Daily Bible CEV December 09 Scroll

Ephesians 5 Do as God does. After all, you are his dear children. ²Let love be your guide. Christ loved us and offered his life for us as a sacrifice that pleases God.

³You are God's people, so don't let it be said that any of you are immoral or indecent or greedy. ⁴Don't use dirty or foolish or filthy words. Instead, say how thankful you are. ⁵Being greedy, indecent, or immoral is just another way of worshiping idols. You can be sure that people who behave in this way will never be part of the kingdom that belongs to Christ and to God.

Living as People of Light

⁶Don't let anyone trick you with foolish talk. God punishes everyone who disobeys him and says foolish things. ⁷So don't have anything to do with anyone like that.

⁸You used to be like people living in the dark, but now you are people of the light because you belong to the Lord. So act like people of the light ⁹and make your light shine. Be good and honest and truthful, ¹⁰as you try to please the Lord. ¹¹Don't take part in doing those worthless things that are done in the dark. Instead, show how wrong they are. ¹²It is disgusting even to talk about what is done in the dark. ¹³But the light will show what these things are really like. ¹⁴Light shows up everything, just as the Scriptures say,

"Wake up from your sleep and rise from death.

Then Christ will shine on you."

¹⁵Act like people with good sense and not like fools. ¹⁶These are evil times, so make every minute count. ¹⁷Don't be stupid. Instead, find out what the Lord wants you to do. ¹⁸Don't destroy yourself by getting drunk, but let the Spirit fill your life. ¹⁹When you meet together, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, as you praise the Lord with all your heart. ²⁰Always use the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to thank God the Father for everything.

Ezekiel Encourages the People To Turn Back to the LORD

Ezekiel 14 One day, some of Israel's leaders came to me and asked for a message from the LORD. ²While they were there, the LORD said:

³Ezekiel, son of man, these men have started worshiping idols, though they know it will cause them to sin even more. So I refuse to give them a message!

⁴Tell the people of Israel that if they sin by worshiping idols and then go to a prophet to find out what I say, I will give them the answer their sins deserve. ⁵When they hear my message, maybe they will see that they need to turn back to me and stop worshiping those idols.

⁶Now, Ezekiel, tell everyone in Israel:

I am the LORD God. Stop worshiping your disgusting idols and come back to me.

⁷Suppose one of you Israelites or a foreigner living in Israel rejects me and starts worshiping idols. If you then go to a prophet to find out what I say, I will answer ⁸by turning against you. I will make you a warning to anyone who might think of doing the same thing, and you will no longer belong to my people. Then you will know that I am the LORD and that you have sinned against me.

⁹If a prophet gives a false message, I am the one who caused that prophet to lie. But I will still reject him and cut him off from my people, ¹⁰and anyone who goes to that prophet for a message will be punished in the same way. ¹¹I will do this, so that you will come back to me and stop destroying yourselves with these disgusting sins. So turn back to me! Then I will be your God, and you will be my people. I, the LORD God, make this promise.

Judgment on a Sinful Nation

¹²The LORD God said:

¹³Ezekiel, son of man, suppose an entire nation sins against me, and I punish it by destroying the crops and letting its people and livestock starve to death. ¹⁴Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were living in that nation, their faithfulness would not save anyone but themselves.

¹⁵Or suppose I punish a nation by sending wild animals to eat people and scare away every passerby, so that the land becomes a barren desert. ¹⁶As surely as I live, I promise that even if these three men lived in that nation, their own children would not be spared. The three men would live, but the land would be an empty desert.

¹⁷Or suppose I send an enemy to attack a sinful nation and kill its people and livestock. ¹⁸If these three men were in that nation when I punished it, not even their children would be spared. Only the three men would live.

¹⁹And suppose I am so angry that I send a deadly disease to wipe out the people and livestock of a sinful nation. ²⁰Again, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were living there, I, the LORD, promise that the children of these faithful men would also die. Only the three of them would be spared.

²¹I am the LORD God, and I promise to punish Jerusalem severely. I will send war, starvation, wild animals, and deadly disease to slaughter its people and livestock. ²²And those who survive will be taken from their country and led here to Babylonia. Ezekiel, when you see how sinful they are, you will know why I did all these things to Jerusalem. ²³You will be convinced that I, the LORD God, was right in doing what I did.

Jerusalem Is a Useless Vine

Ezekiel 15 Some time later, the LORD said:

²Ezekiel, son of man, what happens to the wood of a grapevine after the grapes have been picked? It isn't like other trees in the forest, ³because the wood of a grapevine can't be used to make anything, not even a small peg to hang things on. ⁴It can only be used as firewood. But after its ends are burnt and its middle is charred, it can't be used for anything. ⁵The wood is useless before it is burned, and afterwards, it is completely worthless.

⁶I, the LORD God, promise that just as the wood of a grapevine is burned as firewood, ⁷I will punish the people of Jerusalem with fire. Some of them have escaped one destruction, but soon they will be completely burned. And when that happens, you, Ezekiel, will know that I am the LORD. ⁸I will make their country an empty wasteland, because they have not been loyal to me. I, the LORD God, have spoken.

The LORD's Promise to Israel

Isaiah 44 People of Israel, I have chosen you as my servant.

I am your Creator.

You were in my care even before you were born.

Israel, don't be terrified!

You are my chosen servant, my very favorite.

³I will bless the thirsty land by sending streams of water;

I will bless your descendants by giving them my Spirit.

⁴They will spring up like grass or like willow trees

near flowing streams.

⁵They will worship me and become my people.

They will write my name on the back of their hands.

⁶I am the LORD All-Powerful, the first and the last,

the one and only God.

Israel, I have rescued you! I am your King.

⁷Can anyone compare with me?

If so, let them speak up and tell me now.

Let them say what has happened

since I made my nation long ago,

and let them tell what is going to happen.

⁸Don't tremble with fear! Didn't I tell you long ago?

Didn't you hear me? I alone am God--

no one else is a mighty rock.

Idols Can't Do a Thing

The LORD said:

⁹Those people who make idols are nothing themselves,

and the idols they treasure are just as worthless.

Worshipers of idols are blind, stupid, and foolish.

¹⁰

Why make an idol or an image that can't do a thing?

¹¹Everyone who makes idols and all who worship them

are mere humans, who will end up sadly disappointed.

Let them face me in court and be terrified.

Idols and Firewood

¹²A metalworker shapes an idol by using a hammer

and heat from the fire.

In his powerful hand he holds a hammer,

as he pounds the metal into the proper shape.

But he gets hungry and thirsty and loses his strength.

¹³Some woodcarver measures a piece of wood,

then draws an outline.

The idol is carefully carved with each detail exact.

At last it looks like a person

and is placed in a temple.

¹⁴Either cedar, cypress, oak, or any tree from the forest

may be chosen.

Or even a pine tree planted by the woodcarver

and watered by the rain.

¹⁵Some of the wood is used to make a fire for heating

or for cooking.

One piece is made into an idol,

then the woodcarver bows down and worships it.

¹⁶He enjoys the warm fire and the meat that was roasted

over the burning coals.

¹⁷Afterwards, he bows down to worship the wooden idol.

"Protect me!" he says. "You are my god."

¹⁸Those who worship idols are stupid and blind! ¹⁹They don't have enough sense to say to themselves, "I made a fire with half of the wood and cooked my bread and meat on it. Then I made something worthless with the other half. Why worship a block of wood?"

²⁰How can anyone be stupid enough to trust something that can be burned to ashes? No one can save themselves like that. Don't they realize that the idols they hold in their hands are not really gods?

The LORD Won't Forget His People

²¹People of Israel, you are my servant,

so remember all of this.

Israel, I created you, and you are my servant.

I won't forget you.

²²Turn back to me! I have rescued you

and swept away your sins as though they were clouds.

Sing Praises to the LORD

²³Tell the heavens and the earth to start singing!

Tell the mountains and every tree in the forest

to join in the song!

The LORD has rescued his people;

now they will worship him.

The LORD Created Everything

²⁴Israel, I am your LORD. I am your source of life,

and I have rescued you.

I created everything from the sky above

to the earth below.

²⁵I make liars of false prophets and fools of fortunetellers.

I take human wisdom and turn it into nonsense.

²⁶I will make the message of my prophets come true.

They are saying, "Jerusalem will be filled with people,

and the LORD will rebuild the towns of Judah."

²⁷I am the one who commands the sea and its streams

to run dry.

²⁸I am also the one who says, "Cyrus will lead my people

and obey my orders.

Jerusalem and the temple will be rebuilt."

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.