Learn From The Past (Daniel Kolenda )

    Some people live with terrible regret over the past. Everyone makes mistakes. Some of those mistakes may be the result of disobedience to the known will of God. But most are a result of a lack of prayer, a lack of wisdom, immaturity, impatience, or misunderstanding of the facts. If we could have known in the past what we know today, most of us would have made different decisions in some area of our lives. As the saying goes, “Hindsight is always 20/20.” The reality is that we cannot go back in time and undo things that have been done. But what we can do, and must do, is stop moving in the wrong direction, acknowledge our mistakes, repent, and then move on.

     When the Jewish authorities brought to Jesus a woman caught in the act of adultery, she was clearly guilty of the sin she was being accused of.Under the law adultery demanded death. Justice required that this woman pay the price for her sin. But Jesus had compassion on her. And after her accusers left, Jesus said, “‘Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more’” (John 8:10-11, nas).

     Although we are emotionally moved by this story, let me ask you a practical question. What gave Jesus the right to contradict the demands of the Law of Moses? Justice must be served and lawbreakers must be punished. But you see, Jesus did not simply dismiss this woman’s adultery as though it were unimportant. When He said these words, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more,” He was already on His way to the cross where He would pay for that woman’s adultery with His own sinless blood. Justice would be served, and every debt would be paid.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR DAY 31 (Morning session)

Taking Action (Daniel Kolenda)

A certain well-known evangelist was attending a convention in Indianapolis about mass evangelism. Inspired by the stirring messages he was hearing about winning the lost, he went with his song leader to the street corner during an intermission that evening. The song leader stood on a box and began to sing. When a crowd had gathered, the evangelist began to preach. Soon so many people had assembled that the throng was spilling into the streets. The evangelist thought it best to invite the people to follow him to the nearby convention hall where the evangelism conference was being held. Soon the auditorium was filled with spiritually hungry people, and the evangelist began to preach the gospel to them passionately.

After a while the convention delegates returned from their dinner break to find street people now occupying some of their reserved seats. The delegates began to mutter and complain amongst themselves. The nerve of this evangelist to impose himself this way—who does he think he is? The convention leaders deliberated about what should be done and then sent a representative to the evangelist to tell him their verdict. The evangelist was in mid-sermon when the messenger approached and whispered into his ear. The evangelist stopped preaching and said to the crowd who had come to hear the gospel, “Now we must close, as the brethren of the convention wish to come and discuss the topic ‘How to Reach the Masses’”.

There always seems to be a great divide in life between action and intention, between works and words, between doing something and merely talking about doing it. And it is in this space, between desire and deed, where most people die in a wilderness of inaction.For every go-getter who is ready to take the field, there are a thousand professional conference delegates who are content to go on endlessly discussing the need without ever actually doing anything. But the ones who will go on to see God’s will fulfilled in their lives are people of action, initiative, and urgency.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR DAY 30 (Morning session)

The Way Up is Down (Daniel Kolenda)

In the seventies and eighties CBS broadcast a hit sitcom called The Jeffersons. The show featured an African American family who became wealthy and moved out of a run-down area in Queens to a luxury apartment in Manhattan. As they celebrated their newfound promotion, the Jeffersons used to talk about “movin’ on up,” a phrase that has since become synonymous with the sitcom.

Whenever we speak of advancement or promotion, we tend to think of it as upward motion—climbing the ladder, breaking the glass ceiling, getting on top of the heap, upgrading, elevating, etc.— but nothing says it better than “movin’ on up.”

Up. It is the direction everyone wants to go, for the path upward seems to be the path to fame, fortune, honour, and glory. But isn’t it interesting that many of earth’s most precious substances can be acquired only by digging deep down? The person who is willing to go very low could become very wealthy. Engineers also understand that if they want to raise a tall building, first they need to go low and lay a deep foundation. So it is with promotion. Jesus said, “He who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11, NKJV). The low path of humility is the only way to promotion with God.

Joseph had lofty dreams of greatness. He saw his mother, father, and brothers all bowing down before him. But God’s way of promoting Joseph to the top was not what he would have imagined. Ironically, it was those very dreams of glory that bred contempt in the hearts of his brothers, who eventually sold him into a humble life of slavery.

Joseph’s path to greatness would take him through the lowlands of servitude, character assassination, and even imprisonment in the royal dungeon. For a while Joseph’s life seemed to have a downward trajectory, constantly going from bad to worse. I’m sure there were moments when he must have asked, “Why, God?” Wasn’t it God who had promised him promotion and influence? Had Joseph done something wrong? Is that why God was allowing him to go through such hardship?

Joseph descended the dark, winding staircase of humility and submission. When he reached the last door at the bottom, he discovered that this obscure, downward path had led him all the way to . . . the top! Almost overnight he found himself in one of the highest places of power and authority in the world. All along it was this lowly path that God had determined to use to lift Joseph up. Joseph discovered that the way up is down.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR DAY 29 (Morning session)

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR DAY 28 (Morning session)

Genesis 28New International Version (NIV)

28 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman. 2 Go at once to Paddan Aram,[a] to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 3 May God Almighty[b] bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. 4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now reside as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.” 5 Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

6 Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. 8 Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; 9 so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it[c] stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.[d] 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel,[e]though the city used to be called Luz.

20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father’s household,then the Lord[f] will be my God 22 and[g] this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

Get Moving (Daniel Kolenda)

In order to fly, an aeroplane needs “lift.” Lift comes from speed, and speed comes from “thrust.” Thrust is the power that pushes the aircraft forward, and without it nothing else matters. The aerodynamic design, the well-trained pilot in the cockpit, the sophisticated navigational technology, and the tank full of jet fuel are all useless unless the engines come alive and provide forward motion. In your life the only one who can provide the forward motion is you. God will be your pilot. He will provide the wind beneath your wings and the fuel in your tank, but you have to give Him some momentum to work with. You cannot do God’s part, and God will not do your part. Your part is to get into gear, get off your backside, and get moving. Reinhard Bonnke has said, “God will lift you out of the deepest pit, but He won’t lift you out of an easy chair—you have to do that yourself.” So what are you waiting for? How long will you do nothing while you grow old in the wilderness of inaction?

It is true that God opens doors, and sometimes particular doors are not opened for a variety of reasons. But it is very unlikely that all the doors are shut. Imagine a man sitting at a red light in the downtown area of a big city. The light in front of him turns green, but when he looks ahead he sees that the next five lights are still red. Should he sit at the green light in front of him and just wait for all the other lights to turn green as well? Of course not! He should move through the green light he has. Yet many people fail to move through the green light God has given them because they foresee obstacles ahead that they don’t know how to handle.

In Joshua 3 we read about the children of Israel encountering the obstacle of the Jordan River, which was overflowing and impossible to cross. In obedience to the Lord Joshua told the priests to take the ark of the covenant and go forward into the waters of the Jordan. This surely would have seemed like a ridiculous idea, but look at what happened.

And when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan,
and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in
the edge of the water... the waters which were flowing down
from above stood and rose up in one heap... So the people
crossed opposite Jericho. 

Joshua 3:15-16, NAS

Now if Joshua had been trained in one of our fine Bible colleges, he probably would have given more mature advice. He would have said, “Gentlemen, we are going to wait right here until the Lord ‘opens a door’ for us.” But if that had been his command, their skeletons would still be decomposing somewhere on the banks of the Jordan River, because the water was not going to part for them until their feet got wet! My friend, sometimes you need to just go ahead and get your feet wet in faith and see what the Lord will do for you!

Faith: Or Chaos (Reinhard Bonnke)

The next fact is this: There is no substitute for faith in God. History rings the warning bells. Without the knowledge of the Lord God, nothing has ever made sense. The ancients, even the most brilliant thinkers, produced the wildest ideas, superstitions, and speculations. Mystery clothed nature. They were sure of nothing, not even of the weather or the seasons. To make the sun rise, they worshipped it. To summon rain, they bowed to the heavens. Through sacrifices, they persuaded the rivers to not dry up. Everybody had his or her own god. In this context, the prophets of God were raised up and inspired with a burning realisation of God’s reality and His will.

The concept of God as the Father of all was unknown. Conflicts and family blood feuds shaped history, and war was the glory of men. But Israel’s prophets taught the people not to fear the signs of the heavens, and they told them to work instead of war. They promised that God would faithfully look after all His creatures and said they should not worry about harvests like the heathens around them did.

It is easy to casually say you do not believe in God. However, the consequences are eternal. They fertilise corruption, bribery, violence, terrorism, and crime. Atheists claim they can live decent lives without believing in God, but they forget they got the very idea of decency from Christianity. Before Christ, it was a different story and a far crueller world. In fact, we do not know what is good or bad without faith in God. Without Him, no one has ever agreed on the subject. A totally unbelieving world would be like a lunatic asylum taken over by its patients. If we do not trust God, we soon trust nobody.

FAITH IS A DECISION

The great Swiss theologian, Dr. Emil Brunner, summed up his thoughts in four words, Faith is a decision. He took it from Jesus, who always talked that way. He praised believers and blamed unbelievers. Just as we can see, hear, feel, taste, and smell—so too we can believe. That is our sixth sense or faculty, our spiritual eyesight, which Jesus also described as an ear to hear. (See Matthew 11:15.) It is a hand to take God’s blessing.

Believing is not beyond anybody. “I am not made that way,” some vainly plead, but we all are. Some think of faith as money, which seems like a good thing if you have some. But faith is not what you have; it’s what you do. We can all rise to the heights—if we want to. Who wants unbelief? It is a blind alley, the way to no land, no water, and no love. To get out of it, we must turn around. In Bible language, we must repent. That means deciding to believe instead of not believing. Doubt is deadly. Choose to live. “Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

FAITH IS SPIRITUAL STRENGTH

One final fact about faith needs to be cleared up, especially for Christians. Very sanctified and spiritual people can sadly be doubters. Faith and piety do not always go down the street hand-in-hand. Some Christians think you have to be a spiritual giant in order to have great faith. This is backwards. It is the man or woman who is strong in faith who is the spiritual giant. Faith is spiritual strength.

Faith produces good works, but good works do not produce faith—just as milk produces butter, but butter does not produce milk.

Faith, mighty faith the promise sees
And looks to that alone,
Laughs at impossibilities
And cries, “It shall be done.”

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR DAY 27 (Morning session)

Ready, Fire, Aim (Daniel Kolenda)

The other day I went with my father to the shooting range. He was heading out on a hunting trip, and before he left I wanted to help him “sight in” the rifle I had bought him as a gift. We looked through the scope, which we had just attached, aimed at the target, and fired, knowing that we would most likely miss the bull’s-eye. But by firing at the target, we could see where we needed to make an adjustment to the scope. We were only able to make corrections when we saw how we were missing the mark. I think this is typical of life. We usually learn more from our mistakes than our successes. But unless you fire, you will never miss, and unless you miss, you will never be able to make the adjustments necessary to hit the bull’s-eye.

Whenever I begin a new project or initiative, I never view my initial plan as the final draft. I dive into it knowing that I will learn as I go. This means that I’m not paralyzed by a fear of failure; rather I am looking forward to learning what not to do. I see my initial plan as an uncalibrated machine with many dials. The dials are all the different variables represented in that particular project. Once the machine is running, I can see what is working and what is not working. I am diligent to gather sufficient feedback, and then I will begin to tweak the “dials” based on that feedback.

Even when I feel like everything is running smoothly, I will continue to step back often to analyze the process. If something is working well, I will try to capitalize on it. If something is not working well, I will adjust it or prune it off altogether. It is an ongoing dynamic development that never ends. This process is where real progress is made, but until you take action, all of your planning and strategizing is simply untested theory.

Having said all these things, let me be clear: taking action is not just a matter of trial and error. At its core, it is a matter of faithfulness. Even if there are a thousand things you cannot do for one reason or another, there is always something you can do. It may seem small or insignificant, but the eyes of God are on you. He is watching to see what you will do with the opportunities He has given you, and your response will determine whether He entrusts you with more.

I was preaching in a church some time ago when a young man came up to me with tears in his eyes and said, “I have a calling like yours. The Lord has called me to preach the gospel. I believe I am going to win millions of people to the Lord, but I don’t know where to start.” I put my arm around him and said, “I think I can help you.” He said, “You can?” I said, “Yes, I can tell you where to start. Start by telling your unsaved family members about Jesus. Then go and tell your unsaved friends about Jesus. Then go out to the street corners and preach the gospel to lost people wherever you can find them. As God sees your faithfulness, He will give you more.”

Another young man shared his vision with me one day. He said, “I am going to start a house of prayer. I am going to have prayer, intercession, and worship going on twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week, three hundred sixty-five days per year.”

“That’s a wonderful vision,” I said. “When will it begin?” He said, “Well, first I need to gather several dozen worship bands together and several hundred intercessors who share my vision.” I could see a problem in his plan right away. “Can I give you some advice?” I asked. He was very eager to hear it. I said, “Why don’t you start with one evening per week or one day per month? Start by doing whatever you can do, and as you are faithful, God will give you more.” Unfortunately my advice was too unexciting for that young man. He decided to do it the more dramatic way and wait until all the bands and intercessors had been assembled. I’m sad to report that several years later, he still has not started the house of prayer.

I did not start by preaching to millions of people. I started preaching as a teenager to lost people on the streets. I went door to door in my neighbourhood and witnessed to my neighbours. I went to the parks and stood on park benches and preached. I stood up in restaurants, outside movie theatres, on street corners. I have been escorted away by police on more than one occasion for preaching the gospel. When I first launched into full-time evangelistic ministry, I had only one preaching invitation. But that invitation led to another and another and another. Today I have more invitations than I could ever accept, but it all happened one door at a time.

There’s an ancient Chinese proverb that says, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” Perhaps you don’t know how to get from A to Z, but you don’t need to know that. All you need to know is how to get from A to B. Once you get to B, then you will go to C, and one step at a time you will find that the waters will begin to part as your feet get wet

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR DAY 26 (Morning session)

Genesis 26New International Version (NIV)
Isaac and Abimelek

26 Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. 2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring[a] all nations on earth will be blessed,[b] 5 because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.” 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”

8 When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. 9 So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?”

Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.”

10 Then Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”

11 So Abimelek gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who harms this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. 13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. 14 He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. 15 So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.

16 Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.”

17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar, where he settled. 18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.

19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. 20 But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek,[c] because they disputed with him. 21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.[d] 22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth,[e] saying, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”

23 From there he went up to Beersheba. 24 That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”

25 Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.

26 Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces. 27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?”

28 They answered, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you; so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’—between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord.”

30 Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. 31 Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully.

32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!” 33 He called it Shibah,[f] and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.[g]
Jacob Takes Esau’s Blessing

34 When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

The Power of Urgency (Daniel Kolenda)

The power of urgency

The Bible is absolutely full of stories of men and women who succeeded when they took critical action and failed when they avoided it.

When David showed up on the battlefield where the Israelites were at a stalemate with the Philistines, he saw Goliath defying the armies of Israel and hurling insults at her God (1 Sam. 17). He knew immediately what action needed to be taken. He could have chosen to start a petition or lead a protest. He could have asked that a formal statement be issued from the government condemning Goliath’s insensitivity toward the Israelites’ religious beliefs. He might have even organised a prayer meeting to ask God to remove Goliath.

But as a shepherd boy David had faced a lion and a bear. He had learned the importance of critical action. He didn’t have time to go home and exercise to build up his muscles in preparation for the great showdown. He didn’t set up a target and start practicing with his slingshot. He simply took immediate, decisive, and critical action. While all the other Israelites stood on the battlefield procrastinating or looking for an easy way out, David had only one mission— to decapitate the giant. He did it, the deadlock was broken, and the battle was won that same day.

Saul, on the other hand, was always looking for a comfortable compromise. God told him to “go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed” (1 Sam. 15:18). Saul almost obeyed. He conquered and destroyed the Amalekite city, but wholesale slaughter of the Amalekites seemed so extreme and so unnecessary. Surely he could achieve the same outcome with less brutality. So Saul decided to spare Agag, the King of the Amalekites, along with many of his people, sheep, and oxen, which Saul kept as spoils of war.Saul didn’t realise that what God had prescribed was not merely a good suggestion; it was the critical action necessary to secure the kingdom. Saul’s unwillingness to do what had to be done was irresponsible and disobedient. God decided to take the kingdom from Saul and give it to another—David.

Remember, we are talking about the bandit of laziness, and rather than defining laziness as doing nothing (because by that definition none of us think we are lazy), I am defining it as evading or compromising critical action (which we are all guilty of). The key then is to take critical action, but it is not always clear in every situation what the critical action is. To sort through the clutter, ask yourself, Is there a more direct and effective way to do this? If the answer is yes, then ask yourself, Why am I choosing to avoid the more effective way? If your honest self-examination reveals that you have simply chosen the path of least resistance, pleasure over pain, or what is most convenient for you personally, you may conclude that you have chosen the comfortable compromise. In other words, you are being lazy!

So how do we identify critical action? Because there are so many diverse situations, let me give a broad principle: direct action is inspired by urgency.Our perception of urgency not only compels us to take action but also prescribes what action is to be taken. For instance, if you saw someone about to fall off the edge of a cliff, you would not sit down to send him an e-mail about his precarious situation. You would immediately shout to him, run to him, reach to him, and so on.

If urgency compels and prescribes direct action, and direct action is the opposite of laziness, then the antidote for laziness is urgency. You need to see the importance of what you are doing. You need to realise there is much at stake. You need to remind yourself that the eyes of God are upon you. You need to stir yourself, shake yourself, and wake up.

Daniel Kolenda

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR DAY 25 (Morning session)

Genesis 25New International Version (NIV)
The Death of Abraham

25 Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. 3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.

5 Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. 6 But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.

7 Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, 10 the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites.[a] There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.
Ishmael’s Sons

12 This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Sarah’s slave, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham.

13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps. 17 Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. 18 His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur. And they lived in hostility toward[b] all the tribes related to them.
Jacob and Esau

19 This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac.

Abraham became the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram[c] and sister of Laban the Aramean.

21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

23 The Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,
    and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
    and the older will serve the younger.”

24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau.[d] 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob.[e] Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.[f])

31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”

32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”

33 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.

So Esau despised his birthright.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR DAY 24 (Morning session)

Genesis 24New International Version (NIV)
Isaac and Rebekah

24 Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. 2 He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh. 3 I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 4 but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.”

5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?”

6 “Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said. 7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring[a] I will give this land’—he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. 8 If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

10 Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim[b] and made his way to the town of Nahor. 11 He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.

12 Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”

15 Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. 16 The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.

17 The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”

18 “Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.

19 After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. 21 Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.

22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka[c] and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels.[d] 23 Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”

24 She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milkah bore to Nahor.” 25 And she added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night.”

26 Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, 27 saying, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”

28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things. 29 Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. 30 As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring. 31 “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord,” he said. “Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”

32 So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet. 33 Then food was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.”

“Then tell us,” Laban said.

34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35 The Lord has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36 My master’s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. 37 And my master made me swear an oath, and said, ‘You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, 38 but go to my father’s family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.’

39 “Then I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’

40 “He replied, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked faithfully, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father’s family. 41 You will be released from my oath if, when you go to my clan, they refuse to give her to you—then you will be released from my oath.’

42 “When I came to the spring today, I said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. 43 See, I am standing beside this spring. If a young woman comes out to draw water and I say to her, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar,” 44 and if she says to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too,” let her be the one the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’

45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’

46 “She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too.’ So I drank, and she watered the camels also.

47 “I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’

“She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milkah bore to him.’

“Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, 48 and I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49 Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn.”

50 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. 51 Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.”

52 When Abraham’s servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 53 Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother. 54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there.

When they got up the next morning, he said, “Send me on my way to my master.”

55 But her brother and her mother replied, “Let the young woman remain with us ten days or so; then you[e] may go.”

56 But he said to them, “Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master.”

57 Then they said, “Let’s call the young woman and ask her about it.” 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?”

“I will go,” she said.

59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,

“Our sister, may you increase
    to thousands upon thousands;
may your offspring possess
    the cities of their enemies.”

61 Then Rebekah and her attendants got ready and mounted the camels and went back with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.

62 Now Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev. 63 He went out to the field one evening to meditate,[f] and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. 64 Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 65 and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?”

“He is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.

66 Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. 67 Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR DAY 23 (Evening session)

Matthew 23New International Version (NIV)
A Warning Against Hypocrisy

23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

5 “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries[a] wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.

8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees

13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. [14] [b]

15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.

16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!

33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.

37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’[c]”