Daily Bible CEV February 18 Scroll

Service That Pleases God

Hebrews 13 Keep being concerned about each other as the Lord's followers should.

²Be sure to welcome strangers into your home. By doing this, some people have welcomed angels as guests, without even knowing it.

³Remember the Lord's people who are in jail and be concerned for them. Don't forget those who are suffering, but imagine that you are there with them.

⁴Have respect for marriage. Always be faithful to your partner, because God will punish anyone who is immoral or unfaithful in marriage.

⁵Don't fall in love with money. Be satisfied with what you have. The Lord has promised that he will not leave us or desert us. ⁶That should make you feel like saying,

"The Lord helps me! Why should I be afraid

of what people can do to me?"

⁷Don't forget about your leaders who taught you God's message. Remember what kind of lives they lived and try to have faith like theirs.

⁸Jesus Christ never changes! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. ⁹Don't be fooled by any kind of strange teachings. It is better to receive strength from God's undeserved kindness than to depend on certain foods. After all, these foods don't really help the people who eat them. ¹⁰But we have an altar where even the priests who serve in the place of worship have no right to eat.

¹¹After the high priest offers the blood of animals as a sin offering, the bodies of those animals are burned outside the camp. ¹²Jesus himself suffered outside the city gate, so that his blood would make people holy. ¹³That's why we should go outside the camp to Jesus and share in his disgrace. ¹⁴On this earth we don't have a city that lasts forever, but we are waiting for such a city.

¹⁵Our sacrifice is to keep offering praise to God in the name of Jesus. ¹⁶But don't forget to help others and to share your possessions with them. This too is like offering a sacrifice that pleases God.

¹⁷Obey your leaders and do what they say. They are watching over you, and they must answer to God. So don't make them sad as they do their work. Make them happy. Otherwise, they won't be able to help you at all.

¹⁸Pray for us. Our consciences are clear, and we always try to live right. ¹⁹I especially want you to pray that I can visit you again soon.

Final Prayers and Greetings

²⁰God gives peace, and he raised our Lord Jesus Christ from death. Now Jesus is like a Great Shepherd whose blood was used to make God's eternal agreement with his flock. ²¹I pray that God will make you ready to obey him and that you will always be eager to do right. May Jesus help you do what pleases God. To Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever! Amen.

²²My friends, I have written only a short letter to encourage you, and I beg you to pay close attention to what I have said.

²³By now you surely must know that our friend Timothy is out of jail. If he gets here in time, I will bring him with me when I come to visit you.

²⁴Please give my greetings to your leaders and to the rest of the Lord's people.

His followers from Italy send you their greetings.

²⁵I pray that God will be kind to all of you!

Jethro Visits Moses

Exodus 18 Jethro was the priest of Midian and the father-in-law of Moses. And he heard what the LORD God had done for Moses and his people, after rescuing them from Egypt.

^2-4In the meantime, Moses had sent his wife Zipporah and her two sons to stay with Jethro, and he had welcomed them. Moses was still a foreigner in Midian when his first son was born, and so Moses said, "I'll name him Gershom."

When his second son was born, Moses said, "I'll name him Eliezer, because the God my father worshiped has saved me from the king of Egypt."

^5-6While Israel was camped in the desert near Mount Sinai, Jethro sent Moses this message: "I am coming to visit you, and I am bringing your wife and two sons."

⁷When they arrived, Moses went out and bowed down in front of Jethro, then kissed him. After they had greeted each other, they went into the tent, ⁸where Moses told him everything the LORD had done to protect Israel against the Egyptians and their king. He also told him how the LORD had helped them in all of their troubles.

⁹Jethro was so pleased to hear this good news about what the LORD had done, ¹⁰that he shouted, "Praise the LORD! He rescued you and the Israelites from the Egyptians and their king. ¹¹Now I know that the LORD is the greatest God, because he has rescued Israel from their arrogant enemies." ¹²Jethro offered sacrifices to God. Then Aaron and Israel's leaders came to eat with Jethro there at the place of worship.

Judges Are Appointed
(Deuteronomy 1.9-18)

¹³The next morning Moses sat down at the place where he decided legal cases for the people, and everyone crowded around him until evening. ¹⁴Jethro saw how much Moses had to do for the people, and he asked, "Why are you the only judge? Why do you let these people crowd around you from morning till evening?"

¹⁵Moses answered, "Because they come here to find out what God wants them to do. ¹⁶They bring their complaints to me, and I make decisions on the basis of God's laws."

¹⁷Jethro replied:

That isn't the best way to do it. ¹⁸You and the people who come to you will soon be worn out. The job is too much for one person; you can't do it alone. ¹⁹God will help you if you follow my advice. You should be the one to speak to God for the people, ²⁰and you should teach them God's laws and show them what they must do to live right.

²¹You will need to appoint some competent leaders who respect God and are trustworthy and honest. Then put them over groups of ten, fifty, a hundred, and a thousand. ²²These judges can handle the ordinary cases and bring the more difficult ones to you. Having them to share the load will make your work easier. ²³This is the way God wants it done. You won't be under nearly as much stress, and everyone else will return home feeling satisfied.

²⁴Moses followed Jethro's advice. ²⁵He chose some competent leaders from every tribe in Israel and put them over groups of ten, fifty, a hundred, and a thousand. ²⁶They served as judges, deciding the easy cases themselves, but bringing the more difficult ones to Moses.

²⁷After Moses and his father-in-law Jethro had said good-by to each other, Jethro returned home.

At Mount Sinai

Exodus 19 ^1-2The Israelites left Rephidim. Then two months after leaving Egypt, they arrived at the desert near Mount Sinai, where they set up camp at the foot of the mountain.

³Moses went up the mountain to meet with the LORD God, who told him to say to the people:

⁴You saw what I did in Egypt, and you know how I brought you here to me, just as a mighty eagle carries its young. ⁵Now if you will faithfully obey me, you will be my very own people. The whole world is mine, ⁶but you will be my holy nation and serve me as priests.

Moses, that is what you must tell the Israelites.

⁷After Moses went back, he reported to the leaders what the LORD had said, ⁸and they promised, "We will do everything the LORD has commanded." So Moses told the LORD about this.

⁹The LORD said to Moses, "I will come to you in a thick cloud and let the people hear me speak to you. Then they will always trust you." Again Moses reported to the people what the LORD had told him.

¹⁰Once more the LORD spoke to Moses:

Go back and tell the people that today and tomorrow they must get themselves ready to meet me. They must wash their clothes ¹¹and be ready by the day after tomorrow, when I will come down to Mount Sinai, where all of them can see me.

¹²Warn the people that they are forbidden to touch any part of the mountain. Anyone who does will be put to death, ¹³either with stones or arrows, and no one must touch the body of a person killed in this way. Even an animal that touches this mountain must be put to death. You may go up the mountain only after a signal is given on the trumpet.

¹⁴After Moses went down the mountain, he gave orders for the people to wash their clothes and make themselves acceptable to worship God. ¹⁵He told them to be ready in three days and not to have sex in the meantime.

The LORD Comes to Mount Sinai

¹⁶On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud covered the mountain, a loud trumpet blast was heard, and everyone in camp trembled with fear. ¹⁷Moses led them out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

¹⁸Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the LORD had come down in a flaming fire. Smoke poured out of the mountain just like a furnace, and the whole mountain shook. ¹⁹The trumpet blew louder and louder. Moses spoke, and God answered him with thunder.

²⁰The LORD came down to the top of Mount Sinai and told Moses to meet him there. ²¹Then he said, "Moses, go and warn the people not to cross the boundary that you set at the foot of the mountain. They must not cross it to come and look at me, because if they do, many of them will die. ²²Only the priests may come near me, and they must obey strict rules before I let them. If they don't, they will be punished."

²³Moses replied, "The people cannot come up the mountain. You warned us to stay away because it is holy."

²⁴Then the LORD told Moses, "Go down and bring Aaron back here with you. But the priests and people must not try to push their way through, or I will rush at them like a flood!"

²⁵After Moses had gone back down, he told the people what the LORD had said.

In Praise of Wisdom

Proverbs 8 With great understanding, Wisdom is calling out

as she stands at the crossroads and on every hill.

³She stands by the city gate

where everyone enters the city, and she shouts:

⁴"I am calling out to each one of you!

⁵Good sense and sound judgment can be yours.

⁶

Listen, because what I say is worthwhile and right.

⁷I always speak the truth and refuse to tell a lie.

⁸Every word I speak is honest,

not one is misleading or deceptive.

⁹"If you have understanding,

you will see that my words are just what you need.

¹⁰Let instruction and knowledge mean more to you

than silver or the finest gold.

¹¹Wisdom is worth much more than precious jewels

or anything else you desire."

Wisdom Speaks

¹²I am Wisdom --Common Sense is my closest friend;

I possess knowledge and sound judgment.

¹³If you respect the LORD, you will hate evil.

I hate pride and conceit and deceitful lies.

¹⁴I am strong,

and I offer sensible advice and sound judgment.

¹⁵By my power kings govern,

and rulers make laws that are fair.

¹⁶Every honest leader rules with help from me.

¹⁷I love everyone who loves me,

and I will be found by all who honestly search.

¹⁸I can make you rich and famous,

important and successful.

¹⁹What you receive from me is more valuable

than even the finest gold or the purest silver.

²⁰I always do what is right,

²¹

and I give great riches to everyone who loves me.

²²From the beginning, I was with the LORD.

I was there before he began ²³to create the earth.

At the very first, the LORD gave life to me.

²⁴When I was born,

there were no oceans or springs of water.

²⁵My birth was before mountains were formed

or hills were put in place.

²⁶It happened long before God had made the earth

or any of its fields or even the dust.

²⁷I was there when the LORD put the heavens in place

and stretched the sky over the surface of the sea.

²⁸I was with him when he placed the clouds in the sky

and created the springs that fill the ocean.

²⁹I was there when he set boundaries for the sea

to make it obey him,

and when he laid foundations to support the earth.

³⁰I was right beside the LORD,

helping him plan and build.

I made him happy each day, and I was happy at his side.

³¹

I was pleased with his world and pleased with its people.

³²Pay attention, my children!

Follow my advice, and you will be happy.

³³Listen carefully to my instructions, and you will be wise.

³⁴Come to my home each day and listen to me.

You will find happiness.

³⁵By finding me, you find life,

and the LORD will be pleased with you.

³⁶But if you don't find me, you hurt only yourself,

and if you hate me, you are in love with death.

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.