Daily Bible CEV December 15 Scroll

Lights in the World

Philippians 2 ¹²My dear friends, you always obeyed when I was with you. Now that I am away, you should obey even more. So work with fear and trembling to discover what it really means to be saved. ¹³God is working in you to make you willing and able to obey him.

¹⁴Do everything without grumbling or arguing. ¹⁵Then you will be the pure and innocent children of God. You live among people who are crooked and evil, but you must not do anything that they can say is wrong. Try to shine as lights among the people of this world, ¹⁶as you hold firmly to the message that gives life. Then on the day when Christ returns, I can take pride in you. I can also know that my work and efforts were not useless.

¹⁷Your faith in the Lord and your service are like a sacrifice offered to him. And my own blood may have to be poured out with the sacrifice. If this happens, I will be glad and rejoice with you. ¹⁸In the same way, you should be glad and rejoice with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus

¹⁹I want to be encouraged by news about you. So I hope the Lord Jesus will soon let me send Timothy to you. ²⁰I don't have anyone else who cares about you as much as he does. ²¹The others think only about what interests them and not about what concerns Christ Jesus. ²²But you know what kind of person Timothy is. He has worked with me like a son in spreading the good news. ²³I hope to send him to you, as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me. ²⁴And I feel sure that the Lord will also let me come soon.

²⁵I think I ought to send my dear friend Epaphroditus back to you. He is a follower and a worker and a soldier of the Lord, just as I am. You sent him to look after me, ²⁶but now he is eager to see you. He is worried, because you heard he was sick. ²⁷In fact, he was very sick and almost died. But God was kind to him, and also to me, and he kept me from being burdened down with sorrow.

²⁸Now I am more eager than ever to send Epaphroditus back again. You will be glad to see him, and I won't have to worry any longer. ²⁹Be sure to give him a cheerful welcome, just as people who serve the Lord deserve. ³⁰He almost died working for Christ, and he risked his own life to do for me what you could not.

The LORD Will Punish Jerusalem

Ezekiel 21 The LORD said:

²Ezekiel, son of man, condemn the places in Jerusalem where people worship. Warn everyone in Israel ³that I am about to punish them. I will pull out my sword and have it ready to kill everyone, whether good or evil. ⁴From south to north, people will die, ⁵knowing that my sword will never be put away.

⁶Ezekiel, groan in sorrow and despair so that everyone can hear you. ⁷When they ask why you are groaning, tell them you have terrifying news that will make them faint and tremble in fear and lose all courage. These things will happen soon. I, the LORD God, make this promise!

A Sword Is Ready To Attack Israel

⁸The LORD said:

^9-10Ezekiel, son of man, tell the people of Jerusalem:

I have sharpened my sword to slaughter you;

it is shiny and will flash like lightning!

Don't celebrate-- punishment is coming,

because everyone has ignored my warnings.

¹¹My sword has been polished;

it's sharp and ready to kill.

¹²Groan in sorrow, Ezekiel;

the sword is drawn against my people

and their leaders.

They will die! So give up all hope.

¹³I am testing my people,

and they can do nothing to stop me.

I, the LORD, have spoken.

¹⁴Ezekiel, warn my people, then celebrate my victory

by clapping your hands.

My vicious sword will attack again and again,

killing my people with every stroke.

¹⁵They will lose all courage and stumble with fear.

My slaughtering sword is waiting at every gate,

flashing and ready to kill.

¹⁶It will slash right and left,

wherever the blade is pointed.

¹⁷Then I will stop being angry,

and I will clap my hands in victory.

I, the LORD, have spoken.

The King of Babylonia and His Sword

¹⁸The LORD said:

¹⁹Ezekiel, son of man, mark two roads for the king of Babylonia to follow when he comes with his sword. The roads will begin at the same place, but be sure to put up a signpost where the two roads separate and go in different directions. ²⁰Clearly mark where the two roads lead. One goes to Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, and the other goes to Jerusalem, the fortified capital of Judah. ²¹When the Babylonian king stands at that signpost, he will decide which way to go by shaking his arrows, by asking his idols, and by carefully looking at the liver of a sacrificed animal. ²²His right hand will pull out the arrow marked "Jerusalem." Then he will immediately give the signal to shout the battle cry, to build dirt ramps to the top of the city walls, to break down its walls and gates with large wooden poles, and to kill the people. ²³Everyone in Jerusalem had promised to be loyal to Babylonia, and so none of them will believe that this could happen to them. But Babylonia's king will remind them of their sinful ways and warn them of their coming captivity.

²⁴Ezekiel, tell the people of Jerusalem and their ruler that I, the LORD God, am saying:

Everything you do is wicked and shows how sinful you are. You are guilty and will be taken away as prisoners.

²⁵And now, you evil and wicked ruler of Israel, your day of final punishment is almost here. ²⁶I, the LORD God, command you to take off your royal turban and your crown, because everything will be different. Those who had no power will be put in charge, and those who now rule will become nobodies. ²⁷I will leave Jerusalem in ruins when my chosen one comes to punish this city.

Judgment against Ammon

²⁸The LORD God said:

Ezekiel, son of man, the Ammonites have insulted Israel, so condemn them and tell them I am saying:

A sword is drawn, ready to slaughter;

it is polished and prepared

to kill as fast as lightning.

²⁹You wicked Ammonites see false visions and believe untrue messages. But your day of punishment is coming soon, and my sword will slaughter you!

³⁰Your days to punish others are over, so put your swords away. You will be punished in the land of your birth. ³¹My furious anger will scorch you like fire, and I will hand you over to cruel men who are experts in killing. ³²You will be burned and will die in your own land. Then you will be forgotten forever. I, the LORD, have spoken.

Jerusalem Is Condemned

Ezekiel 22 Some time later, the LORD said:

²Ezekiel, son of man, are you ready to condemn Jerusalem? That city is filled with murderers, so remind the people of their sins ³and tell them I am saying:

Jerusalem, you have murdered many of your own people and have worshiped idols. You will soon be punished! ⁴Those crimes have made you guilty, and the idols have made you unacceptable to me. So your final punishment is near. Other nations will laugh at you and make insulting remarks, ⁵and people far and near will make fun of your misery.

⁶Your own leaders use their power to murder. ⁷None of you honor your parents, and you cheat foreigners, orphans, and widows. ⁸You show no respect for my sacred places and treat the Sabbath just like any other day. ⁹Some of your own people tell lies, so that others will be put to death. Some of you eat meat sacrificed to idols at local shrines, and others never stop doing vulgar things. ¹⁰Men have sex with their father's wife or with women who are having their monthly period ¹¹or with someone else's wife. Some men even sleep with their own daughter-in-law or half sister. ¹²Others of you accept money to murder someone. Your own people charge high interest when making a loan to other Israelites, and they get rich by cheating. Worst of all, you have forgotten me, the LORD God.

¹³I will shake my fist in anger at your violent crimes. ¹⁴When I'm finished with you, your courage will disappear, and you will be so weak that you won't be able to lift your hands. I, the LORD, have spoken and will not change my mind. ¹⁵I will scatter you throughout every nation on earth and put a stop to your sinful ways. ¹⁶You will be humiliated in the eyes of other nations. Then you will know that I, the LORD God, have done these things.

Jerusalem Must Be Purified

¹⁷The LORD said:

¹⁸Ezekiel, son of man, I consider the people of Israel as worthless as the leftover metal in a furnace after silver has been purified. ¹⁹So I am going to bring them together in Jerusalem. ^20-21I will be like a metalworker who collects that metal from the furnace and melts it down. I will collect the Israelites and blow on them with my fiery anger. They will melt inside the city of Jerusalem ²²like silver in a furnace. Then they will know that I, the LORD, have punished them in my anger.

Everyone in Jerusalem Is Guilty

²³The LORD said:

²⁴Ezekiel, son of man, tell the people of Israel that their country is full of sin, and that I, the LORD, am furious! ²⁵Their leaders are like roaring lions, tearing apart their victims. They put people to death, then steal everything of value. Husbands are killed, and many women are left as widows.

²⁶The priests of Israel ignore my Law! Not only do they refuse to respect any of my sacred things, but they don't even teach the difference between what is sacred and what is ordinary, or between what is clean and what is unclean. They treat my Sabbath like any other day, and so my own people no longer honor me.

²⁷Israel's officials are like ferocious wolves, ripping their victims apart. They make a dishonest living by injuring and killing people.

²⁸And then the prophets in Israel cover up these sins by giving false visions. I have never spoken to them, but they lie and say they have a message from me. ²⁹The people themselves cheat and rob; they abuse the poor and take advantage of foreigners.

³⁰I looked for someone to defend the city and to protect it from my anger, as well as to stop me from destroying it. But I found no one. ³¹So in my fierce anger, I will punish the Israelites for what they have done, and they will know that I am furious. I, the LORD, have spoken.

The LORD's Power To Punish

Isaiah 50 The LORD says, "Children,

I didn't divorce your mother or sell you to pay debts;

I divorced her and sold you because of your sins.

²I came and called out, but you didn't answer.

Have I lost my power to rescue and save?

At my command oceans and rivers turn into deserts;

fish rot and stink for lack of water.

³I make the sky turn dark

like the sackcloth you wear at funerals."

God's Servant Must Suffer

⁴The LORD God gives me the right words

to encourage the weary.

Each morning he awakens me eager to learn his teaching;

⁵

he made me willing to listen and not rebel or run away.

⁶I let them beat my back and pull out my beard.

I didn't turn aside when they insulted me

and spit in my face.

⁷But the LORD God keeps me from being disgraced.

So I refuse to give up,

because I know God will never let me down.

⁸My protector is nearby; no one can stand here

to accuse me of wrong.

⁹The LORD God will help me and prove I am innocent.

My accusers will wear out like moth-eaten clothes.

¹⁰None of you respect the LORD or obey his servant.

You walk in the dark instead of the light;

you don't trust the name of the LORD your God.

¹¹Go ahead and walk in the light of the fires you have set.

But with his own hand, the LORD will punish you

and make you suffer.

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.