Tag: Bible Reading

Morning Reading: Luke 6.6-11 NLT – making enemies

Reading: Luke 6.6-11 NLT

president-ronald-reagan-right-handOn another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.

But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward. Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”

He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.

Prayer: Lord Jesus – You made enemies by doing right. I confess, however, that I have made enemies by doing wrong. Please forgive me and show me how I can make right the wrongs I have done. For Your Name’s sake, I ask it. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “Lord Reign in Me” (YouTube)

Morning Reading: Luke 6:1-5 NLT – Lord of the Sabbath

Reading: Luke 6:1-5 NLT

grain fieldOne Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples broke off heads of grain, rubbed off the husks in their hands, and ate the grain.

But some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”

Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests can eat. He also gave some to his companions.”

And Jesus added, “The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus – Your Kingdom spans all of life – our rising and sleeping, eating and drinking, coming and going, working and resting – You are Lord of all. Conform our lives to Your Kingdom purposes… and so enter into Your joy – today. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “God Rules” – Rick Muchow (All About Love)

jesus-lord-universeHe rules today, He rules forever
The kingdom of God means God rules
He rules is our hope, He rules is our reality
The kingdom of God means God rules

Open your heart, Turn from your old ways
Then you will start, Dancing to the rhythm of Grace
Give Him your life, Give Him your whole life now
The kingdom of God means God rules
The kingdom of God means God rules

He rules the world, With truth and grace
The kingdom of God means God rules

He rules in love and righteousness
The kingdom of God means God rules
The kingdom of God means God rules

Morning Reading: Luke 5.33-39 NLT – new and old

Reading: Luke 5.33-39 NLT

"Wedding in Cana"Jan Vermeyen - 1530
“Wedding in Cana”
Jan Vermeyen – 1530

One day some people said to Jesus, “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are your disciples always eating and drinking?”

Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

Then Jesus gave them this illustration: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old garment.

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus – Help us to maintain a healthy balance in our lives between feasting and fasting, new and old, joy and sorrow. You experienced it all – as You walked among us – without compromising Your person or purpose. In our day, give us wisdom to communicate Your unchanging Word to our everchanging world… and to do it winsomely and graciously. For Your Name’s sake I ask it. Amen.

Traditional Irish Music – “Killavil” – Robin Mark (Revival in Belfast II)
Please click on audio link –

Morning Reading: Luke 5.27-32 NLT – calling sinners

Reading: Luke 5.27-32 NLT

“The Calling of St. Matthew”
by Hendrick Terbrugghen, c. 1621

Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.

Later, Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them. But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?”

Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus – Give me Your love and compassion for lost souls. Make me an instrument of Your mercy and grace. Give me Your eyes to see, Your words to speak, and Your kindness to welcome the sick and weary back home… into Your family. Amen.

Hymn: “Softly and Tenderly” – Will L. Thompson (1880)

Please click on audio link – “Softly and Tenderly” by Bart Millard

Welcome Home
Welcome Home

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, Calling for you and for me; See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching, Watching for you and for me.

Come home, come home, You who are weary, come home; Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, Calling, O sinner, come home!

Oh, for the wonderful love He has promised, Promised for you and for me! Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon, Pardon for you and for me.

Come home, come home, You who are weary, come home; Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, Calling, O sinner, come home!

Morning Reading: Luke 5.17-26 NLT – teaching, forgiving, healing, amazing

Reading: Luke 5:17-26 NLT

One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord’s healing power was strongly with Jesus.

image
Bring a friend to Jesus

Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”

But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”

Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”

And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”

Prayer: Lord Jesus – Bring to mind today a friend who needs Your forgiveness and healing. And give me the courage and boldness required to bring him/her to You. Use me today as an instrument of Your mercy and healing grace. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “Kindness” – Chris Tomlin (YouTube)