Daily Bible CEV March 01 Scroll

Jesus Heals Many People
(Mark 1.29-34; Luke 4.38-41)

Matthew 8 ¹⁴Jesus went to the home of Peter, where he found that Peter's mother-in-law was sick in bed with fever. ¹⁵He took her by the hand, and the fever left her. Then she got up and served Jesus a meal.

¹⁶That evening many people with demons in them were brought to Jesus. And with only a word he forced out the evil spirits and healed everyone who was sick. ¹⁷So God's promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said,

"He healed our diseases

and made us well."

Some Who Wanted To Go with Jesus
(Luke 9.57-62)

¹⁸When Jesus saw the crowd, he went across Lake Galilee. ¹⁹A teacher of the Law of Moses came up to him and said, "Teacher, I'll go anywhere with you!"

²⁰Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens, and birds have nests. But the Son of Man doesn't have a place to call his own."

²¹Another disciple said to Jesus, "Lord, let me wait till I bury my father."

²²Jesus answered, "Come with me, and let the dead bury their dead."

A Storm
(Mark 4.35-41; Luke 8.22-25)

²³After Jesus left in a boat with his disciples, ²⁴a terrible storm suddenly struck the lake, and waves started splashing into their boat.

Jesus was sound asleep, ²⁵so the disciples went over to him and woke him up. They said, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"

²⁶But Jesus replied, "Why are you so afraid? You surely don't have much faith." Then he got up and ordered the wind and the waves to calm down. And everything was calm.

²⁷The men in the boat were amazed and said, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him."

Two Men with Demons in Them
(Mark 5.1-20; Luke 8.26-39)

²⁸After Jesus had crossed the lake, he came to shore near the town of Gadara and started down the road. Two men with demons in them came to him from the tombs. They were so fierce that no one could travel that way. ²⁹Suddenly they shouted, "Jesus, Son of God, what do you want with us? Have you come to punish us before our time?"

³⁰Not far from there a large herd of pigs was feeding. ³¹So the demons begged Jesus, "If you force us out, please send us into those pigs!" ³²Jesus told them to go, and they went out of the men and into the pigs. All at once the pigs rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

³³The people taking care of the pigs ran to the town and told everything, especially what had happened to the two men. ³⁴Everyone in town came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their part of the country.

Leviticus 1 ^1-3The LORD spoke to Moses from the sacred tent and gave him instructions for the community of Israel to follow when they offered sacrifices.

Sacrifices To Please the LORD

The LORD said:

Sacrifices to please me must be completely burned on the bronze altar.

Bulls or rams or goats are the animals to be used for these sacrifices. If the animal is a bull, it must not have anything wrong with it. Lead it to the entrance of the sacred tent, and I will let you know if it is acceptable to me. ⁴Lay your hand on its head, and I will accept the animal as a sacrifice for taking away your sins.

⁵After the bull is killed in my presence, some priests from Aaron's family will offer its blood to me by splattering it against the four sides of the altar.

⁶Skin the bull and cut it up, ⁷while the priests pile wood on the altar fire to make it start blazing. ^8-9Wash the bull's insides and hind legs, so the priests can lay them on the altar with the head, the fat, and the rest of the animal. A priest will then send all of it up in smoke with a smell that pleases me.

¹⁰If you sacrifice a ram or a goat, it must not have anything wrong with it. ¹¹Lead the animal to the north side of the altar, where it is to be killed in my presence. Then some of the priests will splatter its blood against the four sides of the altar.

^12-13Cut up the animal and wash its insides and hind legs. A priest will put these parts on the altar with the head, the fat, and the rest of the animal. Then he will send all of it up in smoke with a smell that pleases me.

¹⁴If you offer a bird for this kind of sacrifice, it must be a dove or a pigeon. ¹⁵A priest will take the bird to the bronze altar, where he will wring its neck and put its head on the fire. Then he will drain out its blood on one side of the altar, ¹⁶remove the bird's craw with what is in it, and throw them on the ash heap at the east side of the altar. ¹⁷Finally, he will take the bird by its wings, tear it partially open, and send it up in smoke with a smell that pleases me.

Sacrifices To Give Thanks to the LORD

The LORD said:
Leviticus 2 When you offer sacrifices to give thanks to me, you must use only your finest flour. Put it in a dish, sprinkle olive oil and incense on the flour, ²and take it to the priests from Aaron's family. One of them will scoop up the incense together with a handful of the flour and oil. Then, to show that the whole offering belongs to me, the priest will lay this part on the bronze altar and send it up in smoke with a smell that pleases me. ³The rest of this sacrifice is for the priests; it is very holy because it was offered to me.

⁴If you bake bread in an oven for this sacrifice, use only your finest flour, but without any yeast. You may make the flour into a loaf mixed with olive oil, or you may make it into thin wafers and brush them with oil.

⁵If you cook bread in a shallow pan for this sacrifice, use only your finest flour. Mix it with olive oil, but do not use any yeast. ⁶Then break the bread into small pieces and sprinkle them with oil. ⁷If you cook your bread in a pan with a lid on it, you must also use the finest flour mixed with oil.

⁸You may prepare sacrifices to give thanks in any of these three ways. Bring your sacrifice to a priest, and he will take it to the bronze altar. ⁹Then, to show that the whole offering belongs to me, the priest will lay part of it on the altar and send it up in smoke with a smell that pleases me. ¹⁰The rest of this sacrifice is for the priests; it is very holy because it was offered to me.

¹¹Yeast and honey must never be burned on the altar, so don't ever mix either of these in a grain sacrifice. ¹²You may offer either of them separately, when you present the first part of your harvest to me, but they must never be burned on the altar.

¹³Salt is offered when you make an agreement with me, so sprinkle salt on these sacrifices.

¹⁴Freshly cut grain, either roasted or coarsely ground, must be used when you offer the first part of your grain harvest. ¹⁵You must mix in some olive oil and put incense on top, because this is a grain sacrifice. ¹⁶A priest will sprinkle all of the incense and some of the grain and oil on the altar and send them up in smoke to show that the whole offering belongs to me.

It's Wise To Be Patient

Proverbs 19 It's better to be poor and live right

than to be a stupid liar.

²Willingness and stupidity don't go well together.

If you are too eager, you will miss the road.

³We are ruined by our own stupidity,

though we blame the LORD.

⁴The rich have many friends; the poor have none.

⁵

Dishonest witnesses and liars won't escape punishment.

⁶Everyone tries to be friends of those who can help them.

⁷If you are poor, your own relatives reject you,

and your friends are worse.

When you really need them, they are not there.

⁸Do yourself a favor by having good sense--

you will be glad you did.

⁹Dishonest witnesses and liars will be destroyed.

¹⁰It isn't right for a fool to live in luxury

or for a slave to rule in place of a king.

¹¹It's wise to be patient

and show what you are like by forgiving others.

¹²An angry king roars like a lion,

but when a king is pleased, it's like dew on the crops.

¹³A foolish son brings disgrace to his father.

A nagging wife goes on and on

like the drip, drip, drip of the rain.

¹⁴You may inherit all you own from your parents,

but a sensible wife is a gift from the LORD.

¹⁵If you are lazy and sleep your time away,

you will starve.

¹⁶Obey the Lord's teachings and you will live--

disobey and you will die.

¹⁷Caring for the poor is lending to the LORD,

and you will be well repaid.

¹⁸Correct your children before it's too late;

if you don't punish them, you are destroying them.

¹⁹People with bad tempers are always in trouble,

and they need help over and over again.

²⁰Pay attention to advice and accept correction,

so you can live sensibly.

²¹We may make a lot of plans,

but the LORD will do what he has decided.

²²What matters most is loyalty.

It's better to be poor than to be a liar.

²³Showing respect to the LORD brings true life--

if you do it, you can relax without fear of danger.

²⁴Some people are too lazy

to lift a hand to feed themselves.

²⁵Stupid fools learn good sense by seeing others punished;

a sensible person learns by being corrected.

²⁶Children who bring disgrace rob their father

and chase their mother away.

²⁷If you stop learning,

you will forget what you already know.

²⁸A lying witness makes fun of the court system,

and criminals think crime is really delicious.

²⁹Every stupid fool is just waiting to be punished.

These daily Bible readings from the Contemporary English Version (CEV) are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. BibleCard® images copyright iCreative. All rights reserved.