Daily Bible CEV January 07 Scroll

A Man with Demons in Him
(Matthew 8.28-34; Mark 5.1-20)

Luke 8 ²⁶Jesus and his disciples sailed across Lake Galilee and came to shore near the town of Gerasa. ²⁷As Jesus was getting out of the boat, he was met by a man from that town. The man had demons in him. He had gone naked for a long time and no longer lived in a house, but in the graveyard.

²⁸The man saw Jesus and screamed. He knelt down in front of him and shouted, "Jesus, Son of God in heaven, what do you want with me? I beg you not to torture me!" ²⁹He said this because Jesus had already told the evil spirit to go out of him.

The man had often been attacked by the demon. And even though he had been bound with chains and leg irons and kept under guard, he smashed whatever bound him. Then the demon would force him out into lonely places.

³⁰Jesus asked the man, "What is your name?"

He answered, "My name is Lots." He said this because there were 'lots' of demons in him. ³¹They begged Jesus not to send them to the deep pit, where they would be punished.

³²A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. So the demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and Jesus let them go. ³³Then the demons left the man and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

³⁴When the men taking care of the pigs saw this, they ran to spread the news in the town and on the farms. ³⁵The people went out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they also found the man. The demons had gone out of him, and he was sitting there at the feet of Jesus. He had clothes on and was in his right mind. But the people were terrified.

³⁶Then all who had seen the man healed told about it. ³⁷Everyone from around Gerasa begged Jesus to leave, because they were so frightened.

When Jesus got into the boat to start back, ³⁸the man who had been healed begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him off and said, ³⁹"Go back home and tell everyone how much God has done for you." The man then went all over town, telling everything that Jesus had done for him.

A Dying Girl and a Sick Woman
(Matthew 9.18-26; Mark 5.21-43)

⁴⁰Everyone had been waiting for Jesus, and when he came back, a crowd was there to welcome him. ⁴¹Just then the man in charge of the Jewish meeting place came and knelt down in front of Jesus. His name was Jairus, and he begged Jesus to come to his home ⁴²because his twelve-year-old child was dying. She was his only daughter.

While Jesus was on his way, people were crowding all around him. ⁴³In the crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had spent everything she had on doctors, but none of them could make her well.

⁴⁴As soon as she came up behind Jesus and barely touched his clothes, her bleeding stopped.

⁴⁵"Who touched me?" Jesus asked.

While everyone was denying it, Peter said, "Master, people are crowding all around and pushing you from every side."

⁴⁶But Jesus answered, "Someone touched me, because I felt power going out from me." ⁴⁷The woman knew that she could not hide, so she came trembling and knelt down in front of Jesus. She told everyone why she had touched him and that she had been healed right away.

⁴⁸Jesus said to the woman, "You are now well because of your faith. May God give you peace!"

⁴⁹While Jesus was speaking, someone came from Jairus' home and said, "Your daughter has died! Why bother the teacher anymore?"

⁵⁰When Jesus heard this, he told Jairus, "Don't worry! Have faith, and your daughter will get well."

⁵¹Jesus went into the house, but he did not let anyone else go with him, except Peter, John, James, and the girl's father and mother. ⁵²Everyone was crying and weeping for the girl. But Jesus said, "The child isn't dead. She is just asleep." ⁵³The people laughed at him because they knew she was dead.

⁵⁴Jesus took hold of the girl's hand and said, "Child, get up!" ⁵⁵She came back to life and got right up. Jesus told them to give her something to eat. ⁵⁶Her parents were surprised, but Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

Abram and Lot Separate

Genesis 13 Abram and Sarai took everything they owned and went to the Southern Desert. Lot went with them.

²Abram was very rich. He owned many cattle, sheep, and goats, and had a lot of silver and gold. ³Abram moved from place to place in the Southern Desert. And finally, he went north and set up his tents between Bethel and Ai, ⁴where he had earlier camped and built an altar. There he worshiped the LORD.

⁵Lot, who was traveling with him, also had sheep, goats, and cattle, as well as his own family and slaves. ^6-7At this time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the same area, and so there wasn't enough pastureland left for Abram and Lot with all of their animals. Besides this, the men who took care of Abram's animals and the ones who took care of Lot's animals started quarreling.

⁸Abram said to Lot, "We are close relatives. We shouldn't argue, and our men shouldn't be fighting one another. ⁹There is plenty of land for you to choose from. Let's separate. If you go north, I'll go south; if you go south, I'll go north."

¹⁰This happened before the LORD had destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And when Lot looked around, he saw there was plenty of water in the Jordan Valley. All the way to Zoar the valley was as green as the garden of the LORD or the land of Egypt. ¹¹So Lot chose the whole Jordan Valley for himself, and as he started toward the east, he and Abram separated. ¹²Abram stayed in the land of Canaan. But Lot settled near the cities of the valley and put up his tents not far from Sodom, ¹³where the people were evil and sinned terribly against the LORD.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴After Abram and Lot had gone their separate ways, the LORD said to Abram:

Look around to the north, south, east, and west. ¹⁵I will give you and your family all the land you can see. It will be theirs forever! ¹⁶I will give you more descendants than there are specks of dust on the earth, and someday it will be easier to count the specks of dust than to count your descendants. ¹⁷Now walk back and forth across the land, because I am giving it to you.

¹⁸Abram took down his tents and went to live near the sacred trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar in honor of the LORD.

Abram Rescues Lot

Genesis 14 About this time, King Amraphel of Babylonia, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim ²attacked King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, also known as the city of Zoar. ^3-4King Chedorlaomer and his allies had ruled these last five kings for twelve years, but in the thirteenth year the kings rebelled and came together in Siddim Valley, which is now covered by the southern part of the Dead Sea.

⁵A year later King Chedorlaomer and his allies attacked and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth-Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, and the Emites in Shaveh-Kiriathaim. ⁶They also defeated the Horites in the hill country of Edom, as far as El-Paran, near the desert.

⁷They went back to the city of Enmishpat, better known as Kadesh. Then they captured all the land that belonged to the Amalekites, and they defeated the Amorites who were living in Hazazon-Tamar.

^8-9At Siddim Valley, the armies of the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela fought the armies of King Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Babylonia, and King Arioch of Ellasar. The valley ¹⁰was full of tar pits, and when the troops from Sodom and Gomorrah started running away, some of them fell into the pits. Others escaped to the hill country. ¹¹Their enemies took everything of value from Sodom and Gomorrah, including their food supplies. ¹²They also captured Abram's nephew Lot, who lived in Sodom. They took him and his possessions and then left.

¹³At this time Abram the Hebrew was living near the oaks that belonged to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his brothers Eshcol and Aner were Abram's friends. Someone who had escaped from the battle told Abram ¹⁴that his nephew Lot had been taken away. Three hundred eighteen of Abram's servants were fighting men, so he took them and followed the enemy as far north as the city of Dan.

¹⁵That night, Abram divided up his troops, attacked from all sides, and won a great victory. But some of the enemy escaped to the town of Hobah north of Damascus, ¹⁶and Abram went after them. He brought back his nephew Lot, together with Lot's possessions and the women and everyone else who had been captured.

Abram Is Blessed by Melchizedek

¹⁷Abram returned after he had defeated King Chedorlaomer and the other kings. Then the king of Sodom went to meet Abram in Shaveh Valley, which is also known as King's Valley.

¹⁸King Melchizedek of Salem was a priest of God Most High. He brought out some bread and wine ¹⁹and said to Abram:

"I bless you in the name of God Most High,

Creator of heaven and earth.

²⁰All praise belongs to God Most High

for helping you defeat your enemies."
Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.

²¹The king of Sodom said to Abram, "All I want are my people. You can keep everything else."

²²Abram answered:

The LORD God Most High made the heavens and the earth. And I have promised him ²³that I won't keep anything of yours, not even a sandal strap or a piece of thread. Then you can never say that you are the one who made me rich. ²⁴Let my share be the food that my men have eaten. But Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre went with me, so give them their share of what we brought back.

Psalm 7
[Written by David. He sang this to the LORD because of Cush from the tribe of Benjamin.]
The LORD Always Does Right

¹You, LORD God, are my protector.

Rescue me and keep me safe from all who chase me.

²Or else they will rip me apart like lions

attacking a victim, and no one will save me.

³I am innocent, LORD God!

⁴I have not betrayed a friend or had pity on an enemy

who attacks for no reason.

⁵If I have done any of this,

then let my enemies chase and capture me.

Let them stomp me to death and leave me in the dirt.

⁶Get angry, LORD God! Do something!

Attack my furious enemies. See that justice is done.

⁷Make the nations come to you,

as you sit on your throne above them all.

⁸Our LORD, judge the nations! Judge me

and show that I am honest and innocent.

⁹You know every heart and mind, and you always do right.

Now make violent people stop,

but protect all of us who obey you.

¹⁰You, God, are my shield,

the protector of everyone whose heart is right.

¹¹You see that justice is done,

and each day you take revenge.

¹²Whenever your enemies refuse to change their ways,

you sharpen your sword and string your bow.

¹³Your deadly arrows are ready with flaming tips.

¹⁴An evil person is like a woman about to give birth

to a hateful, deceitful, and rebellious child.

¹⁵Such people dig a deep hole, then fall in it themselves.

¹⁶The trouble they cause comes back on them,

and their heads are crushed by their own evil deeds.

¹⁷I will praise you, LORD! You always do right.

I will sing about you, the LORD Most High.

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.