Saturday, October 30, 2021

Bible Readings for October 30, 2021

Let's read the Bible together in the next year. Today our passages are Lamentations 2:20–3:66; Hebrews 1:1-14; Psalm 102:1-28; and Proverbs 26:21-22. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.  


Lamentations 2:20-3:66 (Contemporary English Version)

Jerusalem Speaks:
 20Think about it, LORD!   Have you ever been this cruel
   to anyone before?
   Is it right for mothers
   to eat their children,
   or for priests and prophets
   to be killed in your temple?
    21My people, both young and old,
   lie dead in the streets.
   Because you were angry,
   my young men and women
   were brutally slaughtered.
    22When you were angry, LORD,
   you invited my enemies
   like guests for a party.
   No one survived that day;
   enemies killed my children,
   my own little ones.
   

Lamentations 3

There Is Still Hope
The Prophet Speaks:
 1I have suffered much   because God was angry.
    2He chased me into a dark place,
   where no light could enter.
    3I am the only one he punishes
   over and over again,
   without ever stopping.
    4God caused my skin and flesh
   to waste away,
   and he crushed my bones.
    5He attacked and surrounded me
   with hardships and trouble;
    6he forced me to sit in the dark
   like someone long dead.
    7God built a fence around me
   that I cannot climb over,
   and he chained me down.
    8Even when I shouted
   and prayed for help,
   he refused to listen.
    9God put big rocks in my way
   and made me follow
   a crooked path.
    10God was like a bear or a lion
   waiting in ambush for me;
    11he dragged me from the road,
   then tore me to shreds. a] 12God took careful aim
   and shot his arrows
    13straight through my heart.
    14I am a joke to everyone--
   no one ever stops
   making fun of me.
    15God has turned my life sour.
    16He made me eat gravel
   and rubbed me in the dirt.
    17I cannot find peace
   or remember happiness.
    18I tell myself, "I am finished!
   I can't count on the LORD
   to do anything for me."
    19Just thinking of my troubles
   and my lonely wandering
   makes me miserable.
    20That's all I ever think about,
   and I am depressed. b] 21Then I remember something
   that fills me with hope.
    22The LORD's kindness never fails!
   If he had not been merciful,
   we would have been destroyed. c] 23The LORD can always be trusted
   to show mercy each morning.
    24Deep in my heart I say,
   "The LORD is all I need;
   I can depend on him!"
    25The LORD is kind to everyone
   who trusts and obeys him.
    26It is good to wait patiently
   for the LORD to save us.
    27When we are young,
   it is good to struggle hard
    28and to sit silently alone,
   if this is what
   the LORD intends.
    29Being rubbed in the dirt
   can teach us a lesson; d] 30we can also learn from insults
   and hard knocks.
    31The Lord won't always reject us!
    32He causes a lot of suffering,
   but he also has pity
   because of his great love.
    33The Lord doesn't enjoy
   sending grief or pain.
    34Don't trample prisoners
   under your feet
    35or cheat anyone out of
   what is rightfully theirs.
   God Most High sees everything,
    36and he knows
   when you refuse
   to give someone a fair trial.
    37No one can do anything
   without the Lord's approval.
    38Good and bad each happen
   at the command
   of God Most High.
    39We're still alive!
   We shouldn't complain
   when we are being punished
   for our sins.
    40Instead, we should think
   about the way we are living,
   and turn back to the LORD.
    41When we lift our hands
   in prayer to God in heaven,
   we should offer him our hearts
   and say, 42"We've sinned!
   We've rebelled against you,
   and you haven't forgiven us!
    43Anger is written all over you,
   as you pursue and slaughter us
   without showing pity.
    44You are behind a wall of clouds
   that blocks out our prayers.
    45You allowed nations
   to treat us like garbage;
    46our enemies curse us.
    47We are terrified and trapped,
   caught and crushed."
    48My people are destroyed!
   Tears flood my eyes,
    49and they won't stop
    50until the LORD looks down
   from heaven and helps.
    51I am horrified when I see
   what enemies have done
   to the young women of our city.
    52No one had reason to hate me,
   but I was hunted down
   like a bird.
    53Then they tried to kill me
   by tossing me into a pit
   and throwing stones at me.
    54Water covered my head--
   I thought I was gone.
    55From the bottom of the pit,
   I prayed to you, LORD.
    56I begged you to listen.
   "Help!" I shouted. "Save me!"
   You answered my prayer
    57and came when I was in need.
   You told me, "Don't worry!"
    58You rescued me
   and saved my life.
    59You saw them abuse me, LORD,
   so make things right.
    60You know every plot
   they have made against me.
    61Yes, you know their insults
   and their evil plans.
    62All day long they attack
   with words and whispers.
    63No matter what they are doing,
   they keep on mocking me.
    64Pay them back for everything
   they have done, LORD!
    65Put your curse on them
   and make them suffer. e] 66Get angry and go after them
   until not a trace is left
   under the heavens.
  
Footnotes:
  1. Lamentations 3:11 shreds: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 11.
  2. Lamentations 3:20 I am depressed: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  3. Lamentations 3:22 destroyed: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 22.
  4. Lamentations 3:29 lesson: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 29.
  5. Lamentations 3:65 make them suffer: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.



Hebrews 1:1-14 (Contemporary English Version)

Hebrews 1


 1Long ago in many ways and at many times God's prophets spoke his message to our ancestors. 2But now at last, God sent his Son to bring his message to us. God created the universe by his Son, and everything will someday belong to the Son. 3God's Son has all the brightness of God's own glory and is like him in every way. By his own mighty word, he holds the universe together.   After the Son had washed away our sins, he sat down at the right side a] of the glorious God in heaven. 4He had become much greater than the angels, and the name he was given is far greater than any of theirs.
God's Son Is Greater than Angels
 5God has never said   to any of the angels,
   "You are my Son, because today
   I have become your Father!"
   Neither has God said
   to any of them,
   "I will be his Father,
   and he will be my Son!"
    6When God brings his first-born Son b] into the world, he commands all of his angels to worship him. 7And when God speaks about the angels, he says,
   "I change my angels into wind
   and my servants
   into flaming fire."
    8But God says about his Son,
   "You are God,
   and you will rule
   as King forever!
   Your c] royal power brings about justice.
    9You loved justice
   and hated evil,
   and so I, your God,
   have chosen you.
   I appointed you
   and made you happier
   than any of your friends."
    10The Scriptures also say,
   "In the beginning, Lord,
   you were the one
   who laid the foundation
   of the earth
   and created the heavens.
    11They will all disappear
   and wear out like clothes,
   but you will last forever.
    12You will roll them up
   like a robe
   and change them
   like a garment.
   But you are always the same,
   and you will live forever."
    13God never said to any
   of the angels,
   "Sit at my right side
   until I make your enemies
   into a footstool for you!"
    14Angels are merely spirits sent to serve people who are going to be saved. 

Footnotes:
  1. Hebrews 1:3 right side: The place of honor and power.
  2. Hebrews 1:6 first-born Son: The first son born into a family had certain privileges that the other children did not have. In 12.23 "first-born" refers to God's special people.
  3. Hebrews 1:8 Your: Some manuscripts have "His."

Psalm 102:1-28 (Contemporary English Version)


Psalm 102

(A prayer for someone who hurts and needs to ask the LORD for help.)
A Prayer in Time of Trouble

 1I pray to you, LORD!   Please listen.
    2Don't hide from me
   in my time of trouble.
   Pay attention to my prayer
   and quickly give an answer.
    3My days disappear like smoke,
   and my bones are burning
   as though in a furnace.
    4I am wasting away like grass,
   and my appetite is gone.
    5My groaning never stops,
   and my bones can be seen
   through my skin.
    6I am like a lonely owl
   in the desert
    7or a restless sparrow
   alone on a roof.
    8My enemies insult me all day,
   and they use my name
   for a curse word.
    9Instead of food,
   I have ashes to eat
   and tears to drink,
    10because you are furious
   and have thrown me aside.
    11My life fades like a shadow
   at the end of day
   and withers like grass.
    12Our LORD, you are King forever
   and will always be famous.
    13You will show pity to Zion
   because the time has come.
    14We, your servants,
   love each stone in the city,
   and we are sad to see them
   lying in the dirt.
    15Our LORD, the nations
   will honor you,
   and all kings on earth
   will praise your glory.
    16You will rebuild
   the city of Zion.
   Your glory will be seen,
    17and the prayers of the homeless
   will be answered.
    18Future generations must also
   praise the LORD,
   so write this for them:
    19"From his holy temple,
   the LORD looked down
   at the earth.
    20He listened to the groans
   of prisoners,
   and he rescued everyone
   who was doomed to die."
    21All Jerusalem should praise
   you, our LORD,
    22when people from every nation
   meet to worship you.
    23I should still be strong,
   but you, LORD, have made
   an old person of me.
    24You will live forever!
   Years mean nothing to you.
   Don't cut my life in half!
    25In the beginning, LORD,
   you laid the earth's foundation
   and created the heavens.
    26They will all disappear
   and wear out like clothes.
   You change them,
   as you would a coat,
   but you last forever.
    27You are always the same.
   Years cannot change you.
    28Every generation of those
   who serve you
   will live in your presence.



Proverbs 26:21-22 (Contemporary English Version)


21Troublemakers start trouble,
   just as sparks and fuel
   start a fire.
    22There is nothing so delicious
   as the taste of gossip!
   It melts in your mouth.






Thought for the Day
 

“You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God's gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. It isn't something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 - Contemporary English Version) Salvation is a gift. It's not a wage we earn or a prize we deserve. Instead, it's a free and unconditional gift.


Quote for the Day


Impressionist landscape painter, Alfred Sisley wrote, “Every picture shows a spot with which the artist has fallen in love.”


Joke for Today

5 Signs You’re Too Old For Trick Or Treating….
 
1. People say, “great mask” and you’re not wearing one.
2. When the door opens and you yell, “Trick or……….” and you can’t remember the rest.
3. By the end of the night, you have a bag full of restraining orders.
4. When you have to ask for soft candy only because of your dentures.
5. When they ask if you want a trick or treat and you say wine.






















A Prayer Request

As Christians, we can offer specific daily prayers for our community, nation and world. Below is the need that we're laying before God today.

That we look past the immediate benefit so that they might see the long-term consequences of their actions.

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