October 3 Bible Reading

OCTOBER 3 BIBLE READING

Steven Nicaud

References:

• Isaiah 37:21-39:8

• Psalm 116:1-7

• Proverbs 23:33-35

• Ephesians 2:1-22

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Isaiah 37:21-39:8

Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria,  22 this is the word the Lord has spoken against him:

“The Virgin Daughter of Zion  despises and mocks you.  The Daughter of Jerusalem  tosses her head as you flee.  23 Who is it you have insulted and blasphemed?   Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride?   Against the Holy One of Israel!  24 By your messengers  you have heaped insults on the Lord.  And you have said,    ‘With my many chariotsI have ascended the heights of the mountains,  the utmost heights of Lebanon.  I have cut down its tallest cedars,  the choicest of its pines.  I have reached its remotest heights,  the finest of its forests.  25 I have dug wells in foreign lands and drunk the water there.  With the soles of my feet  I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.’

26 “Have you not heard?    Long ago I ordained it.  In days of old I planned it;  now I have brought it to pass, that you have turned fortified cities  into piles of stone.  27 Their people, drained of power,  are dismayed and put to shame.  They are like plants in the field,  like tender green shoots, like grass sprouting on the roof,  scorched before it grows up.

28 “But I know where you stay  and when you come and go and how you rage against me.  29 Because you rage against me and because your insolence has reached my ears,  I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will make you return  by the way you came.

30 “This will be the sign for you, O Hezekiah:

“This year you will eat what grows by itself, and the second year what springs from that.  But in the third year sow and reap,  plant vineyards and eat their fruit.  31 Once more a remnant of the house of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above.  32 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,  and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.  The zeal of the Lord Almighty  will accomplish this.

33 “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:

“He will not enter this city  or shoot an arrow here.  He will not come before it with shield  or build a siege ramp against it.  34 By the way that he came he will return;  he will not enter this city,” declares the Lord.  35 “I will defend this city and save it,  for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!”

36 Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!  37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.

38 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.

Isaiah 38

Hezekiah’s Illness

In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”

2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.

7 “‘This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: 8 I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.’” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down.

9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:

10 I said, “In the prime of my life  must I go through the gates of death  and be robbed of the rest of my years?”  11 I said, “I will not again see the Lord,  the Lord, in the land of the living; no longer will I look on mankind,  or be with those who now dwell in this world.  12 Like a shepherd’s tent my house  has been pulled down and taken from me.  Like a weaver I have rolled up my life, and he has cut me off from the loom;  day and night you made an end of me.  13 I waited patiently till dawn, but like a lion he broke all my bones;  day and night you made an end of me. 14 I cried like a swift or thrush, I moaned like a mourning dove.  My eyes grew weak as I looked to the heavens.  I am troubled; O Lord, come to my aid!”

15 But what can I say?    He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this.  I will walk humbly all my years because of this anguish of my soul.  16 Lord, by such things men live;  and my spirit finds life in them too.  You restored me to health  and let me live.  17 Surely it was for my benefit  that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me  from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins  behind your back.  18 For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise;  those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness.  19 The living, the living—they praise you,  as I am doing today; fathers tell their children  about your faithfulness.

20 The Lord will save me,  and we will sing with stringed instruments all the days of our lives  in the temple of the Lord.

21 Isaiah had said, “Prepare a poultice of figs and apply it to the boil, and he will recover.”

22 Hezekiah had asked, “What will be the sign that I will go up to the temple of the Lord?”

Isaiah 39

Envoys From Babylon

At that time Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of his illness and recovery. 2 Hezekiah received the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices, the fine oil, his entire armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”

“From a distant land,” Hezekiah replied. “They came to me from Babylon.”

4 The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”

“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord Almighty: 6 The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. 7 And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

8 “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.”

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Psalm 116:1-7

1 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.

2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.

3 The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.

4 Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, save me!”

5 The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.

6 The Lord protects the simple hearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.

7 Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.

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Proverbs 23:33-35

33 Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things.

34 You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging.

35 “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it!  When will I wake up so I can find another drink?”

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Ephesians 2:1-22

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

One in Christ

11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men)— 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.  22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

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October 2 Bible Reading

October 2 MWC Bible Reading

Steven Nicaud

REFERENCES:

• Isaiah 35:1 - 37:20

• Psalm 115:14-18

• Proverb 23:31-32

• Ephesians 1:1-23

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Isaiah 35:1-37:20

The desert and the parched land will be glad;  the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus,  2 it will burst into bloom;  it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,  the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord,  the splendor of our God.

3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 4 say to those with fearful hearts,  “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come,  he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution  he will come to save you.”

5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened  and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness  and streams in the desert. 7 The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay,  grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

8 And a highway will be there;  it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it;  it will be for those who walk in that Way;  wicked fools will not go about on it. 9 No lion will be there,  nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;  they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, 10 and the ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing;  everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them,  and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Isaiah 36

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 2 Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the commander stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman’s Field, 3 Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to him.

4 The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah,

“‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? 5 You say you have strategy and military strength—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me? 6 Look now, you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces a man’s hand and wounds him if he leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. 7 And if you say to me, “We are depending on the Lord our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar”?

8 “‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them! 9 How then can you repulse one officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10 Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this land without the Lord? The Lord himself told me to march against this country and destroy it.’”

11 Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.” 12 But the commander replied, “Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the men sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own filth and drink their own urine?” 13 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 

14 This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you! 15 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ 16 “Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 17 until I come and take you to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

18 “Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? 20 Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”

21 But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.” 22 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn, and told him what the field commander had said.  

Isaiah 37

Jerusalem’s Deliverance Foretold

When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. 2 He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3 They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.”

5 When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Listen! I am going to put a spirit in him so that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’” 8 When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.

9 Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the Cushite king of Egypt, was marching out to fight against him. When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 10 “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’ 11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? 12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my forefathers deliver them—the gods of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, or of Hena or Ivvah?”

Hezekiah’s Prayer

14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: 16 “O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17 Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.

18 “It is true, O Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. 19 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. 20 Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God.”

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Psalm 115:14-18

14 May the Lord make you increase, both you and your children.

15 May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

16 The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to man.

17 It is not the dead who praise the Lord, those who go down to silence;

18 it is we who extol the Lord, both now and forevermore.

Praise the Lord.

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Proverbs 23:31-32

31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly!

32 In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.

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Ephesians 1:1-23

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 

18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

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October 1 Bible Reading

October 1 MWC Bible Reading

Steven Nicaud

References:

• Isaiah 32:11 - 34:17

• Psalm 115:9-13

• Proverb 23:29-30

• Galatians 5:19 - 6:18

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Isaiah 32:11-34:17

Tremble, you complacent women;  shudder, you daughters who feel secure! Strip off your clothes,  put sackcloth around your waists. 12 Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields,  for the fruitful vines 13 and for the land of my people,  a land overgrown with thorns and briers—yes, mourn for all houses of merriment  and for this city of revelry. 14 The fortress will be abandoned,  the noisy city deserted; citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever,  the delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks, 15 till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,  and the desert becomes a fertile field,  and the fertile field seems like a forest. 16 Justice will dwell in the desert  and righteousness live in the fertile field. 17 The fruit of righteousness will be peace;  the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. 18 My people will live in peaceful dwelling places,  in secure homes,  in undisturbed places of rest. 19 Though hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely, 20 how blessed you will be,  sowing your seed by every stream,  and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.

Isaiah 33

Distress and Help

Woe to you, O destroyer,  you who have not been destroyed! Woe to you, O traitor,  you who have not been betrayed! When you stop destroying  you will be destroyed; when you stop betraying,  you will be betrayed.

2 O Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning,  our salvation in time of distress. 3 At the thunder of your voice, the peoples flee; when you rise up, the nations scatter. 4 Your plunder, O nations, is harvested as by young locusts;  like a warm of locusts men pounce on it.

5 The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;  he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness. 6 He will be the sure foundation for your times,  a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.

7 Look, their brave men cry aloud in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly.  8 The highways are deserted,  no travelers are on the roads. The treaty is broken,  its witnesses are despised,  no one is respected. 9 The land mourns and wastes away,  Lebanon is ashamed and withers; Sharon is like the Arabah,  and Bashan and Carmel drop their leaves.

10 “Now will I arise,” says the Lord.    “Now will I be exalted;  now will I be lifted up. 11 You conceive chaff,  you give birth to straw;  your breath is a fire that consumes you. 12 The peoples will be burned as if to lime;  like cut thorn bushes they will be set ablaze.”

13 You who are far away, hear what I have done;   you who are near, acknowledge my power! 14 The sinners in Zion are terrified;  trembling grips the godless: “Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?  Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?” 15 He who walks righteously  and speaks what is right, who rejects gain from extortion  and keeps his hand from accepting bribes, who stops his ears against plots of murder  and shuts his eyes against contemplating evil—16 this is the man who will dwell on the heights,  whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. His bread will be supplied,  and water will not fail him.

17 Your eyes will see the king in his beauty  and view a land that stretches afar. 18 In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror:   “Where is that chief officer?   Where is the one who took the revenue?   Where is the officer in charge of the towers?” 19 You will see those arrogant people no more,  those people of an obscure speech,  with their strange, incomprehensible tongue.

20 Look upon Zion, the city of our festivals;  your eyes will see Jerusalem,  a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved; its stakes will never be pulled up,  nor any of its ropes broken. 21 There the Lord will be our Mighty One.  It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams. No galley with oars will ride them, no mighty ship will sail them. 22 For the Lord is our judge,  the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king;  it is he who will save us.

23 Your rigging hangs loose:  The mast is not held secure, the sail is not spread.  Then an abundance of spoils will be divided  and even the lame will carry off plunder.  24 No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”; and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.

 Isaiah 34

Judgment Against the Nations

Come near, you nations, and listen;  pay attention, you peoples!  Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,  the world, and all that comes out of it!   2 The Lord is angry with all nations; his wrath is upon all their armies.   He will totally destroy them,  he will give them over to slaughter.  3 Their slain will be thrown out,  their dead bodies will send up a stench;  the mountains will be soaked with their blood.  4 All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall  like withered leaves from the vine,  like shriveled figs from the fig tree.

5 My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens;  see, it descends in judgment on Edom,  the people I have totally destroyed.  6 The sword of the Lord is bathed in blood,  it is covered with fat—the blood of lambs and goats,  fat from the kidneys of rams.  For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah  and a great slaughter in Edom.  7 And the wild oxen will fall with them,  the bull calves and the great bulls.  Their land will be drenched with blood,  and the dust will be soaked with fat.

8 For the Lord has a day of vengeance,  a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause.  9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,  her dust into burning sulfur;  her land will become blazing pitch!  10 It will not be quenched night and day;  its smoke will rise forever.From generation to generation it will lie desolate;  no one will ever pass through it again.  11 The desert owl and screech owl will possess it;  the great owl and the raven will nest there.  God will stretch out over Edom  the measuring line of chaos  and the plumb line of desolation.  12 Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,  all her princes will vanish away.  13 Thorns will overrun her citadels,  nettles and brambles her strongholds.  She will become a haunt for jackals,  a home for owls.  14 Desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and wild goats will bleat to each other; there the night creatures will also repose  and find for themselves places of rest.  15 The owl will nest there and lay eggs,  she will hatch them, and care for her young under the shadow of her wings; there also the falcons will gather,  each with its mate.

16 Look in the scroll of the Lord and read: None of these will be missing,  not one will lack her mate.  For it is his mouth that has given the order,  and his Spirit will gather them together.  17 He allots their portions;  his hand distributes them by measure.  They will possess it forever  and dwell there from generation to generation.

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Psalm 115:9-13

9 O house of Israel, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield.

10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord—  he is their help and shield.

11 You who fear him, trust in the Lord—  he is their help and shield.

12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us: He will bless the house of Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron,

13 he will bless those who fear the Lord—  small and great alike.

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Proverbs 23:29-30

29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?

30 Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.

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Galatians 5:19-6:18

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Galatians 6

Doing Good to All

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5 for each one should carry his own load.

6 Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.

7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Not Circumcision but a New Creation

11 See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!

12 Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. 14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. 16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.

17 Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

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