Reading through the Word....Day 288, October 15

JEREMIAH 30:1- 31:26
1 TIMOTHY 2:1- 15
PSALM 87:1- 7
PROVERBS 25:18- 19


The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:Write down for the record everything I have said to you, Jeremiah. 3 For the time is coming when I will restore the fortunes of my people of Israel and Judah. I will bring them home to this land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it and live here again. I, the LORD, have spoken!" 4 This is the message the LORD gave concerning Israel and Judah:5 "This is what the LORD says:I have heard the people crying; there is only fear and trembling. 6 Now let me ask you a question:Do men give birth to babies? Then why do they stand there, ashen- faced, hands pressed against their sides like women about to give birth? 7 In all history there has never been such a time of terror. It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel. Yet in the end, they will be saved! 8" For in that day, says the LORD Almighty, I will break the yoke from their necks and snap their chains. Foreigners will no longer be their masters. 9 For my people will serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. 10 "So do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel, says the LORD. For I will bring you home again from distant lands, and your children will return from their exile. Israel will return and will have peace and quiet in their own land, and no one will make them afraid. 11 For I am with you and will save you, says the LORD. I will completely destroy the nations where I have scattered you, but I will not destroy you. But I must discipline you; I cannot let you go unpunished. 12" This is what the LORD says:Yours is an incurable bruise, a terrible wound. 13 There is no one to help you or bind up your injury. You are beyond the help of any medicine. 14 All your allies have left you and do not care about you anymore. I have wounded you cruelly, as though I were your enemy. For your sins are many, and your guilt is great. 15 Why do you protest your punishment-- this wound that has no cure? I have had to punish you because your sins are many and your guilt is great. 16 "But in that coming day, all who destroy you will be destroyed, and all your enemies will be sent into exile. Those who plunder you will be plundered, and those who attack you will be attacked. 17 I will give you back your health and heal your wounds, says the LORD." Now you are called an outcast-- `Jerusalem for whom nobody cares. '18 But the LORD says this:When I bring you home again from your captivity and restore your fortunes, Jerusalem will be rebuilt on her ruins. The palace will be reconstructed as it was before. 19 There will be joy and songs of thanksgiving, and I will multiply my people and make of them a great and honored nation. 20 Their children will prosper as they did long ago. I will establish them as a nation before me, and I will punish anyone who hurts them. 21 They will have their own ruler again, and he will not be a foreigner. I will invite him to approach me, says the LORD, for who would dare to come unless invited? 22 You will be my people, and I will be your God. "23 Look! The LORD's anger bursts out like a storm, a driving wind that swirls down on the heads of the wicked. 24 The fierce anger of the LORD will not diminish until it has finished all his plans. In the days to come, you will understand all this. 31:1" IN that day, "says the LORD," I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people. 2 I will care for the survivors as they travel through the wilderness. I will again come to give rest to the people of Israel. "3 Long ago the LORD said to Israel:" I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. 4 I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel. You will again be happy and dance merrily with tambourines. 5 Again you will plant your vineyards on the mountains of Samaria and eat from your own gardens there. 6 The day will come when watchmen will shout from the hill country of Ephraim, `Come, let us go up to Jerusalem to worship the LORD our God.' "7 Now this is what the LORD says:" Sing with joy for Israel! Shout for the greatest of nations! Shout out with praise and joy:`Save your people, O LORD, the remnant of Israel! '8 For I will bring them from the north and from the distant corners of the earth. I will not forget the blind and lame, the expectant mothers and women about to give birth. A great company will return! 9 Tears of joy will stream down their faces, and I will lead them home with great care. They will walk beside quiet streams and not stumble. For I am Israel's father, and Ephraim is my oldest child. 10 "Listen to this message from the LORD, you nations of the world; proclaim it in distant coastlands:The LORD, who scattered his people, will gather them together and watch over them as a shepherd does his flock. 11 For the LORD has redeemed Israel from those too strong for them. 12 They will come home and sing songs of joy on the heights of Jerusalem. They will be radiant because of the many gifts the LORD has given them-- the good crops of wheat, wine, and oil, and the healthy flocks and herds. Their life will be like a watered garden, and all their sorrows will be gone. 13 The young women will dance for joy, and the men-- old and young-- will join in the celebration. I will turn their mourning into joy. I will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing. 14 I will supply the priests with an abundance of offerings. I will satisfy my people with my bounty. I, the LORD, have spoken!" 15 This is what the LORD says:"A cry of anguish is heard in Ramah-- mourning and weeping unrestrained. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted-- for her children are dead." 16 But now the LORD says, "Do not weep any longer, for I will reward you. Your children will come back to you from the distant land of the enemy. 17 There is hope for your future," says the LORD. "Your children will come again to their own land. 18 I have heard Israel saying, `You disciplined me severely, but I deserved it. I was like a calf that needed to be trained for the yoke and plow. Turn me again to you and restore me, for you alone are the LORD my God. 19 I turned away from God, but then I was sorry. I kicked myself for my stupidity! I was thoroughly ashamed of all I did in my younger days.' 20" Is not Israel still my son, my darling child? "asks the LORD." I had to punish him, but I still love him. I long for him and surely will have mercy on him. 21 "Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Mark well the path by which you came. Come back again, my virgin Israel; return to your cities here. 22 How long will you wander, my wayward daughter? For the LORD will cause something new and different to happen-- Israel will embrace her God." 23 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says:"When I bring them back again, the people of Judah and its cities will again say, `The LORD bless you-- O righteous home, O holy mountain! '24 And city dwellers and farmers and shepherds alike will live together in peace and happiness. 25 For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing." 26 At this, I woke up and looked around. My sleep had been very sweet.


I [Paul] urge you [Timothy], first of all, to pray for all people. As you make your requests, plead for God's mercy upon them, and give thanks. 2 Pray this way for kings and all others who are in authority, so that we can live in peace and quietness, in godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 for he wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. 5 For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and people. He is the man Christ Jesus. 6 He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message that God gave to the world at the proper time. 7 And I have been chosen-- this is the absolute truth-- as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles about faith and truth. 8 So wherever you assemble, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy. 9 And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. 10 For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do. 11 Women should listen and learn quietly and submissively. 12 I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let them listen quietly. 13 For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve. 14 And it was the woman, not Adam, who was deceived by Satan, and sin was the result. 15 But women will be saved through childbearing and by continuing to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty.


A psalm of the descendants of Korah. A song.
1 On the holy mountain stands the city founded by the LORD.
2 He loves the city of Jerusalem
more than any other city in Israel.
3 O city of God,
what glorious things are said of you!
Interlude4 I will record Egypt and Babylon among those who know me--
also Philistia and Tyre, and even distant Ethiopia.
They have all become citizens of Jerusalem!
5 And it will be said of Jerusalem,
"Everyone has become a citizen here."
And the Most High will personally bless this city.
6 When the LORD registers the nations,
he will say, "This one has become a citizen of Jerusalem."
Interlude7 At all the festivals, the people will sing,
"The source of my life is in Jerusalem!"


Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an ax, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow. Putting confidence in an unreliable person is like chewing with a toothache or walking on a broken foot

Reading through the Word....Day 287, October 14

JEREMIAH 28:1- 29:32
1 TIMOTHY 1:1- 20
PSALM 86:1- 17
PROVERBS 25:17


One day in late summer of that same year-- the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah-- Hananiah son of Azzur, a prophet from Gibeon, addressed me [Jeremiah] publicly in the Temple while all the priests and people listened. He said, 2 "The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says:I will remove the yoke of the king of Babylon from your necks. 3 Within two years, I will bring back all the Temple treasures that King Nebuchadnezzar carried off to Babylon. 4 And I will bring back Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the other captives that were taken to Babylon. I will surely break the yoke that the king of Babylon has put on your necks. I, the LORD, have spoken!" 5 Jeremiah responded to Hananiah as they stood in front of all the priests and people at the Temple. 6 He said, "Amen! May your prophecies come true! I hope the LORD does everything you say. I hope he does bring back from Babylon the treasures of this Temple and all our loved ones. 7 But listen now to the solemn words I speak to you in the presence of all these people. 8 The ancient prophets who preceded you and me spoke against many nations, always warning of war, famine, and disease. 9 So a prophet who predicts peace must carry the burden of proof. Only when his predictions come true can it be known that he is really from the LORD." 10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke off Jeremiah's neck and broke it. 11 And Hananiah said again to the crowd that had gathered, "The LORD has promised that within two years he will break the yoke of oppression from all the nations now subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon." At that, Jeremiah left the Temple area. 12 Soon afterward the LORD gave this message to Jeremiah:13 "Go and tell Hananiah, `This is what the LORD says:You have broken a wooden yoke, but you have replaced it with a yoke of iron. 14 The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says:I have put a yoke of iron on the necks of all these nations, forcing them into slavery under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control. '" 15 Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah, "Listen, Hananiah! The LORD has not sent you, but the people believe your lies. 16 Therefore, the LORD says you must die. Your life will end this very year because you have rebelled against the LORD." 17 Two months later, Hananiah died. 29:1 JEREMIAH wrote a letter from Jerusalem to the elders, priests, prophets, and all the people who had been exiled to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. 2 This was after King Jehoiachin, the queen mother, the court officials, the leaders of Judah, and all the craftsmen had been deported from Jerusalem. 3 He sent the letter with Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, when they went to Babylon as King Zedekiah's ambassadors to Nebuchadnezzar. This is what Jeremiah's letter said:4 The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, sends this message to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem:5 "Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food you produce. 6 Marry, and have children. Then find spouses for them, and have many grand- children. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! 7 And work for the peace and prosperity of Babylon. Pray to the LORD for that city where you are held captive, for if Babylon has peace, so will you." 8 The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says, "Do not let the prophets and mediums who are there in Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams 9 because they prophesy lies in my name. I have not sent them," says the LORD. 10 "The truth is that you will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. 11 For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. 14 I will be found by you," says the LORD. "I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and bring you home again to your own land." 15 You may claim that the LORD has raised up prophets for you in Babylon. 16 But this is what the LORD says about the king who sits on David's throne and all those still living here in Jerusalem-- your relatives who were not exiled to Babylon. 17 This is what the LORD Almighty says:"I will send war, famine, and disease upon them and make them like rotting figs-- too bad to eat. 18 Yes, I will pursue them with war, famine, and disease, and I will scatter them around the world. In every nation where I send them, I will make them an object of damnation, horror, contempt, and mockery. 19 For they refuse to listen to me, though I have spoken to them repeatedly through my prophets. And you who are in exile have not listened either," says the LORD. 20 Therefore, listen to this message from the LORD, all you captives there in Babylon. 21 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says about your prophets-- Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah-- who are telling you lies in my name:"I will turn them over to Nebuchadnezzar for a public execution. 22 Their terrible fate will become proverbial, so that whenever the Judean exiles want to curse someone they will say, `May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned alive!' 23 For these men have done terrible things among my people. They have committed adultery with their neighbors 'wives and have lied in my name. I am a witness to this," says the LORD. 24 The LORD sent this message to Shemaiah the Nehelamite in Babylon:25 "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says:You wrote a letter on your own authority to Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, the priest, and you sent copies to the other priests and people in Jerusalem. You said to Zephaniah, 26 `The LORD has appointed you to replace Jehoiada as the priest in charge of the house of the LORD. You are responsible to put anyone who claims to be a prophet in the stocks and neck irons. 27 So why have you done nothing to stop Jeremiah from Anathoth, who pretends to be a prophet among you? 28 Jeremiah sent a letter here to Babylon, predicting that our captivity will be a long one. He said we should build homes and plan to stay for many years. He said we should plant fruit trees, because we will be here to eat the fruit for many years to come.'" 29 But when Zephaniah the priest received Shemaiah's letter, he took it to Jeremiah and read it to him. 30 Then the LORD gave this message to Jeremiah:31 "Send an open letter to all the exiles in Babylon. Tell them, `This is what the LORD says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite:Since he has prophesied to you when I did not send him and has tricked you into believing his lies, 32 I will punish him and his family. None of his descendants will see the good things I will do for my people, for he has taught you to rebel against me. I, the LORD, have spoken!


This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, appointed by the command of God our Savior and by Christ Jesus our hope. 2 It is written to Timothy, my true child in the faith. May God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace. 3 When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those who are teaching wrong doctrine. 4 Don't let people waste time in endless speculation over myths and spiritual pedigrees. For these things only cause arguments; they don't help people live a life of faith in God. 5 The purpose of my instruction is that all the Christians there would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and sincere faith. 6 But some teachers have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time arguing and talking foolishness. 7 They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don't know what they are talking about, even though they seem so confident. 8 We know these laws are good when they are used as God intended. 9 But they were not made for people who do what is right. They are for people who are disobedient and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who murder their father or mother or other people. 10 These laws are for people who are sexually immoral, for homosexuals and slave traders, for liars and oath breakers, and for those who do anything else that contradicts the right teaching 11 that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God. 12 How thankful I am to Christ Jesus our Lord for considering me trustworthy and appointing me to serve him, 13 even though I used to scoff at the name of Christ. I hunted down his people, harming them in every way I could. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. 14 Oh, how kind and gracious the Lord was! He filled me completely with faith and the love of Christ Jesus. 15 This is a true saying, and everyone should believe it:Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-- and I was the worst of them all. 16 But that is why God had mercy on me, so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Glory and honor to God forever and ever. He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen. 18 Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they give you the confidence to fight well in the Lord's battles. 19 Cling tightly to your faith in Christ, and always keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. 20 Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples of this. I turned them over to Satan so they would learn not to blaspheme God.


A prayer of David.
1 Bend down, O LORD, and hear my prayer;
answer me, for I need your help.
2 Protect me, for I am devoted to you.
Save me, for I serve you and trust you.
You are my God.
3 Be merciful, O Lord,
for I am calling on you constantly.
4 Give me happiness, O Lord,
for my life depends on you.
5 O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive,
so full of unfailing love for all who ask your aid.
6 Listen closely to my prayer, O LORD;
hear my urgent cry.
7 I will call to you whenever trouble strikes,
and you will answer me.
8 Nowhere among the pagan gods is there a god like you, O Lord.
There are no other miracles like yours.
9 All the nations-- and you made each one--
will come and bow before you, Lord;
they will praise your great and holy name.
10 For you are great and perform great miracles.
You alone are God.
11 Teach me your ways, O LORD,
that I may live according to your truth!
Grant me purity of heart,
that I may honor you.
12 With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God.
I will give glory to your name forever,
13 for your love for me is very great.
You have rescued me from the depths of death!
14 O God, insolent people rise up against me;
violent people are trying to kill me.
And you mean nothing to them.
15 But you, O Lord, are a merciful and gracious God,
slow to get angry,
full of unfailing love and truth.
16 Look down and have mercy on me.
Give strength to your servant;
yes, save me, for I am your servant.
17 Send me a sign of your favor.
Then those who hate me will be put to shame,
for you, O LORD, help and comfort me.


Don't visit your neighbors too often, or you will wear out your welcome

Reading through the Word....Day 286, October 13

JEREMIAH 26:1- 27:22
2 THESSALONIANS 3:1- 18
PSALM 85:1- 13
PROVERBS 25:16


This message came to Jeremiah from the LORD early in the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah. 2 The LORD said, "Stand out in front of the Temple of the LORD, and make an announcement to the people who have come there to worship from all over Judah. Give them my entire message; include every word. 3 Perhaps they will listen and turn from their evil ways. Then I will be able to withhold the disaster I am ready to pour out on them because of their sins. 4" Say to them, `This is what the LORD says:If you will not listen to me and obey the law I have given you, 5 and if you will not listen to my servants, the prophets-- for I sent them again and again to warn you, but you would not listen to them-- 6 then I will destroy this Temple as I destroyed Shiloh, the place where the Tabernacle was located. And I will make Jerusalem an object of cursing in every nation on earth. '"7 The priests, the prophets, and all the people listened to Jeremiah as he spoke in front of the LORD's Temple. 8 But when Jeremiah had finished his message, saying everything the LORD had told him to say, the priests and prophets and all the people at the Temple mobbed him." Kill him! "they shouted. 9" What right do you have to prophesy in the LORD's name that this Temple will be destroyed like Shiloh? What do you mean, saying that Jerusalem will be destroyed? "And all the people threatened him as he stood in front of the Temple. 10 When the officials of Judah heard what was happening, they rushed over from the palace and sat down at the New Gate of the Temple to hold court. 11 The priests and prophets presented their accusations to the officials and the people." This man should die! "they said." You have heard with your own ears what a traitor he is, for he has prophesied against this city. "12 Then Jeremiah spoke in his own defense." The LORD sent me to prophesy against this Temple and this city, "he said." The LORD gave me every word that I have spoken. 13 But if you stop your sinning and begin to obey the LORD your God, he will cancel this disaster that he has announced against you. 14 As for me, I am helpless and in your power-- do with me as you think best. 15 But if you kill me, rest assured that you will be killing an innocent man! The responsibility for such a deed will lie on you, on this city, and on every person living in it. For it is absolutely true that the LORD sent me to speak every word you have heard. "16 Then the officials and the people said to the priests and prophets," This man does not deserve the death sentence, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God. "17 Then some of the wise old men stood and spoke to the people there. 18 They said," Think back to the days when Micah of Moresheth prophesied during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah. He told the people of Judah, `This is what the LORD Almighty says:Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field; Jerusalem will be reduced to rubble! A great forest will grow on the hilltop, where the Temple now stands.' 19 But did King Hezekiah and the people kill him for saying this? No, they turned from their sins and worshiped the LORD. They begged him to have mercy on them. Then the LORD held back the terrible disaster he had pronounced against them. If we kill Jeremiah, who knows what will happen to us? "20 (At this time, Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath- jearim was also prophesying for the LORD. And he predicted the same terrible disaster against the city and nation as Jeremiah did. 21 When King Jehoiakim and the army officers and officials heard what he was saying, the king sent someone to kill him. But Uriah heard about the plot and escaped to Egypt. 22 Then King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Acbor to Egypt along with several other men to capture Uriah. 23 They took him prisoner and brought him back to King Jehoiakim. The king then killed Uriah with a sword and had him buried in an unmarked grave.) 24 Ahikam son of Shaphan also stood with Jeremiah and persuaded the court not to turn him over to the mob to be killed. 27:1 THIS message came to Jeremiah from the LORD early in the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah. 2 The LORD said to me," Make a yoke, and fasten it on your neck with leather thongs. 3 Then send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through their ambassadors to King Zedekiah in Jerusalem. 4 Give them this message for their masters:`This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says:5 By my great power I have made the earth and all its people and every animal. I can give these things of mine to anyone I choose. 6 Now I will give your countries to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who is my servant. I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control. 7 All the nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until his time is up. But then many nations and great kings will conquer and rule over Babylon. 8 So you must submit to Babylon's king and serve him; put your neck under Babylon's yoke! I will punish any nation that refuses to be his slave, says the LORD. I will send war, famine, and disease upon that nation until Babylon has conquered it. 9 "`Do not listen to your false prophets, fortune- tellers, interpreters of dreams, mediums, and sorcerers who say," The king of Babylon will not conquer you. "10 They are all liars, and I will drive you from your land and send you far away to die. 11 But the people of any nation that submits to the king of Babylon will be allowed to stay in their own country to farm the land as usual. I, the LORD, have spoken! '" 12 Then I repeated this same message to King Zedekiah of Judah. "If you want to live, submit to the king of Babylon and his people," I said. 13 "Why do you insist on dying-- you and your people? Why should you choose war, famine, and disease, which the LORD will bring against every nation that refuses to submit to Babylon's king? 14 Do not listen to the false prophets who keep telling you, `The king of Babylon will not conquer you.' They are liars. 15 This is what the LORD says:I have not sent these prophets! They are telling you lies in my name, so I will drive you from this land. You will all die-- you and all these prophets, too." 16 Then I spoke to the priests and the people and said, "This is what the LORD says:Do not listen to your prophets who claim that soon the gold utensils taken from my Temple will be returned from Babylon. It is all a lie! 17 Do not listen to them. Surrender to the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should this whole city be destroyed? 18 If they really are the LORD's prophets, let them pray to the LORD Almighty about the gold utensils that are still left in the LORD's Temple and in the king's palace and in the palaces of Jerusalem. Let them pray that these remaining articles will not be carried away with you to Babylon! 19" For this is what the LORD Almighty says about the bronze pillars in front of the Temple, the bronze Sea in the Temple courtyard, the bronze water carts, and all the other ceremonial articles. 20 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon left them here when he exiled Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, to Babylon, along with all the other important people of Judah and Jerusalem. 21 Yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says about the precious things kept in the Temple and in the palace of Judah's king:22 They will all be carried away to Babylon and will stay there until I send for them, says the LORD. But someday I will bring them back to Jerusalem again. "


Finally, dear brothers and sisters, *I [Paul] ask you to pray for us. Pray first that the Lord's message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. 2 Pray, too, that we will be saved from wicked and evil people, for not everyone believes in the Lord. 3 But the Lord is faithful; he will make you strong and guard you from the evil one. 4 And we are confident in the Lord that you are practicing the things we commanded you, and that you always will. 5 May the Lord bring you into an ever deeper understanding of the love of God and the endurance that comes from Christ. 6 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command with the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ:Stay away from any Christian who lives in idleness and doesn't follow the tradition of hard work we gave you. 7 For you know that you ought to follow our example. We were never lazy when we were with you. 8 We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 It wasn't that we didn't have the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. 10 Even while we were with you, we gave you this rule:" Whoever does not work should not eat. "11 Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and wasting time meddling in other people's business. 12 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we appeal to such people-- no, we command them:Settle down and get to work. Earn your own living. 13 And I say to the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good. 14 Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter. Stay away from them so they will be ashamed. 15 Don't think of them as enemies, but speak to them as you would to a Christian who needs to be warned. 16 May the Lord of peace himself always give you his peace no matter what happens. The Lord be with you all. 17 Now here is my greeting, which I write with my own hand-- PAUL. I do this at the end of all my letters to prove that they really are from me. 18 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.


For the choir director:A psalm of the descendants of Korah.
1 LORD, you have poured out amazing blessings on your land!
You have restored the fortunes of Israel.
2 You have forgiven the guilt of your people--
yes, you have covered all their sins.
Interlude3 You have withdrawn your fury.
You have ended your blazing anger.
4 Now turn to us again, O God of our salvation.
Put aside your anger against us.
5 Will you be angry with us always?
Will you prolong your wrath to distant generations?
6 Won't you revive us again,
so your people can rejoice in you?
7 Show us your unfailing love, O LORD,
and grant us your salvation.
8 I listen carefully to what God the LORD is saying,
for he speaks peace to his people, his faithful ones.
But let them not return to their foolish ways.
9 Surely his salvation is near to those who honor him;
our land will be filled with his glory.
10 Unfailing love and truth have met together.
Righteousness and peace have kissed!
11 Truth springs up from the earth,
and righteousness smiles down from heaven.
12 Yes, the LORD pours down his blessings.
Our land will yield its bountiful crops.
13 Righteousness goes as a herald before him,
preparing the way for his steps.


Do you like honey? Don't eat too much of it, or it will make you sick

Reading through the Word....Day 285, October 12

JEREMIAH 23:21- 25:38
2 THESSALONIANS 2:1- 17
PSALM 84:1- 12
PROVERBS 25:15


"I [the LORD] have not sent these prophets, yet they claim to speak for me. I have given them no message, yet they prophesy. 22 If they had listened to me, they would have spoken my words and turned my people from their evil ways. 23 Am I a God who is only in one place?" asks the LORD. "Do they think I cannot see what they are doing? 24 Can anyone hide from me? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?" asks the LORD. 25 "I have heard these prophets say, `Listen to the dream I had from God last night. 'And then they proceed to tell lies in my name. 26 How long will this go on? If they are prophets, they are prophets of deceit, inventing everything they say. 27 By telling these false dreams, they are trying to get my people to forget me, just as their ancestors did by worshiping the idols of Baal. 28 Let these false prophets tell their dreams, but let my true messengers faithfully proclaim my every word. There is a difference between chaff and wheat! 29 Does not my word burn like fire?" asks the LORD. "Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes rock to pieces? 30" Therefore, "says the LORD," I stand against these prophets who get their messages from each other-- 31 these smooth- tongued prophets who say, `This prophecy is from the LORD!' 32 Their imaginary dreams are flagrant lies that lead my people into sin. I did not send or appoint them, and they have no message at all for my people, "says the LORD. 33" Suppose one of the people or one of the prophets or priests asks you, `What prophecy has the LORD burdened you with now? 'You must reply, `You are the burden! The LORD says he will abandon you!' 34 If any prophet, priest, or anyone else says, `I have a prophecy from the LORD, 'I will punish that person along with his entire family. 35 You should keep asking each other, `What is the LORD's answer?' or `What is the LORD saying? '36 But stop using this phrase, `prophecy from the LORD.' For people are using it to give authority to their own ideas, turning upside down the words of our God, the living God, the LORD Almighty. 37 "This is what you should say to the prophets:`What is the LORD's answer? 'or `What is the LORD saying?' 38 But suppose they respond, `This is a prophecy from the LORD! 'Then you should say, `This is what the LORD says:Because you have used this phrase," prophecy from the LORD, "even though I warned you not to use it, 39 I will forget you completely. I will expel you from my presence, along with this city that I gave to you and your ancestors. 40 And I will make you an object of ridicule, and your name will be infamous throughout the ages.'" 24:1 AFTER King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon exiled Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, to Babylon along with the princes of Judah and all the skilled craftsmen, the LORD gave me this vision. I saw two baskets of figs placed in front of the LORD's Temple in Jerusalem. 2 One basket was filled with fresh, ripe figs, while the other was filled with figs that were spoiled and could not be eaten. 3 Then the LORD said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" I replied, "Figs, some very good and some very bad." 4 Then the LORD gave me this message:5 "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:The good figs represent the exiles I sent from Judah to the land of the Babylonians. 6 I have sent them into captivity for their own good. I will see that they are well treated, and I will bring them back here again. I will build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not uproot them. 7 I will give them hearts that will recognize me as the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly. 8" But the rotten figs, "the LORD said," represent King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, all the people left in Jerusalem, and those who live in Egypt. I will treat them like spoiled figs, too rotten to eat. 9 I will make them an object of horror and evil to every nation on earth. They will be disgraced and mocked, taunted and cursed, wherever I send them. 10 I will send war, famine, and disease until they have vanished from the land of Israel, which I gave to them and their ancestors. "25:1 THIS message for all the people of Judah came to Jeremiah from the LORD during the fourth year of Jehoiakim's reign over Judah. This was the year when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon began his reign. 2 Jeremiah the prophet said to the people in Judah and Jerusalem, 3" For the past twenty- three years-- from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, until now-- the LORD has been giving me his messages. I have faithfully passed them on to you, but you have not listened. 4 "Again and again, the LORD has sent you his prophets, but you have not listened or even tried to hear. 5 Each time the message was this:`Turn from the evil road you are traveling and from the evil things you are doing. Only then will I let you live in this land that the LORD gave to you and your ancestors forever. 6 Do not make me angry by worshiping the idols you have made. Then I will not harm you. '7" But you would not listen to me, "says the LORD." You made me furious by worshiping your idols, bringing on yourselves all the disasters you now suffer. 8 And now the LORD Almighty says:Because you have not listened to me, 9 I will gather together all the armies of the north under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whom I have appointed as my deputy. I will bring them all against this land and its people and against the other nations near you. I will completely destroy you and make you an object of horror and contempt and a ruin forever. 10 I will take away your happy singing and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard. Your businesses will fail, and all your homes will stand silent and dark. 11 This entire land will become a desolate wasteland. Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. 12 "Then, after the seventy years of captivity are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his people for their sins, says the LORD. I will make the country of the Babylonians an everlasting wasteland. 13 I will bring upon them all the terrors I have promised in this book-- all the penalties announced by Jeremiah against the nations. 14 Many nations and great kings will enslave the Babylonians, just as they enslaved my people. I will punish them in proportion to the suffering they cause my people." 15 Then the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me, "Take from my hand this cup filled to the brim with my anger, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it. 16 When they drink from it, they will stagger, crazed by the warfare I will send against them." 17 So I took the cup of anger from the LORD and made all the nations drink from it-- every nation the LORD sent me to. 18 I went to Jerusalem and the other towns of Judah, and their kings and officials drank from the cup. From that day until this, they have been a desolate ruin, an object of horror, contempt, and cursing. 19 I went to Egypt and spoke to Pharaoh, his officials, his princes, and his people. They, too, drank from that terrible cup, 20 along with all the foreigners living in that land. So did all the kings of the land of Uz and the kings of the Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what remains of Ashdod. 21 Then I went to the nations of Edom, Moab, and Ammon, 22 and the kings of Tyre and Sidon, and the kings of the regions across the sea. 23 I went to Dedan, Tema, and Buz, and to the people who live in distant places. 24 I went to the kings of Arabia, the kings of the nomadic tribes of the desert, 25 and to the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media. 26 And I went to the kings of the northern countries, far and near, one after the other-- all the kingdoms of the world. And finally, the king of Babylon himself drank from the cup of the LORD's anger. 27 Then the LORD said to me, "Now tell them, `The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says:Drink from this cup of my anger. Get drunk and vomit, and you will fall to rise no more, for I am sending terrible wars against you.' 28 And if they refuse to accept the cup, tell them, `The LORD Almighty says:You must drink from it. You cannot escape! 29 I have begun to punish Jerusalem, the city where my own name is honored. Now should I let you go unpunished? No, you will not escape disaster. I will call for war against all the nations of the earth. I, the LORD Almighty, have spoken! '30" Now prophesy all these things, and say to them, `The LORD will roar loudly against his own land from his holy dwelling in heaven. He will shout against everyone on the earth, like the harvesters do as they crush juice from the grapes. 31 His cry of judgment will reach the ends of the earth, for the LORD will bring his case against all the nations. He will judge all the people of the earth, slaughtering the wicked with his sword. The LORD has spoken!' "32 This is what the LORD Almighty says:" Look! Disaster will fall upon nation after nation! A great whirlwind of fury is rising from the most distant corners of the earth! "33 In that day those the LORD has slaughtered will fill the earth from one end to the other. No one will mourn for them or gather up their bodies to bury them. They will be scattered like dung on the ground. 34 Weep and moan, you evil shepherds! Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock! The time of your slaughter has arrived; you will fall and shatter like fragile pottery. 35 You will find no place to hide; there will be no way to escape. 36 Listen to the frantic cries of the shepherds, to the leaders of the flock shouting in despair, for the LORD is spoiling their pastures. 37 Peaceful meadows will be turned into a wasteland by the LORD's fierce anger. 38 He has left his den like a lion seeking its prey, and their land will be made desolate by the sword of the enemy and the LORD's fierce anger.


And now, brothers and sisters, *let us [Paul and his coworkers] tell you about the coming again of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered together to meet him. 2 Please don't be so easily shaken and troubled by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Even if they claim to have had a vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us, don't believe them. 3 Don't be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed-- the one who brings destruction. 4 He will exalt himself and defy every god there is and tear down every object of adoration and worship. He will position himself in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. 5 Don't you remember that I told you this when I was with you? 6 And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. 7 For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. 8 Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will consume with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9 This evil man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. 10 He will use every kind of wicked deception to fool those who are on their way to destruction because they refuse to believe the truth that would save them. 11 So God will send great deception upon them, and they will believe all these lies. 12 Then they will be condemned for not believing the truth and for enjoying the evil they do. 13 As for us, we always thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation, a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and by your belief in the truth. 14 He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on everything we taught you both in person and by letter. 16 May our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father, who loved us and in his special favor gave us everlasting comfort and good hope, 17 comfort your hearts and give you strength in every good thing you do and say.


For the choir director:A psalm of the descendants of Korah, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD Almighty.
2 I long, yes, I faint with longing
to enter the courts of the LORD.
With my whole being, body and soul,
I will shout joyfully to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home there,
and the swallow builds her nest
and raises her young--
at a place near your altar,
O LORD Almighty, my King and my God!
4 How happy are those who can live in your house,
always singing your praises.
Interlude5 Happy are those who are strong in the LORD,
who set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
6 When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,
it will become a place of refreshing springs,
where pools of blessing collect after the rains!
7 They will continue to grow stronger,
and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.
8 O LORD God Almighty, hear my prayer.
Listen, O God of Israel.
Interlude9 O God, look with favor upon the king, our protector!
Have mercy on the one you have anointed.
10 A single day in your courts
is better than a thousand anywhere else!
I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God
than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.
11 For the LORD God is our light and protector.
He gives us grace and glory.
No good thing will the LORD withhold
from those who do what is right.
12 O LORD Almighty,
happy are those who trust in you.


Patience can persuade a prince, and soft speech can crush strong opposition

Reading through the Word....Day 284, October 11

JEREMIAH 22:1- 23:20
2 THESSALONIANS 1:1- 12
PSALM 83:1- 18
PROVERBS 25:11- 14


Then the LORD said to me [Jeremiah], "Go over and speak directly to the king of Judah. Say to him, 2 `Listen to this message from the LORD, you king of Judah, sitting on David's throne. Let your officials and your people listen, too. 3 This is what the LORD says:Be fair- minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop murdering the innocent! 4 If you obey me, there will always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne here in Jerusalem. The king will ride through the palace gates in chariots and on horses, with his parade of officials and subjects. 5 But if you refuse to pay attention to this warning, I swear by my own name, says the LORD, that this palace will become a pile of rubble. '" 6 Now this is what the LORD says concerning the royal palace:"You are as beloved to me as fruitful Gilead and the green forests of Lebanon. But I will destroy you and leave you deserted, with no one living within your walls. 7 I will call for wreckers, who will bring out their tools to dismantle you. They will tear out all your fine cedar beams and throw them on the fire. 8 People from many nations will pass by the ruins of this city and say to one another, `Why did the LORD destroy such a great city?' 9 And the answer will be, `Because they violated their covenant with the LORD their God by worshiping other gods. '" 10 Do not weep for the dead king or mourn his loss. Instead, weep for the captive king being led away! For he will never return to see his native land again. 11 For this is what the LORD says about Jehoahaz, who succeeded his father, King Josiah, and was taken away as a captive:"He will never return. 12 He will die in a distant land and never again see his own country." 13 And the LORD says, "Destruction is certain for Jehoiakim, who builds his palace with forced labor. By not paying wages, he builds injustice into its walls and oppression into its doorframes and ceilings. 14 He says, `I will build a magnificent palace with huge rooms and many windows, paneled throughout with fragrant cedar and painted a lovely red.' 15" But a beautiful palace does not make a great king! Why did your father, Josiah, reign so long? Because he was just and right in all his dealings. That is why God blessed him. 16 He made sure that justice and help were given to the poor and needy, and everything went well for him. Isn't that what it means to know me? "asks the LORD. 17" But you! You are full of selfish greed and dishonesty! You murder the innocent, oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly. "18 Therefore, this is the LORD's decree of punishment against King Jehoiakim, who succeeded his father, Josiah, on the throne:" His family will not weep for him when he dies. His subjects will not even care that he is dead. 19 He will be buried like a dead donkey-- dragged out of Jerusalem and dumped outside the gate! 20 Weep, for your allies are all gone. Search for them in Lebanon. Shout for them at Bashan. Search for them in the regions east of the river. See, they are all destroyed. Not one is left to help you. 21 "When you were prosperous, I warned you, but you replied, `Don't bother me. 'Since childhood you have been that way-- you simply will not listen! 22 And now your allies have all disappeared with a puff of wind. All your friends have been taken away as captives. Surely at last you will see your wickedness and be ashamed. 23 It may be nice to live in a beautiful palace lined with lumber from the cedars of Lebanon, but soon you will cry and groan in anguish-- anguish like that of a woman about to give birth. 24" And as surely as I live, "says the LORD," I will abandon you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. Even if you were the signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off. 25 I will hand you over to those who seek to kill you, of whom you are so desperately afraid-- to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the mighty Babylonian army. 26 I will expel you and your mother from this land, and you will die in a foreign country. 27 You will never again return to the land of your desire. 28 "Why is this man Jehoiachin like a discarded, broken dish? Why are he and his children to be exiled to distant lands? 29 O earth, earth, earth! Listen to this message from the LORD! 30 This is what the LORD says:Let the record show that this man Jehoiachin was childless, for none of his children will ever sit on the throne of David to rule in Judah. His life will amount to nothing." 23:1 "I WILL send disaster upon the leaders of my people-- the shepherds of my sheep-- for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for," says the LORD. 2 This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to these shepherds:"Instead of leading my flock to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them. 3 But I will gather together the remnant of my flock from wherever I have driven them. I will bring them back into their own fold, and they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 Then I will appoint responsible shepherds to care for them, and they will never be afraid again. Not a single one of them will be lost or missing," says the LORD. 5 "For the time is coming," says the LORD, "when I will place a righteous Branch on King David's throne. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. 6 And this is his name:`The LORD Is Our Righteousness.' In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety. 7" In that day, "says the LORD," when people are taking an oath, they will no longer say, `As surely as the LORD lives, who rescued the people of Israel from the land of Egypt. '8 Instead, they will say, `As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the land of the north and from all the countries to which he had exiled them.' Then they will live in their own land. "9 My heart is broken because of the false prophets, and I tremble uncontrollably. I stagger like a drunkard, like someone overcome by wine, because of the holy words the LORD has spoken against them. 10 For the land is full of adultery, and it lies under a curse. The land itself is in mourning-- its pastures are dried up. For the prophets do evil and abuse their power. 11" The priests are like the prophets, all ungodly, wicked men. I have seen their despicable acts right here in my own Temple, "says the LORD. 12" Therefore, their paths will be dark and slippery. They will be chased down dark and treacherous trails, where they will fall. For I will bring disaster upon them when their time of punishment comes. I, the LORD, have spoken! 13 "I saw that the prophets of Samaria were terribly evil, for they prophesied by Baal and led my people of Israel into sin. 14 But now I see that the prophets of Jerusalem are even worse! They commit adultery, and they love dishonesty. They encourage those who are doing evil instead of turning them away from their sins. These prophets are as wicked as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah once were." 15 Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty says concerning the prophets:"I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink. For it is because of Jerusalem's prophets that wickedness fills this land. 16 This is my warning to my people," says the LORD Almighty. "Do not listen to these prophets when they prophesy to you, filling you with futile hopes. They are making up everything they say. They do not speak for the LORD! 17 They keep saying to these rebels who despise my word, `Don't worry! The LORD says you will have peace! 'And to those who stubbornly follow their own evil desires, they say, `No harm will come your way!' 18" But can you name even one of these prophets who knows the LORD well enough to hear what he is saying? Has even one of them cared enough to listen? 19 Look! The LORD's anger bursts out like a storm, a whirlwind that swirls down on the heads of the wicked. 20 The anger of the LORD will not diminish until it has finished all his plans. In the days to come, you will understand all this very clearly.


This letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy. It is written to the church in Thessalonica, you who belong to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. 3 Dear brothers and sisters, *we always thank God for you, as is right, for we are thankful that your faith is flourishing and you are all growing in love for each other. 4 We proudly tell God's other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering. 5 But God will use this persecution to show his justice. For he will make you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering, 6 and in his justice he will punish those who persecute you. 7 And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don't know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power 10 when he comes to receive glory and praise from his holy people. And you will be among those praising him on that day, for you believed what we testified about him. 11 And so we keep on praying for you, that our God will make you worthy of the life to which he called you. And we pray that God, by his power, will fulfill all your good intentions and faithful deeds. 12 Then everyone will give honor to the name of our Lord Jesus because of you, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the undeserved favor of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.


A psalm of Asaph. A song.
1 O God, don't sit idly by,
silent and inactive!
2 Don't you hear the tumult of your enemies?
Don't you see what your arrogant enemies are doing?
3 They devise crafty schemes against your people,
laying plans against your precious ones.
4 "Come," they say, "let us wipe out Israel as a nation.
We will destroy the very memory of its existence."
5 This was their unanimous decision.
They signed a treaty as allies against you--
6 these Edomites and Ishmaelites,
Moabites and Hagrites,
7 Gebalites, Ammonites, and Amalekites,
and people from Philistia and Tyre.
8 Assyria has joined them, too,
and is allied with the descendants of Lot.
Interlude9 Do to them as you did to the Midianites
or as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.
10 They were destroyed at Endor,
and their decaying corpses fertilized the soil.
11 Let their mighty nobles die as Oreb and Zeeb did.
Let all their princes die like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 for they said, "Let us seize for our own use
these pasturelands of God!"
13 O my God, blow them away like whirling dust,
like chaff before the wind!
14 As a fire roars through a forest
and as a flame sets mountains ablaze,
15 chase them with your fierce storms;
terrify them with your tempests.
16 Utterly disgrace them
until they submit to your name, O LORD.
17 Let them be ashamed and terrified forever.
Make them failures in everything they do,
18 until they learn that you alone are called the LORD,
that you alone are the Most High, supreme over all the earth.


Timely advice is as lovely as golden apples in a silver basket. Valid criticism is as treasured by the one who heeds it as jewelry made from finest gold. Faithful messengers are as refreshing as snow in the heat of summer. They revive the spirit of their employer. A person who doesn't give a promised gift is like clouds and wind that don't bring rain

Reading through the Word....Day 283, October 10

JEREMIAH 19:1- 21:14
1 THESSALONIANS 5:4- 28
PSALM 82:1- 8
PROVERBS 25:9- 10


The LORD said to me [Jeremiah], "Go and buy a clay jar. Then ask some of the leaders of the people and of the priests to follow you. 2 Go out into the valley of the son of Hinnom by the entrance to the Potsherd Gate, and repeat to them the words that I give you. 3 Say to them, `Listen to this message from the LORD, you kings of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem! This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says:I will bring such a terrible disaster on this place that the ears of those who hear about it will ring! 4" `For Israel has forsaken me and turned this valley into a place of wickedness. The people burn incense to foreign gods-- idols never before worshiped by this generation, by their ancestors, or by the kings of Judah. And they have filled this place with the blood of innocent children. 5 They have built pagan shrines to Baal, and there they burn their sons as sacrifices to Baal. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing! 6 So beware, for the time is coming, says the LORD, when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7 For I will upset the battle plans of Judah and Jerusalem and let invading armies slaughter them. The enemy will leave the dead bodies as food for the vultures and wild animals. 8 I will wipe Jerusalem from the face of the earth, making it a monument to their stupidity. All who pass by will be appalled and will gasp at the destruction they see there. 9 I will see to it that your enemies lay siege to the city until all the food is gone. Then those trapped inside will have to eat their own sons and daughters and friends. They will be driven to utter despair. '10 "As these men watch, Jeremiah, smash the jar you brought with you. 11 Then say to them, `This is what the LORD Almighty says:As this jar lies shattered, so I will shatter the people of Judah and Jerusalem beyond all hope of repair. They will bury the bodies in Topheth until there is no more room. 12 This is what I will do to this place and its people, says the LORD. I will cause this city to become defiled like Topheth. 13 Yes, all the houses in Jerusalem, including the palace of Judah's kings, will become like Topheth-- all the houses where you burned incense on the rooftops to your star gods, and where drink offerings were poured out to your idols.'" 14 Then Jeremiah returned from Topheth where he had delivered this message, and he stopped in front of the Temple of the LORD. He said to the people there, 15 "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says:I will bring disaster upon this city and its surrounding towns just as I promised, because you have stubbornly refused to listen to me." 20:1 NOW Pashhur son of Immer, the priest in charge of the Temple of the LORD, heard what Jeremiah was saying. 2 So he arrested Jeremiah the prophet and had him whipped and put in stocks at the Benjamin Gate of the LORD's Temple. 3 The next day, when Pashhur finally released him, Jeremiah said, "Pashhur, the LORD has changed your name. From now on you are to be called `The Man Who Lives in Terror. '4 For this is what the LORD says:I will send terror upon you and all your friends, and you will watch as they are slaughtered by the swords of the enemy. I will hand the people of Judah over to the king of Babylon. He will take them captive to Babylon or run them through with the sword. 5 And I will let your enemies plunder Jerusalem. All the famed treasures of the city-- the precious jewels and gold and silver of your kings-- will be carried off to Babylon. 6 As for you, Pashhur, you and all your household will go as captives to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you promised that everything would be all right." 7 O LORD, you persuaded me, and I allowed myself to be persuaded. You are stronger than I am, and you overpowered me. Now I am mocked by everyone in the city. 8 Whenever I speak, the words come out in a violent outburst. "Violence and destruction!" I shout. So these messages from the LORD have made me a household joke. 9 And I can't stop! If I say I'll never mention the LORD or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It's like a fire in my bones! I am weary of holding it in! 10 I have heard the many rumors about me. They call me "The Man Who Lives in Terror." And they say, "If you say anything, we will report it." Even my old friends are watching me, waiting for a fatal slip. "He will trap himself," they say, "and then we will get our revenge on him." 11 But the LORD stands beside me like a great warrior. Before him they will stumble. They cannot defeat me. They will be shamed and thoroughly humiliated. Their dishonor will never be forgotten. 12 O LORD Almighty! You know those who are righteous, 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. 13 Now I will sing out my thanks to the LORD! Praise the LORD! For though I was poor and needy, he delivered me from my oppressors. 14 Yet I curse the day I was born! May the day of my birth not be blessed. 15 I curse the messenger who told my father, "Good news-- you have a son!" 16 Let him be destroyed like the cities of old that the LORD overthrew without mercy. Terrify him all day long with battle shouts, 17 for he did not kill me at birth. Oh, that I had died in my mother's womb, that her body had been my grave! 18 Why was I ever born? My entire life has been filled with trouble, sorrow, and shame. 21:1 THE LORD spoke through Jeremiah when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur son of Malkijah and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, the priest, to speak with him. They begged Jeremiah, 2 "Please ask the LORD to help us. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has begun his attack on Judah. Perhaps the LORD will be gracious and do a mighty miracle as he has done in the past. Perhaps he will force Nebuchadnezzar to withdraw his armies." 3 Jeremiah replied, "Go back to King Zedekiah and tell him, 4 `This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:I will make your weapons useless against the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are attacking you. Yes, I will bring your enemies right into the heart of this city. 5 I myself will fight against you with great power, for I am very angry. You have made me furious! 6 I will send a terrible plague upon this city, and both people and animals will die. 7 And then, says the LORD, even after King Zedekiah, his officials, and everyone else in the city have survived war, famine, and disease, I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He will slaughter them all without mercy, pity, or compassion.' 8" Tell all the people, `This is what the LORD says:Take your choice of life or death! 9 Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who go out and surrender to the Babylonians will live. 10 For I have decided to bring disaster and not good upon this city, says the LORD. It will be captured by the king of Babylon, and he will reduce it to ashes. '11 "Say to the royal family of Judah, `Listen to this message from the LORD! 12 This is what the LORD says to the dynasty of David:Give justice to the people you judge! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Do what is right, or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire because of all your sins. 13 I will fight against this city of Jerusalem that boasts," We are safe on our mountain! No one can touch us here. "14 And I myself will punish you for your sinfulness, says the LORD. I will light a fire in your forests that will burn up everything around you.'"


But you aren't in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won't be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. 5 For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don't belong to darkness and night. 6 So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be sober. 7 Night is the time for sleep and the time when people get drunk. 8 But let us who live in the light think clearly, protected by the body armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation. 9 For God decided to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. 10 He died for us so that we can live with him forever, whether we are dead or alive at the time of his return. 11 So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. 12 Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord's work. They work hard among you and warn you against all that is wrong. 13 Think highly of them and give them your wholehearted love because of their work. And remember to live peaceably with each other. 14 Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. 15 See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to everyone else. 16 Always be joyful. 17 Keep on praying. 18 No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 19 Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. 20 Do not scoff at prophecies, 21 but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. 22 Keep away from every kind of evil. 23 Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until that day when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 24 God, who calls you, is faithful; he will do this. 25 Dear brothers and sisters, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brothers and sisters in Christian love. 27 I command you in the name of the Lord to read this letter to all the brothers and sisters. 28 And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.


A psalm of Asaph.
1 God presides over heaven's court;
he pronounces judgment on the judges:
2 "How long will you judges hand down unjust decisions?
How long will you shower special favors on the wicked?
Interlude3" Give fair judgment to the poor and the orphan;
uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.
4 Rescue the poor and helpless;
deliver them from the grasp of evil people.
5 But these oppressors know nothing;
they are so ignorant!
And because they are in darkness,
the whole world is shaken to the core.
6 I say, `You are gods
and children of the Most High.
7 But in death you are mere men.
You will fall as any prince,
for all must die. '"
8 Rise up, O God, and judge the earth,
for all the nations belong to you.


So discuss the matter with them [your neighbors] privately. Don't tell anyone else, or others may accuse you of gossip. Then you will never regain your good reputation

Reading through the Word....Day 282, October 9

JEREMIAH 16:16- 18:23
1 THESSALONIANS 4:1- 5:3
PSALM 81:1- 16
PROVERBS 25:6- 8


"But now I am sending for many fishermen who will catch them [the Israelites]," says the LORD. "I am sending for hunters who will search for them in the forests and caves. 17 I am watching them closely, and I see every sin. They cannot hope to hide from me. 18 I will punish them doubly for all their sins, because they have defiled my land with lifeless images of their detestable gods and filled my inheritance with their evil deeds." 19 LORD, you are my strength and fortress, my refuge in the day of trouble! Nations from around the world will come to you and say, "Our ancestors were foolish, for they worshiped worthless idols. 20 Can people make their own god? The gods they make are not real gods at all!" 21 "So now I will show them my power and might," says the LORD. "At last they will know that I am the LORD." 17:1 THE LORD says, "My people act as though their evil ways are laws to be obeyed, inscribed with a diamond point on their stony hearts, or with an iron chisel on the corners of their altars. 2 Even their children go to worship at their sacred altars and Asherah poles, beneath every green tree and on every high hill. 3 So I will give all your wealth and treasures-- together with your pagan shrines-- as plunder to your enemies, for sin runs rampant in your land. 4 The wonderful inheritance I have reserved for you will slip out of your hands, and I will send you away as captives to a foreign land. For you have kindled my anger into a roaring fire that will burn forever." 5 This is what the LORD says:"Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans and turn their hearts away from the LORD. 6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, on the salty flats where no one lives. 7" But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. 8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit. 9 "The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? 10 But I know! I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve." 11 Like a bird that hatches eggs she has not laid, so are those who get their wealth by unjust means. Sooner or later they will lose their riches and, at the end of their lives, will become poor old fools. 12 But we worship at your throne-- eternal, high, and glorious! 13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who turn away from you will be disgraced and shamed. They will be buried in a dry and dusty grave, for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water. 14 O LORD, you alone can heal me; you alone can save. My praises are for you alone! 15 People scoff at me and say, "What is this `message from the LORD 'you keep talking about? Why don't your predictions come true?" 16 LORD, I have not abandoned my job as a shepherd for your people. I have not urged you to send disaster. It is your message I have given them, not my own. 17 LORD, do not desert me now! You alone are my hope in the day of disaster. 18 Bring shame and terror on all who persecute me, but give me peace. Yes, bring double destruction upon them! 19 Then the LORD said to me, "Go and stand in the gates of Jerusalem, first at the gate where the king goes out, and then at each of the other gates. 20 Say to all the people, `Listen to this message from the LORD, you kings of Judah and all you people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem. 21 This is what the LORD says:Listen to my warning and live! Stop carrying on your trade at Jerusalem's gates on the Sabbath day. 22 Do not do your work on the Sabbath, but make it a holy day. I gave this command to your ancestors, 23 but they did not listen or obey. They stubbornly refused to pay attention and would not respond to discipline. 24" `But if you obey me, says the LORD, and do not carry on your trade or work on the Sabbath day, and if you keep it holy, 25 then this nation will continue forever. There will always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne here in Jerusalem. Kings and their officials will always ride among the people of Judah in chariots and on horses, and this city will remain forever. 26 And from all around Jerusalem, from the towns of Judah and Benjamin, from the western foothills and the hill country and the Negev, the people will come with their burnt offerings and sacrifices. They will bring their grain offerings, incense, and thanksgiving offerings to the LORD's Temple. 27 "`But if you do not listen to me and refuse to keep the Sabbath holy, and if on the Sabbath day you bring loads of merchandise through the gates of Jerusalem just as on other days, then I will set fire to these gates. The fire will spread to the palaces, and no one will be able to put out the roaring flames.'" 18:1 THE LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 "Go down to the shop where clay pots and jars are made. I will speak to you while you are there." 3 So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. 4 But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so the potter squashed the jar into a lump of clay and started again. 5 Then the LORD gave me this message:6 "O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand. 7 If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, 8 but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. 9 And if I announce that I will build up and plant a certain nation or kingdom, making it strong and great, 10 but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless that nation as I had said I would. 11" Therefore, Jeremiah, go and warn all Judah and Jerusalem. Say to them, `This is what the LORD says:I am planning disaster against you instead of good. So turn from your evil ways, each of you, and do what is right. '"12 But they replied," Don't waste your breath. We will continue to live as we want to, following our own evil desires. "13 Then the LORD said," Has anyone ever heard of such a thing, even among the pagan nations? My virgin Israel has done something too terrible to understand! 14 Does the snow ever melt high up in the mountains of Lebanon? Do the cold, flowing streams from the crags of Mount Hermon ever run dry? 15 These can be counted on, but not my people! For they have deserted me and turned to worthless idols. They have stumbled off the ancient highways of good, and they walk the muddy paths of sin. 16 Therefore, their land will become desolate, a monument to their stupidity. All who pass by will be astonished and shake their heads in amazement at its utter desolation. 17 I will scatter my people before their enemies as the east wind scatters dust. And in all their trouble I will turn my back on them and refuse to notice their distress. "18 Then the people said," Come on, let's find a way to stop Jeremiah. We have our own priests and wise men and prophets. We don't need him to teach the law and give us advice and prophecies. Let's spread rumors about him and ignore what he says. "19 LORD, help me! Listen to what they are planning to do to me! 20 Should they repay evil for good? They have set a trap to kill me, though I pleaded for them and tried to protect them from your anger. 21 So let their children starve! Let the sword pour out their blood! Let their wives become widows without any children! Let their old men die in a plague, and let their young men be killed in battle! 22 Let screaming be heard from their homes as warriors come suddenly upon them. For they have dug a pit for me, and they have hidden traps along my path. 23 LORD, you know all about their murderous plots against me. Don't forgive their crimes and blot out their sins. Let them die before you. Deal with them in your anger.


Finally, dear brothers and sisters, *we [Paul and his coworkers] urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You are doing this already, and we encourage you to do so more and more. 2 For you remember what we taught you in the name of the Lord Jesus. 3 God wants you to be holy, so you should keep clear of all sexual sin. 4 Then each of you will control your body and live in holiness and honor-- 5 not in lustful passion as the pagans do, in their ignorance of God and his ways. 6 Never cheat a Christian brother in this matter by taking his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. 7 God has called us to be holy, not to live impure lives. 8 Anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human rules but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. 9 But I don't need to write to you about the Christian love *that should be shown among God's people. For God himself has taught you to love one another. 10 Indeed, your love is already strong toward all the Christians in all of Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we beg you to love them more and more. 11 This should be your ambition:to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we commanded you before. 12 As a result, people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others to meet your financial needs. 13 And now, brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus comes, God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died. 15 I can tell you this directly from the Lord:We who are still living when the Lord returns will not rise to meet him ahead of those who are in their graves. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever. 18 So comfort and encourage each other with these words. 5:1 I REALLY don't need to write to you about how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters. *2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. 3 When people are saying," All is well; everything is peaceful and secure, "then disaster will fall upon them as suddenly as a woman's birth pains begin when her child is about to be born. And there will be no escape.


For the choir director:A psalm of Asaph, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.
1 Sing praises to God, our strength.
Sing to the God of Israel.
2 Sing! Beat the tambourine.
Play the sweet lyre and the harp.
3 Sound the trumpet for a sacred feast
when the moon is new,
when the moon is full.
4 For this is required by the laws of Israel;
it is a law of the God of Jacob.
5 He made it a decree for Israel
when he attacked Egypt to set us free.
I heard an unknown voice that said,
6" Now I will relieve your shoulder of its burden;
I will free your hands from their heavy tasks.
7 You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you;
I answered out of the thundercloud.
I tested your faith at Meribah,
when you complained that there was no water.
Interlude8 "Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings.
O Israel, if you would only listen!
9 You must never have a foreign god;
you must not bow down before a false god.
10 For it was I, the LORD your God,
who rescued you from the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.
11" But no, my people wouldn't listen.
Israel did not want me around.
12 So I let them follow their blind and stubborn way,
living according to their own desires.
13 But oh, that my people would listen to me!
Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths!
14 How quickly I would then subdue their enemies!
How soon my hands would be upon their foes!
15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him;
their desolation would last forever.
16 But I would feed you with the best of foods.
I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock. "


Don't demand an audience with the king or push for a place among the great. It is better to wait for an invitation than to be sent to the end of the line, publicly disgraced! Just because you see something, don't be in a hurry to go to court. You might go down before your neighbors in shameful defeat