Daily Bible CEV June 28 Scroll

The True Glory of Jesus
(Matthew 17.1-13; Luke 9.28-36)

Mark 9 ²Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him. They went up on a high mountain, where they could be alone. There in front of the disciples, Jesus was completely changed. ³And his clothes became much whiter than any bleach on earth could make them. ⁴Then Moses and Elijah were there talking with Jesus.

⁵Peter said to Jesus, "Teacher, it is good for us to be here! Let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." ⁶But Peter and the others were terribly frightened, and he did not know what he was talking about.

⁷The shadow of a cloud passed over and covered them. From the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, and I love him. Listen to what he says!" ⁸At once the disciples looked around, but they saw only Jesus.

⁹As Jesus and his disciples were coming down the mountain, he told them not to say a word about what they had seen, until the Son of Man had been raised from death. ¹⁰So they kept it to themselves. But they wondered what he meant by the words "raised from death."

¹¹The disciples asked Jesus, "Don't the teachers of the Law of Moses say that Elijah must come before the Messiah does?"

¹²Jesus answered:

Elijah certainly will come to get everything ready. But don't the Scriptures also say that the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected? ¹³I can assure you that Elijah has already come. And people treated him just as they wanted to, as the Scriptures say they would.

Jesus Heals a Boy
(Matthew 17.14-20; Luke 9.37-43a)

¹⁴When Jesus and his three disciples came back down, they saw a large crowd around the other disciples. The teachers of the Law of Moses were arguing with them.

¹⁵The crowd was really surprised to see Jesus, and everyone hurried over to greet him.

¹⁶Jesus asked, "What are you arguing about?"

¹⁷Someone from the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought my son to you. A demon keeps him from talking. ¹⁸Whenever the demon attacks my son, it throws him to the ground and makes him foam at the mouth and grit his teeth in pain. Then he becomes stiff. I asked your disciples to force out the demon, but they couldn't do it."

¹⁹Jesus said, "You people don't have any faith! How much longer must I be with you? Why do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy to me."

²⁰They brought the boy, and as soon as the demon saw Jesus, it made the boy shake all over. He fell down and began rolling on the ground and foaming at the mouth.

²¹Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?"

The man answered, "Ever since he was a child. ²²The demon has often tried to kill him by throwing him into a fire or into water. Please have pity and help us if you can!"

²³Jesus replied, "Why do you say 'if you can'? Anything is possible for someone who has faith!"

²⁴Right away the boy's father shouted, "I do have faith! Please help me to have even more."

²⁵When Jesus saw that a crowd was gathering fast, he spoke sternly to the evil spirit that had kept the boy from speaking or hearing. He said, "I order you to come out of the boy! Don't ever bother him again."

²⁶The spirit screamed and made the boy shake all over. Then it went out of him. The boy looked dead, and almost everyone said he was. ²⁷But Jesus took hold of his hand and helped him stand up.

²⁸After Jesus and the disciples had gone back home and were alone, they asked him, "Why couldn't we force out that demon?"

²⁹Jesus answered, "Only prayer can force out that kind of demon."

Jesus Again Speaks about His Death
(Matthew 17.22, 23; Luke 9.43b-45)

³⁰Jesus left with his disciples and started through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know about it, ³¹because he was teaching the disciples that the Son of Man would be handed over to people who would kill him. But three days later he would rise to life. ³²The disciples did not understand what Jesus meant, and they were afraid to ask.

Who Is the Greatest?
(Matthew 18.1-5; Luke 9.46-48)

³³Jesus and his disciples went to his home in Capernaum. After they were inside the house, Jesus asked them, "What were you arguing about along the way?" ³⁴They had been arguing about which one of them was the greatest, and so they did not answer.

³⁵After Jesus sat down and told the twelve disciples to gather around him, he said, "If you want the place of honor, you must become a slave and serve others!"

³⁶Then Jesus had a child stand near him. He put his arm around the child and said, ³⁷"When you welcome even a child because of me, you welcome me. And when you welcome me, you welcome the one who sent me."

For or against Jesus
(Luke 9.49, 50)

³⁸John said, "Teacher, we saw a man using your name to force demons out of people. But he wasn't one of us, and we told him to stop."

³⁹Jesus said to his disciples:

Don't stop him! No one who works miracles in my name will soon turn and say something bad about me. ⁴⁰Anyone who isn't against us is for us. ⁴¹And anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name, just because you belong to me, will surely be rewarded.

Temptations To Sin
(Matthew 18.6-9; Luke 17.1, 2)

⁴²It will be terrible for people who cause even one of my little followers to sin. Those people would be better off thrown into the ocean with a heavy stone tied around their necks. ^43-44So if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! You would be better off to go into life crippled than to have two hands and be thrown into the fires of hell that never go out. ^45-46If your foot causes you to sin, chop it off. You would be better off to go into life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. ⁴⁷If your eye causes you to sin, get rid of it. You would be better off to go into God's kingdom with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell. ⁴⁸The worms there never die, and the fire never stops burning.

⁴⁹Everyone must be salted with fire.

⁵⁰Salt is good. But if it no longer tastes like salt, how can it be made salty again? Have salt among you and live at peace with each other.

David Sings to the LORD
(Psalm 18.1-50)

2 Samuel 22 David sang a song to the LORD after the LORD had rescued him from his enemies, especially Saul. These are the words to David's song:

²Our LORD and our God, you are my mighty rock,

my fortress, my protector.

³You are the rock where I am safe.

You are my shield, my powerful weapon,

and my place of shelter.

You rescue me and keep me from being hurt.

⁴I praise you, our LORD! I prayed to you,

and you rescued me from my enemies.

⁵Death, like ocean waves, surrounded me,

and I was almost swallowed by its flooding waters.

⁶Ropes from the world of the dead had coiled around me,

and death had set a trap in my path.

⁷I was in terrible trouble when I called out to you,

but from your temple you heard me

and answered my prayer.

⁸Earth shook and shivered!

The columns supporting the sky rocked back and forth.

You were angry ⁹and breathed out smoke.

Scorching heat and fiery flames

spewed from your mouth.

¹⁰You opened the heavens like curtains,

and you came down with storm clouds under your feet.

¹¹You rode on the backs of flying creatures.

You appeared with the wind as wings.

¹²Darkness was your tent! Thunderclouds filled the sky,

hiding you from sight.

¹³Fiery coals lit up the sky in front of you.

¹⁴LORD Most High, your voice thundered from the heavens.

¹⁵

You scattered your enemies with arrows of lightning.

¹⁶You roared at the sea,

and its deepest channels could be seen.

You snorted, and the earth shook to its foundations.

¹⁷You reached down from heaven,

and you lifted me from deep in the ocean.

¹⁸You rescued me from enemies

who were hateful and too powerful for me.

¹⁹On the day disaster struck, they came and attacked,

but you defended me.

²⁰When I was fenced in,

you freed and rescued me because you love me.

²¹You are good to me, LORD, because I do right,

and you reward me because I am innocent.

²²I do what you want and never turn to do evil.

²³I keep your laws in mind

and never turn away from your teachings.

²⁴I obey you completely and guard against sin.

²⁵You have been good to me because I do right;

you have rewarded me

for being innocent by your standards.

²⁶You are always loyal to your loyal people,

and you are faithful to the faithful.

²⁷With all who are sincere you are sincere,

but you treat the unfaithful as their deeds deserve.

²⁸You rescue the humble,

but you look for ways to put down the proud.

²⁹Our LORD and God, you are my lamp.

You turn darkness to light.

³⁰

You help me defeat armies and capture cities.

³¹Your way is perfect, LORD, and your word is correct.

You are a shield for those who run to you for help.

³²You alone are God!

Only you are a mighty rock.

³³You are my strong fortress, and you set me free.

³⁴You make my feet run as fast as those of a deer,

and you help me stand on the mountains.

³⁵You teach my hands to fight

and my arms to use a bow of bronze.

³⁶You alone are my shield, and by coming to help me,

you have made me famous.

³⁷You clear the way for me, and now I won't stumble.

³⁸I kept chasing my enemies

until I caught them and destroyed them.

³⁹I destroyed them! I stuck my sword through my enemies,

and they were crushed under my feet.

⁴⁰You helped me win victories

and forced my attackers to fall victim to me.

⁴¹You made my enemies run, and I killed them.

⁴²They cried out for help, but no one saved them;

they called out to you, but there was no answer.

⁴³I ground them to dust,

and I squashed them like mud in the streets.

⁴⁴You rescued me from my stubborn people

and made me the leader of foreign nations,

who are now my slaves.

⁴⁵They obey and come crawling.

⁴⁶They have lost all courage

and from their fortresses they come trembling.

⁴⁷You are the living LORD! I will praise you!

You are a mighty rock.

I will honor you for keeping me safe.

⁴⁸You took revenge for me,

and you put nations in my power.

⁴⁹You protected me from violent enemies,

and you made me much greater than all of them.

⁵⁰I will praise you, LORD,

and I will honor you among the nations.

⁵¹You give glorious victories to your chosen king.

Your faithful love for David and for his descendants

will never end.

The LORD Promises To Punish Israel

Hosea 2 ²Accuse! Accuse your mother!

She is no longer my wife,

and now I, the LORD, am not her husband.

Beg her to give up prostitution and stop being unfaithful,

or I will strip her naked like the day she was born.

I will make her barren like a desert,

and she will die of thirst.

⁴You children are the result of her unfaithfulness,

and I'll show you no pity.

⁵Your mother was unfaithful. She was disgraceful and said,

"I'll run after my lovers.

Everything comes from them-- my food and drink,

my linen and wool, my olive oil and wine."

⁶I, the LORD, will build a fence of thorns to block her path.

⁷She will run after her lovers, but not catch them;

she will search, but not find them.

Then she will say, "I'll return to my first husband.

Life was better then."

⁸She didn't know that her grain, wine, and olive oil

were gifts from me, as were the gold and silver

she used in worshiping Baal.

⁹So I'll hold back the harvest of grain and grapes.

I'll take back my wool and my linen that cover her body.

¹⁰Then I'll strip her naked in the sight of her lovers.

No one can rescue her.

¹¹I'll stop Israel's celebrations--

no more New Moon Festivals, Sabbaths, or other feasts.

¹²She said, "My lovers gave me vineyards and fig trees

as payment for sex."

Now I, the LORD, will ruin her vineyards and fig trees;

they will become clumps of weeds eaten by wild animals.

¹³I'll punish her for the days she worshiped Baal

and burned incense to him.

I'll punish her for the times she forgot about me

and wore jewelry and rings to attract her lovers.

I, the LORD, have spoken!

The LORD Will Help Israel

¹⁴Israel, I, the LORD, will lure you into the desert

and speak gently to you.

¹⁵I will return your vineyards, and then Trouble Valley

will become Hopeful Valley.

You will say "Yes" to me as you did in your youth,

when leaving Egypt.

¹⁶I promise that from that day on, you will call me your husband instead of your master. ¹⁷I will no longer even let you mention the names of those pagan gods that you called "Master." ¹⁸And I will agree to let you live in peace--you will no longer be attacked by wild animals and birds or by weapons of war. ¹⁹I will accept you as my wife forever, and instead of a bride price I will give you justice, fairness, love, kindness, ²⁰and faithfulness. Then you will truly know who I am.

²¹I will command the sky to send rain on the earth, ²²and it will produce grain, grapes, and olives in Jezreel Valley. ²³I will scatter the seeds and show mercy to Lo-Ruhamah. I will say to Lo-Ammi, "You are my people," and they will answer, "You are our God."

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.