Daily Bible CEV December 08 Scroll

The Old Life and the New Life

Ephesians 4 ¹⁷As a follower of the Lord, I order you to stop living like stupid, godless people. ¹⁸Their minds are in the dark, and they are stubborn and ignorant and have missed out on the life that comes from God. They no longer have any feelings about what is right, ¹⁹and they are so greedy that they do all kinds of indecent things.

^20-21But that isn't what you were taught about Jesus Christ. He is the truth, and you heard about him and learned about him. ²²You were told that your foolish desires will destroy you and that you must give up your old way of life with all its bad habits. ²³Let the Spirit change your way of thinking ²⁴and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God, and so you must please him and be truly holy.

Rules for the New Life

²⁵We are part of the same body. Stop lying and start telling each other the truth. ²⁶Don't get so angry that you sin. Don't go to bed angry ²⁷and don't give the devil a chance.

²⁸If you are a thief, quit stealing. Be honest and work hard, so you will have something to give to people in need.

²⁹Stop all your dirty talk. Say the right thing at the right time and help others by what you say.

³⁰Don't make God's Spirit sad. The Spirit makes you sure that someday you will be free from your sins.

³¹Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don't yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. ³²Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.

Ezekiel Acts Out Israel's Captivity

Ezekiel 12 The LORD said:

²Ezekiel, son of man, you are living among rebellious people. They have eyes, but refuse to see; they have ears, but refuse to listen. ³So before it gets dark, here is what I want you to do. Pack a few things as though you were going to be taken away as a prisoner. Then go outside where everyone can see you and walk around from place to place. Maybe as they watch, they will realize what rebels they are. ⁴After you have done this, return to your house.

Later that evening leave your house as if you were going into exile. ⁵Dig through the wall of your house and crawl out, carrying the bag with you. Make sure everyone is watching. ⁶Lift the bag to your shoulders, and with your face covered, take it into the darkness, so that you cannot see the land you are leaving. All of this will be a warning for the people of Israel.

⁷I did everything the LORD had said. I packed a few things. Then as the sun was going down, and while everyone was watching, I dug a hole through one of the walls of my house. I pulled out my bag, then lifted it to my shoulders and left in the darkness.

⁸The next morning, the LORD ⁹reminded me that those rebellious people didn't even ask what I was doing. ¹⁰So he sent me back to tell them:

The LORD God has a message for the leader of Jerusalem and everyone living there!

¹¹I have done these things to show them what will happen when they are taken away as prisoners.

¹²The leader of Jerusalem will lift his own bag to his shoulders at sunset and leave through a hole that the others have dug in the wall of his house. He will cover his face, so he can't see the land he is leaving. ¹³The LORD will spread out a net and trap him as he leaves Jerusalem. He will then be led away to the city of Babylon, but will never see that place, even though he will die there. ¹⁴His own officials and troops will scatter in every direction, and the LORD will track them down and put them to death.

¹⁵The LORD will force the rest of the people in Jerusalem to live in foreign nations, where they will realize that he has done all these things. ¹⁶Some of them will survive the war, the starvation, and the deadly diseases. That way, they will be able to tell foreigners how disgusting their sins were, and that it was the LORD who punished them in this way.

A Sign of Fear

¹⁷The LORD said:

¹⁸Ezekiel, son of man, shake with fear when you eat, and tremble when you drink. ¹⁹Tell the people of Israel that I, the LORD, say that someday everyone in Jerusalem will shake when they eat and tremble when they drink. Their country will be destroyed and left empty, because they have been cruel and violent. ²⁰Every town will lie in ruins, and the land will be a barren desert. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

The Words of the LORD Will Come True

²¹The LORD said:

²²Ezekiel, son of man, you've heard people in Israel use the saying, "Time passes, and prophets are proved wrong." ²³Now tell the people that I, the LORD, am going to prove that saying wrong. No one will ever be able to use it again in Israel, because very soon everything I have said will come true! ²⁴The people will hear no more useless warnings and false messages. ²⁵I will give them my message, and what I say will certainly happen. Warn those rebels that the time has come for them to be punished. I, the LORD, make this promise.

^26-27Ezekiel, the people of Israel are also saying that your visions and messages are only about things in the future. ²⁸So tell them that my words will soon come true, just as I have warned. I, the LORD, have spoken.

Lying Prophets

Ezekiel 13 The LORD said:

²Ezekiel, son of man, condemn the prophets of Israel who say they speak in my name, but who preach messages that come from their own imagination. Tell them it's time to hear my message.

³I, the LORD God, say those lying prophets are doomed! They don't see visions--they make up their own messages! ⁴Israel's prophets are no better than jackals that hunt for food among the ruins of a city. ⁵They don't warn the people about coming trouble or tell them how dangerous it is to sin against me. ⁶Those prophets lie by claiming they speak for me, but I have not even chosen them to be my prophets. And they still think their words will come true. ⁷They say they're preaching my messages, but they are full of lies--I did not speak to them!

⁸So I am going to punish those lying prophets for deceiving the people of Israel with false messages. ⁹I will turn against them and no longer let them belong to my people. They will not be allowed to call themselves Israelites or even to set foot in Israel. Then they will realize that I am the LORD God.

¹⁰Those prophets refuse to be honest. They tell my people there will be peace, even though there's no peace to be found. They are like workers who think they can fix a shaky wall by covering it with paint. ¹¹But when I send rainstorms, hailstones, and strong winds, the wall will surely collapse. ¹²People will then ask the workers why the paint didn't hold it up.

¹³That wall is the city of Jerusalem. And I, the LORD God, am so angry that I will send strong winds, rainstorms, and hailstones to destroy it. ¹⁴The lying prophets have tried to cover up the evil in Jerusalem, but I will tear down the city, all the way to its foundations. And when it collapses, those prophets will be killed, and everyone will know that I have done these things.

¹⁵The city of Jerusalem and its lying prophets will feel my fierce anger. Then I will announce that the city has fallen and that the lying prophets are dead, ¹⁶because they promised my people peace, when there was no peace. I, the LORD God, have spoken.

Women Who Wear Magic Charms

The LORD said:

¹⁷Ezekiel, son of man, now condemn the women of Israel who preach messages that come from their own imagination. ¹⁸Tell them they're doomed! They wear magic charms on their wrists and scarves on their heads, then trick others into believing they can predict the future. They won't get away with telling those lies. ¹⁹They charge my people a few handfuls of barley and a couple pieces of bread, and then give messages that are insulting to me. They use lies to sentence the innocent to death and to help the guilty go free. And my people believe them!

²⁰I hate the magic charms they use to trick people into believing their lies. I will rip those charms from their wrists and set free the people they have trapped like birds. ²¹I will tear the scarves from their heads and rescue my people from their power once and for all. Then they will know that I am the LORD God.

²²They do things I would never do. They lie to good people and encourage them to do wrong, and they convince the wicked to keep sinning and ruin their lives. ²³I will no longer let these women give false messages and use magic, and I will free my people from their control. Then they will know that I, the LORD, have done these things.

The LORD Has Rescued His People

Isaiah 43 Descendants of Jacob, I, the LORD, created you

and formed your nation.

Israel, don't be afraid. I have rescued you.

I have called you by name; now you belong to me.

²When you cross deep rivers, I will be with you,

and you won't drown.

When you walk through fire, you won't be burned

or scorched by the flames.

³I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel,

the God who saves you.

I gave up Egypt, Ethiopia, and the region of Seba

in exchange for you.

⁴To me, you are very dear, and I love you.

That's why I gave up nations and people to rescue you.

⁵Don't be afraid! I am with you.

From both east and west I will bring you together.

⁶I will say to the north and to the south,

"Free my sons and daughters!

Let them return from distant lands.

⁷They are my people-- I created each of them

to bring honor to me."

The LORD Alone Is God

The LORD said:

⁸Bring my people together. They have eyes and ears,

but they can't see or hear.

⁹Tell everyone of every nation to gather around.

None of them can honestly say, "We told you so!"

If someone heard them say this, then tell us about it now.

¹⁰My people, you are my witnesses and my chosen servant.

I want you to know me, to trust me,

and understand that I alone am God.

I have always been God; there can be no others.

¹¹I alone am the LORD; only I can rescue you.

¹²

I promised to save you, and I kept my promise.

You are my witnesses that no other god did this.

I, the LORD, have spoken.

¹³I am God now and forever.

No one can snatch you from me or stand in my way.

The LORD Will Prepare the Way

¹⁴I, the LORD, will rescue you! I am Israel's holy God,

and this is my promise:

For your sake, I will send an army against Babylon

to drag its people away, crying as they go.

¹⁵I am the LORD, your holy God, Israel's Creator and King.

¹⁶

I am the one who cut a path through the mighty ocean.

¹⁷I sent an army to chase you with chariots and horses;

now they lie dead, unable to move.

They are like an oil lamp with the flame snuffed out.

Forget the Past

The LORD said:

¹⁸Forget what happened long ago! Don't think about the past.

¹⁹

I am creating something new. There it is! Do you see it?

I have put roads in deserts, streams in thirsty lands.

²⁰

Every wild animal honors me, even jackals and owls.

I provide water in deserts--

streams in thirsty lands for my chosen people.

²¹I made them my own nation, so they would praise me.

²²I, the LORD, said to Israel:

You have become weary, but not from worshiping me.

²³You have not honored me by sacrificing sheep

or other animals.

And I have not burdened you with demands for sacrifices

or sweet-smelling incense.

²⁴You have not brought delicious spices for me

or given me the best part of your sacrificed animals.

Instead, you burden me down with your terrible sins.

²⁵But I wipe away your sins because of who I am.

And so, I will forget the wrongs you have done.

²⁶Meet me in court! State your case

and prove that you are right.

²⁷Your earliest ancestor and all of your leaders

rebelled against me.

²⁸That's why I don't allow your priests to serve me;

I let Israel be destroyed and your people disgraced.

These daily Bible readings from the Contemporary English Version (CEV) are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. BibleCard® images copyright iCreative. All rights reserved.