1 Chronicles 29, 2 peter 3, Micah 6, Luke 15

1 Chronicles 29,

1 Then King David said to the whole assembly: "My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the LORD God.
 
2 With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God-gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble-all of these in large quantities.
 
3 Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple:
 
4 three thousand talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings,
 
5 for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the LORD?"
 
6 Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king's work gave willingly.
 
7 They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron.
 
8 Any who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the LORD in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite.
 
9 The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.
 
10 David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, "Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.
 
11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.
 
12 Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.
 
13 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.
 
14 "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.
 
15 We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.
 
16 O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.
 
17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.
 
18 O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.
 
19 And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided."
 
20 Then David said to the whole assembly, "Praise the LORD your God." So they all praised the LORD, the God of their fathers; they bowed low and fell prostrate before the LORD and the king.
 
21 The next day they made sacrifices to the LORD and presented burnt offerings to him: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and a thousand male lambs, together with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.
 
22 They ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the LORD that day. Then they acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him before the LORD to be ruler and Zadok to be priest.
 
23 So Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him.
 
24 All the officers and mighty men, as well as all of King David's sons, pledged their submission to King Solomon.
 
25 The LORD highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had before.
 
26 David son of Jesse was king over all Israel.
 
27 He ruled over Israel forty years-seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem.
 
28 He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king.
 
29 As for the events of King David's reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer,
 
30 together with the details of his reign and power, and the circumstances that surrounded him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands.

2 peter 3,

1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking.
 
2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.
 
3 First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
 
4 They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation."
 
5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.
 
6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
 
7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
 
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
 
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
 
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
 
11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives
 
12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.
 
13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
 
14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
 
15 Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.
 
16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
 
17 Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.
 
18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

Micah 6,

1 Listen to what the LORD says: "Stand up, plead your case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say.
 
2 Hear, O mountains, the LORD's accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a case against his people; he is lodging a charge against Israel.
 
3 "My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me.
 
4 I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam.
 
5 My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD."
 
6 With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
 
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
 
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
 
9 Listen! The LORD is calling to the city-and to fear your name is wisdom-"Heed the rod and the One who appointed it.
 
10 Am I still to forget, O wicked house, your ill-gotten treasures and the short ephah, which is accursed?
 
11 Shall I acquit a man with dishonest scales, with a bag of false weights?
 
12 Her rich men are violent; her people are liars and their tongues speak deceitfully.
 
13 Therefore, I have begun to destroy you, to ruin you because of your sins.
 
14 You will eat but not be satisfied; your stomach will still be empty. You will store up but save nothing, because what you save I will give to the sword.
 
15 You will plant but not harvest; you will press olives but not use the oil on yourselves, you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.
 
16 You have observed the statutes of Omri and all the practices of Ahab's house, and you have followed their traditions. Therefore I will give you over to ruin and your people to derision; you will bear the scorn of the nations."

Luke 15

1 Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him.
 
2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
 
3 Then Jesus told them this parable:
 
4 "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?
 
5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders
 
6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'
 
7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
 
8 "Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?
 
9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.'
 
10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
 
11 Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons.
 
12 The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
 
13 "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.
 
14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.
 
15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.
 
16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
 
17 "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
 
18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
 
19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.'
 
20 So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
 
21 "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
 
22 "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
 
23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate.
 
24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.
 
25 "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.
 
26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on.
 
27 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
 
28 "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.
 
29 But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.
 
30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
 
31 " 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.
 
32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "