June 23, 2027

1Some time afterward, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: Do not fear, Abram! I am your shield; I will make your reward very great. 2But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what can you give me, if I die childless and have only a servant of my household, Eliezer of Damascus?” 3Abram continued, “Look, you have given me no offspring, so a servant of my household will be my heir.” 4Then the word of the LORD came to him: No, that one will not be your heir; your own offspring will be your heir. 5He took him outside and said: Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so, he added, will your descendants be. 6Abram put his faith in the LORD, who attributed it to him as an act of righteousness. 7He then said to him: I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as a possession. 8“Lord GOD,” he asked, “how will I know that I will possess it?” 9He answered him: Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 10He brought him all these, split them in two, and placed each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not cut up. 11Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram scared them away. 12As the sun was about to set, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a great, dark dread descended upon him. 17When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch, which passed between those pieces. 18On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates,

1Psalm 105 God’s Fidelity to the Promise I - Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among the peoples his deeds! 2Sing praise to him, play music; proclaim all his wondrous deeds! 3Glory in his holy name; let hearts that seek the LORD rejoice! 4Seek out the LORD and his might; constantly seek his face. 6You descendants of Abraham his servant, offspring of Jacob the chosen one! 7II - He the LORD, is our God whose judgments reach through all the earth. 8He remembers forever his covenant, the word he commanded for a thousand generations, 9Which he made with Abraham, and swore to Isaac,

4Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. 5I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.

15“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. 16By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 20So by their fruits you will know them.