Monday, October 4, 2021

Bible Readings for October 4, 2021

Let's read the Bible together in the next year. Today our passages are Jeremiah 2:31–4:18; Colossians 1:1-20; Psalm 76:1-12; and Proverbs 24:21-22. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.  


Jeremiah 2:31-4:18 (Contemporary English Version)


31Now listen to what I say!
   Did I abandon you in the desert
   or surround you with darkness?
   You are my people,
   yet you have told me,
   "We'll do what we want,
   and we refuse
   to worship you!"
    32A bride could not forget
   to wear her jewelry
   to her wedding,
   but you have forgotten me
   day after day.
    33You are so clever
   at finding lovers
   that you could give lessons
   to a prostitute.
    34You killed innocent people
   for no reason at all.
   And even though their blood
   can be seen on your clothes,
    35you claim to be innocent,
   and you want me to stop
   being angry with you.
   So I'll take you to court,
   and we'll see who is right.
    36When Assyria let you down,
   you ran to Egypt,
   but you'll find no help there,
    37and you will leave
   in great sadness. a] I won't let you find help
   from those you trust.
   

Jeremiah 3

Sin and Shame

 1The LORD said to the people of Israel:   If a divorced woman marries,
   can her first husband
   ever marry her again?
   No, because this
   would pollute the land.
   But you have more gods
   than a prostitute has lovers.
   Why should I take you back?
    2Just try to find one hilltop
   where you haven't gone
   to worship other gods
   by having sex. b] You sat beside the road
   like a robber in ambush,
   except you offered yourself
   to every passerby.
   Your sins of unfaithfulness
   have polluted the land.
    3So I, the LORD, refused
   to let the spring rains fall.
   But just like a prostitute,
   you still have no shame
   for what you have done.
    4You call me your father
   or your long-lost friend;
    5you beg me to stop being angry,
   but you won't stop sinning.   

The LORD Asks Israel To Come Back to Him

 6When Josiah c] was king, the LORD said: Jeremiah, the kingdom of Israel d] was like an unfaithful wife who became a prostitute on the hilltops and in the shade of large trees. e] 7-8I knew that the kingdom of Israel had been unfaithful and committed many sins, yet I still hoped she might come back to me. But she didn't, so I divorced her and sent her away. Her sister, the kingdom of Judah, saw what happened, but she wasn't worried in the least, and I watched her become unfaithful like her sister. 9The kingdom of Judah wasn't sorry for being a prostitute, and she didn't care that she had made both herself and the land unclean by worshiping idols of stone and wood. 10And worst of all, the people of Judah pretended to come back to me. 11Even the people of Israel were honest enough not to pretend.    12Jeremiah, shout toward the north:
   Israel, I am your LORD--
   come back to me!
   You were unfaithful
   and made me furious,
   but I am merciful,
   and so I will forgive you.
    13Just admit that you rebelled
   and worshiped foreign gods
   under large trees everywhere.
    14You are unfaithful children,
   but you belong to me.
   Come home!
   I'll take one or two of you
   from each town and clan
   and bring you to Zion.
    15Then I'll appoint wise rulers
   who will obey me,
   and they will care for you
   like shepherds.
    16You will increase in numbers,
   and there will be no need
   to remember the sacred chest
   or to make a new one. f] 17The whole city of Jerusalem
   will be my throne. g] All nations will come here
   to worship me,
   and they will no longer follow
   their stubborn, evil hearts.
    18Then, in countries to the north,
   you people of Judah and Israel
   will be reunited,
   and you will return to the land
   I gave your ancestors.
    19I have always wanted
   to treat you as my children
   and give you the best land,
   the most beautiful on earth.
   I wanted you to call me "Father"
   and not turn from me.
    20But instead, you are like a wife
   who broke her wedding vows.
   You have been unfaithful to me.
   I, the LORD, have spoken.   

The People Confess Their Sins
The LORD said:

 21Listen to the noise   on the hilltops!
   It's the people of Israel,
   weeping and begging me
   to answer their prayers.
   They forgot about me
   and chose the wrong path.
    22I will tell them, "Come back,
   and I will cure you
   of your unfaithfulness."
   They will answer,
   "We will come back, because you
   are the LORD our God.
    23On hilltops, we worshiped idols
   and made loud noises,
   but it was all for nothing--
   only you can save us.
    24Since the days of our ancestors
   when our nation was young,
   that shameful god Baal h] has taken our crops and livestock,
   our sons and daughters.
    25We have rebelled against you
   just like our ancestors,
   and we are ashamed of our sins."
   

Jeremiah 4

How Israel Can Return to the LORD

 1The LORD said:   Israel, if you really want
   to come back to me,
   get rid
   of those disgusting idols.
    2Make promises only in my name,
   and do what you promise!
   Then all nations will praise me,
   and I will bless them.
    3People of Jerusalem and Judah,
   don't be so stubborn!
   Your hearts have become hard,
   like unplowed ground
   where thornbushes grow.
    4With all your hearts,
   keep the agreement
   I made with you.
   But if you are stubborn
   and keep on sinning,
   my anger will burn like a fire
   that cannot be put out.   

Disaster Is Coming
The LORD said:

 5"Sound the trumpets, my people.   Warn the people of Judah, i] `Run for your lives!
    6Head for Jerusalem
   or another walled town!'
   "Jeremiah, tell them I'm sending
   disaster from the north.
    7An army will come out,
   like a lion from its den.
   It will destroy nations
   and leave your towns empty
   and in ruins."
    8Then I said
   to the people of Israel,
   "Put on sackcloth! j] Mourn and cry out,
   `The LORD is still angry
   with us.' "
    9The LORD said,
   "When all this happens,
   the king and his officials,
   the prophets and the priests
   will be shocked and terrified."
    10I said, "You are the LORD God. So why have you fooled everyone, especially the people of Jerusalem? Why did you promise peace, when a knife is at our throats?"  

The Coming Disaster

 11-12When disaster comes, the LORD will tell you people of Jerusalem,   "I am sending a windstorm
   from the desert--
   not a welcome breeze. k] And it will sweep you away
   as punishment for your sins.
    13Look! The enemy army
   swoops down like an eagle;
   their cavalry and chariots
   race faster
   than storm clouds
   blown by the wind."
   Then you will answer,
   "We are doomed!"
    14But Jerusalem, there is still time
   for you to be saved.
   Wash the evil from your hearts
   and stop making sinful plans,
    15before a message of disaster
   arrives
   from the hills of Ephraim
   and the town of Dan. l] 16-17The LORD said,
   "Tell the nations that my people
   have rebelled against me.
   And so an army will come
   from far away
   to surround Jerusalem
   and the towns of Judah.
   I, the LORD, have spoken.
    18"People of Judah,
   your hearts will be in pain,
   but it's your own fault
   that you will be punished." 
Footnotes:
  1. Jeremiah 2:37 in great sadness: Or "as prisoners."
  2. Jeremiah 3:2 hilltop. . . sex: See the note at 2.20.
  3. Jeremiah 3:6 Josiah: Ruled 640-609 B.C.
  4. Jeremiah 3:6 Israel: The northern kingdom (see the note at 2.4).
  5. Jeremiah 3:6 prostitute. . . trees: See the note at 2.20.
  6. Jeremiah 3:16 make a new one: The sacred chest was probably destroyed or taken away by the Babylonians when they captured Jerusalem in 586 B.C.
  7. Jeremiah 3:17 sacred chest. . . throne: The sacred chest was thought to be God's throne on earth.
  8. Jeremiah 3:24 that shameful god Baal: The Hebrew text has "The Shame," which was sometimes used as a way of making fun of the Canaanite god Baal.
  9. Jeremiah 4:5 Judah: Hebrew "Judah and Jerusalem."
  10. Jeremiah 4:8 sackcloth: A rough, dark-colored cloth made from goat or camel hair and used to make grain sacks. It was worn in times of trouble or sorrow.
  11. Jeremiah 4:11 a welcome breeze: Hebrew "a wind to blow away the husks." Farmers used a special shovel to pitch grain and husks into the air. Wind would blow away the light husks, and the grain would fall back to the ground, where it could be gathered up.
  12. Jeremiah 4:15 Ephraim. . . Dan: The hills of Ephraim were to the north of Jerusalem, and Dan was even farther north. They would be reached by the invading army first.



Colossians 1:1-20 (Contemporary English Version)


Colossians 1


 1From Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, who is also a follower.   2To God's people who live in Colossae and are faithful followers of Christ.
   I pray that God our Father will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!   

A Prayer of Thanks

 3Each time we pray for you, we thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.   4We have heard of your faith in Christ and of your love for all of God's people,
   5because what you hope for is kept safe for you in heaven. You first heard about this hope when you believed the true message, which is the good news.
   6The good news is spreading all over the world with great success. It has spread in that same way among you, ever since the first day you learned the truth about God's wonderful kindness
   7from our good friend Epaphras. He works together with us for Christ and is a faithful worker for you. a]
   8He is also the one who told us about the love that God's Spirit has given you.   

The Person and Work of Christ

 9We have not stopped praying for you since the first day we heard about you. In fact, we always pray that God will show you everything he wants you to do and that you may have all the wisdom and understanding that his Spirit gives.   10Then you will live a life that honors the Lord, and you will always please him by doing good deeds. You will come to know God even better.
   11His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything, and you will be truly happy.
   12I pray that you will be grateful to God for letting you b] have part in what he has promised his people in the kingdom of light.
   13God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son,
   14who forgives our sins and sets us free.
   15Christ is exactly like God,
   who cannot be seen.
   He is the first-born Son,
   superior to all creation.
   16Everything was created by him,
   everything in heaven
   and on earth,
   everything seen and unseen,
   including all forces
   and powers,
   and all rulers
   and authorities.
   All things were created
   by God's Son,
   and everything was made
   for him.
   17God's Son was before all else,
   and by him everything
   is held together.
   18He is the head of his body,
   which is the church.
   He is the very beginning,
   the first to be raised
   from death,
   so that he would be
   above all others.
   19God himself was pleased
   to live fully in his Son.
   20And God was pleased
   for him to make peace
   by sacrificing his blood
   on the cross,
   so that all beings in heaven
   and on earth
   would be brought back to God. 
Footnotes:
  1. Colossians 1:7 you: Some manuscripts have " us."
  2. Colossians 1:12 you: Some manuscripts have " us."


Psalm 76:1-12 (Contemporary English Version)


Psalm 76

(A song and a psalm for the music leader. Use stringed instruments.)
God Always Wins

 1You, our God,   are famous in Judah
   and honored in Israel.
    2Your home is on Mount Zion
   in the city of peace.
    3There you destroyed
   fiery arrows, shields, swords,
   and all the other weapons.
    4You are more glorious than
   the eternal mountains. a] 5Brave warriors were robbed
   of what they had taken,
   and now they lie dead,
   unable to lift an arm.
    6God of Jacob, when you roar,
   enemy chariots and horses
   drop dead in their tracks.
    7Our God, you are fearsome,
   and no one can oppose you
   when you are angry.
    8From heaven you announced
   your decisions as judge!
   And all who live on this earth
   were terrified and silent
    9when you took over as judge,
   ready to rescue
   everyone in need.
    10Even the most angry people
   will praise you
   when you are furious. b] 11Everyone, make your promises
   to the LORD your God
   and do what you promise.
   The LORD is fearsome,
   and all of his servants
   should bring him gifts.
    12God destroys the courage
   of rulers and kings
   and makes cowards of them. 
Footnotes:
  1. Psalm 76:4 the eternal mountains: One ancient translation; Hebrew " the mountains of victims (of wild animals)."
  2. Psalm 76:10 furious: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 10.



Proverbs 24:21-22 (Contemporary English Version)

-30-

 21 My children, you must respect   the LORD and the king,
   and you must not make friends
   with anyone
   who rebels
   against either of them.
    22Who knows what sudden disaster
   the LORD or a ruler
   might bring?







Thought for the Day
 

“Don't brag about tomorrow! Each day brings its own surprises.” (Proverbs 27:1 - Contemporary English Version) Boasting and bragging have become acceptable in our society. But the humble are better able to meet our daily challenges, because they do something braggarts don't. They listen.







Quote for the Day

American philosopher, Richard Rorty wrote, “There is nothing deep down inside us except what we have put there ourselves.”


Joke for Today

When single ladies near the age of 50, they tend to get lots of cats...

This phenomenon is known as many-paws.






















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 children be protected from those who are not seeking their best interest.

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