NLT One Year Bible - Flipbook - Page 55
51
Thomas,
Matthew (the tax collector),
James (son of Alphaeus),
Thaddaeus,*
4 Simon (the zealot*),
Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed
him).
5 Jesus sent out the twelve apostles
with these instructions: “Don’t go to the
Gentiles or the Samaritans, 6 but only to
the people of Israel—God’s lost sheep.
7 Go and announce to them that the
Kingdom of Heaven is near.* 8Heal the
sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely
as you have received!
9 “Don’t take any money in your
money belts—no gold, silver, or even
copper coins. 10Don’t carry a traveler’s
bag with a change of clothes and sandals or even a walking stick. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those
who work deserve to be fed.
11“Whenever you enter a city or village, search for a worthy person and
stay in his home until you leave town.
12 When you enter the home, give it
your blessing. 13If it turns out to be a
worthy home, let your blessing stand; if
it is not, take back the blessing. 14If any
household or town refuses to welcome
you or listen to your message, shake its
dust from your feet as you leave. 15 I tell
you the truth, the wicked cities of
Sodom and Gomorrah will be better
off than such a town on the judgment
day.
16 “Look, I am sending you out as
sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as
snakes and harmless as doves. 17 But beware! For you will be handed over to the
courts and will be flogged with whips in
the synagogues. 18You will stand trial
before governors and kings because
you are my followers. But this will be
your opportunity to tell the rulers and
other unbelievers about me.* 19 When
you are arrested, don’t worry about how
to respond or what to say. God will give
you the right words at the right time.
20For it is not you who will be speak-
J A N U A R Y
1 4
ing—it will be the Spirit of your Father
speaking through you.
21“A brother will betray his brother to
death, a father will betray his own child,
and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed. 22And
all nations will hate you because you are
my followers.* But everyone who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When
you are persecuted in one town, flee to
the next. I tell you the truth, the Son of
Man* will return before you have
reached all the towns of Israel.”
10:1 Greek unclean. 10:3 Other manuscripts read
Lebbaeus; still others read Lebbaeus who is called
Thaddaeus. 10:4 Greek the Cananean, an Aramaic term
for Jewish nationalists. 10:7 Or has come, or is coming
soon. 10:18 Or But this will be your testimony against
the rulers and other unbelievers. 10:22 Greek on account
of my name. 10:23 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used
for himself.
PSALM 12:1-8
For the choir director: A psalm of David,
to be accompanied by an eight-stringed
instrument.*
Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast
disappearing!
The faithful have vanished from
the earth!
2 Neighbors lie to each other,
speaking with flattering lips and
deceitful hearts.
3 May the Lord cut off their flattering
lips
and silence their boastful
tongues.
4 They say, “We will lie to our hearts’
content.
Our lips are our own—who can
stop us?”
1
The Lord replies, “I have seen
violence done to the helpless,
and I have heard the groans
of the poor.
Now I will rise up to rescue them,
as they have longed for me
to do.”
6 The Lord’s promises are pure,
like silver refined in a furnace,
purified seven times over.
7 Therefore, Lord, we know you will
protect the oppressed,
5
