11 Tishrei 5994 / 26 September 2023
Day 269 Readings
Torah: Vezot Hab'rachah, 3rd Portion Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:13-17
New American Standard Bible
13 Of Joseph he said,
“Blessed of the Lord be his land, With the choice things of heaven, with the dew, And from the deep waters lying beneath, 14 And with the choice yield of the sun,And the choice produce of the months;15 And with the [a]best things of the ancient mountains,With the choice things of the everlasting hills,16 And with the choice things of the earth and its fullness, And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. Let it come to the head of Joseph,And to the top of the head of the one who was prince among his brothers.17 As the firstborn of his ox, majesty is his,And his horns are the horns of the wild ox;With them he will gore the peoples. All [b]at once, to the ends of the earth. And those are the ten thousands of Ephraim, And those are the thousands of Manasseh.”
Bible Study Together
Joshua 12:1-13:7
Mark 9:14-29
All Things Possible
14 And when they came back to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. 15 Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were amazed and began running up to greet Him. 16 And He asked them, “What are you disputing with them?” 17 And one person from the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, because he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak; 18 and [a]whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes stiff. And I told Your disciples so that they would cast it out, but they could not do it.” 19 And He answered them and *said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” 20 And they brought [b]the boy to Him. When he saw Him, the spirit immediately threw him into convulsions, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. 21 And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to kill him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” 23 But Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible for the one who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was [c]rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I [d]command you, come out of him and do not enter him [e]again!” 26 And after crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him, and he got up. 28 When He came into the house, His disciples began asking Him privately, “Why is it that we could not cast it out?” 29 And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything except prayer.”
365 Daily Kingdom Living
God's Steadfast Love Is GoodGod is a good father. His steadfast love is good and his mercy is abundant to his children. This is what we as children of God need to know and understand...the heart of our Father. When you know how much God loves you, then all things will be made sense to you. In times of disobedience, we experience God’s mercy and love. When God has yet to answer your prayer to meet your expectation or needs, know that God does not delay because His way is higher than our way. His timing is perfect. He loves more than you can think of.Prayer: Father Lord, Thank you for being our father. Thank you for your steadfast love for me beyond what I can think. Help me to understand your love and trust in you. God’s Steadfast love is good. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Scripture
Isaiah 49
8 Thus says the Lord:
“In an acceptable[g] time I have heard You,And in the day of salvation I have helped You;I will [h]preserve You and give YouAs a covenant to the people,To restore the earth,To cause them to inherit the desolate [i]heritages;9 That You may say to the prisoners, ‘Go forth,’To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
“They shall feed along the roads,And their pastures shall be on all desolate heights.10 They shall neither hunger nor thirst,Neither heat nor sun shall strike them;For He who has mercy on them will lead them,Even by the springs of water He will guide them.11 I will make each of My mountains a road,And My highways shall be elevated.12 Surely these shall come from afar;Look! Those from the north and the west,And these from the land of Sinim.”
13 Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth!And break out in singing, O mountains!For the Lord has comforted His people,And will have mercy on His afflicted.
God Will Remember Zion
14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,And my Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child,[j]And not have compassion on the son of her womb?Surely they may forget,Yet I will not forget you.16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;Your walls are continually before Me.17 Your [k]sons shall make haste;Your destroyers and those who laid you wasteShall go away from you.18 Lift up your eyes, look around and see;All these gather together and come to you.As I live,” says the Lord,“You shall surely clothe yourselves with them all as an ornament,And bind them on you as a bride does.
19 “For your waste and desolate places,And the land of your destruction,Will even now be too small for the inhabitants;And those who swallowed you up will be far away. 20 The children you will have,After you have lost the others,Will say again in your ears,‘The place is too small for me;Give me a place where I may dwell.’ 21 Then you will say in your heart,‘Who has begotten these for me,Since I have lost my children and am desolate,A captive, and wandering to and fro?And who has brought these up?There I was, left alone;But these, where were they?’ ”
22 Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations,And set up My [l]standard for the peoples;They shall bring your sons in their [m]arms,And your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders;
23 Kings shall be your foster fathers,And their queens your nursing mothers;They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth,And lick up the dust of your feet.Then you will know that I am the Lord,For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.”
25 But thus says the Lord:
“Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away,And the prey of the terrible be delivered;For I will contend with him who contends with you,And I will save your children.26 I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, And they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. All flesh shall knowThat I, the Lord, am your Savior,And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Isaiah 50
The Servant, Israel’s Hope
1 Thus says the Lord:
“Where is the certificate of your mother’s divorce,Whom I have put away?Or which of My creditors is it to whom I have sold you? For your iniquities you have sold yourselves,And for your transgressions your mother has been put away. 2 Why, when I came, was there no man?Why, when I called, was there none to answer?Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem?Or have I no power to deliver?Indeed with My rebuke I dry up the sea,I make the rivers a wilderness; Their fish stink because there is no water, And die of thirst. 3 I clothe the heavens with blackness,And I make sackcloth their covering.”
4 “The Lord God has given MeThe tongue of the learned,That I should know how to speak A word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My earTo hear as the learned. 5 The Lord God has opened My ear;And I was not rebellious,Nor did I turn away.6 I gave My back to those who struck Me,And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard;I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.
7 “For the Lord God will help Me;Therefore I will not be disgraced;Therefore I have set My face like a flint,And I know that I will not be ashamed. 8 He is near who justifies Me;Who will contend with Me?Let us stand together.Who is [a]My adversary?Let him come near Me.9 Surely the Lord God will help Me;Who is he who will condemn Me?Indeed they will all grow old like a garment;The moth will eat them up.
10 “Who among you fears the Lord?Who obeys the voice of His Servant?Who walks in darknessAnd has no light?Let him trust in the name of the Lord And rely upon his God. 11 Look, all you who kindle a fire, Who encircle yourselves with sparks: Walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks you have kindled—This you shall have from My hand: You shall lie down in torment.
Ephesians 4:17-32
The New Man
17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as [a]the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Do Not Grieve the Spirit
25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. 26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give [b]place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary [c]edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, [d]clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Psalm 69:1-18
New King James Version
An Urgent Plea for Help in Trouble
To the Chief Musician. Set to [a]“The Lilies.” A Psalm of David.
1 Save me, O God!For the waters have come up to my [b]neck.2 I sink in deep mire,Where there is no standing;I have come into deep waters,Where the floods overflow me. 3 I am weary with my crying;My throat is dry; My eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those who hate me without a cause Are more than the hairs of my head;They are mighty who would destroy me, Being my enemies wrongfully; Though I have stolen nothing,I still must restore it.
5 O God, You know my foolishness;And my sins are not hidden from You. 6 Let not those who [c]wait for You, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me;Let not those who seek You be [d]confounded because of me, O God of Israel. 7 Because for Your sake I have borne reproach;Shame has covered my face.8 I have become a stranger to my brothers,And an alien to my mother’s children; 9 Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. 10 When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, That became my reproach. 11 I also [e]made sackcloth my garment;I became a byword to them.12 Those who [f]sit in the gate speak against me, And I am the song of the drunkards.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, in the acceptable time;O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, Hear me in the truth of Your salvation.14 Deliver me out of the mire,And let me not sink;Let me be delivered from those who hate me, And out of the deep waters.15 Let not the floodwater overflow me,Nor let the deep swallow me up; And let not the pit shut its mouth on me.
16 Hear me, O Lord, for Your lovingkindness is good;Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies.17 And do not hide Your face from Your servant,For I am in trouble; Hear me speedily. 18 Draw near to my soul, and redeem it; Deliver me because of my enemies.
Proverbs 24:5-6
New King James Version
5 A wise man is strong,Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; 6 For by wise counsel you will wage your own war,And in a multitude of counselors there is safety.