Daily Bible GNT March 05 Scroll

Whom to Fear
(Luke 12.2-7)

Matthew 10 ²⁶"So do not be afraid of people. Whatever is now covered up will be uncovered, and every secret will be made known. ²⁷What I am telling you in the dark you must repeat in broad daylight, and what you have heard in private you must announce from the housetops. ²⁸Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather be afraid of God, who can destroy both body and soul in hell. ²⁹For only a penny you can buy two sparrows, yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father's consent. ³⁰As for you, even the hairs of your head have all been counted. ³¹So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows!

Confessing and Rejecting Christ
(Luke 12.8, 9)

³²"Those who declare publicly that they belong to me, I will do the same for them before my Father in heaven. ³³But those who reject me publicly, I will reject before my Father in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword
(Luke 12.51-53; 14.26, 27)

³⁴"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the world. No, I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵I came to set sons against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law; ³⁶your worst enemies will be the members of your own family.

³⁷"Those who love their father or mother more than me are not fit to be my disciples; those who love their son or daughter more than me are not fit to be my disciples. ³⁸Those who do not take up their cross and follow in my steps are not fit to be my disciples. ³⁹Those who try to gain their own life will lose it; but those who lose their life for my sake will gain it.

Rewards
(Mark 9.41)

⁴⁰"Whoever welcomes you welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹Whoever welcomes God's messenger because he is God's messenger, will share in his reward. And whoever welcomes a good man because he is good, will share in his reward. ⁴²You can be sure that whoever gives even a drink of cold water to one of the least of these my followers because he is my follower, will certainly receive a reward."

Aaron Offers Sacrifices

Leviticus 9 The day after the ordination rites were completed, Moses called Aaron and his sons and the leaders of Israel. ²He said to Aaron, "Take a young bull and a ram without any defects and offer them to the LORD, the bull for a sin offering and the ram for a burnt offering. ³Then tell the people of Israel to take a male goat for a sin offering, a one-year-old calf, and a one-year-old lamb without any defects for a burnt offering, ⁴and a bull and a ram for a fellowship offering. They are to sacrifice them to the LORD with the grain offering mixed with oil. They must do this because the LORD will appear to them today."

⁵They brought to the front of the Tent everything that Moses had commanded, and the whole community assembled there to worship the LORD. ⁶Moses said, "The LORD has commanded you to do all this, so that the dazzling light of his presence can appear to you." ⁷Then he said to Aaron, "Go to the altar and offer the sin offering and the burnt offering to take away your sins and the sins of the people. Present this offering to take away the sins of the people, just as the LORD commanded."

⁸Aaron went to the altar and killed the young bull which was for his own sin offering. ⁹His sons brought him the blood, and he dipped his finger in it, put some of it on the projections at the corners of the altar, and poured out the rest of it at the base of the altar. ¹⁰Then he burned on the altar the fat, the kidneys, and the best part of the liver, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. ¹¹But he burned the meat and the skin outside the camp.

¹²He killed the animal which was for his own burnt offering. His sons brought him the blood, and he threw it on all four sides of the altar. ¹³They handed him the head and the other pieces of the animal, and he burned them on the altar. ¹⁴Then he washed the internal organs and the hind legs and burned them on the altar on top of the rest of the burnt offering.

¹⁵After that, he presented the people's offerings. He took the goat that was to be offered for the people's sins, killed it, and offered it, as he had done with his own sin offering. ¹⁶He also brought the animal for the burnt offering and offered it according to the regulations. ¹⁷He presented the grain offering and took a handful of flour and burned it on the altar. (This was in addition to the daily burnt offering.) ¹⁸He killed the bull and the ram as a fellowship offering for the people. His sons brought him the blood, and he threw it on all four sides of the altar. ¹⁹Aaron put the fat parts of the bull and the ram ²⁰on top of the breasts of the animals and carried it all to the altar. He burned the fat on the altar ²¹and presented the breasts and the right hind legs as the special gift to the LORD for the priests, as Moses had commanded.

²²When Aaron had finished all the sacrifices, he raised his hands over the people and blessed them, and then stepped down. ²³Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of the LORD's presence, and when they came out, they blessed the people, and the dazzling light of the LORD's presence appeared to all the people. ²⁴Suddenly the LORD sent a fire, and it consumed the burnt offering and the fat parts on the altar. When the people saw it, they all shouted and bowed down with their faces to the ground.

The Sin of Nadab and Abihu

Leviticus 10 Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan, put live coals in it, added incense, and presented it to the LORD. But this fire was not holy, because the LORD had not commanded them to present it. ²Suddenly the LORD sent fire, and it burned them to death there in the presence of the LORD. ³Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD was speaking about when he said, 'All who serve me must respect my holiness; I will reveal my glory to my people.'" But Aaron remained silent.

⁴Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel, Aaron's uncle, and said to them, "Come here and carry your cousins' bodies away from the sacred Tent and put them outside the camp." ⁵So they came and took hold of the clothing on the corpses and carried them outside the camp, just as Moses had commanded.

⁶Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, "Do not leave your hair uncombed or tear your clothes to show that you are in mourning. If you do, you will die, and the LORD will be angry with the whole community. But all other Israelites are allowed to mourn this death caused by the fire which the LORD sent. ⁷Do not leave the entrance of the Tent or you will die, because you have been consecrated by the anointing oil of the LORD." So they did as Moses said.

Rules for Priests

⁸The LORD said to Aaron, ⁹"You and your sons are not to enter the Tent of my presence after drinking wine or beer; if you do, you will die. This is a law to be kept by all your descendants. ¹⁰You must distinguish between what belongs to God and what is for general use, between what is ritually clean and what is unclean. ¹¹You must teach the people of Israel all the laws which I have given to you through Moses."

¹²Moses said to Aaron and his two remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, "Take the grain offering that is left over from the food offered to the LORD, make unleavened bread with it and eat it beside the altar, because this offering is very holy. ¹³Eat it in a holy place; it is the part that belongs to you and your sons from the food offered to the LORD. That is what the LORD commanded me. ¹⁴But you and your families may eat the breast and the hind leg that are presented as the special gift and the special contribution to the LORD for the priests. You may eat them in any ritually clean place. These offerings have been given to you and your children as the part that belongs to you from the fellowship offerings of the people of Israel. ¹⁵They shall bring the hind leg and the breast at the time the fat is presented as a food offering to the LORD. These parts belong to you and your children forever, just as the LORD commanded."

¹⁶Moses asked about the goat for the sin offering and learned that it had already been burned. This made him angry at Eleazar and Ithamar, and he demanded, ¹⁷"Why didn't you eat the sin offering in a sacred place? It is very holy, and the LORD has given it to you in order to take away the sin of the community. ¹⁸Since its blood was not brought into the sacred Tent, you should have eaten the sacrifice there, as I commanded."

¹⁹Aaron answered, "If I had eaten the sin offering today, would the LORD have approved? The people presented their sin offering to the LORD today, and they brought their burnt offering, but still these terrible things have happened to me." ²⁰When Moses heard this, he was satisfied.

-6-

Proverbs 23 When you sit down to eat with someone important, keep in mind who he is. ²If you have a big appetite, restrain yourself. ³Don't be greedy for the fine food he serves; he may be trying to trick you.

-7-

⁴Be wise enough not to wear yourself out trying to get rich. ⁵Your money can be gone in a flash, as if it had grown wings and flown away like an eagle.

-8-

⁶Don't eat at the table of a stingy person or be greedy for the fine food he serves. ⁷"Come on and have some more," he says, but he doesn't mean it. What he thinks is what he really is. ⁸You will vomit up what you have eaten, and all your flattery will be wasted.

-9-

⁹Don't try to talk sense to a fool; he can't appreciate it.

-10-

¹⁰Never move an old property line or take over land owned by orphans. ¹¹The LORD is their powerful defender, and he will argue their case against you.

-11-

¹²Pay attention to your teacher and learn all you can.

-12-

¹³Don't hesitate to discipline children. A good spanking won't kill them. ¹⁴As a matter of fact, it may save their lives.

-13-

¹⁵My child, if you become wise, I will be very happy. ¹⁶I will be proud when I hear you speaking words of wisdom.

-14-

¹⁷Don't be envious of sinful people; let reverence for the LORD be the concern of your life. ¹⁸If it is, you have a bright future.

-15-

¹⁹Listen, my child, be wise and give serious thought to the way you live. ²⁰Don't associate with people who drink too much wine or stuff themselves with food. ²¹Drunkards and gluttons will be reduced to poverty. If all you do is eat and sleep, you will soon be wearing rags.

-16-

²²Listen to your father; without him you would not exist. When your mother is old, show her your appreciation.

²³Truth, wisdom, learning, and good sense--these are worth paying for, but too valuable for you to sell.

²⁴A righteous person's parents have good reason to be happy. You can take pride in a wise child.

²⁵Let your father and mother be proud of you; give your mother that happiness.

-17-

²⁶Pay close attention, son, and let my life be your example. ²⁷Prostitutes and immoral women are a deadly trap. ²⁸They wait for you like robbers and cause many men to be unfaithful.

-18-

^29-30Show me people who drink too much, who have to try out fancy drinks, and I will show you people who are miserable and sorry for themselves, always causing trouble and always complaining. Their eyes are bloodshot, and they have bruises that could have been avoided. ³¹Don't let wine tempt you, even though it is rich red, and it sparkles in the cup, and it goes down smoothly. ³²The next morning you will feel as if you had been bitten by a poisonous snake. ³³Weird sights will appear before your eyes, and you will not be able to think or speak clearly. ³⁴You will feel as if you were out on the ocean, seasick, swinging high up in the rigging of a tossing ship. ³⁵"I must have been hit," you will say; "I must have been beaten up, but I don't remember it. Why can't I wake up? I need another drink."

This reading is from The Holy Bible, Today's English Version, Second Edition copyright © American Bible Society, 1992;
Old Testament copyright © American Bible Society, 1976, 1992; New Testament © American Bible Society, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992.

These daily Bible readings from the Good News Translation (GNT), formerly the Today's English Version (TEV), are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. All BibleCard® images are copyrighted by iCreative. All rights reserved.