Hab. 2:2–20
2:2 The Lord responded:
“Write down this message.
Record it legibly on tablets
so the one who announces it may read it easily.
3For the message is a witness to what is decreed;
it gives reliable testimony about how matters will turn out.
Even if the message is not fulfilled right away, wait patiently;
for it will certainly come to pass—it will not arrive late.
4Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion,
but the person of integrity will live because of his faithfulness.
5Indeed, wine will betray the proud, restless man!
His appetite is as big as Sheol’s;
like death, he is never satisfied.
He gathers all the nations;
he seizes all peoples.
6“But all these nations will someday taunt him
and ridicule him with proverbial sayings:
‘Woe to the one who accumulates what does not belong to him
(how long will this go on?)—
he who gets rich by extortion!’
7Your creditors will suddenly attack;
those who terrify you will spring into action,
and they will rob you.
8Because you robbed many countries,
all who are left among the nations will rob you.
You have shed human blood
and committed violent acts against lands, cities, and those who live in them.
9“The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead.
He does this so he can build his nest way up high
and escape the clutches of disaster.
10Your schemes will bring shame to your house.
Because you destroyed many nations, you will self-destruct.
11For the stones in the walls will cry out,
and the wooden rafters will answer back.
12“Woe to the one who builds a city by bloodshed—
he who starts a town by unjust deeds.
13Be sure of this! The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has decreed:
The nations’ efforts will go up in smoke;
their exhausting work will be for nothing.
14For recognition of the Lord’s sovereign majesty will fill the earth
just as the waters fill up the sea.
15“Woe to you who force your neighbor to drink wine—
you who make others intoxicated
by forcing them to drink from the bowl of your furious anger
so you can look at their naked bodies.
16But you will become drunk with shame, not majesty.
Now it is your turn to drink and expose your uncircumcised foreskin!
The cup of wine in the Lord’s right hand is coming to you,
and disgrace will replace your majestic glory!
17For you will pay in full for your violent acts against Lebanon;
terrifying judgment will come upon you
because of the way you destroyed the wild animals living there.
You have shed human blood
and committed violent acts against lands, cities, and those who live in them.
18What good is an idol? Why would a craftsman make it?
What good is a metal image that gives misleading oracles?
Why would its creator place his trust in it
and make such mute, worthless things?
19Woe to the one who says to wood, ‘Wake up!’—
he who says to speechless stone, ‘Awake!’
Can it give reliable guidance?
It is overlaid with gold and silver;
it has no life’s breath inside it.
20But the Lord is in his majestic palace.
The whole earth is speechless in his presence!”
(NET Bible)Ps. 118
118:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
and his loyal love endures.
2Let Israel say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
3Let the family of Aaron say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
4Let the loyal followers of the Lord say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
5In my distress I cried out to the Lord.
The Lord answered me and put me in a wide open place.
6The Lord is on my side; I am not afraid.
What can people do to me?
7The Lord is on my side as my helper.
I look in triumph on those who hate me.
8It is better to take shelter in the Lord
than to trust in people.
9It is better to take shelter in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
10All the nations surrounded me.
Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
11They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me.
Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
12They surrounded me like bees.
But they disappeared as quickly as a fire among thorns.
Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
13“You aggressively attacked me and tried to knock me down,
but the Lord helped me.
14The Lord gives me strength and protects me;
he has become my deliverer.”
15They celebrate deliverance in the tents of the godly.
The Lord’s right hand conquers.
16The Lord’s right hand gives victory;
the Lord’s right hand conquers.
17I will not die, but live,
and I will proclaim what the Lord has done.
18The Lord severely punished me,
but he did not hand me over to death.
19Open for me the gates of the just king’s temple.
I will enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
20This is the Lord’s gate—
the godly enter through it.
21I will give you thanks, for you answered me,
and have become my deliverer.
22The stone that the builders discarded
has become the cornerstone.
23This is the Lord’s work.
We consider it amazing!
24This is the day the Lord has brought about.
We will be happy and rejoice in it.
25Please, Lord, deliver!
Please, Lord, grant us success!
26May the one who comes in the name of the Lord be blessed.
We will pronounce blessings on you in the Lord’s temple.
27The Lord is God, and he has delivered us.
Tie the offering with ropes
to the horns of the altar.
28You are my God, and I will give you thanks.
You are my God, and I will praise you.
29Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good
and his loyal love endures.
(NET Bible)Luke 20:41–21:9
20:41 But he said to them, “How is it that they say that the Christ is David’s son? 42For David himself says in the book of Psalms,
‘The Lord said to my lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
43until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
44If David then calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?”
45As all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, 46“Beware of the experts in the law. They like walking around in long robes, and they love elaborate greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 47They devour widows’ property, and as a show make long prayers. They will receive a more severe punishment.”
21:1 Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box. 2He also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. 3He said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4For they all offered their gifts out of their wealth. But she, out of her poverty, put in everything she had to live on.”
5Now while some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and offerings, Jesus said, 6“As for these things that you are gazing at, the days will come when not one stone will be left on another. All will be torn down!” 7So they asked him, “Teacher, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that these things are about to take place?” 8He said, “Watch out that you are not misled. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them! 9And when you hear of wars and rebellions, do not be afraid. For these things must happen first, but the end will not come at once.”
(NET Bible)On April 28, thus ten days later [a er Worms], [Luther] wrote his well-known letter to Emperor Charles. … “But I, who was always humble and zealously ready to do and to suffer all that in me lay, could not obtain this one concession, this most Christian prayer, that the Word of God should remain free and unbound, and that I should submit my books to your Sacred Majesty and the Estates of the Empire on that condition, nor that in yielding to the decree of a Council I should not submit to anything contrary to the gospel of God, nor should they make any such decree. is was the crux of the whole controversy.” Luther then continues: “For God, the searcher of hearts, is my witness that I am most ready to submit to and obey your Majesty either in life or in death, to glory or to shame, for gain or for loss. As I have o ered myself, thus I do now, excepting nothing save the Word of God, in which not only (as Christ teaches in Matthew 4) does man live, but which also the angels of Christ desire to see (I Peter 1). As it is above all things it ought to be held free and unbound in all, as Paul teaches (II Timothy 2:9). It ought not to depend on human judgment nor to yield to the opinion of men, no matter how great, how numerous, how learned, and how holy they are. Thus does St. Paul in Galatians. I dare to exclaim with emphasis, ‘If we or an angel from heaven teach you another gospel, let him be anathema,’ and David says, ‘Put not your trust in princes, in the sons of men, in whom is no safety,’ Ps. 146:3. Nor is anyone able to trust in himself, as Solomon says, ‘He is a fool who trusts in his heart’; Prov. 28:26, and Jeremiah 17, ‘Cursed is he who trusteth in man’ … For to trust in man in matters of salvation is to give to the creature the glory due to the creator alone.” (20–21)
–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.