Read the Bible in a Year

Each day, we'll post passages so that you can read the Bible in one year. This is part of The Colossians 13:16 Project, sponsored by Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia. You're invited to worship with us Sundays, at 11:00 a.m. or Saturdays, at 6:30 p.m. You may also want to consider joining one our adult Bible Studies: Thursdays at 12:00 noon and Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. We also have a full range of programs for children. If you want more information about the church, check out the other blogs. And please feel free to leave any comments.

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Sunday, December 13, 2015

Bible Readings for December 13, 2015


Today our passages are Obadiah 1-21; Revelation 4:1-11; Psalm 132:1-18; and Proverbs 29:24-25. The readings are from the Contemporary English Version. If you missed a day, you can find all the readings at our blog, The Bible in a YearIf you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal. 

Obadiah 1-21 (Contemporary English Version)

Obadiah 1

Edom's Pride and Punishment
 1The LORD God gave Obadiah    a message [a] about Edom, and this is what we heard:
   "I, the LORD, have sent
   a messenger
   with orders for the nations
   to attack Edom."
    2The LORD said to Edom:
   I will make you the weakest
   and most despised nation.
    3You live in a mountain fortress, [b] because your pride
   makes you feel safe from attack,
   but you are mistaken.
    4I will still bring you down,
   even if you fly higher
   than an eagle
   or nest among the stars.
   I, the LORD, have spoken!
    5If thieves break in at night,
   they steal
   only what they want.
   And people who harvest grapes
   always leave some unpicked.
   But, Edom, you are doomed!
    6Everything you treasure most
   will be taken from you.
    7Your allies can't be trusted.
   They will force you out
   of your own country.
   Your best friends
   will trick and trap you,
   even before you know it.
    8Edom, when this happens,
   I, the LORD,
   will destroy
   all your marvelous wisdom.
    9Warriors from the city of Teman [c] will be terrified,
   and you descendants of Esau [d] will be wiped out.
   
The LORD Condemns Edom's Cruelty
 10You were cruel to your relatives,    the descendants of Jacob. [e] Now you will be destroyed,
   disgraced forever.
    11You stood there and watched
   as foreigners entered Jerusalem
   and took what they wanted.
   In fact, you were no better
   than those foreigners.
    12Why did you celebrate
   when such a dreadful disaster
   struck your relatives?
   Why were you so pleased
   when everyone in Judah
   was suffering?
    13They are my people,
   and you were cruel to them.
   You went through their towns,
   sneering
   and stealing
   whatever was left.
    14In their time of torment,
   you ambushed refugees
   and handed them over
   to their attackers.
   
The LORD Will Judge the Nations
 15The day is coming    when I, the LORD,
   will judge the nations.
   And, Edom, you will pay in full
   for what you have done.
    16I forced the people of Judah [f] to drink the wine of my anger
   on my sacred mountain.
   Soon the neighboring nations
   must drink their fill--
   then vanish without a trace.
   
Victory for Israel
 17The LORD's people who escape    will go to Mount Zion,
   and it will be holy.
   Then Jacob's descendants
   will capture the land of those
   who took their land.
    18Israel [g] will be a fire, and Edom will be straw
   going up in flames.
   The LORD has spoken!
    19The people of Israel
   who live in the Southern Desert
   will take the land of Edom.
   Those who live in the hills
   will capture Philistia,
   Ephraim, and Samaria.
   And the tribe of Benjamin
   will conquer Gilead.
    20Those who return from captivity
   will control Phoenicia
   as far as Zarephath. [h] Captives from Jerusalem
   who were taken to Sepharad [i] will capture the towns
   of the Southern Desert.
    21Those the LORD has saved
   will live on Mount Zion
   and rule over Edom. [j] Then the kingdom will belong
   to the LORD.
   
Footnotes:
  1. Obadiah 1:1 message: Or "vision."
  2. Obadiah 1:3 mountain fortress: The Hebrew text has "rocky cliff," which sounds like "Sela," the capital of Edom, a fortress city built on a mountain.
  3. Obadiah 1:9 Teman: A famous city in Edom.
  4. Obadiah 1:9 descendants of Esau: The people of Edom were descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob (Israel).
  5. Obadiah 1:10 descendants of Jacob: Jacob and Esau were brothers (see the note on Esau at verse 9).
  6. Obadiah 1:16 I forced. . . Judah: Or "I will force the people of Edom."
  7. Obadiah 1:18 Israel: Hebrew "The descendants of Jacob and of Joseph."
  8. Obadiah 1:20 Those who return. . . Zarephath: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  9. Obadiah 1:20 Sepharad: Possibly the city of Sardis, the capital of Lydia, a country north and west of Media. This would refer to those captives from Judah who had been taken beyond the kingdom of Babylonia.
  10. Obadiah 1:21 Those the LORD. . . Edom: Or "Leaders on (from) Mount Zion will save the people and rule over Edom."

 

Revelation 4:1-11 (Contemporary English Version)

Revelation 4

Worship in Heaven
 1After this, I looked and saw a door that opened into heaven. Then the voice that had spoken to me at first and that sounded like a trumpet said, "Come up here! I will show you what must happen next." 2Right then the Spirit took control of me, and there in heaven I saw a throne and someone sitting on it. 3The one who was sitting there sparkled like precious stones of jasper [a] and carnelian. [b] A rainbow that looked like an emerald [c] surrounded the throne. 4Twenty-four other thrones were in a circle around that throne. And on each of these thrones there was an elder dressed in white clothes and wearing a gold crown. 5Flashes of lightning and roars of thunder came out from the throne in the center of the circle. Seven torches, which are the seven spirits of God, were burning in front of the throne. 6Also in front of the throne was something that looked like a glass sea, clear as crystal.    Around the throne in the center were four living creatures covered front and back with eyes. 7The first creature was like a lion, the second one was like a bull, the third one had the face of a human, and the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8Each of the four living creatures had six wings, and their bodies were covered with eyes. Day and night they never stopped singing,
   "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord,
   the all-powerful God,
   who was and is
   and is coming!"
    9The living creatures kept praising, honoring, and thanking the one who sits on the throne and who lives forever and ever. 10At the same time the twenty-four elders knelt down before the one sitting on the throne. And as they worshiped the one who lives forever, they placed their crowns in front of the throne and said,
    11"Our Lord and God,
   you are worthy
   to receive glory,
   honor, and power.
   You created all things,
   and by your decision they are
   and were created."
   
Footnotes:
  1. Revelation 4:3 jasper: Usually green or clear.
  2. Revelation 4:3 carnelian: Usually deep-red or reddish-white.
  3. Revelation 4:3 emerald: A precious stone, usually green.

Psalm 132:1-18 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 132

(A song for worship.)
The LORD Is Always with His People
 1Our LORD, don't forget David    and how he suffered.
    2Mighty God of Jacob,
   remember how he promised:
    3"I won't go home
   or crawl into bed
    4or close my eyelids,
    5until I find a home for you,
   the mighty LORD God of Jacob."
    6When we were in Ephrath,
   we heard
   that the sacred chest
   was somewhere near Jaar.
    7Then we said, "Let's go
   to the throne of the LORD
   and worship at his feet."
    8Come to your new home, LORD,
   you and the sacred chest
   with all of its power.
    9Let victory be like robes
   for the priests;
   let your faithful people
   celebrate and shout.
    10David is your chosen one,
   so don't reject him.
    11You made a solemn promise
   to David, when you said,
   "I, the LORD, promise
   that someone in your family
   will always be king.
    12If they keep our agreement
   and follow my teachings,
   then someone in your family
   will rule forever."
    13You have gladly chosen Zion
   as your home, our LORD.
    14You said, "This is my home!
   I will live here forever.
    15I will bless Zion with food,
   and even the poor will eat
   until they are full.
    16Victory will be like robes
   for the priests,
   and its faithful people
   will celebrate and shout.
    17I will give mighty power
   to the kingdom of David.
   Each one of my chosen kings
   will shine like a lamp
    18and wear a sparkling crown.
   But I will disgrace
   their enemies."


Proverbs 29:24-25 (Contemporary English Version)

24If you take part in a crime
   you are your worst enemy,
   because even under oath
   you can't tell the truth.
    25Don't fall into the trap
   of being a coward--
   trust the LORD,
   and you will be safe.



Verse of the Day

“Herod brought together the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses and asked them, "Where will the Messiah be born?" They told him, "He will be born in Bethlehem, just as the prophet wrote, 'Bethlehem in the land of Judea, you are very important among the towns of Judea. From your town will come a leader, who will be like a shepherd for my people Israel.” - Matthew 2:4-6
Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.


 
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg2.jpgThought for the Day
 

German scientist, satirist, and Anglophile, Georg C. Lichtenberg wrote, “Man loves company - even if it is only that of a small burning candle.”

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