Matthew 4:1-11 Acts 4:23-37 Psalms 7 Genesis 18-20

Matthew 4:1-11
Mat 4:1 Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it.
Mat 4:2 Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger,
Mat 4:3 which the Devil took advantage of in the first test: "Since you are God's Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread."
Mat 4:4 Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: "It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God's mouth."
Mat 4:5 For the second test the Devil took him to the Holy City. He sat him on top of the Temple and said,
Mat 4:6 "Since you are God's Son, jump." The Devil goaded him by quoting Psalm 91: "He has placed you in the care of angels. They will catch you so that you won't so much as stub your toe on a stone."
Mat 4:7 Jesus countered with another citation from Deuteronomy: "Don't you dare test the Lord your God."
Mat 4:8 For the third test, the Devil took him on the peak of a huge mountain. He gestured expansively, pointing out all the earth's kingdoms, how glorious they all were.
Mat 4:9 Then he said, "They're yours--lock, stock, and barrel. Just go down on your knees and worship me, and they're yours."
Mat 4:10 Jesus' refusal was curt: "Beat it, Satan!" He backed his rebuke with a third quotation from Deuteronomy: "Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness."
Mat 4:11 The Test was over. The Devil left. And in his place, angels! Angels came and took care of Jesus' needs.

Acts 4:23-37
Act 4:23 As soon as Peter and John were let go, they went to their friends and told them what the high priests and religious leaders had said.
Act 4:24 Hearing the report, they lifted their voices in a wonderful harmony in prayer: "Strong God, you made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.
Act 4:25 By the Holy Spirit you spoke through the mouth of your servant and our father, David: Why the big noise, nations? Why the mean plots, peoples?
Act 4:26 Earth's leaders push for position, Potentates meet for summit talks, The God-deniers, the Messiah-defiers!
Act 4:27 "For in fact they did meet--Herod and Pontius Pilate with nations and peoples, even Israel itself!--met in this very city to plot against your holy Son Jesus, the One you made Messiah,
Act 4:28 to carry out the plans you long ago set in motion.
Act 4:29 "And now they're at it again! Take care of their threats and give your servants fearless confidence in preaching your Message,
Act 4:30 as you stretch out your hand to us in healings and miracles and wonders done in the name of your holy servant Jesus."
Act 4:31 While they were praying, the place where they were meeting trembled and shook. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak God's Word with fearless confidence.
Act 4:32 The whole congregation of believers was united as one--one heart, one mind! They didn't even claim ownership of their own possessions. No one said, "That's mine; you can't have it." They shared everything.
Act 4:33 The apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Master Jesus, and grace was on all of them.
Act 4:34 And so it turned out that not a person among them was needy. Those who owned fields or houses sold them and brought the price of the sale
Act 4:35 to the apostles and made an offering of it. The apostles then distributed it according to each person's need.
Act 4:36 Joseph, called by the apostles "Barnabas" (which means "Son of Comfort"), a Levite born in Cyprus,
Act 4:37 sold a field that he owned, brought the money, and made an offering of it to the apostles.

Psalms 7
Psa 7:1 A David psalm. GOD! GOD! I am running to you for dear life; the chase is wild.
Psa 7:2 If they catch me, I'm finished: ripped to shreds by foes fierce as lions, dragged into the forest and left unlooked for, unremembered.
Psa 7:3 GOD, if I've done what they say--
Psa 7:4 betrayed my friends, ripped off my enemies-- If my hands are really that dirty,
Psa 7:5 let them get me, walk all over me, leave me flat on my face in the dirt.
Psa 7:6 Stand up, GOD; pit your holy fury against my furious enemies. Wake up, God.
Psa 7:7 My accusers have packed the courtroom; it's judgment time.
Psa 7:8 Take your place on the bench, reach for your gavel, throw out the false charges against me. I'm ready, confident in your verdict: "Innocent."
Psa 7:9 Close the book on Evil, GOD, but publish your mandate for us. You get us ready for life: you probe for our soft spots, you knock off our rough edges.
Psa 7:10 And I'm feeling so fit, so safe: made right, kept right.
Psa 7:11 God in solemn honor does things right, but his nerves are sandpapered raw. Nobody gets by with anything.
Psa 7:12 God is already in action-- Sword honed on his whetstone, bow strung, arrow on the string,
Psa 7:13 Lethal weapons in hand, each arrow a flaming missile.
Psa 7:14 Look at that guy! He had sex with sin, he's pregnant with evil. Oh, look! He's having the baby--a Lie-Baby!
Psa 7:15 See that man shoveling day after day, digging, then concealing, his man-trap down that lonely stretch of road? Go back and look again--you'll see him in it headfirst, legs waving in the breeze.
Psa 7:16 That's what happens: mischief backfires; violence boomerangs.
Psa 7:17 I'm thanking God, who makes things right. I'm singing the fame of heaven-high GOD.

Genesis 18-20
Gen 18:1 GOD appeared to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. It was the hottest part of the day.
Gen 18:2 He looked up and saw three men standing. He ran from his tent to greet them and bowed before them.
Gen 18:3 He said, "Master, if it please you, stop for a while with your servant.
Gen 18:4 I'll get some water so you can wash your feet. Rest under this tree.
Gen 18:5 I'll get some food to refresh you on your way, since your travels have brought you across my path." They said, "Certainly. Go ahead."
Gen 18:6 Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. He said, "Hurry. Get three cups of our best flour; knead it and make bread."
Gen 18:7 Then Abraham ran to the cattle pen and picked out a nice plump calf and gave it to the servant who lost no time getting it ready.
Gen 18:8 Then he got curds and milk, brought them with the calf that had been roasted, set the meal before the men, and stood there under the tree while they ate.
Gen 18:9 The men said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" He said, "In the tent."
Gen 18:10 One of them said, "I'm coming back about this time next year. When I arrive, your wife Sarah will have a son." Sarah was listening at the tent opening, just behind the man.
Gen 18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old by this time, very old. Sarah was far past the age for having babies.
Gen 18:12 Sarah laughed within herself, "An old woman like me? Get pregnant? With this old man of a husband?"
Gen 18:13 GOD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh saying, 'Me? Have a baby? An old woman like me?'
Gen 18:14 Is anything too hard for GOD? I'll be back about this time next year and Sarah will have a baby."
Gen 18:15 Sarah lied. She said, "I didn't laugh," because she was afraid. But he said, "Yes you did; you laughed."
Gen 18:16 When the men got up to leave, they set off for Sodom. Abraham walked with them to say good-bye.
Gen 18:17 Then GOD said, "Shall I keep back from Abraham what I'm about to do?
Gen 18:18 Abraham is going to become a large and strong nation; all the nations of the world are going to find themselves blessed through him.
Gen 18:19 Yes, I've settled on him as the one to train his children and future family to observe GOD's way of life, live kindly and generously and fairly, so that GOD can complete in Abraham what he promised him."
Gen 18:20 GOD continued, "The cries of the victims in Sodom and Gomorrah are deafening; the sin of those cities is immense.
Gen 18:21 I'm going down to see for myself, see if what they're doing is as bad as it sounds. Then I'll know."
Gen 18:22 The men set out for Sodom, but Abraham stood in GOD's path, blocking his way.
Gen 18:23 Abraham confronted him, "Are you serious? Are you planning on getting rid of the good people right along with the bad?
Gen 18:24 What if there are fifty decent people left in the city; will you lump the good with the bad and get rid of the lot?
Gen 18:25 Wouldn't you spare the city for the sake of those fifty innocents? I can't believe you'd do that, kill off the good and the bad alike as if there were no difference between them. Doesn't the Judge of all the Earth judge with justice?"
Gen 18:26 GOD said, "If I find fifty decent people in the city of Sodom, I'll spare the place just for them."
Gen 18:27 Abraham came back, "Do I, a mere mortal made from a handful of dirt, dare open my mouth again to my Master?
Gen 18:28 What if the fifty fall short by five--would you destroy the city because of those missing five?" He said, "I won't destroy it if there are forty-five."
Gen 18:29 Abraham spoke up again, "What if you only find forty?" "Neither will I destroy it if for forty."
Gen 18:30 He said, "Master, don't be irritated with me, but what if only thirty are found?" "No, I won't do it if I find thirty."
Gen 18:31 He pushed on, "I know I'm trying your patience, Master, but how about for twenty?" "I won't destroy it for twenty."
Gen 18:32 He wouldn't quit, "Don't get angry, Master--this is the last time. What if you only come up with ten?" "For the sake of only ten, I won't destroy the city."
Gen 18:33 When GOD finished talking with Abraham, he left. And Abraham went home.
Gen 19:1 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening. Lot was sitting at the city gate. He saw them and got up to welcome them, bowing before them
Gen 19:2 and said, "Please, my friends, come to my house and stay the night. Wash up. You can rise early and be on your way refreshed." They said, "No, we'll sleep in the street."
Gen 19:3 But he insisted, wouldn't take no for an answer; and they relented and went home with him. Lot fixed a hot meal for them and they ate.
Gen 19:4 Before they went to bed men from all over the city of Sodom, young and old, descended on the house from all sides and boxed them in.
Gen 19:5 They yelled to Lot, "Where are the men who are staying with you for the night? Bring them out so we can have our sport with them!"
Gen 19:6 Lot went out, barring the door behind him,
Gen 19:7 and said, "Brothers, please, don't be vile!
Gen 19:8 Look, I have two daughters, virgins; let me bring them out; you can take your pleasure with them, but don't touch these men--they're my guests."
Gen 19:9 They said, "Get lost! You drop in from nowhere and now you're going to tell us how to run our lives. We'll treat you worse than them!" And they charged past Lot to break down the door.
Gen 19:10 But the two men reached out and pulled Lot inside the house, locking the door.
Gen 19:11 Then they struck blind the men who were trying to break down the door, both leaders and followers, leaving them groping in the dark.
Gen 19:12 The two men said to Lot, "Do you have any other family here? Sons, daughters--anybody in the city? Get them out of here, and now!
Gen 19:13 We're going to destroy this place. The outcries of victims here to GOD are deafening; we've been sent to blast this place into oblivion."
Gen 19:14 Lot went out and warned the fiancés of his daughters, "Evacuate this place; GOD is about to destroy this city!" But his daughters' would-be husbands treated it as a joke.
Gen 19:15 At break of day, the angels pushed Lot to get going, "Hurry. Get your wife and two daughters out of here before it's too late and you're caught in the punishment of the city."
Gen 19:16 Lot was dragging his feet. The men grabbed Lot's arm, and the arms of his wife and daughters--GOD was so merciful to them!--and dragged them to safety outside the city.
Gen 19:17 When they had them outside, Lot was told, "Now run for your life! Don't look back! Don't stop anywhere on the plain--run for the hills or you'll be swept away."
Gen 19:18 But Lot protested, "No, masters, you can't mean it!
Gen 19:19 I know that you've taken a liking to me and have done me an immense favor in saving my life, but I can't run for the mountains--who knows what terrible thing might happen to me in the mountains and leave me for dead.
Gen 19:20 Look over there--that town is close enough to get to. It's a small town, hardly anything to it. Let me escape there and save my life--it's a mere wide place in the road."
Gen 19:21 He said to him, "All right. If you insist. I'll let you have your way. And I won't stamp out the town you've spotted.
Gen 19:22 But hurry up. Run for it! I can't do anything until you get there." That's why the town was called Zoar, that is, Smalltown.
Gen 19:23 The sun was high in the sky when Lot arrived at Zoar.
Gen 19:24 Then GOD rained brimstone and fire down on Sodom and Gomorrah--a river of lava from GOD out of the sky!--
Gen 19:25 and destroyed these cities and the entire plain and everyone who lived in the cities and everything that grew from the ground.
Gen 19:26 But Lot's wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt.
Gen 19:27 Abraham got up early the next morning and went to the place he had so recently stood with GOD.
Gen 19:28 He looked out over Sodom and Gomorrah, surveying the whole plain. All he could see was smoke belching from the Earth, like smoke from a furnace.
Gen 19:29 And that's the story: When God destroyed the Cities of the Plain, he was mindful of Abraham and first got Lot out of there before he blasted those cities off the face of the Earth.
Gen 19:30 Lot left Zoar and went into the mountains to live with his two daughters; he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He lived in a cave with his daughters.
Gen 19:31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, "Our father is getting old and there's not a man left in the country by whom we can get pregnant.
Gen 19:32 Let's get our father drunk with wine and lie with him. We'll get children through our father--it's our only chance to keep our family alive."
Gen 19:33 They got their father drunk with wine that very night. The older daughter went and lay with him. He was oblivious, knowing nothing of what she did.
Gen 19:34 The next morning the older said to the younger, "Last night I slept with my father. Tonight, it's your turn. We'll get him drunk again and then you sleep with him. We'll both get a child through our father and keep our family alive."
Gen 19:35 So that night they got their father drunk again and the younger went in and slept with him. Again he was oblivious, knowing nothing of what she did.
Gen 19:36 Both daughters became pregnant by their father, Lot.
Gen 19:37 The older daughter had a son and named him Moab, the ancestor of the present-day Moabites.
Gen 19:38 The younger daughter had a son and named him Ben-Ammi, the ancestor of the present-day Ammonites.
Gen 20:1 Abraham traveled from there south to the Negev and settled down between Kadesh and Shur. While he was camping in Gerar,
Gen 20:2 Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She's my sister." So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.
Gen 20:3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream that night and told him, "You're as good as dead--that woman you took, she's a married woman."
Gen 20:4 Now Abimelech had not yet slept with her, hadn't so much as touched her. He said, "Master, would you kill an innocent man?
Gen 20:5 Didn't he tell me, 'She's my sister'? And didn't she herself say, 'He's my brother'? I had no idea I was doing anything wrong when I did this."
Gen 20:6 God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know your intentions were pure, that's why I kept you from sinning against me; I was the one who kept you from going to bed with her.
Gen 20:7 So now give the man's wife back to him. He's a prophet and will pray for you--pray for your life. If you don't give her back, know that it's certain death both for you and everyone in your family."
Gen 20:8 Abimelech was up first thing in the morning. He called all his house servants together and told them the whole story. They were shocked.
Gen 20:9 Then Abimelech called in Abraham and said, "What have you done to us? What have I ever done to you that you would bring on me and my kingdom this huge offense? What you've done to me ought never to have been done."
Gen 20:10 Abimelech went on to Abraham, "Whatever were you thinking of when you did this thing?"
Gen 20:11 Abraham said, "I just assumed that there was no fear of God in this place and that they'd kill me to get my wife.
Gen 20:12 Besides, the truth is that she is my half sister; she's my father's daughter but not my mother's.
Gen 20:13 When God sent me out as a wanderer from my father's home, I told her, 'Do me a favor; wherever we go, tell people that I'm your brother.'"
Gen 20:14 Then Abimelech gave Sarah back to Abraham, and along with her sent sheep and cattle and servants, both male and female.
Gen 20:15 He said, "My land is open to you; live wherever you wish."
Gen 20:16 And to Sarah he said, "I've given your brother a thousand pieces of silver--that clears you of even a shadow of suspicion before the eyes of the world. You're vindicated."
Gen 20:17 Then Abraham prayed to God and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his maidservants, and they started having babies again.
Gen 20:18 For GOD had shut down every womb in Abimelech's household on account of Sarah, Abraham's wife.