Daily Bible GNT June 09 Scroll

Do Not Judge Others

Romans 14 Welcome those who are weak in faith, but do not argue with them about their personal opinions. ²Some people's faith allows them to eat anything, but the person who is weak in the faith eats only vegetables. ³The person who will eat anything is not to despise the one who doesn't; while the one who eats only vegetables is not to pass judgment on the one who will eat anything; for God has accepted that person. ⁴Who are you to judge the servants of someone else? It is their own Master who will decide whether they succeed or fail. And they will succeed, because the Lord is able to make them succeed.

⁵Some people think that a certain day is more important than other days, while others think that all days are the same. We each should firmly make up our own minds. ⁶Those who think highly of a certain day do so in honor of the Lord; those who will eat anything do so in honor of the Lord, because they give thanks to God for the food. Those who refuse to eat certain things do so in honor of the Lord, and they give thanks to God. ⁷We do not live for ourselves only, and we do not die for ourselves only. ⁸If we live, it is for the Lord that we live, and if we die, it is for the Lord that we die. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. ⁹For Christ died and rose to life in order to be the Lord of the living and of the dead. ¹⁰You then, who eat only vegetables--why do you pass judgment on others? And you who eat anything--why do you despise other believers? All of us will stand before God to be judged by him. ¹¹For the scripture says,

"As surely as I am the living God, says the Lord,

everyone will kneel before me,

and everyone will confess that I am God."
¹²Every one of us, then, will have to give an account to God.

Do Not Make Others Fall

¹³So then, let us stop judging one another. Instead, you should decide never to do anything that would make others stumble or fall into sin. ¹⁴My union with the Lord Jesus makes me certain that no food is of itself ritually unclean; but if you believe that some food is unclean, then it becomes unclean for you. ¹⁵If you hurt others because of something you eat, then you are no longer acting from love. Do not let the food that you eat ruin the person for whom Christ died! ¹⁶Do not let what you regard as good get a bad name. ¹⁷For God's Kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of the righteousness, peace, and joy which the Holy Spirit gives. ¹⁸And when you serve Christ in this way, you please God and are approved by others.

¹⁹So then, we must always aim at those things that bring peace and that help strengthen one another. ²⁰Do not, because of food, destroy what God has done. All foods may be eaten, but it is wrong to eat anything that will cause someone else to fall into sin. ²¹The right thing to do is to keep from eating meat, drinking wine, or doing anything else that will make other believers fall. ²²Keep what you believe about this matter, then, between yourself and God. Happy are those who do not feel guilty when they do something they judge is right! ²³But if they have doubts about what they eat, God condemns them when they eat it, because their action is not based on faith. And anything that is not based on faith is sin.

David Spares Saul's Life Again

1 Samuel 26 Some men from Ziph came to Saul at Gibeah and told him that David was hiding on Mount Hachilah at the edge of the Judean wilderness. ²Saul went at once with three thousand of the best soldiers in Israel to the wilderness of Ziph to look for David, ³and camped by the road on Mount Hachilah. David was still in the wilderness, and when he learned that Saul had come to look for him, ⁴he sent spies and found out that Saul was indeed there. ⁵He went at once and located the exact place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, slept. Saul slept inside the camp, and his men camped around him.

⁶Then David asked Ahimelech the Hittite, and Abishai the brother of Joab (their mother was Zeruiah), "Which of you two will go to Saul's camp with me?"

"I will," Abishai answered.

⁷So that night David and Abishai entered Saul's camp and found Saul sleeping in the center of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the troops were sleeping around him. ⁸Abishai said to David, "God has put your enemy in your power tonight. Now let me plunge his own spear through him and pin him to the ground with just one blow--I won't have to strike twice!"

⁹But David said, "You must not harm him! The LORD will certainly punish whoever harms his chosen king. ¹⁰By the living LORD," David continued, "I know that the LORD himself will kill Saul, either when his time comes to die a natural death or when he dies in battle. ¹¹The LORD forbid that I should try to harm the one whom the LORD has made king! Let's take his spear and his water jar, and go." ¹²So David took the spear and the water jar from right beside Saul's head, and he and Abishai left. No one saw it or knew what had happened or even woke up--they were all sound asleep, because the LORD had sent a heavy sleep on them all.

¹³Then David crossed over to the other side of the valley to the top of the hill, a safe distance away, ¹⁴and shouted to Saul's troops and to Abner, "Abner! Can you hear me?"

"Who is that shouting and waking up the king?" Abner asked.

¹⁵David answered, "Abner, aren't you the greatest man in Israel? So why aren't you protecting your master, the king? Just now someone entered the camp to kill your master. ¹⁶You failed in your duty, Abner! I swear by the living LORD that all of you deserve to die, because you have not protected your master, whom the LORD made king. Look! Where is the king's spear? Where is the water jar that was right by his head?"

¹⁷Saul recognized David's voice and asked, "David, is that you, my son?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," David answered. ¹⁸And he added, "Why, sir, are you still pursuing me, your servant? What have I done? What crime have I committed? ¹⁹Your Majesty, listen to what I have to say. If it is the LORD who has turned you against me, an offering to him will make him change his mind; but if some people have done it, may the LORD's curse fall on them. For they have driven me out from the LORD's land to a country where I can only worship foreign gods. ²⁰Don't let me be killed on foreign soil, away from the LORD. Why should the king of Israel come to kill a flea like me? Why should he hunt me down like a wild bird?"

²¹Saul answered, "I have done wrong. Come back, David, my son! I will never harm you again, because you have spared my life tonight. I have been a fool! I have done a terrible thing!"

²²David replied, "Here is your spear, Your Majesty. Let one of your men come over and get it. ²³The LORD rewards those who are faithful and righteous. Today he put you in my power, but I did not harm you, whom the LORD made king. ²⁴Just as I have spared your life today, may the LORD do the same to me and free me from all troubles!"

²⁵Saul said to David, "God bless you, my son! You will succeed in everything you do!"

So David went on his way, and Saul returned home.

A Cry for Help

Psalm 69 Save me, O God!

The water is up to my neck;

²I am sinking in deep mud,

and there is no solid ground;

I am out in deep water,

and the waves are about to drown me.

³I am worn out from calling for help,

and my throat is aching.

I have strained my eyes,

looking for your help.

⁴Those who hate me for no reason

are more numerous than the hairs of my head.

My enemies tell lies against me;

they are strong and want to kill me.

They made me give back things I did not steal.

⁵My sins, O God, are not hidden from you;

you know how foolish I have been.

⁶Don't let me bring shame on those who trust in you,

Sovereign LORD Almighty!

Don't let me bring disgrace to those who worship you,

O God of Israel!

⁷It is for your sake that I have been insulted

and that I am covered with shame.

⁸I am like a stranger to my relatives,

like a foreigner to my family.

⁹My devotion to your Temple burns in me like a fire;

the insults which are hurled at you fall on me.

¹⁰I humble myself by fasting,

and people insult me;

¹¹I dress myself in clothes of mourning,

and they laugh at me.

¹²They talk about me in the streets,

and drunkards make up songs about me.

¹³But as for me, I will pray to you, LORD;

answer me, God, at a time you choose.

Answer me because of your great love,

because you keep your promise to save.

¹⁴Save me from sinking in the mud;

keep me safe from my enemies,

safe from the deep water.

¹⁵Don't let the flood come over me;

don't let me drown in the depths

or sink into the grave.

¹⁶Answer me, LORD, in the goodness of your constant love;

in your great compassion turn to me!

¹⁷Don't hide yourself from your servant;

I am in great trouble--answer me now!

¹⁸Come to me and save me;

rescue me from my enemies.

¹⁹You know how I am insulted,

how I am disgraced and dishonored;

you see all my enemies.

²⁰Insults have broken my heart,

and I am in despair.

I had hoped for sympathy, but there was none;

for comfort, but I found none.

²¹When I was hungry, they gave me poison;

when I was thirsty, they offered me vinegar.

²²May their banquets cause their ruin;

may their sacred feasts cause their downfall.

²³Strike them with blindness!

Make their backs always weak!

²⁴Pour out your anger on them;

let your indignation overtake them.

²⁵May their camps be left deserted;

may no one be left alive in their tents.

²⁶They persecute those whom you have punished;

they talk about the sufferings of those you have wounded.

²⁷Keep a record of all their sins;

don't let them have any part in your salvation.

²⁸May their names be erased from the book of the living;

may they not be included in the list of your people.

²⁹But I am in pain and despair;

lift me up, O God, and save me!

³⁰I will praise God with a song;

I will proclaim his greatness by giving him thanks.

³¹This will please the LORD more than offering him cattle,

more than sacrificing a full-grown bull.

³²When the oppressed see this, they will be glad;

those who worship God will be encouraged.

³³The LORD listens to those in need

and does not forget his people in prison.

³⁴Praise God, O heaven and earth,

seas and all creatures in them.

³⁵He will save Jerusalem

and rebuild the towns of Judah.

His people will live there and possess the land;

³⁶

the descendants of his servants will inherit it,

and those who love him will live there.

This reading is from The Holy Bible, Today's English Version, Second Edition copyright © American Bible Society, 1992;
Old Testament copyright © American Bible Society, 1976, 1992; New Testament © American Bible Society, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992.

These daily Bible readings from the Good News Translation (GNT), formerly the Today's English Version (TEV), are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. All BibleCard® images are copyrighted by iCreative. All rights reserved.