Zechariah 4:1-14
The angel who talked with me came again, and wakened me, as one is wakened from sleep. He said to me, "What do you see?" And I said, "I see a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it; there are seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. And by it there are two olive trees, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left." I said to the angel who talked with me, "What are these, my lord?" Then the angel who talked with me answered me, "Do you not know what these are?" I said, "No, my lord." He said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD of hosts. What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain; and he shall bring out the top stone amid shouts of 'Grace, grace to it!'" Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. "These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range through the whole earth." Then I said to him, "What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?" And a second time I said to him, "What are these two branches of the olive trees, which pour out the oil through the two golden pipes?" He said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" I said, "No, my lord." Then he said, "These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth."
Ephesians 4:17-32
Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart. They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. That is not the way you learned Christ! For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus. You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Matthew 9:1-8
And after getting into a boat he crossed the sea and came to his own town. And just then some people were carrying a paralyzed man lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." Then some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming." But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Stand up and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"-- he then said to the paralytic-- "Stand up, take your bed and go to your home." And he stood up and went to his home. When the crowds saw it, they were filled with awe, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to human beings.
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!
