Message Bible Daily

Friday, December 27, 2019

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

Old/New Testament Reading for Friday December 27, 2019 (MSG)

Posted: 26 Dec 2019 09:00 PM PST

Zechariah 1-4

1 ^1-4In the eighth month of the second year in the reign of Darius, God's Message came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo: "God was very angry with your ancestors. So give to the people this Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: 'Come back to me and I'll come back to you. Don't be like your parents. The old-time prophets called out to them, "A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: Leave your evil life. Quit your evil practices." But they ignored everything I said to them, stubbornly refused to listen.'

^5-6"And where are your ancestors now? Dead and buried. And the prophets who preached to them? Also dead and buried. But the Message that my servants the prophets spoke, that isn't dead and buried. That Message did its work on your ancestors, did it not? It woke them up and they came back, saying, 'He did what he said he would do, sure enough. We didn't get by with a thing.'"

First Vision: Four Riders

⁷On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month in the second year of the reign of Darius, the Message of God was given to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo:

⁸One night I looked out and saw a man astride a red horse. He was in the shadows in a grove of birches. Behind him were more horses—a red, a chestnut, and a white.

⁹I said, "Sir, what are these horses doing here? What's the meaning of this?"

The Angel-Messenger said, "Let me show you."

¹⁰Then the rider in the birch grove spoke up, "These are the riders that God sent to check things out on earth."

¹¹They reported their findings to the Angel of God in the birch grove: "We have looked over the whole earth and all is well. Everything's under control."

¹²The Angel of God reported back, "O God-of-the-Angel-Armies, how long are you going to stay angry with Jerusalem and the cities of Judah? When are you going to let up? Isn't seventy years long enough?"

^13-15God reassured the Angel-Messenger—good words, comforting words—who then addressed me: "Tell them this. Tell them that God-of-the-Angel-Armies has spoken. This is God's Message: 'I care deeply for Jerusalem and Zion. I feel very possessive of them. But I'm thoroughly angry with the godless nations that act as if they own the whole world. I was only moderately angry earlier, but now they've gone too far. I'm going into action.

^16-17"'I've come back to Jerusalem, but with compassion this time.'
This is God speaking.
'I'll see to it that my Temple is rebuilt.'
A Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
'The rebuilding operation is already staked out.'
Say it again—a Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
'My cities will prosper again,
God will comfort Zion again,
Jerusalem will be back in my favor again.'"

Second Vision: Four Horns and Four Blacksmiths

¹⁸I looked up, and was surprised by another vision: four horns!

¹⁹I asked the Messenger-Angel, "And what's the meaning of this?"

He said, "These are the powers that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem abroad."

²⁰Then God expanded the vision to include four blacksmiths.

²¹I asked, "And what are these all about?"

He said, "Since the 'horns' scattered Judah so badly that no one had any hope left, these blacksmiths have arrived to combat the horns. They'll dehorn the godless nations who used their horns to scatter Judah to the four winds."

Third Vision: The Man with the Tape Measure

2 ^1-5I looked up and was surprised to see
a man holding a tape measure in his hand.
I said, "What are you up to?"
"I'm on my way," he said, "to survey Jerusalem,
to measure its width and length."
Just then the Messenger-Angel on his way out
met another angel coming in and said,
"Run! Tell the Surveyor, 'Jerusalem will burst its walls—
bursting with people, bursting with animals.
And I'll be right there with her'—God's Decree—'a wall of fire
around unwalled Jerusalem and a radiant presence within.'"

^6-7"Up on your feet! Get out of there—and now!" God says so.
"Return from your far exile.
I scattered you to the four winds." God's Decree.
"Escape from Babylon, Zion, and come home—now!"

^8-9God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the One of Glory who sent me on my mission, commenting on the godless nations who stripped you and left you homeless, said, "Anyone who hits you, hits me—bloodies my nose, blackens my eye. Yes, and at the right time I'll give the signal and they'll be stripped and thrown out by their own servants." Then you'll know for sure that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me on this mission.

¹⁰"Shout and celebrate, Daughter of Zion!
I'm on my way. I'm moving into your neighborhood!"
God's Decree.

^11-12Many godless nations will be linked up with God at that time. ("They will become my family! I'll live in their homes!") And then you'll know for sure that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me on this mission. God will reclaim his Judah inheritance in the Holy Land. He'll again make clear that Jerusalem is his choice.

¹³Quiet, everyone! Shh! Silence before God. Something's afoot in his holy house. He's on the move!

Fourth Vision: Joshua's New Clothes

3 ^1-2Next the Messenger-Angel showed me the high priest Joshua. He was standing before God's Angel where the Accuser showed up to accuse him. Then God said to the Accuser, "I, God, rebuke you, Accuser! I rebuke you and choose Jerusalem. Surprise! Everything is going up in flames, but I reach in and pull out Jerusalem!"

^3-4Joshua, standing before the angel, was dressed in dirty clothes. The angel spoke to his attendants, "Get him out of those filthy clothes," and then said to Joshua, "Look, I've stripped you of your sin and dressed you up in clean clothes."

⁵I spoke up and said, "How about a clean new turban for his head also?" And they did it—put a clean new turban on his head. Then they finished dressing him, with God's Angel looking on.

^6-7God's Angel then charged Joshua, "Orders from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: 'If you live the way I tell you and remain obedient in my service, then you'll make the decisions around here and oversee my affairs. And all my attendants standing here will be at your service.

^8-9"'Careful, High Priest Joshua—both you and your friends sitting here with you, for your friends are in on this, too! Here's what I'm doing next: I'm introducing my servant Branch. And note this: This stone that I'm placing before Joshua, a single stone with seven eyes'—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies—'I'll engrave with these words: "I'll strip this land of its filthy sin, all at once, in a single day."

¹⁰"'At that time, everyone will get along with one another, with friendly visits across the fence, friendly visits on one another's porches.'"

Fifth Vision: A Lampstand and Two Olive Trees

4 The Messenger-Angel again called me to attention. It was like being wakened out of deep sleep.

^2-3He said, "What do you see?"

I answered, "I see a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top. Seven lamps, each with seven spouts, are set on the bowl. And there are two olive trees, one on either side of the bowl."

⁴Then I asked the Messenger-Angel, "What does this mean, sir?"

^5-7The Messenger-Angel said, "Can't you tell?"

"No, sir," I said.

Then he said, "This is God's Message to Zerubbabel: 'You can't force these things. They only come about through my Spirit,' says God-of-the-Angel-Armies. 'So, big mountain, who do you think you are? Next to Zerubbabel you're nothing but a molehill. He'll proceed to set the Cornerstone in place, accompanied by cheers: Yes! Yes! Do it!'"

^8-10After that, the Word of God came to me: "Zerubbabel started rebuilding this Temple and he will complete it. That will be your confirmation that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me to you. Does anyone dare despise this day of small beginnings? They'll change their tune when they see Zerubbabel setting the last stone in place!"

Going back to the vision, the Messenger-Angel said, "The seven lamps are the eyes of God probing the dark corners of the world like searchlights."

^11-12And the two olive trees on either side of the lampstand?" I asked. "What's the meaning of them? And while you're at it, the two branches of the olive trees that feed oil to the lamps—what do they mean?"

¹³He said, "You haven't figured that out?"

I said, "No, sir."

¹⁴He said, "These are the two who stand beside the Master of the whole earth and supply golden lamp oil worldwide."

The Message (MSG)

Revelation 18

Doom to the City of Darkness

18 ^1-8Following this I saw another Angel descend from Heaven. His authority was immense, his glory flooded earth with brightness, his voice thunderous:

Ruined, ruined, Great Babylon, ruined!
A ghost town for demons is all that's left!
A garrison of carrion spirits,
garrison of loathsome, carrion birds.
All nations drank the wild wine of her whoring;
kings of the earth went whoring with her;
entrepreneurs made millions exploiting her.

Just then I heard another shout out of Heaven:

Get out, my people, as fast as you can,
so you don't get mixed up in her sins,
so you don't get caught in her doom.
Her sins stink to high Heaven;
God has remembered every evil she's done.
Give her back what she's given,
double what she's doubled in her works,
double the recipe in the cup she mixed;
Bring her flaunting and wild ways
to torment and tears.
Because she gloated, "I'm queen over all,
and no widow, never a tear on my face,"
In one day, disasters will crush her—
death, heartbreak, and famine—
Then she'll be burned by fire, because God,
the Strong God who judges her,
has had enough.

^9-10"The kings of the earth will see the smoke of her burning, and they'll cry and carry on, the kings who went night after night to her brothel. They'll keep their distance for fear they'll get burned, and they'll cry their lament:

Doom, doom, the great city doomed!
City of Babylon, strong city!
In one hour it's over, your judgment come!

^11-17"The traders will cry and carry on because the bottom dropped out of business, no more market for their goods: gold, silver, precious gems, pearls; fabrics of fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet; perfumed wood and vessels of ivory, precious woods, bronze, iron, and marble; cinnamon and spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; wine and oil, flour and wheat; cattle, sheep, horses, and chariots. And slaves—their terrible traffic in human lives.

Everything you've lived for, gone!
All delicate and delectable luxury, lost!
Not a scrap, not a thread to be found!

"The traders who made millions off her kept their distance for fear of getting burned, and cried and carried on all the more:

Doom, doom, the great city doomed!
Dressed in the latest fashions,
adorned with the finest jewels,
in one hour such wealth wiped out!

^17-19"All the ship captains and travelers by sea, sailors and toilers of the sea, stood off at a distance and cried their lament when they saw the smoke from her burning: 'Oh, what a city! There was never a city like her!' They threw dust on their heads and cried as if the world had come to an end:

Doom, doom, the great city doomed!
All who owned ships or did business by sea
Got rich on her getting and spending.
And now it's over—wiped out in one hour!

²⁰"O Heaven, celebrate! And join in, saints, apostles, and prophets! God has judged her; every wrong you suffered from her has been judged."

^21-24A strong Angel reached for a boulder—huge, like a millstone—and heaved it into the sea, saying,

Heaved and sunk, the great city Babylon,
sunk in the sea, not a sign of her ever again.
Silent the music of harpists and singers—
you'll never hear flutes and trumpets again.
Artisans of every kind—gone;
you'll never see their likes again.
The voice of a millstone grinding falls dumb;
you'll never hear that sound again.
The light from lamps, never again;
never again laughter of bride and groom.
Her traders robbed the whole earth blind,
and by black-magic arts deceived the nations.
The only thing left of Babylon is blood—
the blood of saints and prophets,
the murdered and the martyred.

The Message (MSG)

Thursday, December 26, 2019

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

Old/New Testament Reading for Thursday December 26, 2019 (MSG)

Posted: 25 Dec 2019 09:00 PM PST

Haggai 1-2

Caught Up with Taking Care of Your Own Houses

1 On the first day of the sixth month of the second year in the reign of King Darius of Persia, God's Message was delivered by the prophet Haggai to the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and to the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak:

²A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: "The people procrastinate. They say this isn't the right time to rebuild my Temple, the Temple of God."

^3-4Shortly after that, God said more and Haggai spoke it: "How is it that it's the 'right time' for you to live in your fine new homes while the Home, God's Temple, is in ruins?"

^5-6And then a little later, God-of-the-Angel-Armies spoke out again:

"Take a good, hard look at your life.
Think it over.
You have spent a lot of money,
but you haven't much to show for it.
You keep filling your plates,
but you never get filled up.
You keep drinking and drinking and drinking,
but you're always thirsty.
You put on layer after layer of clothes,
but you can't get warm.
And the people who work for you,
what are they getting out of it?
Not much—
a leaky, rusted-out bucket, that's what.

⁷That's why God-of-the-Angel-Armies said:

"Take a good, hard look at your life.
Think it over."

^8-9Then God said:

"Here's what I want you to do:
Climb into the hills and cut some timber.
Bring it down and rebuild the Temple.
Do it just for me. Honor me.
You've had great ambitions for yourselves,
but nothing has come of it.
The little you have brought to my Temple
I've blown away—there was nothing to it.

^9-11"And why?" (This is a Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, remember.) "Because while you've run around, caught up with taking care of your own houses, my Home is in ruins. That's why. Because of your stinginess. And so I've given you a dry summer and a skimpy crop. I've matched your tight-fisted stinginess by decreeing a season of drought, drying up fields and hills, withering gardens and orchards, stunting vegetables and fruit. Nothing—not man or woman, not animal or crop—is going to thrive."

¹²Then the governor, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak, and all the people with them listened, really listened, to the voice of their God. When God sent the prophet Haggai to them, they paid attention to him. In listening to Haggai, they honored God.

¹³Then Haggai, God's messenger, preached God's Message to the people: "I am with you!" God's Word.

^14-15This is how God got Zerubbabel, Joshua, and all the people moving—got them working on the Temple of God-of-the-Angel-Armies. This happened on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius.

This Temple Will End Up Better Than It Started Out

2 ^1-3On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the Word of God came through the prophet Haggai: "Tell Governor Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and High Priest Joshua son of Jehozadak and all the people: 'Is there anyone here who saw the Temple the way it used to be, all glorious? And what do you see now? Not much, right?

^4-5"'So get to work, Zerubbabel!'—God is speaking.

"'Get to work, Joshua son of Jehozadak—high priest!'

"'Get to work, all you people!'—God is speaking.

"'Yes, get to work! For I am with you.' The God-of-the-Angel-Armies is speaking! 'Put into action the word I covenanted with you when you left Egypt. I'm living and breathing among you right now. Don't be timid. Don't hold back.'

^6-7"This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies said: 'Before you know it, I will shake up sky and earth, ocean and fields. And I'll shake down all the godless nations. They'll bring bushels of wealth and I will fill this Temple with splendor.' God-of-the-Angel-Armies says so.

⁸'I own the silver,
I own the gold.'
Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

⁹"'This Temple is going to end up far better than it started out, a glorious beginning but an even more glorious finish: a place in which I will hand out wholeness and holiness.' Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies."

^10-12On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month (again, this was in the second year of Darius), God's Message came to Haggai: "God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaks: Consult the priests for a ruling. If someone carries a piece of sacred meat in his pocket, meat that is set apart for sacrifice on the altar, and the pocket touches a loaf of bread, a dish of stew, a bottle of wine or oil, or any other food, will these foods be made holy by such contact?"

The priests said, "No."

¹³Then Haggai said, "How about someone who is contaminated by touching a corpse—if that person touches one of these foods, will it be contaminated?"

The priests said, "Yes, it will be contaminated."

¹⁴Then Haggai said, "'So, this people is contaminated. Their nation is contaminated. Everything they do is contaminated. Whatever they do for me is contaminated.' God says so.

^15-17"'Think back. Before you set out to lay the first foundation stones for the rebuilding of my Temple, how did it go with you? Isn't it true that your foot-dragging, halfhearted efforts at rebuilding the Temple of God were reflected in a sluggish, halfway return on your crops—half the grain you were used to getting, half the wine? I hit you with drought and blight and hail. Everything you were doing got hit. But it didn't seem to faze you. You continued to ignore me.' God's Decree.

^18-19"'Now think ahead from this same date—this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Think ahead from when the Temple rebuilding was launched. Has anything in your fields—vine, fig tree, pomegranate, olive tree—failed to flourish? From now on you can count on a blessing.'"

^20-21God's Message came a second time to Haggai on that most memorable day, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month: "Speak to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah:

^21-23"'I am about to shake up everything, to turn everything upside down and start over from top to bottom—overthrow governments, destroy foreign powers, dismantle the world of weapons and armaments, throw armies into confusion, so that they end up killing one another. And on that day'"—this is God's Message—"'I will take you, O Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, as my personal servant and I will set you as a signet ring, the sign of my sovereign presence and authority. I've looked over the field and chosen you for this work.'" The Message of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

The Message (MSG)

Revelation 17

Great Babylon, Mother of Whores

17 ^1-2One of the Seven Angels who carried the seven bowls came and invited me, "Come, I'll show you the judgment of the great Whore who sits enthroned over many waters, the Whore with whom the kings of the earth have gone whoring, show you the judgment on earth dwellers drunk on her whorish lust."

^3-6In the Spirit he carried me out in the desert. I saw a woman mounted on a Scarlet Beast. Stuffed with blasphemies, the Beast had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, festooned with gold and gems and pearls. She held a gold chalice in her hand, brimming with defiling obscenities, her foul fornications. A riddle-name was branded on her forehead: great babylon, mother of whores and abominations of the earth. I could see that the woman was drunk, drunk on the blood of God's holy people, drunk on the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.

^6-8Astonished, I rubbed my eyes. I shook my head in wonder. The Angel said, "Does this surprise you? Let me tell you the riddle of the woman and the Beast she rides, the Beast with seven heads and ten horns. The Beast you saw once was, is no longer, and is about to ascend from the Abyss and head straight for Hell. Earth dwellers whose names weren't written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will be dazzled when they see the Beast that once was, is no longer, and is to come.

^9-11"But don't drop your guard. Use your head. The seven heads are seven hills; they are where the woman sits. They are also seven kings: five dead, one living, the other not yet here—and when he does come his time will be brief. The Beast that once was and is no longer is both an eighth and one of the seven—and headed for Hell.

^12-14"The ten horns you saw are ten kings, but they're not yet in power. They will come to power with the Scarlet Beast, but won't last long—a very brief reign. These kings will agree to turn over their power and authority to the Beast. They will go to war against the Lamb but the Lamb will defeat them, proof that he is Lord over all lords, King over all kings, and those with him will be the called, chosen, and faithful."

^15-18The Angel continued, "The waters you saw on which the Whore was enthroned are peoples and crowds, nations and languages. And the ten horns you saw, together with the Beast, will turn on the Whore—they'll hate her, violate her, strip her naked, rip her apart with their teeth, then set fire to her. It was God who put the idea in their heads to turn over their rule to the Beast until the words of God are completed. The woman you saw is the great city, tyrannizing the kings of the earth."

The Message (MSG)

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

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

Old/New Testament Reading for Wednesday December 25, 2019 (MSG)

Posted: 24 Dec 2019 09:00 PM PST

Zephaniah 1-3

No Longer Giving God a Thought or a Prayer

1 God's Message to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. It came during the reign of Josiah son of Amon, who was king of Judah:

²"I'm going to make a clean sweep of the earth,
a thorough housecleaning." God's Decree.

³"Men and women and animals,
including birds and fish—
Anything and everything that causes sin—will go,
but especially people.

^4-6"I'll start with Judah
and everybody who lives in Jerusalem.
I'll sweep the place clean of every trace
of the sex-and-religion Baal shrines and their priests.
I'll get rid of the people who sneak up to their rooftops at night
to worship the star gods and goddesses;
Also those who continue to worship God
but cover their bases by worshiping other king-gods as well;
Not to mention those who've dumped God altogether,
no longer giving him a thought or offering a prayer.

^7-13"Quiet now!
Reverent silence before me, God, the Master!
Time's up. My Judgment Day is near:
The Holy Day is all set, the invited guests made holy.
On the Holy Day, God's Judgment Day,
I will punish the leaders and the royal sons;
I will punish those who dress up like foreign priests and priestesses,
Who introduce pagan prayers and practices;
And I'll punish all who import pagan superstitions
that turn holy places into hellholes.
Judgment Day!" God's Decree!
"Cries of panic from the city's Fish Gate,
Cries of terror from the city's Second Quarter,
sounds of great crashing from the hills!
Wail, you shopkeepers on Market Street!
Moneymaking has had its day. The god Money is dead.
On Judgment Day,
I'll search through every closet and alley in Jerusalem.
I'll find and punish those who are sitting it out, fat and lazy,
amusing themselves and taking it easy,
Who think, 'God doesn't do anything, good or bad.
He isn't involved, so neither are we.'
But just wait. They'll lose everything they have,
money and house and land.
They'll build a house and never move in.
They'll plant vineyards and never taste the wine.

A Day of Darkness at Noon

^14-18"The Great Judgment Day of God is almost here.
It's countdown time: . . . seven, six, five, four . . .
Bitter and noisy cries on my Judgment Day,
even strong men screaming for help.
Judgment Day is payday—my anger paid out:
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of catastrophic doom,
a day of darkness at noon,
a day of black storm clouds,
a day of bloodcurdling war cries,
as forts are assaulted,
as defenses are smashed.
I'll make things so bad they won't know what hit them.
They'll walk around groping like the blind.
They've sinned against God!
Their blood will be poured out like old dishwater,
their guts shoveled into slop buckets.
Don't plan on buying your way out.
Your money is worthless for this.
This is the Day of God's Judgment—my wrath!
I care about sin with fiery passion—
A fire to burn up the corrupted world,
a wildfire finish to the corrupting people."

Seek God

2 ^1-2So get yourselves together. Shape up!
You're a nation without a clue about what it wants.
Do it before you're blown away
like leaves in a windstorm,
Before God's Judgment-anger
sweeps down on you,
Before God's Judgment Day wrath
descends with full force.

³Seek God, all you quietly disciplined people
who live by God's justice.
Seek God's right ways. Seek a quiet and disciplined life.
Perhaps you'll be hidden on the Day of God's anger.

All Earth-Made Gods Will Blow Away

^4-5Gaza is scheduled for demolition,
Ashdod will be cleaned out by high noon,
Ekron pulled out by the roots.
Doom to the seaside people,
the seafaring people from Crete!
The Word of God is bad news for you
who settled Canaan, the Philistine country:
"You're slated for destruction—
no survivors!"

^6-7The lands of the seafarers
will become pastureland,
A country for shepherds and sheep.
What's left of the family of Judah will get it.
Day after day they'll pasture by the sea,
and go home in the evening to Ashkelon to sleep.
Their very own God will look out for them.
He'll make things as good as before.

^8-12"I've heard the crude taunts of Moab,
the mockeries flung by Ammon,
The cruel talk they've used to put down my people,
their self-important strutting along Israel's borders.
Therefore, as sure as I am the living God," says
God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
Israel's personal God,
"Moab will become a ruin like Sodom,
Ammon a ghost town like Gomorrah,
One a field of rocks, the other a sterile salt flat,
a moonscape forever.
What's left of my people will finish them off,
will pick them clean and take over.
This is what they get for their bloated pride,
their taunts and mockeries of the people
of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
God will be seen as truly terrible—a Holy Terror.
All earth-made gods will shrivel up and blow away;
And everyone, wherever they are, far or near,
will fall to the ground and worship him.
Also you Ethiopians,
you, too, will die—I'll see to it."

^13-15Then God will reach into the north
and destroy Assyria.
He will waste Nineveh,
leave her dry and treeless as a desert.
The ghost town of a city,
the haunt of wild animals,
Nineveh will be home to raccoons and coyotes—
they'll bed down in its ruins.
Owls will hoot in the windows, ravens will croak in the doorways—
all that fancy woodwork now a perch for birds.
Can this be the famous Fun City
that had it made,
That boasted, "I'm the Number-One City!
I'm King of the Mountain!"
So why is the place deserted,
a lair for wild animals?
Passersby hardly give it a look;
they dismiss it with a gesture.

Sewer City

3 ^1-5Doom to the rebellious city,
the home of oppressors—Sewer City!
The city that wouldn't take advice,
wouldn't accept correction,
Wouldn't trust God,
wouldn't even get close to her own god!
Her very own leaders
are rapacious lions,
Her judges are rapacious timber wolves
out every morning prowling for a fresh kill.
Her prophets are out for what they can get.
They're opportunists—you can't trust them.
Her priests desecrate the Sanctuary.
They use God's law as a weapon to maim and kill souls.
Yet God remains righteous in her midst,
untouched by the evil.
He stays at it, day after day, meting out justice.
At evening he's still at it, strong as ever.
But evil men and women, without conscience
and without shame, persist in evil.

⁶"So I cut off the godless nations.
I knocked down their defense posts,
Filled her roads with rubble
so no one could get through.
Her cities were bombed-out ruins,
unlivable and unlived in.

⁷"I thought, 'Surely she'll honor me now,
accept my discipline and correction,
Find a way of escape from the trouble she's in,
find relief from the punishment I'm bringing.'
But it didn't faze her. Bright and early
she was up at it again, doing the same old things.

⁸"Well, if that's what you want, stick around."
God's Decree.
"Your day in court is coming,
but remember I'll be there to bring evidence.
I'll bring all the nations to the courtroom,
round up all the kingdoms,
And let them feel the brunt of my anger,
my raging wrath.
My zeal is a fire
that will purge and purify the earth.

God Is in Charge at the Center

^9-13"In the end I will turn things around for the people.
I'll give them a language undistorted, unpolluted,
Words to address God in worship
and, united, to serve me with their shoulders to the wheel.
They'll come from beyond the Ethiopian rivers,
they'll come praying—
All my scattered, exiled people
will come home with offerings for worship.
You'll no longer have to be ashamed
of all those acts of rebellion.
I'll have gotten rid of your arrogant leaders.
No more pious strutting on my holy hill!
I'll leave a core of people among you
who are poor in spirit—
What's left of Israel that's really Israel.
They'll make their home in God.
This core holy people
will not do wrong.
They won't lie,
won't use words to flatter or seduce.
Content with who they are and where they are,
unanxious, they'll live at peace."

^14-15So sing, Daughter Zion!
Raise the rafters, Israel!
Daughter Jerusalem,
be happy! celebrate!
God has reversed his judgments against you
and sent your enemies off chasing their tails.
From now on, God is Israel's king,
in charge at the center.
There's nothing to fear from evil
ever again!

God Is Present Among You

^16-17Jerusalem will be told:
"Don't be afraid.
Dear Zion,
don't despair.
Your God is present among you,
a strong Warrior there to save you.
Happy to have you back, he'll calm you with his love
and delight you with his songs.

^18-20"The accumulated sorrows of your exile
will dissipate.
I, your God, will get rid of them for you.
You've carried those burdens long enough.
At the same time, I'll get rid of all those
who've made your life miserable.
I'll heal the maimed;
I'll bring home the homeless.
In the very countries where they were hated
they will be venerated.
On Judgment Day
I'll bring you back home—a great family gathering!
You'll be famous and honored
all over the world.
You'll see it with your own eyes—
all those painful partings turned into reunions!"
God's Promise.

The Message (MSG)

Revelation 16

Pouring Out the Seven Disasters

16 I heard a shout of command from the Temple to the Seven Angels: "Begin! Pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath on earth!"

²The first Angel stepped up and poured his bowl out on earth: Loathsome, stinking sores erupted on all who had taken the mark of the Beast and worshiped its image.

³The second Angel poured his bowl on the sea: The sea coagulated into blood, and everything in it died.

^4-7The third Angel poured his bowl on rivers and springs: The waters turned to blood. I heard the Angel of Waters say,

Righteous you are, and your judgments are righteous,
The Is, The Was, The Holy.
They poured out the blood of saints and prophets
so you've given them blood to drink—
they've gotten what they deserve!

Just then I heard the Altar chime in,

Yes, O God, the Sovereign-Strong!
Your judgments are true and just!

^8-9The fourth Angel poured his bowl on the sun: Fire blazed from the sun and scorched men and women. Burned and blistered, they cursed God's Name, the God behind these disasters. They refused to repent, refused to honor God.

^10-11The fifth Angel poured his bowl on the throne of the Beast: Its kingdom fell into sudden eclipse. Mad with pain, men and women bit and chewed their tongues, cursed the God-of-Heaven for their torment and sores, and refused to repent and change their ways.

^12-14The sixth Angel poured his bowl on the great Euphrates River: It dried up to nothing. The dry riverbed became a fine roadbed for the kings from the East. From the mouths of the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet I saw three foul demons crawl out—they looked like frogs. These are demon spirits performing signs. They're after the kings of the whole world to get them gathered for battle on the Great Day of God, the Sovereign-Strong.

¹⁵"Keep watch! I come unannounced, like a thief. You're blessed if, awake and dressed, you're ready for me. Too bad if you're found running through the streets, naked and ashamed."

¹⁶The frog-demons gathered the kings together at the place called in Hebrew Armageddon.

^17-21The seventh Angel poured his bowl into the air: From the Throne in the Temple came a shout, "Done!" followed by lightning flashes and shouts, thunder crashes and a colossal earthquake—a huge and devastating earthquake, never an earthquake like it since time began. The Great City split three ways, the cities of the nations toppled to ruin. Great Babylon had to drink the wine of God's raging anger—God remembered to give her the cup! Every island fled and not a mountain was to be found. Hailstones weighing a ton plummeted, crushing and smashing men and women as they cursed God for the hail, the epic disaster of hail.

The Message (MSG)

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

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

Old/New Testament Reading for Tuesday December 24, 2019 (MSG)

Posted: 23 Dec 2019 09:00 PM PST

Habakkuk 1-3

Justice Is a Joke

1 ^1-4The problem as God gave Habakkuk to see it:

God, how long do I have to cry out for help
before you listen?
How many times do I have to yell, "Help! Murder! Police!"
before you come to the rescue?
Why do you force me to look at evil,
stare trouble in the face day after day?
Anarchy and violence break out,
quarrels and fights all over the place.
Law and order fall to pieces.
Justice is a joke.
The wicked have the righteous hamstrung
and stand justice on its head.

God Says, "Look!"

^5-11"Look around at the godless nations.
Look long and hard. Brace yourself for a shock.
Something's about to take place
and you're going to find it hard to believe.
I'm about to raise up Babylonians to punish you,
Babylonians, fierce and ferocious—
World-conquering Babylon,
grabbing up nations right and left,
A dreadful and terrible people,
making up its own rules as it goes.
Their horses run like the wind,
attack like bloodthirsty wolves.
A stampede of galloping horses
thunders out of nowhere.
They descend like vultures
circling in on carrion.
They're out to kill. Death is on their minds.
They collect victims like squirrels gathering nuts.
They mock kings,
poke fun at generals,
Spit on forts,
and leave them in the dust.
They'll all be blown away by the wind.
Brazen in sin, they call strength their god."

Why Is God Silent Now?

^12-13God, you're from eternity, aren't you?
Holy God, we aren't going to die, are we?
God, you chose Babylonians for your judgment work?
Rock-Solid God, you gave them the job of discipline?
But you can't be serious!
You can't condone evil!
So why don't you do something about this?
Why are you silent now?
This outrage! Evil men swallow up the righteous
and you stand around and watch!

^14-16You're treating men and women
as so many fish in the ocean,
Swimming without direction,
swimming but not getting anywhere.
Then this evil Babylonian arrives and goes fishing.
He pulls in a good catch.
He catches his limit and fills his creel—
a good day of fishing! He's happy!
He praises his rod and reel,
piles his fishing gear on an altar and worships it!
It's made his day,
and he's going to eat well tonight!

¹⁷Are you going to let this go on and on?
Will you let this Babylonian fisherman
Fish like a weekend angler,
killing people as if they're nothing but fish?

2 What's God going to say to my questions? I'm braced for the worst.
I'll climb to the lookout tower and scan the horizon.
I'll wait to see what God says,
how he'll answer my complaint.

Full of Self, but Soul-Empty

^2-3And then God answered: "Write this.
Write what you see.
Write it out in big block letters
so that it can be read on the run.
This vision-message is a witness
pointing to what's coming.
It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait!
And it doesn't lie.
If it seems slow in coming, wait.
It's on its way. It will come right on time.

⁴"Look at that man, bloated by self-importance—
full of himself but soul-empty.
But the person in right standing before God
through loyal and steady believing
is fully alive, really alive.

^5-6"Note well: Money deceives.
The arrogant rich don't last.
They are more hungry for wealth
than the grave is for cadavers.
Like death, they always want more,
but the 'more' they get is dead bodies.
They are cemeteries filled with dead nations,
graveyards filled with corpses.
Don't give people like this a second thought.
Soon the whole world will be taunting them:

^6-8"'Who do you think you are—
getting rich by stealing and extortion?
How long do you think
you can get away with this?'
Indeed, how long before your victims wake up,
stand up and make you the victim?
You've plundered nation after nation.
Now you'll get a taste of your own medicine.
All the survivors are out to plunder you,
a payback for all your murders and massacres.

^9-11"Who do you think you are—
recklessly grabbing and looting,
Living it up, acting like king of the mountain,
acting above it all, above trials and troubles?
You've engineered the ruin of your own house.
In ruining others you've ruined yourself.
You've undermined your foundations,
rotted out your own soul.
The bricks of your house will speak up and accuse you.
The woodwork will step forward with evidence.

^12-14"Who do you think you are—
building a town by murder, a city with crime?
Don't you know that God-of-the-Angel-Armies
makes sure nothing comes of that but ashes,
Makes sure the harder you work
at that kind of thing, the less you are?
Meanwhile the earth fills up
with awareness of God's glory
as the waters cover the sea.

^15-17"Who do you think you are—
inviting your neighbors to your drunken parties,
Giving them too much to drink,
roping them into your sexual orgies?
You thought you were having the time of your life.
Wrong! It's a time of disgrace.
All the time you were drinking,
you were drinking from the cup of God's wrath.
You'll wake up holding your throbbing head, hung over—
hung over from Lebanon violence,
Hung over from animal massacres,
hung over from murder and mayhem,
From multiple violations
of place and people.

^18-19"What's the use of a carved god
so skillfully carved by its sculptor?
What good is a fancy cast god
when all it tells is lies?
What sense does it make to be a pious god-maker
who makes gods that can't even talk?
Who do you think you are—
saying to a stick of wood, 'Wake up,'
Or to a dumb stone, 'Get up'?
Can they teach you anything about anything?
There's nothing to them but surface.
There's nothing on the inside.

²⁰"But oh! God is in his holy Temple!
Quiet everyone—a holy silence. Listen!"

God Racing on the Crest of the Waves

3 ^1-2A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk, with orchestra:

God, I've heard what our ancestors say about you,
and I'm stopped in my tracks, down on my knees.
Do among us what you did among them.
Work among us as you worked among them.
And as you bring judgment, as you surely must,
remember mercy.

^3-7God's on his way again,
retracing the old salvation route,
Coming up from the south through Teman,
the Holy One from Mount Paran.
Skies are blazing with his splendor,
his praises sounding through the earth,
His cloud-brightness like dawn, exploding, spreading,
forked-lightning shooting from his hand—
what power hidden in that fist!
Plague marches before him,
pestilence at his heels!
He stops. He shakes Earth.
He looks around. Nations tremble.
The age-old mountains fall to pieces;
ancient hills collapse like a spent balloon.
The paths God takes are older
than the oldest mountains and hills.
I saw everyone worried, in a panic:
Old wilderness adversaries,
Cushan and Midian, were terrified,
hoping he wouldn't notice them.

^8-16God, is it River you're mad at?
Angry at old River?
Were you raging at Sea when you rode
horse and chariot through to salvation?
You unfurled your bow
and let loose a volley of arrows.
You split Earth with rivers.
Mountains saw what was coming.
They twisted in pain.
Flood Waters poured in.
Ocean roared and reared huge waves.
Sun and Moon stopped in their tracks.
Your flashing arrows stopped them,
your lightning-strike spears impaled them.
Angry, you stomped through Earth.
Furious, you crushed the godless nations.
You were out to save your people,
to save your specially chosen people.
You beat the stuffing
out of King Wicked,
Stripped him naked
from head to toe,
Set his severed head on his own spear
and blew away his army.
Scattered they were to the four winds—
and ended up food for the sharks!
You galloped through the Sea on your horses,
racing on the crest of the waves.
When I heard it, my stomach did flips.
I stammered and stuttered.
My bones turned to water.
I staggered and stumbled.
I sit back and wait for Doomsday
to descend on our attackers.

^17-19Though the cherry trees don't blossom
and the strawberries don't ripen,
Though the apples are worm-eaten
and the wheat fields stunted,
Though the sheep pens are sheepless
and the cattle barns empty,
I'm singing joyful praise to God.
I'm turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.
Counting on God's Rule to prevail,
I take heart and gain strength.
I run like a deer.
I feel like I'm king of the mountain!

(For congregational use, with a full orchestra.)

The Message (MSG)

Revelation 15

The Song of Moses, the Song of the Lamb

15 I saw another Sign in Heaven, huge and breathtaking: seven Angels with seven disasters. These are the final disasters, the wrap-up of God's wrath.

^2-4I saw something like a sea made of glass, the glass all shot through with fire. Carrying harps of God, triumphant over the Beast, its image, and the number of its name, the saved ones stood on the sea of glass. They sang the Song of Moses, servant of God; they sang the Song of the Lamb:

Mighty your acts and marvelous,
O God, the Sovereign-Strong!
Righteous your ways and true,
King of the nations!
Who can fail to fear you, God,
give glory to your Name?
Because you and you only are holy,
all nations will come and worship you,
because they see your judgments are right.

^5-8Then I saw the doors of the Temple, the Tent of Witness in Heaven, open wide. The Seven Angels carrying the seven disasters came out of the Temple. They were dressed in clean, bright linen and wore gold vests. One of the Four Animals handed the Seven Angels seven gold bowls, brimming with the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. Smoke from God's glory and power poured out of the Temple. No one was permitted to enter the Temple until the seven disasters of the Seven Angels were finished.

The Message (MSG)