Bible Readings for September 28, 2018

Today our passages are Isaiah 54:1–57:13; Ephesians 6:1-24; Psalm 70:1-5; and Proverbs 24:8. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

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Isaiah 54-57:13 (The Message)

Isaiah 54

Spread Out! Think Big!

 ^1-6 "Sing, barren woman, who has never had a baby.
   Fill the air with song, you who've never experienced childbirth!
You're ending up with far more children
   than all those childbearing women." God says so!
"Clear lots of ground for your tents!
   Make your tents large. Spread out! Think big!
Use plenty of rope,
   drive the tent pegs deep.
You're going to need lots of elbow room
   for your growing family.
You're going to take over whole nations;
   you're going to resettle abandoned cities.
Don't be afraid—you're not going to be embarrassed.
   Don't hold back—you're not going to come up short.
You'll forget all about the humiliations of your youth,
   and the indignities of being a widow will fade from memory.
For your Maker is your bridegroom,
   his name, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
Your Redeemer is The Holy of Israel,
   known as God of the whole earth.
You were like an abandoned wife, devastated with grief,
   and God welcomed you back,
Like a woman married young
   and then left," says your God.

 ^7-8Your Redeemer God says:    "I left you, but only for a moment.
   Now, with enormous compassion, I'm bringing you back.
In an outburst of anger I turned my back on you—
   but only for a moment.
It's with lasting love
   that I'm tenderly caring for you.
 ^9-10"This exile is just like the days of Noah for me:
   I promised then that the waters of Noah
   would never again flood the earth.
I'm promising now no more anger,
   no more dressing you down.
For even if the mountains walk away
   and the hills fall to pieces,
My love won't walk away from you,
   my covenant commitment of peace won't fall apart."
   The God who has compassion on you says so.
 ^11-17"Afflicted city, storm-battered, unpitied:
   I'm about to rebuild you with stones of turquoise,
Lay your foundations with sapphires,
   construct your towers with rubies,
Your gates with jewels,
   and all your walls with precious stones.
All your children will have God for their teacher—
   what a mentor for your children!
You'll be built solid, grounded in righteousness,
   far from any trouble—nothing to fear!
   far from terror—it won't even come close!
If anyone attacks you,
   don't for a moment suppose that I sent them,
And if any should attack,
   nothing will come of it.
I create the blacksmith
   who fires up his forge
   and makes a weapon designed to kill.
I also create the destroyer—
   but no weapon that can hurt you has ever been forged.
Any accuser who takes you to court
   will be dismissed as a liar.
This is what God's servants can expect.
   I'll see to it that everything works out for the best."
         God's Decree. 

Isaiah 55

Buy Without Money

 ^1-5 "Hey there! All who are thirsty,
   come to the water!
Are you penniless?
   Come anyway—buy and eat!
Come, buy your drinks, buy wine and milk.
   Buy without money—everything's free!
Why do you spend your money on junk food,
   your hard-earned cash on cotton candy?
Listen to me, listen well: Eat only the best,
   fill yourself with only the finest.
Pay attention, come close now,
   listen carefully to my life-giving, life-nourishing words.
I'm making a lasting covenant commitment with you,
   the same that I made with David: sure, solid, enduring love.
I set him up as a witness to the nations,
   made him a prince and leader of the nations,
And now I'm doing it to you:
   You'll summon nations you've never heard of,
and nations who've never heard of you
   will come running to you
Because of me, your God,
   because The Holy of Israel has honored you."  ^6-7Seek God while he's here to be found,
   pray to him while he's close at hand.
Let the wicked abandon their way of life
   and the evil their way of thinking.
Let them come back to God, who is merciful,
   come back to our God, who is lavish with forgiveness.
 ^8-11"I don't think the way you think.
   The way you work isn't the way I work."
         God's Decree.
"For as the sky soars high above earth,
   so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
   and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
   and don't go back until they've watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
   producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
   not come back empty-handed.
They'll do the work I sent them to do,
   they'll complete the assignment I gave them.
 ^12-13"So you'll go out in joy,
   you'll be led into a whole and complete life.
The mountains and hills will lead the parade,
   bursting with song.
All the trees of the forest will join the procession,
   exuberant with applause.
No more thistles, but giant sequoias,
   no more thornbushes, but stately pines—
Monuments to me, to God,
   living and lasting evidence of God." 

Isaiah 56

Messages of Hope

Salvation Is Just Around the Corner

 ^1-3 God's Message: "Guard my common good:
   Do what's right and do it in the right way,
For salvation is just around the corner,
   my setting-things-right is about to go into action.
How blessed are you who enter into these things,
   you men and women who embrace them,
Who keep Sabbath and don't defile it,
   who watch your step and don't do anything evil!
Make sure no outsider who now follows God
   ever has occasion to say, 'God put me in second-class.
   I don't really belong.'
And make sure no physically mutilated person
   is ever made to think, 'I'm damaged goods.
   I don't really belong.'"

 ^4-5For God says:    "To the mutilated who keep my Sabbaths
   and choose what delights me
   and keep a firm grip on my covenant,
I'll provide them an honored place
   in my family and within my city,
   even more honored than that of sons and daughters.
I'll confer permanent honors on them
   that will never be revoked.
 ^6-8"And as for the outsiders who now follow me,
   working for me, loving my name,
   and wanting to be my servants—
All who keep Sabbath and don't defile it,
   holding fast to my covenant—
I'll bring them to my holy mountain
   and give them joy in my house of prayer.
They'll be welcome to worship the same as the 'insiders,'
   to bring burnt offerings and sacrifices to my altar.
Oh yes, my house of worship
   will be known as a house of prayer for all people."
The Decree of the Master, God himself,
   who gathers in the exiles of Israel:
"I will gather others also,
   gather them in with those already gathered."
 ^9-12A call to the savage beasts: Come on the run.
   Come, devour, beast barbarians!
For Israel's watchmen are blind, the whole lot of them.
   They have no idea what's going on.
They're dogs without sense enough to bark,
   lazy dogs, dreaming in the sun—
But hungry dogs, they do know how to eat,
   voracious dogs, with never enough.
And these are Israel's shepherds!
   They know nothing, understand nothing.
They all look after themselves,
   grabbing whatever's not nailed down.
"Come," they say, "let's have a party.
   Let's go out and get drunk!"
And tomorrow, more of the same:
   "Let's live it up!" 

Isaiah 57

Never Tired of Trying New Religions

 ^1-2 Meanwhile, right-living people die and no one gives them a thought.
God-fearing people are carted off
   and no one even notices.
The right-living people are out of their misery,
   they're finally at rest.
They lived well and with dignity
   and now they're finally at peace.  ^3-10"But you, children of a witch, come here!
   Sons of a slut, daughters of a whore.
What business do you have taunting,
   sneering, and sticking out your tongue?
Do you have any idea what wretches you've turned out to be?
   A race of rebels, a generation of liars.
You satisfy your lust any place you find some shade
   and fornicate at whim.
You kill your children at any convenient spot—
   any cave or crevasse will do.
You take stones from the creek
   and set up your sex-and-religion shrines.
You've chosen your fate.
   Your worship will be your doom.
You've climbed a high mountain
   to practice your foul sex-and-death religion.
Behind closed doors
   you assemble your precious gods and goddesses.
Deserting me, you've gone all out, stripped down
   and made your bed your place of worship.
You've climbed into bed with the 'sacred' whores
   and loved every minute of it,
   adoring every curve of their naked bodies.
You anoint your king-god with ointments
   and lavish perfumes on yourselves.
You send scouts to search out the latest in religion,
   send them all the way to hell and back.
You wear yourselves out trying the new and the different,
   and never see what a waste it all is.
You've always found strength for the latest fad,
   never got tired of trying new religions.
 ^11-13"Who talked you into the pursuit of this nonsense,
   leaving me high and dry,
   forgetting you ever knew me?
Because I don't yell and make a scene
   do you think I don't exist?
I'll go over, detail by detail, all your 'righteous' attempts at religion,
   and expose the absurdity of it all.
Go ahead, cry for help to your collection of no-gods:
   A good wind will blow them away.
   They're smoke, nothing but smoke.
   "But anyone who runs to me for help
   will inherit the land,
   will end up owning my holy mountain!"

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Ephesians 6:1-24 (The Message)

Ephesians 6

 ^1-3 Children, do what your parents tell you. This is only right. "Honor your father and mother" is the first commandment that has a promise attached to it, namely, "so you will live well and have a long life." ⁴Fathers, don't exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master.  ^5-8Servants, respectfully obey your earthly masters but always with an eye to obeying the real master, Christ. Don't just do what you have to do to get by, but work heartily, as Christ's servants doing what God wants you to do. And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you're really serving God. Good work will get you good pay from the Master, regardless of whether you are slave or free.
 ⁹Masters, it's the same with you. No abuse, please, and no threats. You and your servants are both under the same Master in heaven. He makes no distinction between you and them. 

A Fight to the Finish

 ^10-12And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.  ^13-18Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
 ^19-20And don't forget to pray for me. Pray that I'll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out.
 ^21-22Tychicus, my good friend here, will tell you what I'm doing and how things are going with me. He is certainly a dependable servant of the Master! I've sent him not only to tell you about us but to cheer you on in your faith.
 ^23-24Good-bye, friends. Love mixed with faith be yours from God the Father and from the Master, Jesus Christ. Pure grace and nothing but grace be with all who love our Master, Jesus Christ.

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Psalm 70:1-5 (The Message)

Psalm 70

A David Prayer

 ^1-3 God! Please hurry to my rescue! God, come quickly to my side!
   Those who are out to get me—
      let them fall all over themselves.
   Those who relish my downfall—
      send them down a blind alley.
   Give them a taste of their own medicine,
      those gossips off clucking their tongues.

 ⁴ Let those on the hunt for you
      sing and celebrate.
   Let all who love your saving way
      say over and over, "God is mighty!"

 ⁵ But I've lost it. I'm wasted.
      God—quickly, quickly!
   Quick to my side, quick to my rescue!
      God, don't lose a minute.

 

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Proverbs 24:8 (The Message)

23

 ^8-9 The person who's always cooking up some evil
   soon gets a reputation as prince of rogues.
Fools incubate sin;
   cynics desecrate beauty.

 

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Verse of the Day

 

“That's why only someone who has God's Spirit can understand spiritual blessings. Anyone who doesn't have God's Spirit thinks these blessings are foolish.” - 1 Corinthians 2:14 

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American singer whose style encompassed many genres, including Chicago blues, electric blues, rhythm and blues and soul blues, Koko Taylor wrote, “Blues is my life. It's a true feeling that comes from the heart, not something that just comes out of my mouth. Blues is what I love, and blues is what I always do.”

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A Joke for Today

Top Things You Should Not Say At A Funeral

8. Geez, what died in here? 

7. He looks natural but those shoes do not go with that dress. 

6. Nice service...where's the keg? 

5. When did he die...really...hey Bob, you won the pool!!! 

4. Hey, we're with the Publisher Clearing House Prize Patrol and we're looking for...oh, never mind. 

3. Don't look now Fred but you and the deceased have the exact same suit on. 

2. You know they touched that body up cause that shark has one of them legs. 

1. Not to cause panic or anything but something is leaking out of that casket. 

Bible Readings for September 27, 2018

Today our passages are Isaiah 51:1–53:12; Ephesians 5:1-33; Psalm 69:19-36; and Proverbs 24:7. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

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Isaiah 51-53:12 (The Message)

Isaiah 51

Committed to Seeking God

 ^1-3 "Listen to me, all you who are serious about right living and committed to seeking God.
Ponder the rock from which you were cut,
   the quarry from which you were dug.
Yes, ponder Abraham, your father,
   and Sarah, who bore you.
Think of it! One solitary man when I called him,
   but once I blessed him, he multiplied.
Likewise I, God, will comfort Zion,
   comfort all her mounds of ruins.
I'll transform her dead ground into Eden,
   her moonscape into the garden of God,
A place filled with exuberance and laughter,
   thankful voices and melodic songs.  ^4-6"Pay attention, my people.
   Listen to me, nations.
Revelation flows from me.
   My decisions light up the world.
My deliverance arrives on the run,
   my salvation right on time.
   I'll bring justice to the peoples.
Even faraway islands will look to me
   and take hope in my saving power.
Look up at the skies,
   ponder the earth under your feet.
The skies will fade out like smoke,
   the earth will wear out like work pants,
   and the people will die off like flies.
But my salvation will last forever,
   my setting-things-right will never be obsolete.
 ^7-8"Listen now, you who know right from wrong,
   you who hold my teaching inside you:
Pay no attention to insults, and when mocked
   don't let it get you down.
Those insults and mockeries are moth-eaten,
   from brains that are termite-ridden,
But my setting-things-right lasts,
   my salvation goes on and on and on."
 ^9-11Wake up, wake up, flex your muscles, God!
   Wake up as in the old days, in the long ago.
Didn't you once make mincemeat of Rahab,
   dispatch the old chaos-dragon?
And didn't you once dry up the sea,
   the powerful waters of the deep,
And then made the bottom of the ocean a road
   for the redeemed to walk across?
In the same way God's ransomed will come back,
   come back to Zion cheering, shouting,
Joy eternal wreathing their heads,
   exuberant ecstasies transporting them—
   and not a sign of moans or groans. 

What Are You Afraid of—or Who?

 ^12-16"I, I'm the One comforting you.
   What are you afraid of—or who?
Some man or woman who'll soon be dead?
   Some poor wretch destined for dust?
You've forgotten me, God, who made you,
   who unfurled the skies, who founded the earth.
And here you are, quaking like an aspen
   before the tantrums of a tyrant
   who thinks he can kick down the world.
But what will come of the tantrums?
   The victims will be released before you know it.
They're not going to die.
   They're not even going to go hungry.
For I am God, your very own God,
   who stirs up the sea and whips up the waves,
   named God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
I teach you how to talk, word by word,
   and personally watch over you,
Even while I'm unfurling the skies,
   setting earth on solid foundations,
   and greeting Zion: 'Welcome, my people!'"  ^17-20So wake up! Rub the sleep from your eyes!
   Up on your feet, Jerusalem!
You've drunk the cup God handed you,
   the strong drink of his anger.
You drank it down to the last drop,
   staggered and collapsed, dead-drunk.
And nobody to help you home,
   no one among your friends or children
   to take you by the hand and put you in bed.
You've been hit with a double dose of trouble
   —does anyone care?
Assault and battery, hunger and death
   —will anyone comfort?
Your sons and daughters have passed out,
   strewn in the streets like stunned rabbits,
Sleeping off the strong drink of God's anger,
   the rage of your God.
 ^21-23Therefore listen, please,
   you with your splitting headaches,
You who are nursing the hangovers
   that didn't come from drinking wine.
Your Master, your God, has something to say,
   your God has taken up his people's case:
"Look, I've taken back the drink that sent you reeling.
   No more drinking from that jug of my anger!
I've passed it over to your abusers to drink, those who ordered you,
   'Down on the ground so we can walk all over you!'
And you had to do it. Flat on the ground,
   you were the dirt under their feet." 

Isaiah 52

God Is Leading You Out of Here

 ^1-2 Wake up, wake up! Pull on your boots, Zion! Dress up in your Sunday best, Jerusalem, holy city!
Those who want no part of God have been culled out.
   They won't be coming along.
Brush off the dust and get to your feet, captive Jerusalem!    Throw off your chains, captive daughter of Zion!
 ³God says, "You were sold for nothing. You're being bought back for nothing."
 ^4-6Again, the Master, God, says, "Early on, my people went to Egypt and lived, strangers in the land. At the other end, Assyria oppressed them. And now, what have I here?" God's Decree. "My people are hauled off again for no reason at all. Tyrants on the warpath, whooping it up, and day after day, incessantly, my reputation blackened. Now it's time that my people know who I am, what I'm made of—yes, that I have something to say. Here I am!"
 ^7-10How beautiful on the mountains
   are the feet of the messenger bringing good news,
Breaking the news that all's well,
   proclaiming good times, announcing salvation,
   telling Zion, "Your God reigns!"
Voices! Listen! Your scouts are shouting, thunderclap shouts,
   shouting in joyful unison.
They see with their own eyes
   God coming back to Zion.
Break into song! Boom it out, ruins of Jerusalem:
   "God has comforted his people!
   He's redeemed Jerusalem!"
God has rolled up his sleeves.
   All the nations can see his holy, muscled arm.
Everyone, from one end of the earth to the other,
   sees him at work, doing his salvation work.
 ^11-12Out of here! Out of here! Leave this place!
   Don't look back. Don't contaminate yourselves with plunder.
Just leave, but leave clean. Purify yourselves
   in the process of worship, carrying the holy vessels of God.
But you don't have to be in a hurry.
   You're not running from anybody!
God is leading you out of here,
   and the God of Israel is also your rear guard. 

It Was Our Pains He Carried

 ^13-15"Just watch my servant blossom!
   Exalted, tall, head and shoulders above the crowd!
But he didn't begin that way.
   At first everyone was appalled.
He didn't even look human—
   a ruined face, disfigured past recognition.
Nations all over the world will be in awe, taken aback,
   kings shocked into silence when they see him.
For what was unheard of they'll see with their own eyes,
   what was unthinkable they'll have right before them."

Isaiah 53

 ¹ Who believes what we've heard and seen? Who would have thought God's saving power would look like this?  ^2-6The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
   a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
   nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
   a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
   We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
   our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
   that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
   that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
   Through his bruises we get healed.
We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.
   We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong,
   on him, on him.
 ^7-9He was beaten, he was tortured,
   but he didn't say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
   and like a sheep being sheared,
   he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
   and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
   beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
   threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he'd never hurt a soul
   or said one word that wasn't true.
 ¹⁰Still, it's what God had in mind all along,
   to crush him with pain.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
   so that he'd see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
   And God's plan will deeply prosper through him.
 ^11-12Out of that terrible travail of soul,
   he'll see that it's worth it and be glad he did it.
Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
   will make many "righteous ones,"
   as he himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore I'll reward him extravagantly—
   the best of everything, the highest honors—
Because he looked death in the face and didn't flinch,
   because he embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,
   he took up the cause of all the black sheep.

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Ephesians 5:1-33 (The Message)

Ephesians 5

Wake Up from Your Sleep

 ^1-2Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.  ^3-4Don't allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better uses for language than that. Don't talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn't fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect.
 ⁵You can be sure that using people or religion or things just for what you can get out of them—the usual variations on idolatry—will get you nowhere, and certainly nowhere near the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of God.
 ^6-7Don't let yourselves get taken in by religious smooth talk. God gets furious with people who are full of religious sales talk but want nothing to do with him. Don't even hang around people like that.
 ^8-10You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You're out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it! The good, the right, the true—these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it.
 ^11-16Don't waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It's a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.

   Wake up from your sleep,
   Climb out of your coffins;
   Christ will show you the light!
So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!
 ¹⁷Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.
 ^18-20Don't drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ. 

Relationships

 ²¹Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.  ^22-24Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.
 ^25-28Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They're really doing themselves a favor—since they're already "one" in marriage.
 ^29-33No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That's how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become "one flesh." This is a huge mystery, and I don't pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.

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Psalm 69:19-36 (The Message)

 ¹⁹ You know how they kick me around—
   Pin on me the donkey's ears, the dunce's cap.

 ²⁰ I'm broken by their taunts,
   Flat on my face, reduced to a nothing.
   I looked in vain for one friendly face. Not one.
   I couldn't find one shoulder to cry on.

 ²¹ They put poison in my soup,
   Vinegar in my drink.

 ²² Let their supper be bait in a trap that snaps shut;
   May their best friends be trappers who'll skin them alive.

 ²³ Make them become blind as bats,
   Give them the shakes from morning to night.

 ²⁴ Let them know what you think of them,
   Blast them with your red-hot anger.

 ²⁵ Burn down their houses,
   Leave them desolate with nobody at home.

 ²⁶ They gossiped about the one you disciplined,
   Made up stories about anyone wounded by God.

 ²⁷ Pile on the guilt,
   Don't let them off the hook.

 ²⁸ Strike their names from the list of the living;
   No rock-carved honor for them among the righteous.

 ²⁹ I'm hurt and in pain;
   Give me space for healing, and mountain air.

 ³⁰ Let me shout God's name with a praising song,
   Let me tell his greatness in a prayer of thanks.

 ³¹ For God, this is better than oxen on the altar,
   Far better than blue-ribbon bulls.

 ³² The poor in spirit see and are glad—
   Oh, you God-seekers, take heart!

 ³³ For God listens to the poor,
   He doesn't walk out on the wretched.

 ³⁴ You heavens, praise him; praise him, earth;
   Also ocean and all things that swim in it.

 ³⁵ For God is out to help Zion,
   Rebuilding the wrecked towns of Judah.
   Guess who will live there—
   The proud owners of the land?

 ³⁶ No, the children of his servants will get it,
   The lovers of his name will live in it.

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Proverbs 24:7 (The Message)

22

 ⁷ Wise conversation is way over the head of fools;
   in a serious discussion they haven't a clue.

 

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Verse of the Day

 

“But more than anything else, put God's work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well.” - Matthew 6:33

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

 

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Thought for the Day

American psychologist who in 1955 developed Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), Albert Ellis wrote, “The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny.”

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A Joke for Today 

A tramp knocked on the door of the inn known as St. George and the Dragon. The landlady answered the door.

The tramp said, “Could you give a poor man something to eat?”

"No,” said the woman, slamming the door in his face.

He knocked again and said, “Could I have a few words with George?”

Bible Readings for September 26, 2018

Today our passages are Isaiah 48:12–50:11; Ephesians 4:17-32; Psalm 69:1-18; and Proverbs 24:5-6. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

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Isaiah 48:12-50:11 (The Message)

 ^12-13"Listen, Jacob. Listen, Israel—
   I'm the One who named you!
I'm the One.
   I got things started and, yes, I'll wrap them up.
Earth is my work, handmade.
   And the skies—I made them, too, horizon to horizon.
When I speak, they're on their feet, at attention.
 ^14-16"Come everybody, gather around, listen:
   Who among the gods has delivered the news?
I, God, love this man Cyrus, and I'm using him
   to do what I want with Babylon.
I, yes I, have spoken. I've called him.
   I've brought him here. He'll be successful.
Come close, listen carefully:
   I've never kept secrets from you.
   I've always been present with you." 

Your Progeny, Like Grains of Sand

 ^16-19And now, the Master, God, sends me and his Spirit
   with this Message from God,
   your Redeemer, The Holy of Israel:
"I am God, your God,
   who teaches you how to live right and well.
   I show you what to do, where to go.
If you had listened all along to what I told you,
   your life would have flowed full like a river,
   blessings rolling in like waves from the sea.
Children and grandchildren are like sand,
   your progeny like grains of sand.
There would be no end of them,
   no danger of losing touch with me."  ²⁰Get out of Babylon! Run from the Babylonians!
   Shout the news. Broadcast it.
Let the world know, the whole world.
   Tell them, "God redeemed his dear servant Jacob!"
 ²¹They weren't thirsty when he led them through the deserts.
   He made water pour out of the rock;
   he split the rock and the water gushed.
 ²²"There is no peace," says God, "for the wicked." 

Isaiah 49

A Light for the Nations

 ^1-3 Listen, far-flung islands,
   pay attention, faraway people:
God put me to work from the day I was born.
   The moment I entered the world he named me.
He gave me speech that would cut and penetrate.
   He kept his hand on me to protect me.
He made me his straight arrow
   and hid me in his quiver.
He said to me, "You're my dear servant,
   Israel, through whom I'll shine."  ⁴But I said, "I've worked for nothing.
   I've nothing to show for a life of hard work.
Nevertheless, I'll let God have the last word.
   I'll let him pronounce his verdict."
 ^5-6"And now," God says,
   this God who took me in hand
   from the moment of birth to be his servant,
To bring Jacob back home to him,
   to set a reunion for Israel—
What an honor for me in God's eyes!
   That God should be my strength!
He says, "But that's not a big enough job for my servant—
   just to recover the tribes of Jacob,
   merely to round up the strays of Israel.
I'm setting you up as a light for the nations
   so that my salvation becomes global!"
 ⁷God, Redeemer of Israel, The Holy of Israel,
   says to the despised one, kicked around by the nations,
   slave labor to the ruling class:
"Kings will see, get to their feet—the princes, too—
   and then fall on their faces in homage
Because of God, who has faithfully kept his word,
   The Holy of Israel, who has chosen you."

 ^8-12God also says:
   "When the time's ripe, I answer you.
   When victory's due, I help you.
I form you and use you
   to reconnect the people with me,
To put the land in order,
   to resettle families on the ruined properties.
I tell prisoners, 'Come on out. You're free!'
   and those huddled in fear, 'It's all right. It's safe now.'
There'll be foodstands along all the roads,
   picnics on all the hills—
Nobody hungry, nobody thirsty,
   shade from the sun, shelter from the wind,
For the Compassionate One guides them,
   takes them to the best springs.
I'll make all my mountains into roads,
   turn them into a superhighway.
Look: These coming from far countries,
   and those, out of the north,
These streaming in from the west,
   and those from all the way down the Nile!"
 ¹³Heavens, raise the roof! Earth, wake the dead!
   Mountains, send up cheers!
God has comforted his people.
   He has tenderly nursed his beaten-up, beaten-down people.
 ¹⁴But Zion said, "I don't get it. God has left me.
   My Master has forgotten I even exist."
 ^15-18"Can a mother forget the infant at her breast,
   walk away from the baby she bore?
But even if mothers forget,
   I'd never forget you—never.
Look, I've written your names on the backs of my hands.
   The walls you're rebuilding are never out of my sight.
Your builders are faster than your wreckers.
   The demolition crews are gone for good.
Look up, look around, look well!
   See them all gathering, coming to you?
As sure as I am the living God"—God's Decree—
   "you're going to put them on like so much jewelry,
   you're going to use them to dress up like a bride.
 ^19-21"And your ruined land?
   Your devastated, decimated land?
Filled with more people than you know what to do with!
   And your barbarian enemies, a fading memory.
The children born in your exile will be saying,
   'It's getting too crowded here. I need more room.'
And you'll say to yourself,
   'Where on earth did these children come from?
I lost everything, had nothing, was exiled and penniless.
   So who reared these children?
   How did these children get here?'"

 ^22-23The Master, God, says:
   "Look! I signal to the nations,
   I raise my flag to summon the people.
Here they'll come: women carrying your little boys in their arms,
   men carrying your little girls on their shoulders.
Kings will be your babysitters,
   princesses will be your nursemaids.
They'll offer to do all your drudge work—
   scrub your floors, do your laundry.
You'll know then that I am God.
   No one who hopes in me ever regrets it."
 ^24-26Can plunder be retrieved from a giant,
   prisoners of war gotten back from a tyrant?
But God says, "Even if a giant grips the plunder
   and a tyrant holds my people prisoner,
I'm the one who's on your side,
   defending your cause, rescuing your children.
And your enemies, crazed and desperate, will turn on themselves,
   killing each other in a frenzy of self-destruction.
Then everyone will know that I, God,
   have saved you—I, the Mighty One of Jacob." 

Isaiah 50

Who Out There Fears God?

 ^1-3 God says: "Can you produce your mother's divorce papers
   proving I got rid of her?
Can you produce a receipt
   proving I sold you?
Of course you can't.
   It's your sins that put you here,
   your wrongs that got you shipped out.
So why didn't anyone come when I knocked?
   Why didn't anyone answer when I called?
Do you think I've forgotten how to help?
   Am I so decrepit that I can't deliver?
I'm as powerful as ever,
   and can reverse what I once did:
I can dry up the sea with a word,
   turn river water into desert sand,
And leave the fish stinking in the sun,
   stranded on dry land . . .
Turn all the lights out in the sky
   and pull down the curtain."  ^4-9The Master, God, has given me
   a well-taught tongue,
So I know how to encourage tired people.
   He wakes me up in the morning,
Wakes me up, opens my ears
   to listen as one ready to take orders.
The Master, God, opened my ears,
   and I didn't go back to sleep,
   didn't pull the covers back over my head.
I followed orders,
   stood there and took it while they beat me,
   held steady while they pulled out my beard,
Didn't dodge their insults,
   faced them as they spit in my face.
And the Master, God, stays right there and helps me,
   so I'm not disgraced.
Therefore I set my face like flint,
   confident that I'll never regret this.
My champion is right here.
   Let's take our stand together!
Who dares bring suit against me?
   Let him try!
Look! the Master, God, is right here.
   Who would dare call me guilty?
Look! My accusers are a clothes bin of threadbare
   socks and shirts, fodder for moths!
 ^10-11Who out there fears God,
   actually listens to the voice of his servant?
For anyone out there who doesn't know where you're going,
   anyone groping in the dark,
Here's what: Trust in God.
   Lean on your God!
But if all you're after is making trouble,
   playing with fire,
   Go ahead and see where it gets you.
   Set your fires, stir people up, blow on the flames,
But don't expect me to just stand there and watch.
   I'll hold your feet to those flames. 

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Ephesians 4:17-32 (The Message)

The Old Way Has to Go

 ^17-19And so I insist—and God backs me up on this—that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd. They've refused for so long to deal with God that they've lost touch not only with God but with reality itself. They can't think straight anymore. Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion.  ^20-24But that's no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It's rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.
 ²⁵What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ's body we're all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself.
 ^26-27Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don't use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don't stay angry. Don't go to bed angry. Don't give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.
 ²⁸Did you use to make ends meet by stealing? Well, no more! Get an honest job so that you can help others who can't work.
 ²⁹Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.
 ³⁰Don't grieve God. Don't break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don't take such a gift for granted.
 ^31-32Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.

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Psalm 69:1-18 (The Message)

Psalm 69

A David Psalm

 ¹ God, God, save me! I'm in over my head,

 ² Quicksand under me, swamp water over me;
   I'm going down for the third time.

 ³ I'm hoarse from calling for help,
   Bleary-eyed from searching the sky for God.

 ⁴ I've got more enemies than hairs on my head;
   Sneaks and liars are out to knife me in the back.    What I never stole
   Must I now give back?

 ⁵ God, you know every sin I've committed;
   My life's a wide-open book before you.

 ⁶ Don't let those who look to you in hope
   Be discouraged by what happens to me,
   Dear Lord! God of the armies!
   Don't let those out looking for you
   Come to a dead end by following me—
   Please, dear God of Israel!

 ⁷ Because of you I look like an idiot,
   I walk around ashamed to show my face.

 ⁸ My brothers shun me like a bum off the street;
   My family treats me like an unwanted guest.

 ⁹ I love you more than I can say.
   Because I'm madly in love with you,
   They blame me for everything they dislike about you.

 ¹⁰ When I poured myself out in prayer and fasting,
   All it got me was more contempt.

 ¹¹ When I put on a sad face,
   They treated me like a clown.

 ¹² Now drunks and gluttons
   Make up drinking songs about me.

 ¹³ And me? I pray.
   God, it's time for a break!
   God, answer in love!
   Answer with your sure salvation!

 ¹⁴ Rescue me from the swamp,
   Don't let me go under for good,
   Pull me out of the clutch of the enemy;
   This whirlpool is sucking me down.

 ¹⁵ Don't let the swamp be my grave, the Black Hole
   Swallow me, its jaws clenched around me.

 ¹⁶ Now answer me, God, because you love me;
   Let me see your great mercy full-face.

 ¹⁷ Don't look the other way; your servant can't take it.
   I'm in trouble. Answer right now!

 ¹⁸ Come close, God; get me out of here.
   Rescue me from this deathtrap. 

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Proverbs 24:5-6 (The Message)

21

 ^5-6 It's better to be wise than strong;
   intelligence outranks muscle any day.
Strategic planning is the key to warfare;
   to win, you need a lot of good counsel.

 

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Verse of the Day

 

“We know that God has said he will punish and take revenge. We also know that the Scriptures say the Lord will judge his people. It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God!” - Hebrews 10:30-31 

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

Pope Paul VI wrote, “All life demands struggle. Those who have everything given to them become lazy, selfish, and insensitive to the real values of life. The very striving and hard work that we so constantly try to avoid is the major building block in the person we are today.”

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A Joke for Today

Resolving to surprise her husband, an executive''s wife stopped by his office. When she opened the door, she found him with his secretary sitting in his lap.

Without hesitating, he dictated, "...and in conclusion, gentlemen, budget cuts or no budget cuts, I cannot continue to operate this office with just one chair."