Jer. 4:19–31
4:19 I said,
“Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach!
I writhe in anguish.
Oh, the pain in my heart!
My heart pounds within me.
I cannot keep silent.
For I hear the sound of the trumpet;
the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul!
20I see one destruction after another taking place,
so that the whole land lies in ruins.
I see our tents suddenly destroyed,
their curtains torn down in a mere instant.
21How long must I see the enemy’s battle flags
and hear the military signals of their bugles?”
22The Lord answered,
“This will happen because my people are foolish.
They do not know me.
They are like children who have no sense.
They have no understanding.
They are skilled at doing evil.
They do not know how to do good.”
23I looked at the land and saw that it was an empty wasteland.
I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.
24I looked at the mountains and saw that they were shaking.
All the hills were swaying back and forth!
25I looked and saw that there were no more people
and that all the birds in the sky had flown away.
26I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert
and that all the cities had been laid in ruins.
The Lord had brought this all about
because of his blazing anger.
27All this will happen because the Lord said,
“The whole land will be desolate;
however, I will not completely destroy it.
28Because of this, the land will mourn
and the sky above will grow black.
For I have made my purpose known,
and I will not relent or turn back from carrying it out.”
29At the sound of the approaching horsemen and archers
the people of every town will flee.
Some of them will hide in the thickets.
Others will climb up among the rocks.
All the cities will be deserted.
No one will remain in them.
30And you, Zion, city doomed to destruction,
you accomplish nothing by wearing a beautiful dress,
decking yourself out in jewels of gold,
and putting on eye shadow!
You are making yourself beautiful for nothing.
Your lovers spurn you.
They want to kill you.
31In fact, I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor,
a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby.
It is the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath,
reaching out for help, saying, “I am done in!
My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”
(NET Bible)Ps. 119:129–136
119:129 פ (Pe)
Your rules are marvelous.
Therefore I observe them.
130Your instructions are a doorway through which light shines.
They give insight to the untrained.
131I open my mouth and pant,
because I long for your commands.
132Turn toward me and extend mercy to me,
as you typically do to your loyal followers.
133Direct my steps by your word.
Do not let any sin dominate me.
134Deliver me from oppressive men,
so that I can keep your precepts.
135Smile on your servant.
Teach me your statutes!
136Tears stream down from my eyes,
because people do not keep your law.
(NET Bible)Acts 2:1–13
2:1 Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like a violent wind blowing came from heaven and filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3And tongues spreading out like a fire appeared to them and came to rest on each one of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them.
5Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven residing in Jerusalem. 6When this sound occurred, a crowd gathered and was in confusion because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7Completely baffled, they said, “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that each one of us hears them in our own native language? 9Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and the province of Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own languages about the great deeds God has done!” 12All were astounded and greatly confused, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13But others jeered at the speakers, saying, “They are drunk on new wine!”
(NET Bible)In his Rationis Latomianae Confutatio, written in June during his stay at Wartburg Castle and published in September, Luther declares: “I would rather drink from the fountain than from the brook—will you forbid this? A twofold fact moves me to do this. First, that I would have the Holy Scripture pure in its own power, untainted by any touch, even that of saintly men, and unmixed with any earthly spice.” (21)
–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.