Is. 44:1–28
44:1 “Now, listen, Jacob my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen!”
2This is what the Lord, the one who made you, says—
the one who formed you in the womb and helps you:
“Don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob,
Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3For I will pour water on the parched ground
and cause streams to flow on the dry land.
I will pour my Spirit on your offspring
and my blessing on your children.
4They will sprout up like a tree in the grass,
like poplars beside channels of water.
5One will say, ‘I belong to the Lord,’
and another will use the name ‘Jacob.’
One will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
and use the name ‘Israel.’”
6This is what the Lord, Israel’s King, says,
their Protector, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies:
“I am the first and I am the last,
there is no God but me.
7Who is like me? Let him make his claim!
Let him announce it and explain it to me—
since I established an ancient people—
let them announce future events.
8Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid!
Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it?
You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me?
There is no other sheltering rock; I know of none.
9All who form idols are nothing;
the things in which they delight are worthless.
Their witnesses cannot see;
they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame.
10Who forms a god and casts an idol
that will prove worthless?
11Look, all his associates will be put to shame;
the craftsmen are mere humans.
Let them all assemble and take their stand.
They will panic and be put to shame.
12A blacksmith works with his tool
and forges metal over the coals.
He forms it with hammers;
he makes it with his strong arm.
He gets hungry and loses his energy;
he drinks no water and gets tired.
13A carpenter takes measurements;
he marks out an outline of its form;
he scrapes it with chisels
and marks it with a compass.
He patterns it after the human form,
like a well-built human being,
and puts it in a shrine.
14He cuts down cedars
and acquires a cypress or an oak.
He gets trees from the forest;
he plants a cedar and the rain makes it grow.
15A man uses it to make a fire;
he takes some of it and warms himself.
Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
Then he makes a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down to it.
16Half of it he burns in the fire—
over that half he cooks meat;
he roasts a meal and fills himself.
Yes, he warms himself and says,
‘Ah! I am warm as I look at the fire.’
17With the rest of it he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships it.
He prays to it, saying,
‘Rescue me, for you are my god!’
18They do not comprehend or understand,
for their eyes are blind and cannot see;
their minds do not discern.
19No one thinks to himself,
nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves:
‘I burned half of it in the fire—
yes, I baked bread over the coals;
I roasted meat and ate it.
With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol?
Should I bow down to dry wood?’
20He feeds on ashes;
his deceived mind misleads him.
He cannot rescue himself,
nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’
21Remember these things, O Jacob,
O Israel, for you are my servant.
I formed you to be my servant;
O Israel, I will not forget you!
22I remove the guilt of your rebellious deeds as if they were a cloud,
the guilt of your sins as if they were a cloud.
Come back to me, for I protect you.”
23Shout for joy, O sky, for the Lord intervenes;
shout out, you subterranean regions of the earth.
O mountains, give a joyful shout;
you too, O forest and all your trees!
For the Lord protects Jacob;
he reveals his splendor through Israel.
24This is what the Lord, your Protector, says,
the one who formed you in the womb:
“I am the Lord, who made everything,
who alone stretched out the sky,
who fashioned the earth all by myself,
25who frustrates the omens of the empty talkers
and humiliates the omen readers,
who overturns the counsel of the wise men
and makes their advice seem foolish,
26who fulfills the oracles of his prophetic servants
and brings to pass the announcements of his messengers,
who says about Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited,’
and about the towns of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt,
her ruins I will raise up,’
27who says to the deep sea, ‘Be dry!
I will dry up your sea currents,’
28who commissions Cyrus, the one I appointed as shepherd
to carry out all my wishes
and to decree concerning Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’
and concerning the temple, ‘It will be reconstructed.’
(NET Bible)Ps. 27
27:1 By David.
The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I fear no one.
The Lord protects my life.
I am afraid of no one.
2When evil men attack me
to devour my flesh,
when my adversaries and enemies attack me,
they stumble and fall.
3Even when an army is deployed against me,
I do not fear.
Even when war is imminent,
I remain confident.
4I have asked the Lord for one thing—
this is what I desire!
I want to live in the Lord’s house all the days of my life,
so I can gaze at the splendor of the Lord
and contemplate in his temple.
5He will surely give me shelter in the day of danger;
he will hide me in his home.
He will place me on an inaccessible rocky summit.
6Now I will triumph
over my enemies who surround me.
I will offer sacrifices in his dwelling place and shout for joy.
I will sing praises to the Lord.
7Hear me, O Lord, when I cry out.
Have mercy on me and answer me.
8My heart tells me to pray to you,
and I do pray to you, O Lord.
9Do not reject me.
Do not push your servant away in anger.
You are my deliverer.
Do not forsake or abandon me,
O God who vindicates me.
10Even if my father and mother abandoned me,
the Lord would take me in.
11Teach me how you want me to live, Lord;
lead me along a level path because of those who wait to ambush me.
12Do not turn me over to my enemies,
for false witnesses who want to destroy me testify against me.
13Where would I be if I did not believe I would experience
the Lord’s favor in the land of the living?
14Rely on the Lord!
Be strong and confident!
Rely on the Lord!
(NET Bible)John 12:1–11
12:1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom he had raised from the dead. 2So they prepared a dinner for Jesus there. Martha was serving, and Lazarus was among those present at the table with him. 3Then Mary took three quarters of a pound of expensive aromatic oil from pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus. She then wiped his feet dry with her hair. (Now the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfumed oil.) 4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was going to betray him) said, 5“Why wasn’t this oil sold for 300 silver coins and the money given to the poor?” 6(Now Judas said this not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money box, he used to steal what was put into it.) 7So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She has kept it for the day of my burial. 8For you will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me!”
9Now a large crowd of Judeans learned that Jesus was there, and so they came not only because of him but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. 10So the chief priests planned to kill Lazarus too, 11for on account of him many of the Jewish people from Jerusalem were going away and believing in Jesus.
(NET Bible)
In his lectures on the Psalms Luther regards the ex- pressions, “God speaks,” and, “the Scriptures speak,” as convertible [synonymous]. To hear or to read the Scriptures is nothing else than to hear God. They are His sanctuary in which He is present. Therefore we dare not despise one single word of the Scripture for “all its words are weighed, counted, and measured.” The prophets who spoke or wrote the Word were the organs of the Spirit; that is the precious fact that in them God himself is heard. For this reason we read in the Prophets, “The Word of the Lord came to me.” This is the friendliest and most intimate inspiration there is. Every word of the Scriptures must be precious to us because it comes from the mouth of God, is written for us, preserved for us, and will be proclaimed to the end of days. Why in one place we read so and not otherwise can be understood only by him who will permit himself to be guided by God. How unconditionally Luther accepted the authority of the Scriptures is evident from the fact that he is willing to accept things as true and real which in any legend would be rejected as absurd, if they are covered by a word of Scripture. No one should prefer his own opinion to that of the Scripture even if it seems much more plausible. (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.