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Reading Plan
Day 296 Day 297Day 298

Job chapter 15

1
Empty words, Job! Empty words!
2
(SEE 15:1)
3
No one who is wise would talk the way you do or defend himself with such meaningless words.
4
If you had your way, no one would fear God; no one would pray to him.
5
Your wickedness is evident by what you say; you are trying to hide behind clever words.
6
There is no need for me to condemn you; you are condemned by every word you speak.
7
Do you think you were the first person born? Were you there when God made the mountains?
8
Did you overhear the plans God made? Does human wisdom belong to you alone?
9
There is nothing you know that we don't know.
10
We learned our wisdom from gray-haired people--- those born before your father.
11
God offers you comfort; why still reject it? We have spoken for him with calm, even words.
12
But you are excited and glare at us in anger.
13
You are angry with God and denounce him.
14
Can any human being be really pure? Can anyone be right with God?
15
Why, God does not trust even his angels; even they are not pure in his sight.
16
And we drink evil as if it were water; yes, we are corrupt; we are worthless.
17
Now listen, Job, to what I know.
18
Those who are wise have taught me truths which they learned from their ancestors, and they kept no secrets hidden.
19
Their land was free from foreigners; there was no one to lead them away from God.
20
The wicked who oppress others will be in torment as long as they live.
21
Voices of terror will scream in their ears, and robbers attack when they think they are safe.
22
They have no hope of escaping from darkness, for somewhere a sword is waiting to kill them,
23
and vultures are waiting to eat their corpses. They know their future is dark;
24
disaster, like a powerful king, is waiting to attack them.
25
That is the fate of those who shake their fists at God and defy the Almighty.
26
They are proud and rebellious; they stubbornly hold up their shields and rush to fight against God.
27
(SEE 15:26)
28
They are the ones who captured cities and seized houses whose owners had fled, but war will destroy those cities and houses.
29
They will not remain rich for long; nothing they own will last. Even their shadows will vanish,
30
and they will not escape from darkness. They will be like trees whose branches are burned by fire, whose blossoms are blown away by the wind.
31
If they are foolish enough to trust in evil, then evil will be their reward.
32
Before their time is up they will wither, wither like a branch and never be green again.
33
They will be like vines that lose their unripe grapes; like olive trees that drop their blossoms.
34
There will be no descendants for godless people, and fire will destroy the homes built by bribery.
35
These are the ones who plan trouble and do evil; their hearts are always full of deceit.

Acts chapter 19

1
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the province and arrived in Ephesus. There he found some disciples
2
and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?" "We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit," they answered.
3
"Well, then, what kind of baptism did you receive?" Paul asked. "The baptism of John," they answered.
4
Paul said, "The baptism of John was for those who turned from their sins; and he told the people of Israel to believe in the one who was coming after him---that is, in Jesus."
5
When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6
Paul placed his hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came upon them; they spoke in strange tongues and also proclaimed God's message.
7
They were about twelve men in all.
8
Paul went into the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly with the people, holding discussions with them and trying to convince them about the Kingdom of God.
9
But some of them were stubborn and would not believe, and before the whole group they said evil things about the Way of the Lord. So Paul left them and took the believers with him, and every day he held discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
10
This went on for two years, so that all the people who lived in the province of Asia, both Jews and Gentiles, heard the word of the Lord.
11
God was performing unusual miracles through Paul.
12
Even handkerchiefs and aprons he had used were taken to the sick, and their diseases were driven away, and the evil spirits would go out of them.
13
Some Jews who traveled around and drove out evil spirits also tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus to do this. They said to the evil spirits, "I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches."
14
Seven brothers, who were the sons of a Jewish High Priest named Sceva, were doing this.
15
But the evil spirit said to them, "I know Jesus, and I know about Paul; but you---who are you?"
16
The man who had the evil spirit in him attacked them with such violence that he overpowered them all. They ran away from his house, wounded and with their clothes torn off.
17
All the Jews and Gentiles who lived in Ephesus heard about this; they were all filled with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was given greater honor.
18
Many of the believers came, publicly admitting and revealing what they had done.
19
Many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in public. They added up the price of the books, and the total came to fifty thousand silver coins.
20
In this powerful way the word of the Lord kept spreading and growing stronger.
21
After these things had happened, Paul made up his mind to travel through Macedonia and Achaia and go on to Jerusalem. "After I go there," he said, "I must also see Rome."
22
So he sent Timothy and Erastus, two of his helpers, to Macedonia, while he spent more time in the province of Asia.
23
It was at this time that there was serious trouble in Ephesus because of the Way of the Lord.
24
A certain silversmith named Demetrius made silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis, and his business brought a great deal of profit to the workers.
25
So he called them all together with others whose work was like theirs and said to them, "Men, you know that our prosperity comes from this work.
26
Now, you can see and hear for yourselves what this fellow Paul is doing. He says that hand-made gods are not gods at all, and he has succeeded in convincing many people, both here in Ephesus and in nearly the whole province of Asia.
27
There is the danger, then, that this business of ours will get a bad name. Not only that, but there is also the danger that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will come to mean nothing and that her greatness will be destroyed---the goddess worshiped by everyone in Asia and in all the world!"
28
As the crowd heard these words, they became furious and started shouting, "Great is Artemis of Ephesus!"
29
The uproar spread throughout the whole city. The mob grabbed Gaius and Aristarchus, two Macedonians who were traveling with Paul, and rushed with them to the theater.
30
Paul himself wanted to go before the crowd, but the believers would not let him.
31
Some of the provincial authorities, who were his friends, also sent him a message begging him not to show himself in the theater.
32
Meanwhile the whole meeting was in an uproar: some people were shouting one thing, others were shouting something else, because most of them did not even know why they had come together.
33
Some of the people concluded that Alexander was responsible, since the Jews made him go up to the front. Then Alexander motioned with his hand for the people to be silent, and he tried to make a speech of defense.
34
But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted together the same thing for two hours: "Great is Artemis of Ephesus!"
35
At last the city clerk was able to calm the crowd. "Fellow Ephesians!" he said. "Everyone knows that the city of Ephesus is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of the sacred stone that fell down from heaven.
36
Nobody can deny these things. So then, you must calm down and not do anything reckless.
37
You have brought these men here even though they have not robbed temples or said evil things about our goddess.
38
If Demetrius and his workers have an accusation against anyone, we have the authorities and the regular days for court; charges can be made there.
39
But if there is something more that you want, it will have to be settled in a legal meeting of citizens.
40
For after what has happened today, there is the danger that we will be accused of a riot. There is no excuse for all this uproar, and we would not be able to give a good reason for it."
41
After saying this, he dismissed the meeting.

Acts chapter 20

1
After the uproar died down, Paul called together the believers and with words of encouragement said good-bye to them. Then he left and went on to Macedonia.
2
He went through those regions and encouraged the people with many messages. Then he came to Achaia,
3
where he stayed three months. He was getting ready to go to Syria when he discovered that there were Jews plotting against him; so he decided to go back through Macedonia.
4
Sopater son of Pyrrhus, from Berea, went with him; so did Aristarchus and Secundus, from Thessalonica; Gaius, from Derbe; Tychicus and Trophimus, from the province of Asia; and Timothy.
5
They went ahead and waited for us in Troas.
6
We sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later we joined them in Troas, where we spent a week.
7
On Saturday evening we gathered together for the fellowship meal. Paul spoke to the people and kept on speaking until midnight, since he was going to leave the next day.
8
Many lamps were burning in the upstairs room where we were meeting.
9
A young man named Eutychus was sitting in the window, and as Paul kept on talking, Eutychus got sleepier and sleepier, until he finally went sound asleep and fell from the third story to the ground. When they picked him up, he was dead.
10
But Paul went down and threw himself on him and hugged him. "Don't worry," he said, "he is still alive!"
11
Then he went back upstairs, broke bread, and ate. After talking with them for a long time, even until sunrise, Paul left.
12
They took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.
13
We went on ahead to the ship and sailed off to Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had told us to do this, because he was going there by land.
14
When he met us in Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene.
15
We sailed from there and arrived off Chios the next day. A day later we came to Samos, and the following day we reached Miletus.
16
Paul had decided to sail on by Ephesus, so as not to lose any time in the province of Asia. He was in a hurry to arrive in Jerusalem by the day of Pentecost, if at all possible.
17
From Miletus Paul sent a message to Ephesus, asking the elders of the church to meet him.
18
When they arrived, he said to them, "You know how I spent the whole time I was with you, from the first day I arrived in the province of Asia.
19
With all humility and many tears I did my work as the Lord's servant during the hard times that came to me because of the plots of some Jews.
20
You know that I did not hold back anything that would be of help to you as I preached and taught in public and in your homes.
21
To Jews and Gentiles alike I gave solemn warning that they should turn from their sins to God and believe in our Lord Jesus.
22
And now, in obedience to the Holy Spirit I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.
23
I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit has warned me that prison and troubles wait for me.
24
But I reckon my own life to be worth nothing to me; I only want to complete my mission and finish the work that the Lord Jesus gave me to do, which is to declare the Good News about the grace of God.
25
"I have gone about among all of you, preaching the Kingdom of God. And now I know that none of you will ever see me again.
26
So I solemnly declare to you this very day: if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible.
27
For I have not held back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God.
28
So keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock which the Holy Spirit has placed in your care. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he made his own through the blood of his Son.
29
I know that after I leave, fierce wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock.
30
The time will come when some men from your own group will tell lies to lead the believers away after them.
31
Watch, then, and remember that with many tears, day and night, I taught every one of you for three years.
32
"And now I commend you to the care of God and to the message of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you the blessings God has for all his people.
33
I have not wanted anyone's silver or gold or clothing.
34
You yourselves know that I have worked with these hands of mine to provide everything that my companions and I have needed.
35
I have shown you in all things that by working hard in this way we must help the weak, remembering the words that the Lord Jesus himself said, 'There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.' "
36
When Paul finished, he knelt down with them and prayed.
37
They were all crying as they hugged him and kissed him good-bye.
38
They were especially sad because he had said that they would never see him again. And so they went with him to the ship.

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