Word for today: In you, O LORD. I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge a strong fortress to save me. Psalm 31:1,2
A Christian’s goal should be to create the Kingdom of God here on earth, as it is in Heaven. Not only, to get to Heaven.
To finish the Bible in one year, Read Psalms 40 to 44, and 2nd Corinthians 8
Old Testament Reading for today – Listen or read it for yourself:
Reflection for Today.
Also read the verses, if you like.
psalm 36
1 [For the choirmaster Of the servant of Yahweh Of David] Sin is the oracle of the wicked in the depths of his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.
2 He sees himself with too flattering an eye to detect and detest his guilt;
3 all he says is malicious and deceitful, he has turned his back on wisdom. To get his way
4 he hatches malicious plots even in his bed; once set on his evil course no wickedness is too much for him.
5 Yahweh, your faithful love is in the heavens, your constancy reaches to the clouds,
6 your saving justice is like towering mountains, your judgements like the mighty deep. Yahweh, you support both man and beast;
7 how precious, God, is your faithful love. So the children of Adam take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the bounty of your house, you let them drink from your delicious streams;
9 in you is the source of life, by your light we see the light.
10 Maintain your faithful love to those who acknowledge you, and your saving justice to the honest of heart.
11 Do not let the foot of the arrogant overtake me or wicked hands drive me away.
12 There they have fallen, the evil-doers, flung down, never to rise again.
psalm 37
1 [Of David] Do not get heated about the wicked or envy those who do wrong.
2 Quick as the grass they wither, fading like the green of the fields.
3 Put your trust in Yahweh and do right, make your home in the land and live secure.
4 Make Yahweh your joy and he will give you your heart’s desires.
5 Commit your destiny to Yahweh, be confident in him, and he will act,
6 making your uprightness clear as daylight, and the justice of your cause as the noon.
7 Stay quiet before Yahweh, wait longingly for him, do not get heated over someone who is making a fortune, succeeding by devious means.
8 Refrain from anger, leave rage aside, do not get heated — it can do no good;
9 for evil-doers will be annihilated, while those who hope in Yahweh shall have the land for their own.
10 A little while and the wicked will be no more, however well you search for the place, the wicked will not be there;
11 but the poor will have the land for their own, to enjoy untroubled peace.
12 The wicked plots against the upright and gnashes his teeth at him,
13 but Yahweh only laughs at his efforts, knowing that his end is in sight.
14 Though the wicked draw his sword and bend his bow to slaughter the honest and bring down the poor and the needy,
15 his sword will pierce his own heart, and his bow will be shattered.
16 What little the upright possesses outweighs all the wealth of the wicked;
17 for the weapons of the wicked shall be shattered, while Yahweh supports the upright.
18 The lives of the just are in Yahweh’s care, their birthright will endure for ever;
19 they will not be put to shame when bad times come, in time of famine they will have plenty.
20 The wicked, enemies of Yahweh, will be destroyed, they will vanish like the green of the pasture, they will vanish in smoke.
21 The wicked borrows and will not repay, but the upright is generous in giving;
22 those he blesses will have the land for their own, and those he curses be annihilated.
23 Yahweh guides a strong man’s steps and keeps them firm; and takes pleasure in him.
24 When he trips he is not thrown sprawling, since Yahweh supports him by the hand.
25 Now I am old, but ever since my youth I never saw an upright person abandoned, or the descendants of the upright forced to beg their bread.
26 The upright is always compassionate, always lending, so his descendants reap a blessing.
27 Turn your back on evil and do good, you will have a home for ever,
28 for Yahweh loves justice and will not forsake his faithful. Evil-doers will perish eternally, the descendants of the wicked be annihilated,
29 but the upright shall have the land for their own, there they shall live for ever.
30 Wisdom comes from the lips of the upright, and his tongue speaks what is right;
31 the law of his God is in his heart, his foot will never slip.
32 The wicked keeps a close eye on the upright, looking out for a chance to kill him;
33 Yahweh will never abandon him to the clutches of the wicked, nor let him be condemned if he is tried.
34 Put your hope in Yahweh, keep to his path, he will raise you up to make the land your own; you will look on while the wicked are annihilated.
35 I have seen the wicked exultant, towering like a cedar of Lebanon.
36 When next I passed he was gone, I searched for him and he was nowhere to be found.
37 Observe the innocent, consider the honest, for the lover of peace will not lack children.
38 But the wicked will all be destroyed together, and their children annihilated.
39 The upright have Yahweh for their Saviour, their refuge in times of trouble;
40 Yahweh helps them and rescues them, he will rescue them from the wicked, and save them because they take refuge in him.
Psalm 38
1 [Psalm Of David In commemoration] Yahweh, do not correct me in anger, do not discipline me in wrath.
2 For your arrows have pierced deep into me, your hand has pressed down upon me.
3 Your indignation has left no part of me unscathed, my sin has left no health in my bones.
4 My sins stand higher than my head, they weigh on me as an unbearable weight.
5 I have stinking, festering wounds, thanks to my folly.
6 I am twisted and bent double, I spend my days in gloom.
7 My loins burn with fever, no part of me is unscathed.
8 Numbed and utterly crushed I groan in distress of heart.
9 Lord, all my longing is known to you, my sighing no secret from you,
10 my heart is throbbing, my strength has failed, the light has gone out of my eyes.
11 Friends and companions shun my disease, even the dearest of them keep their distance.
12 Those with designs on my life lay snares, those who wish me ill speak of violence and hatch treachery all day long.
13 But I hear nothing, as though I were deaf, as though dumb, saying not a word.
14 I am like the one who, hearing nothing, has no sharp answer to make.
15 For in you, Yahweh, I put my hope, you, Lord my God, will give answer.
16 I said, ‘Never let them gloat over me, do not let them take advantage of me if my foot slips.’
17 There is no escape for me from falling, no relief from my misery.
18 But I make no secret of my guilt, I am anxious at the thought of my sin.
19 There is no numbering those who oppose me without cause, no counting those who hate me unprovoked,
20 repaying me evil for good, slandering me for trying to do them good.
21 Yahweh, do not desert me, my God, do not stand aloof from me.
22 Come quickly to my help, Lord, my Saviour!
Psalm 39
1 [For the choirmaster For Jeduthun Psalm Of David] I said, ‘I will watch how I behave so that I do not sin by my tongue. I will keep a muzzle on my mouth as long as any sinner is near.’
2 I stayed dumb, silent, speechless, but the sinner’s prosperity redoubled my torment.
3 My heart had been smouldering within me, but at the thought of this it flared up and the words came bursting out,
4 ‘Yahweh, let me know my fate, how much longer I have to live. Show me just how frail I am.
5 ‘Look, you have given me but a hand’s breadth or two of life, the length of my life is as nothing to you. Every human being that stands on earth is a mere puff of wind,
6 every human being that walks only a shadow; a mere puff of wind is the wealth stored away — no knowing who will profit from it.’
7 So now, Lord, what am I to hope for? My hope is in you.
8 Save me from all my sins, do not make me the butt of fools.
9 I keep silence, I speak no more since you yourself have been at work.
10 Take your scourge away from me. I am worn out by the blows you deal me.
11 You correct human beings by punishing sin, like a moth you eat away all their desires — a human being is a mere puff of wind.
12 Yahweh, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for help, do not remain deaf to my weeping. For I am a stranger in your house, a nomad like all my ancestors.
13 Turn away your gaze that I may breathe freely before I depart and am no more!
2nd Corinthians 7:2-16
2 Keep a place for us in your hearts. We have not injured anyone, or ruined anyone, or taken advantage of anyone.
3 I am not saying this to condemn anybody; as I have already told you, you are in our hearts — so that together we live and together we die.
4 I can speak with the greatest frankness to you; and I can speak with the greatest pride about you: in all our hardship, I am filled with encouragement and overflowing with joy.
5 Even after we had come to Macedonia, there was no rest for this body of ours. Far from it; we were beset by hardship on all sides, there were quarrels all around us and misgivings within us.
6 But God, who encourages all those who are distressed, encouraged us through the arrival of Titus;
7 and not simply by his arrival only, but also by means of the encouragement that you had given him, as he told us of your desire to see us, how sorry you were and how concerned for us; so that I was all the more joyful.
8 So now, though I did distress you with my letter, I do not regret it. Even if I did regret it — and I realise that the letter distressed you, even though not for long-
9 I am glad now, not because you were made to feel distress, but because the distress that you were caused led to repentance; your distress was the kind that God approves and so you have come to no kind of harm through us.
10 For to be distressed in a way that God approves leads to repentance and then to salvation with no regrets; it is the world’s kind of distress that ends in death.
11 Just look at this present case: at what the result has been of your being made to feel distress in the way that God approves — what concern, what defence, what indignation and what alarm; what yearning, and what enthusiasm, and what justice done. In every way you have cleared yourselves of blame in this matter.
12 So although I wrote a letter to you, it was not for the sake of the offender, nor for the one offended, but only so that you yourselves should fully realise in the sight of God what concern you have for us.
13 That is what I have found encouraging. In addition to all this to encourage us, we were made all the more joyful by Titus’ joy, now that his spirit has been refreshed by you all.
14 And if I boasted about you to him in any way, then I have not been made to look foolish; indeed, our boast to Titus has been proved to be as true as anything we said to you.
15 His personal affection for you is all the stronger when he remembers how obedient you have all been, and how you welcomed him with fear and trembling.
16 I am glad that I have every confidence in you.
2 Israel, come back to Yahweh your God your guilt was the cause of your downfall.
3 Provide yourself with words and come back to Yahweh. Say to him, ‘Take all guilt away and give us what is good, instead of bulls we will dedicate to you our lips.
4 Assyria cannot save us, we will not ride horses any more, or say, “Our God!” to our own handiwork, for you are the one in whom orphans find compassion.’
5 I shall cure them of their disloyalty, I shall love them with all my heart, for my anger has turned away from them.
6 I shall fall like dew on Israel, he will bloom like the lily and thrust out roots like the cedar of Lebanon;
7 he will put out new shoots, he will have the beauty of the olive tree and the fragrance of Lebanon.
8 They will come back to live in my shade; they will grow wheat again, they will make the vine flourish, their wine will be as famous as Lebanon’s.
9 What has Ephraim to do with idols any more when I hear him and watch over him? I am like an evergreen cypress, you owe your fruitfulness to me.
10 Let the wise understand these words, let the intelligent grasp their meaning, for Yahweh’s ways are straight and the upright will walk in them, but sinners will stumble.
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 51:3-4, 8-9, 12-13, 14, 17
3 For I am well aware of my offences, my sin is constantly in mind.
4 Against you, you alone, I have sinned, I have done what you see to be wrong, that you may show your saving justice when you pass sentence, and your victory may appear when you give judgement,
8 Let me hear the sound of joy and gladness, and the bones you have crushed will dance.
9 Turn away your face from my sins, and wipe away all my guilt.
12 Give me back the joy of your salvation, sustain in me a generous spirit.
13 I shall teach the wicked your paths, and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodshed, God, God of my salvation, and my tongue will acclaim your saving justice.
17 Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit, a broken, contrite heart you never scorn.
Gospel, Matthew 10:16-23
16 Look, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as snakes and yet innocent as doves.
17 ‘Be prepared for people to hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues.
18 You will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, as evidence to them and to the gentiles.
19 But when you are handed over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes,
20 because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you.
21 ‘Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will come forward against their parents and have them put to death.
22 You will be universally hated on account of my name; but anyone who stands firm to the end will be saved.
23 If they persecute you in one town, take refuge in the next; and if they persecute you in that, take refuge in another. In truth I tell you, you will not have gone the round of the towns of Israel before the Son of man comes.
Previous Daily Bible Study Blogs
Book of Psalms, Outline Summary, Outline Book of 2 Corinthians (we are studying these books presently)
Audio Drama: Old Testament New Testament Each book is read in its entirety. You can listen to the bible, one book at a time in contemporary English.
Dr. Myles Munroe
I am including a video by Dr. Myles Munroe, I’ve listened to him back in the nineties, and rediscovered him recently. Now his perspective seems to be a good way to also look at scripture. In Pursuit of Purpose – Book Highlights
Sermons Rosary Prayers Catholic Answers
Did Mary have other children? No, Listen here
Called to Communion
Pray the Rosary
Rosary Mysteries
The following 4 videos are the 4 Mysteries that we pray on certain days of the week. I like these videos, because I can pray it alone, with only the images, or go along with the sound. The images help me to focus on the particular mystery that I am contemplating as I say the Hail Mary on each bead.
Joyful Mysteries
Luminous Mysteries
Sorrowful Mysteries
Glorious Mysteries
Prayers of the Rosary
Links to “How to pray the rosary” Popular Catholic Prayers
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord;
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried,
He descended into hell; the third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty, from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
(this prayer is optional and may be said after all Glory Be to the Fathers…..)
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell.
Lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are in most need of thy mercy.
Console the souls in Purgatory, particularly those most abandoned. Amen
Hail Mary,
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
The Hail, Holy Queen
Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life our sweetness and our hope.
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve;
To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
That we maybe made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Closing Prayer
O God, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation.
Grant, we beseech Thee, that while meditating on these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
that we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
(The Fatima Prayer:)
Most Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – I adore thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference’s whereby He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.
Prayer to St. Michael
Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do you, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who wander through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
Thurzo Gizella Bible Study 
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