September 20 Reading through the Bible

 

ISAIAH 33:10-36:22

GALATIANS 5:13-26

PSALM 64:1-10

PROVERBS 23:23

ISAIAH 33:10-36:22

But the LORD says: " I will stand up and show my power and might. 11 You Assyrians will gain nothing by all your efforts. Your own breath will turn to fire and kill you. 12 Your people will be burned up completely, like thorns cut down and tossed in a fire. 13 Listen to what I have done, you nations far away! And you that are near, acknowledge my might!" 14 The sinners in Jerusalem shake with fear. " Which one of us," they cry, " can live here in the presence of this all-consuming fire?" 15 The ones who can live here are those who are honest and fair, who reject making a profit by fraud, who stay far away from bribes, who refuse to listen to those who plot murder, who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong. 16 These are the ones who will dwell on high. The rocks of the mountains will be their fortress of safety. Food will be supplied to them, and they will have water in abundance. 17 Your eyes will see the king in all his splendor, and you will see a land that stretches into the distance. 18 You will think back to this time of terror when the Assyrian officers outside your walls counted your towers and estimated how much plunder they would get from your fallen city. 19 But soon they will all be gone. These fierce, violent people with a strange, unknown language will disappear.20 Instead, you will see Zion as a place of worship and celebration. You will see Jerusalem, a city quiet and secure. 21 The LORD will be our Mighty One. He will be like a wide river of protection that no enemy can cross. 22 For the LORD is our judge, our lawgiver, and our king. He will care for us and save us. 23 The enemies' sails hang loose on broken masts with useless tackle. Their treasure will be divided by the people of God. Even the lame will win their share! 24 The people of Israel will no longer say, " We are sick and helpless," for the LORD will forgive their sins. 34:1 COME here and listen, O nations of the earth. Let the world and everything in it hear my words. 2 For the LORD is enraged against the nations. His fury is against all their armies. He will completely destroy them, bringing about their slaughter. 3 Their dead will be left unburied, and the stench of rotting bodies will fill the land. The mountains will flow with their blood. 4 The heavens above will melt away and disappear like a rolled-up scroll. The stars will fall from the sky, just as withered leaves and fruit fall from a tree. 5 And when my sword has finished its work in the heavens, then watch. It will fall upon Edom, the nation I have completely destroyed. 6 The sword of the LORD is drenched with blood. It is covered with fat as though it had been used for killing lambs and goats and rams for a sacrifice. Yes, the LORD will offer a great sacrifice in the rich city of Bozrah. He will make a mighty slaughter in Edom. 7 The strongest will die--veterans and young men, too. The land will be soaked with blood and the soil enriched with fat. 8 For it is the day of the LORD's vengeance, the year when Edom will be paid back for all it did to Israel. 9 The streams of Edom will be filled with burning pitch, and the ground will be covered with fire.10 This judgment on Edom will never end; the smoke of its burning will rise forever. The land will lie deserted from generation to generation. No one will live there anymore. 11 It will be haunted by the horned owl, the hawk, the screech owl, and the raven. For God will bring chaos and destruction to that land. 12 It will be called the Land of Nothing, and its princes soon will all be gone. 13 Thorns will overrun its palaces; nettles will grow in its forts. The ruins will become a haunt for jackals and a home for ostriches. 14 Wild animals of the desert will mingle there with hyenas, their howls filling the night. Wild goats will bleat at one another among the ruins, and night creatures will come there to rest. 15 There the owl will make her nest and lay her eggs. She will hatch her young and cover them with her wings. And the vultures will come, each one with its mate. 16 Search the book of the LORD, and see what he will do. He will not miss a single detail. Not one of these birds and animals will be missing, and none will lack a mate, for the LORD has promised this. His Spirit will make it all come true. 17 He has surveyed and divided the land and deeded it over to those creatures. They will possess it forever, from generation to generation. 35:1 EVEN the wilderness will rejoice in those days. The desert will blossom with flowers. 2 Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel's pastures and the plain of Sharon. There the LORD will display his glory, the splendor of our God. 3 With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. 4 Say to those who are afraid, " Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you." 5 And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unstop the ears of the deaf. 6 The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will shout and sing! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the desert. 7 The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.8 And a main road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-hearted people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God's ways; fools will never walk there. 9 Lions will not lurk along its course, and there will be no other dangers. Only the redeemed will follow it. 10 Those who have been ransomed by the LORD will return to Jerusalem, singing songs of everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be overcome with joy and gladness. 36:1 IN the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria came to attack the fortified cities of Judah and conquered them. 2 Then the king of Assyria sent his personal representative with a huge army from Lachish to confront King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. The Assyrians stopped beside the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is bleached. 3 These are the officials who went out to meet with them: Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian. 4 Then the Assyrian king's personal representative sent this message to King Hezekiah: " This is what the great king of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you so confident? 5 Do you think that mere words can substitute for military skill and strength? Which of your allies will give you any military backing against Assyria? 6 Will Egypt? If you lean on Egypt, you will find it to be a stick that breaks beneath your weight and pierces your hand. The Pharaoh of Egypt is completely unreliable! 7 " But perhaps you will say, ` We are trusting in the LORD our God!' But isn't he the one who was insulted by King Hezekiah? Didn't Hezekiah tear down his shrines and altars and make everyone in Judah worship only at the altar here in Jerusalem? 8 " I'll tell you what! My master, the king of Assyria, will strike a bargain with you. If you can find two thousand horsemen in your entire army, he will give you two thousand horses for them to ride on! 9 With your tiny army, how can you think of challenging even the weakest contingent of my master's troops, even with the help of Egypt's chariots and horsemen? 10 What's more, do you think we have invaded your land without the LORD's direction? The LORD himself told us, ` Go and destroy it!' "11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the king's representative, " Please speak to us in Aramaic, for we understand it well. Don't speak in Hebrew, for the people on the wall will hear." 12 But Sennacherib's representative replied, " My master wants everyone in Jerusalem to hear this, not just you. He wants them to know that if you do not surrender, this city will be put under siege. The people will become so hungry and thirsty that they will eat their own dung and drink their own urine." 13 Then he stood and shouted in Hebrew to the people on the wall, " Listen to this message from the great king of Assyria! 14 This is what the king says: Don't let King Hezekiah deceive you. He will never be able to rescue you. 15 Don't let him fool you into trusting in the LORD by saying, ` The LORD will rescue us! This city will never be handed over to the Assyrian king.' 16 " Don't listen to Hezekiah! These are the terms the king of Assyria is offering: Make peace with me--open the gates and come out. Then I will allow each of you to continue eating from your own garden and drinking from your own well. 17 Then I will arrange to take you to another land like this one--a country with bountiful harvests of grain and wine, bread and vineyards--a land of plenty.18 " Don't let Hezekiah mislead you by saying, ` The LORD will rescue us!' Have the gods of any other nations ever saved their people from the king of Assyria? 19 What happened to the gods of Hamath and Arpad? And what about the gods of Sepharvaim? Did they rescue Samaria from my power? 20 What god of any nation has ever been able to save its people from my power? Name just one! So what makes you think that the LORD can rescue Jerusalem?" 21 But the people were silent and did not answer because Hezekiah had told them not to speak. 22 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian, went back to Hezekiah. They tore their clothes in despair, and they went in to see the king and told him what the Assyrian representative had said.

GALATIANS 5:13-26

For you have been called to live in freedom--not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love. 14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: " Love your neighbor as yourself." 15 But if instead of showing love among yourselves you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another. 16 So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. 18 But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law. 19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, 20 idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 22 But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or irritate one another, or be jealous of one another.

PSALM 64:1-10

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

1 O God, listen to my complaint.

Do not let my enemies' threats overwhelm me.

2 Protect me from the plots of the wicked,

from the scheming of those who do evil.

3 Sharp tongues are the swords they wield;

bitter words are the arrows they aim.

4 They shoot from ambush at the innocent,

attacking suddenly and fearlessly.

5 They encourage each other to do evil

and plan how to set their traps.

" Who will ever notice?" they ask.

6 As they plot their crimes, they say,

" We have devised the perfect plan!"

Yes, the human heart and mind are cunning.

7 But God himself will shoot them down.

Suddenly, his arrows will pierce them.

8 Their own words will be turned against them, destroying them.

All who see it happening will shake their heads in scorn.

9 Then everyone will stand in awe,

proclaiming the mighty acts of God,

realizing all the amazing things he does.

10 The godly will rejoice in the LORD

and find shelter in him.

And those who do what is right

will praise him.

PROVERBS 23:23

Get the truth and don't ever sell it; also get wisdom, discipline, and discernment. 

September 19 Reading through the Bible

  

ISAIAH 30:12-33:9

GALATIANS 5:1-12

PSALM 63:1-11

PROVERBS 23:22

ISAIAH 30:12-33:9

This is the reply of the Holy One of Israel: " Because you [Israel] despise what I tell you and trust instead in oppression and lies, 13 calamity will come upon you suddenly. It will be like a bulging wall that bursts and falls. In an instant it will collapse and come crashing down. 14 You will be smashed like a piece of pottery--shattered so completely that there won't be a piece left that is big enough to carry coals from a fireplace or a little water from the well." 15 The Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says, " Only in returning to me and waiting for me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it. 16 You said, ` No, we will get our help from Egypt. They will give us swift horses for riding into battle.' But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you! 17 One of them will chase a thousand of you. Five of them will make all of you flee. You will be left like a lonely flagpole on a distant mountaintop." 18 But the LORD still waits for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the LORD is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for him to help them. 19 O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will be gracious if you ask for help. He will respond instantly to the sound of your cries. 20 Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and affliction for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes, 21 and you will hear a voice say, " This is the way; turn around and walk here." 22 Then you will destroy all your silver idols and gold images. You will throw them out like filthy rags. " Ugh!" you will say to them. " Begone!"23 Then the LORD will bless you with rain at planting time. There will be wonderful harvests and plenty of pastureland for your cattle. 24 The oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat good grain, its chaff having been blown away by the wind. 25 In that day, when your enemies are slaughtered, there will be streams of water flowing down every mountain and hill. 26 The moon will be as bright as the sun, and the sun will be seven times brighter--like the light of seven days! So it will be when the LORD begins to heal his people and cure the wounds he gave them. 27 Look! The LORD is coming from far away, burning with anger, surrounded by a thick, rising smoke. His lips are filled with fury; his words consume like fire. 28 His anger pours out like a flood on his enemies, sweeping them all away. He will sift out the proud nations. He will bridle them and lead them off to their destruction. 29 But the people of God will sing a song of joy, like the songs at the holy festivals. You will be filled with joy, as when a flutist leads a group of pilgrims to Jerusalem--the mountain of the LORD--to the Rock of Israel. 30 And the LORD will make his majestic voice heard. With angry indignation he will bring down his mighty arm on his enemies. It will descend with devouring flames, with cloudbursts, thunderstorms, and huge hailstones, bringing their destruction. 31 At the LORD's command, the Assyrians will be shattered. He will strike them down with his rod. 32 And as the LORD strikes them, his people will keep time with the music of tambourines and harps. 33 Topheth--the place of burning--has long been ready for the Assyrian king; it has been piled high with wood. The breath of the LORD, like fire from a volcano, will set it ablaze.31:1 DESTRUCTION is certain for those who look to Egypt for help, trusting their cavalry and chariots instead of looking to the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. 2 In his wisdom, the LORD will send great disaster; he will not change his mind. He will rise against those who are wicked, and he will crush their allies, too. 3 For these Egyptians are mere humans, not God! Their horses are puny flesh, not mighty spirits! When the LORD clenches his fist against them, they will stumble and fall among those they are trying to help. They will all fall down and die together. 4 But the LORD has told me this: " When a lion, even a young one, kills a sheep, it pays no attention to the shepherd's shouts and noise. It just goes right on eating. In the same way, the LORD Almighty will come and fight on Mount Zion. He will not be frightened away! 5 The LORD Almighty will hover over Jerusalem as a bird hovers around its nest. He will defend and save the city; he will pass over it and rescue it." 6 Therefore, my people, though you are such wicked rebels, come and return to the LORD. 7 I know the glorious day will come when every one of you will throw away the gold idols and silver images that your sinful hands have made. 8 " The Assyrians will be destroyed, but not by the swords of men. The sword of God will strike them, and they will panic and flee. The strong young Assyrians will be taken away as captives. 9 Even their generals will quake with terror and flee when they see the battle flags," says the LORD, whose flame burns brightly in Jerusalem.32:1 LOOK, a righteous king is coming! And honest princes will rule under him. 2 He will shelter Israel from the storm and the wind. He will refresh her as a river in the desert and as the cool shadow of a large rock in a hot and weary land. 3 Then everyone who can see will be looking for God, and those who can hear will listen to his voice. 4 Even the hotheads among them will be full of sense and understanding. Those who stammer in uncertainty will speak out plainly. 5 In that day ungodly fools will not be heroes. Wealthy cheaters will not be respected as outstanding citizens. 6 Everyone will recognize ungodly fools for what they are. They spread lies about the LORD; they deprive the hungry of food and give no water to the thirsty. 7 The smooth tricks of evil people will be exposed, including all the lies they use to oppress the poor in the courts. 8 But good people will be generous to others and will be blessed for all they do. 9 Listen, you women who lie around in lazy ease. Listen to me, and I will tell you of your reward. 10 In a short time--in just a little more than a year--you careless ones will suddenly begin to care. For your fruit crop will fail, and the harvest will never take place. 11 Tremble, you women of ease; throw off your unconcern. Strip off your pretty clothes, and wear sackcloth in your grief. 12 Beat your breasts in sorrow for your bountiful farms that will soon be gone, and for those fruitful vines of other years. 13 For your land will be overgrown with thorns and briers. Your joyful homes and happy cities will be gone. 14 The palace and the city will be deserted, and busy towns will be empty. Herds of donkeys and goats will graze on the hills where the watchtowers are, 15 until at last the Spirit is poured down upon us from heaven. Then the wilderness will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will become a lush and fertile forest. 16 Justice will rule in the wilderness and righteousness in the fertile field. 17 And this righteousness will bring peace. Quietness and confidence will fill the land forever. 18 My people will live in safety, quietly at home. They will be at rest. 19 Even though the forest will be destroyed and the city torn down, 20 God will greatly bless his people. Wherever they plant seed, bountiful crops will spring up. Their flocks and herds will graze in green pastures.33:1 DESTRUCTION is certain for you Assyrians, who have destroyed everything around you but have never felt destruction yourselves. You expect others to respect their promises to you, while you betray your promises to them. Now you, too, will be betrayed and destroyed! 2 But LORD, be merciful to us, for we have waited for you. Be our strength each day and our salvation in times of trouble. 3 The enemy runs at the sound of your voice. When you stand up, the nations flee! 4 Just as locusts strip the fields and vines, so Jerusalem will strip the fallen army of Assyria! 5 Though the LORD is very great and lives in heaven, he will make Jerusalem his home of justice and righteousness. 6 In that day he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.7 But now your ambassadors weep in bitter disappointment, for Assyria has refused their petition for peace. 8 Your roads are deserted; no one travels them anymore. The Assyrians have broken their peace pact and care nothing for the promises they made before witnesses. They have no respect for anyone. 9 All the land of Israel is in trouble. Lebanon has been destroyed. The plain of Sharon is now a wilderness. Bashan and Carmel have been plundered.

GALATIANS 5:1-12

So Christ has really set us free. Now make sure that you [Galatians] stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law. 2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ cannot help you. 3 I'll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey all of the regulations in the whole law of Moses. 4 For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace. 5 But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive everything promised to us who are right with God through faith. 6 For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, it makes no difference to God whether we are circumcised or not circumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love. 7 You were getting along so well. Who has interfered with you to hold you back from following the truth? 8 It certainly isn't God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. 9 But it takes only one wrong person among you to infect all the others--a little yeast spreads quickly through the whole batch of dough! 10 I am trusting the Lord to bring you back to believing as I do about these things. God will judge that person, whoever it is, who has been troubling and confusing you.11 Dear brothers and sisters,* if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised--as some say I do--why would the Jews persecute me? The fact that I am still being persecuted proves that I am still preaching salvation through the cross of Christ alone. 12 I only wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves.

PSALM 63:1-11

A psalm of David, regarding a time when David was in the wilderness of Judah.

1 O God, you are my God;

I earnestly search for you.

My soul thirsts for you;

my whole body longs for you

in this parched and weary land

where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in your sanctuary

and gazed upon your power and glory.

3 Your unfailing love is better to me than life itself;

how I praise you!

4 I will honor you as long as I live,

lifting up my hands to you in prayer.

5 You satisfy me more than the richest of foods.

I will praise you with songs of joy.

6 I lie awake thinking of you,

meditating on you through the night.

7 I think how much you have helped me;

I sing for joy in the shadow of your protecting wings.

8 I follow close behind you;

your strong right hand holds me securely.

9 But those plotting to destroy me will come to ruin.

They will go down into the depths of the earth.

10 They will die by the sword

and become the food of jackals.

11 But the king will rejoice in God.

All who trust in him will praise him,

while liars will be silenced.

PROVERBS 23:22

Listen to your father, who gave you life, and don't despise your mother's experience when she is old.

September 18 Reading through the Bible

  

ISAIAH 28:14-30:11

GALATIANS 3:23-4:31

PSALM 62:1-12

PROVERBS 23:19-21

ISAIAH 28:14-30:11

Therefore, listen to this message from the LORD, you scoffing rulers in Jerusalem. 15 You boast that you have struck a bargain to avoid death and have made a deal to dodge the grave. You say, " The Assyrians can never touch us, for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception." 16 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: " Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem. It is firm, a tested and precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never run away again. 17 " I will take the measuring line of justice and the plumb line of righteousness to check the foundation wall you have built. Your refuge looks strong, but since it is made of lies, a hailstorm will knock it down. Since it is made of deception, the enemy will come like a flood to sweep it away. 18 I will cancel the bargain you made to avoid death, and I will overturn your deal to dodge the grave. When the terrible enemy floods in, you will be trampled into the ground. 19 Again and again that flood will come, morning after morning, day and night, until you are carried away." This message will bring terror to your people. 20 For you have no place of refuge--the bed you have made is too short to lie on. The blankets are too narrow to cover you. 21 The LORD will come suddenly and in anger, as he did against the Philistines at Mount Perazim and against the Amorites at Gibeon. He will come to do a strange, unusual thing: He will destroy his own people! 22 So scoff no more, or your punishment will be even greater. For the Lord, the LORD Almighty, has plainly told me that he is determined to crush you.23 Listen to me; listen as I plead! 24 Does a farmer always plow and never sow? Is he forever cultivating the soil and never planting it? 25 Does he not finally plant his seeds for dill, cumin, wheat, barley, and spelt, each in its own section of his land? 26 The farmer knows just what to do, for God has given him understanding. 27 He doesn't thresh all his crops the same way. A heavy sledge is never used on dill; rather, it is beaten with a light stick. A threshing wheel is never rolled on cumin; instead, it is beaten softly with a flail. 28 Bread grain is easily crushed, so he doesn't keep on pounding it. He threshes it under the wheels of a cart, but he doesn't pulverize it. 29 The LORD Almighty is a wonderful teacher, and he gives the farmer great wisdom. 29:1 " DESTRUCTION is certain for Ariel, the City of David. Year after year you offer your many sacrifices. 2 Yet I will bring disaster upon you, and there will be much weeping and sorrow. For Jerusalem will become as her name Ariel means--an altar covered with blood. 3 I will be your enemy, surrounding Jerusalem and attacking its walls. I will build siege towers around it and will destroy it. 4 Your voice will whisper like a ghost from the earth where you will lie buried. 5 " But suddenly, your ruthless enemies will be driven away like chaff before the wind. 6 In an instant, I, the LORD Almighty, will come against them with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and storm and consuming fire. 7 All the nations fighting against Jerusalem will vanish like a dream! Those who are attacking her walls will vanish like a vision in the night. 8 A hungry person dreams of eating but is still hungry. A thirsty person dreams of drinking but is still faint from thirst when morning comes. In the same way, your enemies will dream of a victorious conquest over Jerusalem, but all to no avail."9 Are you amazed and incredulous? Do you not believe it? Then go ahead and be blind if you must. You are stupid, but not from wine! You stagger, but not from beer! 10 For the LORD has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has closed the eyes of your prophets and visionaries. 11 All these future events are a sealed book to them. When you give it to those who can read, they will say, " We can't read it because it is sealed." 12 When you give it to those who cannot read, they will say, " Sorry, we don't know how to read." 13 And so the Lord says, " These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away. And their worship of me amounts to nothing more than human laws learned by rote. 14 Because of this, I will do wonders among these hypocrites. I will show that human wisdom is foolish and even the most brilliant people lack understanding." 15 Destruction is certain for those who try to hide their plans from the LORD, who try to keep him in the dark concerning what they do! " The LORD can't see us," you say to yourselves. " He doesn't know what is going on!" 16 How stupid can you be? He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you. You are only the jars he makes! Should the thing that was created say to the one who made it, " He didn't make us"? Does a jar ever say, " The potter who made me is stupid"? 17 Soon--and it will not be very long--the wilderness of Lebanon will be a fertile field once again. And the fertile fields will become a lush and fertile forest. 18 In that day deaf people will hear words read from a book, and blind people will see through the gloom and darkness. 19 The humble will be filled with fresh joy from the LORD. Those who are poor will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. 20 Those who intimidate and harass will be gone, and all those who plot evil will be killed. 21 Those who make the innocent guilty by their false testimony will disappear. And those who use trickery to pervert justice and tell lies to tear down the innocent will be no more.22 That is why the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, says to the people of Israel, " My people will no longer pale with fear or be ashamed. 23 For when they see their many children and material blessings, they will recognize the holiness of the Holy One of Israel. They will stand in awe of the God of Israel. 24 Those in error will then believe the truth, and those who constantly complain will accept instruction. 30:1 " DESTRUCTION is certain for my rebellious children," says the LORD. " You make plans that are contrary to my will. You weave a web of plans that are not from my Spirit, thus piling up your sins. 2 For without consulting me, you have gone down to Egypt to find help. You have put your trust in Pharaoh for his protection. 3 But in trusting Pharaoh, you will be humiliated and disgraced. 4 For though his power extends to Zoan and Hanes, 5 it will all turn out to your shame. He will not help you even one little bit." 6 Look at the animals moving slowly across the terrible desert to Egypt--donkeys and camels loaded with treasure to pay for Egypt's aid. On through the wilderness they go, where lions and poisonous snakes live. All this, and Egypt will give you nothing in return. 7 Egypt's promises are worthless! I call her the Harmless Dragon.8 Now go and write down these words concerning Egypt. They will then stand until the end of time as a witness to Israel's unbelief. 9 For these people are stubborn rebels who refuse to pay any attention to the LORD's instructions. 10 They tell the prophets, " Shut up! We don't want any more of your reports." They say, " Don't tell us the truth. Tell us nice things. Tell us lies. 11 Forget all this gloom. We have heard more than enough about your ` Holy One of Israel.' We are tired of listening to what he has to say."

GALATIANS 3:23-4:31

Until faith in Christ was shown to us as the way of becoming right with God, we were guarded by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until we could put our faith in the coming Savior. 24 Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian and teacher to lead us until Christ came. So now, through faith in Christ, we are made right with God. 25 But now that faith in Christ has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. 26 So you are all children* of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have been made like him. 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians--you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and now all the promises God gave to him belong to you.4:1 THINK of it this way. If a father dies and leaves great wealth for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. 2 They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. 3 And that's the way it was with us before Christ came. We were slaves to the spiritual powers of this world. 4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.* 6 And because you Gentiles have become his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, and now you can call God your dear Father. 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God's own child.* And since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you. 8 Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. 9 And now that you have found God (or should I say, now that God has found you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual powers of this world? 10 You are trying to find favor with God by what you do or don't do on certain days or months or seasons or years. 11 I fear for you. I am afraid that all my hard work for you was worth nothing. 12 Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles were--free from the law. You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you. 13 Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News of Christ. 14 But even though my sickness was revolting to you, you did not reject me and turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself. 15 Where is that joyful spirit we felt together then? In those days, I know you would gladly have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible. 16 Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth? 17 Those false teachers who are so anxious to win your favor are not doing it for your good. They are trying to shut you off from me so that you will pay more attention to them. 18 Now it's wonderful if you are eager to do good, and especially when I am not with you. 19 But oh, my dear children! I feel as if I am going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives. 20 How I wish I were there with you right now, so that I could be more gentle with you. But at this distance I frankly don't know what else to do. 21 Listen to me, you who want to live under the law. Do you know what the law really says? 22 The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave-wife and one from his freeborn wife. 23 The son of the slave-wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God's promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God's own fulfillment of his promise.24 Now these two women serve as an illustration of God's two covenants. Hagar, the slave-wife, represents Mount Sinai where people first became enslaved to the law. 25 And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery. 26 But Sarah, the free woman, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. And she is our mother. 27 That is what Isaiah meant when he prophesied, " Rejoice, O childless woman!

Break forth into loud and joyful song,

even though you never gave birth to a child.

For the woman who could bear no children

now has more than all the other women!"

28 And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac. 29 And we who are born of the Holy Spirit are persecuted by those who want us to keep the law, just as Isaac, the child of promise, was persecuted by Ishmael, the son of the slave-wife. 30 But what do the Scriptures say about that? " Get rid of the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the family inheritance with the free woman's son." 31 So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, obligated to the law. We are children of the free woman, acceptable to God because of our faith.

PSALM 62:1-12

For Jeduthun, the choir director: A psalm of David.

1 I wait quietly before God,

for my salvation comes from him.

2 He alone is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress where I will never be shaken.

3 So many enemies against one man--

all of them trying to kill me.

To them I'm just a broken-down wall

or a tottering fence.

4 They plan to topple me from my high position.

They delight in telling lies about me.

They are friendly to my face,

but they curse me in their hearts.

Interlude5 I wait quietly before God,

for my hope is in him.

6 He alone is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress where I will not be shaken.

7 My salvation and my honor come from God alone.

He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.

8 O my people, trust in him at all times.

Pour out your heart to him,

for God is our refuge.

Interlude9 From the greatest to the lowliest--

all are nothing in his sight.

If you weigh them on the scales,

they are lighter than a puff of air.

10 Don't try to get rich

by extortion or robbery.

And if your wealth increases,

don't make it the center of your life.

11 God has spoken plainly,

and I have heard it many times:

Power, O God, belongs to you;

12 unfailing love, O Lord, is yours.

Surely you judge all people

according to what they have done.

PROVERBS 23:19-21

My child, listen and be wise. Keep your heart on the right course. Do not carouse with drunkards and gluttons, for they are on their way to poverty. Too much sleep clothes a person with rags.

September 17 Reading through the Bible

 

 ISAIAH 25:1-28:13

GALATIANS 3:10-22

PSALM 61:1-8

PROVERBS 23:17-18

ISAIAH 25:1-28:13

O LORD, I [Isaiah] will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them. 2 You turn mighty cities into heaps of ruins. Cities with strong walls are turned to rubble. Beautiful palaces in distant lands disappear and will never be rebuilt. 3 Therefore, strong nations will declare your glory; ruthless nations will revere you. 4 But to the poor, O LORD, you are a refuge from the storm. To the needy in distress, you are a shelter from the rain and the heat. For the oppressive acts of ruthless people are like a storm beating against a wall, 5 or like the relentless heat of the desert. But you silence the roar of foreign nations. You cool the land with the shade of a cloud. So the boastful songs of ruthless people are stilled.6 In Jerusalem, the LORD Almighty will spread a wonderful feast for everyone around the world. It will be a delicious feast of good food, with clear, well-aged wine and choice beef. 7 In that day he will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. 8 He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign LORD will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against his land and people. The LORD has spoken! 9 In that day the people will proclaim, " This is our God. We trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, in whom we trusted. Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!" 10 For the LORD's good hand will rest on Jerusalem. Moab will be crushed like trampled straw and left to rot. 11 God will push down Moab's people as a swimmer pushes down water with his hands. He will end their pride and all their evil works. 12 The high walls of Moab will be demolished and ground to dust.26:1 IN that day, everyone in the land of Judah will sing this song: Our city is now strong!

We are surrounded by the walls of God's salvation.

2 Open the gates to all who are righteous;

allow the faithful to enter.

3 You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you,

whose thoughts are fixed on you!

4 Trust in the LORD always,

for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock.

5 He humbles the proud

and brings the arrogant city to the dust.

Its walls come crashing down!

6 The poor and oppressed trample it underfoot.

7 But for those who are righteous,

the path is not steep and rough.

You are a God of justice,

and you smooth out the road ahead of them.

8 LORD, we love to obey your laws;

our heart's desire is to glorify your name.

9 All night long I search for you;

earnestly I seek for God.

For only when you come to judge the earth

will people turn from wickedness and do what is right.

10 Your kindness to the wicked does not make them do good.

They keep doing wrong and take no notice of the LORD's majesty.

11 O LORD, they do not listen when you threaten.

They do not see your upraised fist.

Show them your eagerness to defend your people.

Perhaps then they will be ashamed.

Let your fire consume your enemies.

12 LORD, you will grant us peace,

for all we have accomplished is really from you.

13 O LORD our God, others have ruled us,

but we worship you alone.

14 Those we served before are dead and gone.

Never again will they return!

You attacked them and destroyed them,

and they are long forgotten.

15 We praise you, LORD!

You have made our nation great;

you have extended our borders!

16 LORD, in distress we searched for you.

We were bowed beneath the burden of your discipline.

17 We were like a woman about to give birth,

writhing and crying out in pain.

When we are in your presence, LORD,

18 we, too, writhe in agony,

but nothing comes of our suffering.

We have done nothing to rescue the world;

no one has been born to populate the earth.

19 Yet we have this assurance:

Those who belong to God will live;

their bodies will rise again!

Those who sleep in the earth

will rise up and sing for joy!

For God's light of life will fall like dew

on his people in the place of the dead!

20 Go home, my people, and lock your doors! Hide until the LORD's anger against your enemies has passed. 21 Look! The LORD is coming from heaven to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will no longer hide those who have been murdered. They will be brought out for all to see. 27:1 IN that day the LORD will take his terrible, swift sword and punish Leviathan, the swiftly moving serpent, the coiling, writhing serpent, the dragon of the sea. 2 " In that day we will sing of the pleasant vineyard. 3 I, the LORD, will watch over it and tend its fruitful vines. Each day I will water them; day and night I will watch to keep enemies away. 4 My anger against Israel will be gone. If I find briers and thorns bothering her, I will burn them up. 5 These enemies will be spared only if they surrender and beg for peace and protection." 6 The time is coming when my people will take root. Israel will bud and blossom and fill the whole earth with her fruit! 7 Has the LORD punished Israel in the same way he has punished her enemies? No, for he devastated her enemies, 8 but he has punished Israel only a little. He has exiled her from her land as though blown away in a storm from the east. 9 The LORD did this to purge away Israel's sin. When he has finished, all the pagan altars will be crushed to dust. There won't be an Asherah pole or incense altar left standing. 10 Israel's fortified cities will be silent and empty, the houses abandoned, the streets covered with grass. Cattle will graze there, chewing on twigs and branches. 11 The people are like the dead branches of a tree, broken off and used for kindling beneath the cooking pots. Israel is a foolish and stupid nation, for its people have turned away from God. Therefore, the one who made them will show them no pity or mercy. 12 Yet the time will come when the LORD will gather them together one by one like handpicked grain. He will bring them to his great threshing floor--from the Euphrates River in the east to the brook of Egypt in the west. 13 In that day the great trumpet will sound. Many who were dying in exile in Assyria and Egypt will return to Jerusalem to worship the LORD on his holy mountain.28:1 DESTRUCTION is certain for the city of Samaria--the pride and joy of the drunkards of Israel! It sits in a rich valley, but its glorious beauty will suddenly disappear. Destruction is certain for that city--the pride of a people brought low by wine. 2 For the Lord will send the mighty Assyrian army against it. Like a mighty hailstorm and a torrential rain, they will burst upon it and dash it to the ground. 3 The proud city of Samaria--the pride and joy of the drunkards of Israel--will be trampled beneath its enemies' feet. 4 It sits in a fertile valley, but its glorious beauty will suddenly disappear. It will be greedily snatched up, as an early fig is hungrily picked and eaten. 5 Then at last the LORD Almighty will himself be Israel's crowning glory. He will be the pride and joy of the remnant of his people. 6 He will give a longing for justice to their judges. He will give great courage to their warriors who stand at the gates. 7 Now, however, Israel is being led by drunks! The priests and prophets reel and stagger from beer and wine. They make stupid mistakes as they carry out their responsibilities. 8 Their tables are covered with vomit; filth is everywhere. 9 They say, " Who does the LORD think we are? Why does he speak to us like this? Are we little children, barely old enough to talk? 10 He tells us everything over and over again, a line at a time, in very simple words!" 11 Since they refuse to listen, God will speak to them through foreign oppressors who speak an unknown language! 12 God's people could have rest in their own land if they would only obey him, but they will not listen. 13 So the LORD will spell out his message for them again, repeating it over and over, a line at a time, in very simple words. Yet they will stumble over this simple, straightforward message. They will be injured, trapped, and captured.

GALATIANS 3:10-22

But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, " Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all these commands that are written in God's Book of the Law." 11 Consequently, it is clear that no one can ever be right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, " It is through faith that a righteous person has life." 12 How different from this way of faith is the way of law, which says, " If you wish to find life by obeying the law, you must obey all of its commands." 13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, " Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." 14 Through the work of Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, and we Christians receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith. 15 Dear brothers and sisters,* here's an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case. 16 God gave the promise to Abraham and his child. And notice that it doesn't say the promise was to his children, as if it meant many descendants. But the promise was to his child--and that, of course, means Christ. 17 This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise. 18 For if the inheritance could be received only by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God's promise. But God gave it to Abraham as a promise. 19 Well then, why was the law given? It was given to show people how guilty they are. But this system of law was to last only until the coming of the child to whom God's promise was made. And there is this further difference. God gave his laws to angels to give to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. 20 Now a mediator is needed if two people enter into an agreement, but God acted on his own when he made his promise to Abraham. 21 Well then, is there a conflict between God's law and God's promises? Absolutely not! If the law could have given us new life, we could have been made right with God by obeying it. 22 But the Scriptures have declared that we are all prisoners of sin, so the only way to receive God's promise is to believe in Jesus Christ.

PSALM 61:1-8

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by stringed instruments.

1 O God, listen to my cry!

Hear my prayer!

2 From the ends of the earth,

I will cry to you for help,

for my heart is overwhelmed.

Lead me to the towering rock of safety,

3 for you are my safe refuge,

a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.

4 Let me live forever in your sanctuary,

safe beneath the shelter of your wings!

Interlude5 For you have heard my vows, O God.

You have given me an inheritance reserved for those who fear your name.

6 Add many years to the life of the king!

May his years span the generations!

7 May he reign under God's protection forever.

Appoint your unfailing love and faithfulness to watch over him.

8 Then I will always sing praises to your name

as I fulfill my vows day after day.

PROVERBS 23:17-18

Don't envy sinners, but always continue to fear the LORD. For surely you have a future ahead of you; your hope will not be disappointed.

September 16 Reading through the Bible

 

 

ISAIAH 22:1-24:23

GALATIANS 2:17-3:9

PSALM 60:1-12

PROVERBS 23:15-16

ISAIAH 22:1-24:23

This message came to me [Isaiah] concerning Jerusalem: What is happening? Why is everyone running to the rooftops? 2 The whole city is in a terrible uproar. What do I see in this reveling city? Bodies are lying everywhere, killed by famine and disease. 3 All your leaders flee. They surrender without resistance. The people try to slip away, but they are captured, too. 4 Leave me alone to weep; do not try to comfort me. Let me cry for my people as I watch them being destroyed. 5 Oh, what a day of crushing trouble! What a day of confusion and terror the Lord, the LORD Almighty, has brought upon the Valley of Vision! The walls of Jerusalem have been broken, and cries of death echo from the mountainsides. 6 Elamites are the archers; Arameans drive the chariots. The men of Kir hold up the shields. 7 They fill your beautiful valleys and crowd against your gates. 8 Judah's defenses have been stripped away. You run to the armory for your weapons. 9 You inspect the walls of Jerusalem to see what needs to be repaired. You store up water in the lower pool. 10 You check the houses and tear some down to get stone to fix the walls. 11 Between the city walls, you build a reservoir for water from the old pool. But all your feverish plans are to no avail because you never ask God for help. He is the one who planned this long ago. 12 The Lord, the LORD Almighty, called you to weep and mourn. He told you to shave your heads in sorrow for your sins and to wear clothes of sackcloth to show your remorse. 13 But instead, you dance and play; you slaughter sacrificial animals, feast on meat, and drink wine. " Let's eat, drink, and be merry," you say. " What's the difference, for tomorrow we die." 14 The LORD Almighty has revealed to me that this sin will never be forgiven you until the day you die. That is the judgment of the Lord, the LORD Almighty. 15 Furthermore, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, told me to confront Shebna, the palace administrator, and to give him this message: 16 " Who do you think you are, building a beautiful tomb for yourself in the rock? 17 For the LORD is about to seize you and hurl you away. He is going to send you into captivity, you strong man! 18 He will crumple you up into a ball and toss you away into a distant, barren land. There you will die, and there your glorious chariots will remain, broken and useless. You are a disgrace to your master. 19 " Yes, I will drive you out of office," says the LORD. " I will pull you down from your high position. 20 And then I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah to replace you. 21 He will have your royal robes, your title, and your authority. And he will be a father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah. 22 I will give him the key to the house of David--the highest position in the royal court. He will open doors, and no one will be able to shut them; he will close doors, and no one will be able to open them. 23 He will bring honor to his family name, for I will drive him firmly in place like a tent stake. 24 He will be loaded down with responsibility, and he will bring honor to even the lowliest members of his family." 25 The LORD Almighty says: " When that time comes, I will pull out the stake that seemed so firm. It will come out and fall to the ground. Everything it supports will fall with it. I, the LORD, have spoken!"23:1 THIS message came to me concerning Tyre: Weep, O ships of Tarshish, returning home from distant lands! Weep for your harbor at Tyre because it is gone! The rumors you heard in Cyprus are all true. 2 Mourn in silence, you people of the coast and you merchants of Sidon. Your traders crossed the sea, 3 sailing over deep waters. They brought you grain from Egypt and harvests from along the Nile. You were the merchandise mart of the world. 4 But now you are put to shame, city of Sidon, fortress on the sea. For the sea says, " Now I am childless; I have no sons or daughters." 5 When Egypt hears the news about Tyre, there will be great sorrow. 6 Flee now to Tarshish! Wail, you people who live by the sea! 7 How can this silent ruin be all that is left of your once joyous city? What a history was yours! Think of all the colonists you sent to distant lands. 8 Who has brought this disaster on Tyre, empire builder and chief trader of the world? 9 The LORD Almighty has done it to destroy your pride and show his contempt for all human greatness. 10 Come, Tarshish, sweep over your mother Tyre like the flooding Nile, for the city is defenseless. 11 The LORD holds out his hand over the seas. He shakes the kingdoms of the earth. He has spoken out against Phoenicia and depleted its strength. 12 He says, " Never again will you rejoice, O daughter of Sidon. Once you were a lovely city, but you will never again be strong. Even if you flee to Cyprus, you will find no rest." 13 Look at the land of Babylonia--the people of that land are gone! The Assyrians have handed Babylon over to the wild beasts. They have built siege ramps against its walls, torn down its palaces, and turned it into a heap of rubble. 14 Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your home port is destroyed! 15 For seventy years, the length of a king's life, Tyre will be forgotten. But then the city will come back to life and sing sweet songs like a prostitute. 16 Long absent from her lovers, she will take a harp, walk the streets, and sing her songs, so that she will again be remembered. 17 Yes, after seventy years the LORD will revive Tyre. But she will be no different than she was before. She will return again to all her evil ways around the world. 18 But in the end her businesses will give their profits to the LORD. Her wealth will not be hoarded but will be used to provide good food and fine clothing for the LORD's priests.24:1 LOOK! The LORD is about to destroy the earth and make it a vast wasteland. See how he is scattering the people over the face of the earth. 2 Priests and laypeople, servants and masters, maids and mistresses, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, bankers and debtors--none will be spared. 3 The earth will be completely emptied and looted. The LORD has spoken! 4 The earth dries up, the crops wither, the skies refuse to rain. 5 The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted the instructions of God, violated his laws, and broken his everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore, a curse consumes the earth and its people. They are left desolate, destroyed by fire. Few will be left alive. 7 All the joys of life will be gone. The grape harvest will fail, and there will be no wine. The merrymakers will sigh and mourn. 8 The clash of tambourines will be stilled; the happy cries of celebration will be heard no more. The melodious chords of the harp will be silent. 9 Gone are the joys of wine and song; strong drink now turns bitter in the mouth. 10 The city writhes in chaos; every home is locked to keep out looters. 11 Mobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine. Joy has reached its lowest ebb. Gladness has been banished from the land. 12 The city is left in ruins, with its gates battered down. 13 Throughout the earth the story is the same--like the stray olives left on the tree or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest, only a remnant is left. 14 But all who are left will shout and sing for joy. Those in the west will praise the LORD's majesty. 15 In eastern lands, give glory to the LORD. In the coastlands of the sea, praise the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 16 Listen to them as they sing to the LORD from the ends of the earth. Hear them singing praises to the Righteous One! But my heart is heavy with grief. I am discouraged, for evil still prevails, and treachery is everywhere. 17 Terror and traps and snares will be your lot, you people of the earth. 18 Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap, and those who escape the trap will step into a snare. Destruction falls on you from the heavens. The world is shaken beneath you. 19 The earth has broken down and has utterly collapsed. Everything is lost, abandoned, and confused. 20 The earth staggers like a drunkard. It trembles like a tent in a storm. It falls and will not rise again, for its sins are very great. 21 In that day the LORD will punish the fallen angels in the heavens and the proud rulers of the nations on earth. 22 They will be rounded up and put in prison until they are tried and condemned. 23 Then the LORD Almighty will mount his throne on Mount Zion. He will rule gloriously in Jerusalem, in the sight of all the leaders of his people. There will be such glory that the brightness of the sun and moon will seem to fade away.

GALATIANS 2:17-3:9

But what if we [Paul and other believers] seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then find out that we are still sinners? Has Christ led us into sin? Of course not! 18 Rather, I make myself guilty if I rebuild the old system I already tore down. 19 For when I tried to keep the law, I realized I could never earn God's approval. So I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ. 20 I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I am not one of those who treats the grace of God as meaningless. For if we could be saved by keeping the law, then there was no need for Christ to die. 3:1 OH, foolish Galatians! What magician has cast an evil spell on you? For you used to see the meaning of Jesus Christ's death as clearly as though I had shown you a signboard with a picture of Christ dying on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by keeping the law? Of course not, for the Holy Spirit came upon you only after you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 Have you lost your senses? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 You have suffered so much for the Good News. Surely it was not in vain, was it? Are you now going to just throw it all away? 5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law of Moses? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ. 6 In the same way, " Abraham believed God, so God declared him righteous because of his faith." 7 The real children of Abraham, then, are all those who put their faith in God. 8 What's more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would accept the Gentiles, too, on the basis of their faith. God promised this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, " All nations will be blessed through you." 9 And so it is: All who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.

PSALM 60:1-12

For the choir director: A psalm of David useful for teaching, regarding the time David fought Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned and killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. To be sung to the tune " Lily of the Testimony."

1 You have rejected us, O God, and broken our defenses.

You have been angry with us; now restore us to your favor.

2 You have shaken our land and split it open.

Seal the cracks before it completely collapses.

3 You have been very hard on us,

making us drink wine that sent us reeling.

4 But you have raised a banner for those who honor you--

a rallying point in the face of attack.

Interlude5 Use your strong right arm to save us,

and rescue your beloved people.

6 God has promised this by his holiness:

" I will divide up Shechem with joy.

I will measure out the valley of Succoth.

7 Gilead is mine,

and Manasseh is mine.

Ephraim will produce my warriors,

and Judah will produce my kings.

8 Moab will become my lowly servant,

and Edom will be my slave.

I will shout in triumph over the Philistines."

9 But who will bring me into the fortified city?

Who will bring me victory over Edom?

10 Have you rejected us, O God?

Will you no longer march with our armies?

11 Oh, please help us against our enemies,

for all human help is useless.

12 With God's help we will do mighty things,

for he will trample down our foes.

PROVERBS 23:15-16

My child,> how I will rejoice if you become wise. Yes, my heart will thrill when you speak what is right and just.

September 15 Reading through the Bible

 

 ISAIAH 19:1-21:17

GALATIANS 2:1-16

PSALM 59:1-17

PROVERBS 23:13-14

ISAIAH 19:1-21:17

This message came to me [Isaiah] concerning Egypt: Look! The LORD is advancing against Egypt, riding on a swift cloud. The idols of Egypt tremble. The hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear. 2 " I will make the Egyptians fight against each other--brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, province against province. 3 The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will confuse their plans. They will plead with their idols for wisdom. They will call on spirits, mediums, and psychics to show them which way to turn. 4 I will hand Egypt over to a hard, cruel master, to a fierce king," says the Lord, the LORD Almighty. 5 The waters of the Nile will fail to rise and flood the fields. The riverbed will be parched and dry. 6 The canals of the Nile will dry up, and the streams of Egypt will become foul with rotting reeds and rushes. 7 All the greenery along the riverbank will wither and blow away. All the crops will dry up, and everything will die. 8 The fishermen will weep for lack of work. Those who fish with hooks and those who use nets will all be unemployed. 9 The weavers will have no flax or cotton, for the crops will fail. 10 The weavers and all the workers will be sick at heart. 11 What fools are the counselors of Zoan! Their best counsel to the king of Egypt is stupid and wrong. Will they still boast of their wisdom? Will they dare tell Pharaoh about their long line of wise ancestors? 12 What has happened to your wise counselors, Pharaoh? If they are so wise, let them tell you what the LORD Almighty is going to do to Egypt. 13 The wise men from Zoan are fools, and those from Memphis are deluded. The leaders of Egypt have ruined the land with their foolish counsel. 14 The LORD has sent a spirit of foolishness on them, so all their suggestions are wrong. They cause the land of Egypt to stagger like a sick drunkard. 15 Nobody in Egypt, whether rich or poor, important or unknown, can offer any help. 16 In that day the Egyptians will be as weak as women. They will cower in fear beneath the upraised fist of the LORD Almighty. 17 Just to speak the name of Israel will strike deep terror in their hearts, for the LORD Almighty has laid out his plans against them. 18 In that day five of Egypt's cities will follow the LORD Almighty. They will even begin to speak the Hebrew language. One of these will be Heliopolis, the City of the Sun. 19 In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and there will be a monument to the LORD at its border. 20 It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD Almighty in the land of Egypt. When the people cry to the LORD for help against those who oppress them, he will send them a savior who will rescue them. 21 In that day the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians. Yes, they will know the LORD and will give their sacrifices and offerings to him. They will make promises to the LORD and keep them. 22 The LORD will strike Egypt in a way that will bring healing. For the Egyptians will turn to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas and heal them. 23 In that day Egypt and Assyria will be connected by a highway. The Egyptians and Assyrians will move freely between their lands, and they will worship the same God. 24 And Israel will be their ally. The three will be together, and Israel will be a blessing to them. 25 For the LORD Almighty will say, " Blessed be Egypt, my people. Blessed be Assyria, the land I have made. Blessed be Israel, my special possession!"20:1 IN the year when King Sargon of Assyria captured the Philistine city of Ashdod, 2 the LORD told Isaiah son of Amoz, " Take off all your clothes, including your sandals." Isaiah did as he was told and walked around naked and barefoot. 3 Then the LORD said, " My servant Isaiah has been walking around naked and barefoot for the last three years. This is a sign--a symbol of the terrible troubles I will bring upon Egypt and Ethiopia. 4 For the king of Assyria will take away the Egyptians and Ethiopians as prisoners. He will make them walk naked and barefoot, both young and old, their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5 How dismayed will be the Philistines, who counted on the power of Ethiopia and boasted of their allies in Egypt! 6 They will say, ` If this can happen to Egypt, what chance do we have? For we counted on Egypt to protect us from the king of Assyria.' " 21:1 THIS message came to me concerning the land of Babylonia: Disaster is roaring down on you from the desert, like a whirlwind sweeping in from the Negev. 2 I see an awesome vision: I see you plundered and destroyed. Go ahead, you Elamites and Medes, take part in the siege. Babylon will fall, and the groaning of all the nations she enslaved will end. 3 My stomach aches and burns with pain. Sharp pangs of horror are upon me, like the pangs of a woman giving birth. I grow faint when I hear what God is planning; I am blinded with dismay. 4 My mind reels; my heart races. The sleep I once enjoyed at night is now a faint memory. I lie awake, trembling. 5 Look! They are preparing a great feast. They are spreading rugs for people to sit on. Everyone is eating and drinking. Quick! Grab your shields and prepare for battle! You are being attacked! 6 Meanwhile, the Lord said to me, " Put a watchman on the city wall to shout out what he sees. 7 Tell him to sound the alert when he sees chariots drawn by horses and warriors mounted on donkeys and camels." 8 Then the watchman called out, " Day after day I have stood on the watchtower, my lord. Night after night I have remained at my post. 9 Now at last--look! Here come the chariots and warriors!" Then the watchman said, " Babylon is fallen! All the idols of Babylon lie broken on the ground!" 10 O my people, threshed and winnowed, I have told you everything the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, has said. 11 This message came to me concerning Edom:Someone from Edom keeps calling to me, " Watchman, how much longer until morning? When will the night be over?" 12 The watchman replies, " Morning is coming, but night will soon follow. If you wish to ask again, then come back and ask." 13 This message came to me concerning Arabia: O caravans from Dedan, hide in the deserts of Arabia. 14 O people of Tema, bring food and water to these weary refugees. 15 They have fled from drawn swords and sharp arrows and the terrors of war. 16 " But within a year," says the Lord, " all the glory of Kedar will come to an end. 17 Only a few of its courageous archers will survive. I, the LORD, the God of Israel, have spoken!"

GALATIANS 2:1-16

Then fourteen years later I [Paul] went back to Jerusalem again, this time with Barnabas; and Titus came along, too. 2 I went there because God revealed to me that I should go. While I was there I talked privately with the leaders of the church. I wanted them to understand what I had been preaching to the Gentiles. I wanted to make sure they did not disagree, or my ministry would have been useless. 3 And they did agree. They did not even demand that my companion Titus be circumcised, though he was a Gentile. 4 Even that question wouldn't have come up except for some so-called Christians there--false ones, really--who came to spy on us and see our freedom in Christ Jesus. They wanted to force us, like slaves, to follow their Jewish regulations. 5 But we refused to listen to them for a single moment. We wanted to preserve the truth of the Good News for you. 6 And the leaders of the church who were there had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.) 7 They saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the Good News to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews. 8 For the same God who worked through Peter for the benefit of the Jews worked through me for the benefit of the Gentiles. 9 In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews. 10 The only thing they suggested was that we remember to help the poor, and I have certainly been eager to do that.11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him publicly, speaking strongly against what he was doing, for it was very wrong. 12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who don't bother with circumcision. But afterward, when some Jewish friends of James came, Peter wouldn't eat with the Gentiles anymore because he was afraid of what these legalists would say. 13 Then the other Jewish Christians followed Peter's hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was influenced to join them in their hypocrisy. 14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the Good News, I said to Peter in front of all the others, " Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you trying to make these Gentiles obey the Jewish laws you abandoned? 15 You and I are Jews by birth, not ` sinners' like the Gentiles. 16 And yet we Jewish Christians know that we become right with God, not by doing what the law commands, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be accepted by God because of our faith in Christ--and not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be saved by obeying the law."

PSALM 59:1-17

For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Saul sent soldiers to watch David's house in order to kill him. To be sung to the tune " Do Not Destroy!"

1 Rescue me from my enemies, O God.

Protect me from those who have come to destroy me.

2 Rescue me from these criminals;

save me from these murderers.

3 They have set an ambush for me.

Fierce enemies are out there waiting,

though I have done them no wrong, O LORD.

4 Despite my innocence, they prepare to kill me.

Rise up and help me! Look on my plight!

5 O LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel,

rise up to punish hostile nations.

Show no mercy to wicked traitors.

Interlude6 They come at night,

snarling like vicious dogs

as they prowl the streets.

7 Listen to the filth that comes from their mouths,

the piercing swords that fly from their lips.

" Who can hurt us?" they sneer.

8 But LORD, you laugh at them.

You scoff at all the hostile nations.

9 You are my strength; I wait for you to rescue me,

for you, O God, are my place of safety.

10 In his unfailing love, my God will come and help me.

He will let me look down in triumph on all my enemies.

11 Don't kill them, for my people soon forget such lessons;

stagger them with your power, and bring them to their knees,

O Lord our shield.

12 Because of the sinful things they say,

because of the evil that is on their lips,

let them be captured by their pride,

their curses, and their lies.

13 Destroy them in your anger!

Wipe them out completely!

Then the whole world will know

that God reigns in Israel.

Interlude14 My enemies come out at night,

snarling like vicious dogs

as they prowl the streets.

15 They scavenge for food

but go to sleep unsatisfied.

16 But as for me, I will sing about your power.

I will shout with joy each morning because of your unfailing love.

For you have been my refuge,

a place of safety in the day of distress.

17 O my Strength, to you I sing praises,

for you, O God, are my refuge,

the God who shows me unfailing love.

PROVERBS 23:13-14

Don't fail to correct your children. They won't die if you spank them. Physical discipline may well save them from death

September 14 Reading through the Bible

  

GALATIANS 1:1-24

PSALM 58:1-11

PROVERBS 23:12

ISAIAH 15:1-18:7

This message came to me concerning Moab: In one night your cities of Ar and Kir will be destroyed. 2 Your people in Dibon will mourn at their temples and shrines, weeping for the fate of Nebo and Medeba. They will shave their heads in sorrow and cut off their beards. 3 They will wear sackcloth as they wander the streets. From every home will come the sound of weeping. 4 The cries from the cities of Heshbon and Elealeh will be heard far away, even in Jahaz! The bravest warriors of Moab will cry out in utter terror.5 My heart weeps for Moab. Its people flee to Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah. Weeping, they climb the road to Luhith. Their crying can be heard all along the road to Horonaim. 6 Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up! The grassy banks are scorched, and the tender plants are gone. 7 The desperate refugees take only the possessions they can carry and flee across the Ravine of Willows. 8 The whole land of Moab is a land of weeping from one end to the other--from Eglaim to Beer-elim. 9 The stream near Dibon runs red with blood, but I am still not finished with Dibon! Lions will hunt down the survivors, both those who try to run and those who remain behind. 16:1 MOAB'S refugees at Sela send lambs to Jerusalem as a token of alliance with the king of Judah. 2 The women of Moab are left like homeless birds at the shallow crossings of the Arnon River. 3 " Help us," they cry. " Defend us against our enemies. Protect us from their relentless attack. Do not betray us. 4 Let our outcasts stay among you. Hide them from our enemies until the terror is past." When oppression and destruction have ceased and enemy raiders have disappeared, 5 then David's throne will be established by love. From that throne a faithful king will reign, one who always does what is just and right. 6 Is this Moab, the proud land we have heard so much about? Its pride and insolence are all gone now! 7 The entire land of Moab weeps. Yes, you people of Moab, mourn for the delicacies of Kir-hareseth. 8 Weep for the abandoned farms of Heshbon and the vineyards at Sibmah. The wine from those vineyards used to make the rulers of the nations drunk. Moab was once like a spreading grapevine. Her tendrils spread out as far as Jazer and trailed out into the desert. Her shoots once reached as far as the Dead Sea. 9 But now the enemy has completely destroyed that vine. So I wail and lament for Jazer and the vineyards of Sibmah. My tears will flow for Heshbon and Elealeh, for their summer fruits and harvests have all been destroyed. 10 Gone now is the gladness; gone is the joy of harvest. The happy singing in the vineyards will be heard no more. The treading out of grapes in the winepresses has ceased forever. I have ended all their harvest joys. 11 I will weep for Moab. My sorrow for Kir-hareseth will be very great. 12 On the hilltops the people of Moab will pray in anguish to their idols, but it will do them no good. They will cry to the gods in their temples, but no one will come to save them. 13 The LORD has already said this about Moab in the past. 14 But now the LORD says, " Within three years, without fail, the glory of Moab will be ended, and few of its people will be left alive."17:1 THIS message came to me concerning Damascus: " Look, Damascus will disappear! It will become a heap of ruins. 2 The cities of Aroer will be deserted. Sheep will graze in the streets and lie down unafraid. There will be no one to chase them away. 3 The fortified cities of Israel will also be destroyed, and the power of Damascus will end. The few left in Aram will share the fate of Israel's departed glory," says the LORD Almighty. 4 " In that day the glory of Israel will be very dim, for poverty will stalk the land. 5 Israel will be abandoned like the grainfields in the valley of Rephaim after the harvest. 6 Only a few of its people will be left, like the stray olives left on the tree after the harvest. Only two or three remain in the highest branches, four or five out on the tips of the limbs. Yes, Israel will be stripped bare of people," says the LORD, the God of Israel. 7 Then at last the people will think of their Creator and have respect for the Holy One of Israel. 8 They will no longer ask their idols for help or worship what their own hands have made. They will never again bow down to their Asherah poles or burn incense on the altars they built. 9 Their largest cities will be as deserted as overgrown thickets. They will become like the cities the Amorites abandoned when the Israelites came here so long ago. 10 Why? Because you have turned from the God who can save you--the Rock who can hide you. You may plant the finest imported grapevines, 11 and they may grow so well that they blossom on the very morning you plant them, but you will never pick any grapes from them. Your only harvest will be a load of grief and incurable pain. 12 Look! The armies rush forward like waves thundering toward the shore. 13 But though they roar like breakers on a beach, God will silence them. They will flee like chaff scattered by the wind or like dust whirling before a storm. 14 In the evening Israel waits in terror, but by dawn its enemies are dead. This is the just reward of those who plunder and destroy the people of God.18:1 DESTRUCTION is certain for the land of Ethiopia, which lies at the headwaters of the Nile. Its winged sailboats glide along the river, 2 and ambassadors are sent in fast boats down the Nile. Go home, swift messengers! Take a message to your land divided by rivers, to your tall, smooth-skinned people, who are feared far and wide for their conquests and destruction. 3 When I raise my battle flag on the mountain, let all the world take notice. When I blow the trumpet, listen! 4 For the LORD has told me this: " I will watch quietly from my dwelling place--as quietly as the heat rises on a summer day, or as the dew forms on an autumn morning during the harvest." 5 Even before you begin your attack, while your plans are ripening like grapes, the LORD will cut you off as though with pruning shears. He will snip your spreading branches. 6 Your mighty army will be left dead in the fields for the mountain birds and wild animals to eat. The vultures will tear at corpses all summer. The wild animals will gnaw at bones all winter.7 But the time will come when the LORD Almighty will receive gifts from this land divided by rivers, from this tall, smooth-skinned people, who are feared far and wide for their conquests and destruction. They will bring the gifts to the LORD Almighty in Jerusalem, the place where his name dwells.

GALATIANS 1:1-24

This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group or by human authority. My call is from Jesus Christ himself and from God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead. 2 All the brothers and sisters* here join me in sending greetings to the churches of Galatia. 3 May grace and peace be yours from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 He died for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. 5 That is why all glory belongs to God through all the ages of eternity. Amen.6 I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who in his love and mercy called you to share the eternal life he gives through Christ. You are already following a different way 7 that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who twist and change the truth concerning Christ. 8 Let God's curse fall on anyone, including myself, who preaches any other message than the one we told you about. Even if an angel comes from heaven and preaches any other message, let him be forever cursed. 9 I will say it again: If anyone preaches any other gospel than the one you welcomed, let God's curse fall upon that person. 10 Obviously, I'm not trying to be a people pleaser! No, I am trying to please God. If I were still trying to please people, I would not be Christ's servant. 11 Dear brothers and sisters, I solemnly assure you that the Good News of salvation which I preach is not based on mere human reasoning or logic. 12 For my message came by a direct revelation from Jesus Christ himself. No one else taught me. 13 You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion--how I violently persecuted the Christians. I did my best to get rid of them. 14 I was one of the most religious Jews of my own age, and I tried as hard as possible to follow all the old traditions of my religion. 15 But then something happened! For it pleased God in his kindness to choose me and call me, even before I was born! What undeserved mercy! 16 Then he revealed his Son to me so that I could proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. When all this happened to me, I did not rush out to consult with anyone else; 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. No, I went away into Arabia and later returned to the city of Damascus. 18 It was not until three years later that I finally went to Jerusalem for a visit with Peter and stayed there with him for fifteen days. 19 And the only other apostle I met at that time was James, our Lord's brother. 20 You must believe what I am saying, for I declare before God that I am not lying. 21 Then after this visit, I went north into the provinces of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And still the Christians in the churches in Judea didn't know me personally. 23 All they knew was that people were saying, " The one who used to persecute us now preaches the very faith he tried to destroy!" 24 And they gave glory to God because of me.

PSALM 58:1-11

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be sung to the tune " Do Not Destroy!"

1 Justice--do you rulers know the meaning of the word?

Do you judge the people fairly?

2 No, all your dealings are crooked;

you hand out violence instead of justice.

3 These wicked people are born sinners;

even from birth they have lied and gone their own way.

4 They spit poison like deadly snakes;

they are like cobras that refuse to listen,

5 ignoring the tunes of the snake charmers,

no matter how skillfully they play.

6 Break off their fangs, O God!

Smash the jaws of these lions, O LORD!

7 May they disappear like water into thirsty ground.

Make their weapons useless in their hands.

8 May they be like snails that dissolve into slime,

like a stillborn child who will never see the sun.

9 God will sweep them away, both young and old,

faster than a pot heats on an open flame.

10 The godly will rejoice when they see injustice avenged.

They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.

11 Then at last everyone will say,

" There truly is a reward for those who live for God;

surely there is a God who judges justly here on earth."

PROVERBS 23:12

Commit yourself to instruction; attune your ears to hear words of knowledge.

September 13 Reading through the Bible

  

What a great day... His Place opens today at 6AM until 2PM. Come get your favorite beverage and read your devotional while enjoying it, at His Place!

ISAIAH 12:1-14:32

2 CORINTHIANS 13:1-13

PSALM 57:1-11

PROVERBS 23:9-11

ISAIAH 12:1-14:32

In that day you [Israel] will sing: " Praise the LORD!

He was angry with me,

but now he comforts me.

2 See, God has come to save me.

I will trust in him and not be afraid.

The LORD GOD is my strength and my song;

he has become my salvation."

3 With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation! 4 In that wonderful day you will sing: " Thank the LORD!

Praise his name!

Tell the world what he has done.

Oh, how mighty he is!

5 Sing to the LORD,

for he has done wonderful things.

Make known his praise around the world.

6 Let all the people of Jerusalem shout his praise with joy!

For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you."

13:1 ISAIAH son of Amoz received this message concerning the destruction of Babylon: 2 " See the flags waving as the enemy attacks. Cheer them on, O Israel! Wave to them as they march against Babylon to destroy the palaces of the high and mighty. 3 I, the LORD, have assigned this task to these armies, and they will rejoice when I am exalted. I have called them to satisfy my anger." 4 Hear the noise on the mountains! Listen, as the armies march! It is the noise and the shout of many nations. The LORD Almighty has brought them here to form an army. 5 They came from countries far away. They are the LORD's weapons; they carry his anger with them and will destroy the whole land. 6 Scream in terror, for the LORD's time has arrived--the time for the Almighty to destroy. 7 Every arm is paralyzed with fear. Even the strongest hearts melt 8 and are afraid. Fear grips them with terrible pangs, like those of a woman about to give birth. They look helplessly at one another as the flames of the burning city reflect on their faces. 9 For see, the day of the LORD is coming--the terrible day of his fury and fierce anger. The land will be destroyed and all the sinners with it. 10 The heavens will be black above them. No light will shine from stars or sun or moon. 11 " I, the LORD, will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their sin. I will crush the arrogance of the proud and the haughtiness of the mighty. 12 Few will be left alive when I have finished my work. People will be as scarce as gold--more rare than the gold of Ophir. 13 For I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move from its place. I, the LORD Almighty, will show my fury and fierce anger." 14 Everyone will run until exhausted, rushing back to their own lands like hunted deer, wandering like sheep without a shepherd. 15 Anyone who is captured will be run through with a sword. 16 Their little children will be dashed to death right before their eyes. Their homes will be sacked and their wives raped by the attacking hordes. 17 For I will stir up the Medes against Babylon, and no amount of silver or gold will buy them off. 18 The attacking armies will shoot down the young people with arrows. They will have no mercy on helpless babies and will show no compassion for the children.19 Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean culture, will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them. 20 Babylon will never rise again. Generation after generation will come and go, but the land will never again be lived in. Nomads will refuse to camp there, and shepherds will not allow their sheep to stay overnight. 21 Wild animals of the desert will move into the ruined city. The houses will be haunted by howling creatures. Ostriches will live among the ruins, and wild goats will come there to dance. 22 Hyenas will howl in its fortresses, and jackals will make their dens in its palaces. Babylon's days are numbered; its time of destruction will soon arrive. 14:1 BUT the LORD will have mercy on the descendants of Jacob. Israel will be his special people once again. He will bring them back to settle once again in their own land. And people from many different nations will come and join them there and become a part of the people of Israel. 2 The nations of the world will help the LORD's people to return, and those who come to live in their land will serve them. Those who captured Israel will be captured, and Israel will rule over its enemies. 3 In that wonderful day when the LORD gives his people rest from sorrow and fear, from slavery and chains, 4 you will taunt the king of Babylon. You will say, " The mighty man has been destroyed. Yes, your insolence is ended. 5 For the LORD has crushed your wicked power and broken your evil rule. 6 You persecuted the people with unceasing blows of rage and held the nations in your angry grip. Your tyranny was unrestrained. 7 But at last the land is at rest and is quiet. Finally it can sing again! 8 Even the trees of the forest--the cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon--sing out this joyous song: ` Your power is broken! No one will come to cut us down now!' 9 " In the place of the dead there is excitement over your arrival. World leaders and mighty kings long dead are there to see you. 10 With one voice they all cry out, ` Now you are as weak as we are! 11 Your might and power are gone; they were buried with you. All the pleasant music in your palace has ceased. Now maggots are your sheet and worms your blanket.' 12 " How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. 13 For you said to yourself, ` I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God's stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. 14 I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.' 15 But instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths. 16 Everyone there will stare at you and ask, ` Can this be the one who shook the earth and the kingdoms of the world? 17 Is this the one who destroyed the world and made it into a wilderness? Is this the king who demolished the world's greatest cities and had no mercy on his prisoners?' 18 " The kings of the nations lie in stately glory in their tombs, 19 but you will be thrown out of your grave like a worthless branch. Like a corpse trampled underfoot, you will be dumped into a mass grave with those killed in battle. You will descend to the pit. 20 You will not be given a proper burial, for you have destroyed your nation and slaughtered your people. Your son will not succeed you as king. 21 Kill the children of this sinner! Do not let them rise and conquer the land or rebuild the cities of the world." 22 This is what the LORD Almighty says: " I, myself, have risen against him! I will destroy his children and his children's children, so they will never sit on his throne. 23 I will make Babylon into a desolate land, a place of porcupines, filled with swamps and marshes. I will sweep the land with the broom of destruction. I, the LORD Almighty, have spoken!" 24 The LORD Almighty has sworn this oath: " It will all happen as I have planned. It will come about according to my purposes. 25 I will break the Assyrians when they are in Israel; I will trample them on my mountains. My people will no longer be their slaves. 26 I have a plan for the whole earth, for my mighty power reaches throughout the world. 27 The LORD Almighty has spoken--who can change his plans? When his hand moves, who can stop him?" 28 This message came to me the year King Ahaz died: 29 Do not rejoice, you Philistines, that the king who attacked you is dead. For even though that whip is broken, his son will be worse than his father ever was. From that snake a poisonous snake will be born, a fiery serpent to destroy you! 30 I will feed the poor in my pasture; the needy will lie down in peace. But as for you, I will wipe you out with famine. I will destroy the few who remain. 31 Weep, you Philistine cities, for you are doomed! Melt in fear, for everyone will be destroyed. A powerful army is coming out of the north. Each soldier rushes forward ready to fight. 32 What should we tell the enemy messengers? Tell them that the LORD has built Jerusalem, and that the poor of his people will find refuge in its walls.

2 CORINTHIANS 13:1-13

This is the third time I [Paul] am coming to visit you [Corinthians]. As the Scriptures say, " The facts of every case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." 2 I have already warned those who had been sinning when I was there on my second visit. Now I again warn them and all others, just as I did before, that this next time I will not spare them. 3 I will give you all the proof you want that Christ speaks through me. Christ is not weak in his dealings with you; he is a mighty power among you. 4 Although he died on the cross in weakness, he now lives by the mighty power of God. We, too, are weak, but we live in him and have God's power--the power we use in dealing with you. 5 Examine yourselves to see if your faith is really genuine. Test yourselves. If you cannot tell that Jesus Christ is among you, it means you have failed the test. 6 I hope you recognize that we have passed the test and are approved by God. 7 We pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. We pray this, not to show that our ministry to you has been successful, but because we want you to do right even if we ourselves seem to have failed. 8 Our responsibility is never to oppose the truth, but to stand for the truth at all times. 9 We are glad to be weak, if you are really strong. What we pray for is your restoration to maturity. 10 I am writing this to you before I come, hoping that I won't need to deal harshly with you when I do come. For I want to use the authority the Lord has given me to build you up, not to tear you down. 11 Dear brothers and sisters,* I close my letter with these last words: Rejoice. Change your ways. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet each other in Christian love. All the Christians here send you their greetings. 13 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.*

PSALM 57:1-11

For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time he fled from Saul and went into the cave. To be sung to the tune " Do Not Destroy!"

1 Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy!

I look to you for protection.

I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings

until this violent storm is past.

2 I cry out to God Most High,

to God who will fulfill his purpose for me.

3 He will send help from heaven to save me,

rescuing me from those who are out to get me.

Interlude My God will send forth his unfailing love and faithfulness.

4 I am surrounded by fierce lions

who greedily devour human prey--

whose teeth pierce like spears and arrows,

and whose tongues cut like swords.

5 Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens!

May your glory shine over all the earth.

6 My enemies have set a trap for me.

I am weary from distress.

They have dug a deep pit in my path,

but they themselves have fallen into it.

Interlude7 My heart is confident in you, O God;

no wonder I can sing your praises!

8 Wake up, my soul!

Wake up, O harp and lyre!

I will waken the dawn with my song.

9 I will thank you, Lord, in front of all the people.

I will sing your praises among the nations.

10 For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens.

Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

11 Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.

May your glory shine over all the earth.

PROVERBS 23:9-11

Don't waste your breath on fools, for they will despise the wisest advice. Don't steal the land of defenseless orphans by moving the ancient boundary markers, for their Redeemer is strong. He himself will bring their charges against you.