Exodus 24:1-18
Then he said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship at a distance. Moses alone shall come near the LORD; but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him." Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, "All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do." And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. He rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and set up twelve pillars, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel. He sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed oxen as offerings of well-being to the LORD. Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he dashed against the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient." Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people, and said, "See the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words." Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there was something like a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. God did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; also they beheld God, and they ate and drank. The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction." So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. To the elders he had said, "Wait here for us, until we come to you again; for Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them." Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.
Colossians 2:8-23
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it. Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, "Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch"? All these regulations refer to things that perish with use; they are simply human commands and teachings. These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence.
Matthew 4:12-17
Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: "Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles-- the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned." From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."
Morning Psalms
Psalm 105: Part I
1 Give thanks to the LORD and call upon his Name; make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him, and speak of all his marvelous works.
3 Glory in his holy Name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
4 Search for the LORD and his strength; continually seek his face.
5 Remember the marvels he has done, his wonders and the judgments of his mouth,
6 O offspring of Abraham his servant, O children of Jacob his chosen.
7 He is the LORD our God; his judgments prevail in all the world.
8 He has always been mindful of his covenant, the promise he made for a thousand generations:
9 The covenant he made with Abraham, the oath that he swore to Issac,
10 Which he established as a statute for Jacob, an everlasting covenant for Israel,
11 Saying, "To you will I give the land of Canaan to be your allotted inheritance."
12 When they were few in number, of little account, and sojourners in the land,
13 Wandering from nation to nation and from one kingdom to another,
14 He let no one oppress them and rebuked kings for their sake,
15 Saying, "Do not touch my anointed and do my prophets no harm."
16 Then he called for a famine in the land and destroyed the supply of bread.
17 He sent a man before them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 They bruised his feet in fetters; his neck they put in an iron collar.
19 Until his prediction came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him.
20 The king sent and released him; the ruler of the peoples set him free.
21 He set him as a master over his household, as a ruler over all his possessions,
22 To instruct his princes according to his will and to teach his elders wisdom.
Evening Psalms
Psalm 105: Part II
23 Israel came into Egypt, and Jacob became a sojourner in the land of Ham.
24 The LORD made his people exceedingly fruitful; he made them stronger than their enemies;
25 Whose heart he turned, so that they hated his people, and dealt unjustly with his servants.
26 He sent Moses his servant, and Aaron whom he had chosen.
27 They worked his signs among them, and portents in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and it grew dark; but the Egyptians rebelled against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood and caused their fish to die.
30 Their land was overrun by frogs, in the very chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of insects and gnats within all their borders.
32 He gave them hailstones instead of rain, and flames of fire throughout their land.
33 He blasted their vines and their fig trees and shattered every tree in their country.
34 He spoke, and the locust came, and young locusts without number,
35 Which ate up all the green plants in their land and devoured the fruit of their soil.
36 He struck down the firstborn of their land, the firstfruits of all their strength.
37 He led out his people with silver and gold; in all their tribes there was not one that stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad of their going, because they were afraid of them.
39 He spread out a cloud for a covering and a fire to give light in the night season.
40 They asked, and quails appeared, and he satisfied them with bread from heaven.
41 He opened the rock, and water flowed, so the river ran in the dry places.
42 For God remembered his holy word and Abraham his servant.
43 So he led forth his people with gladness, his chosen with shouts of joy.
44 He gave his people the lands of the nations, and they took the fruit of others' toil,
45 That they might keep his statutes and observe his laws. Hallelujah!
