Scripture Reading for the
Common Calendar Year
(beginning January 1st)

August 8

Text taken from the
Third Millennium Bible^® (TMB^®)
(New Authorized Version^TM NAV^TM)

The Lectionary According to the Common Calendar

Psalm 31:17-24

17 Let me not be ashamed, O LORD, for I have called upon Thee;
let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.
18 Let the lying lips be put to silence,
which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

19 O how great is Thy goodness which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee,
which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men!
20 Thou shalt hide them in the safety of Thy presence from the pride of man;
Thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

21 Blessed be the LORD,
for He hath shown me His marvelous kindness in a stronghold city!
22 For I said in my haste, "I am cut off from before Thine eyes!"
Nevertheless Thou heard the voice of my supplications when I cried unto Thee.

23 O love the LORD, all ye His saints!
For the LORD preserveth the faithful, but plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.
24 Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart,
all ye that hope in the LORD.

Luke 12:1-12

1 In the meantime, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trod one upon another, He began to say unto His disciples first of all,

"Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, neither hid that shall not be known. 3 Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

4 "And I say unto you, My friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear Him that, after He hath killed, hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, fear Him! 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? 7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

8 "Also I say unto you, whosoever shall confess Me before men, him shall the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God. 9 But he that denieth Me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. 10 And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven.

11 "And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say. 12 For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say."

1 Timothy 1:12-20

12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, that He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry-- 13 I, who was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious. But I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief; 14 and the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus. 

15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. 16 Nonetheless, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering as a pattern for those who should hereafter believe in Him to life everlasting. 17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before concerning thee, that thou by them mightest wage a good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience which some, having put aside, have suffered shipwreck concerning faith. 20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Isaiah 10:1-4, 13-23

1 "Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees,
and that write grievousness which they have prescribed
2 to turn aside the needy from judgment and to take away the right from the poor of My people,
that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!
3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation,
and in the desolation which shall come from far?
To whom will ye flee for help?
And where will ye leave your glory?
4 Without Me they shall bow down under the prisoners,
and they shall fall under the slain."

For all this His anger is not turned away,
but His hand is stretched out still.

13 For he saith,

"'By the strength of my hand I have done it,
and by my wisdom, for I am prudent;
and I have removed the bounds of the people and have robbed their treasures,
and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man.
14 And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people, and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth;
and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.'"

15 Shall the ax boast itself against him that heweth therewith?
Or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it?
As if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up,
or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood!
16 Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among His fat ones leanness;
and under His glory He shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.
17 And the Light of Israel shall be for a fire and his Holy One for a flame; 
and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day, 
18 and shall consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, both soul and body;
and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth. 
19 And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, 
that a child may write them.

20 And it shall come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, and such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again depend upon him that smote them, but shall stand upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. 22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return; the consuming decreed shall overflow with righteousness. 23 For the Lord GOD of hosts shall cause a consuming, even determined, in the midst of all the land.

Words of Wisdom - Proverbs 22:1

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, 
and loving favor rather than silver and gold.