Bible Readings for December 23, 2012

Today our passages are Zechariah 4:1–5:11; Revelation 14:1-20; Psalm 142:1-7; and Proverbs 30:21-23. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson.

Zechariah 4-5:11 (The Message)

Zechariah 4

Fifth Vision: A Lampstand and Two Olive Trees

 ¹ The Messenger-Angel again called me to attention. It was like being wakened out of deep sleep.  ^2-3He said, "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top. Seven lamps, each with seven spouts, are set on the bowl. And there are two olive trees, one on either side of the bowl."
 ⁴Then I asked the Messenger-Angel, "What does this mean, sir?"
 ^5-7The Messenger-Angel said, "Can't you tell?"
   "No, sir," I said.
   Then he said, "This is God's Message to Zerubbabel: 'You can't force these things. They only come about through my Spirit,' says God-of-the-Angel-Armies. 'So, big mountain, who do you think you are? Next to Zerubbabel you're nothing but a molehill. He'll proceed to set the Cornerstone in place, accompanied by cheers: Yes! Yes! Do it!'"
 ^8-10After that, the Word of God came to me: "Zerubbabel started rebuilding this Temple and he will complete it. That will be your confirmation that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me to you. Does anyone dare despise this day of small beginnings? They'll change their tune when they see Zerubbabel setting the last stone in place!"
   Going back to the vision, the Messenger-Angel said, "The seven lamps are the eyes of God probing the dark corners of the world like searchlights."
 ^11-12And the two olive trees on either side of the lampstand?" I asked. "What's the meaning of them? And while you're at it, the two branches of the olive trees that feed oil to the lamps—what do they mean?"
 ¹³He said, "You haven't figured that out?"
   I said, "No, sir."
 ¹⁴He said, "These are the two who stand beside the Master of the whole earth and supply golden lamp oil worldwide."

Zechariah 5

Sixth Vision: The Flying Book

 ¹ I looked up again and saw—surprise!—a book on the wing! A book flying! ²The Messenger-Angel said to me, "What do you see now?" I said, "I see a book flying, a huge book—thirty feet long and fifteen wide!"  ^3-4He told me, "This book is the verdict going out worldwide against thieves and liars. The first half of the book disposes of everyone who steals; the second half takes care of everyone who lies. I launched it"—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies—"and so it will fly into the house of every thief and every liar. It will land in each house and tear it down, timbers and stones."

Seventh Vision: A Woman in a Basket

 ⁵The Messenger-Angel appeared and said, "Look up. Tell me what you see."  ⁶I said, "What in the world is that?"
   He said, "This is a bushel basket on a journey. It holds the sin of everyone, everywhere."
 ⁷Then the lid made of lead was removed from the basket—and there was a woman sitting in it!
 ⁸He said, "This is Miss Wicked." He pushed her back down into the basket and clamped the lead lid over her.
 ⁹Then I looked up and to my surprise saw two women flying. On outstretched wings they airlifted the bushel basket into the sky.
 ¹⁰I said to the Messenger-Angel, "Where are they taking the bushel basket?"
 ¹¹He said, "East to the land of Shinar. They will build a garage to house it. When it's finished, the basket will be stored there."

Revelation 14:1-20 (The Message)

Revelation 14

A Perfect Offering

 ^1-2I saw—it took my breath away!—the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, 144,000 standing there with him, his Name and the Name of his Father inscribed on their foreheads. And I heard a voice out of Heaven, the sound like a cataract, like the crash of thunder.  ^2-5And then I heard music, harp music and the harpists singing a new song before the Throne and the Four Animals and the Elders. Only the 144,000 could learn to sing the song. They were bought from earth, lived without compromise, virgin-fresh before God. Wherever the Lamb went, they followed. They were bought from humankind, firstfruits of the harvest for God and the Lamb. Not a false word in their mouths. A perfect offering.

Voices from Heaven

 ^6-7I saw another Angel soaring in Middle-Heaven. He had an Eternal Message to preach to all who were still on earth, every nation and tribe, every tongue and people. He preached in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory! His hour of judgment has come! Worship the Maker of Heaven and earth, salt sea and fresh water!"  ⁸A second Angel followed, calling out, "Ruined, ruined, Great Babylon ruined! She made all the nations drunk on the wine of her whoring!"
 ^9-11A third Angel followed, shouting, warning, "If anyone worships the Beast and its image and takes the mark on forehead or hand, that person will drink the wine of God's wrath, prepared unmixed in his chalice of anger, and suffer torment from fire and brimstone in the presence of Holy Angels, in the presence of the Lamb. Smoke from their torment will rise age after age. No respite for those who worship the Beast and its image, who take the mark of its name."
 ¹²Meanwhile, the saints stand passionately patient, keeping God's commands, staying faithful to Jesus.
 ¹³I heard a voice out of Heaven, "Write this: Blessed are those who die in the Master from now on; how blessed to die that way!"
   "Yes," says the Spirit, "and blessed rest from their hard, hard work. None of what they've done is wasted; God blesses them for it all in the end."

Harvest Time

 ^14-16I looked up, I caught my breath!—a white cloud and one like the Son of Man sitting on it. He wore a gold crown and held a sharp sickle. Another Angel came out of the Temple, shouting to the Cloud-Enthroned, "Swing your sickle and reap. It's harvest time. Earth's harvest is ripe for reaping." The Cloud-Enthroned gave a mighty sweep of his sickle, began harvesting earth in a stroke.  ^17-18Then another Angel came out of the Temple in Heaven. He also had a sharp sickle. Yet another Angel, the one in charge of tending the fire, came from the Altar. He thundered to the Angel who held the sharp sickle, "Swing your sharp sickle. Harvest earth's vineyard. The grapes are bursting with ripeness."
 ^19-20The Angel swung his sickle, harvested earth's vintage, and heaved it into the winepress, the giant winepress of God's wrath. The winepress was outside the City. As the vintage was trodden, blood poured from the winepress as high as a horse's bridle, a river of blood for two hundred miles.

Psalm 142:1-7 (The Message)

Psalm 142

A David Prayer—When He Was in the Cave

 ^1-2 I cry out loudly to God, loudly I plead with God for mercy.
   I spill out all my complaints before him,
      and spell out my troubles in detail:

 ^3-7 "As I sink in despair, my spirit ebbing away,
      you know how I'm feeling,
   Know the danger I'm in,
      the traps hidden in my path.
   Look right, look left—
      there's not a soul who cares what happens!
   I'm up against it, with no exit—
      bereft, left alone.
   I cry out, God, call out:
      'You're my last chance, my only hope for life!'
   Oh listen, please listen;
      I've never been this low.
   Rescue me from those who are hunting me down;
      I'm no match for them.
   Get me out of this dungeon
      so I can thank you in public.
   Your people will form a circle around me
      and you'll bring me showers of blessing!"

 

Proverbs 30:21-23 (The Message)

Four Intolerables

 ^21-23 Three things are too much for even the earth to bear,
   yes, four things shake its foundations—
      when the janitor becomes the boss,
      when a fool gets rich,
      when a whore is voted "woman of the year,"
      when a "girlfriend" replaces a faithful wife.

 

Verse of the Day

 

“This very day in King David's hometown a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. You will know who he is, because you will find him dressed in baby clothes and lying on a bed of hay." Suddenly many other angels came down from heaven and joined in praising God. They said: "Praise God in heaven! Peace on earth to everyone who pleases God.” - Luke 2:11-14

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

Thought for the Day

English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist E. M. Forster wrote, “Unless we remember we cannot understand.”

Bible Readings for December 22, 2012

Today our passages are Zechariah 2:1–3:10; Revelation 13:1b-18; Psalm 141:1-10; and Proverbs 30:18-20. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson.

Zechariah 2-3:10 (The Message)

Zechariah 2

Third Vision: The Man with the Tape Measure

^1-5 I looked up and was surprised to see
a man holding a tape measure in his hand.
I said, "What are you up to?"
"I'm on my way," he said, "to survey Jerusalem,
to measure its width and length."
Just then the Messenger-Angel on his way out
met another angel coming in and said,
"Run! Tell the Surveyor, 'Jerusalem will burst its walls—
bursting with people, bursting with animals.
And I'll be right there with her'—God's Decree—'a wall of fire
around unwalled Jerusalem and a radiant presence within.'" ^6-7"Up on your feet! Get out of there—and now!" God says so.
"Return from your far exile.
I scattered you to the four winds." God's Decree.
"Escape from Babylon, Zion, and come home—now!" ^8-9God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the One of Glory who sent me on my mission, commenting on the godless nations who stripped you and left you homeless, said, "Anyone who hits you, hits me—bloodies my nose, blackens my eye. Yes, and at the right time I'll give the signal and they'll be stripped and thrown out by their own servants." Then you'll know for sure that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me on this mission. ¹⁰"Shout and celebrate, Daughter of Zion!
I'm on my way. I'm moving into your neighborhood!"
God's Decree. ^11-12Many godless nations will be linked up with God at that time. ("They will become my family! I'll live in their homes!") And then you'll know for sure that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me on this mission. God will reclaim his Judah inheritance in the Holy Land. He'll again make clear that Jerusalem is his choice. ¹³Quiet, everyone! Shh! Silence before God. Something's afoot in his holy house. He's on the move!

Zechariah 3

Fourth Vision: Joshua's New Clothes

^1-2 Next the Messenger-Angel showed me the high priest Joshua. He was standing before God's Angel where the Accuser showed up to accuse him. Then God said to the Accuser, "I, God, rebuke you, Accuser! I rebuke you and choose Jerusalem. Surprise! Everything is going up in flames, but I reach in and pull out Jerusalem!" ^3-4Joshua, standing before the angel, was dressed in dirty clothes. The angel spoke to his attendants, "Get him out of those filthy clothes," and then said to Joshua, "Look, I've stripped you of your sin and dressed you up in clean clothes." ⁵I spoke up and said, "How about a clean new turban for his head also?" And they did it—put a clean new turban on his head. Then they finished dressing him, with God's Angel looking on. ^6-7God's Angel then charged Joshua, "Orders from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: 'If you live the way I tell you and remain obedient in my service, then you'll make the decisions around here and oversee my affairs. And all my attendants standing here will be at your service. ^8-9"'Careful, High Priest Joshua—both you and your friends sitting here with you, for your friends are in on this, too! Here's what I'm doing next: I'm introducing my servant Branch. And note this: This stone that I'm placing before Joshua, a single stone with seven eyes'—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies—'I'll engrave with these words: "I'll strip this land of its filthy sin, all at once, in a single day." ¹⁰"'At that time, everyone will get along with one another, with friendly visits across the fence, friendly visits on one another's porches.'"

Revelation 13:1-18 (The Message)

Revelation 13

The Beast from the Sea

^1-2And the Dragon stood on the shore of the sea. I saw a Beast rising from the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads—on each horn a crown, and each head inscribed with a blasphemous name. The Beast I saw looked like a leopard with bear paws and a lion's mouth. The Dragon turned over its power to it, its throne and great authority. ^3-4One of the Beast's heads looked as if it had been struck a deathblow, and then healed. The whole earth was agog, gaping at the Beast. They worshiped the Dragon who gave the Beast authority, and they worshiped the Beast, exclaiming, "There's never been anything like the Beast! No one would dare go to war with the Beast!" ^5-8The Beast had a loud mouth, boastful and blasphemous. It could do anything it wanted for forty-two months. It yelled blasphemies against God, blasphemed his Name, blasphemed his Church, especially those already dwelling with God in Heaven. It was permitted to make war on God's holy people and conquer them. It held absolute sway over all tribes and peoples, tongues and races. Everyone on earth whose name was not written from the world's foundation in the slaughtered Lamb's Book of Life will worship the Beast. ^9-10Are you listening to this? They've made their bed; now they must lie in it. Anyone marked for prison goes straight to prison; anyone pulling a sword goes down by the sword. Meanwhile, God's holy people passionately and faithfully stand their ground.

The Beast from Under the Ground

^11-12I saw another Beast rising out of the ground. It had two horns like a lamb but sounded like a dragon when it spoke. It was a puppet of the first Beast, made earth and everyone in it worship the first Beast, which had been healed of its deathblow. ^13-17This second Beast worked magical signs, dazzling people by making fire come down from Heaven. It used the magic it got from the Beast to dupe earth dwellers, getting them to make an image of the Beast that received the deathblow and lived. It was able to animate the image of the Beast so that it talked, and then arrange that anyone not worshiping the Beast would be killed. It forced all people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to have a mark on the right hand or forehead. Without the mark of the name of the Beast or the number of its name, it was impossible to buy or sell anything. ¹⁸Solve a riddle: Put your heads together and figure out the meaning of the number of the Beast. It's a human number: 666.

Psalm 141:1-10 (The Message)

Psalm 141

A David Psalm

^1-2 God, come close. Come quickly! Open your ears—it's my voice you're hearing!
Treat my prayer as sweet incense rising;
my raised hands are my evening prayers.

^3-7 Post a guard at my mouth, God,
set a watch at the door of my lips.
Don't let me so much as dream of evil
or thoughtlessly fall into bad company.
And these people who only do wrong—
don't let them lure me with their sweet talk!
May the Just One set me straight,
may the Kind One correct me,
Don't let sin anoint my head.
I'm praying hard against their evil ways!
Oh, let their leaders be pushed off a high rock cliff;
make them face the music.
Like a rock pulverized by a maul,
let their bones be scattered at the gates of hell.

^8-10 But God, dear Lord,
I only have eyes for you.
Since I've run for dear life to you,
take good care of me.
Protect me from their evil scheming,
from all their demonic subterfuge.
Let the wicked fall flat on their faces,
while I walk off without a scratch.

Proverbs 30:18-20 (The Message)

Four Mysteries

^18-19 Three things amaze me,
no, four things I'll never understand—
how an eagle flies so high in the sky,
how a snake glides over a rock,
how a ship navigates the ocean,
why adolescents act the way they do. ²⁰ Here's how a prostitute operates:
she has sex with her client,
Takes a bath,
then asks, "Who's next?"


Verse of the Day

“That night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep. All at once an angel came down to them from the Lord, and the brightness of the Lord's glory flashed around them. The shepherds were frightened. But the angel said, "Don't be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy. This very day in King David's hometown a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord.” - Luke 2:8-11

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

Thought for the Day

 

World Fantasy Award winning author Charles de Lint wrote, “When all’s said and done, all roads lead to the same end. So it’s not so much which road you take, as how you take it.”

Bible Readings for December 21, 2012

Today our passages are Zechariah 1:1-21; Revelation 12:1–13:1a; Psalm 140:1-13; and Proverbs 30:17. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson.

 

Zechariah 1:1-21 (The Message)

Zechariah 1

^1-4 In the eighth month of the second year in the reign of Darius, God's Message came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo: "God was very angry with your ancestors. So give to the people this Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: 'Come back to me and I'll come back to you. Don't be like your parents. The old-time prophets called out to them, "A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: Leave your evil life. Quit your evil practices." But they ignored everything I said to them, stubbornly refused to listen.' ^5-6"And where are your ancestors now? Dead and buried. And the prophets who preached to them? Also dead and buried. But the Message that my servants the prophets spoke, that isn't dead and buried. That Message did its work on your ancestors, did it not? It woke them up and they came back, saying, 'He did what he said he would do, sure enough. We didn't get by with a thing.'"

First Vision: Four Riders

⁷On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month in the second year of the reign of Darius, the Message of God was given to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo: ⁸One night I looked out and saw a man astride a red horse. He was in the shadows in a grove of birches. Behind him were more horses—a red, a chestnut, and a white. ⁹I said, "Sir, what are these horses doing here? What's the meaning of this?" The Angel-Messenger said, "Let me show you." ¹⁰Then the rider in the birch grove spoke up, "These are the riders that God sent to check things out on earth." ¹¹They reported their findings to the Angel of God in the birch grove: "We have looked over the whole earth and all is well. Everything's under control." ¹²The Angel of God reported back, "O God-of-the-Angel-Armies, how long are you going to stay angry with Jerusalem and the cities of Judah? When are you going to let up? Isn't seventy years long enough?" ^13-15God reassured the Angel-Messenger—good words, comforting words —who then addressed me: "Tell them this. Tell them that God-of-the-Angel-Armies has spoken. This is God's Message: 'I care deeply for Jerusalem and Zion. I feel very possessive of them. But I'm thoroughly angry with the godless nations that act as if they own the whole world. I was only moderately angry earlier, but now they've gone too far. I'm going into action. ^16-17"'I've come back to Jerusalem, but with compassion this time.'
This is God speaking.
'I'll see to it that my Temple is rebuilt.'
A Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
'The rebuilding operation is already staked out.'
Say it again—a Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
'My cities will prosper again,
God will comfort Zion again,
Jerusalem will be back in my favor again.'"

Second Vision: Four Horns and Four Blacksmiths

¹⁸I looked up, and was surprised by another vision: four horns! ¹⁹I asked the Messenger-Angel, "And what's the meaning of this?" He said, "These are the powers that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem abroad." ²⁰Then God expanded the vision to include four blacksmiths. ²¹I asked, "And what are these all about?" He said, "Since the 'horns' scattered Judah so badly that no one had any hope left, these blacksmiths have arrived to combat the horns. They'll dehorn the godless nations who used their horns to scatter Judah to the four winds."

Revelation 12-13:1 (The Message)

Revelation 12

The Woman, Her Son, and the Dragon

^1-2A great Sign appeared in Heaven: a Woman dressed all in sunlight, standing on the moon, and crowned with Twelve Stars. She was giving birth to a Child and cried out in the pain of childbirth. ^3-4And then another Sign alongside the first: a huge and fiery Dragon! It had seven heads and ten horns, a crown on each of the seven heads. With one flick of its tail it knocked a third of the Stars from the sky and dumped them on earth. The Dragon crouched before the Woman in childbirth, poised to eat up the Child when it came. ^5-6The Woman gave birth to a Son who will shepherd all nations with an iron rod. Her Son was seized and placed safely before God on his Throne. The Woman herself escaped to the desert to a place of safety prepared by God, all comforts provided her for 1,260 days. ^7-12War broke out in Heaven. Michael and his Angels fought the Dragon. The Dragon and his Angels fought back, but were no match for Michael. They were cleared out of Heaven, not a sign of them left. The great Dragon—ancient Serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, the one who led the whole earth astray—thrown out, and all his Angels thrown out with him, thrown down to earth. Then I heard a strong voice out of Heaven saying,

Salvation and power are established!
Kingdom of our God, authority of his Messiah!
The Accuser of our brothers and sisters thrown out,
who accused them day and night before God.
They defeated him through the blood of the Lamb
and the bold word of their witness.
They weren't in love with themselves;
they were willing to die for Christ.
So rejoice, O Heavens, and all who live there,
but doom to earth and sea,
For the Devil's come down on you with both feet;
he's had a great fall;
He's wild and raging with anger;
he hasn't much time and he knows it. ^13-17When the Dragon saw he'd been thrown to earth, he went after the Woman who had given birth to the Man-Child. The Woman was given wings of a great eagle to fly to a place in the desert to be kept in safety and comfort for a time and times and half a time, safe and sound from the Serpent. The Serpent vomited a river of water to swamp and drown her, but earth came to her help, swallowing the water the Dragon spewed from its mouth. Helpless with rage, the Dragon raged at the Woman, then went off to make war with the rest of her children, the children who keep God's commands and hold firm to the witness of Jesus.

Revelation 13

The Beast from the Sea

^1-2And the Dragon stood on the shore of the sea. I saw a Beast rising from the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads—on each horn a crown, and each head inscribed with a blasphemous name. The Beast I saw looked like a leopard with bear paws and a lion's mouth. The Dragon turned over its power to it, its throne and great authority.

Psalm 140:1-13 (The Message)

Psalm 140

A David Psalm

^1-5 God, get me out of here, away from this evil; protect me from these vicious people.
All they do is think up new ways to be bad;
they spend their days plotting war games.
They practice the sharp rhetoric of hate and hurt,
speak venomous words that maim and kill.
God, keep me out of the clutch of these wicked ones,
protect me from these vicious people;
Stuffed with self-importance, they plot ways to trip me up,
determined to bring me down.
These crooks invent traps to catch me
and do their best to incriminate me.

^6-8 I prayed, "God, you're my God!
Listen, God! Mercy!
God, my Lord, Strong Savior,
protect me when the fighting breaks out!
Don't let the wicked have their way, God,
don't give them an inch!"

^9-11 These troublemakers all around me—
let them drown in their own verbal poison.
Let God pile hellfire on them,
let him bury them alive in crevasses!
These loudmouths—
don't let them be taken seriously;
These savages—
let the Devil hunt them down!

^12-13 I know that you, God, are on the side of victims,
that you care for the rights of the poor.
And I know that the righteous personally thank you,
that good people are secure in your presence.

Proverbs 30:17 (The Message)

¹⁷ An eye that disdains a father
and despises a mother—
that eye will be plucked out by wild vultures
and consumed by young eagles.


Verse of the Day

“While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.” - Luke 2:6-7

Today's passage is from the The Message.

Thought for the Day

 

American teacher, writer, philosopher, and reformer Amos Bronson Alcott wrote, “Our ideals are our better selves.”

Bible Readings for December 20, 2012

Today our passages are Haggai 1:1–2:23; Revelation 11:1-9; Psalm 139:1-24; and Proverbs 30:15-16. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson.

Haggai 1-2:23 (The Message)

Haggai 1

Caught Up with Taking Care of Your Own Houses

 ¹ On the first day of the sixth month of the second year in the reign of King Darius of Persia, God's Message was delivered by the prophet Haggai to the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and to the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak:  ²A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: "The people procrastinate. They say this isn't the right time to rebuild my Temple, the Temple of God."
 ^3-4Shortly after that, God said more and Haggai spoke it: "How is it that it's the 'right time' for you to live in your fine new homes while the Home, God's Temple, is in ruins?"
 ^5-6And then a little later, God-of-the-Angel-Armies spoke out again:
   "Take a good, hard look at your life.
   Think it over.
You have spent a lot of money,
   but you haven't much to show for it.
You keep filling your plates,
   but you never get filled up.
You keep drinking and drinking and drinking,
   but you're always thirsty.
You put on layer after layer of clothes,
   but you can't get warm.
And the people who work for you,
   what are they getting out of it?
Not much—
   a leaky, rusted-out bucket, that's what.
 ⁷That's why God-of-the-Angel-Armies said:
   "Take a good, hard look at your life.
   Think it over."
 ^8-9Then God said:
   "Here's what I want you to do:
   Climb into the hills and cut some timber.
Bring it down and rebuild the Temple.
   Do it just for me. Honor me.
You've had great ambitions for yourselves,
   but nothing has come of it.
The little you have brought to my Temple
   I've blown away—there was nothing to it.
 ^9-11"And why?" (This is a Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, remember.) "Because while you've run around, caught up with taking care of your own houses, my Home is in ruins. That's why. Because of your stinginess. And so I've given you a dry summer and a skimpy crop. I've matched your tight-fisted stinginess by decreeing a season of drought, drying up fields and hills, withering gardens and orchards, stunting vegetables and fruit. Nothing—not man or woman, not animal or crop—is going to thrive."
 ¹²Then the governor, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak, and all the people with them listened, really listened, to the voice of their God. When God sent the prophet Haggai to them, they paid attention to him. In listening to Haggai, they honored God.
 ¹³Then Haggai, God's messenger, preached God's Message to the people: "I am with you!" God's Word.
 ^14-15This is how God got Zerubbabel, Joshua, and all the people moving— got them working on the Temple of God-of-the-Angel-Armies. This happened on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius.

Haggai 2

This Temple Will End Up Better Than It Started Out

 ^1-3 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the Word of God came through the prophet Haggai: "Tell Governor Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and High Priest Joshua son of Jehozadak and all the people:
         'Is there anyone here who saw the Temple the way it used to be, all glorious? And what do you see now? Not much, right?  ^4-5"'So get to work, Zerubbabel!'—God is speaking.
   "'Get to work, Joshua son of Jehozadak—high priest!'
   "'Get to work, all you people!'—God is speaking.
   "'Yes, get to work! For I am with you.' The God-of-the-Angel-Armies is speaking! 'Put into action the word I covenanted with you when you left Egypt. I'm living and breathing among you right now. Don't be timid. Don't hold back.'
 ^6-7"This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies said: 'Before you know it, I will shake up sky and earth, ocean and fields. And I'll shake down all the godless nations. They'll bring bushels of wealth and I will fill this Temple with splendor.' God-of-the-Angel-Armies says so.

 ⁸'I own the silver,
   I own the gold.'
      Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
 ⁹"'This Temple is going to end up far better than it started out, a glorious beginning but an even more glorious finish: a place in which I will hand out wholeness and holiness.' Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies."
 ^10-12On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month (again, this was in the second year of Darius), God's Message came to Haggai: "God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaks: Consult the priests for a ruling. If someone carries a piece of sacred meat in his pocket, meat that is set apart for sacrifice on the altar, and the pocket touches a loaf of bread, a dish of stew, a bottle of wine or oil, or any other food, will these foods be made holy by such contact?"
   The priests said, "No."
 ¹³Then Haggai said, "How about someone who is contaminated by touching a corpse—if that person touches one of these foods, will it be contaminated?"
   The priests said, "Yes, it will be contaminated."
 ¹⁴Then Haggai said, "'So, this people is contaminated. Their nation is contaminated. Everything they do is contaminated. Whatever they do for me is contaminated.' God says so.
 ^15-17"'Think back. Before you set out to lay the first foundation stones for the rebuilding of my Temple, how did it go with you? Isn't it true that your foot-dragging, halfhearted efforts at rebuilding the Temple of God were reflected in a sluggish, halfway return on your crops—half the grain you were used to getting, half the wine? I hit you with drought and blight and hail. Everything you were doing got hit. But it didn't seem to faze you. You continued to ignore me.' God's Decree.
 ^18-19"'Now think ahead from this same date—this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Think ahead from when the Temple rebuilding was launched. Has anything in your fields—vine, fig tree, pomegranate, olive tree—failed to flourish? From now on you can count on a blessing.'"
 ^20-21God's Message came a second time to Haggai on that most memorable day, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month: "Speak to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah:
 ^21-23"'I am about to shake up everything, to turn everything upside down and start over from top to bottom—overthrow governments, destroy foreign powers, dismantle the world of weapons and armaments, throw armies into confusion, so that they end up killing one another. And on that day'"—this is God's Message—"'I will take you, O Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, as my personal servant and I will set you as a signet ring, the sign of my sovereign presence and authority. I've looked over the field and chosen you for this work.'" The Message of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.


Revelation 11:1-9 (The Message)

Revelation 11

The Two Witnesses

 ^1-2I was given a stick for a measuring rod and told, "Get up and measure God's Temple and Altar and everyone worshiping in it. Exclude the outside court; don't measure it. It's been handed over to non-Jewish outsiders. They'll desecrate the Holy City for forty-two months.  ^3-6"Meanwhile, I'll provide my two Witnesses. Dressed in sackcloth, they'll prophesy for 1,260. These are the two Olive Trees, the two Lampstands, standing at attention before God on earth. If anyone tries to hurt them, a blast of fire from their mouths will incinerate them—burn them to a crisp just like that. They'll have power to seal the sky so that it doesn't rain for the time of their prophesying, power to turn rivers and springs to blood, power to hit earth with any and every disaster as often as they want.
 ^7-10"When they've completed their witness, the Beast from the Abyss will emerge and fight them, conquer and kill them, leaving their corpses exposed on the street of the Great City spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, the same City where their Master was crucified. For three and a half days they'll be there—exposed, prevented from getting a decent burial, stared at by the curious from all over the world. Those people will cheer at the spectacle, shouting 'Good riddance!' and calling for a celebration, for these two prophets pricked the conscience of all the people on earth, made it impossible for them to enjoy their sins.

Psalm 139:1-24 (The Message)

Psalm 139

A David Psalm

 ^1-6 God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand.
   I'm an open book to you;
      even from a distance, you know what I'm thinking.
   You know when I leave and when I get back;
      I'm never out of your sight.
   You know everything I'm going to say
      before I start the first sentence.
   I look behind me and you're there,
      then up ahead and you're there, too—
      your reassuring presence, coming and going.
   This is too much, too wonderful—
      I can't take it all in!

 ^7-12 Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
      to be out of your sight?
   If I climb to the sky, you're there!
      If I go underground, you're there!
   If I flew on morning's wings
      to the far western horizon,
   You'd find me in a minute—
      you're already there waiting!
   Then I said to myself, "Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
      At night I'm immersed in the light!"
   It's a fact: darkness isn't dark to you;
      night and day, darkness and light, they're all the same to you.

 ^13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
      you formed me in my mother's womb.
   I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!
      Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
      I worship in adoration—what a creation!
   You know me inside and out,
      you know every bone in my body;
   You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
      how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
   Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
      all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
   The days of my life all prepared
      before I'd even lived one day.

 ^17-22 Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!
      God, I'll never comprehend them!
   I couldn't even begin to count them—
      any more than I could count the sand of the sea.
   Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!
      And please, God, do away with wickedness for good!
   And you murderers—out of here!—
      all the men and women who belittle you, God,
      infatuated with cheap god-imitations.
   See how I hate those who hate you, God,
      see how I loathe all this godless arrogance;
   I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred.
      Your enemies are my enemies!

 ^23-24 Investigate my life, O God,
      find out everything about me;
   Cross-examine and test me,
      get a clear picture of what I'm about;
   See for yourself whether I've done anything wrong—
      then guide me on the road to eternal life.

 

Proverbs 30:15-16 (The Message)

 ^15-16 A leech has twin daughters
   named "Gimme" and "Gimme more."

Four Insatiables

Three things are never satisfied,
   no, there are four that never say, "That's enough, thank you!"—
      hell,
      a barren womb,
      a parched land,
      a forest fire.

 

Verse of the Day

 

“[The Birth of Jesus][(Matthew 1.18-25)]About that time Emperor Augustus gave orders for the names of all the people to be listed in record books. So Joseph had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and go to Bethlehem in Judea. Long ago Bethlehem had been King David's hometown, and Joseph went there because he was from David's family. Mary was engaged to Joseph and traveled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby,” - Luke 2:1, 4-5

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

Thought for the Day

American screenwriter, playwright and author Anita Loos wrote, “Memory is more indelible than ink.”

Bible Readings for December 19, 2012

Today our passages are Zephaniah 1:1–3:20; Revelation 10:1-11; Psalm 138.1-8; and Proverbs 30:11-14. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson.

Zephaniah 1-3:20 (The Message)

Zephaniah 1

No Longer Giving God a Thought or a Prayer

 ¹ God's Message to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. It came during the reign of Josiah son of Amon, who was king of Judah:  ²"I'm going to make a clean sweep of the earth,
   a thorough housecleaning." God's Decree.
 ³"Men and women and animals,
   including birds and fish—
Anything and everything that causes sin—will go,
   but especially people.
 ^4-6"I'll start with Judah
   and everybody who lives in Jerusalem.
I'll sweep the place clean of every trace
   of the sex-and-religion Baal shrines and their priests.
I'll get rid of the people who sneak up to their rooftops at night
   to worship the star gods and goddesses;
Also those who continue to worship God
   but cover their bases by worshiping other king-gods as well;
Not to mention those who've dumped God altogether,
   no longer giving him a thought or offering a prayer.
 ^7-13"Quiet now!
   Reverent silence before me, God, the Master!
Time's up. My Judgment Day is near:
   The Holy Day is all set, the invited guests made holy.
On the Holy Day, God's Judgment Day,
   I will punish the leaders and the royal sons;
I will punish those who dress up like foreign priests and priestesses,
   Who introduce pagan prayers and practices;
And I'll punish all who import pagan superstitions
   that turn holy places into hellholes.
Judgment Day!" God's Decree!
   "Cries of panic from the city's Fish Gate,
Cries of terror from the city's Second Quarter,
   sounds of great crashing from the hills!
Wail, you shopkeepers on Market Street!
   Moneymaking has had its day. The god Money is dead.
On Judgment Day,
   I'll search through every closet and alley in Jerusalem.
I'll find and punish those who are sitting it out, fat and lazy,
   amusing themselves and taking it easy,
Who think, 'God doesn't do anything, good or bad.
   He isn't involved, so neither are we.'
But just wait. They'll lose everything they have,
   money and house and land.
They'll build a house and never move in.
   They'll plant vineyards and never taste the wine.

A Day of Darkness at Noon

 ^14-18"The Great Judgment Day of God is almost here.
   It's countdown time:...seven, six, five, four...
Bitter and noisy cries on my Judgment Day,
   even strong men screaming for help.
Judgment Day is payday—my anger paid out:
   a day of distress and anguish,
   a day of catastrophic doom,
   a day of darkness at noon,
   a day of black storm clouds,
   a day of bloodcurdling war cries,
   as forts are assaulted,
   as defenses are smashed.
I'll make things so bad they won't know what hit them.
   They'll walk around groping like the blind.
   They've sinned against God!
Their blood will be poured out like old dishwater,
   their guts shoveled into slop buckets.
Don't plan on buying your way out.
   Your money is worthless for this.
This is the Day of God's Judgment—my wrath!
   I care about sin with fiery passion—
A fire to burn up the corrupted world,
   a wildfire finish to the corrupting people."

Zephaniah 2

Seek God

 ^1-2 So get yourselves together. Shape up!
   You're a nation without a clue about what it wants.
Do it before you're blown away
   like leaves in a windstorm,
Before God's Judgment-anger
   sweeps down on you,
Before God's Judgment Day wrath
   descends with full force.  ³Seek God, all you quietly disciplined people
   who live by God's justice.
Seek God's right ways. Seek a quiet and disciplined life.
   Perhaps you'll be hidden on the Day of God's anger.

All Earth-Made Gods Will Blow Away

 ^4-5Gaza is scheduled for demolition,
   Ashdod will be cleaned out by high noon,
   Ekron pulled out by the roots.
Doom to the seaside people,
   the seafaring people from Crete!
The Word of God is bad news for you
   who settled Canaan, the Philistine country:
"You're slated for destruction—
   no survivors!"  ^6-7The lands of the seafarers
   will become pastureland,
A country for shepherds and sheep.
   What's left of the family of Judah will get it.
Day after day they'll pasture by the sea,
   and go home in the evening to Ashkelon to sleep.
Their very own God will look out for them.
   He'll make things as good as before.
 ^8-12"I've heard the crude taunts of Moab,
   the mockeries flung by Ammon,
The cruel talk they've used to put down my people,
   their self-important strutting along Israel's borders.
Therefore, as sure as I am the living God," says God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
   Israel's personal God,
"Moab will become a ruin like Sodom,
   Ammon a ghost town like Gomorrah,
One a field of rocks, the other a sterile salt flat,
   a moonscape forever.
What's left of my people will finish them off,
   will pick them clean and take over.
This is what they get for their bloated pride,
   their taunts and mockeries of the people
   of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
God will be seen as truly terrible—a Holy Terror.
   All earth-made gods will shrivel up and blow away;
And everyone, wherever they are, far or near,
   will fall to the ground and worship him.
Also you Ethiopians,
   you, too, will die—I'll see to it."
 ^13-15Then God will reach into the north
   and destroy Assyria.
He will waste Nineveh,
   leave her dry and treeless as a desert.
The ghost town of a city,
   the haunt of wild animals,
Nineveh will be home to raccoons and coyotes—
   they'll bed down in its ruins.
Owls will hoot in the windows, ravens will croak in the doorways—
   all that fancy woodwork now a perch for birds.
Can this be the famous Fun City
   that had it made,
That boasted, "I'm the Number-One City!
   I'm King of the Mountain!"
So why is the place deserted,
   a lair for wild animals?
Passersby hardly give it a look;
   they dismiss it with a gesture.

Zephaniah 3

Sewer City

 ^1-5 Doom to the rebellious city, the home of oppressors—Sewer City!
The city that wouldn't take advice,
   wouldn't accept correction,
Wouldn't trust God,
   wouldn't even get close to her own god!
Her very own leaders
   are rapacious lions,
Her judges are rapacious timber wolves
   out every morning prowling for a fresh kill.
Her prophets are out for what they can get.
   They're opportunists—you can't trust them.
Her priests desecrate the Sanctuary.
   They use God's law as a weapon to maim and kill souls.
Yet God remains righteous in her midst,
   untouched by the evil.
He stays at it, day after day, meting out justice.
   At evening he's still at it, strong as ever.
But evil men and women, without conscience
   and without shame, persist in evil.  ⁶"So I cut off the godless nations.
   I knocked down their defense posts,
Filled her roads with rubble
   so no one could get through.
Her cities were bombed-out ruins,
   unlivable and unlived in.
 ⁷"I thought, 'Surely she'll honor me now,
   accept my discipline and correction,
Find a way of escape from the trouble she's in,
   find relief from the punishment I'm bringing.'
But it didn't faze her. Bright and early
   she was up at it again, doing the same old things.
 ⁸"Well, if that's what you want, stick around."
   God's Decree.
"Your day in court is coming,
   but remember I'll be there to bring evidence.
I'll bring all the nations to the courtroom,
   round up all the kingdoms,
And let them feel the brunt of my anger,
   my raging wrath.
My zeal is a fire
   that will purge and purify the earth.

God Is in Charge at the Center

 ^9-13"In the end I will turn things around for the people.
   I'll give them a language undistorted, unpolluted,
Words to address God in worship
   and, united, to serve me with their shoulders to the wheel.
They'll come from beyond the Ethiopian rivers,
   they'll come praying—
All my scattered, exiled people
   will come home with offerings for worship.
You'll no longer have to be ashamed
   of all those acts of rebellion.
I'll have gotten rid of your arrogant leaders.
   No more pious strutting on my holy hill!
I'll leave a core of people among you
   who are poor in spirit—
What's left of Israel that's really Israel.
   They'll make their home in God.
This core holy people
   will not do wrong.
They won't lie,
   won't use words to flatter or seduce.
Content with who they are and where they are,
   unanxious, they'll live at peace."  ^14-15So sing, Daughter Zion!
   Raise the rafters, Israel!
Daughter Jerusalem,
   be happy! celebrate!
God has reversed his judgments against you
   and sent your enemies off chasing their tails.
From now on, God is Israel's king,
   in charge at the center.
There's nothing to fear from evil
   ever again!

God Is Present Among You

 ^16-17Jerusalem will be told:
   "Don't be afraid.
Dear Zion,
   don't despair.
Your God is present among you,
   a strong Warrior there to save you.
Happy to have you back, he'll calm you with his love
   and delight you with his songs.  ^18-20"The accumulated sorrows of your exile
   will dissipate.
I, your God, will get rid of them for you.
   You've carried those burdens long enough.
At the same time, I'll get rid of all those
   who've made your life miserable.
I'll heal the maimed;
   I'll bring home the homeless.
In the very countries where they were hated
   they will be venerated.
On Judgment Day
   I'll bring you back home—a great family gathering!
You'll be famous and honored
   all over the world.
You'll see it with your own eyes—
   all those painful partings turned into reunions!"
         God's Promise.

Revelation 10:1-11 (The Message)

Revelation 10

 ^1-4I saw another powerful Angel coming down out of Heaven wrapped in a cloud. There was a rainbow over his head, his face was sun-radiant, his legs pillars of fire. He had a small book open in his hand. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on land, then called out thunderously, a lion roar. When he called out, the Seven Thunders called back. When the Seven Thunders spoke, I started to write it all down, but a voice out of Heaven stopped me, saying, "Seal with silence the Seven Thunders; don't write a word."  ^5-7Then the Angel I saw astride sea and land lifted his right hand to Heaven and swore by the One Living Forever and Ever, who created Heaven and everything in it, earth and everything in it, sea and everything in it, that time was up—that when the seventh Angel blew his trumpet, which he was about to do, the Mystery of God, all the plans he had revealed to his servants, the prophets, would be completed.
 ^8-11The voice out of Heaven spoke to me again: "Go, take the book held open in the hand of the Angel astride sea and earth." I went up to the Angel and said, "Give me the little book." He said, "Take it, then eat it. It will taste sweet like honey, but turn sour in your stomach." I took the little book from the Angel's hand and it was sweet honey in my mouth, but when I swallowed, my stomach curdled. Then I was told, "You must go back and prophesy again over many peoples and nations and languages and kings."

Psalm 138:1-8 (The Message)

Psalm 138

A David Psalm

 ^1-3 Thank you! Everything in me says "Thank you!" Angels listen as I sing my thanks.
   I kneel in worship facing your holy temple
      and say it again: "Thank you!"
   Thank you for your love,
      thank you for your faithfulness;
   Most holy is your name,
      most holy is your Word.
   The moment I called out, you stepped in;
      you made my life large with strength.

 ^4-6 When they hear what you have to say, God,
      all earth's kings will say "Thank you."
   They'll sing of what you've done:
      "How great the glory of God!"
   And here's why: God, high above, sees far below;
      no matter the distance, he knows everything about us.

 ^7-8 When I walk into the thick of trouble,
      keep me alive in the angry turmoil.
   With one hand
      strike my foes,
   With your other hand
      save me.
   Finish what you started in me, God.
      Your love is eternal—don't quit on me now.

Proverbs 30:11-14 (The Message)

 ¹¹ Don't curse your father
   or fail to bless your mother.

 ¹² Don't imagine yourself to be quite presentable
   when you haven't had a bath in weeks.

 ¹³ Don't be stuck-up
   and think you're better than everyone else.

 ¹⁴ Don't be greedy,
   merciless and cruel as wolves,
Tearing into the poor and feasting on them,
   shredding the needy to pieces only to discard them.



Verse of the Day

“You, my son, will be called a prophet of God in heaven above. You will go ahead of the Lord to get everything ready for him. You will tell his people that they can be saved when their sins are forgiven. God's love and kindness will shine upon us like the sun that rises in the sky.” - Luke 1:76-78

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

Thought for the Day

British biologist, whose work on graft rejection and the discovery of acquired immune tolerance was fundamental to the practice of tissue and organ transplants P. B. Medawar wrote, “The human mind treats a new idea the same way the body treats a strange protein; it rejects it.”

Bible Readings for December 18, 2012

Today our passages are Habakkuk 1:1–3:19; Revelation 9:1-21; Psalm 137:1-9; and Proverbs 30:10. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson.

Habakkuk 1-3:19 (The Message)

Habakkuk 1

Justice Is a Joke

 ^1-4 The problem as God gave Habakkuk to see it: God, how long do I have to cry out for help
   before you listen?
How many times do I have to yell, "Help! Murder! Police!"
   before you come to the rescue?
Why do you force me to look at evil,
   stare trouble in the face day after day?
Anarchy and violence break out,
   quarrels and fights all over the place.
Law and order fall to pieces.
   Justice is a joke.
The wicked have the righteous hamstrung
   and stand justice on its head.

God Says, "Look!"

 ^5-11"Look around at the godless nations.
   Look long and hard. Brace yourself for a shock.
Something's about to take place
   and you're going to find it hard to believe.
I'm about to raise up Babylonians to punish you,
   Babylonians, fierce and ferocious—
World-conquering Babylon,
   grabbing up nations right and left,
A dreadful and terrible people,
   making up its own rules as it goes.
Their horses run like the wind,
   attack like bloodthirsty wolves.
A stampede of galloping horses
   thunders out of nowhere.
They descend like vultures
   circling in on carrion.
They're out to kill. Death is on their minds.
   They collect victims like squirrels gathering nuts.
They mock kings,
   poke fun at generals,
Spit on forts,
   and leave them in the dust.
They'll all be blown away by the wind.
   Brazen in sin, they call strength their god."

Why Is God Silent Now?

 ^12-13God, you're from eternity, aren't you?
   Holy God, we aren't going to die, are we?
God, you chose Babylonians for your judgment work?
   Rock-Solid God, you gave them the job of discipline?
But you can't be serious!
   You can't condone evil!
So why don't you do something about this?
   Why are you silent now?
This outrage! Evil men swallow up the righteous
   and you stand around and watch!  ^14-16You're treating men and women
   as so many fish in the ocean,
Swimming without direction,
   swimming but not getting anywhere.
Then this evil Babylonian arrives and goes fishing.
   He pulls in a good catch.
He catches his limit and fills his creel—
   a good day of fishing! He's happy!
He praises his rod and reel,
   piles his fishing gear on an altar and worships it!
It's made his day,
   and he's going to eat well tonight!
 ¹⁷Are you going to let this go on and on?
   Will you let this Babylonian fisherman
Fish like a weekend angler,
   killing people as if they're nothing but fish?

Habakkuk 2

 ¹ What's God going to say to my questions? I'm braced for the worst. I'll climb to the lookout tower and scan the horizon.
I'll wait to see what God says,
   how he'll answer my complaint.

Full of Self, but Soul-Empty

 ^2-3And then God answered: "Write this.
   Write what you see.
Write it out in big block letters
   so that it can be read on the run.
This vision-message is a witness
   pointing to what's coming.
It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait!
   And it doesn't lie.
If it seems slow in coming, wait.
   It's on its way. It will come right on time.  ⁴"Look at that man, bloated by self-importance—
   full of himself but soul-empty.
But the person in right standing before God
   through loyal and steady believing
   is fully alive, really alive.
 ^5-6"Note well: Money deceives.
   The arrogant rich don't last.
They are more hungry for wealth
   than the grave is for cadavers.
Like death, they always want more,
   but the 'more' they get is dead bodies.
They are cemeteries filled with dead nations,
   graveyards filled with corpses.
Don't give people like this a second thought.
   Soon the whole world will be taunting them:
 ^6-8"'Who do you think you are—
   getting rich by stealing and extortion?
How long do you think
   you can get away with this?'
Indeed, how long before your victims wake up,
   stand up and make you the victim?
You've plundered nation after nation.
   Now you'll get a taste of your own medicine.
All the survivors are out to plunder you,
   a payback for all your murders and massacres.
 ^9-11"Who do you think you are—
   recklessly grabbing and looting,
Living it up, acting like king of the mountain,
   acting above it all, above trials and troubles?
You've engineered the ruin of your own house.
   In ruining others you've ruined yourself.
You've undermined your foundations,
   rotted out your own soul.
The bricks of your house will speak up and accuse you.
   The woodwork will step forward with evidence.
 ^12-14"Who do you think you are—
   building a town by murder, a city with crime?
Don't you know that God-of-the-Angel-Armies
   makes sure nothing comes of that but ashes,
Makes sure the harder you work
   at that kind of thing, the less you are?
Meanwhile the earth fills up
   with awareness of God's glory
   as the waters cover the sea.
 ^15-17"Who do you think you are—
   inviting your neighbors to your drunken parties,
Giving them too much to drink,
   roping them into your sexual orgies?
You thought you were having the time of your life.
   Wrong! It's a time of disgrace.
All the time you were drinking,
   you were drinking from the cup of God's wrath.
You'll wake up holding your throbbing head, hung over—
   hung over from Lebanon violence,
Hung over from animal massacres,
   hung over from murder and mayhem,
From multiple violations
   of place and people.
 ^18-19"What's the use of a carved god
   so skillfully carved by its sculptor?
What good is a fancy cast god
   when all it tells is lies?
What sense does it make to be a pious god-maker
   who makes gods that can't even talk?
Who do you think you are—
   saying to a stick of wood, 'Wake up,'
Or to a dumb stone, 'Get up'?
   Can they teach you anything about anything?
There's nothing to them but surface.
   There's nothing on the inside.
 ²⁰"But oh! God is in his holy Temple!
   Quiet everyone—a holy silence. Listen!"

Habakkuk 3

God Racing on the Crest of the Waves

 ^1-2 A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk, with orchestra: God, I've heard what our ancestors say about you,
   and I'm stopped in my tracks, down on my knees.
Do among us what you did among them.
   Work among us as you worked among them.
And as you bring judgment, as you surely must,
   remember mercy.  ^3-7God's on his way again,
   retracing the old salvation route,
Coming up from the south through Teman,
   the Holy One from Mount Paran.
Skies are blazing with his splendor,
   his praises sounding through the earth,
His cloud-brightness like dawn, exploding, spreading,
   forked-lightning shooting from his hand—
   what power hidden in that fist!
Plague marches before him,
   pestilence at his heels!
He stops. He shakes Earth.
   He looks around. Nations tremble.
The age-old mountains fall to pieces;
   ancient hills collapse like a spent balloon.
The paths God takes are older
   than the oldest mountains and hills.
I saw everyone worried, in a panic:
   Old wilderness adversaries,
Cushan and Midian, were terrified,
   hoping he wouldn't notice them.
 ^8-16God, is it River you're mad at?
   Angry at old River?
Were you raging at Sea when you rode
   horse and chariot through to salvation?
You unfurled your bow
   and let loose a volley of arrows.
   You split Earth with rivers.
Mountains saw what was coming.
   They twisted in pain.
Flood Waters poured in.
   Ocean roared and reared huge waves.
Sun and Moon stopped in their tracks.
   Your flashing arrows stopped them,
   your lightning-strike spears impaled them.
Angry, you stomped through Earth.
   Furious, you crushed the godless nations.
You were out to save your people,
   to save your specially chosen people.
You beat the stuffing
   out of King Wicked,
Stripped him naked
   from head to toe,
Set his severed head on his own spear
   and blew away his army.
Scattered they were to the four winds—
   and ended up food for the sharks!
You galloped through the Sea on your horses,
   racing on the crest of the waves.
When I heard it, my stomach did flips.
   I stammered and stuttered.
My bones turned to water.
   I staggered and stumbled.
I sit back and wait for Doomsday
   to descend on our attackers.
 ^17-19Though the cherry trees don't blossom
   and the strawberries don't ripen,
Though the apples are worm-eaten
   and the wheat fields stunted,
Though the sheep pens are sheepless
   and the cattle barns empty,
I'm singing joyful praise to God.
   I'm turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.
Counting on God's Rule to prevail,
   I take heart and gain strength.
I run like a deer.
   I feel like I'm king of the mountain!
   (For congregational use, with a full orchestra.)

Revelation 9:1-21 (The Message)

Revelation 9

 ^1-2The fifth Angel trumpeted. I saw a Star plummet from Heaven to earth. The Star was handed a key to the Well of the Abyss. He unlocked the Well of the Abyss—smoke poured out of the Well, billows and billows of smoke, sun and air in blackout from smoke pouring out of the Well.  ^3-6Then out of the smoke crawled locusts with the venom of scorpions. They were given their orders: "Don't hurt the grass, don't hurt anything green, don't hurt a single tree—only men and women, and then only those who lack the seal of God on their foreheads." They were ordered to torture but not kill, torture them for five months, the pain like a scorpion sting. When this happens, people are going to prefer death to torture, look for ways to kill themselves. But they won't find a way—death will have gone into hiding.
 ^7-11The locusts looked like horses ready for war. They had gold crowns, human faces, women's hair, the teeth of lions, and iron breastplates. The sound of their wings was the sound of horse-drawn chariots charging into battle. Their tails were equipped with stings, like scorpion tails. With those tails they were ordered to torture the human race for five months. They had a king over them, the Angel of the Abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, in Greek, Apollyon—"Destroyer."
 ¹²The first doom is past. Two dooms yet to come.
 ^13-14The sixth Angel trumpeted. I heard a voice speaking to the sixth Angel from the horns of the Golden Altar before God: "Let the Four Angels loose, the Angels confined at the great River Euphrates."
 ^15-19The Four Angels were untied and let loose, Four Angels all prepared for the exact year, month, day, and even hour when they were to kill a third of the human race. The number of the army of horsemen was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard the count and saw both horses and riders in my vision: fiery breastplates on the riders, lion heads on the horses breathing out fire and smoke and brimstone. With these three weapons—fire and smoke and brimstone—they killed a third of the human race. The horses killed with their mouths and tails; their serpentlike tails also had heads that wreaked havoc.
 ^20-21The remaining men and women who weren't killed by these weapons went on their merry way—didn't change their way of life, didn't quit worshiping demons, didn't quit centering their lives around lumps of gold and silver and brass, hunks of stone and wood that couldn't see or hear or move. There wasn't a sign of a change of heart. They plunged right on in their murderous, occult, promiscuous, and thieving ways.

Psalm 137:1-9 (The Message)

Psalm 137

    Alongside Babylon's rivers we sat on the banks; we cried and cried,
      remembering the good old days in Zion.
   Alongside the quaking aspens
      we stacked our unplayed harps;
   That's where our captors demanded songs,
      sarcastic and mocking:
      "Sing us a happy Zion song!"

 ^4-6 Oh, how could we ever sing God's song
      in this wasteland?
   If I ever forget you, Jerusalem,
      let my fingers wither and fall off like leaves.
   Let my tongue swell and turn black
      if I fail to remember you,
   If I fail, O dear Jerusalem,
      to honor you as my greatest.

 ^7-9 God, remember those Edomites,
      and remember the ruin of Jerusalem,
   That day they yelled out,
      "Wreck it, smash it to bits!"
   And you, Babylonians—ravagers!
      A reward to whoever gets back at you
      for all you've done to us;
   Yes, a reward to the one who grabs your babies
      and smashes their heads on the rocks!

 

Proverbs 30:10 (The Message)

 ¹⁰ Don't blow the whistle on your fellow workers
   behind their backs;
They'll accuse you of being underhanded,
   and then you'll be the guilty one!



Verse of the Day

“Praise the Lord, the God of Israel! He has come to save his people. Our God has given us a mighty Savior from the family of David his servant. Long ago the Lord promised by the words of his holy prophets” - Luke 1:68-70

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

Thought for the Day

Greek philosopher and polymath Aristotle wrote, “What it lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do.”