Bible Readings for October 7, 2017

Today our passages are Jeremiah 8:8–9:26; Colossians 3:1-17; Psalm 78:32-55; and Proverbs 24:27. 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.

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Jeremiah 8:8-9:26 (Contemporary English Version)

⁸You say, "We are wise
   because we have the teachings
   and laws of the LORD."
   But I say that your teachers
   have turned my words
   into lies!
    ⁹Your wise men
   have rejected what I say,
   and so they have no wisdom.
   Now they will be trapped
   and put to shame;
   they won't know what to do.
    ¹⁰I'll give their wives and fields
   to strangers.
   Everyone is greedy and dishonest,
   whether poor or rich.
   Even the prophets and priests
   cannot be trusted.
    ¹¹All they ever offer
   to my deeply wounded people
   are empty hopes for peace.
    ¹²They should be ashamed
   of their disgusting sins,
   but they don't even blush.
   And so, when I punish Judah,
   they will end up on the ground,
   dead like everyone else.
    ¹³I will wipe them out. ^a] They are vines without grapes;
   fig trees without figs or leaves.
   They have not done a thing
   that I told them! ^b] I, the LORD, have spoken.
   

The People and Their Punishment

 ¹⁴The people of Judah   say to each other,
   "What are we waiting for?
   Let's run to a town with walls
   and die there.
   We rebelled against the LORD,
   and we were sentenced to die
   by drinking poison.
    ¹⁵We had hoped for peace
   and a time of healing,
   but all we got was terror.
    ¹⁶Our enemies have reached
   the town of Dan in the north,
   and the snorting of their horses
   makes us tremble with fear.
   The enemy will destroy Jerusalem
   and our entire nation.
   No one will survive."
    ¹⁷"Watch out!" the LORD says.
   "I'm sending poisonous snakes
   to attack you,
   and no one can stop them."
   

Jeremiah Mourns for His People

 ¹⁸I'm burdened with sorrow   and feel like giving up.
    ¹⁹In a foreign land
   my people are crying.
   Listen! You'll hear them say,
   "Has the LORD deserted Zion?
   Is he no longer its king?"
   I hear the LORD reply,
   "Why did you make me angry
   by worshiping useless idols?"
    ²⁰The people complain,
   "Spring and summer
   have come and gone,
   but still the LORD
   hasn't rescued us."
    ²¹My people are crushed,
   and so is my heart.
   I am horrified and mourn.
    ²²If medicine and doctors
   may be found in Gilead,
   why aren't my people healed?
   

Jeremiah 9

 ¹I wish that my eyes   were fountains of tears,
   so I could cry day and night
   for my people
   who were killed.
    ²I wish I could go into the desert
   and find a hiding place
   from all who are treacherous
   and unfaithful to God.
   

The LORD Answers Jeremiah

 ³The LORD replied:   Lies come from the mouths
   of my people,
   like arrows from a bow.
   With each dishonest deed
   their power increases,
   and not one of them will admit
   that I am God.
    ⁴Jeremiah, all your friends
   and relatives
   tell lies about you,
   so don't trust them.
    ⁵They wear themselves out,
   always looking for a new way
   to cheat their friends.
    ⁶Everyone takes advantage
   of everyone else,
   and no one will admit
   that I am God.
    ⁷And so I will purify
   the hearts of my people
   just as gold is purified
   in a furnace.
   I have no other choice.
    ⁸They say they want peace,
   but this lie is deadly,
   like an arrow that strikes
   when you least expect it.
    ⁹Give me one good reason
   not to punish them
   as they deserve.
   I, the LORD All-Powerful,
   have spoken.
   

Jeremiah Weeps for His People

 ¹⁰I weep for the pastureland   in the hill country.
   It's so barren and scorched
   that no one travels there.
   No cattle can be found there,
   and birds and wild animals
   have all disappeared.
    ¹¹I heard the LORD reply,
   "When I am finished,
   Jerusalem and the towns of Judah
   will be piles of ruins
   where only jackals ^c] live."

Why the Land Was Destroyed

 ¹²I said to the LORD, "None of us can understand why the land has become like an uncrossable desert. Won't you explain why?"    ¹³The LORD said:
   I destroyed the land because the people disobeyed me and rejected my laws and teachings. ¹⁴They were stubborn and worshiped Baal, ^d] just as their ancestors did. ¹⁵So I, the LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel, promise them poison to eat and drink. ^e] 16I'll scatter them in foreign countries that they and their ancestors have never even heard of. Finally, I will send enemy soldiers to kill every last one of them.

The Women Who Are Paid To Weep

 ¹⁷The LORD All-Powerful said,   "Send for the women
   who are paid to weep
   at funerals, ^f] especially the women
   who can cry the loudest."
    ¹⁸The people answered,
   "Let them come quickly
   and cry for us,
   until our own eyes
   are flooded with tears.
    ¹⁹Now those of us on Zion cry,
   `We are ruined!
   We can't stand the shame.
   Our homes have been destroyed,
   and we must leave our land.'
    ²⁰"We ask you women
   to pay attention
   to what the LORD says.
   We will teach you a funeral song
   that you can teach
   your daughters and friends:
    ²¹'We were in our fortress,
   but death sneaked in
   through our windows.
   It even struck down
   children at play
   and our strongest young men.'
    ²²"The LORD has told us
   the ground will be covered
   with dead bodies,
   like stalks of ungathered grain
   or like manure."
   

What the LORD Likes Best

 ²³The LORD says:   Don't brag about your wisdom
   or strength or wealth.
    ²⁴If you feel you must brag,
   then have enough sense
   to brag about worshiping me,
   the LORD.
   What I like best
   is showing kindness,
   justice, and mercy
   to everyone on earth.
    ^25-26Someday I will punish the nations of Egypt, Edom, Ammon, and Moab, and the tribes of the desert. ^g] The men of these nations are circumcised, but they don't worship me. And it's the same with you people of Judah. Your bodies are circumcised, but your hearts are unchanged.

Footnotes:

1. Jeremiah 8:13 I will wipe them out: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
2. Jeremiah 8:13 They have not. . . them: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
3. Jeremiah 9:11 jackals: Desert animals related to wolves, but smaller.
4. Jeremiah 9:14 Baal: See the note at 2.23.
5. Jeremiah 9:15 poison to eat and drink: Or "bitter disappointment to eat, and tears to drink."
6. Jeremiah 9:17 women. . . weep at funerals: Or "the women who weep for Baal"; the god Baal was believed to have died and come back to life, and some women would go to places of worship and weep over the death of Baal.
7. Jeremiah 9:25 the tribes of the desert: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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Colossians 3:1-17 (Contemporary English Version)

Colossians 3

 ¹You have been raised to life with Christ. Now set your heart on what is in heaven, where Christ rules at God's right side. ^a]   2Think about what is up there, not about what is here on earth.
   ³You died, which means that your life is hidden with Christ, who sits beside God.
   ⁴Christ gives meaning to your ^b] life, and when he appears, you will also appear with him in glory.
   ⁵Don't be controlled by your body. Kill every desire for the wrong kind of sex. Don't be immoral or indecent or have evil thoughts. Don't be greedy, which is the same as worshiping idols.
   ⁶God is angry with people who disobey him by doing ^c] these things.
   ⁷And that is exactly what you did, when you lived among people who behaved in this way.
   ⁸But now you must stop doing such things. You must quit being angry, hateful, and evil. You must no longer say insulting or cruel things about others.
   ⁹And stop lying to each other. You have given up your old way of life with its habits.
   ¹⁰Each of you is now a new person. You are becoming more and more like your Creator, and you will understand him better.
   ¹¹It doesn't matter if you are a Greek or a Jew, or if you are circumcised or not. You may even be a barbarian or a Scythian, ^d] and you may be a slave or a free person. Yet Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
   ¹²God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient.
   ¹³Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you.
   ¹⁴Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together.
   ¹⁵Each one of you is part of the body of Christ, and you were chosen to live together in peace. So let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts. And be grateful.
   ¹⁶Let the message about Christ completely fill your lives, while you use all your wisdom to teach and instruct each other. With thankful hearts, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.
   ¹⁷Whatever you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of him.
   

Footnotes:

1. Colossians 3:1 right side: The place of power and honor.
2. Colossians 3:4 your: Some manuscripts have " our."
3. Colossians 3:6 people who disobey him by doing: Some manuscripts do not have these words.
4. Colossians 3:11 a barbarian or a Scythian: Barbarians were people who could not speak Greek and would be in the lower class of society. Scythians were people who were known for their cruelty.

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Psalm 78:32-55 (Contemporary English Version)

³²But the rest kept on sinning
   and would not trust
   God's miracles.
    ³³So he cut their lives short
   and made them terrified.
    ³⁴After he killed some of them,
   the others turned to him
   with all their hearts.
    ³⁵They remembered God Most High,
   the mighty rock ^a] that kept them safe.
    ³⁶But they tried to flatter God,
   and they told him lies;
    ³⁷they were unfaithful
   and broke their promises.
    ³⁸Yet God was kind.
   He kept forgiving their sins
   and didn't destroy them.
   He often became angry,
   but never lost his temper.
    ³⁹God remembered that they
   were made of flesh
   and were like a wind
   that blows once
   and then dies down.
    ⁴⁰While they were in the desert,
   they often rebelled
   and made God sad.
    ⁴¹They kept testing him
   and caused terrible pain
   for the Holy One of Israel.
    ⁴²They forgot about his power
   and how he had rescued them
   from their enemies.
    ⁴³God showed them all kinds
   of wonderful miracles
   near Zoan ^b] in Egypt. ⁴⁴He turned the rivers of Egypt
   into blood,
   and no one could drink
   from the streams.
    ⁴⁵He sent swarms of flies
   to pester the Egyptians,
   and he sent frogs
   to cause them trouble.
    ⁴⁶God let worms and grasshoppers
   eat their crops.
    ⁴⁷He destroyed their grapevines
   and their fig trees
   with hail and floods. ^c] 48Then he killed their cattle
   with hail
   and their other animals
   with lightning.
    ⁴⁹God was so angry and furious
   that he went into a rage
   and caused them great trouble
   by sending swarms
   of destroying angels.
    ⁵⁰God gave in to his anger
   and slaughtered them
   in a terrible way.
    ⁵¹He killed the first-born son
   of each Egyptian family.
    ⁵²Then God led his people
   out of Egypt
   and guided them in the desert
   like a flock of sheep.
    ⁵³He led them safely along,
   and they were not afraid,
   but their enemies drowned
   in the sea.
    ⁵⁴God brought his people
   to the sacred mountain
   that he had taken
   by his own power.
    ⁵⁵He made nations run
   from the tribes of Israel,
   and he let the tribes
   take over their land.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 78:35 mighty rock: See the note at 18.2.
2. Psalm 78:43 Zoan: See the note at 78.12.
3. Psalm 78:47 floods: Or " frost."

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Proverbs 24:27 (Contemporary English Version)

²⁷Get your fields ready
   and plant your crops
   before starting a home.

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Verse of the Day

“[(A psalm by David when he was in the desert of Judah.)][God's Love Means More than Life]You are my God. I worship you. In my heart, I long for you, as I would long for a stream in a scorching desert.” - Psalm 63:1

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

English archbishop and academic, William Laud wrote, “Some hypocrites and seeming mortified men, that held down their heads, were like the little images that they place in the very bowing of the vaults of churches, that look as if they held up the church, but are but puppets.”

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A Joke for Today

Two confirmed bachelors sat talking, their conversation drifted from politics to cooking. 

"I got a cookbook once," said one, "but I could never do anything with it." 

"Too much fancy work in it, eh?" asked the other. 

"You said it. Every one of the recipes began the same way - 'Take a clean dish'."