Bible Readings - June 24, 2024

Job 37:14b, 38:12-41

Stand and consider the marvels of God!

Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning

and shown the dawn its place

For taking hold of the ends of the earth,

till the wicked are shaken from it?

The earth is changed as clay by the seal,

and dyed like a garment;

But from the wicked their light is withheld,

and the arm of pride is shattered.

Have you entered into the sources of the sea,

or walked about on the bottom of the deep?

Have the gates of death been shown to you,

or have you seen the gates of darkness?

Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?

Tell me, if you know it all.

What is the way to the dwelling of light,

and darkness—where is its place?

That you may take it to its territory

and know the paths to its home?

You know, because you were born then,

and the number of your days is great!

Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,

and seen the storehouses of the hail

Which I have reserved for times of distress,

for a day of war and battle?

What is the way to the parting of the winds,

where the east wind spreads over the earth?

Who has laid out a channel for the downpour

and a path for the thunderstorm

To bring rain to uninhabited land,

the unpeopled wilderness;

To drench the desolate wasteland

till the desert blooms with verdure?

Has the rain a father?

Who has begotten the drops of dew?

Out of whose womb comes the ice,

and who gives the hoarfrost its birth in the skies,

When the waters lie covered as though with stone

that holds captive the surface of the deep?

Have you tied cords to the Pleiades,

or loosened the bonds of Orion?

Can you bring forth the Mazzaroth in their season,

or guide the Bear with her children?

Do you know the ordinances of the heavens;

can you put into effect their plan on the earth?

Can you raise your voice to the clouds,

for them to cover you with a deluge of waters?

Can you send forth the lightnings on their way,

so that they say to you, “Here we are”?

Who gives wisdom to the ibis,

and gives the rooster understanding?

Who counts the clouds with wisdom?

Who tilts the water jars of heaven

So that the dust of earth is fused into a mass

and its clods stick together?

Do you hunt the prey for the lion

or appease the hunger of young lions,

While they crouch in their dens,

or lie in ambush in the thicket?

Who provides nourishment for the raven

when its young cry out to God,

wandering about without food?

Psalm 107:1, 32-43

“Give thanks to the LORD for he is good,

his mercy endures forever!”

Let them extol him in the assembly of the people,

and praise him in the council of the elders.

God changed rivers into desert,

springs of water into thirsty ground,

Fruitful land into a salty waste,

because of the wickedness of its people.

He changed the desert into pools of water,

arid land into springs of water,

And settled the hungry there;

they built a city to live in.

They sowed fields and planted vineyards,

brought in an abundant harvest.

God blessed them, and they increased greatly,

and their livestock did not decrease.

But he poured out contempt on princes,

made them wander trackless wastes,

Where they were diminished and brought low

through misery and cruel oppression.

While he released the poor man from affliction,

and increased their families like flocks.

The upright saw this and rejoiced;

all wickedness shut its mouth.

Whoever is wise will take note of these things,

and ponder the merciful deeds of the LORD.

Reading 2

Philippians 2:5-11

Have among yourselves the same attitude

that is also yours in Christ Jesus,

Who, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God

something to be grasped.

Rather, he emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,

coming in human likeness;

and found human in appearance,

he humbled himself,

becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.

Because of this, God greatly exalted him

and bestowed on him the name

that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bend,

of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that

Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

see John 8:12

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;

whoever follows me will have the light of life.

Gospel

John 8:12-20

Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

So the Pharisees said to him, “You testify on your own behalf,

so your testimony cannot be verified.”

Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I do testify on my own behalf,

my testimony can be verified, because I know where I came from

and where I am going. But you do not know where I come from or where I am going.

You judge by appearances, but I do not judge anyone.

And even if I should judge, my judgment is valid, because I am not alone,

but it is I and the Father who sent me.

Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two men can be verified.

I testify on my behalf and so does the Father who sent me.”

So they said to him, “Where is your father?” Jesus answered,

“You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me,

you would know my Father also.”

He spoke these words while teaching in the treasury in the temple area.

But no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.