Daily Bible GNT December 01 Scroll

Preserve Your Freedom

Galatians 5 Freedom is what we have--Christ has set us free! Stand, then, as free people, and do not allow yourselves to become slaves again.

²Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, it means that Christ is of no use to you at all. ³Once more I warn any man who allows himself to be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the whole Law. ⁴Those of you who try to be put right with God by obeying the Law have cut yourselves off from Christ. You are outside God's grace. ⁵As for us, our hope is that God will put us right with him; and this is what we wait for by the power of God's Spirit working through our faith. ⁶For when we are in union with Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor the lack of it makes any difference at all; what matters is faith that works through love.

⁷You were doing so well! Who made you stop obeying the truth? How did he persuade you? ⁸It was not done by God, who calls you. ⁹"It takes only a little yeast to make the whole batch of dough rise," as they say. ¹⁰But I still feel confident about you. Our life in union with the Lord makes me confident that you will not take a different view and that whoever is upsetting you will be punished by God.

¹¹But as for me, my friends, if I continue to preach that circumcision is necessary, why am I still being persecuted? If that were true, then my preaching about the cross of Christ would cause no trouble. ¹²I wish that the people who are upsetting you would go all the way; let them go on and castrate themselves!

¹³As for you, my friends, you were called to be free. But do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you. Instead, let love make you serve one another. ¹⁴For the whole Law is summed up in one commandment: "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." ¹⁵But if you act like wild animals, hurting and harming each other, then watch out, or you will completely destroy one another.

A Prayer for Mercy

Lamentations 5 Remember, O LORD, what has happened to us.

Look at us, and see our disgrace.

²Our property is in the hands of strangers;

foreigners are living in our homes.

³Our fathers have been killed by the enemy,

and now our mothers are widows.

⁴We must pay for the water we drink;

we must buy the wood we need for fuel.

⁵Driven hard like donkeys or camels,

we are tired, but are allowed no rest.

⁶To get food enough to stay alive,

we went begging to Egypt and Assyria.

⁷Our ancestors sinned, but now they are gone,

and we are suffering for their sins.

⁸Our rulers are no better than slaves,

and no one can save us from their power.

⁹Murderers roam through the countryside;

we risk our lives when we look for food.

¹⁰Hunger has made us burn with fever

until our skin is as hot as an oven.

¹¹Our wives have been raped on Mount Zion itself;

in every Judean village our daughters have been forced to submit.

¹²Our leaders have been taken and hanged;

our elders are shown no respect.

¹³Our young men are forced to grind grain like slaves;

boys go staggering under heavy loads of wood.

¹⁴The old people no longer sit at the city gate,

and the young people no longer make music.

¹⁵Happiness has gone out of our lives;

grief has taken the place of our dances.

¹⁶Nothing is left of all we were proud of.

We sinned, and now we are doomed.

¹⁷We are sick at our very hearts

and can hardly see through our tears,

¹⁸because Mount Zion lies lonely and deserted,

and wild jackals prowl through its ruins.

¹⁹But you, O LORD, are king forever

and will rule to the end of time.

²⁰Why have you abandoned us so long?

Will you ever remember us again?

²¹Bring us back to you, LORD! Bring us back!

Restore our ancient glory.

²²Or have you rejected us forever?

Is there no limit to your anger?

In Praise of God the Almighty

Psalm 147 Praise the LORD!

It is good to sing praise to our God;

it is pleasant and right to praise him.

²The LORD is restoring Jerusalem;

he is bringing back the exiles.

³He heals the broken-hearted

and bandages their wounds.

⁴He has decided the number of the stars

and calls each one by name.

⁵Great and mighty is our Lord;

his wisdom cannot be measured.

⁶He raises the humble,

but crushes the wicked to the ground.

⁷Sing hymns of praise to the LORD;

play music on the harp to our God.

⁸He spreads clouds over the sky;

he provides rain for the earth

and makes grass grow on the hills.

⁹He gives animals their food

and feeds the young ravens when they call.

¹⁰His pleasure is not in strong horses,

nor his delight in brave soldiers;

¹¹but he takes pleasure in those who honor him,

in those who trust in his constant love.

¹²Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!

Praise your God, O Zion!

¹³He keeps your gates strong;

he blesses your people.

¹⁴He keeps your borders safe

and satisfies you with the finest wheat.

¹⁵He gives a command to the earth,

and what he says is quickly done.

¹⁶He spreads snow like a blanket

and scatters frost like dust.

¹⁷He sends hail like gravel;

no one can endure the cold he sends!

¹⁸Then he gives a command, and the ice melts;

he sends the wind, and the water flows.

¹⁹He gives his message to his people,

his instructions and laws to Israel.

²⁰He has not done this for other nations;

they do not know his laws.

Praise the LORD!

This reading is from The Holy Bible, Today's English Version, Second Edition copyright © American Bible Society, 1992;
Old Testament copyright © American Bible Society, 1976, 1992; New Testament © American Bible Society, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992.

These daily Bible readings from the Good News Translation (GNT), formerly the Today's English Version (TEV), are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. All BibleCard® images are copyrighted by iCreative. All rights reserved.