Daily Bible CEV December 25 Scroll

The Birth of Jesus
(Matthew 1.18-25)

Luke 2 About that time Emperor Augustus gave orders for the names of all the people to be listed in record books. ²These first records were made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

³Everyone had to go to their own hometown to be listed. ⁴So Joseph had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and go to Bethlehem in Judea. Long ago Bethlehem had been King David's hometown, and Joseph went there because he was from David's family.

⁵Mary was engaged to Joseph and traveled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby, ⁶and while they were there, ⁷she gave birth to her first-born son. She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds

⁸That night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep. ⁹All at once an angel came down to them from the Lord, and the brightness of the Lord's glory flashed around them. The shepherds were frightened. ¹⁰But the angel said, "Don't be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy. ¹¹This very day in King David's hometown a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. ¹²You will know who he is, because you will find him dressed in baby clothes and lying on a bed of hay."

¹³Suddenly many other angels came down from heaven and joined in praising God. They said:

¹⁴"Praise God in heaven!

Peace on earth to everyone who pleases God."

¹⁵After the angels had left and gone back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about." ¹⁶They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and they saw the baby lying on a bed of hay.

¹⁷When the shepherds saw Jesus, they told his parents what the angel had said about him. ¹⁸Everyone listened and was surprised. ¹⁹But Mary kept thinking about all this and wondering what it meant.

²⁰As the shepherds returned to their sheep, they were praising God and saying wonderful things about him. Everything they had seen and heard was just as the angel had said.

Dry Bones Live Again

Ezekiel 37 Some time later, I felt the LORD's power take control of me, and his Spirit carried me to a valley full of bones. ²The LORD showed me all around, and everywhere I looked I saw bones that were dried out. ³He said, "Ezekiel, son of man, can these bones come back to life?"

I replied, "LORD God, only you can answer that."

⁴He then told me to say:

Dry bones, listen to what the LORD is saying to you, ⁵"I, the LORD God, will put breath in you, and once again you will live. ⁶I will wrap you with muscles and skin and breathe life into you. Then you will know that I am the LORD."

⁷I did what the LORD said, but before I finished speaking, I heard a rattling noise. The bones were coming together! ⁸I saw muscles and skin cover the bones, but they had no life in them.

⁹The LORD said:

Ezekiel, now say to the wind, "The LORD God commands you to blow from every direction and to breathe life into these dead bodies, so they can live again."

¹⁰As soon as I said this, the wind blew among the bodies, and they came back to life! They all stood up, and there were enough to make a large army.

¹¹The LORD said:

Ezekiel, the people of Israel are like dead bones. They complain that they are dried up and that they have no hope for the future. ¹²So tell them, "I, the LORD God, promise to open your graves and set you free. I will bring you back to Israel, ¹³and when that happens, you will realize that I am the LORD. ¹⁴My Spirit will give you breath, and you will live again. I will bring you home, and you will know that I have kept my promise. I, the LORD, have spoken."

Judah and Israel Together Again

¹⁵The LORD said:

¹⁶Ezekiel, son of man, get a stick and write on it, "The kingdom of Judah." Then get another stick and write on it, "The kingdom of Israel." ¹⁷Hold these two sticks end to end, so they look like one stick. ¹⁸And when your people ask you what this means, ¹⁹tell them that I, the LORD, will join together the stick of Israel and the stick of Judah. I will hold them in my hand, and they will become one.

²⁰Hold these two sticks where they can be seen by everyone ²¹and then say:

I, the LORD God, will gather the people of Israel and bring them home from the foreign nations where they now live. ²²I will make them into one nation and let them once again live in the land of Israel. Only one king will rule them, and they will never again be divided into two nations. ²³They will no longer worship idols and do things that make them unacceptable to me. I will wash away their sin and make them clean, and I will protect them from everything that makes them unclean. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

^24-25Their king will always come from the family of my servant King David and will care for them like a shepherd. The people of Israel will faithfully obey my laws. They and their descendants will live in the land I gave my servant Jacob, just as their ancestors did. ²⁶I solemnly promise to bless the people of Israel with unending peace. I will protect them and let them become a powerful nation. My temple will stand in Israel for all time, ²⁷and I will live among my people and be their God. ²⁸Every nation on earth will know that my temple is in Israel and that I have chosen the Israelites to be my people.

A New Day for Jerusalem

Isaiah 60 Jerusalem, stand up! Shine! Your new day is dawning.

The glory of the LORD shines brightly on you.

²The earth and its people are covered with darkness,

but the glory of the LORD is shining upon you.

³Nations and kings will come to the light

of your dawning day.

Crowds Are Coming to Jerusalem

The LORD said:

⁴Open your eyes! Look around! Crowds are coming.

Your sons are on their way from distant lands;

your daughters are being carried like little children.

⁵When you see this, your faces will glow;

your hearts will pound and swell with pride.

Treasures from across the sea and the wealth of nations

will be brought to you.

⁶Your country will be covered with caravans

of young camels from Midian and Ephah.

The people of Sheba will bring gold and spices

in praise of me, the LORD.

⁷Every sheep of Kedar will come to you;

rams from Nebaioth will be yours as well.

I will accept them as offerings

and bring honor to my temple.

⁸What is that sailing by like clouds

or like doves flying home?

⁹On those distant islands

your people are waiting for me, the LORD.

Seagoing ships lead the way to bring them home

with their silver and gold.

I, the holy LORD God of Israel, do this

to honor your people, so they will honor me.

Jerusalem Will Be Rebuilt

The LORD said:

¹⁰Jerusalem, your city walls will be rebuilt by foreigners;

their rulers will become your slaves.

I punished you in my anger;

now I will be kind and treat you with mercy.

¹¹Your gates will be open day and night

to let the rulers of nations lead their people to you

with all their treasures.

¹²Any nation or kingdom that refuses to serve you

will be wiped out.

¹³Wood from Lebanon's best trees will be brought to you--

the pines, the firs, and the cypress trees.

It will be used in my temple to make beautiful

the place where I rest my feet.

¹⁴The descendants of enemies who hated and mistreated you

will kneel at your feet.

They will say, "You are Zion, the city of the LORD,

the holy God of Israel."

¹⁵You were hated and deserted, rejected by everyone.

But I will make you beautiful, a city to be proud of

for all time to come.

¹⁶You will drain the wealth of kings and foreign nations.

You will know that I, the mighty LORD God of Israel,

have saved and rescued you.

¹⁷I will bring bronze and iron

in place of wood and stone;

in place of bronze and iron,

I will bring gold and silver.

I will appoint peace and justice

as your rulers and leaders.

¹⁸Violence, destruction, and ruin will never again

be heard of within your borders.

"Victory" will be the name you give to your walls;

"Praise" will be the name you give to your gates.

¹⁹You won't need the light of the sun or the moon.

I, the LORD your God, will be your eternal light

and bring you honor.

²⁰Your sun will never set or your moon go down.

I, the LORD, will be your everlasting light,

and your days of sorrow will come to an end.

²¹Your people will live right and always own the land;

they are the trees I planted to bring praise to me.

²²Even the smallest family will be a powerful nation.

I am the LORD, and when the time comes,

I will quickly do all this.

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.