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Day 1  READ   Genesis 12:1-3     1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”     These three verses are a key to the rest of the

Day 1  READ   Genesis 14:14-16     14 When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men who had been born into his household. Then he pursued Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up with them at Dan. 15 There he divided his men and attacked during the night. Kedorlaomer’s army fled, but Abram chased them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 Abram recovered all the goods that had been taken, and he brought back his nephew Lot with his

Day 1  READ   Genesis 17:9-11     9 Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. 10 This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. 11 You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you.”     God gave Abraham what would be the mark of His covenant with him and his descendants. T

Day 1  READ   Genesis 19:12-14     12 Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. “Do you have any other relatives here in the city?” they asked. “Get them out of this place—your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. 13 For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the Lord, and he has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters’ fiancés, “Quick, get out of the city! The Lord is about to

Day 1  READ   Genesis 21:22-24     22 About this time, Abimelech came with Phicol, his army commander, to visit Abraham. “God is obviously with you, helping you in everything you do,” Abimelech said. 23 “Swear to me in God’s name that you will never deceive me, my children, or any of my descendants. I have been loyal to you, so now swear that you will be loyal to me and to this country where you are living as a foreigner.” 24 Abraham replied, “Yes, I swear to it!”     It s

Day 1  READ   Genesis 24:12-14     12 “O Lord, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed. “Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham. 13 See, I am standing here beside this spring, and the young women of the town are coming out to draw water. 14 This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s

Day 1  READ   Genesis 25:1-4     1 Abraham married another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s descendants were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 4 Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These were all descendants of Abraham through Keturah.     The account continued with Abraham, but this chapter brings his life to a close. B

Day 1  READ   Genesis 26:12-15     12 When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the Lord blessed him. 13 He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow. 14 He acquired so many flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and servants that the Philistines became jealous of him. 15 So the Philistines filled up all of Isaac’s wells with dirt. These were the wells that had been dug by the servants of his f

Day 1  READ   Genesis 28:1-2     1 So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him, and said, “You must not marry any of these Canaanite women. 2 Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban’s daughters.”     Rebekah had wanted to send Jacob away for his safety. Isaac agrees and orders him not to marry any of the Canaanite women. Jacob was to visit Rebekah’s brother Laban and marry one of his daughters. Jacob, the “h

Day 1  READ   Genesis 29:9-10     9 Jacob was still talking with them when Rachel arrived with her father’s flock, for she was a shepherd. 10 And because Rachel was his cousin—the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother—and because the sheep and goats belonged to his uncle Laban, Jacob went over to the well and moved the stone from its mouth and watered his uncle’s flock.     This reveals that Rachel was a shepherd when she met Jacob. Although a stranger, Jacob took it upon

Day 1  READ   Genesis 30:25-28     25 Soon after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Please release me so I can go home to my own country. 26 Let me take my wives and children, for I have earned them by serving you, and let me be on my way. You certainly know how hard I have worked for you.” 27 “Please listen to me,” Laban replied. “I have become wealthy, for the Lord has blessed me because of you. 28 Tell me how much I owe you. Whatever it is, I’ll pa

Day 1  READ   Genesis 32:1-2     1 As Jacob started on his way again, angels of God came to meet him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, “This is God’s camp!” So he named the place Mahanaim.     Jacob is on his way to his homeland and was met by angels. This caused him to rejoice and realize he was in a special place that he referred to with a word that meant “two camps.” It is unsure what Jacob meant by “two camps”; perhaps he referred to the camp of angels and to his ca

Day 1  READ   Genesis 33:12-14     12 “Well,” Esau said, “let’s be going. I will lead the way.” 13 But Jacob replied, “You can see, my lord, that some of the children are very young, and the flocks and herds have their young, too. If they are driven too hard, even for one day, all the animals could die. 14 Please, my lord, go ahead of your servant. We will follow slowly, at a pace that is comfortable for the livestock and the children. I will meet you at Seir.”     Jacob k

Day 1  READ   Genesis 36:1-5     1 This is the account of the descendants of Esau (also known as Edom). 2 Esau married two young women from Canaan: Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite. 3 He also married his cousin Basemath, who was the daughter of Ishmael and the sister of Nebaioth. 4 Adah gave birth to a son named Eliphaz for Esau. Basemath gave birth to a son named Reuel. 5 Oholibamah gave

When looking back at the phenomenal growth of the early church, it’s easy to think that the apostles had nothing but smooth sailing as they took the Gospel to the world. That wasn’t the case at all. And in Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, we see the apostle fighting hard for the church that he planted and loved.    In this verse-by-verse study we’ll study Paul’s often stern words to this church in the midst of conflict. Whether it’s addressing sin within the chu

Day 1   READ   2 Corinthians 1:1-2   1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. I am writing to God’s church in Corinth and to all of his holy people throughout Greece. 2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.     Paul’s first letter was written to the believers in Corinth about A.D. 55 from Ephesus. This second letter was written from Macedonia about a year after his fi

Day 1   READ   2 Corinthians 1:12-14   12 We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity in all our dealings. We have depended on God’s grace, not on our own human wisdom. That is how we have conducted ourselves before the world, and especially toward you. 13 Our letters have been straightforward, and there is nothing written between the lines and nothing you can’t understand. I hope someday you will fully understa

Day 1     READ   2 Corinthians 2:1-4   1 So I decided that I would not bring you grief with another painful visit. 2 For if I cause you grief, who will make me glad? Certainly not someone I have grieved. 3 That is why I wrote to you as I did, so that when I do come, I won’t be grieved by the very ones who ought to give me the greatest joy. Surely you all know that my joy comes from your being joyful. 4 I wrote that letter in great anguish, with a troubled heart and many tears

Day 1     READ   2 Corinthians 2:17   17 You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us.     Even in Paul’s day there were those preachers taking advantage of people and lining their own pockets. The difference is whether one really believes that God is watching. Paul was sure He was and wanted only to preach God’s word “with sincerity and with Ch

Day 1     READ   2 Corinthians 3:12-15   12 Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. 14 But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ

Day 1     READ   2 Corinthians 4:8-10   8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.     Paul recounted many problems he and his team faced, but he also focused on some positives they

Day 1     READ   2 Corinthians 5:4-5   4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. 5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.     Paul told what it is like for believers in their earthly bodies with their limitations and pains. In contrast,

Day 1     READ   2 Corinthians 5:16-17   16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!     Paul told how he quit critiquing others based on human values. He cited Jesus as an example. When Jesus moved among humanity as the perfect God/man,

Day 1     READ   2 Corinthians 6:6-8   6 We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. 7 We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. 8 We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors.     Thes