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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Thursday, September 7, 2017

Bible Readings for September 7, 2017


Today our passages are Song of Songs 5:1-8:14; 2 Corinthians 9:1-15; Psalm 51:1-19; and Proverbs 22:24-25. The readings are from the Contemporary English VersionIf you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Steet, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

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Song of Solomon 5-8:14 (Contemporary English Version)

He Speaks:
My bride, my very own,
I come to my garden
    and enjoy its spices.
I eat my honeycomb and honey;
    I drink my wine and milk.
Their Friends Speak:
Eat and drink
until
    you are drunk with love.

Another Dream

She Speaks:
I was asleep, but dreaming:
The one I love was at the door,
    knocking and saying,
“My darling, my very own,
my flawless dove,
    open the door for me!
My head is drenched
    with evening dew.”
But I had already undressed
    and bathed my feet.
Should I dress again
    and get my feet dirty?
Then my darling’s hand
reached to open the latch,
    and my heart stood still.
When I rose to open the door,
my hands and my fingers
    dripped with perfume.
My heart stood still
    while he spoke to me,
but when I opened the door,
    my darling had disappeared.
I searched and shouted,
but I could not find him—
    there was no answer.
Then I was found by the guards
patrolling the town
    and guarding the wall.
They beat me up
    and stripped off my robe.
Young women of Jerusalem,
    if you find the one I love,
please say to him,
    “She is weak with desire.”
Their Friends Speak:
Most beautiful of women,
why is the one you love
    more special than others?
Why do you ask us
    to tell him how you feel?
She Speaks:
10 He is handsome and healthy,
the most outstanding
    among ten thousand.
11 His head is purest gold;
his hair is wavy,
    black as a raven.
12 His eyes are a pair of doves
bathing in a stream
    flowing with milk.[a]
13 His face is a garden
    of sweet-smelling spices;
his lips are lilies
    dripping with perfume.
14 His arms are branches of gold
    covered with jewels;
his body is ivory[b]
    decorated with sapphires.
15 His legs are columns of marble
    on feet of gold.
He stands there majestic
like Mount Lebanon
    and its choice cedar trees.
16 His kisses are sweet.
    I desire him so much!
Young women of Jerusalem,
    he is my lover and friend.
Their Friends Speak:
Most beautiful of women,
tell us where he has gone.
    Let us help you find him.
She Speaks:
My darling has gone down
    to his garden of spices,
where he will feed his sheep
    and gather lilies.
I am his, and he is mine,
as he feeds his sheep
    among the lilies.
He Speaks:
My dearest, the cities of Tirzah
and Jerusalem
    are not as lovely as you.
Your charms are more powerful
than all of the stars
    in the heavens.[c]
Turn away your eyes—
    they make me melt.
Your hair tosses about
as gracefully as goats
    coming down from Gilead.
Your teeth are whiter
    than sheep freshly washed;
they match perfectly,
    not one is missing.
Behind your veil are hidden
    beautiful rosy cheeks.[d]
What if I could have
sixty queens, eighty wives,
    and thousands of others!
You would be my only choice,
    my flawless dove,
the favorite child
    of your mother.
The young women, the queens,
    and all the others
tell how excited you are
    as they sing your praises:
10 “You are as majestic
    as the morning sky—
glorious as the moon—
    blinding as the sun!
Your charms are more powerful
    than all the stars above.”[e]
She Speaks:
11 I went down to see if blossoms
were on the walnut trees,
grapevines, and fruit trees.
12 But in my imagination
I was suddenly riding
    on a glorious chariot.[f]
Their Friends Speak:
13 Dance! Dance!
Beautiful woman from Shulam,
    let us see you dance!
She Speaks:
Why do you want to see
this woman from Shulam
    dancing with the others?[g]

The Wedding Dance

He Speaks:
You are a princess,
and your feet are graceful
    in their sandals.
Your thighs are works of art,
    each one a jewel;
your navel is a wine glass
    filled to overflowing.
Your body is full and slender
like a bundle of wheat
    bound together by lilies.
Your breasts are like twins
    of a deer.
Your neck is like ivory,
    and your eyes sparkle
like the pools of Heshbon
    by the gate of Bath-Rabbim.
Your nose is beautiful
like Mount Lebanon
    above the city of Damascus.
Your head is held high
    like Mount Carmel;
your hair is so lovely
    it holds a king prisoner.[h]
You are beautiful,
    so very desirable!
You are tall and slender
like a palm tree,
    and your breasts are full.
I will climb that tree
    and cling to its branches.
I will discover that your breasts
    are clusters of grapes,
and that your breath
    is the aroma of apples.
Kissing you is more delicious
than drinking the finest wine.
    How wonderful and tasty![i]
She Speaks:
10 My darling, I am yours,
    and you desire me.
11 Let’s stroll through the fields
    and sleep in the villages.
12 At dawn let’s slip out and see
if grapevines and fruit trees
    are covered with blossoms.
When we are there,
    I will give you my love.
13 Perfume from the magic flower[j]
    fills the air, my darling.
Right at our doorstep
I have stored up for you
    all kinds of tasty fruits.

If Only You and I. . .

She Speaks:
If you were my brother,
    I could kiss you
whenever we happen to meet,
and no one would say
    I did wrong.
I could take you to the home
of my mother,
    who taught me all I know.[k]
I would give you delicious wine
    and fruit juice as well.
Put your left hand under my head
and embrace me
    with your right arm.
Young women of Jerusalem,
promise me by the power
    of deer and gazelles[l]
never to awaken love
    before it is ready.
Their Friends Speak:
Who is this young woman
    coming in from the desert
and leaning on the shoulder
    of the one she loves?
She Speaks:
I stirred up your passions
under the apple tree
    where you were born.
Always keep me in your heart
and wear this bracelet
    to remember me by.
The passion of love
    bursting into flame
is more powerful than death,
    stronger than the grave.
Love cannot be drowned
    by oceans or floods;
it cannot be bought,
    no matter what is offered.
Their Friends Speak:
We have a little sister
whose breasts
    are not yet formed.
If someone asks to marry her,
    what should we do?
She isn’t a wall
that we can defend
    behind a silver shield.
Neither is she a room
that we can protect
    behind a wooden door.
She Speaks:
10 I am a wall around a city,
    my breasts are towers,
and just looking at me
    brings him great pleasure.
11 Solomon has a vineyard
    at Baal-Hamon,
which he rents to others
for a thousand pieces
    of silver each.
12 My vineyard is mine alone!
Solomon can keep his silver
    and the others can keep
    their share of the profits.
He Speaks:
13 You are in the garden
with friends all around.
    Let me hear your voice!
She Speaks:
14 Hurry to me, my darling!
Run faster than a deer
    to mountains of spices.

Footnotes:

  1. 5.12 milk: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 12.
  2. 5.14 his. . . ivory: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  3. 6.4 all. . . heavens: Or “a mighty army ready for war.”
  4. 6.7 cheeks: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 7.
  5. 6.10 all. . . above: Or “a mighty army ready for war.”
  6. 6.12 chariot: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 12.
  7. 6.13 dancing. . . others: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  8. 7.5 it. . . prisoner: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  9. 7.9 How. . . tasty: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  10. 7.13 magic flower: The Hebrew text has “mandrake,” a plant that was thought to give sexual powers.
  11. 8.2 who...know: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  12. 8.4 deer and gazelles: See the note at 2.7.



2 Corinthians 9:1-15 (Contemporary English Version)

The Money for God’s People

I don’t need to write you about the money you plan to give for God’s people. I know how eager you are to give. And I have proudly told the Lord’s followers in Macedonia that you people in Achaia have been ready for a whole year. Now your desire to give has made them want to give. That’s why I am sending Titus and the two others to you. I want you to be ready, just as I promised. This will prove that we were not wrong to brag about you.
Some followers from Macedonia may come with me, and I want them to find that you have the money ready. If you don’t, I would be embarrassed for trusting you to do this. But you would be embarrassed even more. So I have decided to ask Titus and the others to spend some time with you before I arrive. This way they can arrange to collect the money you have promised. Then you will have the chance to give because you want to, and not because you feel forced to.
Remember this saying,
“A few seeds make
    a small harvest,
but a lot of seeds make
    a big harvest.”
Each of you must make up your own mind about how much to give. But don’t feel sorry that you must give and don’t feel that you are forced to give. God loves people who love to give. God can bless you with everything you need, and you will always have more than enough to do all kinds of good things for others. The Scriptures say,
“God freely gives his gifts
to the poor,
    and always does right.”
10 God gives seed to farmers and provides everyone with food. He will increase what you have, so that you can give even more to those in need. 11 You will be blessed in every way, and you will be able to keep on being generous. Then many people will thank God when we deliver your gift.
12 What you are doing is much more than a service that supplies God’s people with what they need. It is something that will make many others thank God. 13 The way in which you have proved yourselves by this service will bring honor and praise to God. You believed the message about Christ, and you obeyed it by sharing generously with God’s people and with everyone else. 14 Now they are praying for you and want to see you, because God used you to bless them so very much. 15 Thank God for his gift that is too wonderful for words!



Psalm 51:1-19 (Contemporary English Version)


(For the music leader. A psalm by David when the prophet Nathan came to him after David had been with Bathsheba.)

A Prayer for Forgiveness

51 You are kind, God!
    Please have pity on me.
    You are always merciful!
    Please wipe away my sins.
Wash me clean from all
    of my sin and guilt.
I know about my sins,
    and I cannot forget
    my terrible guilt.
You are really the one
    I have sinned against;
    I have disobeyed you
    and have done wrong.
So it is right and fair for you
    to correct and punish me.
I have sinned and done wrong
    since the day I was born.
But you want complete honesty,
    so teach me true wisdom.
Wash me with hyssop[a]
    until I am clean
    and whiter than snow.
Let me be happy and joyful!
    You crushed my bones,
    now let them celebrate.
Turn your eyes from my sin
    and cover my guilt.
10 Create pure thoughts in me
    and make me faithful again.
11 Don’t chase me away from you
    or take your Holy Spirit
    away from me.
12 Make me as happy as you did
when you saved me;
    make me want to obey!
13 I will teach sinners your Law,
    and they will return to you.
14 Keep me from any deadly sin.
    Only you can save me!
    Then I will shout and sing
    about your power to save.
15 Help me to speak,
    and I will praise you, Lord.
16     Offerings and sacrifices
    are not what you want.
17 The way to please you
    is to feel sorrow
    deep in our hearts.
This is the kind of sacrifice
    you won’t refuse.
18 Please be willing, Lord,
to help the city of Zion
    and to rebuild its walls.
19 Then you will be pleased
    with the proper sacrifices,
    and we will offer bulls
    on your altar once again.

Footnotes:

  1. 51.7 hyssop: A small bush with bunches of small, white flowers. It was sometimes used as a symbol for making a person clean from sin.



Proverbs 22:24-25 (Contemporary English Version)

-2-

24 Don’t make friends with anyone
    who has a bad temper.
25 You might turn out like them
    and get caught in a trap.


Verse of the Day

We announce the message about Christ, and we use all our wisdom to warn and teach everyone, so that all of Christ’s followers will grow and become mature. - Colossians 1:28
Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.


Image result for grandma moses portraitThought for the Day

American folk artist, Anna Mary Robertson Moses, known by her nickname Grandma Moses, was a renowned Grandma Moses, wrote, “A strange thing is memory, and hope; one looks backward, and the other forward; one is of today, the other of tomorrow. Memory is history recorded in our brain, memory is a painter, it paints pictures of the past and of the day.”



Image result for seaside hotel broken windowsA Joke for Today

A vacationer called a seaside hotel to ask its location. "It's only a stone's throw from the beach," he was told.

"But how will I recognize it?" asked the man.

Came the reply: "It's the one with all the broken windows."


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