Bible Readings for October 11, 2019

Today our passages are Jeremiah 16:16–18:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:1–5:3; Psalm 81:1-16; and Proverbs 25:6-7. 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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Jeremiah 16:16-18:23 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁶But for now, I am sending enemies who will catch you like fish and hunt you down like wild animals in the hills and the caves.
    ¹⁷I can see everything you are doing, even if you try to hide your sins from me. ¹⁸I will punish you double for your sins, because you have made my own land disgusting. You have filled it with lifeless idols that remind me of dead bodies.     

The LORD Gives Strength

I prayed to the LORD:

 ¹⁹Our LORD, you are the one    who gives me strength
   and protects me like a fortress
   when I am in trouble.
   People will come to you
   from distant nations and say,
   "Our ancestors worshiped
   false and useless gods,
    ²⁰worthless idols
   made by human hands."
    ²¹Then the LORD replied,
   "That's why I will teach them
   about my power,
   and they will know
   that I am the true God."
   

Jeremiah 17

The LORD Will Punish Judah

The LORD said:

 ¹People of Judah,    your sins cannot be erased.
   They are written on your hearts
   like words chiseled in stone
   or carved on the corners
   of your altars. ^[a] ²One generation after another
   has set up pagan altars
   and worshiped the goddess Asherah
   everywhere in your country--
   on hills and mountains,
   and under large trees.
    ³So I'll take everything you own,
   including your altars,
   and give it all
   to your enemies. ^[b] ⁴You will lose ^[c] the land that I gave you,
   and I will make you slaves
   in a foreign country,
   because you have made my anger
   blaze up like a fire
   that won't stop burning.   

Trust the LORD

 ⁵I, the LORD, have put a curse    on those who turn from me
   and trust in human strength.
    ⁶They will dry up like a bush
   in salty desert soil,
   where nothing can grow.
    ⁷But I will bless those
   who trust me.
    ⁸They will be like trees
   growing beside a stream--
   trees with roots that reach
   down to the water,
   and with leaves
   that are always green.
   They bear fruit every year
   and are never worried
   by a lack of rain.
    ⁹You people of Judah
   are so deceitful
   that you even fool yourselves,
   and you can't change.
    ¹⁰But I know your deeds
   and your thoughts,
   and I will make sure
   you get what you deserve.
    ¹¹You cheated others,
   but everything you gained
   will fly away, like birds
   hatched from stolen eggs.
   Then you will discover
   what fools you are.   

Jeremiah Prays to the LORD

 ¹²Our LORD, your temple    is a glorious throne
   that has stood on a mountain
   from the beginning.
    ¹³You are a spring of water
   giving Israel life and hope.
   But if the people reject
   what you have told me,
   they will be swept away
   like words written in dust. ^[d] ¹⁴You, LORD, are the one I praise.
   So heal me and rescue me!
   Then I will be completely well
   and perfectly safe.
    ¹⁵The people of Judah say to me,
   "Jeremiah, you claimed to tell us
   what the LORD has said.
   So why hasn't it come true?"
    ¹⁶Our LORD, you chose me
   to care for your people,
   and that's what I have done.
   You know everything I have said,
   and I have never once
   asked you to punish them. ^[e] ¹⁷I trust you for protection
   in times of trouble,
   so don't frighten me.
    ¹⁸Keep me from failure
   and disgrace,
   but make my enemies fail
   and be disgraced.
   Send destruction to make
   their worst fears come true.   

Resting on the Sabbath

 ^19-20The LORD said:    Jeremiah, stand at each city gate in Jerusalem, including the one the king uses, and speak to him and everyone else. Tell them I have said:
   I am the LORD, so pay attention. ^21-24If you value your lives, don't do any work on the Sabbath. Don't carry anything through the city gates or through the door of your house, or anywhere else. Keep the Sabbath day sacred!
   I gave this command to your ancestors, but they were stubborn and refused to obey or to be corrected. But if you obey, ²⁵then Judah and Jerusalem will always be ruled by kings from David's family. The king and his officials will ride through these gates on horses or in chariots, and the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be with them. There will always be people living in Jerusalem, ²⁶and others will come here from the nearby villages, from the towns of Judah and Benjamin, ^[f] from the hill country and the foothills to the west, and from the Southern Desert. They will bring sacrifices to please me and to give me thanks, ^[g] as well as offerings of grain and incense. ²⁷But if you keep on carrying things through the city gates on the Sabbath and keep treating it as any other day, I will set fire to these gates and burn down the whole city, including the fortresses.
   

Jeremiah 18

Jeremiah Goes to the Pottery Shop

 ¹The LORD told me, ²"Go to the pottery shop, and when you get there, I will tell you what to say to the people."     ³I went there and saw the potter making clay pots on his pottery wheel. ⁴And whenever the clay would not take the shape he wanted, he would change his mind and form it into some other shape.
    ⁵Then the LORD told me to say:
    ⁶People of Israel, I, the LORD, have power over you, just as a potter has power over clay. ⁷If I threaten to uproot and shatter an evil nation ⁸and that nation turns from its evil, I will change my mind.
    ⁹If I promise to make a nation strong, ¹⁰but its people start disobeying me and doing evil, then I will change my mind and not help them at all.
    ¹¹So listen to me, people of Judah and Jerusalem! I have decided to strike you with disaster, and I won't change my mind unless you stop sinning and start living right.
    ¹²But I know you won't listen. You might as well answer, "We don't care what you say. We have made plans to sin, and we are going to be stubborn and do what we want!"
    ¹³So I, the LORD, command you to ask the nations, and find out if they have ever heard of such a horrible sin as what you have done.
    ¹⁴The snow
   on Lebanon's mountains
   never melts away,
   and the streams there
   never run dry. ^[h] ¹⁵But you, my people,
   have turned from me
   to burn incense
   to worthless idols.
   You have left the ancient road
   to follow an unknown path
   where you stumble over idols.
    ¹⁶Your land will be ruined,
   and every passerby
   will look at it with horror
   and make insulting remarks.
    ¹⁷When your enemies attack,
   I will scatter you like dust
   blown by an eastern wind.
   Then, on that day of disaster,
   I will turn my back on you.   

The Plot against Jeremiah

 ¹⁸Some of the people said, "Let's get rid of Jeremiah! We will always have priests to teach us God's laws, as well as wise people to give us advice, and prophets to speak the LORD's messages. So, instead of listening to Jeremiah any longer, let's accuse him of a crime."    

Jeremiah Prays about His Enemies

 ¹⁹Please, LORD, answer my prayer.    Make my enemies stop
   accusing me of evil.
    ²⁰I tried to help them,
   but they are paying me back
   by digging a pit to trap me.
   I even begged you
   not to punish them.
    ²¹But now I am asking you
   to let their children starve
   or be killed in war.
   Let women lose
   their husbands and sons
   to disease and violence.
    ²²These people have dug pits
   and set traps for me, LORD.
   Make them scream in fear
   when you send enemy troops
   to attack their homes.
    ²³You know they plan to kill me.
   So get angry and punish them!
   Don't ever forgive
   their terrible crimes.
   

Footnotes:

1. Jeremiah 17:1 carved on the corners of your altars: When sacrifices were offered to the LORD to ask him to forgive sins, some of the blood was smeared on the corners of the altar (see Leviticus 4.7,18-20,25,26,30,31,34,35; 16.18). But now the LORD refuses to accept these sacrifices.
2. Jeremiah 17:3 enemies: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verses 2,3.
3. Jeremiah 17:4 You will lose: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
4. Jeremiah 17:13 reject. . . dust: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
5. Jeremiah 17:16 you chose. . . punish them: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
6. Jeremiah 17:26 Judah and Benjamin: These two tribes made up the southern kingdom of Judah.
7. Jeremiah 17:26 sacrifices to please me and to give me thanks: See the notes at 14.12.
8. Jeremiah 18:14 dry: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 14.

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1 Thessalonians 4-5:3 (Contemporary English Version)

1 Thessalonians 4

A Life That Pleases God

 ¹Finally, my dear friends, since you belong to the Lord Jesus, we beg and urge you to live as we taught you. Then you will please God. You are already living that way, but try even harder. ²Remember the instructions we gave you as followers of the Lord Jesus. ³God wants you to be holy, so don't be immoral in matters of sex. ⁴Respect and honor your wife. ^[a] ⁵Don't be a slave of your desires or live like people who don't know God. ⁶You must not cheat any of the Lord's followers in matters of sex. ^[b] Remember, we warned you that he punishes everyone who does such things. ⁷God didn't choose you to be filthy, but to be pure. ⁸So if you don't obey these rules, you are not really disobeying us. You are disobeying God, who gives you his Holy Spirit. ⁹We don't have to write you about the need to love each other. God has taught you to do this, ¹⁰and you already have shown your love for all of his people in Macedonia. But, my dear friends, we ask you to do even more. ¹¹Try your best to live quietly, to mind your own business, and to work hard, just as we taught you to do. ¹²Then you will be respected by people who are not followers of the Lord, and you won't have to depend on anyone.    

The Lord's Coming

 ¹³My friends, we want you to understand how it will be for those followers who have already died. Then you won't grieve over them and be like people who don't have any hope. ¹⁴We believe that Jesus died and was raised to life. We also believe that when God brings Jesus back again, he will bring with him all who had faith in Jesus before they died. ¹⁵Our Lord Jesus told us that when he comes, we won't go up to meet him ahead of his followers who have already died.     ¹⁶With a loud command and with the shout of the chief angel and a blast of God's trumpet, the Lord will return from heaven. Then those who had faith in Christ before they died will be raised to life. ¹⁷Next, all of us who are still alive will be taken up into the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the sky. From that time on we will all be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸Encourage each other with these words.
   

1 Thessalonians 5

 ¹I don't need to write you about the time or date when all this will happen. ²You surely know that the Lord's return ^[c] will be as a thief coming at night. ³People will think they are safe and secure. But destruction will suddenly strike them like the pains of a woman about to give birth. And they won't escape.

Footnotes:

1. 1 Thessalonians 4:4 your wife: Or "your body."
2. 1 Thessalonians 4:6 in matters of sex: Or "in business."
3. 1 Thessalonians 5:2 the Lord's return: The Greek text has "the day of the Lord."

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Psalm 81:1-16 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 81

(By Asaph for the music leader. (Psalm 81 leader: See the note at Psalm 8.) )

God Makes Us Strong

 ¹Be happy and shout to God    who makes us strong!
   Shout praises to the God
   of Jacob.
    ²Sing as you play tambourines
   and the lovely sounding
   stringed instruments.
    ³Sound the trumpets and start
   the New Moon Festival. ^[a] We must also celebrate
   when the moon is full.
    ⁴This is the law in Israel,
   and it was given to us
   by the God of Jacob.
    ⁵The descendants of Joseph
   were told to obey it,
   when God led them out
   from the land of Egypt.
   In a language unknown to me,
   I heard someone say:
    ⁶"I lifted the burden
   from your shoulder
   and took the heavy basket
   from your hands.
    ⁷When you were in trouble,
   I rescued you,
   and from the thunderclouds,
   I answered your prayers.
   Later I tested you
   at Meribah Spring. ^[b] ⁸"Listen, my people,
   while I, the Lord,
   correct you!
   Israel, if you would only
   pay attention to me!
    ⁹Don't worship foreign gods
   or bow down to gods
   you know nothing about.
    ¹⁰I am the LORD your God.
   I rescued you from Egypt.
   Just ask, and I will give you
   whatever you need.
    ¹¹"But, my people, Israel,
   you refused to listen,
   and you would have nothing
   to do with me!
    ¹²So I let you be stubborn
   and keep on following
   your own advice.
    ¹³"My people, Israel,
   if only you would listen
   and do as I say!
    ¹⁴I, the LORD, would quickly
   defeat your enemies
   with my mighty power.
    ¹⁵Everyone who hates me
   would come crawling,
   and that would be the end
   of them.
    ¹⁶But I would feed you
   with the finest bread
   and with the best honey ^[c] until you were full."
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 81:3 New Moon Festival: Celebrated on the first day of each new moon, which was the beginning of the month. But this may refer to either the New Year celebration or the Harvest Festival. " The moon is full" suggests a festival in the middle of the month.
2. Psalm 81:7 Meribah Spring: When the people of Israel complained to Moses about the need for water, God commanded Moses to strike a rock with his walking stick, and water came out. The place was then named Massah (" test" ) and Meribah (" complaining" ).
3. Psalm 81:16 the best honey: The Hebrew text has " honey from rocks," referring to honey taken from beehives in holes or cracks in large rocks.

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Proverbs 25:6-7 (Contemporary English Version)

⁶Don't try to seem important
   in the court of a ruler.
    ⁷It's better for the ruler
   to give you a high position
   than for you to be embarrassed
   in front of royal officials.
   Be sure you are right

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Verse of the Day

“[(A psalm by David for Jeduthun, the music leader.)][God Is Powerful and Kind]Only God can save me, and I calmly wait for him.” - Psalm 62:1

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American political figure, diplomat and activist, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote, “I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity.”

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A Joke for Today

John: "My grandpa is 98 years old, and he doesn't even use glasses."

Jack: "Wow, that is incredible!"

John: "Yep, he drinks straight from the bottle."

Bible Readings for March 11, 2017

Today our passages are Numbers 15:17–16:40; Mark 15:1-47; Psalm 54:1-7; and Proverbs 11:5-6. The readings are 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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Numbers 15:17-16:40 (Contemporary English Version)

^17-19When you eat food in the land that I am giving you, remember to set aside some of it as an offering to me. ²⁰From the first batch of bread dough that you make after each new grain harvest, make a loaf of bread and offer it to me, just as you offer grain. ²¹All your descendants must follow this law and offer part of the first batch of bread dough.
^22-23The LORD also told Moses to tell the people what must be done if they ever disobey his laws:
²⁴If all of you disobey one of my laws without meaning to, you must offer a bull as a sacrifice to please me, together with a grain sacrifice, a wine offering, and a goat as a sacrifice for sin. ²⁵Then the priest will pray and ask me to forgive you. And since you did not mean to do wrong, and you offered sacrifices, ²⁶the sin of everyone--both Israelites and foreigners among you--will be forgiven.
²⁷But if one of you does wrong without meaning to, you must sacrifice a year-old female goat as a sacrifice for sin. ²⁸The priest will then ask me to forgive you, and your sin will be forgiven.
²⁹The law will be the same for anyone who does wrong without meaning to, whether an Israelite or a foreigner living among you.
^30-31But if one of you does wrong on purpose, whether Israelite or foreigner, you have sinned against me by disobeying my laws. You will be sent away and will no longer live among the people of Israel.

A Man Put to Death for Gathering Firewood on the Sabbath

³²Once, while the Israelites were traveling through the desert, a man was caught gathering firewood on the Sabbath. ^[a]³³He was taken to Moses, Aaron, and the rest of the community. ³⁴But no one knew what to do with him, so he was not allowed to leave. ³⁵Then the LORD said to Moses, " Tell the people to take that man outside the camp and stone him to death!" ³⁶So he was killed, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

The Tassels on the People's Clothes

³⁷The LORD told Moses ³⁸to say to the people of Israel, " Sew tassels onto the bottom edge of your clothes and tie a purple string to each tassel. ^39-40These will remind you that you must obey my laws and teachings. And when you do, you will be dedicated to me and won't follow your own sinful desires. ⁴¹I am the LORD your God who led you out of Egypt."

Numbers 16

Korah, Dathan, and Abiram Lead a Rebellion

^1-2Korah son of Izhar was a Levite from the Kohathite clan. One day he called together Dathan, Abiram, and On ^[b] from the Reuben tribe, and the four of them decided to rebel against Moses. So they asked two hundred fifty respected Israelite leaders for their support, and together they went to Moses ³and Aaron and said, " Why do you think you're so much better than anyone else? We're part of the LORD's holy people, and he's with all of us. What makes you think you're the only ones in charge?" ⁴When Moses heard this, he knelt down to pray. ^[c]⁵Then he said to Korah and his followers: Tomorrow morning the LORD will show us the person he has chosen to be his priest, and that man will faithfully serve him. ^6-7Korah, now here is what you and your followers must do: Get some fire pans, fill them with coals and incense, and place them near the sacred tent. And the man the LORD chooses will be his priest. ^[d] Korah, this time you Levites have gone too far! ^8-9You know that the God of Israel has chosen you Levites from all Israel to serve him by being in charge of the sacred tent and by helping the community to worship in the proper way. What more do you want? ¹⁰The LORD has given you a special responsibility, and now, Korah, you think you should also be his priest. ¹¹You and your followers have rebelled against the LORD, not against Aaron.
¹²Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, but they sent back this message: " We won't come! ¹³It's bad enough that you took us from our rich farmland in Egypt to let us die here in the desert. Now you also want to boss us around! ¹⁴You keep promising us rich farmlands with fertile fields and vineyards--but where are they? Stop trying to trick these people. No, we won't come to see you."
¹⁵Moses was very angry and said to the LORD, " Don't listen to these men! I haven't done anything wrong to them. I haven't taken as much as a donkey."
¹⁶Then he said to Korah, " Tomorrow you and your followers must go with Aaron to the LORD's sacred tent. ¹⁷Each of you take along your fire pan with incense in it and offer the incense to the LORD."
¹⁸The next day the men placed incense and coals in their fire pans and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the sacred tent. ¹⁹Meanwhile, Korah had convinced the rest of the Israelites to rebel against their two leaders.
When that happened, the LORD appeared in all his glory ²⁰and said to Moses and Aaron, ²¹" Get away from the rest of the Israelites so I can kill them right now!"
²²But the two men bowed down and prayed, " Our God, you gave these people life. Why would you punish everyone here when only one man has sinned?"
²³The LORD answered Moses, ²⁴" Tell the people to stay away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram."
²⁵Moses walked over to Dathan and Abiram, and the other leaders of Israel followed. ²⁶Then Moses warned the people, " Get away from the tents of these sinful men! Don't touch anything that belongs to them or you'll be wiped out." ²⁷So everyone moved away from those tents, except Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and their families.
²⁸Moses said to the crowd, " The LORD has chosen me and told me to do these things--it wasn't my idea. And here's how you will know: ²⁹If these men die a natural death, it means the LORD hasn't chosen me. ³⁰But suppose the LORD does something that has never been done before. For example, what if a huge crack appears in the ground, and these men and their families fall into it and are buried alive, together with everything they own? Then you will know they have turned their backs on the LORD!"
³¹As soon as Moses said this, the ground under the men opened up ^32-33and swallowed them alive, together with their families and everything they owned. Then the ground closed back up, and they were gone.
³⁴The rest of the Israelites heard their screams, so they ran off, shouting, " We don't want that to happen to us!"
³⁵Suddenly the LORD sent a fire that burned up the two hundred fifty men who had offered incense to him.
³⁶Then the LORD said to Moses, ³⁷" Tell Aaron's son Eleazar to take the fire pans from the smoldering fire and scatter the coals. The pans are now sacred, ³⁸because they were used for offering incense to me. Have them hammered into a thin layer of bronze as a covering for the altar. Those men died because of their sin, and now their fire pans will become a warning for the rest of the community."
³⁹Eleazar collected the pans and had them hammered into a thin layer of bronze as a covering for the altar, ⁴⁰just as the LORD had told Moses. The pans were a warning to the Israelites that only Aaron's descendants would be allowed to offer incense to the LORD. Anyone else who tried would be punished like Korah and his followers.

Footnotes:

1. Numbers 15:32a man. . . Sabbath: No work was to be done on the Sabbath (see Exodus 31.12-17).
2. Numbers 16:1Dathan, Abiram, and On: Hebrew " Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth."
3. Numbers 16:4he knelt down to pray: Or " he fell to his knees in sorrow."
4. Numbers 16:6Get some fire pans. . . his priest: Only priests could offer incense at the sacred altar; anyone else who tried would be killed. In this case, the man who lived would be the one the LORD had chosen.

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Mark 15:1-47 (Contemporary English Version)

Mark 15

Pilate Questions Jesus

(Matthew 27.1,2,11-14; Luke 23.1-5; John 18.28-38)

¹Early the next morning the chief priests, the nation's leaders, and the teachers of the Law of Moses met together with the whole Jewish council. They tied up Jesus and led him off to Pilate. ²He asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
"Those are your words," Jesus answered.
³The chief priests brought many charges against Jesus. ⁴Then Pilate questioned him again, "Don't you have anything to say? Don't you hear what crimes they say you have done?" ⁵But Jesus did not answer, and Pilate was amazed.

The Death Sentence

(Matthew 27.15-26; Luke 23.13-25; John 18.39--19.16)

⁶During Passover, Pilate always freed one prisoner chosen by the people. ⁷And at that time there was a prisoner named Barabbas. He and some others had been arrested for murder during a riot. ⁸The crowd now came and asked Pilate to set a prisoner free, just as he usually did. ⁹Pilate asked them, "Do you want me to free the king of the Jews?" ¹⁰Pilate knew that the chief priests had brought Jesus to him because they were jealous.
¹¹But the chief priests told the crowd to ask Pilate to free Barabbas.
¹²Then Pilate asked the crowd, "What do you want me to do with this man you say is ^[a] the king of the Jews?"
¹³They yelled, "Nail him to a cross!"
¹⁴Pilate asked, "But what crime has he done?"
"Nail him to a cross!" they yelled even louder.
¹⁵Pilate wanted to please the crowd. So he set Barabbas free. Then he ordered his soldiers to beat Jesus with a whip and nail him to a cross.

Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus

(Matthew 27.27-30; John 19.2,3)

¹⁶The soldiers led Jesus inside the courtyard of the fortress ^[b] and called together the rest of the troops. ¹⁷They put a purple robe ^[c] on him, and on his head they placed a crown that they had made out of thorn branches. ¹⁸They made fun of Jesus and shouted, "Hey, you king of the Jews!" ¹⁹Then they beat him on the head with a stick. They spit on him and knelt down and pretended to worship him. ²⁰When the soldiers had finished making fun of Jesus, they took off the purple robe. They put his own clothes back on him and led him off to be nailed to a cross. ²¹Simon from Cyrene happened to be coming in from a farm, and they forced him to carry Jesus' cross. Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus.

Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross

(Matthew 27.31-44; Luke 23.27-43; John 19.17-27)

²²The soldiers took Jesus to Golgotha, which means "Place of a Skull." ^[d]²³There they gave him some wine mixed with a drug to ease the pain, but he refused to drink it. ²⁴They nailed Jesus to a cross and gambled to see who would get his clothes. ²⁵It was about nine o'clock in the morning when they nailed him to the cross. ²⁶On it was a sign that told why he was nailed there. It read, "This is the King of the Jews." ^27-28The soldiers also nailed two criminals on crosses, one to the right of Jesus and the other to his left. ^[e]
²⁹People who passed by said terrible things about Jesus. They shook their heads and shouted, "Ha! So you're the one who claimed you could tear down the temple and build it again in three days. ³⁰Save yourself and come down from the cross!"
³¹The chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses also made fun of Jesus. They said to each other, "He saved others, but he can't save himself. ³²If he is the Messiah, the king of Israel, let him come down from the cross! Then we will see and believe." The two criminals also said cruel things to Jesus.

The Death of Jesus

(Matthew 27.45-56; Luke 23.44-49; John 19.28-30)

³³About noon the sky turned dark and stayed that way until around three o'clock. ³⁴Then about that time Jesus shouted, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" ^[f] which means, "My God, my God, why have you deserted me?" ³⁵Some of the people standing there heard Jesus and said, "He is calling for Elijah." ^[g]³⁶One of them ran and grabbed a sponge. After he had soaked it in wine, he put it on a stick and held it up to Jesus. He said, "Let's wait and see if Elijah will come ^[h] and take him down!" ³⁷Jesus shouted and then died.
³⁸At once the curtain in the temple ^[i] tore in two from top to bottom.
³⁹A Roman army officer was standing in front of Jesus. When the officer saw how Jesus died, he said, "This man really was the Son of God!"
^40-41Some women were looking on from a distance. They had come with Jesus to Jerusalem. But even before this they had been his followers and had helped him while he was in Galilee. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joseph were two of these women. Salome was also one of them.

Jesus Is Buried

(Matthew 27.57-61; Luke 23.50-56; John 19.38-42)

⁴²It was now the evening before the Sabbath, and the Jewish people were getting ready for that sacred day. ⁴³A man named Joseph from Arimathea was brave enough to ask Pilate for the body of Jesus. Joseph was a highly respected member of the Jewish council, and he was also waiting for God's kingdom to come. ⁴⁴Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, and he called in the army officer to find out if Jesus had been dead very long. ⁴⁵After the officer told him, Pilate let Joseph have Jesus' body.
⁴⁶Joseph bought a linen cloth and took the body down from the cross. He had it wrapped in the cloth, and he put it in a tomb that had been cut into solid rock. Then he rolled a big stone against the entrance to the tomb.
⁴⁷Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph were watching and saw where the body was placed.

Footnotes:

1. Mark 15:12 this man you say is: These words are not in some manuscripts.
2. Mark 15:16 fortress: The place where the Roman governor stayed. It was probably at Herod's palace west of Jerusalem, though it may have been Fortress Antonia, north of the temple, where the Roman troops were stationed.
3. Mark 15:17 purple robe: This was probably a Roman soldier's robe.
4. Mark 15:22 Place of a Skull: The place was probably given this name because it was near a large rock in the shape of a human skull.
5. Mark 15:27 left: Some manuscripts add, "So the Scriptures came true which say, `He was accused of being a criminal.' "
6. Mark 15:34 Eloi. . . sabachthani: These words are in Aramaic, a language spoken in Palestine during the time of Jesus.
7. Mark 15:35 Elijah: The name "Elijah" sounds something like "Eloi," which means "my God."
8. Mark 15:36 see if Elijah will come: See the note at 6.15.
9. Mark 15:38 curtain in the temple: There were two curtains in the temple. One was at the entrance, and the other separated the holy place from the most holy place that the Jewish people thought of as God's home on earth. The second curtain is probably the one which is meant.

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Psalm 54:1-7 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 54

(For the music leader. Use with stringed instruments. A special psalm that David wrote when the people of Ziph went to Saul and said, "David is hiding here with us.")

Trusting God in Times of Trouble

¹Save me, God, by your power and prove that I am right.
²Listen to my prayer
and hear what I say.
³Cruel strangers have attacked
and want me dead.
Not one of them cares
about you.
⁴You will help me, Lord God,
and keep me from falling;
⁵you will punish my enemies
for their evil deeds.
Be my faithful friend
and destroy them.
⁶I will bring a gift
and offer a sacrifice
to you, LORD.
I will praise your name
because you are good.
⁷You have rescued me
from all of my troubles,
and my own eyes have seen
my enemies fall.

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Proverbs 11:5-6 (Contemporary English Version)

⁵If you are truly good,
you will do right;
if you are wicked,
you will be destroyed
by your own sin.
⁶Honesty can keep you safe,
but if you can't be trusted,
you trap yourself.

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Verse of the Day

“You know that the LORD your God is the only true God. So love him and obey his commands, and he will faithfully keep his agreement with you and your descendants for a thousand generations.” - Deuteronomy 7:9

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American politician, diplomat, and activist, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote, “It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.”

Bible Readings for October 5, 2016

Today our passages are  Jeremiah 4:19–6:14; Colossians 1:21–2:7; Psalm 77:1-20; and Proverbs 24:23-25. 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 by using the link below.

 

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Jeremiah 4:19-6:14 (The Message)

 ^19-21I'm doubled up with cramps in my belly—
   a poker burns in my gut.
My insides are tearing me up,
   never a moment's peace.
The ram's horn trumpet blast rings in my ears,
   the signal for all-out war.
Disaster hard on the heels of disaster,
   the whole country in ruins!
In one stroke my home is destroyed,
   the walls flattened in the blink of an eye.
How long do I have to look at the warning flares,
   listen to the siren of danger?

Experts at Evil

 ²²"What fools my people are!
   They have no idea who I am.
A company of half-wits,
   dopes and donkeys all!
Experts at evil
   but klutzes at good."  ^23-26I looked at the earth—
   it was back to pre-Genesis chaos and emptiness.
I looked at the skies,
   and not a star to be seen.
I looked at the mountains—
   they were trembling like aspen leaves,
And all the hills
   rocking back and forth in the wind.
I looked—what's this! Not a man or woman in sight,
   and not a bird to be seen in the skies.
I looked—this can't be! Every garden and orchard shriveled up.
   All the towns were ghost towns.
And all this because of God,
   because of the blazing anger of God.

 ^27-28Yes, this is God's Word on the matter:
   "The whole country will be laid waste—
   still it won't be the end of the world.
The earth will mourn
   and the skies lament
Because I've given my word and won't take it back.
   I've decided and won't change my mind."

You're Not Going to Seduce Anyone

 ²⁹Someone shouts, "Horsemen and archers!"
   and everybody runs for cover.
They hide in ditches,
   they climb into caves.
The cities are emptied,
   not a person left anywhere.  ^30-31And you, what do you think you're up to?
   Dressing up in party clothes,
Decking yourselves out in jewelry,
   putting on lipstick and rouge and mascara!
Your primping goes for nothing.
   You're not going to seduce anyone. They're out to kill you!
And what's that I hear? The cry of a woman in labor,
   the screams of a mother giving birth to her firstborn.
It's the cry of Daughter Zion, gasping for breath,
   reaching out for help:
"Help, oh help me! I'm dying!
   The killers are on me!"

Jeremiah 5

Sins Are Piled Sky-High

 ^1-2 "Patrol Jerusalem's streets. Look around. Take note.
Search the market squares.
   See if you can find one man, one woman,
A single soul who does what is right
   and tries to live a true life.
   I want to forgive that person."
         God's Decree.
"But if all they do is say, 'As sure as God lives...'
   they're nothing but a bunch of liars."  ^3-6But you, God,
   you have an eye for truth, don't you?
You hit them hard, but it didn't faze them.
   You disciplined them, but they refused correction.
Hardheaded, harder than rock,
   they wouldn't change.
Then I said to myself, "Well, these are just poor people.
   They don't know any better.
They were never taught anything about God.
   They never went to prayer meetings.
I'll find some people from the best families.
   I'll talk to them.
They'll know what's going on, the way God works.
   They'll know the score."
But they were no better! Rebels all!
   Off doing their own thing.
The invaders are ready to pounce and kill,
   like a mountain lion, a wilderness wolf,
Panthers on the prowl.
   The streets aren't safe anymore.
And why? Because the people's sins are piled sky-high;
   their betrayals are past counting.
 ^7-9"Why should I even bother with you any longer?
   Your children wander off, leaving me,
Taking up with gods
   that aren't even gods.
I satisfied their deepest needs, and then they went off with the 'sacred' whores,
   left me for orgies in sex shrines!
A bunch of well-groomed, lusty stallions,
   each one pawing and snorting for his neighbor's wife.
Do you think I'm going to stand around and do nothing?"
   God's Decree.
"Don't you think I'll take serious measures
   against a people like this?

Eyes That Don't Really Look,

    Ears That Don't Really Listen  ^10-11"Go down the rows of vineyards and rip out the vines,
   but not all of them. Leave a few.
Prune back those vines!
   That growth didn't come from God!
They've betrayed me over and over again,
   Judah and Israel both."
         God's Decree.
 ^12-13"They've spread lies about God.
   They've said, 'There's nothing to him.
Nothing bad will happen to us,
   neither famine nor war will come our way.
The prophets are all windbags.
   They speak nothing but nonsense.'"

 ¹⁴Therefore, this is what God said to me, God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
   "Because they have talked this way,
   they are going to eat those words.
Watch now! I'm putting my words
   as fire in your mouth.
And the people are a pile of kindling
   ready to go up in flames.
 ^15-17"Attention! I'm bringing a far-off nation
   against you, O house of Israel."
         God's Decree.
"A solid nation,
   an ancient nation,
A nation that speaks another language.
   You won't understand a word they say.
When they aim their arrows, you're as good as dead.
   They're a nation of real fighters!
They'll clean you out of house and home,
   rob you of crops and children alike.
They'll feast on your sheep and cattle,
   strip your vines and fig trees.
And the fortresses that made you feel so safe—
   leveled with a stroke of the sword!
 ^18-19"Even then, as bad as it will be"—God's Decree!—"it will not be the end of the world for you. And when people ask, 'Why did our God do all this to us?' you must say to them, 'It's tit for tat. Just as you left me and served foreign gods in your own country, so now you must serve foreigners in their own country.'
 ^20-25"Tell the house of Jacob this,
   put out this bulletin in Judah:
Listen to this,
   you scatterbrains, airheads,
With eyes that see but don't really look,
   and ears that hear but don't really listen.
Why don't you honor me?
   Why aren't you in awe before me?
Yes, me, who made the shorelines
   to contain the ocean waters.
I drew a line in the sand
   that cannot be crossed.
Waves roll in but cannot get through;
   breakers crash but that's the end of them.
But this people—what a people!
   Uncontrollable, untameable runaways.
It never occurs to them to say,
   'How can we honor our God with our lives,
The God who gives rain in both spring and autumn
   and maintains the rhythm of the seasons,
Who sets aside time each year for harvest
   and keeps everything running smoothly for us?'
Of course you don't! Your bad behavior blinds you to all this.
   Your sins keep my blessings at a distance.

To Stand for Nothing and Stand Up for No One

 ^26-29"My people are infiltrated by wicked men,
   unscrupulous men on the hunt.
They set traps for the unsuspecting.
   Their victims are innocent men and women.
Their houses are stuffed with ill-gotten gain,
   like a hunter's bag full of birds.
Pretentious and powerful and rich,
   hugely obese, oily with rolls of fat.
Worse, they have no conscience.
   Right and wrong mean nothing to them.
They stand for nothing, stand up for no one,
   throw orphans to the wolves, exploit the poor.
Do you think I'll stand by and do nothing about this?"
   God's Decree.
"Don't you think I'll take serious measures
   against a people like this?  ^30-31"Unspeakable! Sickening!
   What's happened in this country?
Prophets preach lies
   and priests hire on as their assistants.
And my people love it. They eat it up!
   But what will you do when it's time to pick up the pieces?"

Jeremiah 6

A City Full of Lies

 ^1-5 "Run for your lives, children of Benjamin! Get out of Jerusalem, and now!
Give a blast on the ram's horn in Blastville.
   Send up smoke signals from Smoketown.
Doom pours out of the north—
   massive terror!
I have likened my dear daughter Zion
   to a lovely meadow.
Well, now 'shepherds' from the north have discovered her
   and brought in their flocks of soldiers.
They've pitched camp all around her,
   and plan where they'll 'graze.'
And then, 'Prepare to attack! The fight is on!
   To arms! We'll strike at noon!
Oh, it's too late? Day is dying?
   Evening shadows are upon us?
Well, up anyway! We'll attack by night
   and tear apart her defenses stone by stone.'"  ^6-8God-of-the-Angel-Armies gave the orders:
   "Chop down her trees.
   Build a siege ramp against Jerusalem,
A city full of brutality,
   bursting with violence.
Just as a well holds a good supply of water,
   she supplies wickedness nonstop.
The streets echo the cries: 'Violence! Rape!'
   Victims, bleeding and moaning, lie all over the place.
You're in deep trouble, Jerusalem.
   You've pushed me to the limit.
You're on the brink of being wiped out,
   being turned into a ghost town."
 ⁹More orders from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
   "Time's up! Harvest the grapes for judgment.
   Salvage what's left of Israel.
Go back over the vines.
   Pick them clean, every last grape.

Is Anybody Listening?

 ^10-11"I've got something to say. Is anybody listening?
   I've a warning to post. Will anyone notice?
It's hopeless! Their ears are stuffed with wax—
   deaf as a post, blind as a bat.
It's hopeless! They've tuned out God.
   They don't want to hear from me.
But I'm bursting with the wrath of God.
   I can't hold it in much longer.  ^11-12"So dump it on the children in the streets.
   Let it loose on the gangs of youth.
For no one's exempt: Husbands and wives will be taken,
   the old and those ready to die;
Their homes will be given away—
   all they own, even their loved ones—
When I give the signal
   against all who live in this country."
         God's Decree.
 ^13-15"Everyone's after the dishonest dollar,
   little people and big people alike.
Prophets and priests and everyone in between
   twist words and doctor truth.
My people are broken—shattered!—
   and they put on Band-Aids,
Saying, 'It's not so bad. You'll be just fine.'
   But things are not 'just fine'!
Do you suppose they are embarrassed
   over this outrage?
No, they have no shame.
   They don't even know how to blush.
There's no hope for them. They've hit bottom
   and there's no getting up.
As far as I'm concerned,
   they're finished."
         God has spoken.

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Colossians 1:21-2:7 (The Message)

 ^21-23You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God's side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don't walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message.
 ^24-25I want you to know how glad I am that it's me sitting here in this jail and not you. There's a lot of suffering to be entered into in this world—the kind of suffering Christ takes on. I welcome the chance to take my share in the church's part of that suffering. When I became a servant in this church, I experienced this suffering as a sheer gift, God's way of helping me serve you, laying out the whole truth.
 ^26-29This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it's out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That's what I'm working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.

Colossians 2

 ¹ I want you to realize that I continue to work as hard as I know how for you, and also for the Christians over at Laodicea. Not many of you have met me face-to-face, but that doesn't make any difference. Know that I'm on your side, right alongside you. You're not in this alone.  ^2-4I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we've been shown the mystery! I'm telling you this because I don't want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or "the Secret."
 ⁵I'm a long way off, true, and you may never lay eyes on me, but believe me, I'm on your side, right beside you. I am delighted to hear of the careful and orderly ways you conduct your affairs, and impressed with the solid substance of your faith in Christ.

From the Shadows to the Substance

 ^6-7My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

 

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Psalm 77:1-20 (The Message)

Psalm 77

An Asaph Psalm

 ¹ I yell out to my God, I yell with all my might, I yell at the top of my lungs. He listens.

 ^2-6 I found myself in trouble and went looking for my Lord;
      my life was an open wound that wouldn't heal.
   When friends said, "Everything will turn out all right,"
      I didn't believe a word they said.
   I remember God—and shake my head.
      I bow my head—then wring my hands.
   I'm awake all night—not a wink of sleep;
      I can't even say what's bothering me.
   I go over the days one by one,
      I ponder the years gone by.
   I strum my lute all through the night,
      wondering how to get my life together.

 ^7-10 Will the Lord walk off and leave us for good?
      Will he never smile again?
   Is his love worn threadbare?
      Has his salvation promise burned out?
   Has God forgotten his manners?
      Has he angrily stalked off and left us?
   "Just my luck," I said. "The High God goes out of business
      just the moment I need him."

 ^11-12 Once again I'll go over what God has done,
      lay out on the table the ancient wonders;
   I'll ponder all the things you've accomplished,
      and give a long, loving look at your acts.

 ^13-15 O God! Your way is holy!
      No god is great like God!
   You're the God who makes things happen;
      you showed everyone what you can do—
   You pulled your people out of the worst kind of trouble,
      rescued the children of Jacob and Joseph.

 ^16-19 Ocean saw you in action, God,
      saw you and trembled with fear;
      Deep Ocean was scared to death.
   Clouds belched buckets of rain,
      Sky exploded with thunder,
      your arrows flashing this way and that.
   From Whirlwind came your thundering voice,
      Lightning exposed the world,
      Earth reeled and rocked.
   You strode right through Ocean,
      walked straight through roaring Ocean,
      but nobody saw you come or go.

 ²⁰ Hidden in the hands of Moses and Aaron,
   You led your people like a flock of sheep.

 

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Proverbs 24:23-25 (The Message)

More Sayings of the Wise

An Honest Answer

 ²³ It's wrong, very wrong,
   to go along with injustice.

 ^24-25 Whoever whitewashes the wicked
   gets a black mark in the history books,
But whoever exposes the wicked
   will be thanked and rewarded.

 

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Verse of the Day

 

“[God's Words Are Powerful]Turn to the LORD! He can still be found. Call out to God! He is near.” - Isaiah 55:6

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American politician, diplomat, and activist, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote, “It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.”