Read the Bible in a Year
Each day, we'll post passages so that you can read the Bible in one year. This is part of The Colossians 13:16 Project, sponsored by Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia. You're invited to worship with us Sundays, at 11:00 a.m. or Saturdays, at 6:30 p.m. You may also want to consider joining one our adult Bible Studies: Thursdays at 12:00 noon and Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. We also have a full range of programs for children. If you want more information about the church, check out the other blogs. And please feel free to leave any comments.
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Today our passages are 2 Chronicles
4:1–6:11; Romans 7:1-13; Psalm 17:1-15; and Proverbs
19:22-23. The readings are from the Contemporary English
Version.
2 Chronicles
4-6:11 (Contemporary English Version)
2 Chronicles 4
The Furnishings for the Temple
(1 Kings 7.23-51)
1Solomon had a
bronze altar made that was thirty feet square and fifteen feet high.
2He
also gave orders to make a large metal bowl called the Sea. It was fifteen feet
across, about seven and a half feet deep, and forty-five feet around.
3Its
outer edge was decorated with two rows of carvings of bulls, ten bulls to every
eighteen inches, all made from the same piece of metal as the bowl.
4The
bowl itself sat on top of twelve bronze bulls, with three bulls facing outward
in each of four directions.
5The
sides of the bowl were four inches thick, and its rim was in the shape of a cup
that curved outward like flower petals. The bowl held about fifteen thousand
gallons.
6He
also made ten small bowls and put five on each side of the large bowl. The small
bowls were used to wash the animals that were burned on the altar as sacrifices,
and the priests used the water in the large bowl to wash their hands.
7Ten
gold lampstands were also made according to the plans. Solomon placed these
lampstands inside the temple, five on each side of the main room.
8He
also made ten tables and placed them in the main room, five on each side. And he
made a hundred small gold sprinkling bowls.
9Solomon gave orders to build two courtyards: a smaller one
that only priests could use and a larger one. The doors to these courtyards were
covered with bronze.
10The large bowl called the Sea was placed near the
southeast corner of the temple.
11Huram made shovels, sprinkling bowls, and pans for hot
ashes. Here is a list of the other furnishings he made for God's temple:
12two columns, two bowl-shaped caps for the tops of these
columns, two chain designs on the caps,
13four hundred pomegranates
for the chain designs,
14the stands and the small bowls,
15the large bowl and the twelve bulls that held it up,
16pans for hot ashes, as well as shovels and meat forks.
Huram made all these things out of polished bronze
17by
pouring melted bronze into the clay molds he had set up near the Jordan River,
between Succoth and Zeredah.
18There were so many bronze furnishings that no one ever
knew how much bronze it took to make them.
19Solomon also gave orders to make the following temple
furnishings out of gold: the altar, the tables that held the sacred loaves of
bread,
20the lampstands and the lamps that burned in front of the
most holy place,
21flower designs, lamps and tongs,
22lamp snuffers, small sprinkling bowls, ladles, fire pans,
and the doors to the most holy place and the main room of the temple.
2 Chronicles 5
1After the
LORD's temple was finished, Solomon put in its storage rooms everything that his
father David had dedicated to the LORD, including the gold and silver, and the
objects used in worship.
Solomon Brings the Sacred Chest to the
Temple
(1 Kings 8.1-13)
2-3The sacred
chest had been kept on Mount Zion, also known as the city of David. But Solomon
decided to have the chest moved to the temple while everyone was in Jerusalem to
celebrate the Festival of Shelters during the seventh month.
Solomon called together all the important leaders of Israel.
4-5Then the priests and the Levites picked up the sacred
chest, the sacred tent, and the objects used for worship, and they carried them
to the temple.
6Solomon and a crowd of people walked in front of the
chest, and along the way they sacrificed more sheep and cattle than could be
counted.
7The
priests carried the chest into the most holy place and put it under the winged
creatures,
8whose wings covered the chest and the poles used for
carrying it.
9The
poles were so long that they could be seen from just outside the most holy
place, but not from anywhere else. And they stayed there from then on.
10The only things kept in the chest were the two flat
stones Moses had put there when the LORD made his agreement with the people of
Israel at Mount Sinai,
after bringing them out of Egypt.
11-13The priests of every group had gone through the
ceremony to make themselves clean and acceptable to the LORD. The Levite
musicians, including Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and relatives, were
wearing robes of fine linen. They were standing on the east side of the altar,
playing cymbals, small harps, and other stringed instruments. One hundred twenty
priests were with these musicians, and they were blowing trumpets.
They were praising the LORD by playing music
and singing:
"The LORD is good,
and his love never ends."
Suddenly a cloud filled the temple as the
priests were leaving the holy place.
14The LORD's glory was in that cloud, and the light from it
was so bright that the priests could not stay inside to do their work.
2 Chronicles 6
1Solomon
prayed:
"Our LORD, you said that you
would live in a dark cloud.
2Now
I've built a glorious temple
where you can live forever."
Solomon Speaks to the People
(1 Kings 8.14-21)
3Solomon turned
toward the people standing there. Then he blessed them
4-6and said:
Praise the LORD God of Israel! He brought his
people out of Egypt long ago and later kept his promise to make my father David
the king of Israel. The LORD also promised him that Jerusalem would be the city
where his temple will be built, and now that promise has come true.
7When my father wanted to build a temple for the LORD God
of Israel,
8the
LORD said, "It's good that you want to build a temple where I can be worshiped.
9But
you're not the one to do it. Your son will build the temple to honor me."
10The LORD has done what he promised. I am now the king of
Israel, and I've built a temple for the LORD our God.
11I've also put the sacred chest in the temple. And in that
chest are the two flat stones on which is written the solemn agreement the LORD
made with our ancestors when he rescued them from Egypt.
Romans 7:1-13 (Contemporary
English Version)
Romans 7
An Example from Marriage
1My friends,
you surely understand enough about law to know that laws only have power over
people who are alive. 2For example,
the Law says that a man's wife must remain his wife as long as he lives. But
once her husband is dead, she is free 3to marry someone else. However, if she goes off with
another man while her husband is still alive, she is said to be unfaithful.
4That is how it is with you, my friends. You are now part
of the body of Christ and are dead to the power of the Law. You are free to
belong to Christ, who was raised to life so that we could serve God. 5When we thought only of ourselves, the Law
made us have sinful desires. It made every part of our bodies into slaves who
are doomed to die. 6But the Law no
longer rules over us. We are like dead people, and it cannot have any power over
us. Now we can serve God in a new way by obeying his Spirit, and not in the old
way by obeying the written Law.
The Battle with Sin
7Does this mean
that the Law is sinful? Certainly not! But if it had not been for the Law, I
would not have known what sin is really like. For example, I would not have
known what it means to want something that belongs to someone else, unless the
Law had told me not to do that. 8It
was sin that used this command as a way of making me have all kinds of desires.
But without the Law, sin is dead.
9Before I knew about the Law, I was alive. But as soon as I
heard that command, sin came to life, 10and I died. The very command that was supposed to bring
life to me, instead brought death. 11Sin used this command to trick me, and because of it I
died. 12Still, the Law and its
commands are holy and correct and good.
13Am I saying that something good caused my death?
Certainly not! It was sin that killed me by using something good. Now we can see
how terrible and evil sin really is.
Psalm 17:1-15 (Contemporary
English Version)
Psalm 17
(A prayer by David.)
The Prayer of an Innocent
Person
1I am innocent, LORD!
Won't you listen as I pray
and beg for help?
I am honest!
Please hear my prayer.
2Only you can say
that I am innocent,
because only your eyes
can see the truth.
3You know my heart,
and even during the night
you have tested me
and found me innocent.
I have made up my mind
never to tell a lie.
4I
don't do like others.
I obey your teachings
and am not cruel.
5I
have followed you,
without ever stumbling.
6I
pray to you, God,
because you will help me.
Listen and answer my prayer!
7Show your wonderful love.
Your mighty arm protects those
who run to you
for safety
from their enemies.
8Protect me as you would
your very own eyes;
hide me in the shadow
of your wings.
9Don't let my brutal enemies
attack from all sides
and kill me.
10They refuse to show mercy,
and they keep bragging.
11They have caught up with me!
My enemies are everywhere,
eagerly hoping to smear me
in the dirt.
12They are like hungry lions
hunting for food,
or like young lions
hiding in ambush.
13Do something, LORD!
Attack and defeat them.
Take your sword and save me
from those evil people.
14Use your powerful arm
and rescue me
from the hands of mere humans
whose world won't last.
You provide food
for those you love.
Their children have plenty,
and their grandchildren
will have more than enough.
15I
am innocent, LORD,
and I will see your face!
When I awake, all I want
is to see you as you are.
Proverbs
19:22-23 (Contemporary English Version)
22What
matters most is loyalty.
It's better to be poor
than to be a liar.
23Showing respect to the LORD
brings true life--
if you do it, you can relax
without fear of danger.
Verse of the
Day
“I am determined to be faithful and to respect
your laws.” - Psalm 119:30
Thought for the Day
American pediatrician whose book Baby and Child Care, published in 1946, is
one of the best-sellers of all time, Benjamin Spock wrote,
“You know more than you think you do.”
Today our
passages are Amos 4:1–6:14; Revelation 2:18–3:6; Psalm 130:1-8; and Proverbs
29:19-20. The readings are the Contemporary English
Version.
Amos 4-6:14 (Contemporary English Version)
Amos 4
The Women of Samaria
The LORD said:
1You women of
Samaria
are fat cows!
You mistreat and abuse
the poor and needy,
then you say to your husbands,
"Bring us more drinks!"
2I, the LORD God, have sworn
by my own name
that your time is coming.
Not one of you will be left--
you will be taken away
by sharp hooks.
3You will be dragged through holes
in your city walls,
and you will be thrown
toward Harmon. I,
the LORD, have spoken!
Israel Refuses To Obey
The LORD said:
4Come to
Bethel and Gilgal.
Sin all you want!
Offer sacrifices the next morning
and bring a tenth of your crops
on the third day.
5Bring offerings to show me
how thankful you are.
Gladly bring more offerings
than I have demanded.
You really love to do this.
I, the LORD God, have spoken!
How the LORD Warned Israel
6I, the LORD, took away the food
from every town and village,
but still you rejected me.
7Three months before harvest,
I kept back the rain.
Sometimes I would let it fall
on one town or field
but not on another,
and pastures dried up.
8People from two or three towns
would go to a town
that still had water,
but it wasn't enough.
Even then you rejected me.
I, the LORD, have spoken!
9I dried up your grain fields;
your gardens and vineyards
turned brown.
Locusts
ate your fig trees and olive orchards,
but even then you rejected me.
I, the LORD, have spoken!
10I did terrible things to you,
just as I did to Egypt--
I killed your young men in war;
I let your horses be stolen,
and I made your camp stink
with dead bodies.
Even then you rejected me.
I, the LORD, have spoken!
11I destroyed many of you,
just as I did the cities
of Sodom and Gomorrah.
You were a burning stick
I rescued from the fire.
Even then you rejected me.
I, the LORD, have spoken!
12Now, Israel, I myself
will deal with you.
Get ready to face your God!
13I created the mountains
and the wind.
I let humans know
what I am thinking. I
bring darkness at dawn
and step over hills.
I am the LORD God All-Powerful!
Amos 5
Turn Back to the LORD
1Listen, nation of Israel,
to my mournful message:
2You, dearest Israel, have
fallen,
never to rise again--
you lie deserted in your own land,
with no one to help you up.
3The LORD God has warned,
"From every ten soldiers
only one will be left;
from a thousand troops,
only a hundred will survive."
4The LORD keeps saying,
"Israel, turn back to me
and you will live!
5Don't go to Gilgal or Bethel
or even to Beersheba.
Gilgal will be dragged away,
and Bethel will end up
as nothing."
6Turn back to the LORD,
you descendants of Joseph,
and you will live.
If you don't, the LORD
will attack like fire.
Bethel will burn to the ground,
and no one can save it.
7You people are doomed!
You twist the truth
and stomp on justice.
8But the LORD created the stars
and put them in place. He
turns darkness to dawn
and daylight to darkness;
he scoops up the ocean
and empties it on the earth.
9God destroys mighty soldiers
and strong fortresses.
Choose Good Instead of Evil!
The LORD said:
10You people
hate judges
and honest witnesses;
11you abuse the poor and demand
heavy taxes from them.
You have built expensive homes,
but you won't enjoy them;
you have planted vineyards,
but you will get no wine.
12I am the LORD, and I know
your terrible sins.
You cheat honest people
and take bribes;
you rob the poor of justice.
13Times are so evil
that anyone with good sense
will keep quiet.
14If you really want to live,
you must stop doing wrong
and start doing right.
I, the LORD God All-Powerful,
will then be on your side,
just as you claim I am.
15Choose good instead of evil!
See that justice is done.
Maybe I, the LORD All-Powerful,
will be kind to what's left
of your people.
Judgment Is Coming
16This is
what the LORD has sworn:
Noisy crying will be heard
in every town and street.
Even farmers will be told
to mourn for the dead,
together with those
who are paid to mourn.
17Your vineyards will be filled
with crying and weeping,
because I will punish you.
I, the LORD, have spoken!
When the LORD Judges
18You
look forward to the day
when the LORD comes to judge.
But you are in for trouble!
It won't be a time of sunshine;
all will be darkness.
19You will run from a lion,
only to meet a bear.
You will escape to your house,
rest your hand on the wall,
and be bitten by a snake.
20The day when the LORD judges
will be dark, very dark,
without a ray of light.
What the LORD Demands
21I,
the LORD, hate and despise
your religious celebrations
and your times of worship.
22I won't accept your offerings
or animal sacrifices--
not even your very best.
23No more of your noisy songs!
I won't listen
when you play your harps.
24But let justice and fairness
flow like a river
that never runs dry.
25Israel, for forty years
you wandered in the desert,
without bringing offerings
or sacrifices to me.
26Now you will have to carry
the two idols you made--
Sakkuth, the one you call king,
and Kaiwan,
the one you built
in the shape of a star.
27I will force you to march
as captives beyond Damascus.
I, the LORD God All-Powerful,
have spoken!
Amos 6
Israel Will Be Punished
1Do
you rulers in Jerusalem
and in the city of Samaria
feel safe and at ease?
Everyone bows down to you,
and you think you are better
than any other nation.
But you are in for trouble!
2Look what happened
to the cities of Calneh,
powerful Hamath,
and Gath in
Philistia. Are you greater than any
of those kingdoms?
3You are cruel, and you forget
the coming day of judgment.
4You rich people lounge around
on beds with ivory posts,
while dining on the meat
of your lambs and calves.
5You sing foolish songs
to the music of harps,
and you make up new tunes,
just as David used to do.
6You drink all the wine you
want
and wear expensive perfume,
but you don't care about
the ruin of your nation.
7So you will be the first
to be dragged off as captives;
your good times will end.
8The LORD God All-Powerful
has sworn by his own name:
"You descendants of Jacob
make me angry by your pride,
and I hate your fortresses.
And so I will surrender your city
and possessions
to your enemies."
9If only ten of you survive
by hiding in a house
you will still die.
10As you carry out a corpse
to prepare it for burial,
your relative in the house
will ask, "Are there others?"
You will answer, "No!"
Then your relative will reply,
"Be quiet!
Don't dare mention
the name of the LORD."
11At the LORD's command,
houses great and small
will be smashed to pieces.
12Horses can't gallop on rocks;
oceans
can't be plowed. But you have turned justice
and fairness
into bitter poison.
13You celebrate the defeat
of Lo-Debar and Karnaim,
and you boast by saying,
"We did it on our own."
14But the LORD God All-Powerful
will send a nation
to attack
you people of Israel.
They will capture Lebo-Hamath
in the north,
Arabah Creek in
the south, and everything in between.
Revelation 2:18-3:6 (Contemporary English Version)
The Letter to Thyatira
18This
is what you must write to the angel of the church in Thyatira:
I am the Son of God! My eyes are like flames of fire, and my feet are like
bronze. Listen to what I say.
19I know everything about you,
including your love, your faith, your service, and how you have endured. I know
that you are doing more now than you have ever done before. 20But I still have something against you because of that
woman Jezebel.
She calls herself a prophet, and you let her teach and mislead my servants to do
immoral things and to eat food offered to idols. 21I gave her a chance to turn from her sins, but she did
not want to stop doing these immoral things. 22I am going to strike down Jezebel. Everyone who does
these immoral things with her will also be punished, if they don't stop. 23I will even kill her followers.
Then all the churches will see that I know everyone's thoughts and feelings. I
will treat each of you as you deserve. 24Some of you in Thyatira don't follow Jezebel's teaching.
You don't know anything about what her followers call the "deep secrets of
Satan." So I won't burden you down with any other commands. 25But until I come, you must hold firmly to the teaching
you have.
26I will give power over the
nations to everyone who wins the victory and keeps on obeying me until the end.
27-28I will give each of them the same
power that my Father has given me. They will rule the nations with an iron rod
and smash those nations to pieces like clay pots. I will also give them the
morning star.
29If you have ears, listen to what the
Spirit says to the churches.
Revelation 3
The Letter to Sardis
1This is
what you must write to the angel of the church in Sardis:
I have the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. Listen to what I say.
I know what you are doing. Everyone may think you are alive, but you are
dead. 2Wake up! You have only a little
strength left, and it is almost gone. So try to become stronger. I have found
that you are not completely obeying God. 3Remember the teaching that you were given and that you
heard. Hold firmly to it and turn from your sins. If you don't wake up, I will
come when you least expect it, just as a thief does.
4A few of you in Sardis have
not dirtied your clothes with sin. You will walk with me in white clothes,
because you are worthy. 5Everyone who
wins the victory will wear white clothes. Their names will not be erased from
the book of life,
and I will tell my Father and his angels that they are my followers. 6If you have ears, listen to what the
Spirit says to the churches.
Psalm 130:1-8 (Contemporary English Version)
Psalm 130
(A song for worship.)
Trusting the LORD in Times of Trouble
1From a sea of troubles
I call out to you, LORD.
2Won't you please listen
as I beg for mercy?
3If you kept record of our
sins,
no one could last long.
4But you forgive us,
and so we will worship you.
5With all my heart,
I am waiting, LORD, for you!
I trust your promises.
6I wait for you more eagerly
than a soldier on guard duty
waits for the dawn.
Yes, I wait more eagerly
than a soldier on guard duty
waits for the dawn.
7Israel, trust the LORD!
He is always merciful,
and he has the power
to save you.
8Israel, the LORD will save you
from all of your sins.
Psalm 130:1-8 (Contemporary English Version)
Psalm 130
(A song for worship.)
Trusting the LORD in Times of Trouble
1From a sea of troubles
I call out to you, LORD.
2Won't you please listen
as I beg for mercy?
3If you kept record of our
sins,
no one could last long.
4But you forgive us,
and so we will worship you.
5With all my heart,
I am waiting, LORD, for you!
I trust your promises.
6I wait for you more eagerly
than a soldier on guard duty
waits for the dawn.
Yes, I wait more eagerly
than a soldier on guard duty
waits for the dawn.
7Israel, trust the LORD!
He is always merciful,
and he has the power
to save you.
8Israel, the LORD will save you
from all of your sins.
Proverbs 29:19-20 (Contemporary English Version)
19Even when servants are smart,
it takes more than words
to make them obey.
20There is more hope for a fool
than for someone who speaks
without thinking.
Verse of the Day
“But the LORD will still give you proof. A virgin is pregnant; she will have
a son and will name him Immanuel.” - Isaiah
7:14
Thought for the Day
American pediatrician, Benjamin Spock wrote,
“You know more than you think you do.”
Thought for the Day
