Message Bible Daily: June 2012

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Message Bible Daily Reading - Old/New Testament (MSG)

Old/New Testament Reading for Saturday June 30, 2012 (MSG)

Posted: 29 Jun 2012 10:00 PM PDT

Job 17

^{1 -2} "My spirit is broken,

my days used up,

my grave dug and waiting. See how these mockers close in on me?
How long do I have to put up with their insolence?

^{3 -5} "O God, pledge your support for me.
Give it to me in writing, with your signature.
You're the only one who can do it! These people are so useless!
You know firsthand how stupid they can be.
You wouldn't let them have the last word, would you? Those who betray their own friends
leave a legacy of abuse to their children.

^{6 -8} "God, you've made me the talk of the town—
people spit in my face; I can hardly see from crying so much;
I'm nothing but skin and bones. Decent people can't believe what they're seeing;
the good-hearted wake up and insist I've given up on God.

⁹ "But principled people hold tight, keep a firm grip on life,
sure that their clean, pure hands will get stronger and stronger!

^{10 -16} "Maybe you'd all like to start over,
to try it again, the bunch of you. So far I haven't come across one scrap
of wisdom in anything you've said. My life's about over. All my plans are smashed,
all my hopes are snuffed out— My hope that night would turn into day,
my hope that dawn was about to break. If all I have to look forward to is a home in the graveyard,
if my only hope for comfort is a well-built coffin, If a family reunion means going six feet under,
and the only family that shows up is worms, Do you call that hope?
Who on earth could find any hope in that? No. If hope and I are to be buried together,
I suppose you'll all come to the double funeral!"

Job 18

Bildad's Second Attack

Plunged from Light into Darkness

^{1 -4} Bildad from Shuhah chimed in: "How monotonous these word games are getting!
Get serious! We need to get down to business. Why do you treat your friends like slow-witted animals?
You look down on us as if we don't know anything. Why are you working yourself up like this?
Do you want the world redesigned to suit you?
Should reality be suspended to accommodate you?

^{5 -21} "Here's the rule: The light of the wicked is put out.
Their flame dies down and is extinguished. Their house goes dark—
every lamp in the place goes out. Their strong strides weaken, falter;
they stumble into their own traps. They get all tangled up
in their own red tape, Their feet are grabbed and caught,
their necks in a noose. They trip on ropes they've hidden,
and fall into pits they've dug themselves. Terrors come at them from all sides.
They run helter-skelter. The hungry grave is ready
to gobble them up for supper, To lay them out for a gourmet meal,
a treat for ravenous Death. They are snatched from their home sweet home
and marched straight to the death house. Their lives go up in smoke;
acid rain soaks their ruins. Their roots rot
and their branches wither. They'll never again be remembered—
nameless in unmarked graves. They are plunged from light into darkness,
banished from the world. And they leave empty-handed—not one single child—
nothing to show for their life on this earth. Westerners are aghast at their fate,
easterners are horrified: 'Oh no! So this is what happens to perverse people.
This is how the God-ignorant end up!'"

Job 19

Job Answers Bildad

I Call for Help and No One Bothers

^{1 -6} Job answered: "How long are you going to keep battering away at me,
pounding me with these harangues? Time after time after time you jump all over me.
Do you have no conscience, abusing me like this? Even if I have, somehow or other, gotten off the track,
what business is that of yours? Why do you insist on putting me down,
using my troubles as a stick to beat me? Tell it to God—he's the one behind all this,
he's the one who dragged me into this mess.

^{7 -12} "Look at me—I shout 'Murder!' and I'm ignored;
I call for help and no one bothers to stop. God threw a barricade across my path—I'm stymied;
he turned out all the lights—I'm stuck in the dark. He destroyed my reputation,
robbed me of all self-respect. He tore me apart piece by piece—I'm ruined!
Then he yanked out hope by the roots. He's angry with me—oh, how he's angry!
He treats me like his worst enemy. He has launched a major campaign against me,
using every weapon he can think of,
coming at me from all sides at once.

I Know That God Lives

^{13 -20} "God alienated my family from me;
everyone who knows me avoids me. My relatives and friends have all left;
houseguests forget I ever existed. The servant girls treat me like a bum off the street,
look at me like they've never seen me before. I call my attendant and he ignores me,
ignores me even though I plead with him. My wife can't stand to be around me anymore.
I'm repulsive to my family. Even street urchins despise me;
when I come out, they taunt and jeer. Everyone I've ever been close to abhors me;
my dearest loved ones reject me. I'm nothing but a bag of bones;
my life hangs by a thread.

^{21 -22} "Oh, friends, dear friends, take pity on me.
God has come down hard on me! Do you have to be hard on me, too?
Don't you ever tire of abusing me?

^{23 -27} "If only my words were written in a book—
better yet, chiseled in stone! Still, I know that God lives—the One who gives me back my life—
and eventually he'll take his stand on earth. And I'll see him—even though I get skinned alive!—
see God myself, with my very own eyes.
Oh, how I long for that day!

^{28 -29} "If you're thinking, 'How can we get through to him,
get him to see that his trouble is all his own fault?' Forget it. Start worrying about yourselves.
Worry about your own sins and God's coming judgment,
for judgment is most certainly on the way."

Acts 10

Peter's Vision

^{1 -3} There was a man named Cornelius who lived in Caesarea, captain of the Italian Guard stationed there. He was a thoroughly good man. He had led everyone in his house to live worshipfully before God, was always helping people in need, and had the habit of prayer. One day about three o'clock in the afternoon he had a vision. An angel of God, as real as his next-door neighbor, came in and said, "Cornelius."

^{4 -6}Cornelius stared hard, wondering if he was seeing things. Then he said, "What do you want, sir?"

The angel said, "Your prayers and neighborly acts have brought you to God's attention. Here's what you are to do. Send men to Joppa to get Simon, the one everyone calls Peter. He is staying with Simon the Tanner, whose house is down by the sea."

^{7 -8}As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two servants and one particularly devout soldier from the guard. He went over with them in great detail everything that had just happened, and then sent them off to Joppa.

^{9 -13}The next day as the three travelers were approaching the town, Peter went out on the balcony to pray. It was about noon. Peter got hungry and started thinking about lunch. While lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the skies open up. Something that looked like a huge blanket lowered by ropes at its four corners settled on the ground. Every kind of animal and reptile and bird you could think of was on it. Then a voice came: "Go to it, Peter—kill and eat."

¹⁴Peter said, "Oh, no, Lord. I've never so much as tasted food that was not kosher."

¹⁵The voice came a second time: "If God says it's okay, it's okay."

¹⁶This happened three times, and then the blanket was pulled back up into the skies.

^{17 -20}As Peter, puzzled, sat there trying to figure out what it all meant, the men sent by Cornelius showed up at Simon's front door. They called in, asking if there was a Simon, also called Peter, staying there. Peter, lost in thought, didn't hear them, so the Spirit whispered to him, "Three men are knocking at the door looking for you. Get down there and go with them. Don't ask any questions. I sent them to get you."

²¹Peter went down and said to the men, "I think I'm the man you're looking for. What's up?"

^{22 -23}They said, "Captain Cornelius, a God-fearing man well-known for his fair play—ask any Jew in this part of the country—was commanded by a holy angel to get you and bring you to his house so he could hear what you had to say." Peter invited them in and made them feel at home.

God Plays No Favorites

^{23 -26}The next morning he got up and went with them. Some of his friends from Joppa went along. A day later they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had his relatives and close friends waiting with him. The minute Peter came through the door, Cornelius was up on his feet greeting him—and then down on his face worshiping him! Peter pulled him up and said, "None of that—I'm a man and only a man, no different from you."

Friday, June 29, 2012

Message Bible Daily Reading - Old/New Testament (MSG)

Old/New Testament Reading for Friday June 29, 2012 (MSG)

Posted: 28 Jun 2012 10:00 PM PDT

Job 14

If We Die, Will We Live Again?

^{1 -17}"We're all adrift in the same boat:
too few days, too many troubles. We spring up like wildflowers in the desert and then wilt,
transient as the shadow of a cloud. Do you occupy your time with such fragile wisps?
Why even bother hauling me into court? There's nothing much to us to start with;
how do you expect us to amount to anything? Mortals have a limited life span.
You've already decided how long we'll live—
you set the boundary and no one can cross it. So why not give us a break? Ease up!
Even ditchdiggers get occasional days off. For a tree there is always hope.
Chop it down and it still has a chance—
its roots can put out fresh sprouts. Even if its roots are old and gnarled,
its stump long dormant, At the first whiff of water it comes to life,
buds and grows like a sapling. But men and women? They die and stay dead.
They breathe their last, and that's it. Like lakes and rivers that have dried up,
parched reminders of what once was, So mortals lie down and never get up,
never wake up again—never. Why don't you just bury me alive,
get me out of the way until your anger cools? But don't leave me there!
Set a date when you'll see me again. If we humans die, will we live again? That's my question.
All through these difficult days I keep hoping,
waiting for the final change—for resurrection! Homesick with longing for the creature you made,
you'll call—and I'll answer! You'll watch over every step I take,
but you won't keep track of my missteps. My sins will be stuffed in a sack
and thrown into the sea—sunk in deep ocean.

^{18 -22} "Meanwhile, mountains wear down
and boulders break up, Stones wear smooth
and soil erodes,
as you relentlessly grind down our hope. You're too much for us.
As always, you get the last word. We don't like it and our faces show it,
but you send us off anyway. If our children do well for themselves, we never know it;
if they do badly, we're spared the hurt. Body and soul, that's it for us—
a lifetime of pain, a lifetime of sorrow."

Job 15

Eliphaz Attacks Again

You Trivialize Religion

^{1 -16} Eliphaz of Teman spoke a second time: "If you were truly wise, would you sound so much like a
windbag, belching hot air? Would you talk nonsense in the middle of a serious argument,
babbling baloney? Look at you! You trivialize religion,
turn spiritual conversation into empty gossip. It's your sin that taught you to talk this way.
You chose an education in fraud. Your own words have exposed your guilt.
It's nothing I've said—you've incriminated yourself! Do you think you're the first person to have to deal with
these things?
Have you been around as long as the hills? Were you listening in when God planned all this?
Do you think you're the only one who knows anything? What do you know that we don't know?
What insights do you have that we've missed? Gray beards and white hair back us up—
old folks who've been around a lot longer than you. Are God's promises not enough for you,
spoken so gently and tenderly? Why do you let your emotions take over,
lashing out and spitting fire, Pitting your whole being against God
by letting words like this come out of your mouth? Do you think it's possible for any mere mortal to be sinless
in God's sight,
for anyone born of a human mother to get it all together? Why, God can't even trust his holy angels.
He sees the flaws in the very heavens themselves, So how much less we humans, smelly and foul,
who lap up evil like water?

Always at Odds with God

^{17 -26} "I've a thing or two to tell you, so listen up!
I'm letting you in on my views; It's what wise men and women have always taught,
holding nothing back from what they were taught By their parents, back in the days
when they had this land all to themselves: Those who live by their own rules, not God's, can expect
nothing but trouble,
and the longer they live, the worse it gets. Every little sound terrifies them.
Just when they think they have it made, disaster strikes. They despair of things ever getting better—
they're on the list of people for whom things always turn out
for the worst. They wander here and there,
never knowing where the next meal is coming from—
every day is doomsday! They live in constant terror,
always with their backs up against the wall Because they insist on shaking their fists at God,
defying God Almighty to his face, Always and ever at odds with God,
always on the defensive.

^{27 -35} "Even if they're the picture of health,
trim and fit and youthful, They'll end up living in a ghost town
sleeping in a hovel not fit for a dog,
a ramshackle shack. They'll never get ahead,
never amount to a hill of beans. And then death—don't think they'll escape that!
They'll end up shriveled weeds,
brought down by a puff of God's breath. There's a lesson here: Whoever invests in lies,
gets lies for interest, Paid in full before the due date.
Some investment! They'll be like fruit frost-killed before it ripens,
like buds sheared off before they bloom. The godless are fruitless—a barren crew;
a life built on bribes goes up in smoke. They have sex with sin and give birth to evil.
Their lives are wombs for breeding deceit."

Job 16

Job Defends Himself

If You Were in My Shoes

^{1 -5} Then Job defended himself:
"I've had all I can take of your talk.
What a bunch of miserable comforters! Is there no end to your windbag speeches?
What's your problem that you go on and on like this? If you were in my shoes,
I could talk just like you. I could put together a terrific harangue
and really let you have it. But I'd never do that. I'd console and comfort,
make things better, not worse!

^{6 -14} "When I speak up, I feel no better;
if I say nothing, that doesn't help either. I feel worn down.
God, you have wasted me totally—me and my family! You've shriveled me like a dried prune,
showing the world that you're against me. My gaunt face stares back at me from the mirror,
a mute witness to your treatment of me. Your anger tears at me,
your teeth rip me to shreds,
your eyes burn holes in me—God, my enemy! People take one look at me and gasp.
Contemptuous, they slap me around
and gang up against me. And God just stands there and lets them do it,
lets wicked people do what they want with me. I was contentedly minding my business when God beat me up.
He grabbed me by the neck and threw me around. He set me up as his target,
then rounded up archers to shoot at me. Merciless, they shot me full of arrows;
bitter bile poured from my gut to the ground. He burst in on me, onslaught after onslaught,
charging me like a mad bull.

^{15 -17} "I sewed myself a shroud and wore it like a shirt;
I lay facedown in the dirt. Now my face is blotched red from weeping;
look at the dark shadows under my eyes, Even though I've never hurt a soul
and my prayers are sincere!

The One Who Represents Mortals Before God

^{18 -22} "O Earth, don't cover up the wrong done to me!
Don't muffle my cry! There must be Someone in heaven who knows the truth about me,
in highest heaven, some Attorney who can clear my name— My Champion, my Friend,
while I'm weeping my eyes out before God. I appeal to the One who represents mortals before God
as a neighbor stands up for a neighbor.

"Only a few years are left
before I set out on the road of no return."

Acts 9

²²But their suspicions didn't slow Saul down for even a minute. His momentum was up now and he plowed straight into the opposition, disarming the Damascus Jews and trying to show them that this Jesus was the Messiah.

^{23 -25}After this had gone on quite a long time, some Jews conspired to kill him, but Saul got wind of it. They were watching the city gates around the clock so they could kill him. Then one night the disciples engineered his escape by lowering him over the wall in a basket.

^{26 -27}Back in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him. They didn't trust him one bit. Then Barnabas took him under his wing. He introduced him to the apostles and stood up for him, told them how Saul had seen and spoken to the Master on the Damascus Road and how in Damascus itself he had laid his life on the line with his bold preaching in Jesus' name.

^{28 -30}After that he was accepted as one of them, going in and out of Jerusalem with no questions asked, uninhibited as he preached in the Master's name. But then he ran afoul of a group called Hellenists—he had been engaged in a running argument with them—who plotted his murder. When his friends learned of the plot, they got him out of town, took him to Caesarea, and then shipped him off to Tarsus.

³¹Things calmed down after that and the church had smooth sailing for a while. All over the country—Judea, Samaria, Galilee—the church grew. They were permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God. The Holy Spirit was with them, strengthening them. They prospered wonderfully.

Tabitha

^{32 -35}Peter went off on a mission to visit all the churches. In the course of his travels he arrived in Lydda and met with the believers there. He came across a man—his name was Aeneas—who had been in bed eight years paralyzed. Peter said, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed!" And he did it—jumped right out of bed. Everybody who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him walking around and woke up to the fact that God was alive and active among them.

^{36 -37}Down the road a way in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, "Gazelle" in our language. She was well-known for doing good and helping out. During the time Peter was in the area she became sick and died. Her friends prepared her body for burial and put her in a cool room.

^{38 -40}Some of the disciples had heard that Peter was visiting in nearby Lydda and sent two men to ask if he would be so kind as to come over. Peter got right up and went with them. They took him into the room where Tabitha's body was laid out. Her old friends, most of them widows, were in the room mourning. They showed Peter pieces of clothing the Gazelle had made while she was with them. Peter put the widows all out of the room. He knelt and prayed. Then he spoke directly to the body: "Tabitha, get up."

^{40 -41}She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up. He took her hand and helped her up. Then he called in the believers and widows, and presented her to them alive.

^{42 -43}When this became known all over Joppa, many put their trust in the Master. Peter stayed on a long time in Joppa as a guest of Simon the Tanner.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Message Bible Daily Reading - Old/New Testament (MSG)

Old/New Testament Reading for Thursday June 28, 2012 (MSG)

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 10:00 PM PDT

Job 11

Zophar's Counsel

How Wisdom Looks from the Inside

^{1 -6}Now it was the turn of Zophar from Naamath: "What a flood of words! Shouldn't we put a stop to it?
Should this kind of loose talk be permitted? Job, do you think you can carry on like this and we'll say nothing?
That we'll let you rail and mock and not step in? You claim, 'My doctrine is sound
and my conduct impeccable.' How I wish God would give you a piece of his mind,
tell you what's what! I wish he'd show you how wisdom looks from the inside,
for true wisdom is mostly 'inside.' But you can be sure of this,
you haven't gotten half of what you deserve.

^{7 -12} "Do you think you can explain the mystery of God?
Do you think you can diagram God Almighty? God is far higher than you can imagine,
far deeper than you can comprehend, Stretching farther than earth's horizons,
far wider than the endless ocean. If he happens along, throws you in jail
then hauls you into court, can you do anything about it? He sees through vain pretensions,
spots evil a long way off—
no one pulls the wool over his eyes! Hollow men, hollow women, will wise up
about the same time mules learn to talk.

Reach Out to God

^{13 -20} "Still, if you set your heart on God
and reach out to him, If you scrub your hands of sin
and refuse to entertain evil in your home, You'll be able to face the world unashamed
and keep a firm grip on life, guiltless and fearless. You'll forget your troubles;
they'll be like old, faded photographs. Your world will be washed in sunshine,
every shadow dispersed by dayspring. Full of hope, you'll relax, confident again;
you'll look around, sit back, and take it easy. Expansive, without a care in the world,
you'll be hunted out by many for your blessing. But the wicked will see none of this.
They're headed down a dead-end road
with nothing to look forward to—nothing."

Job 12

Job Answers Zophar

Put Your Ear to the Earth

^{1 -3} Job answered:

"I'm sure you speak for all the experts,
and when you die there'll be no one left to tell us how to live. But don't forget that I also have a brain—
I don't intend to play second fiddle to you.
It doesn't take an expert to know these things.

^{4 -6} "I'm ridiculed by my friends:
'So that's the man who had conversations with God!' Ridiculed without mercy:
'Look at the man who never did wrong!' It's easy for the well-to-do to point their fingers in blame,
for the well-fixed to pour scorn on the strugglers. Crooks reside safely in high-security houses,
insolent blasphemers live in luxury;
they've bought and paid for a god who'll protect them.

^{7 -12} "But ask the animals what they think—let them teach you;
let the birds tell you what's going on. Put your ear to the earth—learn the basics.
Listen—the fish in the ocean will tell you their stories. Isn't it clear that they all know and agree
that God is sovereign, that he holds all things in his hand— Every living soul, yes,
every breathing creature? Isn't this all just common sense,
as common as the sense of taste? Do you think the elderly have a corner on wisdom,
that you have to grow old before you understand life?

From God We Learn How to Live

^{13 -25} "True wisdom and real power belong to God;
from him we learn how to live,
and also what to live for. If he tears something down, it's down for good;
if he locks people up, they're locked up for good. If he holds back the rain, there's a drought;
if he lets it loose, there's a flood. Strength and success belong to God;
both deceived and deceiver must answer to him. He strips experts of their vaunted credentials,
exposes judges as witless fools. He divests kings of their royal garments,
then ties a rag around their waists. He strips priests of their robes,
and fires high officials from their jobs. He forces trusted sages to keep silence,
deprives elders of their good sense and wisdom. He dumps contempt on famous people,
disarms the strong and mighty. He shines a spotlight into caves of darkness,
hauls deepest darkness into the noonday sun. He makes nations rise and then fall,
builds up some and abandons others. He robs world leaders of their reason,
and sends them off into no-man's-land. They grope in the dark without a clue,
lurching and staggering like drunks."

Job 13

I'm Taking My Case to God

^{1 -5}"Yes, I've seen all this with my own eyes, heard and understood it with my very own ears. Everything you know, I know,
so I'm not taking a backseat to any of you. I'm taking my case straight to God Almighty;
I've had it with you—I'm going directly to God. You graffiti my life with lies.
You're a bunch of pompous quacks! I wish you'd shut your mouths—
silence is your only claim to wisdom.

^{6 -12} "Listen now while I make my case,
consider my side of things for a change. Or are you going to keep on lying 'to do God a service'?
to make up stories 'to get him off the hook'? Why do you always take his side?
Do you think he needs a lawyer to defend himself? How would you fare if you were in the dock?
Your lies might convince a jury—but would they
convince God? He'd reprimand you on the spot
if he detected a bias in your witness. Doesn't his splendor put you in awe?
Aren't you afraid to speak cheap lies before him? Your wise sayings are knickknack wisdom,
good for nothing but gathering dust.

^{13 -19} "So hold your tongue while I have my say,
then I'll take whatever I have coming to me. Why do I go out on a limb like this
and take my life in my hands? Because even if he killed me, I'd keep on hoping.
I'd defend my innocence to the very end. Just wait, this is going to work out for the best—my salvation!
If I were guilt-stricken do you think I'd be doing this—
laying myself on the line before God? You'd better pay attention to what I'm telling you,
listen carefully with both ears. Now that I've laid out my defense,
I'm sure that I'll be acquitted. Can anyone prove charges against me?
I've said my piece. I rest my case.

Why Does God Stay Hidden and Silent?

^{20 -27} "Please, God, I have two requests;
grant them so I'll know I count with you: First, lay off the afflictions;
the terror is too much for me. Second, address me directly so I can answer you,
or let me speak and then you answer me. How many sins have been charged against me?
Show me the list—how bad is it? Why do you stay hidden and silent?
Why treat me like I'm your enemy? Why kick me around like an old tin can?
Why beat a dead horse? You compile a long list of mean things about me,
even hold me accountable for the sins of my youth. You hobble me so I can't move about.
You watch every move I make,
and brand me as a dangerous character.

²⁸ "Like something rotten, human life fast decomposes,
like a moth-eaten shirt or a mildewed blouse."

Acts 9

The Blinding of Saul

^{1 -2} All this time Saul was breathing down the necks of the Master's disciples, out for the kill. He went to the Chief Priest and got arrest warrants to take to the meeting places in Damascus so that if he found anyone there belonging to the Way, whether men or women, he could arrest them and bring them to Jerusalem.

^{3 -4}He set off. When he got to the outskirts of Damascus, he was suddenly dazed by a blinding flash of light. As he fell to the ground, he heard a voice: "Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me?"

^{5 -6}He said, "Who are you, Master?"

"I am Jesus, the One you're hunting down. I want you to get up and enter the city. In the city you'll be told what to do next."

^{7 -9}His companions stood there dumbstruck—they could hear the sound, but couldn't see anyone—while Saul, picking himself up off the ground, found himself stone-blind. They had to take him by the hand and lead him into Damascus. He continued blind for three days. He ate nothing, drank nothing.

¹⁰There was a disciple in Damascus by the name of Ananias. The Master spoke to him in a vision: "Ananias."

"Yes, Master?" he answered.

^{11 -12}"Get up and go over to Straight Avenue. Ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus. His name is Saul. He's there praying. He has just had a dream in which he saw a man named Ananias enter the house and lay hands on him so he could see again."

^{13 -14}Ananias protested, "Master, you can't be serious. Everybody's talking about this man and the terrible things he's been doing, his reign of terror against your people in Jerusalem! And now he's shown up here with papers from the Chief Priest that give him license to do the same to us."

^{15 -16}But the Master said, "Don't argue. Go! I have picked him as my personal representative to non-Jews and kings and Jews. And now I'm about to show him what he's in for—the hard suffering that goes with this job."

^{17 -19}So Ananias went and found the house, placed his hands on blind Saul, and said, "Brother Saul, the Master sent me, the same Jesus you saw on your way here. He sent me so you could see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." No sooner were the words out of his mouth than something like scales fell from Saul's eyes—he could see again! He got to his feet, was baptized, and sat down with them to a hearty meal.

Plots Against Saul

^{19 -21}Saul spent a few days getting acquainted with the Damascus disciples, but then went right to work, wasting no time, preaching in the meeting places that this Jesus was the Son of God. They were caught off guard by this and, not at all sure they could trust him, they kept saying, "Isn't this the man who wreaked havoc in Jerusalem among the believers? And didn't he come here to do the same thing—arrest us and drag us off to jail in Jerusalem for sentencing by the high priests?"

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Message Bible Daily Reading - Old/New Testament (MSG)

Old/New Testament Reading for Wednesday June 27, 2012 (MSG)

Posted: 26 Jun 2012 10:00 PM PDT

Job 8

Bildad's Response

Does God Mess Up?

^{1 -7} Bildad from Shuhah was next to speak: "How can you keep on talking like this?
You're talking nonsense, and noisy nonsense at that. Does God mess up?
Does God Almighty ever get things backward? It's plain that your children sinned against him—
otherwise, why would God have punished them? Here's what you must do—and don't put it off any longer:
Get down on your knees before God Almighty. If you're as innocent and upright as you say,
it's not too late—he'll come running;
he'll set everything right again, reestablish your fortunes. Even though you're not much right now,
you'll end up better than ever.

To Hang Your Life from One Thin Thread

^{8 -19} "Put the question to our ancestors,
study what they learned from their ancestors. For we're newcomers at this, with a lot to learn,
and not too long to learn it. So why not let the ancients teach you, tell you what's what,
instruct you in what they knew from experience? Can mighty pine trees grow tall without soil?
Can luscious tomatoes flourish without water? Blossoming flowers look great before they're cut or picked,
but without soil or water they wither more quickly than grass. That's what happens to all who forget God—
all their hopes come to nothing. They hang their life from one thin thread,
they hitch their fate to a spider web. One jiggle and the thread breaks,
one jab and the web collapses. Or they're like weeds springing up in the sunshine,
invading the garden, Spreading everywhere, overtaking the flowers,
getting a foothold even in the rocks. But when the gardener rips them out by the roots,
the garden doesn't miss them one bit. The sooner the godless are gone, the better;
then good plants can grow in their place.

^{20 -22} "There's no way that God will reject a good person,
and there is no way he'll help a bad one. God will let you laugh again;
you'll raise the roof with shouts of joy, With your enemies thoroughly discredited,
their house of cards collapsed."

Job 9

Job Continues

How Can Mere Mortals Get Right with God?

^{1 -13} Job continued by saying: "So what's new? I know all this.
The question is, 'How can mere mortals get right with God?' If we wanted to bring our case before him,
what chance would we have? Not one in a thousand! God's wisdom is so deep, God's power so immense,
who could take him on and come out in one piece? He moves mountains before they know what's happened,
flips them on their heads on a whim. He gives the earth a good shaking up,
rocks it down to its very foundations. He tells the sun, 'Don't shine,' and it doesn't;
he pulls the blinds on the stars. All by himself he stretches out the heavens
and strides on the waves of the sea. He designed the Big Dipper and Orion,
the Pleiades and Alpha Centauri. We'll never comprehend all the great things he does;
his miracle-surprises can't be counted. Somehow, though he moves right in front of me, I don't see him;
quietly but surely he's active, and I miss it. If he steals you blind, who can stop him?
Who's going to say, 'Hey, what are you doing?' God doesn't hold back on his anger;
even dragon-bred monsters cringe before him.

^{14 -20} "So how could I ever argue with him,
construct a defense that would influence God? Even though I'm innocent I could never prove it;
I can only throw myself on the Judge's mercy. If I called on God and he himself answered me,
then, and only then, would I believe that he'd heard me. As it is, he knocks me about from pillar to post,
beating me up, black-and-blue, for no good reason. He won't even let me catch my breath,
piles bitterness upon bitterness. If it's a question of who's stronger, he wins, hands down!
If it's a question of justice, who'll serve him the subpoena? Even though innocent, anything I say incriminates me;
blameless as I am, my defense just makes me sound worse.

If God's Not Responsible, Who Is?

^{21 -24} "Believe me, I'm blameless.
I don't understand what's going on.
I hate my life! Since either way it ends up the same, I can only conclude
that God destroys the good right along with the bad. When calamity hits and brings sudden death,
he folds his arms, aloof from the despair of the innocent. He lets the wicked take over running the world,
he installs judges who can't tell right from wrong.
If he's not responsible, who is?

^{25 -31} "My time is short—what's left of my life races off
too fast for me to even glimpse the good. My life is going fast, like a ship under full sail,
like an eagle plummeting to its prey. Even if I say, 'I'll put all this behind me,
I'll look on the bright side and force a smile,' All these troubles would still be like grit in my gut
since it's clear you're not going to let up. The verdict has already been handed down—'Guilty!'—
so what's the use of protests or appeals? Even if I scrub myself all over
and wash myself with the strongest soap I can find, It wouldn't last—you'd push me into a pigpen, or worse,
so nobody could stand me for the stink.

^{32 -35} "God and I are not equals; I can't bring a case against him.
We'll never enter a courtroom as peers. How I wish we had an arbitrator
to step in and let me get on with life— To break God's death grip on me,
to free me from this terror so I could breathe again. Then I'd speak up and state my case boldly.
As things stand, there is no way I can do it."

Job 10

To Find Some Skeleton in My Closet

¹ "I can't stand my life—I hate it! I'm putting it all out on the table, all the bitterness of my life—I'm holding back nothing."

^{2 -7} Job prayed:

"Here's what I want to say: Don't, God, bring in a verdict of guilty
without letting me know the charges you're bringing. How does this fit into what you once called 'good'—
giving me a hard time, spurning me,
a life you shaped by your very own hands,
and then blessing the plots of the wicked? You don't look at things the way we mortals do.
You're not taken in by appearances, are you? Unlike us, you're not working against a deadline.
You have all eternity to work things out. So what's this all about, anyway—this compulsion
to dig up some dirt, to find some skeleton in my closet? You know good and well I'm not guilty.
You also know no one can help me.

^{8 -12} "You made me like a handcrafted piece of pottery—
and now are you going to smash me to pieces? Don't you remember how beautifully you worked my clay?
Will you reduce me now to a mud pie? Oh, that marvel of conception as you stirred together
semen and ovum— What a miracle of skin and bone,
muscle and brain! You gave me life itself, and incredible love.
You watched and guarded every breath I took.

^{13 -17} "But you never told me about this part.
I should have known that there was more to it— That if I so much as missed a step, you'd notice and pounce,
wouldn't let me get by with a thing. If I'm truly guilty, I'm doomed.
But if I'm innocent, it's no better—I'm still doomed. My belly is full of bitterness.
I'm up to my ears in a swamp of affliction. I try to make the best of it, try to brave it out,
but you're too much for me,
relentless, like a lion on the prowl. You line up fresh witnesses against me.
You compound your anger
and pile on the grief and pain!

^{18 -22} "So why did you have me born?
I wish no one had ever laid eyes on me! I wish I'd never lived—a stillborn,
buried without ever having breathed. Isn't it time to call it quits on my life?
Can't you let up, and let me smile just once Before I die and am buried,
before I'm nailed into my coffin, sealed in the ground, And banished for good to the land of the dead,
blind in the final dark?"

Acts 8

The Ethiopian Eunuch

^{26 -28}Later God's angel spoke to Philip: "At noon today I want you to walk over to that desolate road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza." He got up and went. He met an Ethiopian eunuch coming down the road. The eunuch had been on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was returning to Ethiopia, where he was minister in charge of all the finances of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He was riding in a chariot and reading the prophet Isaiah.

^{29 -30}The Spirit told Philip, "Climb into the chariot." Running up alongside, Philip heard the eunuch reading Isaiah and asked, "Do you understand what you're reading?"

^{31 -33}He answered, "How can I without some help?" and invited Philip into the chariot with him. The passage he was reading was this:

As a sheep led to slaughter,
and quiet as a lamb being sheared,
He was silent, saying nothing.
He was mocked and put down, never got a fair trial.
But who now can count his kin
since he's been taken from the earth?

^{34 -35}The eunuch said, "Tell me, who is the prophet talking about: himself or some other?" Philip grabbed his chance. Using this passage as his text, he preached Jesus to him.

^{36 -39}As they continued down the road, they came to a stream of water. The eunuch said, "Here's water. Why can't I be baptized?" He ordered the chariot to stop. They both went down to the water, and Philip baptized him on the spot. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of God suddenly took Philip off, and that was the last the eunuch saw of him. But he didn't mind. He had what he'd come for and went on down the road as happy as he could be.

⁴⁰Philip showed up in Azotus and continued north, preaching the Message in all the villages along that route until he arrived at Caesarea.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Message Bible Daily Reading - Old/New Testament (MSG)

Old/New Testament Reading for Tuesday June 26, 2012 (MSG)

Posted: 25 Jun 2012 10:00 PM PDT

Job 5

Don't Blame Fate When Things Go Wrong

^{1 -7} "Call for help, Job, if you think anyone will answer! To which of the holy angels will you turn? The hot temper of a fool eventually kills him,
the jealous anger of a simpleton does her in. I've seen it myself—seen fools putting down roots,
and then, suddenly, their houses are cursed. Their children out in the cold, abused and exploited,
with no one to stick up for them. Hungry people off the street plunder their harvests,
cleaning them out completely, taking thorns and all,
insatiable for everything they have. Don't blame fate when things go wrong—
trouble doesn't come from nowhere. It's human! Mortals are born and bred for trouble,
as certainly as sparks fly upward.

What a Blessing When God Corrects You!

^{8 -16} "If I were in your shoes, I'd go straight to God,
I'd throw myself on the mercy of God. After all, he's famous for great and unexpected acts;
there's no end to his surprises. He gives rain, for instance, across the wide earth,
sends water to irrigate the fields. He raises up the down-and-out,
gives firm footing to those sinking in grief. He aborts the schemes of conniving crooks,
so that none of their plots come to term. He catches the know-it-alls in their conspiracies—
all that intricate intrigue swept out with the trash! Suddenly they're disoriented, plunged into darkness;
they can't see to put one foot in front of the other. But the downtrodden are saved by God,
saved from the murderous plots, saved from the iron fist. And so the poor continue to hope,
while injustice is bound and gagged.

^{17 -19} "So, what a blessing when God steps in and corrects you!
Mind you, don't despise the discipline of Almighty God! True, he wounds, but he also dresses the wound;
the same hand that hurts you, heals you. From one disaster after another he delivers you;
no matter what the calamity, the evil can't touch you—

^{20 -26} "In famine, he'll keep you from starving,
in war, from being gutted by the sword. You'll be protected from vicious gossip
and live fearless through any catastrophe. You'll shrug off disaster and famine,
and stroll fearlessly among wild animals. You'll be on good terms with rocks and mountains;
wild animals will become your good friends. You'll know that your place on earth is safe,
you'll look over your goods and find nothing amiss. You'll see your children grow up,
your family lovely and lissome as orchard grass. You'll arrive at your grave ripe with many good years,
like sheaves of golden grain at harvest.

²⁷ "Yes, this is the way things are—my word of honor!
Take it to heart and you won't go wrong."

Job 6

Job Replies to Eliphaz

God Has Dumped the Works on Me

^{1 -7} Job answered:

"If my misery could be weighed,
if you could pile the whole bitter load on the scales, It would be heavier than all the sand of the sea!
Is it any wonder that I'm screaming like a caged cat? The arrows of God Almighty are in me,
poison arrows—and I'm poisoned all through!
God has dumped the whole works on me. Donkeys bray and cows moo when they run out of pasture—
so don't expect me to keep quiet in this. Do you see what God has dished out for me?
It's enough to turn anyone's stomach! Everything in me is repulsed by it—
it makes me sick.

Pressed Past the Limits

^{8 -13} "All I want is an answer to one prayer,
a last request to be honored: Let God step on me—squash me like a bug,
and be done with me for good. I'd at least have the satisfaction
of not having blasphemed the Holy God,
before being pressed past the limits. Where's the strength to keep my hopes up?
What future do I have to keep me going? Do you think I have nerves of steel?
Do you think I'm made of iron? Do you think I can pull myself up by my bootstraps?
Why, I don't even have any boots!

My So-Called Friends

^{14 -23} "When desperate people give up on God Almighty,
their friends, at least, should stick with them. But my brothers are fickle as a gulch in the desert—
one day they're gushing with water From melting ice and snow
cascading out of the mountains, But by midsummer they're dry,
gullies baked dry in the sun. Travelers who spot them and go out of their way for a drink
end up in a waterless gulch and die of thirst. Merchant caravans from Tema see them and expect water,
tourists from Sheba hope for a cool drink. They arrive so confident—but what a disappointment!
They get there, and their faces fall! And you, my so-called friends, are no better—
there's nothing to you!
One look at a hard scene and you shrink in fear. It's not as though I asked you for anything—
I didn't ask you for one red cent— Nor did I beg you to go out on a limb for me.
So why all this dodging and shuffling? ^{24 -27} "Confront me with the truth and I'll shut up,
show me where I've gone off the track. Honest words never hurt anyone,
but what's the point of all this pious bluster? You pretend to tell me what's wrong with my life,
but treat my words of anguish as so much hot air. Are people mere things to you?
Are friends just items of profit and loss? ^{28 -30} "Look me in the eyes!
Do you think I'd lie to your face? Think it over—no double-talk!
Think carefully—my integrity is on the line! Can you detect anything false in what I say?
Don't you trust me to discern good from evil?"

Job 7

There's Nothing to My Life

^{1 -6} "Human life is a struggle, isn't it? It's a life sentence to hard labor. Like field hands longing for quitting time
and working stiffs with nothing to hope for but payday, I'm given a life that meanders and goes nowhere—
months of aimlessness, nights of misery! I go to bed and think, 'How long till I can get up?'
I toss and turn as the night drags on—and I'm fed up! I'm covered with maggots and scabs.
My skin gets scaly and hard, then oozes with pus. My days come and go swifter than the click of knitting needles,
and then the yarn runs out—an unfinished life!

^{7 -10} "God, don't forget that I'm only a puff of air!
These eyes have had their last look at goodness. And your eyes have seen the last of me;
even while you're looking, there'll be nothing left to look at. When a cloud evaporates, it's gone for good;
those who go to the grave never come back. They don't return to visit their families;
never again will friends drop in for coffee.

^{11 -16} "And so I'm not keeping one bit of this quiet,
I'm laying it all out on the table;
my complaining to high heaven is bitter, but honest. Are you going to put a muzzle on me,
the way you quiet the sea and still the storm? If I say, 'I'm going to bed, then I'll feel better.
A little nap will lift my spirits,' You come and so scare me with nightmares
and frighten me with ghosts That I'd rather strangle in the bedclothes
than face this kind of life any longer. I hate this life! Who needs any more of this?
Let me alone! There's nothing to my life—it's nothing
but smoke.

^{17 -21} "What are mortals anyway, that you bother with them,
that you even give them the time of day? That you check up on them every morning,
looking in on them to see how they're doing? Let up on me, will you?
Can't you even let me spit in peace? Even suppose I'd sinned—how would that hurt you?
You're responsible for every human being. Don't you have better things to do than pick on me?
Why make a federal case out of me? Why don't you just forgive my sins
and start me off with a clean slate? The way things are going, I'll soon be dead.
You'll look high and low, but I won't be around."

Acts 8

Simon the Wizard

^{1 -2}That set off a terrific persecution of the church in Jerusalem. The believers were all scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. All, that is, but the apostles. Good and brave men buried Stephen, giving him a solemn funeral—not many dry eyes that day!

^{3 -8}And Saul just went wild, devastating the church, entering house after house after house, dragging men and women off to jail. Forced to leave home base, the followers of Jesus all became missionaries. Wherever they were scattered, they preached the Message about Jesus. Going down to a Samaritan city, Philip proclaimed the Message of the Messiah. When the people heard what he had to say and saw the miracles, the clear signs of God's action, they hung on his every word. Many who could neither stand nor walk were healed that day. The evil spirits protested loudly as they were sent on their way. And what joy in the city!

^{9 -11}Previous to Philip's arrival, a certain Simon had practiced magic in the city, posing as a famous man and dazzling all the Samaritans with his wizardry. He had them all, from little children to old men, eating out of his hand. They all thought he had supernatural powers, and called him "the Great Wizard." He had been around a long time and everyone was more or less in awe of him.

^{12 -13}But when Philip came to town announcing the news of God's kingdom and proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ, they forgot Simon and were baptized, becoming believers right and left! Even Simon himself believed and was baptized. From that moment he was like Philip's shadow, so fascinated with all the God-signs and miracles that he wouldn't leave Philip's side.

^{14 -17}When the apostles in Jerusalem received the report that Samaria had accepted God's Message, they sent Peter and John down to pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit. Up to this point they had only been baptized in the name of the Master Jesus; the Holy Spirit hadn't yet fallen on them. Then the apostles laid their hands on them and they did receive the Holy Spirit.

^{18 -19}When Simon saw that the apostles by merely laying on hands conferred the Spirit, he pulled out his money, excited, and said, "Sell me your secret! Show me how you did that! How much do you want? Name your price!"

^{20 -23}Peter said, "To hell with your money! And you along with it. Why, that's unthinkable—trying to buy God's gift! You'll never be part of what God is doing by striking bargains and offering bribes. Change your ways—and now! Ask the Master to forgive you for trying to use God to make money. I can see this is an old habit with you; you reek with money-lust."

²⁴"Oh!" said Simon, "pray for me! Pray to the Master that nothing like that will ever happen to me!"

²⁵And with that, the apostles were on their way, continuing to witness and spread the Message of God's salvation, preaching in every Samaritan town they passed through on their return to Jerusalem.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Message Bible Daily Reading - Old/New Testament (MSG)

Old/New Testament Reading for Monday June 25, 2012 (MSG)

Posted: 24 Jun 2012 10:00 PM PDT

Job 3

Job Cries Out

What's the Point of Life?

^{1 -2}Then Job broke the silence. He spoke up and cursed his fate: ^{3 -10} "Obliterate the day I was born. Blank out the night I was conceived! Let it be a black hole in space.
May God above forget it ever happened.
Erase it from the books! May the day of my birth be buried in deep darkness,
shrouded by the fog,
swallowed by the night. And the night of my conception—the devil take it!
Rip the date off the calendar,
delete it from the almanac. Oh, turn that night into pure nothingness—
no sounds of pleasure from that night, ever! May those who are good at cursing curse that day.
Unleash the sea beast, Leviathan, on it. May its morning stars turn to black cinders,
waiting for a daylight that never comes,
never once seeing the first light of dawn. And why? Because it released me from my mother's womb
into a life with so much trouble.

^{11 -19} "Why didn't I die at birth,
my first breath out of the womb my last? Why were there arms to rock me,
and breasts for me to drink from? I could be resting in peace right now,
asleep forever, feeling no pain, In the company of kings and statesmen
in their royal ruins, Or with princes resplendent
in their gold and silver tombs. Why wasn't I stillborn and buried
with all the babies who never saw light, Where the wicked no longer trouble anyone
and bone-weary people get a long-deserved rest? Prisoners sleep undisturbed,
never again to wake up to the bark of the guards. The small and the great are equals in that place,
and slaves are free from their masters.

^{20 -23} "Why does God bother giving light to the miserable,
why bother keeping bitter people alive, Those who want in the worst way to die, and can't,
who can't imagine anything better than death, Who count the day of their death and burial
the happiest day of their life? What's the point of life when it doesn't make sense,
when God blocks all the roads to meaning?

^{24 -26} "Instead of bread I get groans for my supper,
then leave the table and vomit my anguish. The worst of my fears has come true,
what I've dreaded most has happened. My repose is shattered, my peace destroyed.
No rest for me, ever—death has invaded life."

Job 4

Eliphaz Speaks Out

Now You're the One in Trouble

^{1 -6}Then Eliphaz from Teman spoke up: "Would you mind if I said something to you? Under the circumstances it's hard to keep quiet. You yourself have done this plenty of times, spoken words
that clarify, encouraged those who were about to quit. Your words have put stumbling people on their feet,
put fresh hope in people about to collapse. But now you're the one in trouble—you're hurting!
You've been hit hard and you're reeling from the blow. But shouldn't your devout life give you confidence now?
Shouldn't your exemplary life give you hope?

^{7 -11} "Think! Has a truly innocent person ever ended up on the scrap heap?
Do genuinely upright people ever lose out in the end? It's my observation that those who plow evil
and sow trouble reap evil and trouble. One breath from God and they fall apart,
one blast of his anger and there's nothing left of them. The mighty lion, king of the beasts, roars mightily,
but when he's toothless he's useless— No teeth, no prey—and the cubs
wander off to fend for themselves.

^{12 -16} "A word came to me in secret—
a mere whisper of a word, but I heard it clearly. It came in a scary dream one night,
after I had fallen into a deep, deep sleep. Dread stared me in the face, and Terror.
I was scared to death—I shook from head to foot. A spirit glided right in front of me—
the hair on my head stood on end. I couldn't tell what it was that appeared there—
a blur...and then I heard a muffled voice:

^{17 -21} "'How can mere mortals be more righteous than God?
How can humans be purer than their Creator? Why, God doesn't even trust his own servants,
doesn't even cheer his angels, So how much less these bodies composed of mud,
fragile as moths? These bodies of ours are here today and gone tomorrow,
and no one even notices—gone without a trace. When the tent stakes are ripped up, the tent collapses—
we die and are never the wiser for having lived.'"

Acts 7

^{44 -47}"And all this time our ancestors had a tent shrine for true worship, made to the exact specifications God provided Moses. They had it with them as they followed Joshua, when God cleared the land of pagans, and still had it right down to the time of David. David asked God for a permanent place for worship. But Solomon built it.

^{48 -50}"Yet that doesn't mean that Most High God lives in a building made by carpenters and masons. The prophet Isaiah put it well when he wrote,

"Heaven is my throne room;
I rest my feet on earth.
So what kind of house
will you build me?" says God.
"Where I can get away and relax?
It's already built, and I built it."

^{51 -53}"And you continue, so bullheaded! Calluses on your hearts, flaps on your ears! Deliberately ignoring the Holy Spirit, you're just like your ancestors. Was there ever a prophet who didn't get the same treatment? Your ancestors killed anyone who dared talk about the coming of the Just One. And you've kept up the family tradition—traitors and murderers, all of you. You had God's Law handed to you by angels—gift-wrapped!—and you squandered it!"

^{54 -56}At that point they went wild, a rioting mob of catcalls and whistles and invective. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, hardly noticed—he only had eyes for God, whom he saw in all his glory with Jesus standing at his side. He said, "Oh! I see heaven wide open and the Son of Man standing at God's side!"

^{57 -58}Yelling and hissing, the mob drowned him out. Now in full stampede, they dragged him out of town and pelted him with rocks. The ringleaders took off their coats and asked a young man named Saul to watch them.

^{59 -60}As the rocks rained down, Stephen prayed, "Master Jesus, take my life." Then he knelt down, praying loud enough for everyone to hear, "Master, don't blame them for this sin"—his last words. Then he died.