Daily Bible GNT December 03 Scroll

Bear One Another's Burdens

Galatians 6 My friends, if someone is caught in any kind of wrongdoing, those of you who are spiritual should set him right; but you must do it in a gentle way. And keep an eye on yourselves, so that you will not be tempted, too. ²Help carry one another's burdens, and in this way you will obey the law of Christ. ³If you think you are something when you really are nothing, you are only deceiving yourself. ⁴You should each judge your own conduct. If it is good, then you can be proud of what you yourself have done, without having to compare it with what someone else has done. ⁵For each of you have to carry your own load.

⁶If you are being taught the Christian message, you should share all the good things you have with your teacher.

⁷Do not deceive yourselves; no one makes a fool of God. You will reap exactly what you plant. ⁸If you plant in the field of your natural desires, from it you will gather the harvest of death; if you plant in the field of the Spirit, from the Spirit you will gather the harvest of eternal life. ⁹So let us not become tired of doing good; for if we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the harvest. ¹⁰So then, as often as we have the chance, we should do good to everyone, and especially to those who belong to our family in the faith.

Final Warning and Greeting

¹¹See what big letters I make as I write to you now with my own hand! ¹²The people who are trying to force you to be circumcised are the ones who want to show off and boast about external matters. They do it, however, only so that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. ¹³Even those who practice circumcision do not obey the Law; they want you to be circumcised so that they can boast that you submitted to this physical ceremony. ¹⁴As for me, however, I will boast only about the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; for by means of his cross the world is dead to me, and I am dead to the world. ¹⁵It does not matter at all whether or not one is circumcised; what does matter is being a new creature. ¹⁶As for those who follow this rule in their lives, may peace and mercy be with them--with them and with all of God's people!

¹⁷To conclude: let no one give me any more trouble, because the scars I have on my body show that I am the slave of Jesus.

¹⁸May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, my friends. Amen.

God Calls Ezekiel to Be a Prophet

When I saw this, I fell face downward on the ground. Then I heard a voice
Ezekiel 2 ¹saying, "Mortal man, stand up. I want to talk to you." ²While the voice was speaking, God's spirit entered me and raised me to my feet, and I heard the voice continue, ³"Mortal man, I am sending you to the people of Israel. They have rebelled and turned against me and are still rebels, just as their ancestors were. ⁴They are stubborn and do not respect me, so I am sending you to tell them what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying to them. ⁵Whether those rebels listen to you or not, they will know that a prophet has been among them.

⁶"But you, mortal man, must not be afraid of them or of anything they say. They will defy and despise you; it will be like living among scorpions. Still, don't be afraid of those rebels or of anything they say. ⁷You will tell them whatever I tell you to say, whether they listen or not. Remember what rebels they are.

⁸"Mortal man, listen to what I tell you. Don't be rebellious like them. Open your mouth and eat what I am going to give you." ⁹I saw a hand reaching out toward me, and it was holding a scroll. ¹⁰The hand unrolled the scroll, and I saw that there was writing on both sides--cries of grief were written there, and wails and groans.
Ezekiel 3 God said, "Mortal man, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel."

²So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. ³He said, "Mortal man, eat this scroll that I give you; fill your stomach with it." I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey.

⁴Then God said, "Mortal man, go to the people of Israel and say to them whatever I tell you to say. ⁵I am not sending you to a nation that speaks a difficult foreign language, but to the Israelites. ⁶If I sent you to great nations that spoke difficult languages you didn't understand, they would listen to you. ⁷But none of the people of Israel will be willing to listen; they will not even listen to me. All of them are stubborn and defiant. ⁸Now I will make you as stubborn and as tough as they are. ⁹I will make you as firm as a rock, as hard as a diamond; don't be afraid of those rebels."

¹⁰God continued, "Mortal man, pay close attention and remember everything I tell you. ¹¹Then go to the people of your nation who are in exile and tell them what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying to them, whether they pay attention to you or not."

¹²Then God's spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the loud roar of a voice that said, "Praise the glory of the LORD in heaven above!" ¹³I heard the wings of the creatures beating together in the air, and the noise of the wheels, as loud as an earthquake. ¹⁴The power of the LORD came on me with great force, and as his spirit carried me off, I felt bitter and angry. ¹⁵So I came to Tel Abib beside the Chebar River, where the exiles were living, and for seven days I stayed there, overcome by what I had seen and heard.

The LORD Appoints Ezekiel as a Lookout
(Ezekiel 33.1-9)

¹⁶After the seven days had passed, the LORD spoke to me. ¹⁷"Mortal man," he said, "I am making you a lookout for the nation of Israel. You will pass on to them the warnings I give you. ¹⁸If I announce that someone evil is going to die but you do not warn him to change his ways so that he can save his life, he will die, still a sinner, but I will hold you responsible for his death. ¹⁹If you do warn an evil man and he doesn't stop sinning, he will die, still a sinner, but your life will be spared.

²⁰"If someone truly good starts doing evil and I put him in a dangerous situation, he will die if you do not warn him. He will die because of his sins--I will not remember the good he did--and I will hold you responsible for his death. ²¹If you do warn a good man not to sin and he listens to you and doesn't sin, he will stay alive, and your life will also be spared."

Ezekiel Will Be Unable to Talk

²²I felt the powerful presence of the LORD and heard him say to me, "Get up and go out into the valley. I will talk to you there."

²³So I went out into the valley, and there I saw the glory of the LORD, just as I had seen it beside the Chebar River. I fell face downward on the ground, ²⁴but God's spirit entered me and raised me to my feet. The LORD said to me, "Go home and shut yourself up in the house. ²⁵You will be tied with ropes, mortal man, and you will not be able to go out in public. ²⁶I will paralyze your tongue so that you won't be able to warn these rebellious people. ²⁷Then, when I speak to you again and give you back the power of speech, you will tell them what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying. Some of them will listen, but some will ignore you, for they are a nation of rebels."

A Hymn of Praise

Psalm 149 Praise the LORD!

Sing a new song to the LORD;

praise him in the assembly of his faithful people!

²Be glad, Israel, because of your Creator;

rejoice, people of Zion, because of your king!

³Praise his name with dancing;

play drums and harps in praise of him.

⁴The LORD takes pleasure in his people;

he honors the humble with victory.

⁵Let God's people rejoice in their triumph

and sing joyfully all night long.

⁶Let them shout aloud as they praise God,

with their sharp swords in their hands

⁷

to defeat the nations

and to punish the peoples;

⁸

to bind their kings in chains,

their leaders in chains of iron;

⁹

to punish the nations as God has commanded.

This is the victory of God's people.

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.