Hab. 3:1–13
3:1 This is a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet:
2Lord, I have heard the report of what you did;
I am awed, Lord, by what you accomplished.
In our time repeat those deeds;
in our time reveal them again.
But when you cause turmoil, remember to show us mercy!
3God comes from Teman,
the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah.
His splendor has covered the skies,
the earth is full of his glory.
4His brightness will be as lightning;
a two-pronged lightning bolt flashing from his hand.
This is the outward display of his power.
5Plague will go before him;
pestilence will march right behind him.
6He took his battle position and shook the earth;
with a mere look he frightened the nations.
The ancient mountains disintegrated;
the primeval hills were flattened.
His are ancient roads.
7I saw the tents of Cushan overwhelmed by trouble;
the tent curtains of the land of Midian were shaking.
8Was the Lord mad at the rivers?
Were you angry with the rivers?
Were you enraged at the sea?
Such that you would climb into your horse-drawn chariots,
your victorious chariots?
9Your bow is ready for action;
you commission your arrows. Selah.
You cause flash floods on the earth’s surface.
10When the mountains see you, they shake.
The torrential downpour sweeps through.
The great deep shouts out;
it lifts its hands high.
11The sun and moon stand still in their courses;
the flash of your arrows drives them away,
the bright light of your lightning-quick spear.
12You furiously stomp on the earth;
you angrily trample down the nations.
13You march out to deliver your people,
to deliver your special servant.
You strike the leader of the wicked nation,
laying him open from the lower body to the neck. Selah.
(NET Bible)Ps. 119:1–8
119:1 א (Alef)
How blessed are those whose actions are blameless,
who obey the law of the Lord.
2How blessed are those who observe his rules
and seek him with all their heart,
3who, moreover, do no wrong,
but follow in his footsteps.
4You demand that your precepts
be carefully kept.
5If only I were predisposed
to keep your statutes.
6Then I would not be ashamed,
if I were focused on all your commands.
7I will give you sincere thanks
when I learn your just regulations.
8I will keep your statutes.
Do not completely abandon me.
(NET Bible)Luke 21:10–24
21:10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11There will be great earthquakes, and famines and plagues in various places, and there will be terrifying sights and great signs from heaven. 12But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you, handing you over to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 13This will be a time for you to serve as witnesses. 14Therefore be resolved not to rehearse ahead of time how to make your defense. 15For I will give you the words along with the wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. 16You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will have some of you put to death. 17You will be hated by everyone because of my name. 18Yet not a hair of your head will perish. 19By your endurance you will gain your lives.
20“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 21Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. Those who are inside the city must depart. Those who are out in the country must not enter it, 22because these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. 23Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing their babies in those days! For there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people. 24They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led away as captives among all nations. Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
(NET Bible)On April 28, thus ten days later [a er Worms], [Luther] wrote his well-known letter to Emperor Charles. … “But I, who was always humble and zealously ready to do and to suffer all that in me lay, could not obtain this one concession, this most Christian prayer, that the Word of God should remain free and unbound, and that I should submit my books to your Sacred Majesty and the Estates of the Empire on that condition, nor that in yielding to the decree of a Council I should not submit to anything contrary to the gospel of God, nor should they make any such decree. is was the crux of the whole controversy.” Luther then continues: “For God, the searcher of hearts, is my witness that I am most ready to submit to and obey your Majesty either in life or in death, to glory or to shame, for gain or for loss. As I have o ered myself, thus I do now, excepting nothing save the Word of God, in which not only (as Christ teaches in Matthew 4) does man live, but which also the angels of Christ desire to see (I Peter 1). As it is above all things it ought to be held free and unbound in all, as Paul teaches (II Timothy 2:9). It ought not to depend on human judgment nor to yield to the opinion of men, no matter how great, how numerous, how learned, and how holy they are. Thus does St. Paul in Galatians. I dare to exclaim with emphasis, ‘If we or an angel from heaven teach you another gospel, let him be anathema,’ and David says, ‘Put not your trust in princes, in the sons of men, in whom is no safety,’ Ps. 146:3. Nor is anyone able to trust in himself, as Solomon says, ‘He is a fool who trusts in his heart’; Prov. 28:26, and Jeremiah 17, ‘Cursed is he who trusteth in man’ … For to trust in man in matters of salvation is to give to the creature the glory due to the creator alone.” (20–21)
–Johann Michael Reu, Luther on the Scriptures
This daily Bible reading guide, Reading the Word of God, was conceived and prepared as a result of the ongoing discussions between representatives of three church bodies: Lutheran Church—Canada (LCC), The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). The following individuals have represented their church bodies and approved this introduction and the reading guide: LCC: President Robert Bugbee; NALC: Bishop John Bradosky, Revs. Mark Chavez, James Nestingen, and David Wendel; LCMS: Revs. Albert Collver, Joel Lehenbauer, John Pless, and Larry Vogel.