Thursday, November 30, 2023

Isaiah 1:18–31

¹⁸"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. ¹⁹If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; ²⁰but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

²¹See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her-- but now murderers! ²²Your silver has become dross, your choice wine is diluted with water. ²³Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow's case does not come before them. ²⁴Therefore the Lord, the LORD Almighty, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: "Ah, I will get relief from my foes and avenge myself on my enemies. ²⁵I will turn my hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities. ²⁶I will restore your judges as in days of old, your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City."

²⁷Zion will be redeemed with justice, her penitent ones with righteousness. ²⁸But rebels and sinners will both be broken, and those who forsake the LORD will perish.

²⁹"You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks in which you have delighted; you will be disgraced because of the gardens that you have chosen. ³⁰You will be like an oak with fading leaves, like a garden without water. ³¹The mighty man will become tinder and his work a spark; both will burn together, with no one to quench the fire."

 

 

Psalm 122

¹A song of ascents. Of David. I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD." ²Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem. ³Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together. ⁴That is where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to praise the name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel. ⁵There the thrones for judgment stand, the thrones of the house of David. ⁶Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you be secure. ⁷May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels." ⁸For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, "Peace be within you." ⁹For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity.

 

 

1 Corinthians 12:1–11

¹Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. ²You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. ³Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

⁴There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

⁷Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.