AME Zion Universal Reading January 14th, 2024

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First Portion

Exodus Chapter 1

1And these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt; with Jacob, each man and his household came:2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah.3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin.4Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.5Now all those descended from Jacob were seventy souls, and Joseph, [who] was in Egypt.6Now Joseph died, as well as all his brothers and all that generation.7The children of Israel were fruitful and swarmed and increased and became very very strong, and the land became filled with them.8A new king arose over Egypt, who did not know about Joseph.9He said to his people, "Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more numerous and stronger than we are.10Get ready, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they increase, and a war befall us, and they join our enemies and wage war against us and depart from the land."11So they appointed over them tax collectors to afflict them with their burdens, and they built store cities for Pharaoh, namely Pithom and Raamses.12But as much as they would afflict them, so did they multiply and so did they gain strength, and they were disgusted because of the children of Israel.13So the Egyptians enslaved the children of Israel with back breaking labor.14And they embittered their lives with hard labor, with clay and with bricks and with all kinds of labor in the fields, all their work that they worked with them with back breaking labor.15Now the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one who was named Shifrah, and the second, who was named Puah.16And he said, "When you deliver the Hebrew women, and you see on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall put him to death, but if it is a daughter, she may live."17The midwives, however, feared God; so they did not do as the king of Egypt had spoken to them, but they enabled the boys to live.

Proverbs 3:1–12 (NLT): Trusting in the Lord

1 My child, never forget the things I have taught you.

Store my commands in your heart.

2 If you do this, you will live many years,

and your life will be satisfying.

3 Never let loyalty and kindness leave you!

Tie them around your neck as a reminder.

Write them deep within your heart.

4 Then you will find favor with both God and people,

and you will earn a good reputation.

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;

do not depend on your own understanding.

6 Seek his will in all you do,

and he will show you which path to take.

7 Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.

Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

8 Then you will have healing for your body

and strength for your bones.

9 Honor the Lord with your wealth

and with the best part of everything you produce.

10 Then he will fill your barns with grain,

and your vats will overflow with good wine.

11 My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline,

and don’t be upset when he corrects you.

12 For the Lord corrects those he loves,

just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

Second Portion

Exodus Chapter 1

18So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, "Why have you done this thing, that you have enabled the boys to live?"19And the midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are skilled as midwives; when the midwife has not yet come to them, they have [already] given birth."20God benefited the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very strong.21Now it took place when the midwives feared God, that He made houses for them.22And Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, "Every son who is born you shall cast into the Nile, and every daughter you shall allow to live."

Exodus Chapter 2

1A man of the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi.2The woman conceived and bore a son, and [when] she saw him that he was good, she hid him for three months.3[When] she could no longer hide him, she took [for] him a reed basket, smeared it with clay and pitch, placed the child into it, and put [it] into the marsh at the Nile's edge.4His sister stood from afar, to know what would be done to him.5Pharaoh's daughter went down to bathe, to the Nile, and her maidens were walking along the Nile, and she saw the basket in the midst of the marsh, and she sent her maidservant, and she took it.6She opened [it], and she saw him the child, and behold, he was a weeping lad, and she had compassion on him, and she said, "This is [one] of the children of the Hebrews."7His sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call for you a wet nurse from the Hebrew women, so that she shall nurse the child for you?"8Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Go!" So the girl went and called the child's mother.9Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will give [you] your wages." So the woman took the child and nursed him.10The child grew up, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became like her son. She named him Moses, and she said, "For I drew him from the water."

Monday

Psalm 119:97–112 (NLT): Mem

97 Oh, how I love your instructions!

I think about them all day long.

98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,

for they are my constant guide.

99 Yes, I have more insight than my teachers,

for I am always thinking of your laws.

100 I am even wiser than my elders,

for I have kept your commandments.

101 I have refused to walk on any evil path,

so that I may remain obedient to your word.

102 I haven’t turned away from your regulations,

for you have taught me well.

103 How sweet your words taste to me;

they are sweeter than honey.

104 Your commandments give me understanding;

no wonder I hate every false way of life.

Nun

105 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet

and a light for my path.

106 I’ve promised it once, and I’ll promise it again:

I will obey your righteous regulations.

107 I have suffered much, O Lord;

restore my life again as you promised.

108 Lord, accept my offering of praise,

and teach me your regulations.

109 My life constantly hangs in the balance,

but I will not stop obeying your instructions.

110 The wicked have set their traps for me,

but I will not turn from your commandments.

111 Your laws are my treasure;

they are my heart’s delight.

112 I am determined to keep your decrees

to the very end.

Third Portion

Exodus Chapter 2

11Now it came to pass in those days that Moses grew up and went out to his brothers and looked at their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man of his brothers.12He turned this way and that way, and he saw that there was no man; so he struck the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.13He went out on the second day, and behold, two Hebrew men were quarreling, and he said to the wicked one, "Why are you going to strike your friend?"14And he retorted, "Who made you a man, a prince, and a judge over us? Do you plan to slay me as you have slain the Egyptian?" Moses became frightened and said, "Indeed, the matter has become known!"15Pharaoh heard of this incident, and he sought to slay Moses; so Moses fled from before Pharaoh. He stayed in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.16Now the chief of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew [water], and they filled the troughs to water their father's flocks.17But the shepherds came and drove them away; so Moses arose and rescued them and watered their flocks.18They came to their father Reuel, and he said, "Why have you come so quickly today?"19They replied, "An Egyptian man rescued us from the hand[s] of the shepherds, and he also drew [water] for us and watered the flocks."20He said to his daughters, "So where is he? Why have you left the man? Invite him, and let him eat bread."21Moses consented to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses.22She bore a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, "I was a stranger in a foreign land."23Now it came to pass in those many days that the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed from the labor, and they cried out, and their cry ascended to God from the labor.24God heard their cry, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.25And God saw the children of Israel, and God knew.

Tuesday

Matthew 11:25–30 (NLT): Jesus’ Prayer of Thanksgiving

25 At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. 26 Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!

27 “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Fourth Portion

Exodus Chapter 3

1Moses was pasturing the flocks of Jethro, his father in law, the chief of Midian, and he led the flocks after the free pastureland, and he came to the mountain of God, to Horeb.2An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from within the thorn bush, and behold, the thorn bush was burning with fire, but the thorn bush was not being consumed.3So Moses said, "Let me turn now and see this great spectacle why does the thorn bush not burn up?"4The Lord saw that he had turned to see, and God called to him from within the thorn bush, and He said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am!"5And He said, "Do not draw near here. Take your shoes off your feet, because the place upon which you stand is holy soil."6And He said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look toward God.7And the Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of their slave drivers, for I know their pains.8I have descended to rescue them from the hand[s] of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land, to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivvites, and the Jebusites.9And now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression that the Egyptians are oppressing them.10So now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and take My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."11But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should take the children of Israel out of Egypt?"12And He said, "For I will be with you, and this is the sign for you that it was I Who sent you. When you take the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain."13And Moses said to God, "Behold I come to the children of Israel, and I say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?"14God said to Moses, "Ehyeh asher ehyeh (I will be what I will be)," and He said, "So shall you say to the children of Israel, 'Ehyeh (I will be) has sent me to you.'"15And God said further to Moses, "So shall you say to the children of Israel, 'The Lord God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is My name forever, and this is how I should be mentioned in every generation.

Wednesday

Psalm 56:1–13 (NLT):

1 O God, have mercy on me,

for people are hounding me.

My foes attack me all day long.

2 I am constantly hounded by those who slander me,

and many are boldly attacking me.

3 But when I am afraid,

I will put my trust in you.

4 I praise God for what he has promised.

I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?

What can mere mortals do to me?

5 They are always twisting what I say;

they spend their days plotting to harm me.

6 They come together to spy on me—

watching my every step, eager to kill me.

7 Don’t let them get away with their wickedness;

in your anger, O God, bring them down.

8 You keep track of all my sorrows.

You have collected all my tears in your bottle.

You have recorded each one in your book.

9 My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help.

This I know: God is on my side!

10 I praise God for what he has promised;

Yes, I praise the Lord for what he has promised.

11 I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?

What can mere mortals do to me?

12 I will fulfill my vows to you, O God,

and will offer a sacrifice of thanks for your help.

13 For you have rescued me from death;

you have kept my feet from slipping.

So now I can walk in your presence, O God,

in your life-giving light.

Fifth Portion

Exodus Chapter 3

16Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and say to them, 'The Lord God of your forefathers has appeared to me, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, "I have surely remembered you and what is being done to you in Egypt." '17And I said, 'I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt, to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivvites, and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.'18And they will hearken to your voice, and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you shall say to him, 'The Lord God of the Hebrews has happened upon us, and now, let us go for a three days' journey in the desert and offer up sacrifices to the Lord, our God.'19However, I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except through a mighty hand.20And I will stretch forth My hand and smite the Egyptians with all My miracles that I will wreak in their midst, and afterwards he will send you out.21And I will put this people's favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, and it will come to pass that when you go, you will not go empty handed.22Each woman shall borrow from her neighbor and from the dweller in her house silver and gold objects and garments, and you shall put [them] on your sons and on your daughters, and you shall empty out Egypt."

Exodus Chapter 4

1Moses answered and said, "Behold they will not believe me, and they will not heed my voice, but they will say, 'The Lord has not appeared to you.' "2And the Lord said to him, "What is this in your hand?" And he said, "A staff."3And He said, "Cast it to the ground," and he cast it to the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from before it.4And the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch forth your hand and take hold of its tail." So Moses stretched forth his hand and grasped it, and it became a staff in his hand.5"In order that they believe that the Lord, the God of their forefathers, has appeared to you, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."6And the Lord said further to him, "Now put your hand into your bosom," and he put his hand into his bosom, and he took it out, and behold, his hand was leprous like snow.7And He said, "Put your hand back into your bosom," and he put his hand back into his bosom, and [when] he took it out of his bosom, it had become again like [the rest of] his flesh.8"And it will come to pass, that if they do not believe you, and they do not heed the voice of the first sign, they will believe the voice of the last sign.9And it will come to pass, if they do not believe either of these two signs, and they do not heed your voice, you shall take of the water of the Nile and spill it upon the dry land, and the water that you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry land."10Moses said to the Lord, "I beseech You, O Lord. I am not a man of words, neither from yesterday nor from the day before yesterday, nor from the time You have spoken to Your servant, for I am heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue."11But the Lord said to him, "Who gave man a mouth, or who makes [one] dumb or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?12So now, go! I will be with your mouth, and I will instruct you what you shall speak. "13But he said, "I beseech You, O Lord, send now [Your message] with whom You would send."14And the Lord's wrath was kindled against Moses, and He said, "Is there not Aaron your brother, the Levite? I know that he will surely speak, and behold, he is coming forth toward you, and when he sees you, he will rejoice in his heart.15You shall speak to him, and you shall put the words into his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will instruct you [both] what you shall do.16And he will speak for you to the people, and it will be that he will be your speaker, and you will be his leader.17And you shall take this staff in your hand, with which you shall perform the signs."

Thursday

Hebrews 13:1–16 (NLT): Concluding Words

Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. 2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! 3 Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.

4 Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.

5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,

“I will never fail you.

I will never abandon you.”

6 So we can say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper,

so I will have no fear.

What can mere people do to me?”

7 Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them.

10 We have an altar from which the priests in the Tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 Under the old system, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, and the bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp. 12 So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood. 13 So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore. 14 For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.

15 Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. 16 And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.

Sixth Portion

Exodus Chapter 4

18Moses went and returned to Jether, his father in law, and he said to him, "Let me go now and return to my brothers who are in Egypt, and let me see whether they are still alive." So Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace."19The Lord said to Moses in Midian, "Go, return to Egypt, for all the people who sought your life have died."20So Moses took his wife and his sons, mounted them upon the donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt, and Moses took the staff of God in his hand.21The Lord said to Moses, "When you go to return to Egypt, see all the signs that I have placed in your hand and perform them before Pharaoh, but I will strengthen his heart, and he will not send out the people.22And you shall say to Pharaoh, 'So said the Lord, "My firstborn son is Israel." '23So I say to you, 'Send out My son so that he will worship Me, but if you refuse to send him out, behold, I am going to slay your firstborn son.' "24Now he was on the way, in an inn, that the Lord met him and sought to put him to death.25So Zipporah took a sharp stone and severed her son's foreskin and cast it to his feet, and she said, "For you are a bridegroom of blood to me."26So He released him. Then she said, "A bridegroom of blood concerning the circumcision."27The Lord said to Aaron, "Go toward Moses, to the desert." So he went and met him on the mount of God, and he kissed him.28And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him and all the signs that He had commanded him.29So Moses and Aaron went, and they assembled all the elders of the children of Israel.30And Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses, and he performed the signs before the eyes of the people.31And the people believed, and they heard that the Lord had remembered the children of Israel and that He saw their affliction, and they kneeled and prostrated themselves.

Friday

John 14:17–27 (NLT):

18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. 19 Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. 20 When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

22 Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”

23 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. 24 Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me. 25 I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

Seventh Portion

Exodus Chapter 5

1And afterwards, Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, "So said the Lord God of Israel, 'Send out My people, and let them sacrifice to Me in the desert.' "2And Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord that I should heed His voice to let Israel out? I do not know the Lord, neither will I let Israel out."3And they said, "The God of the Hebrews has happened upon us. Now let us go on a three day journey in the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest He strike us with a plague or with the sword."4But the king of Egypt said to them, "Why, Moses and Aaron, do you disturb the people from their work? Go to your own labors."5And Pharaoh said, "Behold, now the people of the land are many, and you are stopping them from their labors."6So, on that day, Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying,7"You shall not continue to give stubble to the people to make the bricks like yesterday and the day before yesterday. Let them go and gather stubble for themselves.8But the number of bricks they have been making yesterday and the day before yesterday you shall impose upon them; you shall not reduce it, for they are lax. Therefore they cry out, saying, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.'9Let the labor fall heavy upon the men and let them work at it, and let them not talk about false matters."10So the taskmasters of the people and their officers came out and spoke to the people, saying, "So said Pharaoh, 'I am not giving you stubble.11You go take for yourselves stubble from wherever you find [it], because nothing will be reduced from your work.' "12So the people scattered throughout the entire land of Egypt, to gather a gleaning for stubble.13And the taskmasters were pressing [them], saying, "Finish your work, the requirement of each day in its day, just as when there was stubble."14And the officers of the children of Israel whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had appointed over them were beaten, saying, "Why have you not completed your quota to make bricks like the day before yesterday, neither yesterday nor today?"15So the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, "Why do you do this to your servants?16Stubble is not given to your servants, but they tell us, 'Make bricks,' and behold, your servants are beaten, and your people are sinning."17But he said, "You are lax, just lax. Therefore, you say, 'Let us go, let us sacrifice to the Lord.'18And now, go and work, but you will not be given stubble. Nevertheless, the [same] number of bricks you must give."19The officers of the children of Israel saw them in distress, saying, "Do not reduce [the number] of your bricks, the requirement of each day in its day."20They met Moses and Aaron standing before them when they came out from Pharaoh's presence.21And they said to them, "May the Lord look upon you and judge, for you have brought us into foul odor in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants, to place a sword into their hand[s] to kill us."22So Moses returned to the Lord and said, "O Lord! Why have You harmed this people? Why have You sent me?23Since I have come to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has harmed this people, and You have not saved Your people."Exodus Chapter 61And the Lord said to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for with a mighty hand he will send them out, and with a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land."

Saturday

1 Corinthians 2:1–16 (NLT): Paul’s Message of Wisdom

When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. 2 For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5 I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.

6 Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. 7 No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8 But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. 9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,

and no mind has imagined

what God has prepared

for those who love him.”

10 But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 11 No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. 12 And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.

13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. 14 But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. 15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. 16 For,

“Who can know the Lord’s thoughts?

Who knows enough to teach him?”

But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.