Daily Readings

[7] Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. [8] Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. [9] Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. [10] Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. [11] Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. [12] There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another? [13] Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; [14] whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. [15] Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” [16] But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. [17] Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

[29] The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! [30] This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ [31] I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” [32] And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. [33] I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ [34] And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

[1] And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. [2] Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: [3] “Blessedare the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [4] Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. [5] Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. [6] Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. [7] Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. [8] Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. [9] Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. [10] Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [11] “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. [12] Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. [13] “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. [14] “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. [15] Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. [16] Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

[30] “And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. [31] When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him, [32] saying, ‘I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and dared not look. [33] ‘Then the Lord said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. [34] I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.” ’ [35] “This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush. [36] He brought them out, after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years. [37] “This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.’ [38] “This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us, [39] whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, [40] saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ [41] And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. [42] Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets: ‘Did you offer Me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? [43] You also took up the tabernacle of Moloch, And the star of your god Remphan, Images which you made to worship; And I will carry you away beyond Babylon.’ [44] “Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen, [45] which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David, [46] who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. [47] But Solomon built Him a house. [48] “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: [49] ‘Heavenis My throne, And earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the Lord, Or what is the place of My rest? [50] Has My hand not made all these things?’ [51] “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. [52] Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, [53] who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.” [54] When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. [55] But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, [56] and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” [57] Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; [58] and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. [59] And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” [60] Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. [1] Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. [2] And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

[42] Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; [43] but He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.” [44] And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee. [1] So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, [2] and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. [3] Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. [4] When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” [5] But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” [6] And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. [7] So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. [8] When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” [9] For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; [10] and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” [11] So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

[21] Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. [22] And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. [23] Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, [24] saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” [25] But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” [26] And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. [27] Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” [28] And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee. [29] Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. [30] But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. [31] So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them. [32] At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. [33] And the whole city was gathered together at the door. [34] Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.