’s hair at its head.
 ¹⁷ “Why have you betrayed me like this and let my enemy escape?” Saul demanded of Michal.
   “I had to,” Michal replied. “He threatened to kill me if I didn’t help him.”
 ¹⁸ So David escaped and went to Ramah to see Samuel, and he told him all that Saul had done to him. Then Samuel took David with him to live at Naioth. ¹⁹ When the report reached Saul that David was at Naioth in Ramah, ²⁰ he sent troops to capture him. But when they arrived and saw Samuel leading a group of prophets who were prophesying, the Spirit of God came upon Saul’s men, and they also began to prophesy. ²¹ When Saul heard what had happened, he sent other troops, but they, too, prophesied! The same thing happened a third time. ²² Finally, Saul himself went to Ramah and arrived at the great well in Secu. “Where are Samuel and David?” he demanded.
   “They are at Naioth in Ramah,” someone told him.
 ²³ But on the way to Naioth in Ramah the Spirit of God came even upon Saul, and he, too, began to prophesy all the way to Naioth! ²⁴ He tore off his clothes and lay naked on the ground all day and all night, prophesying in the presence of Samuel. The people who were watching exclaimed, “What? Is even Saul a prophet?”

Footnotes:

John 8:31-59

New Living Translation (NLT)

Jesus and Abraham

 ³¹ Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. ³² And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ³³ “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”
 ³⁴ Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. ³⁵ A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. ³⁷ Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message. ³⁸ I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. But you are following the advice of your father.”
 ³⁹ “Our father is Abraham!” they declared.
   “No,” Jesus replied, “for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example.^{[a] 40} Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. ⁴¹ No, you are imitating your real father.”
   They replied, “We aren’t illegitimate children! God himself is our true Father.”
 ⁴² Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. ⁴³ Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! ⁴⁴ For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! ⁴⁶ Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? ⁴⁷ Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.”
 ⁴⁸ The people retorted, “You Samaritan devil! Didn’t we say all along that you were possessed by a demon?”
 ⁴⁹ “No,” Jesus said, “I have no demon in me. For I honor my Father—and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰ And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify me. He is the true judge. ⁵¹ I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!”
 ⁵² The people said, “Now we know you are possessed by a demon. Even Abraham and the prophets died, but you say, ‘Anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!’ ⁵³ Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
 ⁵⁴ Jesus answered, “If I want glory for myself, it doesn’t count. But it is my Father who will glorify me. You say, ‘He is our God,^[b]’ ⁵⁵ but you don’t even know him. I know him. If I said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as you! But I do know him and obey him. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.”
 ⁵⁷ The people said, “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?^[c]”
 ⁵⁸ Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I Am!^[d]” ⁵⁹ At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple.

Footnotes:

1. John 8:39 Some manuscripts read if you are really the children of Abraham, follow his example.
2. John 8:54 Some manuscripts read your God.
3. John 8:57 Some manuscripts read How can you say Abraham has seen you?
4. John 8:58 Or before Abraham was even born, I have always been alive; Greek reads before Abraham was, I am. See Exod 3:14.

Psalm 112:1-10

New Living Translation (NLT)

Psalm 112

 ¹ Praise the Lord!   How joyful are those who fear the Lord
      and delight in obeying his commands.
 ² Their children will be successful everywhere;
      an entire generation of godly people will be blessed.
 ³ They themselves will be wealthy,
      and their good deeds will last forever.
 ⁴ Light shines in the darkness for the godly.
      They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.
 ⁵ Good comes to those who lend money generously
      and conduct their business fairly.
 ⁶ Such people will not be overcome by evil.
      Those who are righteous will be long remembered.
 ⁷ They do not fear bad news;
      they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.
 ⁸ They are confident and fearless
      and can face their foes triumphantly.
 ⁹ They share freely and give generously to those in need.
      Their good deeds will be remembered forever.
      They will have influence and honor.
 ¹⁰ The wicked will see this and be infuriated.
      They will grind their teeth in anger;
      they will slink away, their hopes thwarted.

Proverbs 15:12-14

New Living Translation (NLT)

 ¹² Mockers hate to be corrected,
      so they stay away from the wise.
 ¹³ A glad heart makes a happy face;
      a broken heart crushes the spirit.
 ¹⁴ A wise person is hungry for knowledge,
      while the fool feeds on trash.