Daily Bible GNT December 19 Scroll

Paul's Work as a Servant of the Church

Colossians 1 ²⁴And now I am happy about my sufferings for you, for by means of my physical sufferings I am helping to complete what still remains of Christ's sufferings on behalf of his body, the church. ²⁵And I have been made a servant of the church by God, who gave me this task to perform for your good. It is the task of fully proclaiming his message, ²⁶which is the secret he hid through all past ages from all human beings but has now revealed to his people. ²⁷God's plan is to make known his secret to his people, this rich and glorious secret which he has for all peoples. And the secret is that Christ is in you, which means that you will share in the glory of God. ²⁸So we preach Christ to everyone. With all possible wisdom we warn and teach them in order to bring each one into God's presence as a mature individual in union with Christ. ²⁹To get this done I toil and struggle, using the mighty strength which Christ supplies and which is at work in me.
Colossians 2 Let me tell you how hard I have worked for you and for the people in Laodicea and for all others who do not know me personally. ²I do this in order that they may be filled with courage and may be drawn together in love, and so have the full wealth of assurance which true understanding brings. In this way they will know God's secret, which is Christ himself. ³He is the key that opens all the hidden treasures of God's wisdom and knowledge.

⁴I tell you, then, do not let anyone deceive you with false arguments, no matter how good they seem to be. ⁵For even though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, and I am glad as I see the resolute firmness with which you stand together in your faith in Christ.

Fullness of Life in Christ

⁶Since you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, live in union with him. ⁷Keep your roots deep in him, build your lives on him, and become stronger in your faith, as you were taught. And be filled with thanksgiving.

⁸See to it, then, that no one enslaves you by means of the worthless deceit of human wisdom, which comes from the teachings handed down by human beings and from the ruling spirits of the universe, and not from Christ. ⁹For the full content of divine nature lives in Christ, in his humanity, ¹⁰and you have been given full life in union with him. He is supreme over every spiritual ruler and authority.

¹¹In union with Christ you were circumcised, not with the circumcision that is made by human beings, but with the circumcision made by Christ, which consists of being freed from the power of this sinful self. ¹²For when you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in baptism you were also raised with Christ through your faith in the active power of God, who raised him from death. ¹³You were at one time spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were Gentiles without the Law. But God has now brought you to life with Christ. God forgave us all our sins; ¹⁴he canceled the unfavorable record of our debts with its binding rules and did away with it completely by nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵And on that cross Christ freed himself from the power of the spiritual rulers and authorities; he made a public spectacle of them by leading them as captives in his victory procession.

¹⁶So let no one make rules about what you eat or drink or about holy days or the New Moon Festival or the Sabbath. ¹⁷All such things are only a shadow of things in the future; the reality is Christ. ¹⁸Do not allow yourselves to be condemned by anyone who claims to be superior because of special visions and who insists on false humility and the worship of angels. For no reason at all, such people are all puffed up by their human way of thinking ¹⁹and have stopped holding on to Christ, who is the head of the body. Under Christ's control the whole body is nourished and held together by its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God wants it to grow.

A Funeral Song for Tyre

Ezekiel 27 The LORD said to me, ²"Mortal man, sing a funeral song for Tyre, ³that city which stands at the edge of the sea and does business with the people living on every seacoast. Tell her what the Sovereign LORD is saying:

"Tyre, you boasted of your perfect beauty.

⁴Your home is the sea.

Your builders made you like a beautiful ship;

⁵They used fir trees from Mount Hermon for timber

And a cedar from Lebanon for your mast.

⁶They took oak trees from Bashan to make oars;

They made your deck out of pine from Cyprus

And inlaid it with ivory.

⁷Your sails were made of linen,

Embroidered linen from Egypt,

Easily recognized from afar.

Your awnings were made of finest cloth,

Of purple from the island of Cyprus.

⁸Your oarsmen were from the cities of Sidon and Arvad.

Your own skillful men were the sailors.

⁹The ship's carpenters

Were well-trained men from Byblos.

Sailors from every seagoing ship

Did business in your shops.

¹⁰"Soldiers from Persia, Lydia, and Libya served in your army. They hung their shields and their helmets in your barracks. They are the men who won glory for you. ¹¹Soldiers from Arvad guarded your walls, and troops from Gamad guarded your towers. They hung their shields on your walls. They are the ones who made you beautiful.

¹²"You did business in Spain and took silver, iron, tin, and lead in payment for your abundant goods. ¹³You did business in Greece, Tubal, and Meshech and traded your goods for slaves and for articles of bronze. ¹⁴You sold your goods for workhorses, war-horses, and mules from Beth Togarmah. ¹⁵The people of Rhodes traded with you; people of many coastal lands gave you ivory and ebony in exchange for your goods. ¹⁶The people of Syria bought your merchandise and your many products. They gave emeralds, purple cloth, embroidery, fine linen, coral, and rubies in payment for your wares. ¹⁷Judah and Israel paid for your goods with wheat, honey, olive oil, and spices. ^18-19The people of Damascus bought your merchandise and your products, paying for them with wine from Helbon and wool from Sahar. They traded wrought iron and spices for your goods. ²⁰The people of Dedan traded saddle blankets for your goods. ²¹The Arabians and the rulers of the land of Kedar paid for your merchandise with lambs, sheep, and goats. ²²For your goods the merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded jewels, gold, and the finest spices. ²³The cities of Haran, Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, the cities of Asshur and Chilmad--they all traded with you. ²⁴They sold you luxurious clothing, purple cloth, and embroidery, brightly colored carpets, and well-made cords and ropes. ²⁵Your merchandise was carried in fleets of the largest cargo ships.

"You were like a ship at sea

Loaded with heavy cargo.

²⁶When your oarsmen brought you out to sea,

An east wind wrecked you far from land.

²⁷All your wealth of merchandise,

All the sailors in your crew,

Your ship's carpenters and your merchants,

Every soldier on board the ship--

All, all were lost at sea

When your ship was wrecked.

²⁸The shouts of the drowning sailors

Echoed on the shore.

²⁹"Every ship is now deserted,

And every sailor has gone ashore.

³⁰They all mourn bitterly for you,

Throwing dust on their heads and rolling in ashes.

³¹They shave their heads for you

And dress themselves in sackcloth.

Their hearts are bitter as they weep.

³²They chant a funeral song for you:

'Who can be compared to Tyre,

To Tyre now silent in the sea?

³³When your merchandise went overseas,

You filled the needs of every nation.

Kings were made rich

By the wealth of your goods.

³⁴Now you are wrecked in the sea;

You have sunk to the ocean depths.

Your goods and all who worked for you

Have vanished with you in the sea.'

³⁵"Everyone who lives along the coast is shocked at your fate. Even their kings are terrified, and fear is written on their faces. ³⁶You are gone, gone forever, and merchants all over the world are terrified, afraid that they will share your fate."

Prophecy against the King of Tyre

Ezekiel 28 The LORD spoke to me. ²"Mortal man," he said, "tell the ruler of Tyre what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying to him: Puffed up with pride, you claim to be a god. You say that like a god you sit on a throne, surrounded by the seas. You may pretend to be a god, but, no, you are mortal, not divine. ³You think you are wiser than Danel, that no secret can be kept from you. ⁴Your wisdom and skill made you rich with treasures of gold and silver. ⁵You made clever business deals and kept on making profits. How proud you are of your wealth!

⁶"Now then, this is what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying: Because you think you are as wise as a god, ⁷I will bring ruthless enemies to attack you. They will destroy all the beautiful things you have acquired by skill and wisdom. ⁸They will kill you and send you to a watery grave. ⁹When they come to kill you, will you still claim that you are a god? When you face your murderers, you will be mortal and not at all divine. ¹⁰You will die like a dog at the hand of godless foreigners. I, the Sovereign LORD, have given the command."

The Fall of the King of Tyre

¹¹The LORD spoke to me again. ¹²"Mortal man," he said, "grieve for the fate that is waiting for the king of Tyre. Tell him what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying: You were once an example of perfection. How wise and handsome you were! ¹³You lived in Eden, the garden of God, and wore gems of every kind: rubies and diamonds; topaz, beryl, carnelian, and jasper; sapphires, emeralds, and garnets. You had ornaments of gold. They were made for you on the day you were created. ¹⁴I put a terrifying angel there to guard you. You lived on my holy mountain and walked among sparkling gems. ¹⁵Your conduct was perfect from the day you were created until you began to do evil. ¹⁶You were busy buying and selling, and this led you to violence and sin. So I forced you to leave my holy mountain, and the angel who guarded you drove you away from the sparkling gems. ¹⁷You were proud of being handsome, and your fame made you act like a fool. Because of this I hurled you to the ground and left you as a warning to other kings. ¹⁸You did such evil in buying and selling that your places of worship were corrupted. So I set fire to the city and burned it to the ground. All who look at you now see you reduced to ashes. ¹⁹You are gone, gone forever, and all the nations that had come to know you are terrified, afraid that they will share your fate."

Prophecy against Sidon

²⁰The LORD said to me, ²¹"Mortal man, denounce the city of Sidon. ²²Tell the people there what I, the Sovereign LORD, say about them: I am your enemy, Sidon; people will praise me because of what I do to you. They will know that I am the LORD, when I show how holy I am by punishing those who live in you. ²³I will send diseases on you and make blood flow in your streets. You will be attacked from every side, and your people will be killed. Then you will know that I am the LORD."

Israel Will Be Blessed

²⁴The LORD said, "None of the surrounding nations that treated Israel with scorn will ever again be like thorns and briers to hurt Israel. And they will know that I am the Sovereign LORD."

²⁵The Sovereign LORD said, "I will bring back the people of Israel from the nations where I scattered them, and all the nations will know that I am holy. The people of Israel will live in their own land, the land that I gave to my servant Jacob. ²⁶They will live there in safety. They will build houses and plant vineyards. I will punish all their neighbors who treated them with scorn, and Israel will be secure. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God."

The LORD's Love for Israel

Isaiah 54 Jerusalem, you have been like a childless woman,

but now you can sing and shout for joy.

Now you will have more children

than a woman whose husband never left her.

²Make the tent you live in larger;

lengthen its ropes and strengthen the pegs!

³You will extend your boundaries on all sides;

your people will get back the land

that the other nations now occupy.

Cities now deserted will be filled with people.

⁴Do not be afraid--you will not be disgraced again;

you will not be humiliated.

You will forget your unfaithfulness as a young wife,

and your desperate loneliness as a widow.

⁵Your Creator will be like a husband to you--

the LORD Almighty is his name.

The holy God of Israel will save you--

he is the ruler of all the world.

⁶Israel, you are like a young wife,

deserted by her husband and deeply distressed.

But the LORD calls you back to him and says:

⁷"For one brief moment I left you;

with deep love I will take you back.

⁸I turned away angry for only a moment,

but I will show you my love forever."

So says the LORD who saves you.

⁹"In the time of Noah I promised

never again to flood the earth.

Now I promise not to be angry with you again;

I will not reprimand or punish you.

¹⁰The mountains and hills may crumble,

but my love for you will never end;

I will keep forever my promise of peace."

So says the LORD who loves you.

The Future Jerusalem

¹¹The LORD says,

"O Jerusalem, you suffering, helpless city,

with no one to comfort you,

I will rebuild your foundations with precious stones.

¹²I will build your towers with rubies,

your gates with stones that glow like fire,

and the wall around you with jewels.

¹³"I myself will teach your people

and give them prosperity and peace.

¹⁴Justice and right will make you strong.

You will be safe from oppression and terror.

¹⁵Whoever attacks you,

does it without my consent;

whoever fights against you will fall.

¹⁶"I create the blacksmith,

who builds a fire and forges weapons.

I also create the soldier,

who uses the weapons to kill.

¹⁷But no weapon will be able to hurt you;

you will have an answer for all who accuse you.

I will defend my servants

and give them victory."

The LORD has spoken.

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.