Tuesday, December 29, 2020

 Isaiah 24

¹See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants-- ²it will be the same for priest as for people, for master as for servant, for mistress as for maid, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor. ³The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word.

⁴The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the exalted of the earth languish. ⁵The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. ⁶Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth's inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left. ⁷The new wine dries up and the vine withers; all the merrymakers groan. ⁸The gaiety of the tambourines is stilled, the noise of the revelers has stopped, the joyful harp is silent. ⁹No longer do they drink wine with a song; the beer is bitter to its drinkers. ¹⁰The ruined city lies desolate; the entrance to every house is barred. ¹¹In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy turns to gloom, all gaiety is banished from the earth. ¹²The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces. ¹³So will it be on the earth and among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.

¹⁴They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the LORD's majesty. ¹⁵Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD; exalt the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. ¹⁶From the ends of the earth we hear singing: "Glory to the Righteous One."

But I said, "I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! The treacherous betray! With treachery the treacherous betray!" ¹⁷Terror and pit and snare await you, O people of the earth. ¹⁸Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare.

The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake. ¹⁹The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is thoroughly shaken. ²⁰The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls--never to rise again.

²¹In that day the LORD will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. ²²They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days. ²³The moon will be abashed, the sun ashamed; for the LORD Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders, gloriously.

 

 

Psalm 149

¹Praise the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints. ²Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King. ³Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp. ⁴For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation. ⁵Let the saints rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds. ⁶May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, ⁷to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, ⁸to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, ⁹to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all his saints. Praise the LORD.

 

 

2 Corinthians 13

¹This will be my third visit to you. "Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." ²I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others, ³since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. ⁴For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God's power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God's power we will live with him to serve you.

⁵Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test? ⁶And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. ⁷Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. ⁸For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. ⁹We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection. ¹⁰This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority--the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.

¹¹Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

¹²Greet one another with a holy kiss. ¹³All the saints send their greetings.

¹⁴May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.