Bible Readings for April 21, 2018

Today our passages are Joshua 22:21–23:16; Luke 20:27-47; Psalm 89:14-37; and Proverbs 13:17-19. 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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Joshua 22:21-23:16 (The Message)

^21-22 The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the heads of the tribes of Israel:
The God of Gods is God,
The God of Gods is God! 
^22-23 "He knows and he'll let Israel know if this is a rebellious betrayal of God. And if it is, don't bother saving us. If we built ourselves an altar in rebellion against God, if we did it to present on it Whole-Burnt-Offerings or Grain-Offerings or to enact there sacrificial Peace-Offerings, let God decide. 
^24-25 "But that's not it. We did it because we cared. We were anxious lest someday your children should say to our children, 'You're not connected with God, the God of Israel! God made the Jordan a boundary between us and you. You Reubenites and Gadites have no part in God.' And then your children might cause our children to quit worshiping God. 
²⁶ "So we said to ourselves, 'Let's do something. Let's build an altar—but not for Whole-Burnt-Offerings, not for sacrifices.' 
²⁷ "We built this altar as a witness between us and you and our children coming after us, a witness to the Altar where we worship God in his Sacred Dwelling with our Whole-Burnt-Offerings and our sacrifices and our Peace-Offerings. 
"This way, your children won't be able to say to our children in the future, 'You have no part in God.' 
²⁸ "We said to ourselves, 'If anyone speaks disparagingly to us or to our children in the future, we'll say: Look at this model of God's Altar which our ancestors made. It's not for Whole-Burnt-Offerings, not for sacrifices. It's a witness connecting us with you.' 
²⁹ "Rebelling against or turning our backs on God is the last thing on our minds right now. We never dreamed of building an altar for Whole-Burnt-Offerings or Grain-Offerings to rival the Altar of our God in front of his Sacred Dwelling." 
³⁰ Phinehas the priest, all the heads of the congregation, and the heads of the military divisions of Israel who were also with him heard what the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had to say. They were satisfied. 
³¹ Priest Phinehas son of Eleazar said to Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, "Now we're convinced that God is present with us since you haven't been disloyal to God in this matter. You saved the People of Israel from God's discipline." 
^32-33 Then Priest Phinehas son of Eleazar left the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh (from Gilead) and, with the chiefs, returned to the land of Canaan to the People of Israel and gave a full report. They were pleased with the report. The People of Israel blessed God—there was no more talk of attacking and destroying the land in which the Reubenites and Gadites were living. 
³⁴ Reuben and Gad named the altar:
A Witness Between Us.
God Alone Is God. 

Joshua 23

Joshua's Charge

^1-2 A long time later, after God had given Israel rest from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua was a venerable old man, Joshua called all Israel together—elders, chiefs, judges, and officers. Then he spoke to them: ^2-3 "I'm an old man. I've lived a long time. You have seen everything that God has done to these nations because of you. He did it because he's God, your God. He fought for you. 
^4-5 "Stay alert: I have assigned to you by lot these nations that remain as an inheritance to your tribes—these in addition to the nations I have already cut down—from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. God, your God, will drive them out of your path until there's nothing left of them and you'll take over their land just as God, your God, promised you. 
^6-8 "Now, stay strong and steady. Obediently do everything written in the Book of The Revelation of Moses—don't miss a detail. Don't get mixed up with the nations that are still around. Don't so much as speak the names of their gods or swear by them. And by all means don't worship or pray to them. Hold tight to God, your God, just as you've done up to now. 
^9-10 "God has driven out superpower nations before you. And up to now, no one has been able to stand up to you. Think of it—one of you, single-handedly, putting a thousand on the run! Because God is God, your God. Because he fights for you, just as he promised you. 
^11-13 "Now, vigilantly guard your souls: Love God, your God. Because if you wander off and start taking up with these remaining nations still among you (intermarry, say, and have other dealings with them), know for certain that God, your God, will not get rid of these nations for you. They'll be nothing but trouble to you—horsewhips on your backs and sand in your eyes—until you're the ones who will be driven out of this good land that God, your God, has given you. 
¹⁴ "As you can see, I'm about to go the way we all end up going. Know this with all your heart, with everything in you, that not one detail has failed of all the good things God, your God, promised you. It has all happened. Nothing's left undone—not so much as a word. 
^15-16 "But just as sure as everything good that God, your God, has promised has come true, so also God will bring to pass every bad thing until there's nothing left of you in this good land that God has given you. If you leave the path of the Covenant of God, your God, that he commanded you, go off and serve and worship other gods, God's anger will blaze out against you. In no time at all there'll be nothing left of you, no sign that you've ever been in this good land he gave you." 

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Luke 20:27-47 (The Message)

All Intimacies Will Be with God

^27-33Some Sadducees came up. This is the Jewish party that denies any possibility of resurrection. They asked, "Teacher, Moses wrote us that if a man dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother is obligated to take the widow to wife and get her with child. Well, there once were seven brothers. The first took a wife. He died childless. The second married her and died, then the third, and eventually all seven had their turn, but no child. After all that, the wife died. That wife, now—in the resurrection whose wife is she? All seven married her."

^34-38Jesus said, "Marriage is a major preoccupation here, but not there. Those who are included in the resurrection of the dead will no longer be concerned with marriage nor, of course, with death. They will have better things to think about, if you can believe it. All ecstasies and intimacies then will be with God. Even Moses exclaimed about resurrection at the burning bush, saying, 'God: God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob!' God isn't the God of dead men, but of the living. To him all are alive."

^39-40Some of the religion scholars said, "Teacher, that's a great answer!" For a while, anyway, no one dared put questions to him.

^41-44Then he put a question to them: "How is it that they say that the Messiah is David's son? In the Book of Psalms, David clearly says,

God said to my Master,
"Sit here at my right hand
until I put your enemies under your feet."
"David here designates the Messiah as 'my Master'—so how can the Messiah also be his 'son'?"

^45-47With everybody listening, Jesus spoke to his disciples. "Watch out for the religion scholars. They love to walk around in academic gowns, preen in the radiance of public flattery, bask in prominent positions, sit at the head table at every church function. And all the time they are exploiting the weak and helpless. The longer their prayers, the worse they get. But they'll pay for it in the end."

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Psalm 89:14-37 (The Message)

^5-18 God! Let the cosmos praise your wonderful ways,
the choir of holy angels sing anthems to your faithful ways!
Search high and low, scan skies and land,
you'll find nothing and no one quite like God.
The holy angels are in awe before him;
he looms immense and august over everyone around him.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies, who is like you,
powerful and faithful from every angle?
You put the arrogant ocean in its place
and calm its waves when they turn unruly.
You gave that old hag Egypt the back of your hand,
you brushed off your enemies with a flick of your wrist.
You own the cosmos—you made everything in it,
everything from atom to archangel.
You positioned the North and South Poles;
the mountains Tabor and Hermon sing duets to you.
With your well-muscled arm and your grip of steel—
nobody trifles with you!
The Right and Justice are the roots of your rule;
Love and Truth are its fruits.
Blessed are the people who know the passwords of praise,
who shout on parade in the bright presence of God.
Delighted, they dance all day long; they know
who you are, what you do—they can't keep it quiet!
Your vibrant beauty has gotten inside us—
you've been so good to us! We're walking on air!
All we are and have we owe to God,
Holy God of Israel, our King!

^19-37 A long time ago you spoke in a vision,
you spoke to your faithful beloved:
"I've crowned a hero,
I chose the best I could find;
I found David, my servant,
poured holy oil on his head,
And I'll keep my hand steadily on him,
yes, I'll stick with him through thick and thin.
No enemy will get the best of him,
no scoundrel will do him in.
I'll weed out all who oppose him,
I'll clean out all who hate him.
I'm with him for good and I'll love him forever;
I've set him on high—he's riding high!
I've put Ocean in his one hand, River in the other;
he'll call out, 'Oh, my Father—my God, my Rock of Salvation!'
Yes, I'm setting him apart as the First of the royal line,
High King over all of earth's kings.
I'll preserve him eternally in my love,
I'll faithfully do all I so solemnly promised.
I'll guarantee his family tree
and underwrite his rule.
If his children refuse to do what I tell them,
if they refuse to walk in the way I show them,
If they spit on the directions I give them
and tear up the rules I post for them—
I'll rub their faces in the dirt of their rebellion
and make them face the music.
But I'll never throw them out,
never abandon or disown them.
Do you think I'd withdraw my holy promise?
or take back words I'd already spoken?
I've given my word, my whole and holy word;
do you think I would lie to David?
His family tree is here for good,
his sovereignty as sure as the sun,
Dependable as the phases of the moon,
inescapable as weather." 

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Proverbs 13:17-19 (The Message)

¹⁷ Irresponsible talk makes a real mess of things,
but a reliable reporter is a healing presence.

¹⁸ Refuse discipline and end up homeless;
embrace correction and live an honored life.

¹⁹ Souls who follow their hearts thrive;
fools bent on evil despise matters of soul.

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Verse of the Day

“and I give them eternal life, so that they will never be lost. No one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father gave them to me, and he is greater than all others. No one can snatch them from his hands, and I am one with the Father.” - John 10:28-30

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

British politician and writer, who twice served as Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli wrote, “Change is inevitable. Change is constant.”

Bible Readings for May 26, 2017

Today our passages are 2 Samuel 9:1–11:27; John 15:1-27; Psalm 119:49-64; and Proverbs 16:1-3. 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 Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

 

 

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2 Samuel 9-11:27 (Contemporary English Version)

2 Samuel 9

David Is Kind to Mephibosheth

 ¹One day, David thought, "I wonder if any of Saul's family are still alive. If they are, I will be kind to them, because I made a promise to Jonathan." ²David called in Ziba, one of the servants of Saul's family. David said, "So you are Ziba."    "Yes, Your Majesty, I am."
    ³David asked, "Are any of Saul's family still alive? If there are, I want to be kind to them."
   Ziba answered, "One of Jonathan's sons is still alive, but he can't walk."
    ⁴"Where is he?" David asked.
   Ziba replied, "He lives in Lo-Debar with Machir the son of Ammiel."
    ^5-6David sent some servants to bring Jonathan's son from Lo-Debar. His name was Mephibosheth, ^[a] and he was the grandson of Saul. He came to David and knelt down. David asked, "Are you Mephibosheth?"
   "Yes, I am, Your Majesty."
    ⁷David said, "Don't be afraid. I'll be kind to you because Jonathan was your father. I'm going to give you back the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul. Besides that, you will always eat with me at my table."
    ⁸Mephibosheth knelt down again and said, "Why should you care about me? I'm worth no more than a dead dog."
    ⁹David called in Ziba, Saul's chief servant, and told him, "Since Mephibosheth is Saul's grandson, I've given him back everything that belonged to your master Saul and his family. ¹⁰You and your fifteen sons and twenty servants will work for Mephibosheth. You will farm his land and bring in his crops, so that Saul's family and servants ^[b] will have food. But Mephibosheth will always eat with me at my table." ^11-13Ziba replied, "Your Majesty, I will do exactly what you tell me to do." So Ziba's family and servants worked for Mephibosheth.
   Mephibosheth was lame, but he lived in Jerusalem and ate at David's ^[c] table, just like one of David's own sons. And he had a young son of his own, named Mica.

2 Samuel 10

Israel Fights Ammon

(1 Chronicles 19.1-19)

 ¹Some time later, King Nahash of Ammon died, and his son Hanun became king. ²David said, "Nahash was kind to me, and I will be kind to his son." So he sent some officials to the country of Ammon to tell Hanun how sorry he was that his father had died.     ³But Hanun's officials told him, "Do you really believe David is honoring your father by sending these people to comfort you? He probably sent them to spy on our city, so he can destroy it." ⁴Hanun arrested David's officials and had their beards shaved off on one side of their faces. He had their robes cut off just below the waist, and then he sent them away. ⁵They were terribly ashamed.
   When David found out what had happened to his officials, he sent a message and told them, "Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back. Then you can come home."
    ⁶The Ammonites realized that they had made David very angry, so they hired more foreign soldiers. Twenty thousand of them were foot soldiers from the Aramean cities of Beth-Rehob and Zobah, one thousand were from the king of Maacah, and twelve thousand were from the region of Tob. ⁷David heard what they had done, and he sent out Joab with all of his well-trained soldiers.
    ⁸The Ammonite troops came out and got ready to fight in front of the gate to their city. The Arameans from Zobah and Rehob and the soldiers from Tob and Maacah formed a separate group in the nearby fields.
    ⁹Joab saw that he had to fight in front and behind at the same time, and he picked some of the best Israelite soldiers to fight the Arameans. ¹⁰He put his brother Abishai in command of the rest of the army and had them fight the Ammonites. ¹¹Joab told his brother, "If the Arameans are too much for me to handle, you can come and help me. If the Ammonites are too strong for you, I'll come and help you. ¹²Be brave and fight hard to protect our people and the cities of our God. I pray that the LORD will do whatever pleases him."
    ¹³Joab and his soldiers attacked the Arameans, and the Arameans ran from them. ¹⁴When the Ammonite soldiers saw that the Arameans had run away, they ran from Abishai's soldiers and went back into their own city. Joab stopped fighting the Ammonites and returned to Jerusalem.
    ¹⁵The Arameans realized they had lost the battle, so they brought all their troops together again. ¹⁶Hadadezer sent messengers to call in the Arameans who were on the other side of the Euphrates River. Then Shobach, the commander of Hadadezer's army, led them to the town of Helam.
    ¹⁷David found out what the Arameans were doing, and he brought Israel's whole army together. They crossed the Jordan River and went to Helam, where the Arameans were ready to meet them. ¹⁸The Arameans attacked, but then they ran from Israel. David killed seven hundred chariot drivers and forty thousand cavalry. ^[d] He also killed Shobach, their commander. ¹⁹When the kings who had been under Hadadezer's rule saw that Israel had beaten them, they made peace with Israel and accepted David as their ruler. The Arameans were afraid to help Ammon any more.
   

2 Samuel 11

David and Bathsheba

(1 Chronicles 20.1a)

 ¹It was now spring, the time when kings go to war. ^[e] David sent out the whole Israelite army under the command of Joab and his officers. They destroyed the Ammonite army and surrounded the capital city of Rabbah, but David stayed in Jerusalem. ^2-4Late one afternoon, David got up from a nap and was walking around on the flat roof of his palace. A beautiful young woman was down below in her courtyard, bathing as her religion required. ^[f] David happened to see her, and he sent one of his servants to find out who she was. The servant came back and told David, "Her name is Bathsheba. She is the daughter of Eliam, and she is the wife of Uriah the Hittite."    David sent some messengers to bring her to his palace. She came to him, and he slept with her. Then she returned home. ⁵But later, when she found out that she was going to have a baby, she sent someone to David with this message: "I'm pregnant!"
    ⁶David sent a message to Joab: "Send Uriah the Hittite to me."
   Joab sent Uriah ⁷to David's palace, and David asked him, "Is Joab well? How is the army doing? And how about the war?" ⁸Then David told Uriah, "Go home and clean up." ^[g] Uriah left the king's palace, and David had dinner sent to Uriah's house. ⁹But Uriah didn't go home. Instead, he slept outside the entrance to the royal palace, where the king's guards slept. ¹⁰Someone told David that Uriah had not gone home. So the next morning David asked him, "Why didn't you go home? Haven't you been away for a long time?"
    ¹¹Uriah answered, "The sacred chest and the armies of Israel and Judah are camping out somewhere in the fields ^[h] with our commander Joab and his officers and troops. Do you really think I would go home to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? I swear by your life that I would not!" ¹²Then David said, "Stay here in Jerusalem today, and I will send you back tomorrow."
   Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day. Then the next day, ¹³David invited him for dinner. Uriah ate with David and drank so much that he got drunk, but he still did not go home. He went out and slept on his mat near the palace guards. ¹⁴Early the next morning, David wrote a letter and told Uriah to deliver it to Joab. ¹⁵The letter said: "Put Uriah on the front line where the fighting is the worst. Then pull the troops back from him, so that he will be wounded and die."
    ¹⁶Joab had been carefully watching the city of Rabbah, and he put Uriah in a place where he knew there were some of the enemy's best soldiers. ¹⁷When the men of the city came out, they fought and killed some of David's soldiers--Uriah the Hittite was one of them.
    ¹⁸Joab sent a messenger to tell David everything that was happening in the war. ¹⁹He gave the messenger these orders:
   When you finish telling the king everything that has happened, ²⁰he may get angry and ask, "Why did you go so near the city to fight? Didn't you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? ²¹Don't you know how Abimelech the son of Gideon ^[i] was killed at Thebez? Didn't a woman kill him by dropping a large rock from the top of the city wall? Why did you go so close to the city walls?" Then you tell him, "One of your soldiers who was killed was Uriah the Hittite."
    ²²The messenger went to David and reported everything Joab had told him. ²³He added, "The enemy chased us from the wall and out into the open fields. But we pushed them back as far as the city gate. ²⁴Then they shot arrows at us from the top of the wall. Some of your soldiers were killed, and one of them was Uriah the Hittite."
    ²⁵David replied, "Tell Joab to cheer up and not to be upset about what happened. You never know who will be killed in a war. Tell him to strengthen his attack against the city and break through its walls." ^[j] ²⁶When Bathsheba heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. ²⁷Then after the time for mourning was over, David sent someone to bring her to the palace. She became David's wife, and they had a son.
   The LORD was angry at what David had done,
   

Footnotes:

1. 2 Samuel 9:5 Mephibosheth: Or "Mephibaal" (see the note at 4.4).
2. 2 Samuel 9:10 Saul's family and servants: Some manuscripts of one ancient translation; Hebrew "the son of your master."
3. 2 Samuel 9:11 David's: Hebrew "my."
4. 2 Samuel 10:18 cavalry: The Hebrew manuscripts and ancient translations differ as to how many and what kind of soldiers were killed.
5. 2 Samuel 11:1 when. . . war: Or "when the messengers had gone to Ammon" (see 10.2) or "the time when the kings had gone to war" (see 10.6-8).
6. 2 Samuel 11:2 as. . . required: This bathing was often a requirement for worshiping God.
7. 2 Samuel 11:8 and clean up: Or "and sleep with your wife."
8. 2 Samuel 11:11 somewhere in the fields: Or "at Succoth."
9. 2 Samuel 11:21 Gideon: The Hebrew text has Jerubbesheth, which stands for "Jerubbaal," another name for Gideon. See Judges 6.32 and the note on "bosheth" at 2.8 ("besheth" means the same as "bosheth").
10. 2 Samuel 11:25 break. . . walls: Or "destroy it."

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John 15:1-27 (Contemporary English Version)

John 15

Jesus Is the True Vine

 ¹Jesus said to his disciples:    I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts away every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit. But he trims clean every branch that does produce fruit, so that it will produce even more fruit. ³You are already clean because of what I have said to you.
    ⁴Stay joined to me, and I will stay joined to you. Just as a branch cannot produce fruit unless it stays joined to the vine, you cannot produce fruit unless you stay joined to me. ⁵I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I stay joined to you, then you will produce lots of fruit. But you cannot do anything without me. ⁶If you don't stay joined to me, you will be thrown away. You will be like dry branches that are gathered up and burned in a fire.
    ⁷Stay joined to me and let my teachings become part of you. Then you can pray for whatever you want, and your prayer will be answered. ⁸When you become fruitful disciples of mine, my Father will be honored. ⁹I have loved you, just as my Father has loved me. So remain faithful to my love for you. ¹⁰If you obey me, I will keep loving you, just as my Father keeps loving me, because I have obeyed him.
    ¹¹I have told you this to make you as completely happy as I am. ¹²Now I tell you to love each other, as I have loved you. ¹³The greatest way to show love for friends is to die for them. ¹⁴And you are my friends, if you obey me. ¹⁵Servants don't know what their master is doing, and so I don't speak to you as my servants. I speak to you as my friends, and I have told you everything that my Father has told me.
    ¹⁶You did not choose me. I chose you and sent you out to produce fruit, the kind of fruit that will last. Then my Father will give you whatever you ask for in my name. ^[a] ¹⁷So I command you to love each other.

The World's Hatred

 ¹⁸If the people of this world ^[b] hate you, just remember that they hated me first. ¹⁹If you belonged to the world, its people would love you. But you don't belong to the world. I have chosen you to leave the world behind, and that is why its people hate you. ²⁰Remember how I told you that servants are not greater than their master. So if people mistreat me, they will mistreat you. If they do what I say, they will do what you say. ²¹People will do to you exactly what they did to me. They will do it because you belong to me, and they don't know the one who sent me. ²²If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin.     ²³Everyone who hates me also hates my Father. ²⁴I have done things that no one else has ever done. If they had not seen me do these things, they would not be guilty. But they did see me do these things, and they still hate me and my Father too. ²⁵That is why the Scriptures are true when they say, "People hated me for no reason."
    ²⁶I will send you the Spirit who comes from the Father and shows what is true. The Spirit will help ^[c] you and will tell you about me. ²⁷Then you will also tell others about me, because you have been with me from the beginning.

Footnotes:

1. John 15:16 in my name: Or " because you are my followers."
2. John 15:18 world: See the note at 12.31.
3. John 15:26 help: See the note at 14.16.

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Psalm 119:49-64 (Contemporary English Version)

⁴⁹Don't forget your promise
   to me, your servant.
   I depend on it.
    ⁵⁰When I am hurting,
   I find comfort in your promise
   that leads to life.
    ⁵¹Conceited people sneer at me,
   but I obey your Law.
    ⁵²I find true comfort, LORD,
   because your laws have stood
   the test of time.
    ⁵³I get furious when evil people
   turn against your Law.
    ⁵⁴No matter where I am,
   your teachings
   fill me with songs.
    ⁵⁵Even in the night
   I think about you, LORD,
   and I obey your Law.
    ⁵⁶You have blessed me
   because I have always followed
   your teachings.
    ⁵⁷You, LORD, are my choice,
   and I will obey you.
    ⁵⁸With all my heart
   I beg you to be kind to me,
   just as you have promised.
    ⁵⁹I pay careful attention
   as you lead me,
   and I follow closely.
    ⁶⁰As soon as you command,
   I do what you say.
    ⁶¹Evil people may set a trap,
   but I obey your Law.
    ⁶²Your laws are so fair
   that I wake up
   and praise you
   in the middle of the night.
    ⁶³I choose as my friends
   everyone who worships you
   and follows your teachings.
    ⁶⁴Our LORD, your love is seen
   all over the world.
   Teach me your laws.

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Proverbs 16:1-3 (Contemporary English Version)

Proverbs 16

The LORD Has the Final Word

 ¹We humans make plans,    but the LORD
   has the final word.
    ²We may think we know
   what is right,
   but the LORD is the judge
   of our motives.
    ³Share your plans with the LORD,
   and you will succeed.

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Verse of the Day

“God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them!” - John 3:17

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

British politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Benjamin Disraeli wrote, “Courage is fire, and bullying is smoke.”

 

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A Joke for Today

 

A preacher, who shall we say was "humor impaired," attended a conference to help encourage and better equip pastors for their ministry.

 

Among the speakers were many well known and dynamic speakers. One such boldly approached the pulpit and, gathering the entire crowd's attention, said, "The best years of my life were spent in the arms of a woman that wasn't my wife!" The crowd was shocked! He followed up by saying, "And that woman was my mother!" - The crowd burst into laughter and delivered the rest of his talk, which went over quite well.

 

The next week, the pastor decided he'd give this humor thing a try, and use that joke in his sermon. As he surely approached the pulpit that sunny Sunday, he tried to rehearse the joke in his head. It suddenly seemed a bit foggy to him.

 

Getting to the microphone he said loudly, "The greatest years of my life were spent in the arms of another woman that was not my wife!" The congregation inhaled half the air in the room. After standing there for almost 10 seconds in the stunned silence, trying to recall the second half of the joke, the pastor finally blurted out, "...and I can't remember who she was!"

Bible Readings for August 6, 2016

Today our passages are Ezra 3:1–4:24; 1 Corinthians 2:6–3:4; Psalm 28:1-9; and Proverbs 20:24-25. 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.

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Ezra 3-4:24 (The Message)

Ezra 3

The Building Begun: "The Foundation of the Temple Was Laid"

^1-2When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled into their towns, the people assembled together in Jerusalem. Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brother priests, along with Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and his relatives, went to work and built the Altar of the God of Israel to offer Whole-Burnt-Offerings on it as written in The Revelation of Moses the man of God. ^3-5 Even though they were afraid of what their non-Israelite neighbors might do, they went ahead anyway and set up the Altar on its foundations and offered Whole-Burnt-Offerings on it morning and evening. They also celebrated the Festival of Booths as prescribed and the daily Whole-Burnt-Offerings set for each day. And they presented the regular Whole-Burnt-Offerings for Sabbaths, New Moons, and God's Holy Festivals, as well as Freewill-Offerings for God.
⁶ They began offering Whole-Burnt-Offerings to God from the very first day of the seventh month, even though The Temple of God's foundation had not yet been laid.
⁷ They gave money to hire masons and carpenters. They gave food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and Tyrians in exchange for the cedar lumber they had brought by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, a shipment authorized by Cyrus the king of Persia.
^8-9 In the second month of the second year after their arrival at The Temple of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jozadak, in company with their brother priests and Levites and everyone else who had come back to Jerusalem from captivity, got started. They appointed the Levites twenty years of age and older to direct the rebuilding of The Temple of God. Jeshua and his family joined Kadmiel, Binnui, and Hodaviah, along with the extended family of Henadad—all Levites—to direct the work crew on The Temple of God.
^10-11 When the workers laid the foundation of The Temple of God, the priests in their robes stood up with trumpets, and the Levites, sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise God in the tradition of David king of Israel. They sang antiphonally praise and thanksgiving to God:
Yes! God is good! Oh yes—he'll never quit loving Israel!
^11-13 All the people boomed out hurrahs, praising God as the foundation of The Temple of God was laid. As many were noisily shouting with joy, many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads who had seen the first Temple, when they saw the foundations of this Temple laid, wept loudly for joy. People couldn't distinguish the shouting from the weeping. The sound of their voices reverberated for miles around.

Ezra 4

The Building Stopped: Cease Rebuilding in That City

^1-2 Old enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building The Temple of the God of Israel. They came to Zerubbabel and the family heads and said, "We'll help you build. We worship your God the same as you. We've been offering sacrifices to him since Esarhaddon king of Assyria brought us here." ³ Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the family heads of Israel said to them, "Nothing doing. Building The Temple of our God is not the same thing to you as to us. We alone will build for the God of Israel. We're the ones King Cyrus of Persia commanded to do it."
^4-5 So these people started beating down the morale of the people of Judah, harassing them as they built. They even hired propagandists to sap their resolve. They kept this up for about fifteen years, throughout the lifetime of Cyrus king of Persia and on into the reign of Darius king of Persia.
⁶ In fact, in the reign of Xerxes, at the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against those living in Judah and Jerusalem.
⁷ Again later, in the time of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and their associates wrote regarding the Jerusalem business to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated. (What follows is written in Aramaic.)
^8-16 Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows:
From: Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, backed by the rest of their associates, the judges and officials over the people from Tripolis, Persia, Erech, and Babylon, Elamites of Susa, and all the others whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the city of Samaria and other places in the land across the Euphrates.
(This is the copy of the letter they sent to him.)
To: King Artaxerxes from your servants from the land across the Euphrates.
We are here to inform the king that the Jews who came from you to us have arrived in Jerusalem and have set about rebuilding that rebellious and evil city. They are busy at work finishing the walls and rebuilding the foundations. The king needs to know that once that city is rebuilt and the wall completed they will no longer pay a penny of tribute, tax, or duty. The royal treasury will feel the loss. We're loyal to the king and cannot sit idly by while our king is being insulted—that's why we are passing this information on. We suggest that you look into the court records of your ancestors; you'll learn from those books that that city is a rebellious city, a thorn in the side to kings and provinces, a historic center of unrest and revolt. That's why the city was wiped out. We are letting the king know that if that city gets rebuilt and its walls restored, you'll end up with nothing in your province beyond the Euphrates.
^17-22 The king sent his reply to Rehum the commanding officer, Shimshai the secretary, and the rest of their associates who lived in Samaria and other places beyond the Euphrates.
Peace be with you. The letter that you sent has been translated and read to me. I gave orders to search the records, and sure enough it turns out that this city has revolted against kings time and again—rebellion is an old story there. I find that they've had their share of strong kings who have taken over beyond the Euphrates and exacted taxes, tribute, and duty. So do this: Order these men to stop work immediately—not a lick of rebuilding in that city unless I order it. Act quickly and firmly; they've done enough damage to kings!
²³ The letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates. They lost no time. They went to the Jews in Jerusalem and made them quit work.
²⁴ That put a stop to the work on The Temple of God in Jerusalem. Nothing more was done until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

The Building Resumed:

"Help the Leaders in the Rebuilding"

 

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1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4 (The Message)

^6-10We, of course, have plenty of wisdom to pass on to you once you get your feet on firm spiritual ground, but it's not popular wisdom, the fashionable wisdom of high-priced experts that will be out-of-date in a year or so. God's wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don't find it lying around on the surface. It's not the latest message, but more like the oldest—what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. The experts of our day haven't a clue about what this eternal plan is. If they had, they wouldn't have killed the Master of the God-designed life on a cross. That's why we have this Scripture text:

No one's ever seen or heard anything like this,
Never so much as imagined anything quite like it—
What God has arranged for those who love him.
But you've seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you.
^10-13The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along. Who ever knows what you're thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God—except that he not only knows what he's thinking, but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us. We don't have to rely on the world's guesses and opinions. We didn't learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we're passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.
^14-16The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can't receive the gifts of God's Spirit. There's no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit—God's Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God's Spirit is doing, and can't be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah's question, "Is there anyone around who knows God's Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?" has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ's Spirit.

1 Corinthians 3

^1-4But for right now, friends, I'm completely frustrated by your unspiritual dealings with each other and with God. You're acting like infants in relation to Christ, capable of nothing much more than nursing at the breast. Well, then, I'll nurse you since you don't seem capable of anything more. As long as you grab for what makes you feel good or makes you look important, are you really much different than a babe at the breast, content only when everything's going your way? When one of you says, "I'm on Paul's side," and another says, "I'm for Apollos," aren't you being totally infantile?

 

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Psalm 28:1-9 (The Message)

Psalm 28

A David Psalm

¹ Don't turn a deaf ear when I call you, God.
If all I get from you is
deafening silence,
I'd be better off
in the Black Hole.

² I'm letting you know what I need,
calling out for help
And lifting my arms
toward your inner sanctum.

^3-4 Don't shove me into
the same jail cell with those crooks,
With those who are
full-time employees of evil.
They talk a good line of "peace,"
then moonlight for the Devil. Pay them back for what they've done,
for how bad they've been.
Pay them back for their long hours
in the Devil's workshop;
Then cap it with a huge bonus.

⁵ Because they have no idea how God works
or what he is up to,
God will smash them to smithereens
and walk away from the ruins.

^6-7 Blessed be God—
he heard me praying.
He proved he's on my side;
I've thrown my lot in with him.
Now I'm jumping for joy,
and shouting and singing my thanks to him.

^8-9 God is all strength for his people,
ample refuge for his chosen leader;
Save your people
and bless your heritage.
Care for them;
carry them like a good shepherd.

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Proverbs 20:24-25 (The Message)

²⁴ The very steps we take come from God;
otherwise how would we know where we're going?

²⁵ An impulsive vow is a trap;
later you'll wish you could get out of it.

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Verse of the Day
“All you say can be trusted; your teachings are true and will last forever.” - Psalm 119:160

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

British politician and writer, who twice served as Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli wrote, “Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.”

Bible Readings for April 21, 2016

Today our passages are Joshua 22:21–23:16; Luke 20:27-47; Psalm 89:14-37; and Proverbs 13:17-19. 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.

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Joshua 22:21-23:16 (The Message)

^21-22 The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the heads of the tribes of Israel:
The God of Gods is God,
The God of Gods is God!
^22-23 "He knows and he'll let Israel know if this is a rebellious betrayal of God. And if it is, don't bother saving us. If we built ourselves an altar in rebellion against God, if we did it to present on it Whole-Burnt-Offerings or Grain-Offerings or to enact there sacrificial Peace-Offerings, let God decide.
^24-25 "But that's not it. We did it because we cared. We were anxious lest someday your children should say to our children, 'You're not connected with God, the God of Israel! God made the Jordan a boundary between us and you. You Reubenites and Gadites have no part in God.' And then your children might cause our children to quit worshiping God.
²⁶ "So we said to ourselves, 'Let's do something. Let's build an altar—but not for Whole-Burnt-Offerings, not for sacrifices.'
²⁷ "We built this altar as a witness between us and you and our children coming after us, a witness to the Altar where we worship God in his Sacred Dwelling with our Whole-Burnt-Offerings and our sacrifices and our Peace-Offerings.
"This way, your children won't be able to say to our children in the future, 'You have no part in God.'
²⁸ "We said to ourselves, 'If anyone speaks disparagingly to us or to our children in the future, we'll say: Look at this model of God's Altar which our ancestors made. It's not for Whole-Burnt-Offerings, not for sacrifices. It's a witness connecting us with you.'
²⁹ "Rebelling against or turning our backs on God is the last thing on our minds right now. We never dreamed of building an altar for Whole-Burnt-Offerings or Grain-Offerings to rival the Altar of our God in front of his Sacred Dwelling."
³⁰ Phinehas the priest, all the heads of the congregation, and the heads of the military divisions of Israel who were also with him heard what the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had to say. They were satisfied.
³¹ Priest Phinehas son of Eleazar said to Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, "Now we're convinced that God is present with us since you haven't been disloyal to God in this matter. You saved the People of Israel from God's discipline."
^32-33 Then Priest Phinehas son of Eleazar left the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh (from Gilead) and, with the chiefs, returned to the land of Canaan to the People of Israel and gave a full report. They were pleased with the report. The People of Israel blessed God—there was no more talk of attacking and destroying the land in which the Reubenites and Gadites were living.
³⁴ Reuben and Gad named the altar:
A Witness Between Us.
God Alone Is God.

Joshua 23

Joshua's Charge

^1-2 A long time later, after God had given Israel rest from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua was a venerable old man, Joshua called all Israel together—elders, chiefs, judges, and officers. Then he spoke to them: ^2-3 "I'm an old man. I've lived a long time. You have seen everything that God has done to these nations because of you. He did it because he's God, your God. He fought for you.
^4-5 "Stay alert: I have assigned to you by lot these nations that remain as an inheritance to your tribes—these in addition to the nations I have already cut down—from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. God, your God, will drive them out of your path until there's nothing left of them and you'll take over their land just as God, your God, promised you.
^6-8 "Now, stay strong and steady. Obediently do everything written in the Book of The Revelation of Moses—don't miss a detail. Don't get mixed up with the nations that are still around. Don't so much as speak the names of their gods or swear by them. And by all means don't worship or pray to them. Hold tight to God, your God, just as you've done up to now.
^9-10 "God has driven out superpower nations before you. And up to now, no one has been able to stand up to you. Think of it—one of you, single-handedly, putting a thousand on the run! Because God is God, your God. Because he fights for you, just as he promised you.
^11-13 "Now, vigilantly guard your souls: Love God, your God. Because if you wander off and start taking up with these remaining nations still among you (intermarry, say, and have other dealings with them), know for certain that God, your God, will not get rid of these nations for you. They'll be nothing but trouble to you—horsewhips on your backs and sand in your eyes—until you're the ones who will be driven out of this good land that God, your God, has given you.
¹⁴ "As you can see, I'm about to go the way we all end up going. Know this with all your heart, with everything in you, that not one detail has failed of all the good things God, your God, promised you. It has all happened. Nothing's left undone—not so much as a word.
^15-16 "But just as sure as everything good that God, your God, has promised has come true, so also God will bring to pass every bad thing until there's nothing left of you in this good land that God has given you. If you leave the path of the Covenant of God, your God, that he commanded you, go off and serve and worship other gods, God's anger will blaze out against you. In no time at all there'll be nothing left of you, no sign that you've ever been in this good land he gave you."

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Luke 20:27-47 (The Message)

All Intimacies Will Be with God

^27-33Some Sadducees came up. This is the Jewish party that denies any possibility of resurrection. They asked, "Teacher, Moses wrote us that if a man dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother is obligated to take the widow to wife and get her with child. Well, there once were seven brothers. The first took a wife. He died childless. The second married her and died, then the third, and eventually all seven had their turn, but no child. After all that, the wife died. That wife, now—in the resurrection whose wife is she? All seven married her."

^34-38Jesus said, "Marriage is a major preoccupation here, but not there. Those who are included in the resurrection of the dead will no longer be concerned with marriage nor, of course, with death. They will have better things to think about, if you can believe it. All ecstasies and intimacies then will be with God. Even Moses exclaimed about resurrection at the burning bush, saying, 'God: God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob!' God isn't the God of dead men, but of the living. To him all are alive."

^39-40Some of the religion scholars said, "Teacher, that's a great answer!" For a while, anyway, no one dared put questions to him.

^41-44Then he put a question to them: "How is it that they say that the Messiah is David's son? In the Book of Psalms, David clearly says,

God said to my Master,
"Sit here at my right hand
until I put your enemies under your feet."
"David here designates the Messiah as 'my Master'—so how can the Messiah also be his 'son'?"

^45-47With everybody listening, Jesus spoke to his disciples. "Watch out for the religion scholars. They love to walk around in academic gowns, preen in the radiance of public flattery, bask in prominent positions, sit at the head table at every church function. And all the time they are exploiting the weak and helpless. The longer their prayers, the worse they get. But they'll pay for it in the end."

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Psalm 89:14-37 (The Message)

^5-18 God! Let the cosmos praise your wonderful ways,
the choir of holy angels sing anthems to your faithful ways!
Search high and low, scan skies and land,
you'll find nothing and no one quite like God.
The holy angels are in awe before him;
he looms immense and august over everyone around him.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies, who is like you,
powerful and faithful from every angle?
You put the arrogant ocean in its place
and calm its waves when they turn unruly.
You gave that old hag Egypt the back of your hand,
you brushed off your enemies with a flick of your wrist.
You own the cosmos—you made everything in it,
everything from atom to archangel.
You positioned the North and South Poles;
the mountains Tabor and Hermon sing duets to you.
With your well-muscled arm and your grip of steel—
nobody trifles with you!
The Right and Justice are the roots of your rule;
Love and Truth are its fruits.
Blessed are the people who know the passwords of praise,
who shout on parade in the bright presence of God.
Delighted, they dance all day long; they know
who you are, what you do—they can't keep it quiet!
Your vibrant beauty has gotten inside us—
you've been so good to us! We're walking on air!
All we are and have we owe to God,
Holy God of Israel, our King!

^19-37 A long time ago you spoke in a vision,
you spoke to your faithful beloved:
"I've crowned a hero,
I chose the best I could find;
I found David, my servant,
poured holy oil on his head,
And I'll keep my hand steadily on him,
yes, I'll stick with him through thick and thin.
No enemy will get the best of him,
no scoundrel will do him in.
I'll weed out all who oppose him,
I'll clean out all who hate him.
I'm with him for good and I'll love him forever;
I've set him on high—he's riding high!
I've put Ocean in his one hand, River in the other;
he'll call out, 'Oh, my Father—my God, my Rock of Salvation!'
Yes, I'm setting him apart as the First of the royal line,
High King over all of earth's kings.
I'll preserve him eternally in my love,
I'll faithfully do all I so solemnly promised.
I'll guarantee his family tree
and underwrite his rule.
If his children refuse to do what I tell them,
if they refuse to walk in the way I show them,
If they spit on the directions I give them
and tear up the rules I post for them—
I'll rub their faces in the dirt of their rebellion
and make them face the music.
But I'll never throw them out,
never abandon or disown them.
Do you think I'd withdraw my holy promise?
or take back words I'd already spoken?
I've given my word, my whole and holy word;
do you think I would lie to David?
His family tree is here for good,
his sovereignty as sure as the sun,
Dependable as the phases of the moon,
inescapable as weather."

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Proverbs 13:17-19 (The Message)

¹⁷ Irresponsible talk makes a real mess of things,
but a reliable reporter is a healing presence.

¹⁸ Refuse discipline and end up homeless;
embrace correction and live an honored life.

¹⁹ Souls who follow their hearts thrive;
fools bent on evil despise matters of soul.

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Verse of the Day

“and I give them eternal life, so that they will never be lost. No one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father gave them to me, and he is greater than all others. No one can snatch them from his hands, and I am one with the Father.” - John 10:28-30

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

British politician and writer, who twice served as Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli wrote, “Change is inevitable. Change is constant.”