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Revelation 2:10 - (Jesus said) "Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life."
Today Christians find themselves surrounded by all kinds of doubters and deniers.
They are all sure that the Savior's story of salvation is a sham; they just are hard-pressed to tell us why they know it is a fake. In contrast to what these skeptics and cynics think they know, Christians base their faith on some pretty serious facts.
Here's one we don't often think about.
Look, do you think these disciples would have been martyred, holding fast to the preaching of a prank? Do you think these cowering, cringing cowards could be turned into lions for the Lord if they had not believed in a risen Christ? They knew and armed with the knowledge of a living Lord Jesus they went into all the world and proclaimed, "Christ is risen!"
Under the city of Rome, there are over 600 miles of catacombs: 600 miles of graves cut into the rock. In these alcoves the dead have been laid to rest. Believer lies next to unbeliever. What I would like you to do is look into the Christian graves. Well, maybe you had better do so with a medical examiner. A forensic expert will be able to explain how many of those skeletons tell terrible tales.
There are heads severed from bodies, ribs and shoulder blades broken, bones calcified from having been burned with fire.
Despite the awful sufferings these bodies endured, the inscriptions on those Christian tombs shout of victory and triumph. One says, "Here lies Marcia, put to rest in peace." Another says, "Lawrence, borne away by angels." Yet another reads, "Being called away, he went in peace."
Now, having seen the graves of the believers, take a look at those tombs which hold the bones of those who had no faith in the risen Lord. Without a faith in Jesus, they say things like "Live for the present hour since you can be sure of nothing else." Another is bitter as it says: "I lift my hands against the gods who killed me at the age of twenty." A third pleads: "Traveler, do not curse me as you pass. I am in darkness and cannot answer."
That, my friends, is a dramatic difference!
What could give hope to family and mourners who had seen a loved one be victimized by hatred and die in horror? What could bring joy to those who had seen justice and judgment so unfairly pronounced?
There is only one answer: the living Lord Jesus. The reality of the Savior's resurrection is what brings souls from darkness into light, from horror to hope, from hell to heaven. Those early believers knew the pain they might have to suffer for their faith. If they were going to endure until the end they had to be sure -- absolutely sure -- that Jesus' resurrection was not just some cosmic joke made up by the disciples.
And this is the point: they were sure.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, grant that we, also, may be faithful until death, so we may receive the crown of life. Let us bear witness to our doubting friends that we are sure that because Jesus lives we will live also. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Revelation 2:10 - (Jesus said) "Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life."
Today Christians find themselves surrounded by all kinds of doubters and deniers.
They are all sure that the Savior's story of salvation is a sham; they just are hard-pressed to tell us why they know it is a fake. In contrast to what these skeptics and cynics think they know, Christians base their faith on some pretty serious facts.
Here's one we don't often think about.
Look, do you think these disciples would have been martyred, holding fast to the preaching of a prank? Do you think these cowering, cringing cowards could be turned into lions for the Lord if they had not believed in a risen Christ? They knew and armed with the knowledge of a living Lord Jesus they went into all the world and proclaimed, "Christ is risen!"
Under the city of Rome, there are over 600 miles of catacombs: 600 miles of graves cut into the rock. In these alcoves the dead have been laid to rest. Believer lies next to unbeliever. What I would like you to do is look into the Christian graves. Well, maybe you had better do so with a medical examiner. A forensic expert will be able to explain how many of those skeletons tell terrible tales.
There are heads severed from bodies, ribs and shoulder blades broken, bones calcified from having been burned with fire.
Despite the awful sufferings these bodies endured, the inscriptions on those Christian tombs shout of victory and triumph. One says, "Here lies Marcia, put to rest in peace." Another says, "Lawrence, borne away by angels." Yet another reads, "Being called away, he went in peace."
Now, having seen the graves of the believers, take a look at those tombs which hold the bones of those who had no faith in the risen Lord. Without a faith in Jesus, they say things like "Live for the present hour since you can be sure of nothing else." Another is bitter as it says: "I lift my hands against the gods who killed me at the age of twenty." A third pleads: "Traveler, do not curse me as you pass. I am in darkness and cannot answer."
That, my friends, is a dramatic difference!
What could give hope to family and mourners who had seen a loved one be victimized by hatred and die in horror? What could bring joy to those who had seen justice and judgment so unfairly pronounced?
There is only one answer: the living Lord Jesus. The reality of the Savior's resurrection is what brings souls from darkness into light, from horror to hope, from hell to heaven. Those early believers knew the pain they might have to suffer for their faith. If they were going to endure until the end they had to be sure -- absolutely sure -- that Jesus' resurrection was not just some cosmic joke made up by the disciples.
And this is the point: they were sure.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, grant that we, also, may be faithful until death, so we may receive the crown of life. Let us bear witness to our doubting friends that we are sure that because Jesus lives we will live also. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: Ezekiel 16-17; 2 Timothy 2Ezekiel 16:1 The word of Adonai came to me: 2 “Human being, make Yerushalayim realize how disgusting her practices are. 3 Say that Adonai Elohim is telling Yerushalayim, ‘By origin and birth you are of the land of the Kena‘ani — your father was an Emori, and your mother was a Hitti. 4 As for your birth — on the day you were born nobody cut your umbilical cord, washed you in water to clean you off, rubbed salt on you or wrapped you in cloth. 5 No one seeing you had enough pity on you to do any of these things for you — no one had any compassion on you. Instead, you were thrown into an open field in your own filth on the day you were born.
6 “‘I passed by and saw you there, wallowing in your own blood; and as you lay in your blood I said to you, “Live!” Yes, I said to you, as you lay in your blood, “Live! 7 I will increase your numbers just like plants growing in the field.” And you did increase, you developed, you reached puberty, your breasts appeared, and your hair grew long; but you were naked and exposed.
8 “‘Again I passed by you, looked at you and saw that your time had come, the time for love. So I spread my cloak over you to cover your private parts and entered into a covenant with you,’ says Adonai Elohim, ‘and you became mine. 9 Then I bathed you in water, washed the blood off you, and anointed you with oil. 10 I also clothed you with an embroidered gown, gave you fine leather sandals to wear, put a fine linen headband on your head and covered you with silk. 11 I gave you jewelry to wear, bracelets for your hands, a necklace for your neck, 12 a ring for your nose, earrings for your ears and a beautiful crown for your head. 13 Thus you were decked out in gold and silver; your clothing was of fine linen, silk and richly embroidered cloth; you ate the finest flour, honey and olive oil. You grew increasingly beautiful — you were fit to be queen. 14 Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty, because it was perfect, due to my having bestowed my own splendor on you’ says Adonai Elohim.
15 “‘But you put your trust in your own beauty and began prostituting yourself because of your fame, soliciting everyone passing by and accepting all comers. 16 You took your clothes and used them to decorate with bright colors the high places you made for yourself, and there you continued prostituting yourself. Such things shouldn’t happen, and in the future they won’t. 17 You also took your beautiful jewels made of my gold and my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images, with which you continued to prostitute yourself. 18 You took your embroidered clothing and covered them; you set my olive oil and my incense in front of them; 19 and you took my food, which I had given you — my fine flour, olive oil and honey, that I had given you to eat — and set it in front of them to give a pleasant aroma. That is how it was,’ says Adonai Elohim.
20 “‘Moreover, your sons and daughters, whom you bore me, you took and sacrificed for them to devour. Were these fornications of yours a casual matter? — 21 killing my children, handing them over and setting them apart for [these idols]? 22 In all your disgusting practices and fornications you never remembered the condition you were in when you were young — naked, exposed and wallowing in your own blood.
23 “‘So, after all this wickedness of yours — woe, woe to you!’ says Adonai Elohim — 24 ‘you built platforms and made yourself high places in every open space. 25 You built your high places at every street corner, turning your beauty into an abomination, spreading your legs for every passer-by, and multiplying your acts of fornication. 26 You had sex with your big-membered Egyptian neighbors and engaged in fornication over and over, just to provoke me. 27 So now I have stretched out my hand over you, diminished your ration of food and put you at the mercy of those who hate you, the daughters of the P’lishtim, who find your lewd behavior revolting.
28 “‘Still unsatisfied, you acted like a whore also with the people of Ashur; yes, you fornicated with them and were still not satisfied. 29 You multiplied your acts of fornication with the land of traders, the Kasdim, and still weren’t satisfied.
30 “‘You are so weak-willed!’ says Adonai Elohim. ‘You do all these things, behaving like a shameless whore, 31 building your platforms on every streetcorner, making your high places in every open space — and yet you aren’t like a whore, because you scorn getting paid. 32 Here is a wife who commits adultery, who goes to bed with strangers instead of her husband; 33 but also instead of receiving gifts like every other prostitute, you give gifts to all your lovers, you bribe them to come to you from all over the place and have sex with you! 34 You are the opposite of other women — you solicit the fornication, you aren’t solicited; and you pay them, they don’t pay you — you’re the opposite!
35 “‘All right, you whore, listen to the word of Adonai!’ 36 Adonai Elohim says: ‘Because your filth has been poured out and your privates exposed through your acts of fornication with your lovers, and because of all the idols of your disgusting practices, and because of the blood of your children, which you gave them, 37 therefore, look! I am going to gather all your lovers, to whom you have been so very nice, all the ones you hate right along with all the ones you love — I will gather them against you from all over the place and expose your private parts to them, so that they will see you completely naked. 38 I will pronounce on you the sentence that applies to women who commit adultery and murder; I will bring on you the death [decreed for] furious jealousy. 39 Yes, I will hand you over to them; and they will make a ruin of your platforms, tear down your high places, strip you of your clothes, take away your jewels, and leave you naked and exposed. 40 They will also bring up a mob against you, who will stone you to death and hack you to pieces with their swords. 41 They will burn your houses to the ground and execute judgments against you in the presence of many women. I will make you stop fornicating, and you will never again pay for a lover.
42 “‘Yes, I will satisfy my fury against you. But after that, my jealousy will leave you; and I will calm down and no longer be angry.
43 “‘Because you didn’t remember the condition you were in when you were young, but enraged me with all these things, therefore I will bring [the consequences of] your ways on your own head’ says Adonai Elohim.
“‘You committed these obscenities in addition to all your other disgusting practices! 44 Everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb against you, “Like mother, like daughter.” 45 Yes, you are your mother’s daughter, who despises her husband and children; you are the sister of your sisters, who despise their husbands and children; your mother was a Hitti and your father an Emori. 46 Moreover, your older sister is Shomron, who lives at your left, she and her daughters; and your younger sister, living at your right, is S’dom with her daughters. 47 You didn’t merely live by their ways and act according to their disgusting practices, but in a very short time you acted more corruptly than they in all your ways.
48 “‘As I live’ says Adonai Elohim, ‘your sister S’dom has not done, neither she nor her daughters, [as much evil] as you have done, you and your daughters. 49 The crimes of your sister S’dom were pride and gluttony; she and her daughters were careless and complacent, so that they did nothing to help the poor and needy. 50 They were arrogant and committed disgusting acts before me; so that when I saw it, I swept them away. 51 Shomron did not commit even half as many sins as you did. You committed many more disgusting acts than your sisters; in fact, in comparison with all the disgusting acts you have committed, they seem innocent! 52 But you too must bear your disgrace; for by your passing judgment that your sisters were innocent, through your having committed sins worse than theirs, they are shown to be more righteous than you. So be ashamed, and bear the disgrace you deserve for making your [guilty] sisters seem innocent!
53 “‘I will end their exile — the exile of S’dom and her daughters, the exile of Shomron and her daughters, and the exile of your captives there among them; 54 so that you can bear your own shame and experience the disgrace you deserve for all you have done to shield them from feeling their own guilt. 55 Your sisters, S’dom with her daughters and Shomron with her daughters, will return to their previous condition; and you with your daughters will return to your previous condition. 56 When you were so proud, you spoke with contempt about your sister S’dom, 57 before your own wickedness was exposed. But now the daughters of Aram mock you, as do her neighbors; and the daughters of the P’lishtim on every side are repulsed by you. 58 You have brought it all on yourself with your depravities and disgusting practices,’ says Adonai.
59 “For here is what Adonai Elohim says: ‘I will do to you as you have done — you treated the oath with contempt by breaking the covenant. 60 Nevertheless, I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were a girl and will establish an everlasting covenant with you. 61 Then you will remember your behavior and be ashamed of it as you receive your older and younger sisters and make them your daughters, even though the covenant with you does not cover that; 62 and I will re-establish my covenant with you. Then you will know that I am Adonai; 63 so that you will remember and be so ashamed that you will never open your mouth again, so ashamed will you be when I have forgiven you all that you have done,’ says Adonai Elohim.”
17:1 The word of Adonai came to me: 2 “Human being, propound this riddle, tell the house of Isra’el this allegory, 3 say that Adonai Elohim says this: ‘A big eagle having great wings and long pinions full of varicolored feathers came to the L’vanon and took over the top of the cedar. 4 He cropped off the topmost of its young twigs, carried them to a land of traders and set them down in a city of merchants. 5 He also took some of the seed in the land and planted it in fertile soil, placing it where there was abundant water, as one would a willow. 6 It grew to become a fruitful vine sprawling over the ground; its branches turned toward him, and its roots were under him — thus it became a vine, sprouting branches and putting forth shoots.
7 “‘There was another big eagle with great wings and many feathers; and the vine bent its roots toward him and put forth its branches toward him, so that he might water it more than in the bed where it was planted. 8 It had been planted in good soil, near plenty of water, so that it would produce branches, bear fruit and become a noble vine.’
9 “Say that Adonai Elohim asks: ‘Will it succeed? Won’t he pull it up by the roots and cut off its fruit; so that it dries up; and all its sprouting leaves wither? There will be no great power and few people there when it is plucked up by the roots. 10 Will it thrive just because it was planted? Won’t it wither altogether when the east wind strikes it? Yes, it will wither right there in the beds where it was growing.’”
11 The word of Adonai came to me: 12 “Say to the rebellious house: ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ Tell them: ‘Here, the king of Bavel came to Yerushalayim, took its king and princes and brought them to himself in Bavel. 13 Then he took a member of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. He removed the powerful leaders of the land, 14 so that this kingdom of his would stay humble and not develop aspirations of its own; rather, it would keep his covenant and live accordingly. 15 But this man rebelled and sent representatives to Egypt, in order to obtain horses and a sizeable army. Can he succeed? Can someone who does such things escape punishment? Can he break the covenant and still escape punishment?
16 “‘As I live,’ says Adonai Elohim, ‘in the place where the king who gave him his throne lives, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, there with him in Bavel I swear that he will die. 17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and numerous troops will give him no help in the war, when they raise siege-works and build fortified towers to destroy many people; 18 because he despised the oath by breaking the covenant to which he had sworn allegiance; having done all these things, he will not escape unpunished.’ 19 Therefore Adonai Elohim says: ‘As I live, I swear that it is my oath he has despised and my covenant he has broken, and I will bring this on his own head. 20 I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Bavel and bring him to judgment there for breaking faith with me. 21 The elite troops among his forces will die by the sword, and those who survive will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, Adonai, said it.’
22 “Adonai Elohim says, ‘From the top of this tall cedar, from its highest branch, I will take a shoot and plant it myself on a high and prominent mountain. 23 I will plant it on the highest mountain in Isra’el, where it will put out branches, bear fruit, and become a noble cedar. Under it will live all kinds of birds; winged creatures of every description will live there in the shadow of its branches. 24 Then all the trees of the field will know that I, Adonai, bring down the tall tree and raise up the low tree, wither the green tree and make the withered tree bear fruit. I, Adonai, have spoken; and I will do it.’”
2 Timothy 2:1 So then, you, my son, be empowered by the grace that comes from the Messiah Yeshua. 2 And the things you heard from me, which were supported by many witnesses, these things commit to faithful people, such as will be competent to teach others also. 3 Accept your share in suffering disgrace as a good soldier of the Messiah Yeshua. 4 No soldier on duty gets involved with civilian affairs, since he has to please his commanding officer. 5 Also an athlete can’t win a contest unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The farmer who has done the hard work should be the first to receive a share of the harvest. 7 Think about what I am saying, for the Lord will enable you to understand everything.
8 Remember Yeshua the Messiah, who was raised from the dead, who was a descendant of David. This is the Good News I proclaim, 9 and for which I am suffering to the point of being bound in chains — but the Word of God is not bound in chains! 10 Why do I persevere through it all? For the sake of those who have been chosen, so that they too may obtain the deliverance that comes through the Messiah Yeshua, with eternal glory. 11 Here is a statement you can trust:
If we have died with him,
we will also live with him.
12 If we persevere,
we will also rule with him
If we disown him,
he will also disown us.
13 If we are faithless,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.
14 Keep reminding people of this, and charge them solemnly before the Lord not to engage in word-battles. They accomplish nothing useful and are a catastrophe for the hearers! 15 Do all you can to present yourself to God as someone worthy of his approval, as a worker with no need to be ashamed, because he deals straightforwardly with the Word of the Truth. 16 But keep away from godless babbling, for those who engage in it will only become more ungodly, 17 and their teaching will eat away at people like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are among these; 18 they have missed the mark, as far as the truth is concerned, by saying that our resurrection has already taken place; and they are overturning some people’s faith. 19 Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, stamped with these words:
“The Lord knows his own,”[2 Timothy 2:19 Numbers 16:5; Nahum 1:7]
and,
“Let everyone who claims he belongs to the Lord
stand apart from wrongdoing.”[2 Timothy 2:19 Numbers 16:26]
20 In a large house there are dishes and pots not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. That is, some are meant for honorable use and some for dishonorable. 21 If a person keeps himself free of defilement by the latter, he will be a vessel set aside for honorable use by the master of the house and ready for every kind of good work. 22 So, flee the passions of youth; and, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart, pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love and peace. 23 But stay away from stupid and ignorant controversies — you know that they lead to fights, 24 and a slave of the Lord shouldn’t fight. On the contrary, he should be kind to everyone, a good teacher, and not resentful when mistreated. 25 Also he should be gentle as he corrects his opponents. For God may perhaps grant them the opportunity to turn from their sins, acquire full knowledge of the truth, 26 come to their senses and escape the trap of the Adversary, after having been captured alive by him to do his will.
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8 “‘Again I passed by you, looked at you and saw that your time had come, the time for love. So I spread my cloak over you to cover your private parts and entered into a covenant with you,’ says Adonai Elohim, ‘and you became mine. 9 Then I bathed you in water, washed the blood off you, and anointed you with oil. 10 I also clothed you with an embroidered gown, gave you fine leather sandals to wear, put a fine linen headband on your head and covered you with silk. 11 I gave you jewelry to wear, bracelets for your hands, a necklace for your neck, 12 a ring for your nose, earrings for your ears and a beautiful crown for your head. 13 Thus you were decked out in gold and silver; your clothing was of fine linen, silk and richly embroidered cloth; you ate the finest flour, honey and olive oil. You grew increasingly beautiful — you were fit to be queen. 14 Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty, because it was perfect, due to my having bestowed my own splendor on you’ says Adonai Elohim.
15 “‘But you put your trust in your own beauty and began prostituting yourself because of your fame, soliciting everyone passing by and accepting all comers. 16 You took your clothes and used them to decorate with bright colors the high places you made for yourself, and there you continued prostituting yourself. Such things shouldn’t happen, and in the future they won’t. 17 You also took your beautiful jewels made of my gold and my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images, with which you continued to prostitute yourself. 18 You took your embroidered clothing and covered them; you set my olive oil and my incense in front of them; 19 and you took my food, which I had given you — my fine flour, olive oil and honey, that I had given you to eat — and set it in front of them to give a pleasant aroma. That is how it was,’ says Adonai Elohim.
20 “‘Moreover, your sons and daughters, whom you bore me, you took and sacrificed for them to devour. Were these fornications of yours a casual matter? — 21 killing my children, handing them over and setting them apart for [these idols]? 22 In all your disgusting practices and fornications you never remembered the condition you were in when you were young — naked, exposed and wallowing in your own blood.
23 “‘So, after all this wickedness of yours — woe, woe to you!’ says Adonai Elohim — 24 ‘you built platforms and made yourself high places in every open space. 25 You built your high places at every street corner, turning your beauty into an abomination, spreading your legs for every passer-by, and multiplying your acts of fornication. 26 You had sex with your big-membered Egyptian neighbors and engaged in fornication over and over, just to provoke me. 27 So now I have stretched out my hand over you, diminished your ration of food and put you at the mercy of those who hate you, the daughters of the P’lishtim, who find your lewd behavior revolting.
28 “‘Still unsatisfied, you acted like a whore also with the people of Ashur; yes, you fornicated with them and were still not satisfied. 29 You multiplied your acts of fornication with the land of traders, the Kasdim, and still weren’t satisfied.
30 “‘You are so weak-willed!’ says Adonai Elohim. ‘You do all these things, behaving like a shameless whore, 31 building your platforms on every streetcorner, making your high places in every open space — and yet you aren’t like a whore, because you scorn getting paid. 32 Here is a wife who commits adultery, who goes to bed with strangers instead of her husband; 33 but also instead of receiving gifts like every other prostitute, you give gifts to all your lovers, you bribe them to come to you from all over the place and have sex with you! 34 You are the opposite of other women — you solicit the fornication, you aren’t solicited; and you pay them, they don’t pay you — you’re the opposite!
35 “‘All right, you whore, listen to the word of Adonai!’ 36 Adonai Elohim says: ‘Because your filth has been poured out and your privates exposed through your acts of fornication with your lovers, and because of all the idols of your disgusting practices, and because of the blood of your children, which you gave them, 37 therefore, look! I am going to gather all your lovers, to whom you have been so very nice, all the ones you hate right along with all the ones you love — I will gather them against you from all over the place and expose your private parts to them, so that they will see you completely naked. 38 I will pronounce on you the sentence that applies to women who commit adultery and murder; I will bring on you the death [decreed for] furious jealousy. 39 Yes, I will hand you over to them; and they will make a ruin of your platforms, tear down your high places, strip you of your clothes, take away your jewels, and leave you naked and exposed. 40 They will also bring up a mob against you, who will stone you to death and hack you to pieces with their swords. 41 They will burn your houses to the ground and execute judgments against you in the presence of many women. I will make you stop fornicating, and you will never again pay for a lover.
42 “‘Yes, I will satisfy my fury against you. But after that, my jealousy will leave you; and I will calm down and no longer be angry.
43 “‘Because you didn’t remember the condition you were in when you were young, but enraged me with all these things, therefore I will bring [the consequences of] your ways on your own head’ says Adonai Elohim.
“‘You committed these obscenities in addition to all your other disgusting practices! 44 Everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb against you, “Like mother, like daughter.” 45 Yes, you are your mother’s daughter, who despises her husband and children; you are the sister of your sisters, who despise their husbands and children; your mother was a Hitti and your father an Emori. 46 Moreover, your older sister is Shomron, who lives at your left, she and her daughters; and your younger sister, living at your right, is S’dom with her daughters. 47 You didn’t merely live by their ways and act according to their disgusting practices, but in a very short time you acted more corruptly than they in all your ways.
48 “‘As I live’ says Adonai Elohim, ‘your sister S’dom has not done, neither she nor her daughters, [as much evil] as you have done, you and your daughters. 49 The crimes of your sister S’dom were pride and gluttony; she and her daughters were careless and complacent, so that they did nothing to help the poor and needy. 50 They were arrogant and committed disgusting acts before me; so that when I saw it, I swept them away. 51 Shomron did not commit even half as many sins as you did. You committed many more disgusting acts than your sisters; in fact, in comparison with all the disgusting acts you have committed, they seem innocent! 52 But you too must bear your disgrace; for by your passing judgment that your sisters were innocent, through your having committed sins worse than theirs, they are shown to be more righteous than you. So be ashamed, and bear the disgrace you deserve for making your [guilty] sisters seem innocent!
53 “‘I will end their exile — the exile of S’dom and her daughters, the exile of Shomron and her daughters, and the exile of your captives there among them; 54 so that you can bear your own shame and experience the disgrace you deserve for all you have done to shield them from feeling their own guilt. 55 Your sisters, S’dom with her daughters and Shomron with her daughters, will return to their previous condition; and you with your daughters will return to your previous condition. 56 When you were so proud, you spoke with contempt about your sister S’dom, 57 before your own wickedness was exposed. But now the daughters of Aram mock you, as do her neighbors; and the daughters of the P’lishtim on every side are repulsed by you. 58 You have brought it all on yourself with your depravities and disgusting practices,’ says Adonai.
59 “For here is what Adonai Elohim says: ‘I will do to you as you have done — you treated the oath with contempt by breaking the covenant. 60 Nevertheless, I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were a girl and will establish an everlasting covenant with you. 61 Then you will remember your behavior and be ashamed of it as you receive your older and younger sisters and make them your daughters, even though the covenant with you does not cover that; 62 and I will re-establish my covenant with you. Then you will know that I am Adonai; 63 so that you will remember and be so ashamed that you will never open your mouth again, so ashamed will you be when I have forgiven you all that you have done,’ says Adonai Elohim.”
17:1 The word of Adonai came to me: 2 “Human being, propound this riddle, tell the house of Isra’el this allegory, 3 say that Adonai Elohim says this: ‘A big eagle having great wings and long pinions full of varicolored feathers came to the L’vanon and took over the top of the cedar. 4 He cropped off the topmost of its young twigs, carried them to a land of traders and set them down in a city of merchants. 5 He also took some of the seed in the land and planted it in fertile soil, placing it where there was abundant water, as one would a willow. 6 It grew to become a fruitful vine sprawling over the ground; its branches turned toward him, and its roots were under him — thus it became a vine, sprouting branches and putting forth shoots.
7 “‘There was another big eagle with great wings and many feathers; and the vine bent its roots toward him and put forth its branches toward him, so that he might water it more than in the bed where it was planted. 8 It had been planted in good soil, near plenty of water, so that it would produce branches, bear fruit and become a noble vine.’
9 “Say that Adonai Elohim asks: ‘Will it succeed? Won’t he pull it up by the roots and cut off its fruit; so that it dries up; and all its sprouting leaves wither? There will be no great power and few people there when it is plucked up by the roots. 10 Will it thrive just because it was planted? Won’t it wither altogether when the east wind strikes it? Yes, it will wither right there in the beds where it was growing.’”
11 The word of Adonai came to me: 12 “Say to the rebellious house: ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ Tell them: ‘Here, the king of Bavel came to Yerushalayim, took its king and princes and brought them to himself in Bavel. 13 Then he took a member of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. He removed the powerful leaders of the land, 14 so that this kingdom of his would stay humble and not develop aspirations of its own; rather, it would keep his covenant and live accordingly. 15 But this man rebelled and sent representatives to Egypt, in order to obtain horses and a sizeable army. Can he succeed? Can someone who does such things escape punishment? Can he break the covenant and still escape punishment?
16 “‘As I live,’ says Adonai Elohim, ‘in the place where the king who gave him his throne lives, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, there with him in Bavel I swear that he will die. 17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and numerous troops will give him no help in the war, when they raise siege-works and build fortified towers to destroy many people; 18 because he despised the oath by breaking the covenant to which he had sworn allegiance; having done all these things, he will not escape unpunished.’ 19 Therefore Adonai Elohim says: ‘As I live, I swear that it is my oath he has despised and my covenant he has broken, and I will bring this on his own head. 20 I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Bavel and bring him to judgment there for breaking faith with me. 21 The elite troops among his forces will die by the sword, and those who survive will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, Adonai, said it.’
22 “Adonai Elohim says, ‘From the top of this tall cedar, from its highest branch, I will take a shoot and plant it myself on a high and prominent mountain. 23 I will plant it on the highest mountain in Isra’el, where it will put out branches, bear fruit, and become a noble cedar. Under it will live all kinds of birds; winged creatures of every description will live there in the shadow of its branches. 24 Then all the trees of the field will know that I, Adonai, bring down the tall tree and raise up the low tree, wither the green tree and make the withered tree bear fruit. I, Adonai, have spoken; and I will do it.’”
2 Timothy 2:1 So then, you, my son, be empowered by the grace that comes from the Messiah Yeshua. 2 And the things you heard from me, which were supported by many witnesses, these things commit to faithful people, such as will be competent to teach others also. 3 Accept your share in suffering disgrace as a good soldier of the Messiah Yeshua. 4 No soldier on duty gets involved with civilian affairs, since he has to please his commanding officer. 5 Also an athlete can’t win a contest unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The farmer who has done the hard work should be the first to receive a share of the harvest. 7 Think about what I am saying, for the Lord will enable you to understand everything.
8 Remember Yeshua the Messiah, who was raised from the dead, who was a descendant of David. This is the Good News I proclaim, 9 and for which I am suffering to the point of being bound in chains — but the Word of God is not bound in chains! 10 Why do I persevere through it all? For the sake of those who have been chosen, so that they too may obtain the deliverance that comes through the Messiah Yeshua, with eternal glory. 11 Here is a statement you can trust:
If we have died with him,
we will also live with him.
12 If we persevere,
we will also rule with him
If we disown him,
he will also disown us.
13 If we are faithless,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.
14 Keep reminding people of this, and charge them solemnly before the Lord not to engage in word-battles. They accomplish nothing useful and are a catastrophe for the hearers! 15 Do all you can to present yourself to God as someone worthy of his approval, as a worker with no need to be ashamed, because he deals straightforwardly with the Word of the Truth. 16 But keep away from godless babbling, for those who engage in it will only become more ungodly, 17 and their teaching will eat away at people like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are among these; 18 they have missed the mark, as far as the truth is concerned, by saying that our resurrection has already taken place; and they are overturning some people’s faith. 19 Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, stamped with these words:
“The Lord knows his own,”[2 Timothy 2:19 Numbers 16:5; Nahum 1:7]
and,
“Let everyone who claims he belongs to the Lord
stand apart from wrongdoing.”[2 Timothy 2:19 Numbers 16:26]
20 In a large house there are dishes and pots not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. That is, some are meant for honorable use and some for dishonorable. 21 If a person keeps himself free of defilement by the latter, he will be a vessel set aside for honorable use by the master of the house and ready for every kind of good work. 22 So, flee the passions of youth; and, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart, pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love and peace. 23 But stay away from stupid and ignorant controversies — you know that they lead to fights, 24 and a slave of the Lord shouldn’t fight. On the contrary, he should be kind to everyone, a good teacher, and not resentful when mistreated. 25 Also he should be gentle as he corrects his opponents. For God may perhaps grant them the opportunity to turn from their sins, acquire full knowledge of the truth, 26 come to their senses and escape the trap of the Adversary, after having been captured alive by him to do his will.
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Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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