Daily Scripture Reading for the
Liturgical Calendar Year
(beginning the 1st Sunday of Advent)

July 23, 2008

Text taken from the
Third Millennium Bible^® (TMB^®)
(New Authorized Version^TM NAV^TM)

The Lectionary According to the Christian Seasons

Jeremiah 1:1-10

1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month. 

4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 5 "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." 6 Then said I, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child." 7 But the LORD said unto me, "Say not, `I am a child,' for thou shalt go to all whom I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. 8 Be not afraid of their faces, for I am with thee to deliver thee," saith the LORD. 

9 Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, "Behold, I have put My words in thy mouth. 10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms to root out and to pull down, and to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant." 

Psalm 71 

1 In Thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; 
let me never be put to confusion. 
2 Deliver me in Thy righteousness, and cause me to escape; 
incline Thine ear unto me, and save me. 
3 Be Thou my strong habitation, 
whereunto I may continually resort; 
Thou hast given commandment to save me, 
for Thou art my rock and my fortress.

4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, 
out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. 
5 For Thou art my hope, O Lord GOD; 
Thou art my trust from my youth. 
6 By Thee have I been held from the womb; Thou art He that took me out of my mother's womb. 
My praise shall be continually of Thee. 
7 I am as a wonder unto many, 
but Thou art my strong refuge. 
8 Let my mouth be filled with Thy praise, 
and with Thy honor all the day.

9 Cast me not off in the time of old age; 
forsake me not when my strength faileth. 
10 For mine enemies speak against me, 
and they that lie in wait for my soul take counsel together, 
11 saying, "God hath forsaken him;
persecute and take him, for there is none to deliver him." 

12 O God, be not far from me; 
O my God, make haste to help me. 
13 Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; 
let them be covered with reproach and dishonor that seek my hurt. 
14 But I will hope continually 
and will yet praise Thee more and more. 
15 My mouth shall show forth Thy righteousness and Thy salvation all the day, 
for I know not the numbers thereof. 
16 I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD; 
I will make mention of Thy righteousness, even of Thine only. 
17 O God, Thou hast taught me from my youth, 
and hitherto have I declared Thy wondrous works. 
18 Now also when I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not, 
until I have shown Thy strength unto this generation and Thy power to every one that is to come. 
19 Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things. 
O God, who is like unto Thee! 
20 Thou, who hast shown me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, 
and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. 
21 Thou shalt increase my greatness, 
and comfort me on every side.

22 I will also praise Thee with the psaltery for Thy truth, O my God; 
unto Thee will I sing with the harp, O Thou Holy One of Israel. 
23 My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto Thee, 
and my soul which Thou hast redeemed. 
24 My tongue also shall talk of Thy righteousness all the day long;
for they are confounded, for they are brought to shame that seek my hurt.

Matthew 13:1-17

1 The same day, Jesus went out of the house and sat by the seaside. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto Him, so that He went into a boat and sat, and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3 And He spoke many things unto them in parables, saying,

"Behold, a sower went forth to sow. 4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside; and the fowls came and devoured them up. 5 Some fell upon stony places where they had not much earth; and forthwith they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth. 6 And when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell into good ground and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."

10 And the disciples came and said unto Him, "Why speakest Thou unto them in parables?" 11 He answered and said unto them,

"Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance. But whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables, because seeing, they see not, and hearing, they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith,

'By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand;
and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive.
15 For this people's heart has waxed gross,
and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed;
lest at any time they should see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and should understand with their heart,
and should be converted, and I should heal them.'

16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. 17 For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them, and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Words of Wisdom - Proverbs 23:4

Labor not to be rich; 
cease from thine own wisdom. 

Jesus Speaks Morals & Values - Matthew 7:1-2
         (see UniversalJesusSpeaks.info for more information)

 "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.