Saturday, June 26, 2021
Jeremiah 24
1After Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and
the officials, the craftsmen and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile
from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the LORD showed me
two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD. 2One
basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had
very poor figs, so bad they could not be eaten.
3Then the LORD asked me, "What do you see,
Jeremiah?"
"Figs," I
answered. "The good ones are very good, but the poor ones are so bad they
cannot be eaten."
4Then the word of the LORD came to me: 5"This
is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Like these good figs, I regard as
good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the
Babylonians. 6My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I
will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down;
I will plant them and not uproot them. 7I will give them a heart to
know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God,
for they will return to me with all their heart.
8" 'But like the poor figs, which are so bad
they cannot be eaten,' says the LORD, 'so will I deal with Zedekiah king of
Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in
this land or live in Egypt. 9I will make them abhorrent and an offense
to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, an object of
ridicule and cursing, wherever I banish them. 10I will send the
sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I
gave to them and their fathers.' "
Psalm
146
1Praise the
LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul. 2I will praise the LORD all my
life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 3Do not put
your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. 4When their
spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to
nothing. 5Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope
is in the LORD his God, 6the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and
everything in them-- the LORD, who remains faithful forever. 7He
upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets
prisoners free, 8the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts
up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. 9The LORD
watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he
frustrates the ways of the wicked. 10The LORD reigns forever, your
God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD.
Acts
14:8–18
8In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who
was lame from birth and had never walked. 9He listened to Paul as he
was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10and
called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and
began to walk.
11When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted
in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human
form!" 12Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes
because he was the chief speaker. 13The priest of Zeus, whose temple
was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because
he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
14But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of
this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15"Men,
why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing
you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living
God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16In
the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17Yet he has not left
himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven
and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your
hearts with joy." 18Even with these words, they had difficulty
keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
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