Is. 37:30–38
37:30 “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: This year you will eat what grows wild, and next year what grows on its own. But the year after that you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. 31Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit.
32“For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The zeal of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will accomplish this.
33“So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
“‘He will not enter this city,
nor will he shoot an arrow here.
He will not attack it with his shielded warriors,
nor will he build siege works against it.
34He will go back the way he came—
he will not enter this city,’ says the Lord.
35I will shield this city and rescue it
for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”
36The angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 troops in the Assyrian camp. When they got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses! 37So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. 38One day, as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.
(NET Bible)Ps. 18:1–30
18:1 For the music director, by the Lord’s servant David, who sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord rescued him from the power of all his enemies, including Saul.
He said:
“I love you, Lord, my source of strength!
2The Lord is my high ridge, my stronghold, my deliverer.
My God is my rocky summit where I take shelter,
my shield, the horn that saves me, and my refuge.
3I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I was delivered from my enemies.
4The waves of death engulfed me,
the currents of chaos overwhelmed me.
5The ropes of Sheol tightened around me,
the snares of death trapped me.
6In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried out to my God.
From his heavenly temple he heard my voice;
he listened to my cry for help.
7The earth heaved and shook.
The roots of the mountains trembled;
they heaved because he was angry.
8Smoke ascended from his nose;
fire devoured as it came from his mouth.
He hurled down fiery coals.
9He made the sky sink as he descended;
a thick cloud was under his feet.
10He mounted a winged angel and flew;
he glided on the wings of the wind.
11He shrouded himself in darkness,
in thick rain clouds.
12From the brightness in front of him came
hail and fiery coals.
13The Lord thundered in the sky;
the Most High shouted.
14He shot his arrows and scattered them,
many lightning bolts and routed them.
15The depths of the sea were exposed;
the inner regions of the world were uncovered
by your battle cry, Lord,
by the powerful breath from your nose.
16He reached down from above and took hold of me;
he pulled me from the surging water.
17He rescued me from my strong enemy,
from those who hate me,
for they were too strong for me.
18They confronted me in my day of calamity,
but the Lord helped me.
19He brought me out into a wide open place;
he delivered me because he was pleased with me.
20The Lord repaid me for my godly deeds;
he rewarded my blameless behavior.
21For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands;
I have not rebelled against my God.
22For I am aware of all his regulations,
and I do not reject his rules.
23I was innocent before him,
and kept myself from sinning.
24The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds;
he took notice of my blameless behavior.
25You prove to be loyal to one who is faithful;
you prove to be trustworthy to one who is innocent.
26You prove to be reliable to one who is blameless,
but you prove to be deceptive to one who is perverse.
27For you deliver oppressed people,
but you bring down those who have a proud look.
28Indeed, you light my lamp, Lord.
My God illuminates the darkness around me.
29Indeed, with your help I can charge against an army;
by my God’s power I can jump over a wall.
30The one true God acts in a faithful manner;
the Lord’s promise is reliable.
He is a shield to all who take shelter in him.
(NET Bible)John 8:12–30
8:12 Then Jesus spoke out again, “I am the light of the world! The one who follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” 13So the Pharisees objected, “You testify about yourself; your testimony is not true!” 14Jesus answered, “Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you people do not know where I came from or where I am going. 15You people judge by outward appearances; I do not judge anyone. 16But if I judge, my evaluation is accurate because I am not alone when I judge, but I and the Father who sent me do so together. 17It is written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18I testify about myself and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”
19Then they began asking him, “Who is your father?” Jesus answered, “You do not know either me or my Father. If you knew me you would know my Father too.” 20(Jesus spoke these words near the offering box while he was teaching in the temple courts. No one seized him because his time had not yet come.)
21Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will look for me but will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come.” 22So the Jewish leaders began to say, “Perhaps he is going to kill himself because he says, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’” 23Jesus replied, “You people are from below; I am from above. You people are from this world; I am not from this world. 24Thus I told you that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”
25So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus replied, “What I have told you from the beginning. 26I have many things to say and to judge about you, but the Father who sent me is truthful, and the things I have heard from him I speak to the world.” 27(They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father.)
28Then Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and I do nothing on my own initiative, but I speak just what the Father taught me. 29And the one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone because I always do those things that please him.” 30While he was saying these things, many people believed in him.
(NET Bible)
Luther’s Lectures on the Psalms, 1513-1515, contain many declarations concerning the Scriptures. “What pasture is to the beast …, the nest for the birds, the stream for fish, the Scriptures are for believing souls. To the arrogant, of course, they are a stumblingblock; he will have nothing to do with them, since they offer him nothing. But to him who approaches the Scriptures with humility they open themselves and themselves produce humility, change man from a desperate sinner into a child of God. They give everything which the soul needs, and it is to tempt God, if anyone will not be satisfied with the Scriptures. They are the fountain from which one must dip. Each word of the same is a source which affords an inexhaustible abundance of water to everyone who thirsts after the saving doctrine. God’s will is completely contained therein, so that we must constantly go back to them. Nothing should be presented which is not confirmed by the authority of both Testaments and agrees with them. It cannot be otherwise, for the Scriptures are divine; in them God speaks and they are His Word.” (13–14)
–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.