Daily Bible CEV December 12 Scroll

PHILIPPIANS

Philippians 1 From Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus.

To all of God's people who belong to Christ Jesus at Philippi and to all of your church officials and officers.

²I pray that God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!

Paul's Prayer for the Church in Philippi

³Every time I think of you, I thank my God. ⁴And whenever I mention you in my prayers, it makes me happy. ⁵This is because you have taken part with me in spreading the good news from the first day you heard about it. ⁶God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that he won't stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns.

⁷You have a special place in my heart. So it is only natural for me to feel the way I do. All of you have helped in the work that God has given me, as I defend the good news and tell about it here in jail. ⁸God himself knows how much I want to see you. He knows that I care for you in the same way that Christ Jesus does.

⁹I pray that your love will keep on growing and that you will fully know and understand ¹⁰how to make the right choices. Then you will still be pure and innocent when Christ returns. And until that day, ¹¹Jesus Christ will keep you busy doing good deeds that bring glory and praise to God.

Those Who Sin Will Die

Ezekiel 18 The LORD said:

²Ezekiel, I hear the people of Israel using the old saying,

"Sour grapes eaten by parents leave a sour taste

in the mouths of their children."

³Now tell them that I am the LORD God, and as surely as I live, that saying will no longer be used in Israel. ⁴The lives of all people belong to me--parents as well as children. Only those who sin will be put to death.

⁵Suppose there is a truly good man who always does what is fair and right. ⁶He refuses to eat meat sacrificed to foreign gods at local shrines or to worship Israel's idols. He doesn't have sex with someone else's wife or with a woman having her monthly period. ⁷He never cheats or robs anyone and always returns anything taken as security for a loan; he gives food and clothes to the poor ⁸and doesn't charge interest when lending money. He refuses to do anything evil; he is fair to everyone ⁹and faithfully obeys my laws and teachings. This man is good, and I promise he will live.

¹⁰But suppose this good man has an evil son who is violent and commits sins ¹¹his father never did. He eats meat at local shrines, has sex with someone else's wife, ¹²cheats the poor, and robs people. He keeps what is given to him as security for a loan. He worships idols, does disgusting things, ¹³and charges high interest when lending money. An evil man like that will certainly not live. He is the one who has done these horrible sins, so it's his own fault that he will be put to death.

¹⁴But suppose this evil man has a son who sees his father do these things and refuses to act like him. ¹⁵He doesn't eat meat at local shrines or worship Israel's idols, and he doesn't have sex with someone else's wife. ¹⁶He never cheats or robs anyone and doesn't even demand security for a loan. He gives food and clothes to the poor ¹⁷and refuses to do anything evil or to charge interest. And he obeys all my laws and teachings. Such a man will live. His own father sinned, but this good man will not be put to death for the sins of his father. ¹⁸It is his father who will die for cheating and robbing and doing evil.

¹⁹You may wonder why a son isn't punished for the sins of his father. It is because the son does what is right and obeys my laws. ²⁰Only those who sin will be put to death. Children won't suffer for the sins of their parents, and parents won't suffer for the sins of their children. Good people will be rewarded for what they do, and evil people will be punished for what they do.

²¹Suppose wicked people stop sinning and start obeying my laws and doing right. They won't be put to death. ²²All their sins will be forgiven, and they will live because they did right. ²³I, the LORD God, don't like to see wicked people die. I enjoy seeing them turn from their sins and live.

²⁴But when good people start sinning and doing disgusting things, will they live? No! All their good deeds will be forgotten, and they will be put to death because of their sins.

²⁵You people of Israel accuse me of being unfair! But listen--I'm not unfair; you are! ²⁶If good people start doing evil, they must be put to death, because they have sinned. ²⁷And if wicked people start doing right, they will save themselves from punishment. ²⁸They will think about what they've done and stop sinning, and so they won't be put to death. ²⁹But you still say that I am unfair. You are the ones who have done wrong and are unfair!

³⁰I will judge each of you for what you've done. So stop sinning, or else you will certainly be punished. ³¹Give up your evil ways and start thinking pure thoughts. And be faithful to me! Do you really want to be put to death for your sins? ³²I, the LORD God, don't want to see that happen to anyone. So stop sinning and live!

Babylon Will Fall

The LORD said:
Isaiah 47 City of Babylon, You are delicate and untouched,

but that will change.

Surrender your royal power and sit in the dirt.

²Start grinding grain! Take off your veil.

Strip off your fancy clothes and cross over rivers.

³You will suffer the shame of going naked,

because I will take revenge, and no one can escape.

⁴I am the LORD All-Powerful, the holy God of Israel.

I am their Savior.

⁵Babylon, be silent! Sit in the dark.

No longer will nations accept you as their queen.

⁶I was angry with my people. So I let you take their land

and bring disgrace on them.

You showed them no mercy,

but were especially cruel to those who were old.

⁷You thought that you would be queen forever.

You didn't care what you did;

it never entered your mind that you might get caught.

⁸You think that you alone are all-powerful,

that you won't be a widow or lose your children.

All you care about is pleasure, but listen to what I say.

⁹Your magic powers and charms will suddenly fail,

then you will be a widow and lose your children.

¹⁰You hid behind evil like a shield and said,

"No one can see me!"

You were fooled by your wisdom and your knowledge;

you felt sure that you alone were in full control.

¹¹But without warning, disaster will strike--

and your magic charms won't help at all.

¹²Keep using your magic powers and your charms

as you have always done.

Maybe--just maybe-- you will frighten somebody!

¹³You have worn yourself out,

asking for advice from those who study the stars

and tell the future month after month.

Go ask them how to be saved from what will happen.

¹⁴People who trust the stars are as helpless

as straw in a flaming fire.

No one can even keep warm, sitting by a fire

that feeds only on straw.

¹⁵These are the fortunetellers you have done business with

all of your life.

But they don't know where they are going,

and they can't save you.

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.