Micah 3:9-4:5
Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob and chiefs of the house of Israel, who abhor justice and pervert all equity, who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with wrong! Its rulers give judgment for a bribe, its priests teach for a price, its prophets give oracles for money; yet they lean upon the LORD and say, "Surely the LORD is with us! No harm shall come upon us." Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height. In days to come the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised up above the hills. Peoples shall stream to it, and many nations shall come and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. For all the peoples walk, each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.
Acts 24:24-25:12
Some days later when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him speak concerning faith in Christ Jesus. And as he discussed justice, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, "Go away for the present; when I have an opportunity, I will send for you." At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul, and for that reason he used to send for him very often and converse with him. After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and since he wanted to grant the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison. Three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem where the chief priests and the leaders of the Jews gave him a report against Paul. They appealed to him and requested, as a favor to them against Paul, to have him transferred to Jerusalem. They were, in fact, planning an ambush to kill him along the way. Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea, and that he himself intended to go there shortly. "So," he said, "let those of you who have the authority come down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them accuse him." After he had stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea; the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. When he arrived, the Jews who had gone down from Jerusalem surrounded him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they could not prove. Paul said in his defense, "I have in no way committed an offense against the law of the Jews, or against the temple, or against the emperor." But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, "Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and be tried there before me on these charges?" Paul said, "I am appealing to the emperor's tribunal; this is where I should be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you very well know. Now if I am in the wrong and have committed something for which I deserve to die, I am not trying to escape death; but if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can turn me over to them. I appeal to the emperor." Then Festus, after he had conferred with his council, replied, "You have appealed to the emperor; to the emperor you will go."
Luke 8:1-15
Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources. When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: "A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold." As he said this, he called out, "Let anyone with ears to hear listen!" Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak in parables, so that 'looking they may not perceive, and listening they may not understand.' "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of testing fall away. As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear; but as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.
Morning Psalms
Psalm 140 Eripe me, Domine
1 Deliver me, O LORD, from evildoers; protect me from the violent,
2 Who devise evil in their hearts and stir up strife all day long.
3 They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adder's poison is under their lips.
4 Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from the violent, who are determined to trip me up.
5 The proud have hidden a snare for me and stretched out a net of cords; they have set traps for me along the path.
6 I have said to the LORD, "You are my God; listen, O LORD, to my supplication.
7 O Lord GOD, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Do not grant the desires of the wicked, O LORD, nor let their evil plans prosper.
9 Let not those who surround me lift up their heads; let the evil of their lips overwhelm them.
10 Let hot burning coals fall upon them; let them be cast into the mire, never to rise up again."
11 A slanderer shall not be established on the earth, and evil shall hunt down the lawless.
12 I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the poor and render justice to the needy.
13 Surely, the righteous will give thanks to your Name, and the upright shall continue in your sight.
Psalm 142 Voce mea ad Dominum
1 I cry to the LORD with my voice; to the LORD I make loud supplication.
2 I pour out my complaint before him and tell him all my trouble.
3 When my spirit languishes within me, you know my path; in the way wherein I walk they have hidden a trap for me.
4 I look to my right hand and find no one who knows me; I have no place to flee to, and no one cares for me.
5 I cry out to you, O LORD; I say, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living."
6 Listen to my cry for help, for I have been brought very low; save me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me.
7 Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your Name; when you have dealt bountifully with me, the righteous will gather around me.
Evening Psalms
Psalm 141 Domine, clamavi
1 O LORD, I call to you; come to me quickly; hear my voice when I cry to you.
2 Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
3 Set a watch before my mouth, O LORD, and guard the door of my lips; let not my heart incline to any evil thing.
4 Let me not be occupied in wickedness with evildoers, nor eat of their choice foods.
5 Let the righteous smite me in friendly rebuke; let not the oil of the unrighteous anoint my head; for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.
6 Let their rulers be overthrown in stony places, that they may know my words are true.
7 As when a plowman turns over the earth in furrows, let their bones be scattered at the mouth of the grave.
8 But my eyes are turned to you, Lord GOD; in you I take refuge; do not strip me of my life.
9 Protect me from the snare which they have laid for me and from the traps of the evildoers.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I myself escape.
Psalm 143 Domine, exaudi
1 LORD, hear my prayer, and in your faithfulness heed my supplications; answer me in your righteousness.
2 Enter not into judgment with your servant, for in your sight shall no one living be justified.
3 For my enemy has sought my life; he has crushed me to the ground; he has made me live in dark places like those who are long dead.
4 My spirit faints within me; my heart within me is desolate.
5 I remember the time past; I muse upon all your deeds; I consider the works of your hands.
6 I spread out my hands to you; my soul gasps to you like a thirsty land.
7 O LORD, make haste to answer me; my spirit fails me; do not hide your face from me or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
8 Let me hear of your loving-kindness in the morning, for I put my trust in you; show me the road that I must walk, for I lift up my soul to you.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD, for I flee to you for refuge.
10 Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God; let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
11 Revive me, O LORD, for your Name's sake; for your righteousness' sake, bring me out of trouble.
12 Of your goodness, destroy my enemies and bring all my foes to naught, for truly I am your servant.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The New Revised Standard Version Bible may be quoted and/or reprinted up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of the publisher, provided the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible or account for fifty percent (50%) of the total work in which they are quoted.
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