Daily Readings for Thursday, 15 January 2015

Daily Readings for Thursday, 15 January 2015
Hebrews 3: A Rest for God’s People
7 It is just as the Holy Spirit says,
“If you hear God’s voice today,
8     don’t be stubborn!
Don’t rebel like those people
who were tested
    in the desert.
9 For forty years your ancestors
tested God
and saw
    the things he did.
10 “Then God got tired of them
    and said,
‘You people never
    show good sense,
and you don’t understand
    what I want you to do.'
11 God became angry
    and told the people,
‘You will never enter
    my place of rest!’”
12 My friends, watch out! Don’t let evil thoughts or doubts make any of you turn from the living God. 13 You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called “today.” If you don’t, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn. 14 We were sure about Christ when we first became his people. So let’s hold tightly to our faith until the end.
Psalms 95:6 Bow down and worship
    the Lord our Creator!
7 The Lord is our God,
    and we are his people,
    the sheep he takes care of
    in his own pasture.
Listen to God’s voice today!
8 Don’t be stubborn and rebel
    as your ancestors did
    at Meribah and Massah[a]
    out in the desert.
9 For forty years
they tested God
    and saw
    the things he did.
10 Then God got tired of them
    and said,
“You never show good sense,
    and you don’t understand
    what I want you to do.”
11 In his anger, God told them,
    “You people will never enter
    my place of rest.”[Footnotes:
95.8 Meribah and Massah: See the note at 81.7.]
Mark 1: Jesus Heals a Man
40 A man with leprosy[a] came to Jesus and knelt down.[b] He begged, “You have the power to make me well, if only you wanted to.”
41 Jesus felt sorry for[c] the man. So he put his hand on him and said, “I want to! Now you are well.” 42 At once the man’s leprosy disappeared, and he was well.
43 After Jesus strictly warned the man, he sent him on his way. 44 He said, “Don’t tell anyone about this. Just go and show the priest that you are well. Then take a gift to the temple as Moses commanded, and everyone will know that you have been healed.”[d]
45 The man talked about it so much and told so many people, that Jesus could no longer go openly into a town. He had to stay away from the towns, but people still came to him from everywhere.[Footnotes:
1.40 leprosy: In biblical times the word “leprosy” was used for many different kinds of skin diseases.
1.40 and knelt down: These words are not in some manuscripts.
1.41 felt sorry for: Some manuscripts have “was angry with.”
1.44 everyone will know that you have been healed: People with leprosy had to be examined by a priest and told that they were well (that is, “clean”) before they could once again live a normal life in the Jewish community. The gift that Moses commanded was the sacrifice of some lambs together with flour mixed with olive oil.]

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