JEREMIAH 10:1-11:23
COLOSSIANS 3:18-4:18
PSALM 78:56-72
PROVERBS 24:28-29
JEREMIAH 10:1-11:23
Hear the word of the LORD, O Israel! 2 This is what the LORD says: " Do not act like other nations who try to read their future in the stars. Do not be afraid of their predictions, even though other nations are terrified by them. 3 Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree and carve an idol. 4 They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won't fall over. 5 There stands their god like a helpless scarecrow in a garden! It cannot speak, and it needs to be carried because it cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good." 6 LORD, there is no one like you! For you are great, and your name is full of power. 7 Who would not fear you, O King of nations? That title belongs to you alone! Among all the wise people of the earth and in all the kingdoms of the world, there is no one like you. 8 The wisest of people who worship idols are stupid and foolish. The things they worship are made of wood! 9 They bring beaten sheets of silver from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz, and they give these materials to skillful craftsmen who make their idols. Then they dress these gods in royal purple robes made by expert tailors. 10 But the LORD is the only true God, the living God. He is the everlasting King! The whole earth trembles at his anger. The nations hide before his wrath. 11 Say this to those who worship other gods: " Your so-called gods, who did not make the heavens and earth, will vanish from the earth."12 But God made the earth by his power,
and he preserves it by his wisdom.
He has stretched out the heavens
by his understanding.
13 When he speaks, there is thunder in the heavens.
He causes the clouds to rise over the earth.
He sends the lightning with the rain
and releases the wind from his storehouses.
14 Compared to him, all people are foolish
and have no knowledge at all!
They make idols, but the idols will disgrace their makers,
for they are frauds.
They have no life or power in them.
15 Idols are worthless; they are lies!
The time is coming when they will all be destroyed.
16 But the God of Israel is no idol!
He is the Creator of everything that exists,
including Israel, his own special possession.
The LORD Almighty is his name!
17 " Pack your bag and prepare to leave; the siege is about to begin," 18 says the LORD. " For suddenly, I will fling you from this land and pour great troubles upon you. At last you will feel my anger." 19 My wound is desperate, and my grief is great. My sickness is incurable, but I must bear it. 20 My home is gone, and no one is left to help me rebuild it. My children have been taken away, and I will never see them again. 21 The shepherds of my people have lost their senses. They no longer follow the LORD or ask what he wants of them. Therefore, they fail completely, and their flocks are scattered. 22 Listen! Hear the terrifying roar of great armies as they roll down from the north. The towns of Judah will be destroyed and will become a haunt for jackals. 23 I know, LORD, that a person's life is not his own. No one is able to plan his own course. 24 So correct me, LORD, but please be gentle. Do not correct me in anger, for I would die. 25 Pour out your wrath on the nations that refuse to recognize you--on nations that do not call upon your name. For they have utterly devoured your people Israel, making the land a desolate wilderness.11:1 THE LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 " Remind the people of Judah and Jerusalem about the terms of their covenant with me. 3 Say to them, ` This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Cursed is anyone who does not obey the terms of my covenant! 4 For I said to your ancestors when I brought them out of slavery in Egypt, " If you obey me and do whatever I command you, then you will be my people, and I will be your God." 5 I said this so I could keep my promise to your ancestors to give you a land flowing with milk and honey--the land you live in today.' " Then I replied, " So be it, LORD!"6 Then the LORD said, " Broadcast this message in the streets of Jerusalem. Go from town to town throughout the land and say, ` Remember the covenant your ancestors made, and do everything they promised. 7 For I solemnly warned your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, repeating over and over again to this day: " Obey me!" 8 But your ancestors did not pay any attention; they would not even listen. Instead, they stubbornly followed their own evil desires. And because they refused to obey, I brought upon them all the curses described in our covenant.' " 9 Again the LORD spoke to me and said, " I have discovered a conspiracy against me among the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 10 They have returned to the sins of their forefathers. They have refused to listen to me and are worshiping idols. Israel and Judah have both broken the covenant I made with their ancestors. 11 Therefore, says the LORD, I am going to bring calamity upon them, and they will not escape. Though they beg for mercy, I will not listen to their cries. 12 Then the people of Judah and Jerusalem will pray to their idols and offer incense before them. But the idols will not save them when disaster strikes! 13 Look now, people of Judah, you have as many gods as there are cities and towns. Your altars of shame--altars for burning incense to your god Baal--are along every street in Jerusalem. 14 " Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Do not weep or pray for them, for I will not listen to them when they cry out to me in distress. 15 What right do my beloved people have to come to my Temple, where they have done so many immoral things? Can their sacrifices avert their destruction? They actually rejoice in doing evil! 16 " I, the LORD, once called them a thriving olive tree, beautiful to see and full of good fruit. But now I have sent the fury of their enemies to burn them with fire, leaving them charred and broken. 17 I, the LORD Almighty, who planted this olive tree, have ordered it destroyed. For the people of Israel and Judah have done evil, provoking my anger by offering incense to Baal." 18 Then the LORD told me about the plots my enemies were making against me. 19 I had been as unaware as a lamb on the way to its slaughter. I had no idea that they were planning to kill me! " Let's destroy this man and all his words," they said. " Let's kill him, so his name will be forgotten forever." 20 O LORD Almighty, you are just, and you examine the deepest thoughts of hearts and minds. Let me see your vengeance against them, for I have committed my cause to you. 21 The men of Anathoth wanted me dead. They said they would kill me if I did not stop speaking in the LORD's name. 22 So this is what the LORD Almighty says about them: " I will punish them! Their young men will die in battle, and their little boys and girls will starve. 23 Not one of these plotters from Anathoth will survive, for I will bring disaster upon them when their time of punishment comes."
COLOSSIANS 3:18-4:18
You wives must submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord. 19 And you husbands must love your wives and never treat them harshly. 20 You children must always obey your parents, for this is what pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, don't aggravate your children. If you do, they will become discouraged and quit trying.22 You slaves must obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Obey them willingly because of your reverent fear of the Lord. 23 Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and the Master you are serving is Christ. 25 But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favorites who can get away with evil. 4:1 YOU slave owners must be just and fair to your slaves. Remember that you also have a Master--in heaven. 2 Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. 3 Don't forget to pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to preach about his secret plan--that Christ is also for you Gentiles. That is why I am here in chains. 4 Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should. 5 Live wisely among those who are not Christians, and make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will have the right answer for everyone. 7 Tychicus, a much loved brother, will tell you how I am getting along. He is a faithful helper who serves the Lord with me. 8 I have sent him on this special trip to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you. 9 I am also sending Onesimus, a faithful and much loved brother, one of your own people. He and Tychicus will give you all the latest news. 10 Aristarchus, who is in prison with me, sends you his greetings, and so does Mark, Barnabas's cousin. And as you were instructed before, make Mark welcome if he comes your way. 11 Jesus (the one we call Justus) also sends his greetings. These are the only Jewish Christians among my co-workers; they are working with me here for the Kingdom of God. And what a comfort they have been!12 Epaphras, from your city, a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. He always prays earnestly for you, asking God to make you strong and perfect, fully confident of the whole will of God. 13 I can assure you that he has agonized for you and also for the Christians in Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 Dear Doctor Luke sends his greetings, and so does Demas. 15 Please give my greetings to our Christian brothers and sisters* at Laodicea, and to Nympha and those who meet in her house. 16 After you have read this letter, pass it on to the church at Laodicea so they can read it, too. And you should read the letter I wrote to them. 17 And say to Archippus, " Be sure to carry out the work the Lord gave you." 18 Here is my greeting in my own handwriting--PAUL. Remember my chains. May the grace of God be with you.
PSALM 78:56-72
Yet though he [God] did all this for them [the Israelites],
they continued to test his patience.
They rebelled against the Most High
and refused to follow his decrees.
57 They turned back and were as faithless as their parents had been.
They were as useless as a crooked bow.
58 They made God angry by building altars to other gods;
they made him jealous with their idols.
59 When God heard them, he was very angry,
and he rejected Israel completely.
60 Then he abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh,
the Tabernacle where he had lived among the people.
61 He allowed the Ark of his might to be captured;
he surrendered his glory into enemy hands.
62 He gave his people over to be butchered by the sword,
because he was so angry with his own people--his special possession.
63 Their young men were killed by fire;
their young women died before singing their wedding songs.
64 Their priests were slaughtered,
and their widows could not mourn their deaths.
65 Then the Lord rose up as though waking from sleep,
like a mighty man aroused from a drunken stupor.
66 He routed his enemies
and sent them to eternal shame.
67 But he rejected Joseph's descendants;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 He chose instead the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loved.
69 There he built his towering sanctuary,
as solid and enduring as the earth itself.
70 He chose his servant David,
calling him from the sheep pens.
71 He took David from tending the ewes and lambs
and made him the shepherd of Jacob's descendants--
God's own people, Israel.
72 He cared for them with a true heart
and led them with skillful hands.
PROVERBS 24:28-29
Do not testify spitefully against innocent neighbors; don't lie about them. And don't say, " Now I can pay them back for all their meanness to me! I'll get even!"
