Today our passages are Isaiah 66:1-24; Philippians 3:4b-21; Psalm 74:1-23; and Proverbs 24:15-16. The readings are from the Contemporary English Version. If 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.
Isaiah 66:1-24 (Contemporary English Version)
Isaiah 66
True Worship
1The LORD said: Heaven is my throne;the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house
could you build for me?
In what place will I rest?
2I have made everything;
that's how it all came to be. a] I, the LORD, have spoken.
The people I treasure most
are the humble--
they depend only on me
and tremble when I speak.
3You sacrifice oxen to me,
and you commit murder;
you sacrifice lambs to me
and dogs to other gods;
you offer grain to me
and pigs' blood to idols;
you burn incense to me
and praise your idols. b] You have made your own choice
to do these disgusting things
that you enjoy so much.
4You refused to answer
when I called out;
you paid no attention
to my instructions.
Instead, you did what I hated,
knowing it was wrong.
Now I will punish c] you in a way you dread the most.
The LORD Will Help Jerusalem
5If you tremble when the LORD speaks,listen to what he says:
"Some of your own people hate
and reject you because of me.
They make fun and say,
`Let the LORD show his power!
Let us see him
make you truly happy.' d] But those who say these things
will be terribly ashamed."
6Do you hear that noise
in the city and those shouts
coming from the temple?
It is the LORD shouting
as he punishes his enemies.
7Have you ever heard of a woman
who gave birth to a child
before having labor pains?
8Who ever heard of such a thing
or imagined it could happen?
Can a nation be born in a day
or come to life in a second?
Jerusalem is like a mother
who gave birth to her children
as soon as she was in labor.
9The LORD is the one
who makes birth possible.
And he will see that Zion
has many more children.
The LORD has spoken.
10If you love Jerusalem,
celebrate and shout!
If you were in sorrow
because of the city,
you can now be glad.
11She will nurse and comfort you,
just like your own mother,
until you are satisfied.
You will fully enjoy
her wonderful glory.
12The LORD has promised:
"I will flood Jerusalem
with the wealth of nations
and make the city prosper.
Zion will nurse you at her breast,
carry you in her arms,
and hold you in her lap.
13I will comfort you there
like a mother
comforting her child."
14When you see this happen,
you will celebrate;
your strength will return
faster than grass can sprout.
Then everyone will know
that the LORD is present
with his servants,
but he is angry
with his enemies.
15The LORD will come down
like a whirlwind
with his flaming chariots.
He will be terribly furious
and punish his enemies
with fire.
16The LORD's fiery sword
will bring justice
everywhere on this earth
and execute many people.
A Threat and a Promise
17Some of you get yourselves ready and go to a garden to worship a foreign goddess. e] You eat the meat of pigs, lizards, and mice. But I, the LORD, will destroy you for this. 18I know everything you do and think! The time has now come f] to bring together the people of every language and nation and to show them my glory 19by proving what I can do. g] I will send the survivors to Tarshish, Pul, h] Lud, Meshech, i] Tubal, Javan, j] and to the distant islands. I will send them to announce my wonderful glory to nations that have never heard about me. 20They will bring your relatives from the nations as an offering to me, the LORD. They will come on horses, chariots, wagons, mules, and camels k] to Jerusalem, my holy mountain. It will be like the people of Israel bringing the right offering to my temple. 21I promise that some of them will be priests and others will be helpers in my temple. I, the LORD, have spoken. 22I also promise that you will always have descendants and will never be forgotten, just as the new heavens and the new earth that I create will last forever. 23On the first day of each month and on each Sabbath, everyone will worship me. I, the LORD, have spoken. 24My people will go out and look at the dead bodies of those who turned against me. The worms there never die, the fire never stops burning, and the sight of those bodies will be disgusting to everyone.
Footnotes:
- Isaiah 66:2 that's. . . be: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- Isaiah 66:3 You sacrifice oxen. . . idols: Or "Sacrificing oxen to me is the same as murder; sacrificing lambs to me is the same as sacrificing dogs to other gods; offering grain to me is the same as offering pigs' blood to idols; and burning incense to me is the same as praising idols."
- Isaiah 66:4 punish: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- Isaiah 66:5 Some. . . happy: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- Isaiah 66:17 Some. . . goddess: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- Isaiah 66:18 I. . . come: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- Isaiah 66:19 by. . . do: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- Isaiah 66:19 Pul: Hebrew; one ancient translation "Put," a country in Africa, but neither the location of Pul or Put is known for certain.
- Isaiah 66:19 Meshech: One ancient translation; Hebrew "those who use bows and arrows."
- Isaiah 66:19 Tarshish. . . Javan: Tarshish may have been a Phoenician city in Spain; Put (see note on Pul) and Lud were African people; Meshech and Tubal were regions south or southeast of the Black Sea; the Javan were people of Asia Minor and the Greek islands.
- Isaiah 66:20 camels: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Philippians 3:4-21 (Contemporary English Version)
4although I could. Others may brag about themselves, but I have more reason to brag than anyone else. 5I was circumcised when I was eight days old, a] and I am from the nation of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin. I am a true Hebrew. As a Pharisee, I strictly obeyed the Law of Moses. 6And I was so eager that I even made trouble for the church. I did everything the Law demands in order to please God. 7But Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless. 8Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ 9and to know that I belong to him. I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ. 10All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life. I want to suffer and die as he did, 11so that somehow I also may be raised to life.
20But we are citizens of heaven and are eagerly waiting for our Savior to come from there. Our Lord Jesus Christ 21has power over everything, and he will make these poor bodies of ours like his own glorious body.
Why are you so angry
with the ones you care for?
2Remember the people
you rescued long ago,
the tribe you chose
to be your very own.
Think of Mount Zion,
your home;
3walk over to the temple
left in ruins forever
by those who hate us.
4Your enemies roared like lions
in your holy temple,
and they have placed
their banners there.
5It looks like a forest
chopped to pieces. a] 6They used axes and hatchets
to smash the carvings.
7They burned down your temple
and badly disgraced it.
8They said to themselves,
"We'll crush them!"
Then they burned every one
of your meeting places
all over the country.
9There are no more miracles
and no more prophets.
Who knows how long
it will be like this?
10Our God, how much longer
will our enemies sneer?
Won't they ever stop
insulting you?
11Why don't you punish them?
Why are you holding back?
12Our God and King,
you have ruled
since ancient times;
you have won victories
everywhere on this earth.
13By your power you made a path
through the sea,
and you smashed the heads
of sea monsters.
14You crushed the heads
of the monster Leviathan, b] then fed him to wild creatures
in the desert.
15You opened the ground
for streams and springs
and dried up mighty rivers.
16You rule the day and the night,
and you put the moon
and the sun in place.
17You made summer and winter
and gave them to the earth. c] 18Remember your enemies, LORD!
They foolishly sneer
and won't respect you.
19You treat us like pet doves,
but they mistreat us.
Don't keep forgetting us
and letting us be fed
to those wild animals.
20Remember the agreement
you made with us.
Violent enemies are hiding
in every dark corner
of the earth.
21Don't disappoint those in need
or make them turn from you,
but help the poor and homeless
to shout your praises.
22Do something, God!
Defend yourself.
Remember how those fools
sneer at you all day long.
23Don't forget the loud shouts
of your enemies.
and hurts their families.
16Even if good people
fall seven times,
they will get back up.
But when trouble strikes
the wicked,
that's the end of them.
Verse of the Day
“Don't fall into the trap of being a coward-- trust the LORD, and you will be safe.” - Proverbs 29:25
Thought for the Day
A Joke for Today
Running toward the Goal
12I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize. 13My friends, I don't feel that I have already arrived. But I forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead. 14I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done. 15All of us who are mature should think in this same way. And if any of you think differently, God will make it clear to you. 16But we must keep going in the direction that we are now headed. 17My friends, I want you to follow my example and learn from others who closely follow the example we set for you. 18I often warned you that many people are living as enemies of the cross of Christ. And now with tears in my eyes, I warn you again 19that they are headed for hell! They worship their stomachs and brag about the disgusting things they do. All they can think about are the things of this world.20But we are citizens of heaven and are eagerly waiting for our Savior to come from there. Our Lord Jesus Christ 21has power over everything, and he will make these poor bodies of ours like his own glorious body.
Footnotes:
- Philippians 3:5 when I was eight days old: Jewish boys are circumcised eight days after birth.
Psalm 74:1-23 (Contemporary English Version)
Psalm 74
(A special psalm by Asaph.)
A Prayer for the Nation in Times of Trouble
1Our God, why have you completely rejected us?Why are you so angry
with the ones you care for?
2Remember the people
you rescued long ago,
the tribe you chose
to be your very own.
Think of Mount Zion,
your home;
3walk over to the temple
left in ruins forever
by those who hate us.
4Your enemies roared like lions
in your holy temple,
and they have placed
their banners there.
5It looks like a forest
chopped to pieces. a] 6They used axes and hatchets
to smash the carvings.
7They burned down your temple
and badly disgraced it.
8They said to themselves,
"We'll crush them!"
Then they burned every one
of your meeting places
all over the country.
9There are no more miracles
and no more prophets.
Who knows how long
it will be like this?
10Our God, how much longer
will our enemies sneer?
Won't they ever stop
insulting you?
11Why don't you punish them?
Why are you holding back?
12Our God and King,
you have ruled
since ancient times;
you have won victories
everywhere on this earth.
13By your power you made a path
through the sea,
and you smashed the heads
of sea monsters.
14You crushed the heads
of the monster Leviathan, b] then fed him to wild creatures
in the desert.
15You opened the ground
for streams and springs
and dried up mighty rivers.
16You rule the day and the night,
and you put the moon
and the sun in place.
17You made summer and winter
and gave them to the earth. c] 18Remember your enemies, LORD!
They foolishly sneer
and won't respect you.
19You treat us like pet doves,
but they mistreat us.
Don't keep forgetting us
and letting us be fed
to those wild animals.
20Remember the agreement
you made with us.
Violent enemies are hiding
in every dark corner
of the earth.
21Don't disappoint those in need
or make them turn from you,
but help the poor and homeless
to shout your praises.
22Do something, God!
Defend yourself.
Remember how those fools
sneer at you all day long.
23Don't forget the loud shouts
of your enemies.
Footnotes:
- Psalm 74:5 pieces: One meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 5.
- Psalm 74:14 Leviathan: God's victory over this monster sometimes stands for his power over all creation and sometimes for his defeat of Egypt.
- Psalm 74:17 gave. . . earth: Or " made boundaries for the earth."
Proverbs 24:15-16 (Contemporary English Version)
-27-
15 Don't be a cruel person who attacks good peopleand hurts their families.
16Even if good people
fall seven times,
they will get back up.
But when trouble strikes
the wicked,
that's the end of them.
Verse of the Day
“Don't fall into the trap of being a coward-- trust the LORD, and you will be safe.” - Proverbs 29:25
Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.
Thought for the Day
Welsh historian, author and travel writer, Jan Morris wrote, “Travel, which was once either a necessity or an adventure, has become very largely a commodity, and from all sides we are persuaded into thinking that it is a social requirement, too.”
A Joke for Today
A man answers the phone and has the following conversation:
"Yes, mother, I've had a hard day. Gladys has been most difficult...I know I ought to be more firm, but it is hard. Well, you know how she is..."
"Yes, I remember you warned me. I remember you told me that she was a vile creature who would make my life miserable and you begged me not to marry her. You were perfectly right..."
"You want to speak with her? All right."
He looks up from the telephone and calls to his wife in the next room: "Gladys, your mother wants to talk to you!"
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