Pathways to Intimacy

Daily Reading Plan With Christian Mael (December)

A Return Home

Placing Hope in God in the New Year as a Family

Faith at Work: A Plan for Business Leaders

Advent: A 25-Day Countdown to Christmas

A Glimpse of Infinity (Thankfulness in Living Color) - 7 Days of Photography & Prayers

From Humbug to Hallelujah: A 5-Day Christmas Transformation

Preparing for Christmas

Longing for Joy

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

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 <div class="label">11</div><div class="s1">Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King</div><div class="p"> 1As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2saying to them, &#8220;Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3If anyone asks you, &#8216;Why are you doing this?&#8217; say, &#8216;The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5some people standing there asked, &#8220;What are you doing, untying that colt?&#8221; 6They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Hosanna!#11:9 A Hebrew expression meaning &#8220;Save!&#8221; which became an exclamation of praise; also in verse 10&#8221;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">&#8220;Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!&#8221;#11:9 Psalm 118:25,26</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 10&#8220;Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!&#8221;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">&#8220;Hosanna in the highest heaven!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.</div><div class="s1">Jesus Curses a Fig Tree and Clears the Temple Courts</div><div class="p"> 12The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14Then he said to the tree, &#8220;May no one ever eat fruit from you again.&#8221; And his disciples heard him say it.</div><div class="p"> 15On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17And as he taught them, he said, &#8220;Is it not written: &#8216;My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations&#8217;#11:17 Isaiah 56:7? But you have made it &#8216;a den of robbers.&#8217;#11:17 Jer. 7:11&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.</div><div class="p"> 19When evening came, Jesus and his disciples#11:19 Some early manuscripts came, Jesus went out of the city.</div><div class="p"> 20In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21Peter remembered and said to Jesus, &#8220;Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22 &#8220;Have faith in God,&#8221; Jesus answered. 23&#8220;Truly#11:22,23 Some early manuscripts &#8220;If you have faith in God,&#8221; Jesus answered, 23 &#8220;truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, &#8216;Go, throw yourself into the sea,&#8217; and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.&#8221; [26]#11:26 Some manuscripts include here words similar to Matt. 6:15.</div><div class="s1">The Authority of Jesus Questioned</div><div class="p"> 27They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 28&#8220;By what authority are you doing these things?&#8221; they asked. &#8220;And who gave you authority to do this?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 29Jesus replied, &#8220;I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30John&#8217;s baptism&#8212;was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 31They discussed it among themselves and said, &#8220;If we say, &#8216;From heaven,&#8217; he will ask, &#8216;Then why didn&#8217;t you believe him?&#8217; 32But if we say, &#8216;Of human origin&#8217;&#8198;&#8230;&#8221; (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)</div><div class="p"> 33So they answered Jesus, &#8220;We don&#8217;t know.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Jesus said, &#8220;Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.&#8221;</div>
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 <div class="label">12</div><div class="s1">The Parable of the Tenants</div><div class="p"> 1Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: &#8220;A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 2At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.</div><div class="p"> 6 &#8220;He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, &#8216;They will respect my son.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 7 &#8220;But the tenants said to one another, &#8216;This is the heir. Come, let&#8217;s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.&#8217; 8So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.</div><div class="p"> 9 &#8220;What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10Haven&#8217;t you read this passage of Scripture:</div><div class="q1"> &#8220;&#8198;&#8216;The stone the builders rejected</div><div class="q2"> has become the cornerstone;</div><div class="q1"> 11 the Lord has done this,</div><div class="q2"> and it is marvelous in our eyes&#8217; # 12:11 
 Psalm 118:22,23 ?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.</div><div class="s1">Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar</div><div class="p"> 13Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14They came to him and said, &#8220;Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren&#8217;t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax#12:14 A special tax levied on subject peoples, not on Roman citizens to Caesar or not? 15Should we pay or shouldn&#8217;t we?&#8221;</div><div class="p">But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. &#8220;Why are you trying to trap me?&#8221; he asked. &#8220;Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.&#8221; 16They brought the coin, and he asked them, &#8220;Whose image is this? And whose inscription?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Caesar&#8217;s,&#8221; they replied.</div><div class="p"> 17Then Jesus said to them, &#8220;Give back to Caesar what is Caesar&#8217;s and to God what is God&#8217;s.&#8221;</div><div class="p">And they were amazed at him.</div><div class="s1">Marriage at the Resurrection</div><div class="p"> 18Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 19&#8220;Teacher,&#8221; they said, &#8220;Moses wrote for us that if a man&#8217;s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. 21The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. 22In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23At the resurrection#12:23 Some manuscripts resurrection, when people rise from the dead, whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24Jesus replied, &#8220;Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 26Now about the dead rising&#8212;have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, &#8216;I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob&#8217;#12:26 Exodus 3:6? 27He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Greatest Commandment</div><div class="p"> 28One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, &#8220;Of all the commandments, which is the most important?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 29 &#8220;The most important one,&#8221; answered Jesus, &#8220;is this: &#8216;Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.#12:29 Or The Lord our God is one Lord 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.&#8217;#12:30 Deut. 6:4,5 31The second is this: &#8216;Love your neighbor as yourself.&#8217;#12:31 Lev. 19:18 There is no commandment greater than these.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 32&#8220;Well said, teacher,&#8221; the man replied. &#8220;You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 34When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, &#8220;You are not far from the kingdom of God.&#8221; And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.</div><div class="s1">Whose Son Is the Messiah?</div><div class="p"> 35While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, &#8220;Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? 36David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:</div><div class="q1"> &#8220;&#8198;&#8216;The Lord said to my Lord:</div><div class="q2"> &#8220;Sit at my right hand</div><div class="q1"> until I put your enemies</div><div class="q2"> under your feet.&#8221;&#8198;&#8217; # 12:36 
 Psalm 110:1
 </div><div class="m"> 37 David himself calls him &#8216;Lord.&#8217; How then can he be his son?&#8221;</div><div class="p">The large crowd listened to him with delight.</div><div class="s1">Warning Against the Teachers of the Law</div><div class="p"> 38As he taught, Jesus said, &#8220;Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40They devour widows&#8217; houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Widow&#8217;s Offering</div><div class="p"> 41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.</div><div class="p"> 43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, &#8220;Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything&#8212;all she had to live on.&#8221;</div>
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 <div class="label">13</div><div class="s1">The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times</div><div class="p"> 1As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, &#8220;Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 2 &#8220;Do you see all these great buildings?&#8221; replied Jesus. &#8220;Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 4&#8220;Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5Jesus said to them: &#8220;Watch out that no one deceives you. 6Many will come in my name, claiming, &#8216;I am he,&#8217; and will deceive many. 7When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.</div><div class="p"> 9 &#8220;You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.</div><div class="p"> 12 &#8220;Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 13Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.</div><div class="p"> 14 &#8220;When you see &#8216;the abomination that causes desolation&#8217; # 13:14 
 Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11 standing where it#13:14 Or he does not belong&#8212;let the reader understand&#8212;then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out. 16Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 17How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 18Pray that this will not take place in winter, 19because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now&#8212;and never to be equaled again.</div><div class="p"> 20 &#8220;If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. 21At that time if anyone says to you, &#8216;Look, here is the Messiah!&#8217; or, &#8216;Look, there he is!&#8217; do not believe it. 22For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.</div><div class="p"> 24 &#8220;But in those days, following that distress,</div><div class="q1"> &#8220;&#8198;&#8216;the sun will be darkened,</div><div class="q2"> and the moon will not give its light;</div><div class="q1"> 25 the stars will fall from the sky,</div><div class="q2"> and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.&#8217; # 13:25 
 Isaiah 13:10; 34:4 </div><div class="p"> 26 &#8220;At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.</div><div class="p"> 28 &#8220;Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it#13:29 Or he is near, right at the door. 30Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 31Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.</div><div class="s1">The Day and Hour Unknown</div><div class="p"> 32 &#8220;But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Be on guard! Be alert#13:33 Some manuscripts alert and pray! You do not know when that time will come. 34It&#8217;s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.</div><div class="p"> 35 &#8220;Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back&#8212;whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37What I say to you, I say to everyone: &#8216;Watch!&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div>
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 <div class="label">15</div><div class="s1">Jesus Before Pilate</div><div class="p"> 1Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.</div><div class="p"> 2&#8220;Are you the king of the Jews?&#8221; asked Pilate.</div><div class="p"> &#8220;You have said so,&#8221; Jesus replied.</div><div class="p"> 3The chief priests accused him of many things. 4So again Pilate asked him, &#8220;Aren&#8217;t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.</div><div class="p"> 6Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.</div><div class="p"> 9&#8220;Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?&#8221; asked Pilate, 10knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.</div><div class="p"> 12&#8220;What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?&#8221; Pilate asked them.</div><div class="p"> 13&#8220;Crucify him!&#8221; they shouted.</div><div class="p"> 14&#8220;Why? What crime has he committed?&#8221; asked Pilate.</div><div class="p">But they shouted all the louder, &#8220;Crucify him!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.</div><div class="s1">The Soldiers Mock Jesus</div><div class="p"> 16The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18And they began to call out to him, &#8220;Hail, king of the Jews!&#8221; 19Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.</div><div class="s1">The Crucifixion of Jesus</div><div class="p"> 21A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means &#8220;the place of the skull&#8221;). 23Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.</div><div class="p"> 25It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. 26The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.</div><div class="p"> 27They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. [28]#15:28 Some manuscripts include here words similar to Luke 22:37. 29Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, &#8220;So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30come down from the cross and save yourself!&#8221; 31In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. &#8220;He saved others,&#8221; they said, &#8220;but he can&#8217;t save himself! 32Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.&#8221; Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.</div><div class="s1">The Death of Jesus</div><div class="p"> 33At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, &#8220;Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?&#8221; (which means &#8220;My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?&#8221;).#15:34 Psalm 22:1</div><div class="p"> 35When some of those standing near heard this, they said, &#8220;Listen, he&#8217;s calling Elijah.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 36Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. &#8220;Now leave him alone. Let&#8217;s see if Elijah comes to take him down,&#8221; he said.</div><div class="p"> 37With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.</div><div class="p"> 38The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died,#15:39 Some manuscripts saw that he died with such a cry he said, &#8220;Surely this man was the Son of God!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 40Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph,#15:40 Greek Joses, a variant of Joseph; also in verse 47 and Salome. 41In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.</div><div class="s1">The Burial of Jesus</div><div class="p"> 42It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus&#8217; body. 44Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.</div>
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 <div class="p">1When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus&#8217; body. 2Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3and they asked each other, &#8220;Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.</div><div class="p"> 6&#8220;Don&#8217;t be alarmed,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter, &#8216;He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.#16:8 Some manuscripts have the following ending between verses 8 and 9, and one manuscript has it after verse 8 (omitting verses 9-20): Then they quickly reported all these instructions to those around Peter. After this, Jesus himself also sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. Amen.</div><div class="iex">[The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9&#8211;20.]</div><div class="p"> </div>
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