ISAIAH 43:14-45:10
EPHESIANS 3:1-21
PSALM 68:1-18
PROVERBS 24:1-2
ISAIAH 43:14-45:10
The LORD your [Israel's] Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, says: " For your sakes I will send an invading army against Babylon. And the Babylonians will be forced to flee in those ships they are so proud of. 15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, Israel's Creator and King. 16 I am the LORD, who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea. 17 I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses. I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned, their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick. 18 " But forget all that--it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. 19 For I am about to do a brand-new thing. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness for my people to come home. I will create rivers for them in the desert! 20 The wild animals in the fields will thank me, the jackals and ostriches, too, for giving them water in the wilderness. Yes, I will make springs in the desert, so that my chosen people can be refreshed. 21 I have made Israel for myself, and they will someday honor me before the whole world. 22 " But, my dear people, you refuse to ask for my help. You have grown tired of me! 23 You have not brought me lambs for burnt offerings. You have not honored me with sacrifices, though I have not burdened and wearied you with my requests for grain offerings and incense. 24 You have not brought me fragrant incense or pleased me with the fat from sacrifices. Instead, you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your faults. 25 " I--yes, I alone--am the one who blots out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again. 26 Let us review the situation together, and you can present your case if you have one. 27 From the very beginning, your ancestors sinned against me--all your leaders broke my laws. 28 That is why I have disgraced your priests and assigned Israel a future of complete destruction and shame.44:1 " BUT now, listen to me, Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one. 2 The LORD who made you and helps you says: O Jacob, my servant, do not be afraid. O Israel, my chosen one, do not fear. 3 For I will give you abundant water to quench your thirst and to moisten your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit and my blessings on your children. 4 They will thrive like watered grass, like willows on a riverbank. 5 Some will proudly claim, ` I belong to the LORD.' Others will say, ` I am a descendant of Jacob.' Some will write the LORD's name on their hands and will take the honored name of Israel as their own. 6 " This is what the LORD, Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty, says: I am the First and the Last; there is no other God. 7 Who else can tell you what is going to happen in the days ahead? Let them tell you if they can and thus prove their power. Let them do as I have done since ancient times. 8 Do not tremble; do not be afraid. Have I not proclaimed from ages past what my purposes are for you? You are my witnesses--is there any other God? No! There is no other Rock--not one!" 9 How foolish are those who manufacture idols to be their gods. These highly valued objects are really worthless. They themselves are witnesses that this is so, for their idols neither see nor know. No wonder those who worship them are put to shame. 10 Who but a fool would make his own god--an idol that cannot help him one bit! 11 All who worship idols will stand before the LORD in shame, along with all these craftsmen--mere humans--who claim they can make a god. Together they will stand in terror and shame. 12 The blacksmith stands at his forge to make a sharp tool, pounding and shaping it with all his might. His work makes him hungry and thirsty, weak and faint. 13 Then the wood-carver measures and marks out a block of wood, takes the tool, and carves the figure of a man. Now he has a wonderful idol that cannot even move from where it is placed! 14 He cuts down cedars; he selects the cypress and the oak; he plants the cedar in the forest to be nourished by the rain. 15 And after his care, he uses part of the wood to make a fire to warm himself and bake his bread. Then--yes, it's true--he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god for people to worship! He makes an idol and bows down and praises it! 16 He burns part of the tree to roast his meat and to keep himself warm. 17 Then he takes what's left and makes his god: a carved idol! He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it. " Rescue me!" he says. " You are my god!" 18 Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think. 19 The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, " Why, it's just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a chunk of wood?" 20 The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He is trusting something that can give him no help at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, " Is this thing, this idol that I'm holding in my hand, a lie?"21 " Pay attention, O Israel, for you are my servant. I, the LORD, made you, and I will not forget to help you. 22 I have swept away your sins like the morning mists. I have scattered your offenses like the clouds. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free." 23 Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done this wondrous thing. Shout, O earth! Break forth into song, O mountains and forests and every tree! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob and is glorified in Israel. 24 The LORD, your Redeemer and Creator, says: " I am the LORD, who made all things. I alone stretched out the heavens. By myself I made the earth and everything in it. 25 I am the one who exposes the false prophets as liars by causing events to happen that are contrary to their predictions. I cause wise people to give bad advice, thus proving them to be fools. 26 But I carry out the predictions of my prophets! When they say Jerusalem will be saved and the towns of Judah will be lived in once again, it will be done! 27 When I speak to the rivers and say, ` Be dry!' they will be dry. 28 When I say of Cyrus, ` He is my shepherd,' he will certainly do as I say. He will command that Jerusalem be rebuilt and that the Temple be restored."45:1 THIS is what the LORD says to Cyrus, his anointed one, whose right hand he will empower. Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear. Their fortress gates will be opened, never again to shut against him. 2 This is what the LORD says: " I will go before you, Cyrus, and level the mountains. I will smash down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. 3 And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness--secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name. 4 " And why have I called you for this work? It is for the sake of Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one. I called you by name when you did not know me. 5 I am the LORD; there is no other God. I have prepared you, even though you do not know me, 6 so all the world from east to west will know there is no other God. I am the LORD, and there is no other. 7 I am the one who creates the light and makes the darkness. I am the one who sends good times and bad times. I, the LORD, am the one who does these things. 8 Open up, O heavens, and pour out your righteousness. Let the earth open wide so salvation and righteousness can sprout up together. I, the LORD, created them.9 " Destruction is certain for those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot ever argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ` Stop, you are doing it wrong!' Does the pot exclaim, ` How clumsy can you be!' 10 How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father and mother, ` Why was I born? Why did you make me this way?' "
EPHESIANS 3:1-21
I, Paul, am a prisoner of Christ Jesus because of my preaching to you Gentiles. 2 As you already know, God has given me this special ministry of announcing his favor to you Gentiles. 3 As I briefly mentioned earlier in this letter, God himself revealed his secret plan to me. 4 As you read what I have written, you will understand what I know about this plan regarding Christ. 5 God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now he has revealed it by the Holy Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets. 6 And this is the secret plan: The Gentiles have an equal share with the Jews in all the riches inherited by God's children. Both groups have believed the Good News, and both are part of the same body and enjoy together the promise of blessings through Christ Jesus. 7 By God's special favor and mighty power, I have been given the wonderful privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News. 8 Just think! Though I did nothing to deserve it, and though I am the least deserving Christian there is, I was chosen for this special joy of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. 9 I was chosen to explain to everyone this plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning. 10 God's purpose was to show his wisdom in all its rich variety to all the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. They will see this when Jews and Gentiles are joined together in his church. 11 This was his plan from all eternity, and it has now been carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come fearlessly into God's presence, assured of his glad welcome. 13 So please don't despair because of what they are doing to me here. It is for you that I am suffering, so you should feel honored and encouraged. 14 When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. 17 And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. 20 Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. 21 May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen.
PSALM 68:1-18
For the choir director: A psalm of David. A song.
1 Arise, O God, and scatter your enemies.
Let those who hate God run for their lives.
2 Drive them off like smoke blown by the wind.
Melt them like wax in fire.
Let the wicked perish in the presence of God.
3 But let the godly rejoice.
Let them be glad in God's presence.
Let them be filled with joy.
4 Sing praises to God and to his name!
Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds.
His name is the LORD--
rejoice in his presence!
5 Father to the fatherless, defender of widows--
this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
6 God places the lonely in families;
he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
But for rebels, there is only famine and distress.
7 O God, when you led your people from Egypt,
when you marched through the wilderness,
Interlude8 the earth trembled, and the heavens poured rain
before you, the God of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9 You sent abundant rain, O God,
to refresh the weary Promised Land.
10 There your people finally settled,
and with a bountiful harvest, O God,
you provided for your needy people.
11 The Lord announces victory,
and throngs of women shout the happy news.
12 Enemy kings and their armies flee,
while the women of Israel divide the plunder.
13 Though they lived among the sheepfolds,
now they are covered with silver and gold,
as a dove is covered by its wings.
14 The Almighty scattered the enemy kings
like a blowing snowstorm on Mount Zalmon.
15 The majestic mountains of Bashan
stretch high into the sky.
16 Why do you look with envy, O rugged mountains,
at Mount Zion, where God has chosen to live,
where the LORD himself will live forever?
17 Surrounded by unnumbered thousands of chariots,
the Lord came from Mount Sinai into his sanctuary.
18 When you ascended to the heights,
you led a crowd of captives.
You received gifts from the people,
even from those who rebelled against you.
Now the LORD God will live among us here.
PROVERBS 24:1-2
Don't envy evil people; don't desire their company. For they spend their days plotting violence, and their words are always stirring up trouble.
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