Daily Bible CEV December 23 Scroll

An Angel Tells about the Birth of Jesus

Luke 1 ²⁶One month later God sent the angel Gabriel to the town of Nazareth in Galilee ²⁷with a message for a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to Joseph from the family of King David. ²⁸The angel greeted Mary and said, "You are truly blessed! The Lord is with you."

²⁹Mary was confused by the angel's words and wondered what they meant. ³⁰Then the angel told Mary, "Don't be afraid! God is pleased with you, ³¹and you will have a son. His name will be Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of God Most High. The Lord God will make him king, as his ancestor David was. ³³He will rule the people of Israel forever, and his kingdom will never end."

³⁴Mary asked the angel, "How can this happen? I am not married!"

³⁵The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come down to you, and God's power will come over you. So your child will be called the holy Son of God. ³⁶Your relative Elizabeth is also going to have a son, even though she is old. No one thought she could ever have a baby, but in three months she will have a son. ³⁷Nothing is impossible for God!"

³⁸Mary said, "I am the Lord's servant! Let it happen as you have said." And the angel left her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹A short time later Mary hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea. ⁴⁰She went into Zechariah's home, where she greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, her baby moved within her.

The Holy Spirit came upon Elizabeth. ⁴²Then in a loud voice she said to Mary:

God has blessed you more than any other woman! He has also blessed the child you will have. ⁴³Why should the mother of my Lord come to me? ⁴⁴As soon as I heard your greeting, my baby became happy and moved within me. ⁴⁵The Lord has blessed you because you believed that he will keep his promise.

Mary's Song of Praise

⁴⁶Mary said:

With all my heart ⁴⁷I praise the Lord,

and I am glad because of God my Savior.

⁴⁸God cares for me, his humble servant.

From now on, all people will say

God has blessed me.

⁴⁹God All-Powerful has done great things for me,

and his name is holy.

⁵⁰He always shows mercy

to everyone who worships him.

⁵¹The Lord has used his powerful arm

to scatter those who are proud.

⁵²God drags strong rulers from their thrones

and puts humble people in places of power.

⁵³God gives the hungry good things to eat,

and sends the rich away

with nothing.

⁵⁴God helps his servant Israel

and is always merciful to his people.

⁵⁵The Lord made this promise to our ancestors,

to Abraham and his family forever!

⁵⁶Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months. Then she went back home.

Israel's Leaders Are Worthless Shepherds

Ezekiel 34 The LORD God said:

²Ezekiel, son of man, Israel's leaders are like shepherds taking care of my sheep, the people of Israel. But I want you to condemn these leaders and tell them:

I, the LORD God, say you shepherds of Israel are doomed! You take care of yourselves while ignoring my sheep. ³You drink their milk and use their wool to make your clothes. Then you butcher the best ones for food. But you don't take care of the flock! ⁴You have never protected the weak ones or healed the sick ones or bandaged those that get hurt. You let them wander off and never look for those that get lost. You are cruel and mean to my sheep. ⁵They strayed in every direction, and because there was no shepherd to watch them, they were attacked and eaten by wild animals. ⁶So my sheep were scattered across the earth. They roamed on hills and mountains, without anyone even bothering to look for them.

^7-8Now listen to what I, the living LORD God, am saying to you shepherds. My sheep have been attacked and eaten by wild animals, because you refused to watch them. You never went looking for the lost ones, and you fed yourselves without feeding my sheep. ^9-10So I, the LORD, will punish you! I will rescue my sheep from you and never let you be their shepherd again or butcher them for food. I, the LORD, have spoken.

The LORD Is the Good Shepherd

¹¹The LORD God then said:

I will look for my sheep and take care of them myself, ¹²just as a shepherd looks for lost sheep. My sheep have been lost since that dark and miserable day when they were scattered throughout the nations. But I will rescue them ¹³and bring them back from the foreign nations where they now live. I will be their shepherd and will let them graze on Israel's mountains and in the valleys and fertile fields. ¹⁴They will be safe as they feed on grassy meadows and green hills. ¹⁵I promise to take care of them and keep them safe, ¹⁶to look for those that are lost and bring back the ones that wander off, to bandage those that are hurt and protect the ones that are weak. I will also slaughter those that are fat and strong, because I always do right.

Judgment on the Strong Sheep

¹⁷The LORD God said to his sheep, the people of Israel:

I will carefully watch each one of you to decide which ones are the strong sheep and which ones are weak. ¹⁸Some of you eat the greenest grass, then trample down what's left when you finish. Others drink clean water, then step in the water to make the rest of it muddy. ¹⁹That means my other sheep have nothing fit to eat or drink.

²⁰So I, the LORD God, will separate you strong sheep from the weak. ²¹You strong ones have used your powerful horns to chase off those that are weak, ²²but I will rescue them and no longer let them be mistreated. I will separate the good from the bad.

²³After that, I will give you a shepherd from the family of my servant King David. All of you, both strong and weak, will have the same shepherd, and he will take good care of you. ²⁴He will be your leader, and I will be your God. I, the LORD, have spoken.

A Bright Future for the LORD's Sheep

The LORD God said:

²⁵The people of Israel are my sheep, and I solemnly promise that they will live in peace. I will chase away every wild animal from the desert and the forest, so my sheep will not be afraid. ²⁶They will live around my holy mountain, and I will bless them by sending more than enough rain ²⁷to make their trees produce fruit and their crops to grow. I will set them free from slavery and let them live safely in their own land. Then they will know that I am the LORD. ²⁸Foreign nations will never again rob them, and wild animals will no longer kill and eat them. They will have nothing to fear. ²⁹I will make their fields produce large amounts of crops, so they will never again go hungry or be laughed at by foreigners. ³⁰Then everyone will know that I protect my people Israel. I, the LORD, make this promise. ³¹They are my sheep; I am their God, and I take care of them.

True Religion

Isaiah 58 Shout the message! Don't hold back.

Say to my people Israel:

You've sinned! You've turned against the LORD.

²Day after day, you worship him

and seem eager to learn his teachings.

You act like a nation that wants to do right

by obeying his laws.

You ask him about justice,

and say you enjoy worshiping the LORD.

³You wonder why the LORD pays no attention

when you go without eating and act humble.

But on those same days that you give up eating,

you think only of yourselves

and abuse your workers.

⁴You even get angry and ready to fight.

No wonder God won't listen to your prayers!

⁵Do you think the LORD wants you to give up eating

and to act as humble as a bent-over bush?

Or to dress in sackcloth and sit in ashes?

Is this really what he wants on a day of worship?

⁶I'll tell you what it really means to worship the LORD.

Remove the chains of prisoners who are chained unjustly.

Free those who are abused!

⁷Share your food with everyone who is hungry;

share your home with the poor and homeless.

Give clothes to those in need;

don't turn away your relatives.

⁸Then your light will shine like the dawning sun,

and you will quickly be healed.

Your honesty will protect you as you advance,

and the glory of the LORD

will defend you from behind.

⁹When you beg the LORD for help,

he will answer, "Here I am!"

Don't mistreat others or falsely accuse them

or say something cruel.

¹⁰Give your food to the hungry and care for the homeless.

Then your light will shine in the dark;

your darkest hour will be like the noonday sun.

¹¹The LORD will always guide you

and provide good things to eat

when you are in the desert.

He will make you healthy.

You will be like a garden that has plenty of water

or like a stream that never runs dry.

¹²You will rebuild those houses left in ruins for years;

you will be known as a builder and repairer

of city walls and streets.

¹³But first, you must start respecting the Sabbath

as a joyful day of worship.

You must stop doing and saying whatever you please

on this special day.

¹⁴Then you will truly enjoy knowing the LORD.

He will let you rule from the highest mountains

and bless you with the land of your ancestor Jacob.

The LORD has spoken!

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.