November 9 - Titus 1, Jeremiah 13-14 and Psalm 125

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TITUS

Titus 1 From Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.
I encourage God's own people to have more faith and to understand the truth about religion. 2Then they will have the hope of eternal life that God promised long ago. And God never tells a lie! 3So, at the proper time, God our Savior gave this message and told me to announce what he had said.
4Titus, because of our faith, you are like a son to me. I pray that God our Father and Christ Jesus our Savior will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!

What Titus Was To Do in Crete

5I left you in Crete to do what had been left undone and to appoint leaders for the churches in each town. As I told you, 6they must have a good reputation and be faithful in marriage. Their children must be followers of the Lord and not have a reputation for being wild and disobedient.
7Church officials are in charge of God's work, and so they must also have a good reputation. They must not be bossy, quick-tempered, heavy drinkers, bullies, or dishonest in business. 8Instead, they must be friendly to strangers and enjoy doing good things. They must also be sensible, fair, pure, and self-controlled. 9They must stick to the true message they were taught, so that their good teaching can help others and correct everyone who opposes it.
10There are many who don't respect authority, and they fool others by talking nonsense. This is especially true of some Jewish followers. 11But you must make them be quiet. They are after money, and they upset whole families by teaching what they should not. 12It is like one of their own prophets once said,
"The people of Crete always tell lies.
They are greedy and lazy like wild animals."
13That surely is a true saying. And you should be hard on such people, so you can help them grow stronger in their faith. 14Don't pay any attention to any of those senseless Jewish stories and human commands. These are made up by people who won't obey the truth.
15Everything is pure for someone whose heart is pure. But nothing is pure for an unbeliever with a dirty mind. That person's mind and conscience are destroyed. 16Such people claim to know God, but their actions prove that they really don't. They are disgusting. They won't obey God, and they are too worthless to do anything good.


Jeremiah's Linen Shorts

Jeremiah 13 The LORD told me, "Go and buy a pair of linen shorts. Wear them for a while, but don't wash them." 2So I bought a pair of shorts and put them on.
3Then the LORD said, 4"Take off the shorts. Go to Parah and hide the shorts in a crack between some large rocks." 5And that's what I did.
6Some time later the LORD said, "Go back and get the shorts." 7I went back and dug the shorts out of their hiding place, but the cloth had rotted, and the shorts were ruined.
8Then the LORD said:
9Jeremiah, I will use Babylonia to destroy the pride of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 10The people of Judah are evil and stubborn. So instead of listening to me, they do whatever they want and even worship other gods. When I am finished with these people, they will be good for nothing, just like this pair of shorts. 11These shorts were tight around your waist, and that's how tightly I held onto the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. I wanted them to be my people. I wanted to make them famous, so that other nations would praise and honor me, but they refused to obey me.

Wine Jars

The LORD said:
12Jeremiah, tell the people of Judah, "The LORD God of Israel orders you to fill your wine jars with wine."
They will answer, "Of course we fill our wine jars with wine! Why are you telling us something we already know?"
13Then say to them:
I am the LORD, and what I'm going to do will make everyone in Judah and Jerusalem appear to be full of wine. And the worst ones will be the kings of David's family and the priests and the prophets. 14Then I will smash them against each other like jars. I will have no pity on the young or the old, and they will all be destroyed. I, the LORD, have spoken.

The People of Judah Will Be Taken Away


15People of Judah, don't be too proud to listen
to what the LORD has said.
16You hope for light, but God is sending darkness.
Evening shadows already deepen in the hills.
So return to God and confess your sins to him
before you trip and fall.
17If you are too proud to listen, I will weep alone.
Tears will stream from my eyes
when the LORD's people are taken away as prisoners.

18The LORD told me to tell you
that your king and his mother must surrender their thrones
and remove their crowns.
19The cities in the Southern Desert are surrounded;
no one can get in or out.
Everyone in Judah will be taken away.
20Jerusalem, you were so proud of ruling the people of Judah.
But where are they now?

Look north, and you will see your enemies approaching.
21You once trusted them to help,
but now I'll let them rule you.
What do you say about that?
You will be in pain like a woman giving birth.

22Do you know why your clothes were torn off
and you were abused?
It was because of your terrible sins.
23Can you ever change and do what's right?
Can people change the color of their skin,
or can a leopard remove its spots?
If so, then maybe you can change and learn to do right.

24I will scatter you, just as the desert wind
blows husks from grain tossed in the air.
25I won't change my mind. I, the LORD, have spoken.

You rejected me and worshiped false gods.
*26You were married to me, but you were unfaithful.
You even became a prostitute
by worshiping disgusting gods on hilltops and in fields.
27So I'll rip off your clothes
and leave you naked and ashamed for everyone to see.
You are doomed! Will you ever be worthy
to worship me again?

The Land Dries Up

Jeremiah 14 When there had been no rain for a long time, the LORD told me to say to the people:
2Judah and Jerusalem weep as the land dries up.
3Rulers send their servants to the storage pits for water.
But there's none to be found;
they return in despair
with their jars still empty.

4There has been no rain, and farmers feel sick
as they watch cracks appear in the dry ground.

5A deer gives birth in a field,
then abandons her newborn fawn
and leaves in search of grass.
6Wild donkeys go blind from starvation.
So they stand on barren hilltops and sniff the air,
hoping to smell green grass.

The LORD's People Pray


7Our terrible sins may demand that we be punished.
But if you rescue us, LORD, everyone will see
how great you are.
8You're our only hope; you alone can save us now.
You help us one day, but you're gone the next.
9Did this disaster take you by surprise?
Are you a warrior with your hands tied?
You have chosen us, and your temple is here.
Don't abandon us!

The LORD's Answer


10My people, you love to wander away;
you don't even try to stay close to me.
So now I will reject you and punish you for your sins.
I, the LORD, have spoken.

Lying Prophets

11The LORD said, "Jeremiah, don't ask me to help these people. 12They may even go without eating and offer sacrifices to please me and to give thanks. But when they cry out for my help, I won't listen, and I won't accept their sacrifices. Instead, I'll send war, starvation, and disease to wipe them out."
13I replied, "The other prophets keep telling everyone that you won't send starvation or war, and that you're going to give us peace."
14The LORD answered:
They claim to speak for me, but they're lying! I didn't even speak to them, much less choose them to be my prophets. Their messages come from worthless dreams, useless fortunetelling, and their own imaginations.
15Those lying prophets say there will be peace and plenty of food. But I say that those same prophets will die from war and hunger. 16And everyone who listens to them will be killed, just as they deserve. Their dead bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, because their families will also be dead, and no one will be left to bury them.
17Jeremiah, go and tell the people how you feel about all this.

So I told them:
"Tears will flood my eyes both day and night,
because my nation suffers from a deadly wound.
18In the fields I see the bodies of those killed in battle.
And in the towns I see crowds dying of hunger.
But the prophets and priests go about their business,
without understanding what has happened."

Jeremiah Prays to the LORD


19Have you rejected Judah, LORD? Do you hate Jerusalem?
Why did you strike down Judah with a fatal wound?
We had hoped for peace and a time of healing,
but all we got was terror.
20We and our ancestors are guilty of rebelling against you.
21If you save us, it will show how great you are.
Don't let our enemies disgrace your temple,
your beautiful throne.
Don't forget that you promised to rescue us.
22Idols can't send rain,
and showers don't fall by themselves.
Only you control the rain,
so we put our trust in you, the LORD our God.


Psalm 125
[A song for worship.]
The LORD's People Are Safe


1Everyone who trusts the LORD is like Mount Zion
that cannot be shaken and will stand forever.
2Just as Jerusalem is protected
by mountains on every side,
the LORD protects his people
by holding them in his arms now and forever.
3He won't let the wicked rule his people
or lead them to do wrong.
4Let's ask the LORD to be kind to everyone
who is good and completely obeys him.

5When the LORD punishes the wicked,
he will punish everyone else who lives a crooked life.
Pray for peace in Israel!

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This reading is from The Holy Bible, Contemporary English Version, copyright © American Bible Society, 1995.


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