NLT One Year Bible - Flipbook - Page 29
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them and welcomed them, bowing low
to the ground.
3“My lord,” he said, “if it pleases you,
stop here for a while. 4Rest in the shade
of this tree while water is brought to
wash your feet. 5And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me
prepare some food to refresh you before
you continue on your journey.”
“All right,” they said. “Do as you have
said.”
6So Abraham ran back to the tent and
said to Sarah, “Hurry! Get three large
measures* of your best flour, knead it
into dough, and bake some bread.”
7 Then Abraham ran out to the herd and
chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly prepared it. 8When
the food was ready, Abraham took some
yogurt and milk and the roasted meat,
and he served it to the men. As they ate,
Abraham waited on them in the shade
of the trees.
9“Where is Sarah, your wife?” the visitors asked.
“She’s inside the tent,” Abraham replied.
10Then one of them said, “I will return
to you about this time next year, and
your wife, Sarah, will have a son!”
Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent. 11Abraham and Sarah
were both very old by this time, and Sarah
was long past the age of having children.
12 So she laughed silently to herself and
said, “How could a worn-out woman like
me enjoy such pleasure, especially when
my master—my husband—is also so old?”
13 Then the Lord said to Abraham,
“Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say,
‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’
14Is anything too hard for the Lord?
I will return about this time next year,
and Sarah will have a son.”
15 Sarah was afraid, so she denied it,
saying, “I didn’t laugh.”
But the Lord said, “No, you did laugh.”
16:13 Hebrew El-roi. 17:5 Abram means “exalted father”;
Abraham sounds like a Hebrew term that means “father
of many.” 17:7 Hebrew seed; also in 17:7b, 8, 9, 10, 19.
17:15 Sarai and Sarah both mean “princess”; the change
in spelling may reflect the difference in dialect between
Ur and Canaan. 17:19 Isaac means “he laughs.”
18:6 Hebrew 3 seahs, about half a bushel or 22 liters.
J A N U A R Y
7
MATTHEW 6:1-24
“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds
publicly, to be admired by others, for you
will lose the reward from your Father in
heaven. 2 When you give to someone in
need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—
blowing trumpets in the synagogues and
streets to call attention to their acts of
charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get.
3But when you give to someone in need,
don’t let your left hand know what your
right hand is doing. 4Give your gifts in
private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
5“When you pray, don’t be like the
hypocrites who love to pray publicly on
street corners and in the synagogues
where everyone can see them. I tell you
the truth, that is all the reward they will
ever get. 6 But when you pray, go away
by yourself, shut the door behind you,
and pray to your Father in private. Then
your Father, who sees everything, will
reward you.
7“When you pray, don’t babble on
and on as the Gentiles do. They think
their prayers are answered merely by
repeating their words again and again.
8Don’t be like them, for your Father
knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! 9Pray like this:
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
10 May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today the food we need,*
12 and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who
sin against us.
13 And don’t let us yield to
temptation,*
but rescue us from the evil
one.*
1 4 “If you forgive those who sin
against you, your heavenly Father will
forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive
your sins.
16“And when you fast, don’t make it
