Tuesday, February 23, 2021

 Isaiah 62

¹For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. ²The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. ³You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. ⁴No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married. ⁵As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.

⁶I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, ⁷and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.

⁸The LORD has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: "Never again will I give your grain as food for your enemies, and never again will foreigners drink the new wine for which you have toiled; ⁹but those who harvest it will eat it and praise the LORD, and those who gather the grapes will drink it in the courts of my sanctuary."

¹⁰Pass through, pass through the gates! Prepare the way for the people. Build up, build up the highway! Remove the stones. Raise a banner for the nations.

¹¹The LORD has made proclamation to the ends of the earth: "Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.' " ¹²They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the LORD; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted.

 

 

Psalm 50

¹A psalm of Asaph. The Mighty One, God, the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets. ²From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth. ³Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages. ⁴He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that he may judge his people: ⁵"Gather to me my consecrated ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice." ⁶And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for God himself is judge. [Selah] ⁷"Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God. ⁸I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me. ⁹I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, ¹⁰for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. ¹¹I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. ¹²If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it. ¹³Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? ¹⁴Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, ¹⁵and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me." ¹⁶But to the wicked, God says: "What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips? ¹⁷You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you. ¹⁸When you see a thief, you join with him; you throw in your lot with adulterers. ¹⁹You use your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit. ²⁰You speak continually against your brother and slander your own mother's son. ²¹These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought I was altogether like you. But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face. ²²"Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with none to rescue: ²³He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God."

 

 

Galatians 2:15-21

¹⁵"We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' ¹⁶know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

¹⁷"If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! ¹⁸If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. ¹⁹For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. ²⁰I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ²¹I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

Galatians 3:1-9

¹You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. ²I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? ³Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? ⁴Have you suffered so much for nothing--if it really was for nothing? ⁵Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

⁶Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." ⁷Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. ⁸The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." ⁹So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.