Home > Reading > Daily Reading – January 30, 2020

Is. 45:1–13

45:1 “This is what the Lord says to his chosen one,

to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold

in order to subdue nations before him

and disarm kings,

to open doors before him

so gates remain unclosed:

2‘I will go before you

and level mountains.

Bronze doors I will shatter

and iron bars I will hack through.

3I will give you hidden treasures,

riches stashed away in secret places,

so you may recognize that I am the Lord,

the one who calls you by name, the God of Israel.

4For the sake of my servant Jacob,

Israel, my chosen one,

I call you by name

and give you a title of respect, even though you do not submit to me.

5I am the Lord, I have no peer,

there is no God but me.

I arm you for battle, even though you do not recognize me.

6I do this so people will recognize from east to west

that there is no God but me;

I am the Lord, I have no peer.

7I am the one who forms light

and creates darkness;

the one who brings about peace

and creates calamity.

I am the Lord, who accomplishes all these things.

8O sky, rain down from above!

Let the clouds send down showers of deliverance!

Let the earth absorb it so salvation may grow

and deliverance may sprout up along with it.

I, the Lord, create it.’”

9One who argues with his Creator is in grave danger,

one who is like a mere shard among the other shards on the ground!

The clay should not say to the potter,

“What in the world are you doing?

Your work lacks skill!”

10Danger awaits one who says to his father,

“What in the world are you fathering?”

and to his mother,

“What in the world are you bringing forth?”

11This is what the Lord says,

the Holy One of Israel, the one who formed him,

concerning things to come:

“How dare you question me about my children!

How dare you tell me what to do with the work of my own hands!

12I made the earth;

I created the people who live on it.

It was me—my hands stretched out the sky.

I give orders to all the heavenly lights.

13It is me—I stir him up and commission him;

I will make all his ways level.

He will rebuild my city;

he will send my exiled people home,

but not for a price or a bribe,”

says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

(NET Bible)

Ps. 28

28:1 By David.

To you, O Lord, I cry out!

My Protector, do not ignore me.

If you do not respond to me,

I will join those who are descending into the grave.

2Hear my plea for mercy when I cry out to you for help,

when I lift my hands toward your holy temple.

3Do not drag me away with evil men,

with those who behave wickedly,

who talk so friendly to their neighbors,

while they plan to harm them.

4Pay them back for their evil deeds.

Pay them back for what they do.

Punish them.

5For they do not understand the Lord’s actions,

or the way he carries out justice.

The Lord will permanently demolish them.

6The Lord deserves praise,

for he has heard my plea for mercy.

7The Lord strengthens and protects me;

I trust in him with all my heart.

I am rescued and my heart is full of joy;

I will sing to him in gratitude.

8The Lord strengthens his people;

he protects and delivers his chosen king.

9Deliver your people.

Empower the nation that belongs to you.

Care for them like a shepherd and carry them in your arms at all times!

(NET Bible)

John 12:12–26

12:12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him. They began to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!” 14Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, 15Do not be afraid, people of Zion; look, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt!16(His disciples did not understand these things when they first happened, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about him and that these things had happened to him.)

17So the crowd who had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were continuing to testify about it. 18Because they had heard that Jesus had performed this miraculous sign, the crowd went out to meet him. 19Thus the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you can do nothing. Look, the world has run off after him!”

20Now some Greeks were among those who had gone up to worship at the feast. 21So these approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and requested, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” 22Philip went and told Andrew, and they both went and told Jesus. 23Jesus replied, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24I tell you the solemn truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces much grain. 25The one who loves his life destroys it, and the one who hates his life in this world guards it for eternal life. 26If anyone wants to serve me, he must follow me, and where I am, my servant will be too. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

(NET Bible)

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016.

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.

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