Monday, May 31, 2021

 Jeremiah 6:16–30

¹⁶This is what the LORD says:

"Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.' ¹⁷I appointed watchmen over you and said, 'Listen to the sound of the trumpet!' But you said, 'We will not listen.' ¹⁸Therefore hear, O nations; observe, O witnesses, what will happen to them. ¹⁹Hear, O earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law. ²⁰What do I care about incense from Sheba or sweet calamus from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please me."

²¹Therefore this is what the LORD says:

"I will put obstacles before this people. Fathers and sons alike will stumble over them; neighbors and friends will perish."

²²This is what the LORD says:

"Look, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is being stirred up from the ends of the earth. ²³They are armed with bow and spear; they are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, O Daughter of Zion."

²⁴We have heard reports about them, and our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor. ²⁵Do not go out to the fields or walk on the roads, for the enemy has a sword, and there is terror on every side. ²⁶O my people, put on sackcloth and roll in ashes; mourn with bitter wailing as for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.

²⁷"I have made you a tester of metals and my people the ore, that you may observe and test their ways. ²⁸They are all hardened rebels, going about to slander. They are bronze and iron; they all act corruptly. ²⁹The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out. ³⁰They are called rejected silver, because the LORD has rejected them."

 

 

Psalm 119:161–176

¹⁶¹Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart trembles at your word. ¹⁶²I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil. ¹⁶³I hate and abhor falsehood but I love your law. ¹⁶⁴Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws. ¹⁶⁵Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. ¹⁶⁶I wait for your salvation, O LORD, and I follow your commands. ¹⁶⁷I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly. ¹⁶⁸I obey your precepts and your statutes, for all my ways are known to you.

¹⁶⁹May my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word. ¹⁷⁰May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise. ¹⁷¹May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees. ¹⁷²May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous. ¹⁷³May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. ¹⁷⁴I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight. ¹⁷⁵Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me. ¹⁷⁶I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.

 

 

Acts 4:1–22

¹The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. ²They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. ³They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. ⁴But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.

⁵The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. ⁶Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest's family. ⁷They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?"

⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, ¹⁰then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹He is

" 'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone. '

¹²Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

¹³When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. ¹⁴But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. ¹⁵So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. ¹⁶"What are we going to do with these men?" they asked. "Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name."

¹⁸Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. ²⁰For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

²¹After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. ²²For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.