The Daily Readings for Sunday, 23 August 2015

The Daily Readings for Sunday, 23 August 2015
Joshua 24:1 Y’hoshua gathered all the tribes of Isra’el to Sh’khem; he summoned the leaders, heads, judges and officials of Isra’el; and they presented themselves before God. 2 Y’hoshua said to all the people, “This is what Adonai the God of Isra’el says: ‘In antiquity your ancestors lived on the other side of the [Euphrates] River — Terach the father of Avraham and Nachor — and they served other gods.
15 If it seems bad to you to serve Adonai, then choose today whom you are going to serve! Will it be the gods your ancestors served beyond the River? or the gods of the Emori, in whose land you are living? As for me and my household, we will serve Adonai!”
16 The people answered, “Far be it from us that we would abandon Adonai to serve other gods; 17 because it is Adonai our God who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from a life of slavery, and did those great signs before our eyes, and preserved us all along the way we traveled and among all the peoples we passed through; 18 and it was Adonai who drove out from ahead of us all the peoples, the Emori living in the land. Therefore we too will serve Adonai, for he is our God.”
Psalms 34:2 (1) I will bless Adonai at all times;
his praise will always be in my mouth.
3 (2) When I boast, it will be about Adonai;
the humble will hear of it and be glad.
16 (15) The eyes of Adonai watch over the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
17 (16) But the face of Adonai opposes those who do evil,
to cut off all memory of them from the earth.
18 (17) [The righteous] cried out, and Adonai heard,
and he saved them from all their troubles.
19 (18) Adonai is near those with broken hearts;
he saves those whose spirit is crushed.
20 (19) The righteous person suffers many evils,
but Adonai rescues him out of them all.
21 (20) He protects all his bones;
not one of them gets broken.
Ephesians 5:21 Submit to one another in fear of the Messiah. 22 Wives should submit to their husbands as they do to the Lord; 23 because the husband is head of the wife, just as the Messiah, as head of the Messianic Community, is himself the one who keeps the body safe. 24 Just as the Messianic Community submits to the Messiah, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25 As for husbands, love your wives, just as the Messiah loved the Messianic Community, indeed, gave himself up on its behalf, 26 in order to set it apart for God, making it clean through immersion in the mikveh, so to speak, 27 in order to present the Messianic Community to himself as a bride to be proud of, without a spot, wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and without defect. 28 This is how husbands ought to love their wives — like their own bodies; for the man who loves his wife is loving himself. 29 Why, no one ever hated his own flesh! On the contrary, he feeds it well and takes care of it, just as the Messiah does the Messianic Community, 30 because we are parts of his Body. 31 “Therefore a man will leave his father and mother and remain with his wife, and the two will become one.”[Ephesians 5:31 Genesis 2:24] 32 There is profound truth hidden here, which I say concerns the Messiah and the Messianic Community.
John 6:60 On hearing it, many of his talmidim said, “This is a hard word — who can bear to listen to it?” 61 But Yeshua, aware that his talmidim were grumbling about this, said to them, “This is a trap for you? 62 Suppose you were to see the Son of Man going back up to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh is no help. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life, 64 yet some among you do not trust.” (For Yeshua knew from the outset which ones would not trust him, also which one would betray him.) 65 “This,” he said, “is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has made it possible for him.”
66 From this time on, many of his talmidim turned back and no longer traveled around with him. 67 So Yeshua said to the Twelve, “Don’t you want to leave too?” 68 Shim‘on Kefa answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the word of eternal life. 69 We have trusted, and we know that you are the Holy One of God.”
____________________________