Daily Bible CEV February 21 Scroll

The Preaching of John the Baptist
(Mark 1.1-8; Luke 3.1-18; John 1.19-28)

Matthew 3 Years later, John the Baptist started preaching in the desert of Judea. ²He said, "Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven will soon be here."

³John was the one the prophet Isaiah was talking about, when he said,

"In the desert someone is shouting,

'Get the road ready for the Lord!

Make a straight path for him.' "

⁴John wore clothes made of camel's hair. He had a leather strap around his waist and ate grasshoppers and wild honey.

⁵From Jerusalem and all Judea and from the Jordan River Valley crowds of people went to John. ⁶They told how sorry they were for their sins, and he baptized them in the river.

⁷Many Pharisees and Sadducees also came to be baptized. But John said to them:

You bunch of snakes! Who warned you to run from the coming judgment? ⁸Do something to show that you have really given up your sins. ⁹And don't start telling yourselves that you belong to Abraham's family. I tell you that God can turn these stones into children for Abraham. ¹⁰An ax is ready to cut the trees down at their roots. Any tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into a fire.

¹¹I baptize you with water so that you will give up your sins. But someone more powerful is going to come, and I am not good enough even to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹²His threshing fork is in his hand, and he is ready to separate the wheat from the husks. He will store the wheat in a barn and burn the husks in a fire that never goes out.

The Baptism of Jesus
(Mark 1.9-11; Luke 3.21, 22)

¹³Jesus left Galilee and went to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. ¹⁴But John kept objecting and said, "I ought to be baptized by you. Why have you come to me?"

¹⁵Jesus answered, "For now this is how it should be, because we must do all that God wants us to do." Then John agreed.

¹⁶So Jesus was baptized. And as soon as he came out of the water, the sky opened, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down on him like a dove. ¹⁷Then a voice from heaven said, "This is my own dear Son, and I am pleased with him."

The People Agree To Obey God

Exodus 24 The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on this mountain. Bring along Aaron, as well as his two sons Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel's leaders. They must worship me at a distance, ²but you are to come near. Don't let anyone else come up."

³Moses gave the LORD's instructions to the people, and they promised, "We will do everything the LORD has commanded!" ⁴Then Moses wrote down what the LORD had said.

The next morning Moses got up early. He built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up a large stone for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵He also sent some young men to burn offerings and to sacrifice bulls as special offerings to the LORD. ⁶Moses put half of the blood from the animals into bowls and sprinkled the rest on the altar. ⁷Then he read aloud the LORD's commands and promises, and the people shouted, "We will obey the LORD and do everything he has commanded!"

⁸Moses took the blood from the bowls and sprinkled it on the people. Next, he told them, "With this blood the LORD makes his agreement with you."

⁹Moses and Aaron, together with Nadab and Abihu and the seventy leaders, went up the mountain ¹⁰and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something that looked like a pavement made out of sapphire, and it was as bright as the sky.

¹¹Even though these leaders of Israel saw God, he did not punish them. So they ate and drank.

Moses on Mount Sinai

¹²The LORD said to Moses, "Come up on the mountain and stay here for a while. I will give you the two flat stones on which I have written the laws that my people must obey." ¹³Moses and Joshua his assistant got ready, then Moses started up the mountain to meet with God.

¹⁴Moses had told the leaders, "Wait here until we come back. Aaron and Hur will be with you, and they can settle any arguments while we are away."

¹⁵When Moses went up on Mount Sinai, a cloud covered it, ¹⁶and the bright glory of the LORD came down and stayed there. The cloud covered the mountain for six days, and on the seventh day the LORD told Moses to come into the cloud. ^17-18Moses did so and stayed there forty days and nights. To the people, the LORD's glory looked like a blazing fire on top of the mountain.

Watch What You Say and Do

Proverbs 11 The LORD hates anyone who cheats,

but he likes everyone who is honest.

²Too much pride can put you to shame.

It's wiser to be humble.

³If you do the right thing, honesty will be your guide.

But if you are crooked,

you will be trapped by your own dishonesty.

⁴When God is angry, money won't help you.

Obeying God is the only way to be saved from death.

⁵If you are truly good, you will do right;

if you are wicked,

you will be destroyed by your own sin.

⁶Honesty can keep you safe,

but if you can't be trusted, you trap yourself.

⁷When the wicked die, their hopes die with them.

⁸Trouble goes right past the LORD's people

and strikes the wicked.

⁹Dishonest people use gossip to destroy their neighbors;

good people are protected by their own good sense.

¹⁰When honest people prosper and the wicked disappear,

the whole city celebrates.

¹¹When God blesses his people, their city prospers,

but deceitful liars can destroy a city.

¹²It's stupid to say bad things about your neighbors.

If you are sensible, you will keep quiet.

¹³A gossip tells everything,

but a true friend will keep a secret.

¹⁴A city without wise leaders will end up in ruin;

a city with many wise leaders will be kept safe.

¹⁵It's a dangerous thing

to guarantee payment for someone's debts.

Don't do it!

¹⁶A gracious woman will be respected,

but a man must work hard to get rich.

¹⁷Kindness is rewarded--

but if you are cruel, you hurt yourself.

¹⁸Meanness gets you nowhere, but goodness is rewarded.

¹⁹Always do the right thing, and you will live;

keep on doing wrong, and you will die.

²⁰The LORD hates sneaky people,

but he likes everyone who lives right.

²¹You can be sure of this:

All crooks will be punished, but God's people won't.

²²A beautiful woman who acts foolishly

is like a gold ring on the snout of a pig.

²³Good people want what is best,

but troublemakers hope to stir up trouble.

²⁴Sometimes you can become rich by being generous

or poor by being greedy.

²⁵Generosity will be rewarded: Give a cup of water,

and you will receive a cup of water in return.

²⁶Charge too much for grain, and you will be cursed;

sell it at a fair price, and you will be praised.

²⁷Try hard to do right, and you will win friends;

go looking for trouble, and you will find it.

²⁸Trust in your wealth, and you will be a failure,

but God's people will prosper like healthy plants.

²⁹Fools who cause trouble in the family won't inherit a thing.

They will end up as slaves of someone with good sense.

³⁰Live right, and you will eat from the life-giving tree.

And if you act wisely, others will follow.

³¹If good people are rewarded here on this earth,

all who are cruel and mean will surely be punished.

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.