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

Old/New Testament Reading for Thursday September 13, 2012 (MSG)

Posted: 12 Sep 2012 10:00 PM PDT

Proverbs 16-18

Everything with a Place and a Purpose

16 Mortals make elaborate plans,
but God has the last word.

²Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good;
God probes for what is good.

³Put God in charge of your work,
then what you've planned will take place.

⁴God made everything with a place and purpose;
even the wicked are included—but for judgment.

⁵God can't stomach arrogance or pretense;
believe me, he'll put those upstarts in their place.

⁶Guilt is banished through love and truth;
Fear-of-God deflects evil.

⁷When God approves of your life,
even your enemies will end up shaking your hand.

⁸Far better to be right and poor
than to be wrong and rich.

⁹We plan the way we want to live,
but only God makes us able to live it.

It Pays to Take Life Seriously

¹⁰A good leader motivates,
doesn't mislead, doesn't exploit.

¹¹God cares about honesty in the workplace;
your business is his business.

¹²Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds;
sound leadership has a moral foundation.

¹³Good leaders cultivate honest speech;
they love advisors who tell them the truth.

¹⁴An intemperate leader wreaks havoc in lives;
you're smart to stay clear of someone like that.

¹⁵Good-tempered leaders invigorate lives;
they're like spring rain and sunshine.

¹⁶Get wisdom—it's worth more than money;
choose insight over income every time.

¹⁷The road of right living bypasses evil;
watch your step and save your life.

¹⁸First pride, then the crash—
the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.

¹⁹It's better to live humbly among the poor
than to live it up among the rich and famous.

²⁰It pays to take life seriously;
things work out when you trust in God.

²¹A wise person gets known for insight;
gracious words add to one's reputation.

²²True intelligence is a spring of fresh water,
while fools sweat it out the hard way.

²³They make a lot of sense, these wise folks;
whenever they speak, their reputation increases.

²⁴Gracious speech is like clover honey—
good taste to the soul, quick energy for the body.

²⁵There's a way that looks harmless enough;
look again—it leads straight to hell.

²⁶Appetite is an incentive to work;
hunger makes you work all the harder.

²⁷Mean people spread mean gossip;
their words smart and burn.

²⁸Troublemakers start fights;
gossips break up friendships.

²⁹Calloused climbers betray their very own friends;
they'd stab their own grandmothers in the back.

³⁰A shifty eye betrays an evil intention;
a clenched jaw signals trouble ahead.

³¹Gray hair is a mark of distinction,
the award for a God-loyal life.

³²Moderation is better than muscle,
self-control better than political power.

³³Make your motions and cast your votes,
but God has the final say.

A Whack on the Head of a Fool

17 A meal of bread and water in contented peace
is better than a banquet spiced with quarrels.

²A wise servant takes charge of an unruly child
and is honored as one of the family.

³As silver in a crucible and gold in a pan,
so our lives are assayed by God.

⁴Evil people relish malicious conversation;
the ears of liars itch for dirty gossip.

⁵Whoever mocks poor people insults their Creator;
gloating over misfortune is a punishable crime.

⁶Old people are distinguished by grandchildren;
children take pride in their parents.

⁷We don't expect eloquence from fools,
nor do we expect lies from our leaders.

⁸Receiving a gift is like getting a rare gemstone;
any way you look at it, you see beauty refracted.

⁹Overlook an offense and bond a friendship;
fasten on to a slight and—good-bye, friend!

¹⁰A quiet rebuke to a person of good sense
does more than a whack on the head of a fool.

¹¹Criminals out looking for nothing but trouble
won't have to wait long—they'll meet it coming and going!

¹²Better to meet a grizzly robbed of her cubs
than a fool hellbent on folly.

¹³Those who return evil for good
will meet their own evil returning.

¹⁴The start of a quarrel is like a leak in a dam,
so stop it before it bursts.

¹⁵Whitewashing bad people and throwing mud on good people
are equally abhorrent to God.

¹⁶What's this? Fools out shopping for wisdom!
They wouldn't recognize it if they saw it!

One Who Knows Much Says Little

¹⁷Friends love through all kinds of weather,
and families stick together in all kinds of trouble.

¹⁸It's stupid to try to get something for nothing,
or run up huge bills you can never pay.

¹⁹The person who courts sin marries trouble;
build a wall, invite a burglar.

²⁰A bad motive can't achieve a good end;
double-talk brings you double trouble.

²¹Having a fool for a child is misery;
it's no fun being the parent of a dolt.

²²A cheerful disposition is good for your health;
gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.

²³The wicked take bribes under the table;
they show nothing but contempt for justice.

²⁴The perceptive find wisdom in their own front yard;
fools look for it everywhere but right here.

²⁵A surly, stupid child is sheer pain to a father,
a bitter pill for a mother to swallow.

²⁶It's wrong to penalize good behavior,
or make good citizens pay for the crimes of others.

²⁷The one who knows much says little;
an understanding person remains calm.

²⁸Even dunces who keep quiet are thought to be wise;
as long as they keep their mouths shut, they're smart.

Words Kill, Words Give Life

18 Loners who care only for themselves
spit on the common good.

²Fools care nothing for thoughtful discourse;
all they do is run off at the mouth.

³When wickedness arrives, shame's not far behind;
contempt for life is contemptible.

⁴Many words rush along like rivers in flood,
but deep wisdom flows up from artesian springs.

⁵It's not right to go easy on the guilty,
or come down hard on the innocent.

⁶The words of a fool start fights;
do him a favor and gag him.

⁷Fools are undone by their big mouths;
their souls are crushed by their words.

⁸Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy;
do you really want junk like that in your belly?

⁹Slack habits and sloppy work
are as bad as vandalism.

¹⁰God's name is a place of protection—
good people can run there and be safe.

¹¹The rich think their wealth protects them;
they imagine themselves safe behind it.

¹²Pride first, then the crash,
but humility is precursor to honor.

¹³Answering before listening
is both stupid and rude.

¹⁴A healthy spirit conquers adversity,
but what can you do when the spirit is crushed?

¹⁵Wise men and women are always learning,
always listening for fresh insights.

¹⁶A gift gets attention;
it buys the attention of eminent people.

¹⁷The first speech in a court case is always convincing—
until the cross-examination starts!

¹⁸You may have to draw straws
when faced with a tough decision.

¹⁹Do a favor and win a friend forever;
nothing can untie that bond.

²⁰Words satisfy the mind as much as fruit does the stomach;
good talk is as gratifying as a good harvest.

²¹Words kill, words give life;
they're either poison or fruit—you choose.

²²Find a good spouse, you find a good life—
and even more: the favor of God!

²³The poor speak in soft supplications;
the rich bark out answers.

²⁴Friends come and friends go,
but a true friend sticks by you like family.

The Message (MSG)

2 Corinthians 6

Staying at Our Post

6 ^1-10Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don't squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us. God reminds us,

I heard your call in the nick of time;
The day you needed me, I was there to help.

Well, now is the right time to listen, the day to be helped. Don't put it off; don't frustrate God's work by showing up late, throwing a question mark over everything we're doing. Our work as God's servants gets validated—or not—in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly . . . in hard times, tough times, bad times; when we're beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love; when we're telling the truth, and when God's showing his power; when we're doing our best setting things right; when we're praised, and when we're blamed; slandered, and honored; true to our word, though distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.

^11-13Dear, dear Corinthians, I can't tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn't fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren't small, but you're living them in a small way. I'm speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!

^14-18Don't become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That's not partnership; that's war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God's holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way:

"I'll live in them, move into them;
I'll be their God and they'll be my people.
So leave the corruption and compromise;
leave it for good," says God.
"Don't link up with those who will pollute you.
I want you all for myself.
I'll be a Father to you;
you'll be sons and daughters to me."
The Word of the Master, God.