Bible Readings for September 3, 2023

Let's read the Bible together in the next year. Today our passages are Ecclesiastes 4:1–6:12; 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:7; Psalm 47:1-9; and Proverbs 22:16. The readings are the Contemporary English Version. 

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Ecclesiastes 4-6:12 (Contemporary English Version)

Ecclesiastes 4

 ¹I looked again and saw people being mistreated everywhere on earth. They were crying, but no one was there to offer comfort, and those who mistreated them were powerful. ²I said to myself, "The dead are better off than the living. ³But those who have never been born are better off than anyone else, because they have never seen the terrible things that happen on this earth."     ⁴Then I realized that we work and do wonderful things just because we are jealous of others. This makes no more sense than chasing the wind. ^[a] ⁵Fools will fold their hands 
   and starve to death. 
    ⁶Yet a very little food 
   eaten in peace 
   is better than twice as much 
   earned from overwork 
   and chasing the wind. ^[b] 
    ⁷Once again I saw that nothing on earth makes sense. ⁸For example, some people don't have friends or family. But they are never satisfied with what they own, and they never stop working to get more. They should ask themselves, "Why am I always working to have more? Who will get what I leave behind?" What a senseless and miserable life!     

It Is Better To Have a Friend

 ⁹You are better off to have a friend than to be all alone, because then you will get more enjoyment out of what you earn. ¹⁰If you fall, your friend can help you up. But if you fall without having a friend nearby, you are really in trouble. ¹¹If you sleep alone, you won't have anyone to keep you warm on a cold night. ¹²Someone might be able to beat up one of you, but not both of you. As the saying goes, "A rope made from three strands of cord is hard to break."     ¹³You may be poor and young. But if you are wise, you are better off than a foolish old king who won't listen to advice. ¹⁴Even if you were not born into the royal family and have been a prisoner and poor, you can still be king. ¹⁵I once saw everyone in the world follow a young leader who came to power after the king was gone. ¹⁶His followers could not even be counted. But years from now, no one will praise him--this makes no more sense than chasing the wind. 
    

Ecclesiastes 5

Be Careful How You Worship

 ¹Be careful what you do when you enter the house of God. Some fools go there to offer sacrifices, even though they haven't sinned. But it's best just to listen when you go to worship. ²Don't talk before you think or make promises to God without thinking them through. God is in heaven, and you are on earth, so don't talk too much. ³If you keep thinking about something, you will dream about it. If you talk too much, you will say the wrong thing.     ⁴God doesn't like fools. So don't be slow to keep your promises to God. ⁵It's better not to make a promise at all than to make one and not keep it. ⁶Don't let your mouth get you in trouble! And don't say to the worship leader, ^[c] "I didn't mean what I said." God can destroy everything you have worked for, so don't say something that makes God angry. ⁷Respect and obey God! Daydreaming leads to a lot of senseless talk. ^[d] ⁸Don't be surprised if the poor of your country are abused, and injustice takes the place of justice. After all, the lower officials must do what the higher ones order them to do. ⁹And since the king is the highest official, he benefits most from the taxes paid on the land. ^[e] ¹⁰If you love money and wealth, you will never be satisfied with what you have. This doesn't make sense either. ¹¹The more you have, the more everyone expects from you. Your money won't do you any good--others will just spend it for you. ¹²If you have to work hard for a living, you can rest well at night, even if you don't have much to eat. But if you are rich, you can't even sleep. 
    ¹³I have seen something terribly unfair. People get rich, but it does them no good. ¹⁴Suddenly they lose everything in a bad business deal, then have nothing to leave for their children. ¹⁵They came into this world naked, and when they die, they will be just as naked. They can't take anything with them, and they won't have anything to show for all their work. ¹⁶That's terribly unfair. They leave the world just as they came into it. They gained nothing from running after the wind. ¹⁷Besides all this, they are always gloomy at mealtime, and they are troubled, sick, and bitter. ^[f] ¹⁸What is the best thing to do in the short life that God has given us? I think we should enjoy eating, drinking, and working hard. This is what God intends for us to do. ¹⁹Suppose you are very rich and able to enjoy everything you own. Then go ahead and enjoy working hard--this is God's gift to you. ²⁰God will keep you so happy that you won't have time to worry about each day. 
    

Ecclesiastes 6

Don't Depend on Wealth

 ¹There is something else terribly unfair, and it troubles everyone on earth. ²God may give you everything you want--money, property, and wealth. Then God doesn't let you enjoy it, and someone you don't even know gets it all. That's senseless and terribly unfair!     ³You may live a long time and have a hundred children. But a child born dead is better off than you, unless you enjoy life and have a decent burial. ^4-5That child will never live to see the sun or to have a name, and it will go straight to the world of darkness. But it will still find more rest than you, ⁶even if you live two thousand years and don't enjoy life. As you know, we all end up in the same place. 
    ⁷We struggle just to have enough to eat, but we are never satisfied. ⁸We may be sensible, yet we are no better off than a fool. And if we are poor, it still doesn't do us any good to try to live right. ⁹It's better to enjoy what we have than to always want something else, because that makes no more sense than chasing the wind. ^[g] ¹⁰Everything that happens was decided long ago. We humans know what we are like, and we can't argue with God, because he is ^[h] too strong for us. ¹¹The more we talk, the less sense we make, so what good does it do to talk? ¹²Life is short and meaningless, and it fades away like a shadow. Who knows what is best for us? Who knows what will happen after we are gone? 

Footnotes:

1. Ecclesiastes 4:4 chasing the wind: See the note at 1.14.
2. Ecclesiastes 4:6 even. . . sinned: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
3. Ecclesiastes 5:6 worship leader: Or "messenger."
4. Ecclesiastes 5:7 Daydreaming. . . talk: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
5. Ecclesiastes 5:9 land: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 9.
6. Ecclesiastes 5:17 bitter: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 17.
7. Ecclesiastes 6:9 chasing the wind: See the note at 1.14,17.
8. Ecclesiastes 6:10 with God, because he is: Or "with anyone who is."

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2 Corinthians 6:14-7:7 (Contemporary English Version)

The Temple of the Living God

 ¹⁴Stay away from people who are not followers of the Lord! Can someone who is good get along with someone who is evil? Are light and darkness the same? ¹⁵Is Christ a friend of Satan? ^[a] Can people who follow the Lord have anything in common with those who don't? ¹⁶Do idols belong in the temple of God? We are the temple of the living God, as God himself says, "I will live with these people    and walk among them. 
   I will be their God, 
   and they will be 
   my people." 
    ¹⁷The Lord also says, 
   "Leave them and stay away! 
   Don't touch anything 
   that isn't clean. 
   Then I will welcome you 
    ¹⁸and be your Father. 
   You will be my sons 
   and my daughters, 
   as surely as I am God, 
   the All-Powerful." 
    

2 Corinthians 7

 ¹My friends, God has made us these promises. So we should stay away from everything that keeps our bodies and spirits from being clean. We should honor God and try to be completely like him.     

The Church Makes Paul Happy

 ²Make a place for us in your hearts! We haven't mistreated or hurt anyone. We haven't cheated anyone. ³I am not saying this to be hard on you. But, as I have said before, you will always be in our thoughts, whether we live or die. ⁴I trust you completely. ^[b] I am always proud of you, and I am greatly encouraged. In all my trouble I am still very happy. ⁵After we came to Macedonia, we didn't have any chance to rest. We were faced with all kinds of problems. We were troubled by enemies and troubled by fears. ⁶But God cheers up people in need, and that is what he did when he sent Titus to us. ⁷Of course, we were glad to see Titus, but what really made us glad is the way you cheered him up. He told how sorry you were and how concerned you were about me. And this made me even happier.     

Footnotes:

1. 2 Corinthians 6:15 Satan: The Greek text has "Beliar," which is another form of the Hebrew word "Belial," meaning "wicked" or "useless." The Jewish people sometimes used this as a name for Satan.
2. 2 Corinthians 7:4 I trust you completely: Or "I have always spoken the truth to you" or "I can speak freely to you."

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Psalm 47:1-9 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 47

(A psalm for the people of Korah and for the music leader.)

God Rules the Nations

 ¹All of you nations,    clap your hands 
   and shout 
   joyful praises to God. 
    ²The LORD Most High is fearsome, 
   the ruler of all the earth. 
    ³God has put every nation 
   under our power, 
    ⁴and he chose for us the land 
   that was the pride of Jacob, 
   his favorite. 
    ⁵God goes up to his throne, 
   as people shout 
   and trumpets blast. 
    ⁶Sing praises to God our King, 
    ⁷the ruler of all the earth! 
   Praise God with songs. 
    ⁸God rules the nations 
   from his sacred throne. 
    ⁹Their leaders come together 
   and are now the people 
   of Abraham's God. 
   All rulers on earth 
   surrender their weapons, 
   and God is greatly praised!

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Proverbs 22:16 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁶Cheat the poor to make profit
   or give gifts to the rich--
   either way you lose.

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Thought for the Day

 

“[It Is Best To Obey the LORD] with this message: People of Israel, I am the holy LORD God, the one who rescues you. For your own good, I teach you, and I lead you along the right path.” (Isaiah 48:17 - Contemporary English Version) God's command to us is neither arbitrary nor capricious. You see, he knows our lives will improve the minute we decide to love him with everything we've got and to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves.

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Quote for the Day

American journalist who worked for Life magazine starting in 1955, then moved on to Time magazine in 1957, Hugh Sidey wrote, "The problems seem so easy out there on the stump. Deficits shrink with a rhetorical flourish."

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A Joke for Today

Laughter is the best medicine...

Unless you have broken ribs.

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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 the world unites in care for those affected by the conflict in Ukraine.

The Christian Recorder - Connectional Church School Email September 3rd

Church school will be at 9AM Eastern Time View the Zoom video: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82993251894 Meeting ID: 829 9325 1894 One tap mobile +13017158592,,82993251894# US (Washington DC) +13126266799,,82993251894# US (Chicago) Dial by your location         +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)         +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)         +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)         +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)         +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)         +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 829 9325 1894 Buy the Church School Literature or call 615-256-5882. Join the AME Church School Facebook Group Virtual worship resources and graphics from the AMEC Church Publishing House https://www.iamame.org/worship-resources-2/ Christian Education Department Click here for free Sunday at home devotional resources from the Christian Education Department

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Share Tweet Forward The Christian Recorder is the official newspaper of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the oldest continuously produced publication by persons of African descent.   Bishop David R. Daniels, Jr., Chair of the General Board Commission on Publications Rev. Dr. Roderick D. Belin, President/Publisher of the AME Sunday School Union Dr. John Thomas III, Editor of The Christian Recorder Copyright © 2023 The Christian Recorder, All rights reserved.

Bible Readings for September 2, 2023

Let's read the Bible together in the next year. Today our passages are Ecclesiastes 1:1–3:22; 2 Corinthians 6:1-13; Psalm 46:1-11; and Proverbs 22:15. The readings are the Contemporary English Version. 

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Ecclesiastes 1-3:22 (Contemporary English Version)

Ecclesiastes 1

Nothing Makes Sense

 ¹When the son of David was king in Jerusalem, he was known to be very wise, ^[a] and he said: ²Nothing makes sense!   Everything is nonsense. 
   I have seen it all-- 
   nothing makes sense! 
    ³What is there to show 
   for all of our hard work 
   here on this earth? 
    ⁴People come, and people go, 
   but still the world 
   never changes. 
    ⁵The sun comes up, 
   the sun goes down; 
   it hurries right back 
   to where it started from. 
    ⁶The wind blows south, 
   the wind blows north; 
   round and round it blows 
   over and over again. 
    ⁷All rivers empty into the sea, 
   but it never spills over; 
   one by one the rivers return 
   to their source. ^[b] ⁸All of life is far more boring 
   than words could ever say. 
   Our eyes and our ears 
   are never satisfied 
   with what we see and hear. 
    ⁹Everything that happens 
   has happened before; 
   nothing is new, 
   nothing under the sun. 
    ¹⁰Someone might say, 
   "Here is something new!" 
   But it happened before, 
   long before we were born. 
    ¹¹No one who lived in the past 
   is remembered anymore, 
   and everyone yet to be born 
   will be forgotten too.     

It Is Senseless To Be Wise

 ¹²I said these things when I lived in Jerusalem as king of Israel. ¹³With all my wisdom I tried to understand everything that happens here on earth. And God has made this so hard for us humans to do. ¹⁴I have seen it all, and everything is just as senseless as chasing the wind. ^[c] ¹⁵If something is crooked,    it can't be made straight; 
   if something isn't there, 
   it can't be counted. 
    ¹⁶I said to myself, "You are by far the wisest person who has ever lived in Jerusalem. You are eager to learn, and you have learned a lot." ¹⁷Then I decided to find out all I could about wisdom and foolishness. Soon I realized that this too was as senseless as chasing the wind. 
    ¹⁸The more you know, 
   the more you hurt; 
   the more you understand, 
   the more you suffer. 
    

Ecclesiastes 2

It Is Senseless To Be Selfish

 ¹I said to myself, "Have fun and enjoy yourself!" But this didn't make sense. ²Laughing and having fun is crazy. What good does it do? ³I wanted to find out what was best for us during the short time we have on this earth. So I decided to make myself happy with wine and find out what it means to be foolish, without really being foolish myself.     ⁴I did some great things. I built houses and planted vineyards. ⁵I had flower gardens and orchards full of fruit trees. ⁶And I had pools where I could get water for the trees. ⁷I owned slaves, and their sons and daughters became my slaves. I had more sheep and goats than anyone who had ever lived in Jerusalem. ⁸Foreign rulers brought me silver, gold, and precious treasures. Men and women sang for me, and I had many wives ^[d] who gave me great pleasure. ⁹I was the most famous person who had ever lived in Jerusalem, and I was very wise. ¹⁰I got whatever I wanted and did whatever made me happy. But most of all, I enjoyed my work. ¹¹Then I thought about everything I had done, including the hard work, and it was simply chasing the wind. ^[e] Nothing on earth is worth the trouble. 

Wisdom Makes Sense

 ¹²I asked myself, "What can the next king do that I haven't done?" Then I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and stupidity. ¹³And I discovered that wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. ¹⁴Wisdom is like having two good eyes; foolishness leaves you in the dark. But wise or foolish, we all end up the same.     ¹⁵Finally, I said to myself, "Being wise got me nowhere! The same thing will happen to me that happens to fools. Nothing makes sense. ¹⁶Wise or foolish, we all die and are soon forgotten." ¹⁷This made me hate life. Everything we do is painful; it's just as senseless as chasing the wind. 
    ¹⁸Suddenly I realized that others would someday get everything I had worked for so hard, then I started hating it all. ¹⁹Who knows if those people will be sensible or stupid? Either way, they will own everything I have earned by hard work and wisdom. It doesn't make sense. 
    ²⁰I thought about all my hard work, and I felt depressed. ²¹When we use our wisdom, knowledge, and skill to get what we own, why do we have to leave it to someone who didn't work for it? This is senseless and wrong. ²²What do we really gain from all of our hard work? ²³Our bodies ache during the day, and work is torture. Then at night our thoughts are troubled. It just doesn't make sense. 
    ²⁴The best thing we can do is to enjoy eating, drinking, and working ^[f]. I believe these are God's gifts to us, ²⁵and no one enjoys eating and living more than I do. ²⁶If we please God, he will make us wise, understanding, and happy. But if we sin, God will make us struggle for a living, then he will give all we own to someone who pleases him. This makes no more sense than chasing the wind. ^[g] 
    

Ecclesiastes 3

Everything Has Its Time

 ¹Everything on earth    has its own time 
   and its own season. 
    ²There is a time 
   for birth and death, 
   planting and reaping, 
    ³for killing and healing, 
   destroying and building, 
    ⁴for crying and laughing, 
   weeping and dancing, 
    ⁵for throwing stones 
   and gathering stones, 
   embracing and parting. 
    ⁶There is a time 
   for finding and losing, 
   keeping and giving, 
    ⁷for tearing and sewing, 
   listening and speaking. 
    ⁸There is also a time 
   for love and hate, 
   for war and peace.     

What God Has Given Us To Do

 ⁹What do we gain by all of our hard work? ¹⁰I have seen what difficult things God demands of us. ¹¹God makes everything happen at the right time. Yet none of us can ever fully understand all he has done, and he puts questions in our minds about the past and the future. ¹²I know the best thing we can do is to always enjoy life, ¹³because God's gift to us is the happiness we get from our food and drink and from the work we do. ¹⁴Everything God has done will last forever; nothing he does can ever be changed. God has done all this, so that we will worship him.     ¹⁵Everything that happens 
   has happened before, 
   and all that will be 
   has already been-- 
   God does everything 
   over and over again. ^[h] 

The Future Is Known Only to God

 ¹⁶Everywhere on earth I saw violence and injustice instead of fairness and justice. ¹⁷So I told myself that God has set a time and a place for everything. He will judge everyone, both the wicked and the good. ¹⁸I know that God is testing us to show us that we are merely animals. ¹⁹Like animals we breathe and die, and we are no better off than they are. It just doesn't make sense. ²⁰All living creatures go to the same place. We are made from earth, and we return to the earth. ²¹Who really knows if our spirits go up and the spirits of animals go down into the earth? ²²We were meant to enjoy our work, and that's the best thing we can do. We can never know the future.    

 

Footnotes:

1. Ecclesiastes 1:1 known to be very wise: This stands for the Hebrew word often translated "preacher" or "teacher." The word may refer to someone who was a very wise leader or to someone who had become wise from collecting sayings about wisdom.
2. Ecclesiastes 1:7 return to their source: Or "flow into the sea."
3. Ecclesiastes 1:14 chasing the wind: Or "eating the wind."
4. Ecclesiastes 2:8 many wives: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
5. Ecclesiastes 2:11 chasing the wind: See the note at 1.14.
6. Ecclesiastes 2:24 The best. . .working: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
7. Ecclesiastes 2:26 chasing the wind: See the note at 1.14,17.
8. Ecclesiastes 3:15 God does. . . again: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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2 Corinthians 6:1-13 (Contemporary English Version)

2 Corinthians 6

 ¹We work together with God, and we beg you to make good use of God's kindness to you. ²In the Scriptures God says,   "When the time came, 
   I listened to you, 
   and when you needed help, 
   I came to save you." 
   That time has come. This is the day for you to be saved. 
    ³We don't want anyone to find fault with our work, and so we try hard not to cause problems. ⁴But in everything and in every way we show that we truly are God's servants. We have always been patient, though we have had a lot of trouble, suffering, and hard times. ⁵We have been beaten, put in jail, and hurt in riots. We have worked hard and have gone without sleep or food. ⁶But we have kept ourselves pure and have been understanding, patient, and kind. The Holy Spirit has been with us, and our love has been real. ⁷We have spoken the truth, and God's power has worked in us. In all our struggles we have said and done only what is right. 
    ⁸Whether we were honored or dishonored or praised or cursed, we always told the truth about ourselves. But some people said we did not. ⁹We are unknown to others, but well known to you. We seem to be dying, and yet we are still alive. We have been punished, but never killed, ¹⁰and we are always happy, even in times of suffering. Although we are poor, we have made many people rich. And though we own nothing, everything is ours. 
    ¹¹Friends in Corinth, we are telling the truth when we say that there is room in our hearts for you. ¹²We are not holding back on our love for you, but you are holding back on your love for us. ¹³I speak to you as I would speak to my own children. Please make room in your hearts for us.

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Psalm 46:1-11 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 46

(A special song for the people of Korah and for the music leader.)

God Is Our Mighty Fortress

 ¹God is our mighty fortress,    always ready to help 
   in times of trouble. 
    ²And so, we won't be afraid! 
   Let the earth tremble 
   and the mountains tumble 
   into the deepest sea. 
    ³Let the ocean roar and foam, 
   and its raging waves 
   shake the mountains. 
    ⁴A river and its streams 
   bring joy to the city, 
   which is the sacred home 
   of God Most High. 
    ⁵God is in that city, 
   and it won't be shaken. 
   He will help it at dawn. 
    ⁶Nations rage! Kingdoms fall! 
   But at the voice of God 
   the earth itself melts. 
    ⁷The LORD All-Powerful 
   is with us. 
   The God of Jacob 
   is our fortress. 
    ⁸Come! See the fearsome things 
   the LORD has done on earth. 
    ⁹God brings wars to an end 
   all over the world. 
   He breaks the arrows, 
   shatters the spears, 
   and burns the shields. ^[a] ¹⁰Our God says, "Calm down, 
   and learn that I am God! 
   All nations on earth 
   will honor me." 
    ¹¹The LORD All-Powerful 
   is with us. 
   The God of Jacob 
   is our fortress. 
    

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 46:9 shields: Or " chariots."

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Proverbs 22:15 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁵All children are foolish, 
   but firm correction 
   will make them change.

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Thought for the Day

 

“Our LORD, your love is seen all over the world. Teach me your laws.” (Psalm 119:64 - Contemporary English Version) To those of us who have faith, we can see God everywhere. And for those of us who've decided to follow Jesus Christ, we want to learn how we can best show love to him and to those around us.

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Quote for the Day

American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman, Jimmy Buffett wrote, "Wrinkles will only go where the smiles have been."

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A Joke for Today

A plane hit a patch of severe turbulence and the passengers were holding on tight as it rocked and reeled through the night. A little old lady turned to a minister who was sitting behind her and said, "You're a man of God. Can't you do something about this?"

He replied, "Sorry, I can't. I'm in sales, not management."

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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 all recognize that our actions impact others.