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Day 271/365

Listen to today's reading by Tom Dooley © MasterMedia Ministries/Tyndale.

Old Testament Reading

This content from World English Bible (public domain)

and rendered with usfm2gmi

Isaiah 54:1 - 57:14

“Sing, barren, you who didn’t give birth!

Break out into singing, and cry aloud, you who didn’t travail with child!

For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife,” says Yahweh.

“Enlarge the place of your tent,

and let them stretch out the curtains of your habitations;

don’t spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes.

For you will spread out on the right hand and on the left;

and your offspring will possess the nations

and settle in desolate cities.

“Don’t be afraid, for you will not be ashamed.

Don’t be confounded, for you will not be disappointed.

For you will forget the shame of your youth.

You will remember the reproach of your widowhood no more.

For your Maker is your husband; Yahweh of Armies is his name.

The Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer.

He will be called the God of the whole earth.

For Yahweh has called you as a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,

even a wife of youth, when she is cast off,” says your God.

“For a small moment I have forsaken you,

but I will gather you with great mercies.

In overflowing wrath I hid my face from you for a moment,

but with everlasting loving kindness I will have mercy on you,” says Yahweh your Redeemer.

“For this is like the waters of Noah to me;

for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah will no more go over the earth,

so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.

For the mountains may depart,

and the hills be removed,

but my loving kindness will not depart from you,

and my covenant of peace will not be removed,”

says Yahweh who has mercy on you.

“You afflicted, tossed with storms, and not comforted,

behold, I will set your stones in beautiful colors,

and lay your foundations with sapphires.

I will make your pinnacles of rubies,

your gates of sparkling jewels,

and all your walls of precious stones.

All your children will be taught by Yahweh,

and your children’s peace will be great.

You will be established in righteousness.

You will be far from oppression,

for you will not be afraid,

and far from terror,

for it shall not come near you.

Behold, they may gather together, but not by me.

Whoever gathers together against you will fall because of you.

“Behold, I have created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame,

and forges a weapon for his work;

and I have created the destroyer to destroy.

No weapon that is formed against you will prevail;

and you will condemn every tongue that rises against you in judgment.

This is the heritage of Yahweh’s servants,

and their righteousness is of me,” says Yahweh.

“Hey! Come, everyone who thirsts, to the waters!

Come, he who has no money, buy, and eat!

Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Why do you spend money for that which is not bread,

and your labor for that which doesn’t satisfy?

Listen diligently to me, and eat that which is good,

and let your soul delight itself in richness.

Turn your ear, and come to me.

Hear, and your soul will live.

I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

Behold, I have given him for a witness to the peoples,

a leader and commander to the peoples.

Behold, you shall call a nation that you don’t know;

and a nation that didn’t know you shall run to you,

because of Yahweh your God,

and for the Holy One of Israel;

for he has glorified you.”

Seek Yahweh while he may be found.

Call on him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way,

and the unrighteous man his thoughts.

Let him return to Yahweh, and he will have mercy on him,

to our God, for he will freely pardon.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

and your ways are not my ways,” says Yahweh.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways,

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain comes down and the snow from the sky,

and doesn’t return there, but waters the earth,

and makes it grow and bud,

and gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

so is my word that goes out of my mouth:

it will not return to me void,

but it will accomplish that which I please,

and it will prosper in the thing I sent it to do.

For you shall go out with joy,

and be led out with peace.

The mountains and the hills will break out before you into singing;

and all the trees of the fields will clap their hands.

Instead of the thorn the cypress tree will come up;

and instead of the brier the myrtle tree will come up.

It will make a name for Yahweh,

for an everlasting sign that will not be cut off.”

Yahweh says:

“Maintain justice

and do what is right,

for my salvation is near

and my righteousness will soon be revealed.

Blessed is the man who does this,

and the son of man who holds it fast;

who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it

and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

Let no foreigner who has joined himself to Yahweh speak, saying,

“Yahweh will surely separate me from his people.”

Do not let the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”

For Yahweh says, “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,

choose the things that please me,

and hold fast to my covenant,

I will give them in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name better than of sons and of daughters.

I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.

Also the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh

to serve him,

and to love Yahweh’s name,

to be his servants,

everyone who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it,

and holds fast my covenant,

I will bring these to my holy mountain,

and make them joyful in my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar;

for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

The Lord Yahweh, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says,

“I will yet gather others to him,

in addition to his own who are gathered.”

All you animals of the field,

come to devour,

all you animals in the forest.

His watchmen are blind.

They are all without knowledge.

They are all mute dogs.

They can’t bark —

dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.

Yes, the dogs are greedy.

They can never have enough.

They are shepherds who can’t understand.

They have all turned to their own way,

each one to his gain, from every quarter.

“Come,” they say, “I will get wine,

and we will fill ourselves with strong drink;

and tomorrow will be as today,

great beyond measure.”

The righteous perish,

and no one lays it to heart.

Merciful men are taken away,

and no one considers that the righteous is taken away from the evil.

He enters into peace.

They rest in their beds,

each one who walks in his uprightness.

“But draw near here, you sons of a sorceress,

you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes.

Whom do you mock?

Against whom do you make a wide mouth

and stick out your tongue?

Aren’t you children of disobedience

and offspring of falsehood,

you who inflame yourselves among the oaks,

under every green tree;

who kill the children in the valleys,

under the clefts of the rocks?

Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion.

They, they are your lot.

You have even poured a drink offering to them.

You have offered an offering.

Shall I be appeased for these things?

On a high and lofty mountain you have set your bed.

You also went up there to offer sacrifice.

You have set up your memorial behind the doors and the posts,

for you have exposed yourself to someone besides me,

and have gone up.

You have enlarged your bed

and made you a covenant with them.

You loved what you saw on their bed.

You went to the king with oil,

increased your perfumes,

sent your ambassadors far off,

and degraded yourself even to Sheol. [Sheol is the place of the dead. ]

You were wearied with the length of your ways;

yet you didn’t say, ‘It is in vain.’

You found a reviving of your strength;

therefore you weren’t faint.

“Whom have you dreaded and feared,

so that you lie,

and have not remembered me, nor laid it to your heart?

Haven’t I held my peace for a long time,

and you don’t fear me?

I will declare your righteousness;

and as for your works, they will not benefit you.

When you cry,

let those whom you have gathered deliver you,

but the wind will take them.

A breath will carry them all away,

but he who takes refuge in me will possess the land,

and will inherit my holy mountain.”

He will say, “Build up, build up, prepare the way!

Remove the stumbling-block out of the way of my people.”

(WEB)

New Testament Reading

This content from OpenEnglishBible (public domain)

and rendered with usfm2gmi

Ephesians 6:1-24

Children, obey your parents, as children of the Lord; for that is but right. ‘Honor your father and mother’ – this is the first Commandment with a promise – ‘so that you may prosper and have a long life on earth.’ And fathers, do not irritate your children, but bring them up with Christian discipline and instruction.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters, with anxious care, giving them ungrudging service, as if obeying the Christ; not only when their eyes are on you, as if you had merely to please people, but as slaves of Christ, who are trying to carry out the will of God. Give your service heartily and cheerfully, as working for the Master and not for people; for you know that everyone will be rewarded by the Master for any honest work that he has done, whether he is a slave or free. And masters, treat your slaves in the same spirit. Give up threatening them; for you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that before him there is no distinction of rank.

For the future, find strength in your union with the Lord, and in the power which comes from his might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you may be able to stand your ground against the stratagems of the devil. For ours is no struggle against enemies of flesh and blood, but against all the various powers of evil that hold sway in the darkness around us, against the spirits of wickedness on high. Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the evil day comes, you may be able to withstand the attack, and, having fought to the end, still to stand your ground. Stand your ground, then, with truth for your belt, and with righteousness for your breastplate, and with the readiness to serve the good news of peace as shoes for your feet. At every onslaught take up faith for your shield; for with it you will be able to extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. And receive the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit – which is the message of God – always with prayer and supplication. Pray in spirit at all times. Be intent on this, with unwearying perseverance and supplication for all Christ’s people – and on my behalf also, so that when I begin to speak, words may be given me, so that I may fearlessly make known the inmost truth of the good news, on behalf of which I am an ambassador – in chains! Pray that, in telling it, I may speak fearlessly as I ought.

Conclusion

To enable you, as well as others, to know all that concerns me and what I am doing, Tychicus, our dear friend and faithful helper in the Master’s cause, will tell you everything. I am sending him to you on purpose that you may learn all about us, and that he may cheer your hearts.

May God, the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ give every follower peace, and love linked with faith. May God’s blessing be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. (OEB)

Ephesians 6:1: Children Obey Your Parents

Psalm

This content from OpenEnglishBible (public domain)

and rendered with usfm2gmi

Psalms 70:1-5

Psalm 70 – A Cry for Help in Persecution

For the leader. Of David. For commemoration.

Quickly, God, deliver me,

hasten to help me, Lᴏʀᴅ.

May those who are seeking my life,

be ashamed and confounded.

May those who delight in my hurt

be defeated and brought to dishonor.

But may all who seek after you

rejoice and be glad in you.

May all who love your salvation

say, “Glory to God,” evermore.

I am weak and needy:

make haste, God, to me.

You are my help and deliverer;

Lᴏʀᴅ, don’t delay.

(OEB)

Proverb

This content pulled from bible.org.

Proverbs 24:8

The one who plans to do evilwill be called a scheming person.

(NET)