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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Friday, October 13, 2017

Bible Readings for October 13, 2017

Today our passages are Jeremiah 22:1–23:20; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12; Psalm 83:1-18; and Proverbs 25:11-14. 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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Jeremiah 22-23:20 (Contemporary English Version)


Jeremiah 22

The LORD Will Punish the King of Judah
 1-3The LORD sent me to the palace of the king of Judah to speak to the king, his officials, and everyone else who was there. The LORD told me to say:    I am the LORD, so pay attention! You have been allowing people to cheat, rob, and take advantage of widows, orphans, and foreigners who live here. Innocent people have become victims of violence, and some of them have even been killed. But now I command you to do what is right and see that justice is done. Rescue everyone who has suffered from injustice.
    4If you obey me, the kings from David's family will continue to rule Judah from this palace. They and their officials will ride in and out on their horses or in their chariots. 5But if you ignore me, I promise in my own name that this palace will lie in ruins. 6Listen to what I think about it:
   The palace of Judah's king
   is as glorious as Gilead
   or Lebanon's highest peaks.
   But it will be as empty
   as a ghost-town
   when I'm through with it.
    7I'll send troops to tear it apart,
   and its beautiful cedar beams
   will be used for firewood.
    8People from different nations will pass by and ask, "Why did the LORD do this to such a great city as Jerusalem?" 9Others will answer, "It's because the people worshiped foreign gods and broke the agreement that the LORD their God had made with them."
   
   
King Jehoahaz
The LORD said:
 10King Josiah is dead,    so don't cry for him. [a] Instead, cry for his son
   King Jehoahaz, [b] dragged off to another country,
   never to return.
    11-12Jehoahaz [c] became king of Judah after his father King Josiah died. But Jehoahaz was taken as a prisoner to a foreign country. Now I, the LORD, promise that he will die there without ever seeing his own land again.
   
King Jehoiakim
The LORD told me to say:
 13King Jehoiakim, [d] you are doomed! You built a palace    with large rooms upstairs.
    14You put in big windows
   and used cedar paneling
   and red paint.
   But you were unfair
   and forced the builders to work
   without pay.
    15More cedar in your palace
   doesn't make you a better king
   than your father Josiah.
   He always did right--
   he gave justice to the poor
   and was honest.
    16That's what it means
   to truly know me.
   So he lived a comfortable life
   and always had enough
   to eat and drink.
    17But all you think about
   is how to cheat
   or abuse or murder
   some innocent victim.
    18Jehoiakim, no one will cry
   at your funeral.
   They won't turn to each other
   and ask,
   "Why did our great king
   have to die?"
    19You will be given a burial
   fit for a donkey;
   your body will be dragged
   outside the city gates
   and tossed in the dirt.
   I, the LORD, have spoken.
   
   
King Jehoiachin and the People of Jerusalem
The LORD told me to say:
 20People of Jerusalem,    the nations [e] you trusted have been crushed.
   Go to Lebanon and weep;
   cry in the land of Bashan
   and in Moab.
    21When times were good,
   I warned you.
   But you ignored me,
   just as you have done
   since Israel was young.
    22Now you will be disgraced
   because of your sins.
   Your leaders will be swept away
   by the wind,
   and the nations you trusted
   will be captured
   and dragged
   to a foreign country.
    23Those who live in the palace
   paneled with cedar [f] will groan with pain
   like women giving birth.
    24King Jehoiachin, [g] son of Jehoiakim, [h] even if you were the ring I wear as the sign of my royal power, I would still pull you from my finger. 25I would hand you over to the enemy you fear, to King Nebuchadnezzar [i] and his army, who want to kill you. 26You and your mother [j] were born in Judah, but I will throw both of you into a foreign country, where you will die, 27longing to return home. 28Jehoiachin, you are unwanted
   like a broken clay pot.
   So you and your children
   will be thrown
   into a country
   you know nothing about.
    29Land of Judah, I am the LORD.
   Now listen to what I say!
    30Erase the names
   of Jehoiachin's children
   from the royal records.
   He is a complete failure,
   and so none of them
   will ever be king.
   I, the LORD, have spoken.
   

Jeremiah 23

A Message of Hope
The LORD said:
 1You leaders of my people are like shepherds that kill and scatter the sheep. 2You were supposed to take care of my people, but instead you chased them away. So now I'll really take care of you, and believe me, you will pay for your crimes!     3I will bring the rest of my people home from the lands where I have scattered them, and they will grow into a mighty nation. 4I promise to choose leaders who will care for them like real shepherds. All of my people will be there, and they will never again be frightened.
    5Someday I will appoint
   an honest king
   from the family of David,
   a king who will be wise
   and rule with justice.
    6As long as he is king,
   Israel will have peace,
   and Judah will be safe.
   The name of this king will be
   "The LORD Gives Justice."
    7A time will come when you will again worship me. But you will no longer call me the Living God who rescued Israel from Egypt. 8Instead, you will call me the Living God who rescued you from the land in the north and from all the other countries where I had forced you to go. And you will once again live in your own land.
   
Jeremiah Thinks about Unfaithful Prophets
 9When I think of the prophets,    I am shocked, and I tremble [k] like someone drunk,
   because of the LORD
   and his sacred words.
    10Those unfaithful prophets
   misuse their power
   all over the country.
   So God turned the pasturelands
   into scorching deserts. [l]
The LORD Will Punish Unfaithful Prophets
 11The LORD told me to say:    You prophets and priests
   think so little of me, the LORD,
   that you even sin
   in my own temple!
    12Now I will punish you
   with disaster,
   and you will slip and fall
   in the darkness.
   I, the LORD, have spoken.
    13The prophets in Samaria
   were disgusting to me,
   because they preached
   in the name of Baal
   and led my people astray.
    14And you prophets in Jerusalem
   are even worse.
   You're unfaithful in marriage [m] and never tell the truth. [n] You even lead others to sin
   instead of helping them
   turn back to me.
   You and the people of Jerusalem
   are evil
   like Sodom
   and Gomorrah. [o] 15You prophets in Jerusalem
   have spread evil everywhere.
   That's why I, the LORD, promise
   to give you bitter poison
   to eat and drink.
   
   
The LORD Gives a Warning
The LORD said:
 16Don't listen to the lies    of these false prophets,
   you people of Judah!
   The message they preach
   is something they imagined;
   it did not come from me,
   the LORD All-Powerful.
    17These prophets go to people
   who refuse to respect me
   and who are stubborn
   and do whatever they want.
   The prophets tell them,
   "The LORD has promised
   everything will be fine."
    18But I, the LORD, tell you
   that these prophets
   have never attended a meeting
   of my council in heaven [p] or heard me speak.
    19They are evil! So in my anger
   I will strike them
   like a violent storm.
    20I won't calm down,
   until I have finished
   what I have decided to do.
   Someday you will understand
   exactly what I mean.
   

Footnotes:
  1. Jeremiah 22:10 King Josiah. . . him: The Hebrew text has "don't cry for the dead one," meaning King Josiah, who ruled 640-609 B.C.
  2. Jeremiah 22:10 his son, King Jehoahaz. . . country: The Hebrew text has "the one who was dragged off to another country," meaning King Jehoahaz, who ruled for three months in 609 B.C.
  3. Jeremiah 22:11 Jehoahaz: The Hebrew text has "Shallum," another name for Jehoahaz.
  4. Jeremiah 22:13 Jehoiakim: See the note at 1.3.
  5. Jeremiah 22:20 nations: Or "gods."
  6. Jeremiah 22:23 who live in the palace paneled with cedar: The Hebrew text has "who live in Lebanon and who nest among the cedars," which probably means Forest Hall in the royal palace at Jerusalem, which was paneled with cedar and had cedar columns and a cedar ceiling, all from Lebanon (see 1 Kings 7.2,3).
  7. Jeremiah 22:24 Jehoiachin: The Hebrew text has "Coniah," another form of Jehoiachin's name; he ruled for three months in 598 B.C.
  8. Jeremiah 22:24 Jehoiakim: See the note at 1.3.
  9. Jeremiah 22:25 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2.
  10. Jeremiah 22:26 mother: See the note at 13.18.
  11. Jeremiah 23:9 tremble: Or "become weak."
  12. Jeremiah 23:10 deserts: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 10.
  13. Jeremiah 23:14 in marriage: Or "to me."
  14. Jeremiah 23:14 never tell the truth: Or "worship other gods."
  15. Jeremiah 23:14 Sodom and Gomorrah: Two cities that the LORD destroyed because their people were so evil (see Genesis 18.16--19.29).
  16. Jeremiah 23:18 a meeting of my council in heaven: Sometimes, prophets had visions of the LORD meeting with his angels (see 1 Kings 22.19-23).

2 Thessalonians 1:1-12 (Contemporary English Version)


2 Thessalonians 1

 1From Paul, Silas, [a] and Timothy. To the church in Thessalonica, the people of God our Father and of the Lord Jesus Christ.     2I pray that God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!
   
When Christ Returns
 3My dear friends, we always have good reason to thank God for you, because your faith in God and your love for each other keep growing all the time. 4That's why we brag about you to all of God's churches. We tell them how patient you are and how you keep on having faith, even though you are going through a lot of trouble and suffering.     5All of this shows that God judges fairly and that he is making you fit to share in his kingdom for which you are suffering. 6It is only right for God to punish everyone who is causing you trouble, 7but he will give you relief from your troubles. He will do the same for us, when the Lord Jesus comes from heaven with his powerful angels 8and with a flaming fire.
   Our Lord Jesus will punish anyone who doesn't know God and won't obey his message. 9Their punishment will be eternal destruction, and they will be kept far from the presence of our Lord and his glorious strength. 10This will happen on that day when the Lord returns to be praised and honored by all who have faith in him and belong to him. This includes you, because you believed what we said.
    11God chose you, and we keep praying that God will make you worthy of being his people. We pray for God's power to help you do all the good things that you hope to do and that your faith makes you want to do. 12Then, because God and our Lord Jesus Christ are so kind, you will bring honor to the name of our Lord Jesus, and he will bring honor to you.
   

Footnotes:
  1. 2 Thessalonians 1:1 Silas: The Greek text has "Silvanus," which is another form of the name Silas.

Psalm 83:1-18 (Contemporary English Version)


Psalm 83

(A song and a psalm by Asaph.)
God Rules All the Earth
 1Our God, don't just sit there,    silently doing nothing!
    2Your hateful enemies
   are turning against you
   and rebelling.
    3They are sly, and they plot
   against those you treasure.
    4They say, "Let's wipe out
   the nation of Israel
   and make sure that no one
   remembers its name!"
    5All of them fully agree
   in their plans against you,
   and among them are
    6Edom and the Ishmaelites;
   Moab and the Hagrites;
    7Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek;
   Philistia and Phoenicia. [a] 8Even Assyria has joined forces
   with Moab and Ammon. [b] 9Our Lord, punish all of them
   as you punished Midian.
   Destroy them, as you destroyed
   Sisera and Jabin
   at Kishon Creek 10near Endor,
   and let their bodies rot.
    11Treat their leaders as you did
   Oreb and Zeeb,
   Zebah and Zalmunna.
    12All of them said, "We'll take
   God's valuable land!"
    13Our God, scatter them around
   like dust in a whirlwind.
    14Just as flames destroy forests
   on the mountains,
    15pursue and terrify them
   with storms of your own.
    16Make them blush with shame,
   until they turn and worship
   you, our LORD.
    17Let them be forever ashamed
   and confused.
   Let them die in disgrace.
    18Make them realize that you
   are the LORD Most High,
   the only ruler of earth!
   

Footnotes:
  1. Psalm 83:7 Phoenicia: The Hebrew text has " Tyre," the main city in Phoenicia.
  2. Psalm 83:8 Moab and Ammon: The Hebrew text has " the descendants of Lot," whose older daughter was the mother of the Moabites and whose younger daughter was the mother of the Ammonites (see Genesis 19.30-38).

Proverbs 25:11-14 (Contemporary English Version)

11The right word
   at the right time
   is like precious gold
   set in silver.
    12Listening to good advice
   is worth much more
   than jewelry made of gold.
    13A messenger you can trust
   is just as refreshing
   as cool water in summer.
    14Broken promises
   are worse than rain clouds
   that don't bring rain.

Verse of the Day
Related image

“I will bless you with a future filled with hope--a future of success, not of suffering.” - Jeremiah 29:11
Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

Thought for the Day

English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer, Aleister Crowley wrote, “Modern morality and manners suppress all natural instincts, keep people ignorant of the facts of nature and make them fighting drunk on bogey tales. … Knowing nothing and fearing everything, they rant and rave and riot like so many maniacs. The subject does not matter. Any idea which gives them an excuse of getting excited will serve. They look for a victim to chivy, and howl him down, and finally lynch him in a sheer storm of sexual frenzy which they honestly imagine to be moral indignation, patriotic passion or some equally avowable emotion.”


Related imageA Joke for Today

After weeks of getting the cold shoulder from his wife, the unhappy husband finally confronted her.

'Admit it, Linda. The only reason you married me is because my grandfather left me $10 million.'

'Don't be ridiculous,' she replied. 'I don't care who left it to you.'

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