Jan 29

Genesis 30
Esther 6
Mark 1
Romans 1

Daily Readings:

Genesis 30

1 ¶  And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.

2  And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?

3  And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.

4  And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.

5  And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.

6  And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan.

7  And Bilhah Rachel’s maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.

8  And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.

9  When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.

10  And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a son.

11  And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.

12  And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a second son.

13  And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.

14 ¶  And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son’s mandrakes.

15  And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son’s mandrakes.

16  And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

17  And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.

18  And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.

19  And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.

20  And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.

21  And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

22  And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.

23  And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach:

24  And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.

25 ¶  And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.

26  Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.

27  And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.

28  And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.

29  And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me.

30  For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?

31  And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock:

32  I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.

33  So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.

34  And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.

35  And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.

36  And he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

37 ¶  And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.

38  And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.

39  And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.

40  And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban’s cattle.

41  And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.

42  But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.

43  And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.

Esther 6

1 ¶  On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.

2  And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus.

3  And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king’s servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him.

4 ¶  And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king’s house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.

5  And the king’s servants said unto him, Behold, Haman standeth in the court. And the king said, Let him come in.

6  So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself?

7  And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king delighteth to honour,

8  Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head:

9  And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour.

10  Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king’s gate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken.

11  Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour.

12 ¶  And Mordecai came again to the king’s gate. But Haman hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered.

13  And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every thing that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him.

14  And while they were yet talking with him, came the king’s chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Mark 1

1 ¶  The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;

2  As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

3  The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

4  John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

5  And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.

6  And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;

7  And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.

8  I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

9 ¶  And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.

10  And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:

11  And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

12  And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.

13  And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

14 ¶  Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

15  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

16  Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

17  And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

18  And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.

19  And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.

20  And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.

21  And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.

22  And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.

23 ¶  And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

24  Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

25  And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.

26  And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.

27  And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.

28  And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.

29 ¶  And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

30  But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her.

31  And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.

32  And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.

33  And all the city was gathered together at the door.

34  And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.

35  And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

36  And Simon and they that were with him followed after him.

37  And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.

38  And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.

39  And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.

40 ¶  And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

41  And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.

42  And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

43  And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;

44  And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

45  But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.

Romans 1

1 ¶  Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

2  (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)

3  Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;

4  And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

5  By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

6  Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:

7  To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

8 ¶  First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

9  For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;

10  Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.

11  For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;

12  That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

13  Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

14  I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.

15  So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

16 ¶  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

17  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19 ¶  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

26  For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

27  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

29  Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

30  Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

31  Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

32  Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Mediation of the Day: from Charles J Rolls’ book, ‘The Indescribable Christ’

C3-C01 The Cornerstone

 

 

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