Monday, July 31, 2023

Bible Readings for July 31, 2023

Let's read the Bible together in the next year. Today our passages are  2 Chronicles 29:1-36; Romans 14:1-23; Psalm 24:1-10; and Proverbs 20:12. The readings are the Contemporary English Version. 

2 Chronicles 29:1-36 (Contemporary English Version)


2 Chronicles 29

King Hezekiah of Judah
(2 Kings 18.1-3)

 1Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled twenty-nine years from Jerusalem. His mother was Abijah daughter of Zechariah.    2Hezekiah obeyed the LORD by doing right, just as his ancestor David had done.     

The Temple Is Purified

 3In the first month [a] of the first year of Hezekiah's rule, he unlocked the doors to the LORD's temple and had them repaired. [b]    4Then he called the priests and Levites to the east courtyard of the temple
   5and said: It's time to purify the temple of the LORD God of our ancestors. You Levites must first go through the ceremony to make yourselves clean, then go into the temple and bring out everything that is unclean and unacceptable to the LORD.
   6Some of our ancestors were unfaithful and disobeyed the LORD our God. Not only did they turn their backs on the LORD, but they also completely ignored his temple.
   7They locked the doors, then let the lamps go out and stopped burning incense and offering sacrifices to him.
   8The LORD became terribly angry at the people of Judah and Jerusalem, and everyone was shocked and horrified at what he did to punish them. Not only were
   9our ancestors killed in battle, but our own children and wives were taken captive.
   10So I have decided to renew our agreement with the LORD God of Israel. Maybe then he will stop being so angry at us.
   11Let's not waste any time, my friends. You are the ones who were chosen to be the LORD's priests and to offer him sacrifices.
   12-14When Hezekiah finished talking, the following Levite leaders went to work:
   Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah from the Kohath clan; Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel from the Merari clan; Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah from the Gershon clan; Shimri and Jeuel from the Elizaphan clan; Zechariah and Mattaniah from the Asaph clan; Jehuel and Shimei from the Heman clan; Shemaiah and Uzziel from the Jeduthun clan.
   15These leaders gathered together the rest of the Levites, and they all went through the ceremony to make themselves clean. Then they began to purify the temple according to the Law of the LORD, just as Hezekiah had commanded.
   16The priests went into the temple and carried out everything that was unclean. They put these things in the courtyard, and from there, the Levites carried them outside the city to Kidron Valley.
   17The priests and Levites began their work on the first day of the first month. [c] It took them one week to purify the courtyards of the temple and another week to purify the temple. So on the sixteenth day of that same month
   18they went back to Hezekiah and said: Your Majesty, we have finished our work. The entire temple is now pure again, and so is the altar and its utensils, as well as the table for the sacred loaves of bread and its utensils.
   19And we have brought back all the things that King Ahaz took from the temple during the time he was unfaithful to God. We purified them and put them back in front of the altar.     

Worship in the Temple

 20Right away, Hezekiah called together the officials of Jerusalem, and they went to the temple.    21They brought with them seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven goats [d] as sacrifices to take away the sins of Hezekiah's family and of the people of Judah, as well as to purify the temple. Hezekiah told the priests, who were descendants of Aaron, to sacrifice these animals on the altar.
   22The priests killed the bulls, the rams, and the lambs, then splattered the blood on the altar.
   23They took the goats to Hezekiah and the worshipers, and they laid their hands on the animals.
   24The priests then killed the goats and splattered the blood on the altar as a sacrifice to take away the sins of everyone in Israel, because Hezekiah had commanded that these sacrifices be made for all the people of Israel.
   25Next, Hezekiah assigned the Levites to their places in the temple. He gave them cymbals, harps, and other stringed instruments, according to the instructions that the LORD had given King David and the two prophets, Gad and Nathan.
   26The Levites were ready to play the instruments that had belonged to David; the priests were ready to blow the trumpets.
   27As soon as Hezekiah gave the signal for the sacrifices to be burned on the altar, the musicians began singing praises to the LORD and playing their instruments,
   28and everyone worshiped the LORD. This continued until the last animal was sacrificed.
   29After that, Hezekiah and the crowd of worshipers knelt down and worshiped the LORD.
   30Then Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to sing the songs of praise that David and Asaph the prophet had written. And so they bowed down and joyfully sang praises to the LORD.
   31Hezekiah said to the crowd, "Now that you are once again acceptable to the LORD, bring sacrifices and offerings to give him thanks."
   The people did this, and some of them voluntarily brought animals to be offered as sacrifices.
   32Seventy bulls, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs were brought as sacrifices to please the LORD; [e]
   33six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep were brought as sacrifices to ask the LORD's blessing. [f]
   34There were not enough priests to skin all these animals, because many of the priests had not taken the time to go through the ceremony to make themselves clean. However, since all the Levites had made themselves clean, they helped the priests until the last animal was skinned.
   35Besides all the sacrifices that were burned on the altar, the fat from the other animal sacrifices was burned, and the offerings of wine were poured over the altar. So the temple was once again used for worshiping the LORD.
   36Hezekiah and the people of Judah celebrated, because God had helped them make this happen so quickly.
   
Footnotes:
  1. 2 Chronicles 29:3 first month: Abib (also called Nisan), the first month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-March to mid-April.
  2. 2 Chronicles 29:3 he unlocked the doors. . . repaired: King Ahaz had locked the doors and stopped everyone from worshiping the LORD (see 28.24,25).
  3. 2 Chronicles 29:17 first month: See the note at 29.3.
  4. 2 Chronicles 29:21 goats: Hebrew "male goats."
  5. 2 Chronicles 29:32 sacrifices to please the LORD: See the note at 1.6.
  6. 2 Chronicles 29:33 sacrifices to ask the LORD's blessing: These sacrifices have traditionally been called "peace offerings" or "offerings of well-being." A main purpose was to ask for the LORD's blessing, and so in the CEV they are sometimes called "sacrifices to ask the LORD's blessing."

Romans 14:1-23 (Contemporary English Version)


Romans 14

Don't Criticize Others

 1Welcome all the Lord's followers, even those whose faith is weak. Don't criticize them for having beliefs that are different from yours. 2Some think it is all right to eat anything, while those whose faith is weak will eat only vegetables. 3But you should not criticize others for eating or for not eating. After all, God welcomes everyone. 4What right do you have to criticize someone else's servants? Only their Lord can decide if they are doing right, and the Lord will make sure that they do right.     5Some of the Lord's followers think one day is more important than another. Others think all days are the same. But each of you should make up your own mind. 6Any followers who count one day more important than another day do it to honor their Lord. And any followers who eat meat give thanks to God, just like the ones who don't eat meat.
    7Whether we live or die, it must be for God, rather than for ourselves. 8Whether we live or die, it must be for the Lord. Alive or dead, we still belong to the Lord. 9This is because Christ died and rose to life, so that he would be the Lord of the dead and of the living. 10Why do you criticize other followers of the Lord? Why do you look down on them? The day is coming when God will judge all of us. 11In the Scriptures God says,
   "I swear by my very life
   that everyone will kneel down
   and praise my name!"
    12And so, each of us must give an account to God for what we do.     

Don't Cause Problems for Others

 13We must stop judging others. We must also make up our minds not to upset anyone's faith. 14The Lord Jesus has made it clear to me that God considers all foods fit to eat. But if you think some foods are unfit to eat, then for you they are not fit.     15If you are hurting others by the foods you eat, you are not guided by love. Don't let your appetite destroy someone Christ died for. 16Don't let your right to eat bring shame to Christ. 17God's kingdom isn't about eating and drinking. It is about pleasing God, about living in peace, and about true happiness. All this comes from the Holy Spirit. 18If you serve Christ in this way, you will please God and be respected by people. 19We should try [a] to live at peace and help each other have a strong faith. 20Don't let your appetite destroy what God has done. All foods are fit to eat, but it is wrong to cause problems for others by what you eat. 21It is best not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else that causes problems for other followers of the Lord. 22What you believe about these things should be kept between you and God. You are fortunate, if your actions don't make you have doubts. 23But if you do have doubts about what you eat, you are going against your beliefs. And you know that is wrong, because anything you do against your beliefs is sin.
    
Footnotes:
  1. Romans 14:19 We should try: Some manuscripts have " We try."

Psalm 24:1-10 (Contemporary English Version)


Psalm 24

(A psalm by David.)
Who Can Enter the LORD's Temple?

 1The earth and everything on it    belong to the LORD.
   The world and its people
   belong to him.
    2The LORD placed it all
   on the oceans and rivers.
    3Who may climb the LORD's hill [a] or stand in his holy temple?
    4Only those who do right
   for the right reasons,
   and don't worship idols
   or tell lies under oath.
    5The LORD God, who saves them,
   will bless and reward them,
    6because they worship and serve
   the God of Jacob. [b] 7Open the ancient gates,
   so that the glorious king
   may come in.
    8Who is this glorious king?
   He is our LORD, a strong
   and mighty warrior.
    9Open the ancient gates,
   so that the glorious king
   may come in.
    10Who is this glorious king?
   He is our LORD,
   the All-Powerful!
    
Footnotes:
  1. Psalm 24:3 the LORD's hill: The hill in Jerusalem where the temple was built.
  2. Psalm 24:6 worship. . . Jacob: Two ancient translations; Hebrew " worship God and serve the descendants of Jacob."

Proverbs 20:12 (Contemporary English Version)



12Hearing and seeing
   are gifts from the LORD.

Thought for the Day
 
“Yet some people accepted him and put their faith in him. So he gave them the right to be the children of God. They were not God's children by nature or because of any human desires. God himself was the one who made them his children.” (John 1:12-13 - Contemporary English Version) Fundamentally, our relationship with God is not grounded in who we are or what we do. Nor is it grounded in the words we say or the promises we make. We are God's children because of God, not us.

Quote for the Day

American civil rights leader, Whitney M. Young, Jr. wrote, "The hardest work in the world is being out of work."
A Joke for Today

While sports fishing off the Florida coast, a tourist capsized his boat. He could swim, but his fear of alligators kept him clinging to the overturned craft.

Spotting an old beachcomber standing on the shore, the tourist shouted, "are there any gators around here?!"

"Naw," the man hollered back, "Ain't been any for years!"

Feeling safe, the tourist started swimming toward the shore. About halfway there he asked the guy, "How'd you get rid of the gators?"

"We didn't do nothin'," the beachcomber said. "The sharks got 'em."
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 those in business, government and media would resist exploiting human fear or greed to shape public opinion.

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Sunday, July 30, 2023

Bible Readings for July 30, 2023

Let's read the Bible together in the next year. Today our passages are  2 Chronicles 26:1–28:27; Romans 13:1-14; Psalm 23:1-6; and Proverbs 20:11. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.   

2 Chronicles 26-28:27 (Contemporary English Version)


2 Chronicles 26

King Uzziah of Judah
(2 Kings 14.21,22; 15.1-7)

 1-3After the death of King Amaziah, the people of Judah crowned his son Uzziah [a] king, even though he was only sixteen at the time. Uzziah ruled fifty-two years from Jerusalem, the hometown of his mother Jecoliah. During his rule, he recaptured and rebuilt the town of Elath.    4He obeyed the LORD by doing right, as his father Amaziah had done.
   5Zechariah was Uzziah's advisor and taught him to obey God. And so, as long as Zechariah was alive, Uzziah was faithful to God, and God made him successful.
   6While Uzziah was king, he started a war against the Philistines. He smashed the walls of the cities of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod, then rebuilt towns around Ashdod and in other parts of Philistia.
   7God helped him defeat the Philistines, the Arabs living in Gur-Baal, and the Meunites.
   8Even the Ammonites paid taxes to Uzziah. He became very powerful, and people who lived as far away as Egypt heard about him.
   9In Jerusalem, Uzziah built fortified towers at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and the place where the city wall turned inward. [b]
   10He also built defense towers out in the desert. He owned such a large herd of livestock in the western foothills and in the flatlands, that he had cisterns dug there to catch the rainwater. He loved farming, so he had crops and vineyards planted in the hill country wherever there was fertile soil, and he hired farmers to take care of them.
   11Uzziah's army was always ready for battle. Jeiel and Maaseiah were the officers who kept track of the number of soldiers, and these two men were under the command of Hananiah, one of Uzziah's officials.
   12-13There were 307,500 trained soldiers, all under the command of 2,600 clan leaders. These powerful troops protected the king against any enemy.
   14Uzziah supplied his army with shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows, and stones used for slinging.
   15Some of his skilled workers invented machines that could shoot arrows and sling large stones. Uzziah set these up in Jerusalem at his defense towers and at the corners of the city wall.
   God helped Uzziah become more and more powerful, and he was famous all over the world.     

Uzziah Becomes Too Proud

 16Uzziah became proud of his power, and this led to his downfall.    One day, Uzziah disobeyed the LORD his God by going into the temple and burning incense as an offering to him. [c]
   17Azariah the priest and eighty other brave priests followed Uzziah into the temple
   18and said, "Your Majesty, this isn't right! You are not allowed to burn incense to the LORD. That must be done only by priests who are descendants of Aaron. You will have to leave! You have sinned against the LORD, and so he will no longer bless you."
   19Uzziah, who was standing next to the incense altar at the time, was holding the incense burner, ready to offer incense to the LORD. He became very angry when he heard Azariah's warning, and leprosy [d] suddenly appeared on his forehead!
   20Azariah and the other priests saw it and immediately told him to leave the temple. Uzziah realized that the LORD had punished him, so he hurried to get outside.
   21Uzziah had leprosy the rest of his life. He was no longer allowed in the temple or in his own palace. That's why his son Jotham lived there and ruled in his place.
   22Everything else Uzziah did while he was king is in the records written by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.
   23Since Uzziah had leprosy, he could not be buried in the royal tombs. Instead, he was buried in a nearby cemetery that the kings owned. His son Jotham then became king.
    

2 Chronicles 27

King Jotham of Judah
(2 Kings 15.32-38)

 1Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem for sixteen years. Jerushah his mother was the daughter of Zadok.    2Jotham obeyed the LORD and did right. He followed the example of his father Uzziah, except he never burned incense in the temple as his father had done. But the people of Judah kept sinning against the LORD.
   3Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple and did a lot of work to repair the wall near Mount Ophel.
   4He built towns in the mountains of Judah and built fortresses and defense towers in the forests.
   5During his rule he attacked and defeated the Ammonites. Then every year for the next three years, he forced them to pay four tons of silver, sixty thousand bushels of wheat, and sixty thousand bushels of barley.
   6Jotham remained faithful to the LORD his God and became a very powerful king.
   7Everything else Jotham did while he was king, including the wars he fought, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah.
   8After he had ruled Judah sixteen years, he died at the age of forty-one.
   9He was buried in Jerusalem, and his son Ahaz became king.
    

2 Chronicles 28

King Ahaz of Judah
(2 Kings 16.1-4)

 1Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem for sixteen years.    Ahaz was nothing like his ancestor David. Ahaz disobeyed the LORD
   2and was as sinful as the kings of Israel. He made idols of the god Baal,
   3and he offered sacrifices in Hinnom Valley. Worst of all, Ahaz sacrificed his own sons, which was a disgusting custom of the nations that the LORD had forced out of Israel.
   4Ahaz offered sacrifices at the local shrines, [e] as well as on every hill and in the shade of large trees.     

Syria and Israel Attack Judah
(2 Kings 16.5,6)

 5-6Ahaz and the people of Judah sinned and turned away from the LORD, the God their ancestors had worshiped. So the LORD punished them by letting their enemies defeat them.    The king of Syria attacked Judah and took many of its people to Damascus as prisoners. King Pekah [f] of Israel later defeated Judah and killed one hundred twenty thousand of its bravest soldiers in one day.
   7During that battle, an Israelite soldier named Zichri killed three men from Judah: Maaseiah the king's son; Azrikam, the official in charge of the palace; and Elkanah, the king's second in command.
   8The Israelite troops captured two hundred thousand women and children and took them back to their capital city of Samaria, along with a large amount of their possessions. They did these things even though the people of Judah were their own relatives.     

Oded the Prophet Condemns Israel

 9Oded lived in Samaria and was one of the LORD's prophets. He met Israel's army on their way back from Judah and said to them:    The LORD God of your ancestors let you defeat Judah's army only because he was angry with them. But you should not have been so cruel!
   10If you make slaves of the people of Judah and Jerusalem, you will be as guilty as they are of sinning against the LORD.
   11Send these prisoners back home--they are your own relatives. If you don't, the LORD will punish you in his anger.
   12About the same time, four of Israel's leaders arrived. They were Azariah son of Johanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai. They agreed with Oded that the Israelite troops were wrong,
   13and they said:
   If you bring these prisoners into Samaria, that will be one more thing we've done to sin against the LORD. And he is already angry enough at us.
   14So in front of the leaders and the crowd, the troops handed over their prisoners and the property they had taken from Judah.
   15The four leaders took some of the stolen clothes and gave them to the prisoners who needed something to wear. They later gave them all a new change of clothes and shoes, then fixed them something to eat and drink, and cleaned their wounds with olive oil. They gave donkeys to those who were too weak to walk, and led all of them back to Jericho, the city known for its palm trees. The leaders then returned to Samaria.     

Ahaz Asks the King of Assyria for Help
(2 Kings 16.7-9)

 16-18Some time later, the Edomites attacked the eastern part of Judah again and carried away prisoners. And at the same time, the Philistines raided towns in the western foothills and in the Southern Desert. They conquered the towns of Beth-Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo, including the villages around them. Then some of the Philistines went to live in these places.    Ahaz sent a message to King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria and begged for help.
   19But God was punishing Judah with these disasters, because Ahaz had disobeyed him and refused to stop Judah from sinning.
   20So Tiglath Pileser came to Judah, but instead of helping, he made things worse.
   21Ahaz gave him gifts from the LORD's temple and the king's palace, as well as from the homes of Israel's other leaders. The Assyrian king still refused to help Ahaz.     

The Final Sin of Ahaz and His Death

 22Even after all these terrible things happened to Ahaz, he sinned against the LORD even worse than before.    23He said to himself, "The Syrian gods must have helped their kings defeat me. Maybe if I offer sacrifices to those gods, they will help me." That was the sin that finally led to the downfall of Ahaz, as well as to the destruction of Judah.
   24Ahaz collected all the furnishings of the temple and smashed them to pieces. Then he locked the doors to the temple and set up altars to foreign gods on every street corner in Jerusalem.
   25In every city and town in Judah he built local shrines [g] to worship foreign gods. All of this made the LORD God of his ancestors very angry.
   26Everything else Ahaz did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
   27Ahaz died and was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the royal tombs. His son Hezekiah then became king.
   
Footnotes:
  1. 2 Chronicles 26:1 Uzziah: In the parallel passages in 2 Kings, he is called "Azariah" (see also 1 Chronicles 3.10-15). He is also called "Uzziah" in 2 Kings 15.13; Isaiah 1.1; Hosea 1.1; and Amos 1.1. One of these names was probably his birth name, while the other was his name after he became king.
  2. 2 Chronicles 26:9 the place where the city wall turned inward: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  3. 2 Chronicles 26:16 going into the temple and burning incense as an offering to him: This was to be done only by priests (see Exodus 30.1-10; Numbers 16.39,40).
  4. 2 Chronicles 26:19 leprosy: The word translated "leprosy" was used for many different kinds of skin diseases.
  5. 2 Chronicles 28:4 local shrines: See the note at 11.15.
  6. 2 Chronicles 28:5 Pekah: Hebrew "Pekah son of Remaliah."
  7. 2 Chronicles 28:25 local shrines: See the note at 11.15.

Romans 13:1-14 (Contemporary English Version)


Romans 13

Obey Rulers

 1Obey the rulers who have authority over you. Only God can give authority to anyone, and he puts these rulers in their places of power. 2People who oppose the authorities are opposing what God has done, and they will be punished. 3Rulers are a threat to evil people, not to good people. There is no need to be afraid of the authorities. Just do right, and they will praise you for it. 4After all, they are God's servants, and it is their duty to help you.    If you do something wrong, you ought to be afraid, because these rulers have the right to punish you. They are God's servants who punish criminals to show how angry God is. 5But you should obey the rulers because you know it is the right thing to do, and not just because of God's anger.
    6You must also pay your taxes. The authorities are God's servants, and it is their duty to take care of these matters. 7Pay all that you owe, whether it is taxes and fees or respect and honor.     

Love

 8Let love be your only debt! If you love others, you have done all that the Law demands. 9In the Law there are many commands, such as, "Be faithful in marriage. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not want what belongs to others." But all of these are summed up in the command that says, "Love others as much as you love yourself." 10No one who loves others will harm them. So love is all that the Law demands.     

The Day When Christ Returns

 11You know what sort of times we live in, and so you should live properly. It is time to wake up. You know that the day when we will be saved is nearer now than when we first put our faith in the Lord. 12Night is almost over, and day will soon appear. We must stop behaving as people do in the dark and be ready to live in the light. 13So behave properly, as people do in the day. Don't go to wild parties or get drunk or be vulgar or indecent. Don't quarrel or be jealous. 14Let the Lord Jesus Christ be as near to you as the clothes you wear. Then you won't try to satisfy your selfish desires.

Psalm 23:1-6 (Contemporary English Version)


Psalm 23

(A psalm by David.)
The Good Shepherd

 1You, LORD, are my shepherd.    I will never be in need.
    2You let me rest in fields
   of green grass.
   You lead me to streams
   of peaceful water,
    3and you refresh my life.
   You are true to your name,
   and you lead me
   along the right paths.
    4I may walk through valleys
   as dark as death,
   but I won't be afraid.
   You are with me,
   and your shepherd's rod [a] makes me feel safe.
    5You treat me to a feast,
   while my enemies watch.
   You honor me as your guest,
   and you fill my cup
   until it overflows.
    6Your kindness and love
   will always be with me
   each day of my life,
   and I will live forever
   in your house, LORD.
    
Footnotes:
  1. Psalm 23:4 shepherd's rod: The Hebrew text mentions two objects carried by the shepherd: a club to defend against wild animals and a long pole to guide and control the sheep.

Proverbs 20:11 (Contemporary English Version)



11The good or bad
   that children do
   shows what they are like. 

Thought for the Day
  

“You are like light for the whole world. A city built on top of a hill cannot be hidden, Make your light shine, so that others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14,16 - Contemporary English Version) Whether we like it or not, we reflect God to the world; therefore, others will judge him based on what they see in us. And so, for that reason, let's reflect the love and grace he's shown to us for all to see,

Quote for the Day

British naval historian and author of some 60 books, C. Northcote Parkinson wrote, "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion."
A Joke for Today

A rabbi, a minister, and a priest were having a discussion about how they split the offering money between the church and God. The rabbi said, "I take a piece of string, make a circle on my desk with it, and throw up the offering plate. Whatever goes inside the circle goes to God, and whatever falls outside the circle goes to the church." The minister said, "Well, that's not bad, but I have a better way. I halve my entire office with a piece of string, and stand next to it. I throw up the offering plate, and whatever goes on the right side of the string goes to God, and whatever goes on the left side goes to the church." The priest nodded, then said, "Well, that sounds pretty good, but we have a foolproof way of splitting the offering. I stand in the middle of my office, throw up the offering plate, and yell, "Keep what you want!""
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 resist those forces that seek to divide us.

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