Reading through the Word....Day 280, October 7

JEREMIAH 12:1- 14:10
1 THESSALONIANS 1:1- 2:8
PSALM 79:1- 13
PROVERBS 24:30- 34


LORD, you always give me [Jeremiah] justice when I bring a case before you. Now let me bring you this complaint:Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why are evil people so happy? 2 You have planted them, and they have taken root and prospered. Your name is on their lips, but in their hearts they give you no credit at all. 3 But as for me, LORD, you know my heart. You see me and test my thoughts. Drag these people away like helpless sheep to be butchered! Set them aside to be slaughtered! 4 How long must this land weep? Even the grass in the fields has withered. The wild animals and birds have disappeared because of the evil in the land. Yet the people say, "The LORD won't do anything!" 5 Then the LORD replied to me, "If racing against mere men makes you tired, how will you race against horses? If you stumble and fall on open ground, what will you do in the thickets near the Jordan? 6 Even your own brothers, members of your own family, have turned on you. They have plotted, raising a cry against you. Do not trust them, no matter how pleasantly they speak. 7" I have abandoned my people, my special possession. I have surrendered my dearest ones to their enemies. 8 My chosen people have roared at me like a lion of the forest, so I have treated them as though I hated them. 9 My chosen people have become as disgusting to me as a vulture. And indeed, they are surrounded by vultures. Bring on the wild beasts to pick their corpses clean! 10 "Many rulers have ravaged my vineyard, trampling down the vines and turning all its beauty into a barren wilderness. 11 They have made it an empty wasteland; I hear its mournful cry. The whole land is desolate, and no one even cares. 12 Destroying armies plunder the land. The sword of the LORD kills people from one end of the nation to the other. No one will escape! 13 My people have planted wheat but are harvesting thorns. They have worked hard, but it has done them no good. They will harvest a crop of shame, for the fierce anger of the LORD is upon them." 14 Now this is what the LORD says:"As for all the evil nations reaching out for the inheritance I gave my people Israel, I will uproot them from their lands just as Judah will be uprooted from hers. 15 But afterward I will return and have compassion on all of them. I will bring them home to their own lands again, each nation to its own inheritance. 16 And if these nations quickly learn the ways of my people, and if they learn to swear by my name, saying, `As surely as the LORD lives '(just as they taught my people to swear by the name of Baal), then they will be given a place among my people. 17 But any nation who refuses to obey me will be uprooted and destroyed. I, the LORD, have spoken!" 13:1 THIS is what the LORD said to me:"Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not wash it." 2 So I bought the belt as the LORD directed me and put it around my waist. 3 Then the LORD gave me another message:4 "Take the linen belt you are wearing, and go to the Euphrates River. Hide it there in a hole in the rocks." 5 So I went and hid it at the Euphrates as the LORD had instructed me. 6 A long time afterward, the LORD said to me, "Go back to the Euphrates and get the linen belt that I told you to hide there." 7 So I went to the Euphrates and dug it out of the hole where I had hidden it. But now it was mildewed and falling apart. The belt was useless. 8 Then I received this message from the LORD:9 "The LORD says:This illustrates how I will rot away the pride of Judah and Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people refuse to listen to me. They stubbornly follow their own desires and worship idols. Therefore, they will become like this linen belt-- good for nothing! 11 As a belt clings to a person's waist, so I created Judah and Israel to cling to me," says the LORD. "They were to be my people, my pride, my glory-- an honor to my name. But they would not listen to me. 12" So tell them, `The LORD, the God of Israel, says:All your wineskins will be full of wine.' And they will reply, `Of course, you don't need to tell us how prosperous we will be! '13 Then tell them, `No, this is what the LORD means:I will make everyone in this land so confused that they will seem drunk-- from the king sitting on David's throne and from the priests and the prophets, right on down to the common people. 14 I will smash them one against the other, even parents against children, says the LORD. I will not let my pity or mercy or compassion keep me from destroying them.' "15 Listen! Do not be proud, for the LORD has spoken. 16 Give glory to the LORD your God before it is too late. Acknowledge him before he brings darkness upon you, causing you to stumble and fall on the dark mountains. For then, when you look for light, you will find only terrible darkness. 17 And if you still refuse to listen, I will weep alone because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears because the LORD's flock will be led away into exile. 18 Say to the king and his mother," Come down from your thrones and sit in the dust, for your glorious crowns will soon be snatched from your heads. "19 The towns of the Negev will close their gates, and no one will be able to open them. The people of Judah will be taken away as captives. They will all be carried into exile. 20 See the armies marching down from the north! Where is your flock-- your beautiful flock-- that he gave you to care for? 21 How will you feel when the LORD sets your foreign allies over you as rulers? You will writhe in pain like a woman giving birth! 22 You may ask yourself," Why is all this happening to me? "It is because of your many sins! That is why you have been raped and destroyed by invading armies. 23 Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard take away its spots? Neither can you start doing good, for you always do evil. 24" I will scatter you, just as chaff is scattered by the winds blowing in from the desert. 25 This is your allotment, that which is due you, "says the LORD." I have measured it out especially for you, because you have forgotten me and put your trust in false gods. 26 I myself will expose you to shame. 27 I am keenly aware of your adultery and lust, and your abominable idol worship out in the fields and on the hills. Your destruction is sure, Jerusalem! How long will it be before you are pure? "14:1 THIS message came to Jeremiah from the LORD, explaining why he was holding back the rain:2" Judah wilts; her businesses have ground to a halt. All the people sit on the ground in mourning, and a great cry rises from Jerusalem. 3 The nobles send servants to get water, but all the wells are dry. The servants return with empty pitchers, confused and desperate, covering their heads in grief. 4 The ground is parched and cracked for lack of rain. The farmers are afraid; they, too, cover their heads. 5 The deer abandons her newborn fawn because there is no grass. 6 The wild donkeys stand on the bare hills panting like thirsty jackals. They strain their eyes looking for grass to eat, but there is none to be found. "7 The people say," LORD, our wickedness has caught up with us. We have sinned against you. So please, help us for the sake of your own reputation. 8 O Hope of Israel, our Savior in times of trouble! Why are you like a stranger to us? Why are you like someone passing through the land, stopping only for the night? 9 Are you also confused? Are you helpless to save us? You are right here among us, LORD. We are known as your people. Please don't abandon us now! "10 So the LORD replies to his people," You love to wander far from me and do not follow in my paths. Now I will no longer accept you as my people. I will remember all your wickedness and will punish you for your sins. "


This letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy. It is written to the church in Thessalonica, you who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May his grace and peace be yours. 2 We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. 3 As we talk to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and your continual anticipation of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 We know that God loves you, dear brothers and sisters, *and that he chose you to be his own people. 5 For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know that the way we lived among you was further proof of the truth of our message. 6 So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. 7 As a result, you yourselves became an example to all the Christians in Greece. 8 And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Greece, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don't need to tell them about it, 9 for they themselves keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the true and living God. 10 And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God's Son from heaven-- Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment. 2:1 YOU yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, *that our visit to you was not a failure. 2 You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, even though we were surrounded by many who opposed us. 3 So you can see that we were not preaching with any deceit or impure purposes or trickery. 4 For we speak as messengers who have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He is the one who examines the motives of our hearts. 5 Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you very well know. And God is our witness that we were not just pretending to be your friends so you would give us money! 6 As for praise, we have never asked for it from you or anyone else. 7 As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but we were as gentle among you as a mother feeding and caring for her own children. 8 We loved you so much that we gave you not only God's Good News but our own lives, too.


A psalm of Asaph.
1 O God, pagan nations have conquered your land, your special possession.
They have defiled your holy Temple
and made Jerusalem a heap of ruins.
2 They have left the bodies of your servants
as food for the birds of heaven.
The flesh of your godly ones
has become food for the wild animals.
3 Blood has flowed like water all around Jerusalem;
no one is left to bury the dead.
4 We are mocked by our neighbors,
an object of scorn and derision to those around us.
5 O LORD, how long will you be angry with us? Forever?
How long will your jealousy burn like fire?
6 Pour out your wrath on the nations that refuse to recognize you--
on kingdoms that do not call upon your name.
7 For they have devoured your people Israel,
making the land a desolate wilderness.
8 Oh, do not hold us guilty for our former sins!
Let your tenderhearted mercies quickly meet our needs,
for we are brought low to the dust.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation!
Help us for the honor of your name.
Oh, save us and forgive our sins
for the sake of your name.
10 Why should pagan nations be allowed to scoff,
asking," Where is their God? "
Show us your vengeance against the nations,
for they have spilled the blood of your servants.
11 Listen to the moaning of the prisoners.
Demonstrate your great power by saving those condemned to die.
12 O Lord, take sevenfold vengeance on our neighbors
for the scorn they have hurled at you.
13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will thank you forever and ever,
praising your greatness from generation to generation.


I walked by the field of a lazy person, the vineyard of one lacking sense. I saw that it was overgrown with thorns. It was covered with weeds, and its walls were broken down. Then, as I looked and thought about it, I learned this lesson:A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest-- and poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber

Reading through the Word....Day 279, October 6

JEREMIAH 10:1- 11:23
COLOSSIANS 3:18- 4:18
PSALM 78:56- 72
PROVERBS 24:28- 29


Hear the word of the LORD, O Israel! 2 This is what the LORD says:"Do not act like other nations who try to read their future in the stars. Do not be afraid of their predictions, even though other nations are terrified by them. 3 Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree and carve an idol. 4 They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won't fall over. 5 There stands their god like a helpless scarecrow in a garden! It cannot speak, and it needs to be carried because it cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good." 6 LORD, there is no one like you! For you are great, and your name is full of power. 7 Who would not fear you, O King of nations? That title belongs to you alone! Among all the wise people of the earth and in all the kingdoms of the world, there is no one like you. 8 The wisest of people who worship idols are stupid and foolish. The things they worship are made of wood! 9 They bring beaten sheets of silver from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz, and they give these materials to skillful craftsmen who make their idols. Then they dress these gods in royal purple robes made by expert tailors. 10 But the LORD is the only true God, the living God. He is the everlasting King! The whole earth trembles at his anger. The nations hide before his wrath. 11 Say this to those who worship other gods:"Your so- called gods, who did not make the heavens and earth, will vanish from the earth." 12 But God made the earth by his power,
and he preserves it by his wisdom.
He has stretched out the heavens
by his understanding.
13 When he speaks, there is thunder in the heavens.
He causes the clouds to rise over the earth.
He sends the lightning with the rain
and releases the wind from his storehouses.
14 Compared to him, all people are foolish
and have no knowledge at all!
They make idols, but the idols will disgrace their makers,
for they are frauds.
They have no life or power in them.
15 Idols are worthless; they are lies!
The time is coming when they will all be destroyed.
16 But the God of Israel is no idol!
He is the Creator of everything that exists,
including Israel, his own special possession.
The LORD Almighty is his name!
17 "Pack your bag and prepare to leave; the siege is about to begin," 18 says the LORD. "For suddenly, I will fling you from this land and pour great troubles upon you. At last you will feel my anger." 19 My wound is desperate, and my grief is great. My sickness is incurable, but I must bear it. 20 My home is gone, and no one is left to help me rebuild it. My children have been taken away, and I will never see them again. 21 The shepherds of my people have lost their senses. They no longer follow the LORD or ask what he wants of them. Therefore, they fail completely, and their flocks are scattered. 22 Listen! Hear the terrifying roar of great armies as they roll down from the north. The towns of Judah will be destroyed and will become a haunt for jackals. 23 I know, LORD, that a person's life is not his own. No one is able to plan his own course. 24 So correct me, LORD, but please be gentle. Do not correct me in anger, for I would die. 25 Pour out your wrath on the nations that refuse to recognize you-- on nations that do not call upon your name. For they have utterly devoured your people Israel, making the land a desolate wilderness. 11:1 THE LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 "Remind the people of Judah and Jerusalem about the terms of their covenant with me. 3 Say to them, `This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:Cursed is anyone who does not obey the terms of my covenant! 4 For I said to your ancestors when I brought them out of slavery in Egypt," If you obey me and do whatever I command you, then you will be my people, and I will be your God. "5 I said this so I could keep my promise to your ancestors to give you a land flowing with milk and honey-- the land you live in today. '" Then I replied, "So be it, LORD!" 6 Then the LORD said, "Broadcast this message in the streets of Jerusalem. Go from town to town throughout the land and say, `Remember the covenant your ancestors made, and do everything they promised. 7 For I solemnly warned your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, repeating over and over again to this day:" Obey me! "8 But your ancestors did not pay any attention; they would not even listen. Instead, they stubbornly followed their own evil desires. And because they refused to obey, I brought upon them all the curses described in our covenant.'" 9 Again the LORD spoke to me and said, "I have discovered a conspiracy against me among the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 10 They have returned to the sins of their forefathers. They have refused to listen to me and are worshiping idols. Israel and Judah have both broken the covenant I made with their ancestors. 11 Therefore, says the LORD, I am going to bring calamity upon them, and they will not escape. Though they beg for mercy, I will not listen to their cries. 12 Then the people of Judah and Jerusalem will pray to their idols and offer incense before them. But the idols will not save them when disaster strikes! 13 Look now, people of Judah, you have as many gods as there are cities and towns. Your altars of shame-- altars for burning incense to your god Baal-- are along every street in Jerusalem. 14" Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Do not weep or pray for them, for I will not listen to them when they cry out to me in distress. 15 What right do my beloved people have to come to my Temple, where they have done so many immoral things? Can their sacrifices avert their destruction? They actually rejoice in doing evil! 16 "I, the LORD, once called them a thriving olive tree, beautiful to see and full of good fruit. But now I have sent the fury of their enemies to burn them with fire, leaving them charred and broken. 17 I, the LORD Almighty, who planted this olive tree, have ordered it destroyed. For the people of Israel and Judah have done evil, provoking my anger by offering incense to Baal." 18 Then the LORD told me about the plots my enemies were making against me. 19 I had been as unaware as a lamb on the way to its slaughter. I had no idea that they were planning to kill me! "Let's destroy this man and all his words," they said. "Let's kill him, so his name will be forgotten forever." 20 O LORD Almighty, you are just, and you examine the deepest thoughts of hearts and minds. Let me see your vengeance against them, for I have committed my cause to you. 21 The men of Anathoth wanted me dead. They said they would kill me if I did not stop speaking in the LORD's name. 22 So this is what the LORD Almighty says about them:"I will punish them! Their young men will die in battle, and their little boys and girls will starve. 23 Not one of these plotters from Anathoth will survive, for I will bring disaster upon them when their time of punishment comes."


You wives must submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord. 19 And you husbands must love your wives and never treat them harshly. 20 You children must always obey your parents, for this is what pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, don't aggravate your children. If you do, they will become discouraged and quit trying. 22 You slaves must obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Obey them willingly because of your reverent fear of the Lord. 23 Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and the Master you are serving is Christ. 25 But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favorites who can get away with evil. 4:1 YOU slave owners must be just and fair to your slaves. Remember that you also have a Master-- in heaven. 2 Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. 3 Don't forget to pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to preach about his secret plan-- that Christ is also for you Gentiles. That is why I am here in chains. 4 Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should. 5 Live wisely among those who are not Christians, and make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will have the right answer for everyone. 7 Tychicus, a much loved brother, will tell you how I am getting along. He is a faithful helper who serves the Lord with me. 8 I have sent him on this special trip to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you. 9 I am also sending Onesimus, a faithful and much loved brother, one of your own people. He and Tychicus will give you all the latest news. 10 Aristarchus, who is in prison with me, sends you his greetings, and so does Mark, Barnabas's cousin. And as you were instructed before, make Mark welcome if he comes your way. 11 Jesus (the one we call Justus) also sends his greetings. These are the only Jewish Christians among my co- workers; they are working with me here for the Kingdom of God. And what a comfort they have been! 12 Epaphras, from your city, a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. He always prays earnestly for you, asking God to make you strong and perfect, fully confident of the whole will of God. 13 I can assure you that he has agonized for you and also for the Christians in Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 Dear Doctor Luke sends his greetings, and so does Demas. 15 Please give my greetings to our Christian brothers and sisters *at Laodicea, and to Nympha and those who meet in her house. 16 After you have read this letter, pass it on to the church at Laodicea so they can read it, too. And you should read the letter I wrote to them. 17 And say to Archippus, "Be sure to carry out the work the Lord gave you." 18 Here is my greeting in my own handwriting-- PAUL. Remember my chains. May the grace of God be with you.


Yet though he [God] did all this for them [the Israelites],
they continued to test his patience.
They rebelled against the Most High
and refused to follow his decrees.
57 They turned back and were as faithless as their parents had been.
They were as useless as a crooked bow.
58 They made God angry by building altars to other gods;
they made him jealous with their idols.
59 When God heard them, he was very angry,
and he rejected Israel completely.
60 Then he abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh,
the Tabernacle where he had lived among the people.
61 He allowed the Ark of his might to be captured;
he surrendered his glory into enemy hands.
62 He gave his people over to be butchered by the sword,
because he was so angry with his own people-- his special possession.
63 Their young men were killed by fire;
their young women died before singing their wedding songs.
64 Their priests were slaughtered,
and their widows could not mourn their deaths.
65 Then the Lord rose up as though waking from sleep,
like a mighty man aroused from a drunken stupor.
66 He routed his enemies
and sent them to eternal shame.
67 But he rejected Joseph's descendants;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 He chose instead the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loved.
69 There he built his towering sanctuary,
as solid and enduring as the earth itself.
70 He chose his servant David,
calling him from the sheep pens.
71 He took David from tending the ewes and lambs
and made him the shepherd of Jacob's descendants--
God's own people, Israel.
72 He cared for them with a true heart
and led them with skillful hands.


Do not testify spitefully against innocent neighbors; don't lie about them. And don't say, "Now I can pay them back for all their meanness to me! I'll get even

Reading through the Word....Day 278, October 5

JEREMIAH 8:8- 9:26
COLOSSIANS 3:1- 17
PSALM 78:32- 55
PROVERBS 24:27


"`How can you [Israelites] say," We are wise because we have the law of the LORD, "when your teachers have twisted it so badly? 9 These wise teachers will be shamed by exile for their sin, for they have rejected the word of the LORD. Are they so wise after all? 10 I will give their wives and their farms to others. From the least to the greatest, they trick others to get what does not belong to them. Yes, even my prophets and priests are like that. 11 They offer superficial treatments for my people's mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when all is war. 12 Are they ashamed when they do these disgusting things? No, not at all-- they don't even blush! Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered. They will be humbled when they are punished, says the LORD. 13 I will take away their rich harvests of figs and grapes. Their fruit trees will all die. All the good things I prepared for them will soon be gone. I, the LORD, have spoken! '14" Then the people will say, `Why should we wait here to die? Come, let's go to the fortified cities to die there. For the LORD our God has decreed our destruction and has given us a cup of poison to drink because we sinned against the LORD. 15 We hoped for peace, but no peace came. We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror. 16 The snorting of the enemies' warhorses can be heard all the way from the land of Dan in the north! The whole land trembles at the approach of the terrible army, for it is coming to devour the land and everything in it-- cities and people alike. '17 "I will send these enemy troops among you like poisonous snakes you cannot charm," says the LORD. "No matter what you do, they will bite you, and you will die." 18 My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken. 19 Listen to the weeping of my people; it can be heard all across the land. "Has the LORD abandoned Jerusalem?" the people ask. "Is her King no longer there?" "Oh, why have they angered me with their carved idols and worthless gods?" asks the LORD. 20 "The harvest is finished, and the summer is gone," the people cry, "yet we are not saved!" 21 I weep for the hurt of my people. I am stunned and silent, mute with grief. 22 Is there no medicine in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people? 9:1 OH, that my eyes were a fountain of tears; I would weep forever! I would sob day and night for all my people who have been slaughtered. 2 Oh, that I could go away and forget them and live in a shack in the desert, for they are all adulterous and treacherous. 3 "My people bend their tongues like bows to shoot lies. They refuse to stand up for the truth. And they only go from bad to worse! They care nothing for me," says the LORD. 4 "Beware of your neighbor! Beware of your brother! They all take advantage of one another and spread their slanderous lies. 5 They all fool and defraud each other; no one tells the truth. With practiced tongues they tell lies; they wear themselves out with all their sinning. 6 They pile lie upon lie and utterly refuse to come to me," says the LORD. 7 Therefore, the LORD Almighty says, "See, I will melt them in a crucible and test them like metal. What else can I do with them? 8 For their tongues aim lies like poisoned arrows. They promise peace to their neighbors while planning to kill them. 9 Should I not punish them for this?" asks the LORD. "Should I not avenge myself against a nation such as this?" 10 I will weep for the mountains and wail for the desert pastures. For they are desolate and empty of life; the lowing of cattle is heard no more; the birds and wild animals all have fled. 11 "I will make Jerusalem into a heap of ruins," says the LORD. "It will be a place haunted by jackals. The towns of Judah will be ghost towns, with no one living in them." 12 Who is wise enough to understand all this? Who has been instructed by the LORD and can explain it to others? Why has the land been ruined so completely that no one even dares to travel through it? 13 The LORD replies, "This has happened because my people have abandoned the instructions I gave them; they have refused to obey my law. 14 Instead, they have stubbornly followed their own desires and worshiped the images of Baal, as their ancestors taught them. 15 So now, listen to what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says:Look! I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink. 16 I will scatter them around the world, and they will be strangers in distant lands. Their enemies will chase them with the sword until I have destroyed them completely." 17 This is what the LORD Almighty says:"Think about what is going on! Call for the mourners to come. 18 Quick! Begin your weeping! Let the tears flow from your eyes. 19 Hear the people of Jerusalem crying in despair, `We are ruined! Disaster has come upon us! We must leave our land, because our homes have been torn down.'" 20 Listen, you women, to the words of the LORD; open your ears to what he has to say. Teach your daughters to wail; teach one another how to lament. 21 For death has crept in through our windows and has entered our mansions. It has killed off the flower of our youth:Children no longer play in the streets, and young men no longer gather in the squares. 22 And the LORD says, "Bodies will be scattered across the fields like dung, or like bundles of grain after the harvest. No one will be left to bury them." 23 This is what the LORD says:"Let not the wise man gloat in his wisdom, or the mighty man in his might, or the rich man in his riches. 24 Let them boast in this alone:that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD who is just and righteous, whose love is unfailing, and that I delight in these things. I, the LORD, have spoken! 25" A time is coming, "says the LORD," when I will punish all those who are circumcised in body but not in spirit-- 26 the Egyptians, Edomites, Ammonites, Moabites, the people who live in distant places, and yes, even the people of Judah. Like all these pagan nations, the people of Israel also have uncircumcised hearts. "


Since you [Colossians] have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God's right hand in the place of honor and power. 2 Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. 3 For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. 5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires. Don't be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry. 6 God's terrible anger will come upon those who do such things. 7 You used to do them when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand- new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you. 11 In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. 12 Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful. 16 Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father.


But in spite of this, the people kept on sinning.
They refused to believe in his [God's] miracles.
33 So he ended their lives in failure
and gave them years of terror.
34 When God killed some of them, the rest finally sought him.
They repented and turned to God.
35 Then they remembered that God was their rock,
that their redeemer was the Most High.
36 But they followed him only with their words;
they lied to him with their tongues.
37 Their hearts were not loyal to him.
They did not keep his covenant.
38 Yet he was merciful and forgave their sins
and didn't destroy them all.
Many a time he held back his anger
and did not unleash his fury!
39 For he remembered that they were merely mortal,
gone in a moment like a breath of wind, never to return.
40 Oh, how often they rebelled against him in the desert
and grieved his heart in the wilderness.
41 Again and again they tested God's patience
and frustrated the Holy One of Israel.
42 They forgot about his power
and how he rescued them from their enemies.
43 They forgot his miraculous signs in Egypt,
his wonders on the plain of Zoan.
44 For he turned their rivers into blood,
so no one could drink from the streams.
45 He sent vast swarms of flies to consume them
and hordes of frogs to ruin them.
46 He gave their crops to caterpillars;
their harvest was consumed by locusts.
47 He destroyed their grapevines with hail
and shattered their sycamores with sleet.
48 He abandoned their cattle to the hail,
their livestock to bolts of lightning.
49 He loosed on them his fierce anger--
all his fury, rage, and hostility.
He dispatched against them
a band of destroying angels.
50 He turned his anger against them;
he did not spare the Egyptians 'lives
but handed them over to the plague.
51 He killed the oldest son in each Egyptian family,
the flower of youth throughout the land of Egypt.
52 But he led his own people like a flock of sheep,
guiding them safely through the wilderness.
53 He kept them safe so they were not afraid;
but the sea closed in upon their enemies.
54 He brought them to the border of his holy land,
to this land of hills he had won for them.
55 He drove out the nations before them;
he gave them their inheritance by lot.
He settled the tribes of Israel into their homes.


Develop your business first before building your house

Reading through the Word....Day 277, October 4

JEREMIAH 6:16- 8:7
COLOSSIANS 2:8- 23
PSALM 78:1- 31
PROVERBS 24:26


So now the LORD pleads, "Stop right where you are! Look for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, `No, that's not the road we want! '17 I set watchmen over you who said, `Listen for the sound of the trumpet!' But you replied, `No! We won't pay attention! '18" Therefore, listen to this, all you nations. Take note of my people's condition. 19 Listen, all the earth! I will bring disaster upon my people. It is the fruit of their own sin because they refuse to listen to me. They have rejected all my instructions. 20 There is no use now in offering me sweet incense from Sheba. Keep your expensive perfumes! I cannot accept your burnt offerings. Your sacrifices have no sweet fragrance for me. "21 Therefore, this is what the LORD says:" I will put obstacles in my people's path. Fathers and sons will both fall over them. Neighbors and friends will collapse together. "22 This is what the LORD says:" See a great army marching from the north! A great nation is rising against you from far- off lands. 23 They are fully armed for slaughter. They are cruel and show no mercy. As they ride forward, the noise of their army is like a roaring sea. They are marching in battle formation to destroy you, Jerusalem. "24 We have heard reports about the enemy, and we are weak with fright. Fear and pain have gripped us, like that of a woman about to give birth. 25 Don't go out to the fields! Don't travel the roads! The enemy is everywhere, and they are ready to kill. We are terrorized at every turn! 26 Now my people, dress yourselves in sackcloth, and sit among the ashes. Mourn and weep bitterly, as for the loss of an only son. For suddenly, the destroying armies will be upon you! 27" Jeremiah, I have made you a tester of metals, that you may determine the quality of my people. 28 Are they not the worst of rebels, full of slander? They are as insolent as bronze, as hard and cruel as iron. All of them lead others into corruption. 29 The bellows blow fiercely. The refining fire grows hotter. But it will never purify and cleanse them because there is no purity in them to refine. 30 I will label them `Rejected Silver' because I, the LORD, am discarding them. "7:1 THE LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2" Go to the entrance of the LORD's Temple, and give this message to the people:`O Judah, listen to this message from the LORD! Listen to it, all of you who worship here! 3 The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says:Even now, if you quit your evil ways, I will let you stay in your own land. 4 But do not be fooled by those who repeatedly promise your safety because the Temple of the LORD is here. 5 I will be merciful only if you stop your wicked thoughts and deeds and are fair to others; 6 and if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; and if you stop your murdering; and if you stop worshiping idols as you now do to your own harm. 7 Then I will let you stay in this land that I gave to your ancestors to keep forever. 8 "`Do you think that because the Temple is here you will never suffer? Don't fool yourselves! 9 Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and worship Baal and all those other new gods of yours, 10 and then come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant," We are safe! "-- only to go right back to all those evils again? 11 Do you think this Temple, which honors my name, is a den of thieves? I see all the evil going on there, says the LORD. 12" `Go to the place at Shiloh where I once put the Tabernacle to honor my name. See what I did there because of all the wickedness of my people, the Israelites. 13 While you were doing these wicked things, says the LORD, I spoke to you about it repeatedly, but you would not listen. I called out to you, but you refused to answer. 14 So just as I destroyed Shiloh, I will now destroy this Temple that was built to honor my name, this Temple that you trust for help, this place that I gave to you and your ancestors. 15 And I will send you into exile, just as I did your relatives, the people of Israel. '16 "Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Do not weep or pray for them, and don't beg me to help them, for I will not listen to you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing throughout the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 No wonder I am so angry! Watch how the children gather wood and the fathers build sacrificial fires. See how the women knead dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. And they give drink offerings to their other idol gods! 19 Am I the one they are hurting?" asks the LORD. "Most of all, they hurt themselves, to their own shame." 20 So the Sovereign LORD says:"I will pour out my terrible fury on this place. Its people, animals, trees, and crops will be consumed by the unquenchable fire of my anger." 21 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says:"Away with your burnt offerings and sacrifices! Eat them yourselves! 22 When I led your ancestors out of Egypt, it was not burnt offerings and sacrifices I wanted from them. 23 This is what I told them:`Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Only do as I say, and all will be well!' 24" But my people would not listen to me. They kept on doing whatever they wanted, following the stubborn desires of their evil hearts. They went backward instead of forward. 25 From the day your ancestors left Egypt until now, I have continued to send my prophets-- day in and day out. 26 But my people have not listened to me or even tried to hear. They have been stubborn and sinful-- even worse than their ancestors. 27 "Tell them all this, but do not expect them to listen. Shout out your warnings, but do not expect them to respond. 28 Say to them, `This is the nation whose people will not obey the LORD their God and who refuse to be taught. Truth has vanished from among them; it is no longer heard on their lips. 29 O Jerusalem, shave your head in mourning, and weep alone on the mountains. For the LORD has rejected and forsaken this generation that has provoked his fury. '30" The people of Judah have sinned before my very eyes, "says the LORD." They have set up their abominable idols right in my own Temple, defiling it. 31 They have built the pagan shrines of Topheth in the valley of the son of Hinnom, where they sacrifice their little sons and daughters in the fire. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing! 32 So beware, for the time is coming, "says the LORD," when that place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. They will bury so many bodies in Topheth that there won't be room for all the graves. 33 The corpses of my people will be food for the vultures and wild animals, and no one will be left to scare them away. 34 I will put an end to the happy singing and laughter in the streets of Jerusalem. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard in the towns of Judah. The land will lie in complete desolation. 8:1 "IN that day," says the LORD, "the enemy will break open the graves of the kings and officials of Judah, and the graves of the priests, prophets, and common people. 2 They will dig out their bones and spread them out on the ground before the sun, moon, and stars-- the gods my people have loved, served, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up again or buried but will be scattered on the ground like dung. 3 And the people of this evil nation who survive will wish to die rather than live where I will send them. I, the LORD Almighty, have spoken! 4" Jeremiah, say to the people, `This is what the LORD says:When people fall down, don't they get up again? When they start down the wrong road and discover their mistake, don't they turn back? 5 Then why do these people keep going along their self- destructive path, refusing to turn back, even though I have warned them? 6 I listen to their conversations, and what do I hear? Is anyone sorry for sin? Does anyone say, "What a terrible thing I have done"? No! All are running down the path of sin as swiftly as a horse rushing into battle! 7 The stork knows the time of her migration, as do the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane. They all return at the proper time each year. But not my people! They do not know what the LORD requires of them.' "


Don't let anyone lead you [Colossians] astray with empty philosophy and high- sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the evil powers of this world, and not from Christ. 9 For in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body, 10 and you are complete through your union with Christ. He is the Lord over every ruler and authority in the universe. 11 When you came to Christ, you were" circumcised, "but not by a physical procedure. It was a spiritual procedure-- the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to a new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. 13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ's cross. 15 In this way, God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross of Christ. 16 So don't let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new- moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. 17 For these rules were only shadows of the real thing, Christ himself. 18 Don't let anyone condemn you by insisting on self- denial. And don't let anyone say you must worship angels, even though they say they have had visions about this. These people claim to be so humble, but their sinful minds have made them proud. 19 But they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For we are joined together in his body by his strong sinews, and we grow only as we get our nourishment and strength from God. 20 You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the evil powers of this world. So why do you keep on following rules of the world, such as, 21" Don't handle, don't eat, don't touch. "22 Such rules are mere human teaching about things that are gone as soon as we use them. 23 These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, humility, and severe bodily discipline. But they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person's evil thoughts and desires.


A psalm of Asaph.
1 O my people, listen to my teaching.
Open your ears to what I am saying,
2 for I will speak to you in a parable.
I will teach you hidden lessons from our past--
3 stories we have heard and know,
stories our ancestors handed down to us.
4 We will not hide these truths from our children
but will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD.
We will tell of his power and the mighty miracles he did.
5 For he issued his decree to Jacob;
he gave his law to Israel.
He commanded our ancestors
to teach them to their children,
6 so the next generation might know them--
even the children not yet born--
that they in turn might teach their children.
7 So each generation can set its hope anew on God,
remembering his glorious miracles
and obeying his commands.
8 Then they will not be like their ancestors--
stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful,
refusing to give their hearts to God.
9 The warriors of Ephraim, though fully armed,
turned their backs and fled when the day of battle came.
10 They did not keep God's covenant,
and they refused to live by his law.
11 They forgot what he had done--
the wonderful miracles he had shown them,
12 the miracles he did for their ancestors in Egypt, on the plain of Zoan.
13 For he divided the sea before them and led them through!
The water stood up like walls beside them!
14 In the daytime he led them by a cloud,
and at night by a pillar of fire.
15 He split open the rocks in the wilderness
to give them plenty of water, as from a gushing spring.
16 He made streams pour from the rock,
making the waters flow down like a river!
17 Yet they kept on with their sin,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 They willfully tested God in their hearts,
demanding the foods they craved.
19 They even spoke against God himself, saying,
" God can't give us food in the desert.
20 Yes, he can strike a rock so water gushes out,
but he can't give his people bread and meat. "
21 When the LORD heard them, he was angry.
The fire of his wrath burned against Jacob.
Yes, his anger rose against Israel,
22 for they did not believe God
or trust him to care for them.
23 But he commanded the skies to open--
he opened the doors of heaven--
24 and rained down manna for them to eat.
He gave them bread from heaven.
25 They ate the food of angels!
God gave them all they could hold.
26 He released the east wind in the heavens
and guided the south wind by his mighty power.
27 He rained down meat as thick as dust--
birds as plentiful as the sands along the seashore!
28 He caused the birds to fall within their camp
and all around their tents.
29 The people ate their fill.
He gave them what they wanted.
30 But before they finished eating this food they had craved,
while the meat was yet in their mouths,
31 the anger of God rose against them,
and he killed their strongest men;
he struck down the finest of Israel's young men.


It is an honor to receive an honest reply

Reading through the Word....Day 276, October 3

JEREMIAH 4:19- 6:15
COLOSSIANS 1:18- 2:7
PSALM 77:1- 20
PROVERBS 24:23- 25


My heart, my heart-- I [Jeremiah] writhe in pain! My heart pounds within me! I cannot be still. For I have heard the blast of enemy trumpets and the roar of their battle cries. 20 Waves of destruction roll over the land, until it lies in complete desolation. Suddenly, every tent is destroyed; in a moment, every shelter is crushed. 21 How long must this go on? How long must I be surrounded by war and death? 22 "My people are foolish and do not know me," says the LORD. "They are senseless children who have no understanding. They are clever enough at doing wrong, but they have no talent at all for doing right!" 23 I looked at the earth, and it was empty and formless. I looked at the heavens, and there was no light. 24 I looked at the mountains and hills, and they trembled and shook. 25 I looked, and all the people were gone. All the birds of the sky had flown away. 26 I looked, and the fertile fields had become a wilderness. The cities lay in ruins, crushed by the LORD's fierce anger. 27 This is what the LORD says:"The whole land will be ruined, but I will not destroy it completely. 28 The earth will mourn, the heavens will be draped in black, because of my decree against my people. I have made up my mind and will not change it." 29 At the noise of marching armies, the people flee in terror from the cities. They hide in the bushes and run for the mountains. All the cities have been abandoned-- not a person remains! 30 What are you doing, you who have been plundered? Why do you dress up in your most beautiful clothing and jewelry? Why do you brighten your eyes with mascara? It will do you no good! Your allies despise you and will kill you. 31 I hear a great cry, like that of a woman giving birth to her first child. It is the cry of Jerusalem's people gasping for breath, pleading for help, prostrate before their murderers. 5:1 "RUN up and down every street in Jerusalem," says the LORD. "Look high and low; search throughout the city! If you can find even one person who is just and honest, I will not destroy the city. 2 Even when they are under oath, saying, `As surely as the LORD lives, 'they all tell lies!" 3 LORD, you are searching for honesty. You struck your people, but they paid no attention. You crushed them, but they refused to turn from sin. They are determined, with faces set like stone; they have refused to repent. 4 Then I said, "But what can we expect from the poor and ignorant? They don't know the ways of the LORD. They don't understand what God expects of them. 5 I will go and speak to their leaders. Surely they will know the LORD's ways and what God requires of them." But the leaders, too, had utterly rejected their God. 6 So now a lion from the forest will attack them; a wolf from the desert will pounce on them. A leopard will lurk near their towns, tearing apart any who dare to venture out. For their rebellion is great, and their sins are many. 7 "How can I pardon you? For even your children have turned from me. They have sworn by gods that are not gods at all! I fed my people until they were fully satisfied. But they thanked me by committing adultery and lining up at the city's brothels. 8 They are well- fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbor's wife. 9 Should I not punish them for this?" asks the LORD. "Should I not avenge myself against a nation such as this? 10" Go down the rows of the vineyards and destroy them, but leave a scattered few alive. Strip the branches from the vine, for they do not belong to the LORD. 11 The people of Israel and Judah are full of treachery against me, "says the LORD. 12" They have lied about the LORD and have said, `He won't bother us! No disasters will come upon us! There will be no war or famine! 13 God's prophets are windbags full of words with no divine authority. Their predictions of disaster will fall on themselves!' "14 Therefore, this is what the LORD God Almighty says:" Because the people are talking like this, I will give you messages that will burn them up as if they were kindling wood. 15 O Israel, I will bring a distant nation against you, "says the LORD." It is a mighty nation, an ancient nation, a people whose language you do not know, whose speech you cannot understand. 16 Their weapons are deadly; their warriors are mighty. 17 They will eat your harvests and your children's bread, your flocks of sheep and your herds of cattle. Yes, they will eat your grapes and figs. And they will destroy your fortified cities, which you think are so safe. 18 "Yet even in those days I will not blot you out completely," says the LORD. 19 "And when your people ask, `Why is the LORD our God doing this to us? 'you must reply, `You rejected him and gave yourselves to foreign gods in your own land. Now you will serve foreigners in a land that is not your own.' 20" Make this announcement to Israel and to Judah:21 Listen, you foolish and senseless people-- who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear. 22 Do you have no respect for me? Why do you not tremble in my presence? I, the LORD, am the one who defines the ocean's sandy shoreline, an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross. The waves may toss and roar, but they can never pass the bounds I set. 23 "But my people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned against me and have chosen to practice idolatry. 24 They do not say from the heart, `Let us live in awe of the LORD our God, for he gives us rain each spring and fall, assuring us of plentiful harvests. '25 Your wickedness has deprived you of these wonderful blessings. Your sin has robbed you of all these good things. 26" Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait for victims like a hunter hiding in a blind. They are continually setting traps for other people. 27 Like a cage filled with birds, their homes are filled with evil plots. And the result? Now they are great and rich. 28 They are well fed and well groomed, and there is no limit to their wicked deeds. They refuse justice to orphans and deny the rights of the poor. 29 Should I not punish them for this? "asks the LORD." Should I not avenge myself against a nation such as this? 30 "A horrible and shocking thing has happened in this land-- 31 the prophets give false prophecies, and the priests rule with an iron hand. And worse yet, my people like it that way! But what will you do when the end comes? 6:1" RUN for your lives, you people of Benjamin! Flee from Jerusalem! Sound the alarm in Tekoa! Send up a signal at Beth- hakkerem! Warn everyone that a powerful army is coming from the north to destroy this nation. 2 O Jerusalem, you are my beautiful and delicate daughter-- but I will destroy you! 3 Enemy shepherds will surround you. They will set up camp around the city and divide your pastures for their flocks. 4 They shout, `Prepare for battle and attack at noon! But now the day is fading, and the evening shadows are falling. 5 So let us attack by night and destroy her palaces!' "6 This is what the LORD Almighty says:" Cut down the trees for battering rams. Build ramps against the walls of Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished, for she is wicked through and through. 7 She spouts evil like a fountain! Her streets echo with the sounds of violence and destruction. Her sickness and sores are ever before me. 8 This is your last warning, Jerusalem! If you do not listen, I will empty the land. "9 This is what the LORD Almighty says:" Disaster will fall upon you. Even the few who remain in Israel will be gleaned again, as when a harvester checks each vine a second time to pick the grapes that were missed. "10 To whom can I give warning? Who will listen when I speak? Their ears are closed, and they cannot hear. They scorn the word of the LORD. They don't want to listen at all. 11 So now I am filled with the LORD's fury. Yes, I am weary of holding it in!" I will pour out my fury over Jerusalem, even on children playing in the streets, on gatherings of young men, and on husbands and wives and grandparents. 12 Their homes will be turned over to their enemies, and so will their fields and their wives. For I will punish the people of this land, "says the LORD. 13" From the least to the greatest, they trick others to get what does not belong to them. Yes, even my prophets and priests are like that! 14 They offer superficial treatments for my people's mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when all is war. 15 Are they ashamed when they do these disgusting things? No, not at all-- they don't even blush! Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered. They will be humbled beneath my punishing anger, "says the LORD.


Christ is the head of the church, which is his body. He is the first of all who will rise from the dead, so he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross. 21 This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, 22 yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. 23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand in it firmly. Don't drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed by God to proclaim it. 24 I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am completing what remains of Christ's sufferings for his body, the church. 25 God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his message in all its fullness to you Gentiles. 26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to his own holy people. 27 For it has pleased God to tell his people that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. For this is the secret:Christ lives in you, and this is your assurance that you will share in his glory. 28 So everywhere we go, we tell everyone about Christ. We warn them and teach them with all the wisdom God has given us, for we want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. 29 I work very hard at this, as I depend on Christ's mighty power that works within me. 2:1 I WANT you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other friends who have never known me personally. 2 My goal is that they will be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have full confidence because they have complete understanding of God's secret plan, which is Christ himself. 3 In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I am telling you this so that no one will be able to deceive you with persuasive arguments. 5 For though I am far away from you, my heart is with you. And I am very happy because you are living as you should and because of your strong faith in Christ. 6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done.


For Jeduthun, the choir director:A psalm of Asaph.
1 I cry out to God without holding back.
Oh, that God would listen to me!
2 When I was in deep trouble,
I searched for the Lord.
All night long I pray, with hands lifted toward heaven, pleading.
There can be no joy for me until he acts.
3 I think of God, and I moan,
overwhelmed with longing for his help.
Interlude4 You don't let me sleep.
I am too distressed even to pray!
5 I think of the good old days, long since ended,
6 when my nights were filled with joyful songs.
I search my soul and think about the difference now.
7 Has the Lord rejected me forever?
Will he never again show me favor?
8 Is his unfailing love gone forever?
Have his promises permanently failed?
9 Has God forgotten to be kind?
Has he slammed the door on his compassion?
Interlude10 And I said," This is my fate,
that the blessings of the Most High have changed to hatred. "
11 I recall all you have done, O LORD;
I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
12 They are constantly in my thoughts.
I cannot stop thinking about them.
13 O God, your ways are holy.
Is there any god as mighty as you?
14 You are the God of miracles and wonders!
You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations.
15 You have redeemed your people by your strength,
the descendants of Jacob and of Joseph by your might.
Interlude16 When the Red Sea saw you, O God,
its waters looked and trembled!
The sea quaked to its very depths.
17 The clouds poured down their rain;
the thunder rolled and crackled in the sky.
Your arrows of lightning flashed.
18 Your thunder roared from the whirlwind;
the lightning lit up the world!
The earth trembled and shook.
19 Your road led through the sea,
your pathway through the mighty waters--
a pathway no one knew was there!
20 You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep,
with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds.


Here are some further sayings of the wise:It is wrong to show favoritism when passing judgment. A judge who says to the wicked," You are innocent, "will be cursed by many people and denounced by the nations. But blessings are showered on those who convict the guilty

Reading through the Word....Day 275, October 2

JEREMIAH 2:31- 4:18
COLOSSIANS 1:1- 17
PSALM 76:1- 12
PROVERBS 24:21- 22


"O my people, listen to the words of the LORD! Have I been like a desert to Israel? Have I been to them a land of darkness? Why then do my people say, `At last we are free from God! We won't have anything to do with him anymore! '32 Does a young woman forget her jewelry? Does a bride hide her wedding dress? No! Yet for years on end my people have forgotten me. 33" How you plot and scheme to win your lovers. The most experienced prostitute could learn from you! 34 Your clothing is stained with the blood of the innocent and the poor. You killed them even though they didn't break into your houses! 35 And yet you say, `I haven't done anything wrong. Surely he isn't angry with me!' Now I will punish you severely because you claim you have not sinned. 36 "First here, then there-- you flit from one ally to another asking for help. But your new friends in Egypt will let you down, just as Assyria did before. 37 In despair, you will be led into exile with your hands on your heads, for the LORD has rejected the nations you trust. You will not succeed despite their help. 3:1" IF a man divorces a woman and she marries someone else, he is not to take her back again, for that would surely corrupt the land. But you have prostituted yourself with many lovers, says the LORD. Yet I am still calling you to come back to me. 2 "Look all around you. Is there anywhere in the entire land where you have not been defiled by your adulteries? You sit like a prostitute beside the road waiting for a client. You sit alone like a nomad in the desert. You have polluted the land with your prostitution and wickedness. 3 That is why even the spring rains have failed. For you are a prostitute and are completely unashamed. 4 Yet you say to me, `Father, you have been my guide since the days of my youth. 5 Surely you won't be angry about such a little thing! Surely you can forget it! 'So you talk, and keep right on doing all the evil you can." 6 During the reign of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, "Have you seen what fickle Israel does? Like a wife who commits adultery, Israel has worshiped other gods on every hill and under every green tree. 7 I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me. But she did not come back. And though her faithless sister Judah saw this, 8 she paid no attention. She saw that I had divorced faithless Israel and sent her away. But now Judah, too, has left me and given herself to prostitution. 9 Israel treated it all so lightly-- she thought nothing of committing adultery by worshiping idols made of wood and stone. So now the land has been greatly defiled. 10 But in spite of all this, her faithless sister Judah has never sincerely returned to me. She has only pretended to be sorry," says the LORD. 11 Then the LORD said to me, "Even faithless Israel is less guilty than treacherous Judah! 12 Therefore, go and say these words to Israel, `This is what the LORD says:O Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever. 13 Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the LORD your God and committed adultery against him by worshiping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to follow me. I, the LORD, have spoken!'" 14 "Return home, you wayward children," says the LORD, "for I am your husband. I will bring you again to the land of Israel-- one from here and two from there, from wherever you are scattered. 15 And I will give you leaders after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding. 16" And when your land is once more filled with people, "says the LORD," you will no longer wish for `the good old days 'when you possessed the Ark of the LORD's covenant. Those days will not be missed or even thought about, and there will be no need to rebuild the Ark. 17 In that day Jerusalem will be known as The Throne of the LORD. All nations will come there to honor the LORD. They will no longer stubbornly follow their own evil desires. 18 In those days the people of Judah and Israel will return together from exile in the north. They will return to the land I gave their ancestors as an inheritance forever. 19 "I thought to myself, `I would love to treat you as my own children!' I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land-- the finest inheritance in the world. I looked forward to your calling me `Father, 'and I thought you would never turn away from me again. 20 But you have betrayed me, you people of Israel! You have been like a faithless wife who leaves her husband," says the LORD. 21 Voices are heard high on the windswept mountains, the weeping and pleading of Israel's people. For they have forgotten the LORD their God and wandered far from his ways. 22 "My wayward children," says the LORD, "come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts." "Yes, we will come," the people reply, "for you are the LORD our God. 23 Our worship of idols and our religious orgies on the hills and mountains are completely false. Only in the LORD our God will Israel ever find salvation. 24 From childhood we have watched as everything our ancestors worked for-- their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters-- was squandered on a delusion. 25 Let us now lie down in shame and dishonor, for we and our ancestors have always sinned against the LORD our God. We have never obeyed him." 4:1 "O ISRAEL, come back to me," says the LORD. "If you will throw away your detestable idols and go astray no more, 2 and if you will swear by my name alone, and begin to live good, honest lives and uphold justice, then you will be a blessing to the nations of the world, and all people will come and praise my name." 3 This is what the LORD says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:"Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns. 4 Cleanse your minds and hearts before the LORD, or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire because of all your sins. 5" Shout to Jerusalem and to all Judah! Tell them to sound the alarm throughout the land:`Run for your lives! Flee to the fortified cities!' 6 Send a signal toward Jerusalem:`Flee now! Do not delay! 'For I am bringing terrible destruction upon you from the north. "7 A lion stalks from its den, a destroyer of nations. And it is headed for your land! Your towns will lie in ruins, empty of people. 8 So put on clothes of mourning and weep with broken hearts, for the fierce anger of the LORD is still upon us. 9" In that day, "says the LORD," the king and the officials will tremble in fear. The priests and the prophets will be struck with horror. "10 Then I said," O Sovereign LORD, the people have been deceived by what you said, for you promised peace for Jerusalem. Yet the sword is even now poised to strike them dead! "11 The time is coming when the LORD will say to the people of Jerusalem," A burning wind is blowing in from the desert. It is not a gentle breeze useful for winnowing grain. 12 It is a roaring blast sent by me! Now I will pronounce your destruction! "13 Our enemy rushes down on us like a storm wind! His chariots are like whirlwinds; his horses are swifter than eagles. How terrible it will be! Our destruction is sure! 14 O Jerusalem, cleanse your hearts that you may be saved. How long will you harbor your evil thoughts? 15 From Dan and the hill country of Ephraim, your destruction has been announced. 16" Warn the surrounding nations and announce to Jerusalem:`The enemy is coming from a distant land, raising a battle cry against the towns of Judah. 17 They surround Jerusalem like watchmen surrounding a field, for my people have rebelled against me,' "says the LORD. 18" Your own actions have brought this upon you. This punishment is a bitter dose of your own medicine. It has pierced you to the heart! "


This letter is from Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. 2 It is written to God's holy people in the city of Colosse, who are faithful brothers and sisters *in Christ. May God our Father give you grace and peace. 3 We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 for we have heard that you trust in Christ Jesus and that you love all of God's people. 5 You do this because you are looking forward to the joys of heaven-- as you have been ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News. 6 This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is changing lives everywhere, just as it changed yours that very first day you heard and understood the truth about God's great kindness to sinners. 7 Epaphras, our much loved co- worker, was the one who brought you the Good News. He is Christ's faithful servant, and he is helping us in your place. 8 He is the one who told us about the great love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you. 9 So we have continued praying for you ever since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he wants to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom. 10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others. All the while, you will learn to know God better and better. 11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with his glorious power so that you will have all the patience and endurance you need. May you be filled with joy, 12 always thanking the Father, who has enabled you to share the inheritance that belongs to God's holy people, who live in the light. 13 For he has rescued us from the one who rules in the kingdom of darkness, and he has brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son. 14 God has purchased our freedom with his blood and has forgiven all our sins. 15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. 16 Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see-- kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him. 17 He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together.


For the choir director:A psalm of Asaph, to be accompanied by stringed instruments. A song.
1 God is well known in Judah;
his name is great in Israel.
2 Jerusalem is where he lives;
Mount Zion is his home.
3 There he breaks the arrows of the enemy,
the shields and swords and weapons of his foes.
Interlude4 You are glorious and more majestic
than the everlasting mountains.
5 The mightiest of our enemies have been plundered.
They lie before us in the sleep of death.
No warrior could lift a hand against us.
6 When you rebuked them, O God of Jacob,
their horses and chariots stood still.
7 No wonder you are greatly feared!
Who can stand before you when your anger explodes?
8 From heaven you sentenced your enemies;
the earth trembled and stood silent before you.
9 You stand up to judge those who do evil, O God,
and to rescue the oppressed of the earth.
Interlude10 Human opposition only enhances your glory,
for you use it as a sword of judgment.
11 Make vows to the LORD your God, and fulfill them.
Let everyone bring tribute to the Awesome One.
12 For he breaks the spirit of princes
and is feared by the kings of the earth.


My child, fear the LORD and the king, and don't associate with rebels. For you will go down with them to sudden disaster. Who knows where the punishment from the LORD and the king will end