Home > Reading > Daily Reading – October 1, 2019

Amos 3:1–11

3:1 Listen, you Israelites, to this message that the Lord is proclaiming against you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up from the land of Egypt:

2“I have chosen you alone from all the clans of the earth.

Therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”

3Do two walk together without having met?

4Does a lion roar in the woods if he has not cornered his prey?

Does a young lion bellow from his den if he has not caught something?

5Does a bird swoop down into a trap on the ground if there is no bait?

Does a trap spring up from the ground unless it has surely caught something?

6If an alarm sounds in a city, do people not fear?

If disaster overtakes a city, is the Lord not responsible?

7Certainly the Sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

8A lion has roared! Who is not afraid?

The Sovereign Lord has spoken. Who can refuse to prophesy?

9Make this announcement in the fortresses of Ashdod

and in the fortresses in the land of Egypt.

Say this:

“Gather on the hills around Samaria!

Observe the many acts of violence taking place within the city,

the oppressive deeds occurring in it.”

10“They do not know how to do what is right,” the Lord says.

“They store up the spoils of destructive violence in their fortresses.

11Therefore,” says the Sovereign Lord, “an enemy will encircle the land.

He will take away your power;

your fortresses will be looted.”

(NET Bible)

Ps. 90

90:1 A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

O Lord, you have been our protector through all generations.

2Even before the mountains came into existence,

or you brought the world into being,

you were the eternal God.

3You make mankind return to the dust,

and say, “Return, O people.”

4Yes, in your eyes a thousand years

are like yesterday that quickly passes,

or like one of the divisions of the nighttime.

5You bring their lives to an end and they “fall asleep.”

In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up:

6In the morning it glistens and sprouts up;

at evening time it withers and dries up.

7Yes, we are consumed by your anger;

we are terrified by your wrath.

8You are aware of our sins;

you even know about our hidden sins.

9Yes, throughout all our days we experience your raging fury;

the years of our lives pass quickly, like a sigh.

10The days of our lives add up to 70 years,

or 80, if one is especially strong.

But even one’s best years are marred by trouble and oppression.

Yes, they pass quickly and we fly away.

11Who can really fathom the intensity of your anger?

Your raging fury causes people to fear you.

12So teach us to consider our mortality,

so that we might live wisely.

13Turn back toward us, O Lord.

How long must this suffering last?

Have pity on your servants.

14Satisfy us in the morning with your loyal love.

Then we will shout for joy and be happy all our days.

15Make us happy in proportion to the days you have afflicted us,

in proportion to the years we have experienced trouble.

16May your servants see your work.

May their sons see your majesty.

17May our Sovereign God extend his favor to us.

Make our endeavors successful.

Yes, make them successful.

(NET Bible)

Mark 1:1–15

1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way,

3the voice of one shouting in the wilderness,

Prepare the way for the Lord,

make his paths straight.’”

4In the wilderness John the baptizer began preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5People from the whole Judean countryside and all of Jerusalem were going out to him, and he was baptizing them in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. 6John wore a garment made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, “One more powerful than I am is coming after me; I am not worthy to bend down and untie the strap of his sandals. 8I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

9Now in those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River. 10And just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And a voice came from heaven: “You are my one dear Son; in you I take great delight.” 12The Spirit immediately drove him into the wilderness. 13He was in the wilderness 40 days, enduring temptations from Satan. He was with wild animals, and angels were ministering to his needs.

14Now after John was imprisoned, Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God. 15He said, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the gospel!” (NET Bible)

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

In the passage cited above, that is taken from the Exposition of the First and Second Chapter of John, 1537 and 1538, there is the statement: “But these are questions that remain questions which I will not solve and that do not give me much concern, only there are people so sly and keen that they raise all kinds of questions for which they want to have answers. If one, however, has a correct understanding of Scripture and possesses the true statement of our faith that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has su ered and died for us, it will not be a serious defect if we are not able to answer them.” And following this: “When discrepancies occur in Holy Scripture (namely concerning such chronological questions as these: how many years Jesus taught openly, how the account of the Temple cleansing in John agrees with Matthew, and similar questions) and we cannot harmonize them, let it pass, it does not endanger the article of the Christian faith.” In these statements Luther does not say that it is a matter of indi erence to him whether they contain errors or not but only that his faith would not be endangered, if, in spite of his best efforts, he would be unable to solve the apparent contradictions or to prove the inconsequence of all skeptical questions. He dismisses the matter if he cannot prove it conclusively, but his inability to do so neither commits him to the opinion that these passages really contain error, nor is his faith in salvation thereby imperiled. (49–50)

–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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