Living Word Community Church - Daily Bible Reading Week 2

You may notice that some of the scripture passages repeat throughout the week. This is purposeful and will help you engage with this week's theme with the repetition of the Psalms passages.

Daily Bible Questions:

What "jumped out" to me about this passage?

What do I learn about God from this passage?

What might God be leading me to do after reading this passage?

Psalm 77

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm.

¹I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me.
²When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted.
³I remembered you, God, and I groaned; I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.
⁴You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak.

⁵I thought about the former days, the years of long ago;
⁶I remembered my songs in the night. My heart meditated and my spirit asked:
⁷"Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again?
⁸Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time?

⁹Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?"

¹⁰Then I thought, "To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.
¹¹I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

¹²I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds."
¹³Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God?
¹⁴You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.

¹⁵With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

¹⁶The waters saw you, God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed.
¹⁷The clouds poured down water, the heavens resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth.
¹⁸Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked.

¹⁹Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.
²⁰You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Job 4:1-21

¹ Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

² "If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient? But who can keep from speaking?

³ Think how you have instructed many, how you have strengthened feeble hands.

⁴ Your words have supported those who stumbled; you have strengthened faltering knees.

⁵ But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged; it strikes you, and you are dismayed.

⁶ Should not your piety be your confidence and your blameless ways your hope?

⁷ "Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed?

⁸ As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it.

⁹ At the breath of God they perish; at the blast of his anger they are no more.

¹⁰ The lions may roar and growl, yet the teeth of the great lions are broken.

¹¹ The lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

¹² "A word was secretly brought to me, my ears caught a whisper of it.

¹³ Amid disquieting dreams in the night, when deep sleep falls on people,

¹⁴ fear and trembling seized me and made all my bones shake.

¹⁵ A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end.

¹⁶ It stopped, but I could not tell what it was. A form stood before my eyes, and I heard a hushed voice:

¹⁷ 'Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?'

¹⁸ If God places no trust in his servants, if he charges his angels with error,

¹⁹ how much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed more readily than a moth!

²⁰ Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces; unnoticed, they perish forever.

²¹ Are not the cords of their tent pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?"

Ephesians 2:1-10

Made Alive In Christ

¹ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,

² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.

⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,

⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.

⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-

⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.

¹⁰ For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Psalm 77

¹⁹Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.
²⁰You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Job 5:8-27

⁸ "But if I were you, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him.

⁹ He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.

¹⁰ He provides rain for the earth; he sends water on the countryside.

¹¹ The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.

¹² He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success.

¹³ He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away.

¹⁴ Darkness comes upon them in the daytime; at noon they grope as in the night.

¹⁵ He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth; he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.

¹⁶ So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.

¹⁷ "Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

¹⁸ For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal.

¹⁹ From six calamities he will rescue you; in seven no harm will touch you.

²⁰ In famine he will deliver you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.

²¹ You will be protected from the lash of the tongue, and need not fear when destruction comes.

²² You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the wild animals.

²³ For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.

²⁴ You will know that your tent is secure; you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.

²⁵ You will know that your children will be many, and your descendants like the grass of the earth.

²⁶ You will come to the grave in full vigor, like sheaves gathered in season.

²⁷ "We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it and apply it to yourself."

1 Peter 3:8-18

Suffering for Doing Good

⁸ Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.

⁹ Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

¹⁰ For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.

¹¹ They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it.

¹² For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

¹³ Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?

¹⁴ But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened."

¹⁵ But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

¹⁶ keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

¹⁷ For it is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

¹⁸ For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

Psalm 77

¹⁹Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.
²⁰You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Proverbs 30:1-9

Sayings of Agur

¹ The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh-an inspired utterance. This man's utterance to Ithiel:

² "I am weary, God, but I can prevail.

³ Surely I am only a brute, not a man; I do not have human understanding.

⁴ I have not learned wisdom, nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.

⁵ Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Whose hands have gathered up the wind? Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is the name of his son? Surely you know!

⁶ "Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

⁷ Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

⁸ "Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.

⁹ Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."

Matthew 4:1-11

Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness

¹ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

³ The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."

⁴ Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.

⁶ "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:

⁷ 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"

⁸ Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

⁹ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.

¹⁰ "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."

¹¹ Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"

Psalm 22:23-31

²³ You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!

²⁴ For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.

²⁵ From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.

²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him-may your hearts live forever!

²⁷ All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him,

²⁸ for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.

²⁹ All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him-those who cannot keep themselves alive.

³⁰ Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord.

³¹ They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!

Genesis 15:1-6

The Lord's Covenant With Abram

¹ After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

² "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward."

³ But Abram said, "Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?"

⁴ And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."

⁵ Then the word of the Lord came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir."

⁶ He took him outside and said, "Look up at the sky and count the stars-if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

Genesis 15:12-18

¹² As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.

¹³ Then the Lord said to him, "Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.

¹⁴ But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.

¹⁵ You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age.

¹⁶ In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."

¹⁷ When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.

¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates-

Romans 3:21-31

²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.

²² This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood-to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-

²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

²⁷ Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith.

²⁸ For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.

²⁹ Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,

³⁰ since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

³¹ Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.