August 6

Luke 14:25-35

The Cost of Discipleship

[25] Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, [26] “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. [27] Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. [28] For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? [29] Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, [30] saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ [31] Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? [32] And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. [33] So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Salt Without Taste Is Worthless

[34] “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? [35] It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

1 Timothy 4

Some Will Depart from the Faith

[1] Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, [2] through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, [3] who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. [4] For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, [5] for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

A Good Servant of Christ Jesus

[6] If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. [7] Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; [8] for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. [9] The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. [10] For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

[11] Command and teach these things. [12] Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. [13] Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. [14] Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. [15] Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. [16] Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Proverbs 6

Practical Warnings

    [1] My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,

        have given your pledge for a stranger, 

    [2] if you are snared in the words of your mouth,

        caught in the words of your mouth, 

    [3] then do this, my son, and save yourself,

        for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:

        go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. 

    [4] Give your eyes no sleep

        and your eyelids no slumber; 

    [5] save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,

        like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

    [6] Go to the ant, O sluggard;

        consider her ways, and be wise. 

    [7] Without having any chief,

        officer, or ruler, 

    [8] she prepares her bread in summer

        and gathers her food in harvest. 

    [9] How long will you lie there, O sluggard?

        When will you arise from your sleep? 

    [10] A little sleep, a little slumber,

        a little folding of the hands to rest, 

    [11] and poverty will come upon you like a robber,

        and want like an armed man.

    [12] A worthless person, a wicked man,

        goes about with crooked speech, 

    [13] winks with his eyes, signals with his feet,

        points with his finger, 

    [14] with perverted heart devises evil,

        continually sowing discord; 

    [15] therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;

        in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.

    [16] There are six things that the LORD hates,

        seven that are an abomination to him: 

    [17] haughty eyes, a lying tongue,

        and hands that shed innocent blood, 

    [18] a heart that devises wicked plans,

        feet that make haste to run to evil, 

    [19] a false witness who breathes out lies,

        and one who sows discord among brothers.

    Warnings Against Adultery

    [20] My son, keep your father’s commandment,

        and forsake not your mother’s teaching. 

    [21] Bind them on your heart always;

        tie them around your neck. 

    [22] When you walk, they will lead you;

        when you lie down, they will watch over you;

        and when you awake, they will talk with you. 

    [23] For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,

        and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, 

    [24] to preserve you from the evil woman,

        from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. 

    [25] Do not desire her beauty in your heart,

        and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; 

    [26] for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread,

        but a married woman hunts down a precious life. 

    [27] Can a man carry fire next to his chest

        and his clothes not be burned? 

    [28] Or can one walk on hot coals

        and his feet not be scorched? 

    [29] So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;

        none who touches her will go unpunished. 

    [30] People do not despise a thief if he steals

        to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, 

    [31] but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold;

        he will give all the goods of his house. 

    [32] He who commits adultery lacks sense;

        he who does it destroys himself. 

    [33] He will get wounds and dishonor,

        and his disgrace will not be wiped away. 

    [34] For jealousy makes a man furious,

        and he will not spare when he takes revenge. 

    [35] He will accept no compensation;

        he will refuse though you multiply gifts.

Ezra 8

Genealogy of Those Who Returned with Ezra

[1] These are the heads of their fathers’ houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylonia, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king: [2] Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, Hattush. [3] Of the sons of Shecaniah, who was of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, with whom were registered 150 men. [4] Of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men. [5] Of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men. [6] Of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men. [7] Of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men. [8] Of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him 80 men. [9] Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men. [10] Of the sons of Bani, Shelomith the son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men. [11] Of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, the son of Bebai, and with him 28 men. [12] Of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men. [13] Of the sons of Adonikam, those who came later, their names being Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men. [14] Of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men.

Ezra Sends for Levites

[15] I gathered them to the river that runs to Ahava, and there we camped three days. As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there none of the sons of Levi. [16] Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of insight, [17] and sent them to Iddo, the leading man at the place Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his brothers and the temple servants at the place Casiphia, namely, to send us ministers for the house of our God. [18] And by the good hand of our God on us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Sherebiah with his sons and kinsmen, 18; [19] also Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his kinsmen and their sons, 20; [20] besides 220 of the temple servants, whom David and his officials had set apart to attend the Levites. These were all mentioned by name.

Fasting and Prayer for Protection

[21] Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. [22] For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” [23] So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.

Priests to Guard Offerings

[24] Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them. [25] And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king and his counselors and his lords and all Israel there present had offered. [26] I weighed out into their hand 650 talents of silver, and silver vessels worth 200 talents, and 100 talents of gold, [27] 20 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics, and two vessels of fine bright bronze as precious as gold. [28] And I said to them, “You are holy to the LORD, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers. [29] Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel at Jerusalem, within the chambers of the house of the LORD.” [30] So the priests and the Levites took over the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.

[31] Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way. [32] We came to Jerusalem, and there we remained three days. [33] On the fourth day, within the house of our God, the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed into the hands of Meremoth the priest, son of Uriah, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui. [34] The whole was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded.

[35] At that time those who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin offering twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD. [36] They also delivered the king’s commissions to the king’s satraps and to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and they aided the people and the house of God.