ISAIAH 45:11- 48:11
EPHESIANS 4:1- 16
PSALM 68:19- 35
PROVERBS 24:3- 4
This is what the LORD, the Creator and Holy One of Israel, says:"Do you [Israel] question what I do? Do you give me orders about the work of my hands? 12 I am the one who made the earth and created people to live on it. With my hands I stretched out the heavens. All the millions of stars are at my command. 13 I will raise up Cyrus to fulfill my righteous purpose, and I will guide all his actions. He will restore my city and free my captive people-- and not for a reward! I, the LORD Almighty, have spoken!" 14 This is what the LORD says:"The Egyptians, Ethiopians, and Sabeans will be subject to you. They will come to you with all their merchandise, and it will all be yours. They will follow you as prisoners in chains. They will fall to their knees in front of you and say, `God is with you, and he is the only God. '" 15 Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior, you work in strange and mysterious ways. 16 All who make idols will be humiliated and disgraced. 17 But the LORD will save the people of Israel with eternal salvation. They will never again be humiliated and disgraced throughout everlasting ages. 18 For the LORD is God, and he created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos. "I am the LORD," he says, "and there is no other. 19 I publicly proclaim bold promises. I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner so no one can understand what I mean. And I did not tell the people of Israel to ask me for something I did not plan to give. I, the LORD, speak only what is true and right. 20" Gather together and come, you fugitives from surrounding nations. What fools they are who carry around their wooden idols and pray to gods that cannot save! 21 Consult together, argue your case, and state your proofs that idol worship pays. Who made these things known long ago? What idol ever told you they would happen? Was it not I, the LORD? For there is no other God but me-- a just God and a Savior-- no, not one! 22 Let all the world look to me for salvation! For I am God; there is no other. 23 I have sworn by my own name, and I will never go back on my word:Every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will confess allegiance to my name. "24 The people will declare," The LORD is the source of all my righteousness and strength. "And all who were angry with him will come to him and be ashamed. 25 In the LORD all the generations of Israel will be justified, and in him they will boast. 46:1 THE idols of Babylon, Bel and Nebo, are being hauled away on ox carts. But look! The beasts are staggering under the weight! 2 Both the idols and the ones carrying them are bowed down. The gods cannot protect the people, and the people cannot protect the gods. They go off into captivity together. 3" Listen to me, all you who are left in Israel. I created you and have cared for you since before you were born. 4 I will be your God throughout your lifetime-- until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. 5 "To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal? 6 Some people pour out their silver and gold and hire a craftsman to make a god from it. Then they bow down and worship it! 7 They carry it around on their shoulders, and when they set it down, it stays there. It cannot even move! And when someone prays to it, there is no answer. It has no power to get anyone out of trouble. 8" Do not forget this, you guilty ones. 9 And do not forget the things I have done throughout history. For I am God-- I alone! I am God, and there is no one else like me. 10 Only I can tell you what is going to happen even before it happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish. 11 I will call a swift bird of prey from the east-- a leader from a distant land who will come and do my bidding. I have said I would do it, and I will. 12 Listen to me, you stubborn, evil people! 13 For I am ready to set things right, not in the distant future, but right now! I am ready to save Jerusalem and give my glory to Israel. 47:1 "COME, Babylon, unconquered one, sit in the dust. For your days of glory, pomp, and honor have ended. O daughter of Babylonia, never again will you be the lovely princess, tender and delicate. 2 Take heavy millstones and grind the corn. Remove your veil and strip off your robe. Expose yourself to public view. 3 You will be naked and burdened with shame. I will take vengeance against you and will not negotiate." 4 Our Redeemer, whose name is the LORD Almighty, is the Holy One of Israel. 5 "O daughter of Babylonia, sit now in darkness and silence. Never again will you be known as the queen of kingdoms. 6 For I was angry with my chosen people and began their punishment by letting them fall into your hands. But you, Babylon, showed them no mercy. You have forced even the elderly to carry heavy burdens. 7 You thought, `I will reign forever as queen of the world!' You did not care at all about my people or think about the consequences of your actions. 8" You are a pleasure- crazy kingdom, living at ease and feeling secure, bragging as if you were the greatest in the world! You say, `I'm self- sufficient and not accountable to anyone! I will never be a widow or lose my children. '9 Well, those two things will come upon you in a moment:widowhood and the loss of your children. Yes, these calamities will come upon you, despite all your witchcraft and magic. 10 "You felt secure in all your wickedness. `No one sees me,' you said. Your `wisdom 'and `knowledge' have caused you to turn away from me and claim, `I am self- sufficient and not accountable to anyone! '11 So disaster will overtake you suddenly, and you won't be able to charm it away. Calamity will fall upon you, and you won't be able to buy your way out. A catastrophe will arise so fast that you won't know what hit you. 12" Call out the demon hordes you have worshiped all these years. Ask them to help you strike terror into the hearts of people once again. 13 You have more than enough advisers, astrologers, and stargazers. Let them stand up and save you from what the future holds. 14 But they are as useless as dried grass burning in a fire. They cannot even save themselves! You will get no help from them at all. Their hearth is not a place to sit for warmth. 15 And all your friends, those with whom you have done business since childhood, will slip away and disappear, unable to help. 48:1 "LISTEN to me, O family of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel and born into the family of Judah. Listen, you who take oaths in the name of the LORD and call on the God of Israel. You don't follow through on any of your promises, 2 even though you call yourself the holy city and talk about depending on the God of Israel, whose name is the LORD Almighty. 3 Time and again I warned you about what was going to happen in the future. Then suddenly I took action, and all my predictions came true. 4" I know how stubborn and obstinate you are. Your necks are as unbending as iron. You are as hardheaded as bronze. 5 That is why I told you ahead of time what I was going to do. That way, you could never say, `My idols did it. My wooden image and metal god commanded it to happen!' 6 You have heard my predictions and seen them fulfilled, but you refuse to admit it. Now I will tell you new things I have not mentioned before, secrets you have not yet heard. 7 They are brand new, not things from the past. So you cannot say, `We knew that all the time! '8 "Yes, I will tell you of things that are entirely new, for I know so well what traitors you are. You have been rebels from your earliest childhood, rotten through and through. 9 Yet for my own sake and for the honor of my name, I will hold back my anger and not wipe you out. 10 I have refined you but not in the way silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering. 11 I will rescue you for my sake-- yes, for my own sake! That way, the pagan nations will not be able to claim that their gods have conquered me. I will not let them have my glory!"
Therefore I [Paul], a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. 3 Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace. 4 We are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future. 5 There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and there is only one God and Father, who is over us all and in us all and living through us all. 7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift according to the generosity of Christ. 8 That is why the Scriptures say, "When he ascended to the heights,
he led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to his people."
9 Notice that it says "he ascended." This means that Christ first came down to the lowly world in which we live. 10 The same one who came down is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that his rule might fill the entire universe. 11 He is the one who gave these gifts to the church:the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, 13 until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
Praise the Lord; praise God our savior!
For each day he carries us in his arms.
Interlude20 Our God is a God who saves!
The Sovereign LORD rescues us from death.
21 But God will smash the heads of his enemies,
crushing the skulls of those who love their guilty ways.
22 The Lord says, "I will bring my enemies down from Bashan;
I will bring them up from the depths of the sea.
23 You, my people, will wash your feet in their blood,
and even your dogs will get their share!"
24 Your procession has come into view, O God--
the procession of my God and King
as he goes into the sanctuary.
25 Singers are in front, musicians are behind;
with them are young women playing tambourines.
26 Praise God, all you people of Israel;
praise the LORD, the source of Israel's life.
27 Look, the little tribe of Benjamin leads the way.
Then comes a great throng of rulers from Judah
and all the rulers of Zebulun and Naphtali.
28 Summon your might, O God.
Display your power, O God, as you have in the past.
29 The kings of the earth are bringing tribute
to your Temple in Jerusalem.
30 Rebuke these enemy nations--
these wild animals lurking in the reeds,
this herd of bulls among the weaker calves.
Humble those who demand tribute from us.
Scatter the nations that delight in war.
31 Let Egypt come with gifts of precious metals;
let Ethiopia bow in submission to God.
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth.
Sing praises to the Lord.
Interlude33 Sing to the one who rides across the ancient heavens,
his mighty voice thundering from the sky.
34 Tell everyone about God's power.
His majesty shines down on Israel;
his strength is mighty in the heavens.
35 God is awesome in his sanctuary.
The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Praise be to God!
A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense. Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables
EPHESIANS 4:1- 16
PSALM 68:19- 35
PROVERBS 24:3- 4
This is what the LORD, the Creator and Holy One of Israel, says:"Do you [Israel] question what I do? Do you give me orders about the work of my hands? 12 I am the one who made the earth and created people to live on it. With my hands I stretched out the heavens. All the millions of stars are at my command. 13 I will raise up Cyrus to fulfill my righteous purpose, and I will guide all his actions. He will restore my city and free my captive people-- and not for a reward! I, the LORD Almighty, have spoken!" 14 This is what the LORD says:"The Egyptians, Ethiopians, and Sabeans will be subject to you. They will come to you with all their merchandise, and it will all be yours. They will follow you as prisoners in chains. They will fall to their knees in front of you and say, `God is with you, and he is the only God. '" 15 Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior, you work in strange and mysterious ways. 16 All who make idols will be humiliated and disgraced. 17 But the LORD will save the people of Israel with eternal salvation. They will never again be humiliated and disgraced throughout everlasting ages. 18 For the LORD is God, and he created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos. "I am the LORD," he says, "and there is no other. 19 I publicly proclaim bold promises. I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner so no one can understand what I mean. And I did not tell the people of Israel to ask me for something I did not plan to give. I, the LORD, speak only what is true and right. 20" Gather together and come, you fugitives from surrounding nations. What fools they are who carry around their wooden idols and pray to gods that cannot save! 21 Consult together, argue your case, and state your proofs that idol worship pays. Who made these things known long ago? What idol ever told you they would happen? Was it not I, the LORD? For there is no other God but me-- a just God and a Savior-- no, not one! 22 Let all the world look to me for salvation! For I am God; there is no other. 23 I have sworn by my own name, and I will never go back on my word:Every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will confess allegiance to my name. "24 The people will declare," The LORD is the source of all my righteousness and strength. "And all who were angry with him will come to him and be ashamed. 25 In the LORD all the generations of Israel will be justified, and in him they will boast. 46:1 THE idols of Babylon, Bel and Nebo, are being hauled away on ox carts. But look! The beasts are staggering under the weight! 2 Both the idols and the ones carrying them are bowed down. The gods cannot protect the people, and the people cannot protect the gods. They go off into captivity together. 3" Listen to me, all you who are left in Israel. I created you and have cared for you since before you were born. 4 I will be your God throughout your lifetime-- until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. 5 "To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal? 6 Some people pour out their silver and gold and hire a craftsman to make a god from it. Then they bow down and worship it! 7 They carry it around on their shoulders, and when they set it down, it stays there. It cannot even move! And when someone prays to it, there is no answer. It has no power to get anyone out of trouble. 8" Do not forget this, you guilty ones. 9 And do not forget the things I have done throughout history. For I am God-- I alone! I am God, and there is no one else like me. 10 Only I can tell you what is going to happen even before it happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish. 11 I will call a swift bird of prey from the east-- a leader from a distant land who will come and do my bidding. I have said I would do it, and I will. 12 Listen to me, you stubborn, evil people! 13 For I am ready to set things right, not in the distant future, but right now! I am ready to save Jerusalem and give my glory to Israel. 47:1 "COME, Babylon, unconquered one, sit in the dust. For your days of glory, pomp, and honor have ended. O daughter of Babylonia, never again will you be the lovely princess, tender and delicate. 2 Take heavy millstones and grind the corn. Remove your veil and strip off your robe. Expose yourself to public view. 3 You will be naked and burdened with shame. I will take vengeance against you and will not negotiate." 4 Our Redeemer, whose name is the LORD Almighty, is the Holy One of Israel. 5 "O daughter of Babylonia, sit now in darkness and silence. Never again will you be known as the queen of kingdoms. 6 For I was angry with my chosen people and began their punishment by letting them fall into your hands. But you, Babylon, showed them no mercy. You have forced even the elderly to carry heavy burdens. 7 You thought, `I will reign forever as queen of the world!' You did not care at all about my people or think about the consequences of your actions. 8" You are a pleasure- crazy kingdom, living at ease and feeling secure, bragging as if you were the greatest in the world! You say, `I'm self- sufficient and not accountable to anyone! I will never be a widow or lose my children. '9 Well, those two things will come upon you in a moment:widowhood and the loss of your children. Yes, these calamities will come upon you, despite all your witchcraft and magic. 10 "You felt secure in all your wickedness. `No one sees me,' you said. Your `wisdom 'and `knowledge' have caused you to turn away from me and claim, `I am self- sufficient and not accountable to anyone! '11 So disaster will overtake you suddenly, and you won't be able to charm it away. Calamity will fall upon you, and you won't be able to buy your way out. A catastrophe will arise so fast that you won't know what hit you. 12" Call out the demon hordes you have worshiped all these years. Ask them to help you strike terror into the hearts of people once again. 13 You have more than enough advisers, astrologers, and stargazers. Let them stand up and save you from what the future holds. 14 But they are as useless as dried grass burning in a fire. They cannot even save themselves! You will get no help from them at all. Their hearth is not a place to sit for warmth. 15 And all your friends, those with whom you have done business since childhood, will slip away and disappear, unable to help. 48:1 "LISTEN to me, O family of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel and born into the family of Judah. Listen, you who take oaths in the name of the LORD and call on the God of Israel. You don't follow through on any of your promises, 2 even though you call yourself the holy city and talk about depending on the God of Israel, whose name is the LORD Almighty. 3 Time and again I warned you about what was going to happen in the future. Then suddenly I took action, and all my predictions came true. 4" I know how stubborn and obstinate you are. Your necks are as unbending as iron. You are as hardheaded as bronze. 5 That is why I told you ahead of time what I was going to do. That way, you could never say, `My idols did it. My wooden image and metal god commanded it to happen!' 6 You have heard my predictions and seen them fulfilled, but you refuse to admit it. Now I will tell you new things I have not mentioned before, secrets you have not yet heard. 7 They are brand new, not things from the past. So you cannot say, `We knew that all the time! '8 "Yes, I will tell you of things that are entirely new, for I know so well what traitors you are. You have been rebels from your earliest childhood, rotten through and through. 9 Yet for my own sake and for the honor of my name, I will hold back my anger and not wipe you out. 10 I have refined you but not in the way silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering. 11 I will rescue you for my sake-- yes, for my own sake! That way, the pagan nations will not be able to claim that their gods have conquered me. I will not let them have my glory!"
Therefore I [Paul], a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. 3 Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace. 4 We are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future. 5 There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and there is only one God and Father, who is over us all and in us all and living through us all. 7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift according to the generosity of Christ. 8 That is why the Scriptures say, "When he ascended to the heights,
he led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to his people."
9 Notice that it says "he ascended." This means that Christ first came down to the lowly world in which we live. 10 The same one who came down is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that his rule might fill the entire universe. 11 He is the one who gave these gifts to the church:the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, 13 until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
Praise the Lord; praise God our savior!
For each day he carries us in his arms.
Interlude20 Our God is a God who saves!
The Sovereign LORD rescues us from death.
21 But God will smash the heads of his enemies,
crushing the skulls of those who love their guilty ways.
22 The Lord says, "I will bring my enemies down from Bashan;
I will bring them up from the depths of the sea.
23 You, my people, will wash your feet in their blood,
and even your dogs will get their share!"
24 Your procession has come into view, O God--
the procession of my God and King
as he goes into the sanctuary.
25 Singers are in front, musicians are behind;
with them are young women playing tambourines.
26 Praise God, all you people of Israel;
praise the LORD, the source of Israel's life.
27 Look, the little tribe of Benjamin leads the way.
Then comes a great throng of rulers from Judah
and all the rulers of Zebulun and Naphtali.
28 Summon your might, O God.
Display your power, O God, as you have in the past.
29 The kings of the earth are bringing tribute
to your Temple in Jerusalem.
30 Rebuke these enemy nations--
these wild animals lurking in the reeds,
this herd of bulls among the weaker calves.
Humble those who demand tribute from us.
Scatter the nations that delight in war.
31 Let Egypt come with gifts of precious metals;
let Ethiopia bow in submission to God.
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth.
Sing praises to the Lord.
Interlude33 Sing to the one who rides across the ancient heavens,
his mighty voice thundering from the sky.
34 Tell everyone about God's power.
His majesty shines down on Israel;
his strength is mighty in the heavens.
35 God is awesome in his sanctuary.
The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Praise be to God!
A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense. Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables
