Obadiah 1:15–21
1:15 “For the day of the Lord is approaching for all the nations!
Just as you have done, so it will be done to you.
You will get exactly what your deeds deserve.
16For just as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
so all the nations will drink continually.
They will drink, and they will gulp down;
they will be as though they had never been.
17But on Mount Zion there will be a remnant of those who escape,
and it will be a holy place once again.
The descendants of Jacob will conquer
those who had conquered them.
18The descendants of Jacob will be a fire
and the descendants of Joseph a flame.
The descendants of Esau will be like stubble.
They will burn them up and devour them.
There will not be a single survivor of the descendants of Esau!”
Indeed, the Lord has spoken it.
19The people of the Negev will take possession of Esau’s mountain,
and the people of the foothills will take
possession of the land of the Philistines.
They will also take possession of the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria,
and the people of Benjamin will take possession of Gilead.
20The exiles of this fortress of the people of Israel
will take possession of what belongs to
the people of Canaan, as far as Zarephath,
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
will take possession of the towns of the Negev.
21Those who have been delivered will go up on Mount Zion
in order to rule over Esau’s mountain.
Then the Lord will reign as King!
(NET Bible)Ps. 101
101:1 A psalm of David.
I will sing about loyalty and justice.
To you, O Lord, I will sing praises.
2I will walkin the way of integrity.
When will you come to me?
I will conduct my business with integrity in the midst of my palace.
3I will not even consider doing what is dishonest.
I hate doing evil;
I will have no part of it.
4I will have nothing to do with a perverse person;
I will not permit evil.
5I will destroy anyone who slanders his neighbor in secret.
I will not tolerate anyone who has a haughty demeanor and an arrogant attitude.
6I will favor the honest people of the land
and allow them to live with me.
Those who walk in the way of integrity will attend me.
7Deceitful people will not live in my palace.
Liars will not be welcome in my presence.
8Each morning I will destroy all the wicked people in the land
and remove all evildoers from the city of the Lord.
(NET Bible)Mark 6:14–29
6:14 Now King Herod heard this, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead, and because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15Others said, “He is Elijah.” Others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets from the past.” 16But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised!” 17For Herod himself had sent men, arrested John, and bound him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. 18For John had repeatedly told Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19So Herodias nursed a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But she could not 20because Herod stood in awe of John and protected him, since he knew that John was a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard him, he was thoroughly baffled, and yet he liked to listen to John.
21But a suitable day came, when Herod gave a banquet on his birthday for his court officials, military commanders, and leaders of Galilee. 22When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” 23He swore to her, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” 24So she went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” Her mother said, “The head of John the baptizer.” 25Immediately she hurried back to the king and made her request: “I want the head of John the Baptist on a platter immediately.” 26Although it grieved the king deeply, he did not want to reject her request because of his oath and his guests. 27So the king sent an executioner at once to bring John’s head, and he went and beheaded John in prison. 28He brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29When John’s disciples heard this, they came and took his body and placed it in a tomb.
(NET Bible)
Even in the introduction [to his lectures on Galatians delivered between 1535 and 1545] Luther discussed how the six days of creation are to be understood. He recalls that Hilary and Augustine, these two great lights of the church, were of the opinion that the world was created suddenly and not gradually in the course of six days. Then he opposes this view and writes: “Because we are not sufficiently able to understand how these days occurred nor why God wished to observe such distinctions of times, we shall rather admit our ignorance than attempt to twist the words unnecessarily into an unnatural meaning. As far, therefore, as St. Augustine’s opinion is concerned, we hold that Moses spoke literally not allegorically or figuratively, that is, the world and all its creatures was created within the six days as the words declare. Because we are not able to comprehend we shall remain disciples and leave the instructorship to the Holy Ghost.” (51)
–Johann Michael Reu, Luther on the Scriptures
This daily Bible reading guide, Reading the Word of God, was conceived and prepared as a result of the ongoing discussions between representatives of three church bodies: Lutheran Church—Canada (LCC), The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). The following individuals have represented their church bodies and approved this introduction and the reading guide: LCC: President Robert Bugbee; NALC: Bishop John Bradosky, Revs. Mark Chavez, James Nestingen, and David Wendel; LCMS: Revs. Albert Collver, Joel Lehenbauer, John Pless, and Larry Vogel.