22 MAY 2017 · Deuteronomy 8:1-10 8This entire commandment that I command you today you must diligently observe, so that you may live and increase, and go in and occupy the land that the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. 2Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments. 3He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.* 4The clothes on your back did not wear out and your feet did not swell these forty years. 5Know then in your heart that as a parent disciplines a child so the Lordyour God disciplines you. 6Therefore keep the commandments of the Lord your God, by walking in his ways and by fearing him.7For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills, 8a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, 9a land where you may eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron and from whose hills you may mine copper. 10You shall eat your fill and bless the Lord your God for the good land that he has given you.

21 MAY 2017 · Sirach 43:1-12,27-32 43The pride of the higher realms is the clear vault of the sky,    as glorious to behold as the sight of the heavens.  2 The sun, when it appears, proclaims as it rises    what a marvellous instrument it is, the work of the Most High.  3 At noon it parches the land,    and who can withstand its burning heat? 4 A man tending* a furnace works in burning heat,    but three times as hot is the sun scorching the mountains; it breathes out fiery vapours,    and its bright rays blind the eyes.  5 Great is the Lord who made it;    at his orders it hurries on its course.  6 It is the moon that marks the changing seasons,*    governing the times, their everlasting sign.  7 From the moon comes the sign for festal days,    a light that wanes when it completes its course.  8 The new moon, as its name suggests, renews itself;*    how marvellous it is in this change, a beacon to the hosts on high,    shining in the vault of the heavens!  9 The glory of the stars is the beauty of heaven,    a glittering array in the heights of the Lord.  10 On the orders of the Holy One they stand in their appointed places;    they never relax in their watches.  11 Look at the rainbow, and praise him who made it;    it is exceedingly beautiful in its brightness.  12 It encircles the sky with its glorious arc;    the hands of the Most High have stretched it out.  27 We could say more but could never say enough;    let the final word be: ‘He is the all.’  28 Where can we find the strength to praise him?    For he is greater than all his works.  29 Awesome is the Lord and very great,    and marvellous is his power.  30 Glorify the Lord and exalt him as much as you can,    for he surpasses even that. When you exalt him, summon all your strength,    and do not grow weary, for you cannot praise him enough.  31 Who has seen him and can describe him?    Or who can extol him as he is?  32 Many things greater than these lie hidden,    for I* have seen but few of his works.

11 MAY 2017 · Wisdom 5:9-23 9 ‘All those things have vanished like a shadow, and like a rumour that passes by;  10 like a ship that sails through the billowy water, and when it has passed no trace can be found, no track of its keel in the waves;  11 or as, when a bird flies through the air, no evidence of its passage is found; the light air, lashed by the beat of its pinions and pierced by the force of its rushing flight, is traversed by the movement of its wings, and afterwards no sign of its coming is found there;  12 or as, when an arrow is shot at a target, the air, thus divided, comes together at once, so that no one knows its pathway.  13 So we also, as soon as we were born, ceased to be, and we had no sign of virtue to show, but were consumed in our wickedness.’  14 Because the hope of the ungodly is like thistledown* carried by the wind, and like a light frost* driven away by a storm; it is dispersed like smoke before the wind, and it passes like the remembrance of a guest who stays but a day.  15 But the righteous live for ever, and their reward is with the Lord; the Most High takes care of them.  16 Therefore they will receive a glorious crown and a beautiful diadem from the hand of the Lord, because with his right hand he will cover them, and with his arm he will shield them.  17 The Lord* will take his zeal as his whole armour, and will arm all creation to repel* his enemies;  18 he will put on righteousness as a breastplate, and wear impartial justice as a helmet;  19 he will take holiness as an invincible shield,  20 and sharpen stern wrath for a sword, and creation will join with him to fight against his frenzied foes.  21 Shafts of lightning will fly with true aim, and will leap from the clouds to the target, as from a well-drawn bow,  22 and hailstones full of wrath will be hurled as from a catapult; the water of the sea will rage against them, and rivers will relentlessly overwhelm them;  23 a mighty wind will rise against them, and like a tempest it will winnow them away. Lawlessness will lay waste the whole earth, and evildoing will overturn the thrones of rulers. 

9 MAY 2017 · Colossians 1:15-23 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16for in* him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17He himself is before all things, and in* him all things hold together. 18He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. 21 And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22he has now reconciled* in his fleshly body*through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him— 23provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.

9 MAY 2017 · Wisdom 3:1-9 3But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them.  2 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be a disaster,  3 and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace.  4 For though in the sight of others they were punished, their hope is full of immortality.  5 Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;  6 like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt-offering he accepted them.  7 In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble.  8 They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them for ever.  9 Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones, and he watches over his elect.* 

7 MAY 2017 · Wisdom 1:1-15 1Love righteousness, you rulers of the earth, think of the Lord in goodness and seek him with sincerity of heart;  2 because he is found by those who do not put him to the test, and manifests himself to those who do not distrust him.  3 For perverse thoughts separate people from God, and when his power is tested, it exposes the foolish;  4 because wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul, or dwell in a body enslaved to sin.  5 For a holy and disciplined spirit will flee from deceit, and will leave foolish thoughts behind, and will be ashamed at the approach of unrighteousness.  6 For wisdom is a kindly spirit, but will not free blasphemers from the guilt of their words; because God is witness of their inmost feelings, and a true observer of their hearts, and a hearer of their tongues.  7 Because the spirit of the Lord has filled the world, and that which holds all things together knows what is said,  8 therefore those who utter unrighteous things will not escape notice, and justice, when it punishes, will not pass them by.  9 For inquiry will be made into the counsels of the ungodly, and a report of their words will come to the Lord, to convict them of their lawless deeds;  10 because a jealous ear hears all things, and the sound of grumbling does not go unheard.  11 Beware then of useless grumbling, and keep your tongue from slander; because no secret word is without result,* and a lying mouth destroys the soul.  12 Do not invite death by the error of your life, or bring on destruction by the works of your hands;  13 because God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living.  14 For he created all things so that they might exist; the generative forces* of the world are wholesome, and there is no destructive poison in them, and the dominion* of Hades is not on earth.  15 For righteousness is immortal. 

6 MAY 2017 · 3 John 1-15 1 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. 2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul. 3I was overjoyed when some of the friends*arrived and testified to your faithfulness to the truth, namely, how you walk in the truth. 4I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 5 Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the friends,* even though they are strangers to you; 6they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on in a manner worthy of God; 7for they began their journey for the sake of Christ,* accepting no support from non-believers.* 8Therefore we ought to support such people, so that we may become co-workers with the truth. 9 I have written something to the church; but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority.10So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing in spreading false charges against us. And not content with those charges, he refuses to welcome the friends,* and even prevents those who want to do so and expels them from the church. 11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but imitate what is good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 12Everyone has testified favourably about Demetrius, and so has the truth itself. We also testify for him,*and you know that our testimony is true. 13 I have much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink;14instead I hope to see you soon, and we will talk together face to face. 15 Peace to you. The friends send you their greetings. Greet the friends there, each by name.

6 MAY 2017 · Daniel 6:16-28 16 Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, ‘May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!’ 17A stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 18Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no food was brought to him, and sleep fled from him. 19 Then, at break of day, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions. 20When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, ‘O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?’ 21Daniel then said to the king, ‘O king, live for ever! 22My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.’ 23Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 24The king gave a command, and those who had accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. Before they reached the bottom of the den the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces. 25 Then King Darius wrote to all peoples and nations of every language throughout the whole world: ‘May you have abundant prosperity! 26I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: For he is the living God,    enduring for ever. His kingdom shall never be destroyed,    and his dominion has no end.  27 He delivers and rescues,    he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth; for he has saved Daniel    from the power of the lions.’  28So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

5 MAY 2017 · Luke 5:1-11 5Once while Jesus* was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’5Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’ 6When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ 9For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’ 11When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

5 MAY 2017 · 1 John 5:13-21 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him. 16If you see your brother or sister* committing what is not a mortal sin, you will ask, and God* will give life to such a one—to those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin that is mortal; I do not say that you should pray about that. 17All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not mortal. 18 We know that those who are born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them, and the evil one does not touch them. 19We know that we are God’s children, and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one.20And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true;* and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.*