Sunday, January 31, 2021

 Isaiah 46

¹Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low; their idols are borne by beasts of burden. The images that are carried about are burdensome, a burden for the weary. ²They stoop and bow down together; unable to rescue the burden, they themselves go off into captivity.

³"Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth. ⁴Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

⁵"To whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared? ⁶Some pour out gold from their bags and weigh out silver on the scales; they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god, and they bow down and worship it. ⁷They lift it to their shoulders and carry it; they set it up in its place, and there it stands. From that spot it cannot move. Though one cries out to it, it does not answer; it cannot save him from his troubles.

⁸"Remember this, fix it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels. ⁹Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. ¹⁰I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. ¹¹From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do. ¹²Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted, you who are far from righteousness. ¹³I am bringing my righteousness near, it is not far away; and my salvation will not be delayed. I will grant salvation to Zion, my splendor to Israel.

 

 

Psalm 30

¹A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David. I will exalt you, O LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. ²O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. ³O LORD, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit. ⁴Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name. ⁵For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. ⁶When I felt secure, I said, "I will never be shaken." ⁷O LORD, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed. ⁸To you, O LORD, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: ⁹"What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? ¹⁰Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me; O LORD, be my help." ¹¹You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, ¹²that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

 

 

John 12:44–50

⁴⁴Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. ⁴⁵When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. ⁴⁶I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

⁴⁷"As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. ⁴⁸There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. ⁴⁹For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. ⁵⁰I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say."