Daily Bible GNT December 09 Scroll

Living in the Light

Ephesians 5 Since you are God's dear children, you must try to be like him. ²Your life must be controlled by love, just as Christ loved us and gave his life for us as a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice that pleases God.

³Since you are God's people, it is not right that any matters of sexual immorality or indecency or greed should even be mentioned among you. ⁴Nor is it fitting for you to use language which is obscene, profane, or vulgar. Rather you should give thanks to God. ⁵You may be sure that no one who is immoral, indecent, or greedy (for greed is a form of idolatry) will ever receive a share in the Kingdom of Christ and of God.

⁶Do not let anyone deceive you with foolish words; it is because of these very things that God's anger will come upon those who do not obey him. ⁷So have nothing at all to do with such people. ⁸You yourselves used to be in the darkness, but since you have become the Lord's people, you are in the light. So you must live like people who belong to the light, ⁹for it is the light that brings a rich harvest of every kind of goodness, righteousness, and truth. ¹⁰Try to learn what pleases the Lord. ¹¹Have nothing to do with the worthless things that people do, things that belong to the darkness. Instead, bring them out to the light. ( ¹²It is really too shameful even to talk about the things they do in secret.) ¹³And when all things are brought out to the light, then their true nature is clearly revealed; ¹⁴for anything that is clearly revealed becomes light. That is why it is said,

"Wake up, sleeper,

and rise from death,

and Christ will shine on you."

¹⁵So be careful how you live. Don't live like ignorant people, but like wise people. ¹⁶Make good use of every opportunity you have, because these are evil days. ¹⁷Don't be fools, then, but try to find out what the Lord wants you to do.

¹⁸Do not get drunk with wine, which will only ruin you; instead, be filled with the Spirit. ¹⁹Speak to one another with the words of psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing hymns and psalms to the Lord with praise in your hearts. ²⁰In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, always give thanks for everything to God the Father.

God Condemns Idolatry

Ezekiel 14 Some of the leaders of the Israelites came to consult me about the LORD's will. ²Then the LORD spoke to me. ³"Mortal man," he said, "these men have given their hearts to idols and are letting idols lead them into sin. Do they think I will give them an answer?

⁴"Now speak to them and tell them what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying to them: Each of you Israelites who have given your heart to idols and let them lead you into sin and who then come to consult a prophet, will get an answer from me--the answer that your many idols deserve! ⁵All those idols have turned the Israelites away from me, but by my answer I hope to win back their loyalty.

⁶"Now then, tell the Israelites what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying: Turn back and leave your disgusting idols.

⁷"Whenever one of you Israelites or one of you foreigners who live in the Israelite community turn away from me and worship idols, and then go to consult a prophet, I, the LORD, will give you your answer! ⁸I will oppose you. I will make an example of you. I will remove you from the community of my people, so that all of you will know that I am the LORD.

⁹"If any prophets are deceived into giving a false answer, it is because I, the LORD, have deceived them. I will remove them from the people of Israel. ¹⁰Both prophets and anyone who consults them will get the same punishment. ¹¹I will do this to keep the Israelites from deserting me and defiling themselves by their sins. They are to be my people, and I will be their God." The Sovereign LORD has spoken.

Noah, Danel, and Job

¹²The LORD spoke to me. ¹³"Mortal man," he said, "if a country sins and is unfaithful to me, I will reach out and destroy its supply of food. I will send a famine and kill people and animals alike. ¹⁴Even if those three men, Noah, Danel, and Job, were living there, their goodness would save only their own lives." The Sovereign LORD has spoken.

¹⁵"Or I might send wild animals to kill the people, making the land so dangerous that no one could travel through it, ¹⁶and even if those three men lived there--as surely as I, the Sovereign LORD, am the living God--they would not be able to save even their own children. They would save only their own lives, and the land would become a wilderness.

¹⁷"Or I might bring war on that country and send destructive weapons to wipe out people and animals alike, ¹⁸and even if those three men lived there--as surely as I, the Sovereign LORD, am the living God--they would not be able to save even their children, but only their own lives.

¹⁹"If I send an epidemic on that country and in my anger take many lives, killing people and animals, ²⁰even if Noah, Danel, and Job lived there--as surely as I, the Sovereign LORD, am the living God--they would not be able to save even their own children. Their goodness would save only their own lives."

²¹This is what the Sovereign LORD is saying: "I will send my four worst punishments on Jerusalem--war, famine, wild animals, and disease--to destroy people and animals alike. ²²If some survive and save their children, look at them when they come to you. See how evil they are, and be convinced that the punishment I am bringing on Jerusalem is justified; ²³then you will know that there was good reason for everything I did." The Sovereign LORD has spoken.

A Parable about a Vine

Ezekiel 15 The LORD spoke to me. ²"Mortal man," he said, "how does a vine compare with a tree? What good is a branch of a grapevine compared with the trees of the forest? ³Can you use it to make anything? Can you even make a peg out of it to hang things on? ⁴It is only good for building a fire. And when the ends are burned up and the middle is charred, can you make anything out of it? ⁵It was useless even before it was burned. Now that the fire has burned it and charred it, it is even more useless."

⁶Now this is what the Sovereign LORD is saying: "Just as a vine is taken from the forest and burned, so I will take the people who live in Jerusalem ⁷and will punish them. They have escaped one fire, but now fire will burn them up. When I punish them, you will know that I am the LORD. ⁸They have been unfaithful to me, and so I will make the country a wilderness." The Sovereign LORD has spoken.

The LORD Is the Only God

Isaiah 44 The LORD says,

"Listen now, Israel, my servant,

my chosen people, the descendants of Jacob.

²I am the LORD who created you;

from the time you were born, I have helped you.

Do not be afraid; you are my servant,

my chosen people whom I love.

³"I will give water to the thirsty land

and make streams flow on the dry ground.

I will pour out my spirit on your children

and my blessing on your descendants.

⁴They will thrive like well-watered grass,

like willows by streams of running water.

⁵"One by one, people will say, 'I am the LORD's.'

They will come to join the people of Israel.

They each will mark the name of the LORD on their arms

and call themselves one of God's people."

⁶The LORD, who rules and protects Israel,

the LORD Almighty, has this to say:

"I am the first, the last, the only God;

there is no other god but me.

⁷Could anyone else have done what I did?

Who could have predicted all that would happen

from the very beginning to the end of time?

⁸Do not be afraid, my people!

You know that from ancient times until now

I have predicted all that would happen,

and you are my witnesses.

Is there any other god?

Is there some powerful god I never heard of ?"

Idolatry Is Ridiculed

⁹All those who make idols are worthless, and the gods they prize so highly are useless. Those who worship these gods are blind and ignorant--and they will be disgraced. ¹⁰It does no good to make a metal image to worship as a god! ¹¹Everyone who worships it will be humiliated. The people who make idols are human beings and nothing more. Let them come and stand trial--they will be terrified and will suffer disgrace.

¹²The metalworker takes a piece of metal and works with it over a fire. His strong arm swings a hammer to pound the metal into shape. As he works, he gets hungry, thirsty, and tired.

¹³The carpenter measures the wood. He outlines a figure with chalk, carves it out with his tools, and makes it in the form of a man, a handsome human figure, to be placed in his house. ¹⁴He might cut down cedars to use, or choose oak or cypress wood from the forest. Or he might plant a laurel tree and wait for the rain to make it grow. ¹⁵A person uses part of a tree for fuel and part of it for making an idol. With one part he builds a fire to warm himself and bake bread; with the other part he makes a god and worships it. ¹⁶With some of the wood he makes a fire; he roasts meat, eats it, and is satisfied. He warms himself and says, "How nice and warm! What a beautiful fire!" ¹⁷The rest of the wood he makes into an idol, and then he bows down and worships it. He prays to it and says, "You are my god--save me!"

¹⁸Such people are too stupid to know what they are doing. They close their eyes and their minds to the truth. ¹⁹The maker of idols hasn't the wit or the sense to say, "Some of the wood I burned up. I baked some bread on the coals, and I roasted meat and ate it. And the rest of the wood I made into an idol. Here I am bowing down to a block of wood!"

²⁰It makes as much sense as eating ashes. His foolish ideas have so misled him that he is beyond help. He won't admit to himself that the idol he holds in his hand is not a god at all.

The LORD, the Creator and Savior

²¹The LORD says,

"Israel, remember this;

remember that you are my servant.

I created you to be my servant,

and I will never forget you.

²²I have swept your sins away like a cloud.

Come back to me; I am the one who saves you."

²³Shout for joy, you heavens!

Shout, deep places of the earth!

Shout for joy, mountains, and every tree of the forest!

The LORD has shown his greatness

by saving his people Israel.

²⁴"I am the LORD, your savior;

I am the one who created you.

I am the LORD, the Creator of all things.

I alone stretched out the heavens;

when I made the earth, no one helped me.

²⁵I make fools of fortunetellers

and frustrate the predictions of astrologers.

The words of the wise I refute

and show that their wisdom is foolishness.

²⁶But when my servant makes a prediction,

when I send a messenger to reveal my plans,

I make those plans and predictions come true.

I tell Jerusalem that people will live there again,

and the cities of Judah that they will be rebuilt.

Those cities will rise from the ruins.

²⁷With a word of command I dry up the ocean.

²⁸I say to Cyrus, 'You are the one who will rule for me;

you will do what I want you to do:

you will order that Jerusalem be rebuilt

and that the foundations of the Temple be laid.'"

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.