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Reading Plan
Day 294 Day 295Day 296

Job chapter 11

1
Will no one answer all this nonsense? Does talking so much put you in the right?
2
(SEE 11:1)
3
Job, do you think we can't answer you? That your mocking words will leave us speechless?
4
You claim that what you say is true; you claim you are pure in the sight of God.
5
How I wish God would answer you!
6
He would tell you there are many sides to wisdom; there are things too deep for human knowledge. God is punishing you less than you deserve.
7
Can you discover the limits and bounds of the greatness and power of God?
8
The sky is no limit for God, but it lies beyond your reach. God knows the world of the dead, but you do not know it.
9
God's greatness is broader than the earth, wider than the sea.
10
If God arrests you and brings you to trial, who is there to stop him?
11
God knows which people are worthless; he sees all their evil deeds.
12
Stupid people will start being wise when wild donkeys are born tame.
13
Put your heart right, Job. Reach out to God.
14
Put away evil and wrong from your home.
15
Then face the world again, firm and courageous.
16
Then all your troubles will fade from your memory, like floods that are past and remembered no more.
17
Your life will be brighter than sunshine at noon, and life's darkest hours will shine like the dawn.
18
You will live secure and full of hope; God will protect you and give you rest.
19
You won't be afraid of your enemies; many people will ask you for help.
20
But the wicked will look around in despair and find that there is no way to escape. Their one hope is that death will come.

Job chapter 12

1
Yes, you are the voice of the people. When you die, wisdom will die with you.
2
(SEE 12:1)
3
But I have as much sense as you have; I am in no way inferior to you; everyone knows all that you have said.
4
Even my friends laugh at me now; they laugh, although I am righteous and blameless; but there was a time when God answered my prayers.
5
You have no troubles, and yet you make fun of me; you hit someone who is about to fall.
6
But thieves and godless people live in peace, though their only god is their own strength.
7
Even birds and animals have much they could teach you;
8
ask the creatures of earth and sea for their wisdom.
9
All of them know that the LORD's hand made them.
10
It is God who directs the lives of his creatures; everyone's life is in his power.
11
But just as your tongue enjoys tasting food, your ears enjoy hearing words.
12
Old people have wisdom, but God has wisdom and power. Old people have insight; God has insight and power to act.
13
(SEE 12:12)
14
When God tears down, who can rebuild, and who can free those God imprisons?
15
Drought comes when God withholds rain; floods come when he turns water loose.
16
God is strong and always victorious; both deceived and deceiver are in his power.
17
He takes away the wisdom of rulers and makes leaders act like fools.
18
He dethrones kings and makes them prisoners;
19
he humbles priests and men of power.
20
He silences those who are trusted, and takes the wisdom of old people away.
21
He disgraces those in power and puts an end to the strength of rulers.
22
He sends light to places dark as death.
23
He makes nations strong and great, but then he defeats and destroys them.
24
He makes their leaders foolish and lets them wander confused and lost;
25
they grope in the dark and stagger like drunkards.

Acts chapter 15

1
Some men came from Judea to Antioch and started teaching the believers, "You cannot be saved unless you are circumcised as the Law of Moses requires."
2
Paul and Barnabas got into a fierce argument with them about this, so it was decided that Paul and Barnabas and some of the others in Antioch should go to Jerusalem and see the apostles and elders about this matter.
3
They were sent on their way by the church; and as they went through Phoenicia and Samaria, they reported how the Gentiles had turned to God; this news brought great joy to all the believers.
4
When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, to whom they told all that God had done through them.
5
But some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and told to obey the Law of Moses."
6
The apostles and the elders met together to consider this question.
7
After a long debate Peter stood up and said, "My friends, you know that a long time ago God chose me from among you to preach the Good News to the Gentiles, so that they could hear and believe.
8
And God, who knows the thoughts of everyone, showed his approval of the Gentiles by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he had to us.
9
He made no difference between us and them; he forgave their sins because they believed.
10
So then, why do you now want to put God to the test by laying a load on the backs of the believers which neither our ancestors nor we ourselves were able to carry?
11
No! We believe and are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are."
12
The whole group was silent as they heard Barnabas and Paul report all the miracles and wonders that God had performed through them among the Gentiles.
13
When they had finished speaking, James spoke up: "Listen to me, my friends!
14
Simon has just explained how God first showed his care for the Gentiles by taking from among them a people to belong to him.
15
The words of the prophets agree completely with this. As the scripture says,
16
'After this I will return, says the Lord, and restore the kingdom of David. I will rebuild its ruins and make it strong again.
17
And so all the rest of the human race will come to me, all the Gentiles whom I have called to be my own.
18
So says the Lord, who made this known long ago.'
19
"It is my opinion," James went on, "that we should not trouble the Gentiles who are turning to God.
20
Instead, we should write a letter telling them not to eat any food that is ritually unclean because it has been offered to idols; to keep themselves from sexual immorality; and not to eat any animal that has been strangled, or any blood.
21
For the Law of Moses has been read for a very long time in the synagogues every Sabbath, and his words are preached in every town."
22
Then the apostles and the elders, together with the whole church, decided to choose some men from the group and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose two men who were highly respected by the believers, Judas, called Barsabbas, and Silas,
23
and they sent the following letter by them:
24
We have heard that some who went from our group have troubled and upset you by what they said; they had not, however, received any instruction from us.
25
And so we have met together and have all agreed to choose some messengers and send them to you. They will go with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul,
26
who have risked their lives in the service of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27
We send you, then, Judas and Silas, who will tell you in person the same things we are writing.
28
The Holy Spirit and we have agreed not to put any other burden on you besides these necessary rules:
29
eat no food that has been offered to idols; eat no blood; eat no animal that has been strangled; and keep yourselves from sexual immorality. You will do well if you take care not to do these things. With our best wishes."
30
The messengers were sent off and went to Antioch, where they gathered the whole group of believers and gave them the letter.
31
When the people read it, they were filled with joy by the message of encouragement.
32
Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, spoke a long time with them, giving them courage and strength.
33
After spending some time there, they were sent off in peace by the believers and went back to those who had sent them.
34
OMITTED TEXT
35
Paul and Barnabas spent some time in Antioch, and together with many others they taught and preached the word of the Lord.
36
Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the believers in every town where we preached the word of the Lord, and let us find out how they are getting along."
37
Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them,
38
but Paul did not think it was right to take him, because he had not stayed with them to the end of their mission, but had turned back and left them in Pamphylia.
39
There was a sharp argument, and they separated: Barnabas took Mark and sailed off for Cyprus,
40
while Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the care of the Lord's grace.
41
He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Acts chapter 16

1
Paul traveled on to Derbe and Lystra, where a Christian named Timothy lived. His mother, who was also a Christian, was Jewish, but his father was a Greek.
2
All the believers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of Timothy.
3
Paul wanted to take Timothy along with him, so he circumcised him. He did so because all the Jews who lived in those places knew that Timothy's father was Greek.
4
As they went through the towns, they delivered to the believers the rules decided upon by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, and they told them to obey those rules.
5
So the churches were made stronger in the faith and grew in numbers every day.
6
They traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia because the Holy Spirit did not let them preach the message in the province of Asia.
7
When they reached the border of Mysia, they tried to go into the province of Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.
8
So they traveled right on through Mysia and went to Troas.
9
That night Paul had a vision in which he saw a Macedonian standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!"
10
As soon as Paul had this vision, we got ready to leave for Macedonia, because we decided that God had called us to preach the Good News to the people there.
11
We left by ship from Troas and sailed straight across to Samothrace, and the next day to Neapolis.
12
From there we went inland to Philippi, a city of the first district of Macedonia; it is also a Roman colony. We spent several days there.
13
On the Sabbath we went out of the city to the riverside, where we thought there would be a place where Jews gathered for prayer. We sat down and talked to the women who gathered there.
14
One of those who heard us was Lydia from Thyatira, who was a dealer in purple cloth. She was a woman who worshiped God, and the Lord opened her mind to pay attention to what Paul was saying.
15
After she and the people of her house had been baptized, she invited us, "Come and stay in my house if you have decided that I am a true believer in the Lord." And she persuaded us to go.
16
One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a young servant woman who had an evil spirit that enabled her to predict the future. She earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes.
17
She followed Paul and us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God! They announce to you how you can be saved!"
18
She did this for many days, until Paul became so upset that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I order you to come out of her!" The spirit went out of her that very moment.
19
When her owners realized that their chance of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them to the authorities in the public square.
20
They brought them before the Roman officials and said, "These men are Jews, and they are causing trouble in our city.
21
They are teaching customs that are against our law; we are Roman citizens, and we cannot accept these customs or practice them."
22
And the crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas. Then the officials tore the clothes off Paul and Silas and ordered them to be whipped.
23
After a severe beating, they were thrown into jail, and the jailer was ordered to lock them up tight.
24
Upon receiving this order, the jailer threw them into the inner cell and fastened their feet between heavy blocks of wood.
25
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
26
Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, which shook the prison to its foundations. At once all the doors opened, and the chains fell off all the prisoners.
27
The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he thought that the prisoners had escaped; so he pulled out his sword and was about to kill himself.
28
But Paul shouted at the top of his voice, "Don't harm yourself ! We are all here!"
29
The jailer called for a light, rushed in, and fell trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas.
30
Then he led them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
31
They answered, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved---you and your family."
32
Then they preached the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in the house.
33
At that very hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; and he and all his family were baptized at once.
34
Then he took Paul and Silas up into his house and gave them some food to eat. He and his family were filled with joy, because they now believed in God.
35
The next morning the Roman authorities sent police officers with the order, "Let those men go."
36
So the jailer told Paul, "The officials have sent an order for you and Silas to be released. You may leave, then, and go in peace."
37
But Paul said to the police officers, "We were not found guilty of any crime, yet they whipped us in public---and we are Roman citizens! Then they threw us in prison. And now they want to send us away secretly? Not at all! The Roman officials themselves must come here and let us out."
38
The police officers reported these words to the Roman officials; and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were afraid.
39
So they went and apologized to them; then they led them out of the prison and asked them to leave the city.
40
Paul and Silas left the prison and went to Lydia's house. There they met the believers, spoke words of encouragement to them, and left.

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