Daily Bible CEV March 10 Scroll

A Story about a Farmer
(Mark 4.1-9; Luke 8.4-8)

Matthew 13 That same day Jesus left the house and went out beside Lake Galilee, where he sat down to teach. ²Such large crowds gathered around him that he had to sit in a boat, while the people stood on the shore. ³Then he taught them many things by using stories. He said:

A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. ⁴While the farmer was scattering the seed, some of it fell along the road and was eaten by birds. ⁵Other seeds fell on thin, rocky ground and quickly started growing because the soil wasn't very deep. ⁶But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and dried up, because they did not have enough roots. ⁷Some other seeds fell where thornbushes grew up and choked the plants. ⁸But a few seeds did fall on good ground where the plants produced a hundred or sixty or thirty times as much as was scattered. ⁹If you have ears, pay attention!

Why Jesus Used Stories
(Mark 4.10-12; Luke 8.9, 10)

¹⁰Jesus' disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you use nothing but stories when you speak to the people?"

¹¹Jesus answered:

I have explained the secrets about the kingdom of heaven to you, but not to others. ¹²Everyone who has something will be given more. But people who don't have anything will lose even what little they have. ¹³I use stories when I speak to them because when they look, they cannot see, and when they listen, they cannot hear or understand. ¹⁴So God's promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said,

"These people will listen and listen,

but never understand.

They will look and look, but never see.

¹⁵All of them have stubborn minds!

Their ears are stopped up, and their eyes are covered.

They cannot see or hear or understand.

If they could, they would turn to me,

and I would heal them."

¹⁶But God has blessed you, because your eyes can see and your ears can hear! ¹⁷Many prophets and good people were eager to see what you see and to hear what you hear. But I tell you that they did not see or hear.

Jesus Explains the Story about the Farmer
(Mark 4.13-20; Luke 8.11-15)

¹⁸Now listen to the meaning of the story about the farmer:

¹⁹The seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message about the kingdom, but don't understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches the message from their hearts. ²⁰The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it right away. ²¹But they don't have deep roots, and they don't last very long. As soon as life gets hard or the message gets them in trouble, they give up.

²²The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. But they start worrying about the needs of this life and are fooled by the desire to get rich. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything. ²³The seeds that fell on good ground are the people who hear and understand the message. They produce as much as a hundred or sixty or thirty times what was planted.

Where To Offer Sacrifices

Leviticus 17 The LORD told Moses ²to tell Aaron, his sons, and everyone else in Israel:

^3-4Whenever you kill any of your cattle, sheep, or goats as sacrifices to me, you must do it at the entrance to the sacred tent. If you don't, you will be guilty of pouring out blood, and you will no longer belong to the community of Israel. ⁵And so, when you sacrifice an animal to ask my blessing, it must not be done out in a field, ⁶but in front of the sacred tent. Then a priest can splatter its blood against the bronze altar and send its fat up in smoke with a smell that pleases me. ⁷Don't ever turn from me again and offer sacrifices to goat-demons. This law will never change.

⁸Remember! No one in Israel, including foreigners, is to offer a sacrifice anywhere ⁹except at the entrance to the sacred tent. If you do, you will no longer belong to my people.

Do Not Eat Blood

The LORD said:

¹⁰I will turn against any of my people who eat blood. This also includes any foreigners living among you. ¹¹Life is in the blood, and I have given you the blood of animals to sacrifice in place of your own. ¹²That's also why I have forbidden you to eat blood. ¹³Even if you should hunt and kill a bird or an animal, you must drain out the blood and cover it with soil.

¹⁴The life of every living creature is in its blood. That's why I have forbidden you to eat blood and why I have warned you that anyone who does will no longer belong to my people.

¹⁵If you happen to find a dead animal and eat it, you must take a bath and wash your clothes, but you are still unclean until evening. ¹⁶If you don't take a bath, you will suffer for what you did wrong.

Forbidden Sex

Leviticus 18 The LORD told Moses ²to tell the people of Israel:

I am the LORD your God! ³So don't follow the customs of Egypt where you used to live or those of Canaan where I am bringing you. ⁴I am the LORD your God, and you must obey my teachings. ⁵Obey them and you will live. I am the LORD.

⁶Don't have sex with any of your close relatives, ⁷especially your own mother. This would disgrace your father. ⁸And don't disgrace him by having sex with any of his other wives. ⁹Don't have sex with your sister or stepsister, whether you grew up together or not. ¹⁰Don't disgrace yourself by having sex with your granddaughter ¹¹or half sister ^12-13or a sister of your father or mother. ¹⁴Don't disgrace your uncle by having sex with his wife. ¹⁵Don't have sex with your daughter-in-law ¹⁶or sister-in-law. ¹⁷And don't have sex with the daughter or granddaughter of any woman that you have earlier had sex with. You may be having sex with a relative, and that would make you unclean. ¹⁸As long as your wife is alive, don't cause trouble for her by taking one of her sisters as a second wife.

¹⁹When a woman is having her monthly period, she is unclean, so don't have sex with her.

²⁰Don't have sex with another man's wife--that would make you unclean.

²¹Don't sacrifice your children on the altar fires to the god Molech. I am the LORD your God, and that would disgrace me.

²²It is disgusting for a man to have sex with another man.

²³Anyone who has sex with an animal is unclean.

²⁴Don't make yourselves unclean by any of these disgusting practices of those nations that I am forcing out of the land for you. They made themselves ²⁵and the land so unclean, that I punished the land because of their sins, and I made it vomit them up. ^26-27Now don't do these sickening things that make the land filthy. Instead, obey my laws and teachings. ²⁸Then the land won't become sick of you and vomit you up, just as it did them. ^29-30If any of you do these vulgar, disgusting things, you will be unclean and no longer belong to my people. I am the LORD your God, and I forbid you to follow their sickening way of life.

The Law of God Makes Sense

Proverbs 28 Wicked people run away when no one chases them,

but those who live right are as brave as lions.

²In time of civil war there are many leaders,

but a sensible leader restores law and order.

³When someone poor takes over and mistreats the poor,

it's like a heavy rain destroying the crops.

⁴Lawbreakers praise criminals,

but law-abiding citizens always oppose them.

⁵Criminals don't know what justice means,

but all who respect the LORD understand it completely.

⁶It's better to be poor and live right,

than to be rich and dishonest.

⁷It makes good sense to obey the Law of God,

but you disgrace your parents

if you make friends with worthless nobodies.

⁸If you make money by charging high interest rates,

you will lose it all to someone who cares for the poor.

⁹God cannot stand the prayers

of anyone who disobeys his Law.

¹⁰By leading good people to sin,

you dig a pit for yourself,

but all who live right will have a bright future.

¹¹The rich think highly of themselves,

but anyone poor and sensible sees right through them.

¹²When an honest person wins, it's time to celebrate;

when crooks are in control, it's best to hide.

¹³If you don't confess your sins, you will be a failure.

But God will be merciful

if you confess your sins and give them up.

¹⁴The LORD blesses everyone who is afraid to do evil,

but if you are cruel, you will end up in trouble.

¹⁵A ruler who mistreats the poor is like a roaring lion

or a bear hunting for food.

¹⁶A heartless leader is a fool,

but anyone who refuses to get rich by cheating others

will live a long time.

¹⁷Don't give help to murderers!

Make them stay on the run for as long as they live.

¹⁸Honesty will keep you safe,

but everyone who is crooked will suddenly fall.

¹⁹Work hard, and you will have a lot of food;

waste time, and you will have a lot of trouble.

²⁰God blesses his loyal people,

but punishes all who want to get rich quick.

²¹It isn't right to be unfair,

but some people can be bribed

with only a piece of bread.

²²Don't be selfish and eager to get rich--

you will end up worse off than you can imagine.

²³Honest correction is appreciated more than flattery.

²⁴If you cheat your parents and don't think it's wrong,

you are a common thief.

²⁵Selfish people cause trouble,

but you will live a full life if you trust the LORD.

²⁶Only fools would trust what they alone think,

but if you live by wisdom, you will do all right.

²⁷Giving to the poor will keep you from poverty,

but if you close your eyes to their needs,

everyone will curse you.

²⁸When crooks are in control, everyone tries to hide,

but when they lose power, good people are everywhere.

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.