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

July 24, 2008

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

The Lectionary According to the Christian Seasons

Jeremiah 2:1-13 

1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, `Thus saith the LORD: 

"`I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals,
 when thou wentest after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. 

3 Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of His increase.
All that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them,'" saith the LORD. 

4 Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus saith the LORD: 

"What iniquity have your fathers found in Me, that they are gone far from Me, 
and have walked after vanity, and have become vain? 
6 Neither said they, `Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, 
that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits,
through a land of drought and of the shadow of death, 
through a land that no man passed through and where no man dwelt?' 
7 And I brought you into a plentiful country to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; 
but when ye entered, ye defiled My land and made Mine heritage an abomination. 
8 The priests said not, `Where is the LORD?' 
And they that handle the law knew Me not; 
the pastors also transgressed against Me; 
and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.

 9 "Therefore I will yet plead with you," saith the LORD, 
"and with your children's children will I plead. 
10 For pass over to the isles of Chittim and see;
and send unto Kedar and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing.
11 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? 
But My people have changed their Glory for that which doth not profit. 
12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid; 
be ye very desolate," saith the LORD. 
13 "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
and hewn them out cisterns--broken cisterns that can hold no water.

Psalm 36

1 The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart
that there is no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For he flattereth himself in his own eyes
until his iniquity be found to be hateful.
3 The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit;
he hath ceased to be wise and to do good.
4 He deviseth mischief upon his bed;
he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.

5 Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens,
and Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.
6 Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; Thy judgments are a great deep;
O LORD, Thou preservest man and beast.
7 How excellent is Thy lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings.
8 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the bounty of Thy house,
and Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures.
9 For with Thee is the fountain of life;
in Thy light shall we see light.

10 O continue Thy lovingkindness unto them that know Thee,
and Thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
11 Let not the foot of pride come against me,
and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.
12 There the workers of iniquity lie fallen;
they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.

Matthew 13:10-17

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 - Ecclesiasticus 30:16

There are no riches above a sound body, 
and no joy above the joy of the heart. 

Jesus Speaks Morals & Values - Matthew 7:3-5
         (see UniversalJesusSpeaks.info for more information)

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, `Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye,' and behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.