Message Bible Daily

Thursday, July 5, 2012

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

Old/New Testament Reading for Thursday July 5, 2012 (MSG)

Posted: 04 Jul 2012 10:00 PM PDT

Job 30

The Pain Never Lets Up

^{1 -8}"But no longer. Now I'm the butt of their jokes— young ruffians! whippersnappers! Why, I considered their fathers
mere inexperienced pups. But they are worse than dogs—good for nothing,
stray, mangy animals, Half-starved, scavenging the back alleys,
howling at the moon; Homeless guttersnipes
chewing on old bones and licking old tin cans; Outcasts from the community,
cursed as dangerous delinquents. Nobody would put up with them;
they were driven from the neighborhood. You could hear them out there at the edge of town,
yelping and barking, huddled in junkyards, A gang of beggars and no-names,
thrown out on their ears.

^{9 -15} "But now I'm the one they're after,
mistreating me, taunting and mocking. They abhor me, they abuse me.
How dare those scoundrels—they spit in my face! Now that God has undone me and left me in a heap,
they hold nothing back. Anything goes. They come at me from my blind side,
trip me up, then jump on me while I'm down. They throw every kind of obstacle in my path,
determined to ruin me—
and no one lifts a finger to help me! They violate my broken body,
trample through the rubble of my ruined life. Terrors assault me—
my dignity in shreds,
salvation up in smoke.

^{16 -19} "And now my life drains out,
as suffering seizes and grips me hard. Night gnaws at my bones;
the pain never lets up. I am tied hand and foot, my neck in a noose.
I twist and turn. Thrown facedown in the muck,
I'm a muddy mess, inside and out.

What Did I Do to Deserve This?

^{20 -23} "I shout for help, God, and get nothing, no answer!
I stand to face you in protest, and you give me a blank stare! You've turned into my tormenter—
you slap me around, knock me about. You raised me up so I was riding high
and then dropped me, and I crashed. I know you're determined to kill me,
to put me six feet under.

^{24 -31} "What did I do to deserve this?
Did I ever hit anyone who was calling for help? Haven't I wept for those who live a hard life,
been heartsick over the lot of the poor? But where did it get me?
I expected good but evil showed up.
I looked for light but darkness fell. My stomach's in a constant churning, never settles down.
Each day confronts me with more suffering. I walk under a black cloud. The sun is gone.
I stand in the congregation and protest. I howl with the jackals,
I hoot with the owls. I'm black-and-blue all over,
burning up with fever. My fiddle plays nothing but the blues;
my mouth harp wails laments."

Job 31

What Can I Expect from God?

^{1 -4}"I made a solemn pact with myself never to undress a girl with my eyes. So what can I expect from God?
What do I deserve from God Almighty above? Isn't calamity reserved for the wicked?
Isn't disaster supposed to strike those who do wrong? Isn't God looking, observing how I live?
Doesn't he mark every step I take?

^{5 -8} "Have I walked hand in hand with falsehood,
or hung out in the company of deceit? Weigh me on a set of honest scales
so God has proof of my integrity. If I've strayed off the straight and narrow,
wanted things I had no right to,
messed around with sin, Go ahead, then—
give my portion to someone who deserves it.

^{9 -12} "If I've let myself be seduced by a woman
and conspired to go to bed with her, Fine, my wife has every right to go ahead
and sleep with anyone she wants to. For disgusting behavior like that,
I'd deserve the worst punishment you could hand out. Adultery is a fire that burns the house down;
I wouldn't expect anything I count dear to survive it.

^{13 -15} "Have I ever been unfair to my employees
when they brought a complaint to me? What, then, will I do when God confronts me?
When God examines my books, what can I say? Didn't the same God who made me, make them?
Aren't we all made of the same stuff, equals before God?

^{16 -18} "Have I ignored the needs of the poor,
turned my back on the indigent, Taken care of my own needs and fed my own face
while they languished? Wasn't my home always open to them?
Weren't they always welcome at my table?

^{19 -20} "Have I ever left a poor family shivering in the cold
when they had no warm clothes? Didn't the poor bless me when they saw me coming,
knowing I'd brought coats from my closet?

^{21 -23} "If I've ever used my strength and influence
to take advantage of the unfortunate, Go ahead, break both my arms,
cut off all my fingers! The fear of God has kept me from these things—
how else could I ever face him?

If Only Someone Would Give Me a Hearing!

^{24 -28} "Did I set my heart on making big money
or worship at the bank? Did I boast about my wealth,
show off because I was well-off? Was I ever so awed by the sun's brilliance
and moved by the moon's beauty That I let myself become seduced by them
and worshiped them on the sly? If so, I would deserve the worst of punishments,
for I would be betraying God himself.

^{29 -30} "Did I ever crow over my enemy's ruin?
Or gloat over my rival's bad luck? No, I never said a word of detraction,
never cursed them, even under my breath.

^{31 -34} "Didn't those who worked for me say,
'He fed us well. There were always second helpings'? And no stranger ever had to spend a night in the street;
my doors were always open to travelers. Did I hide my sin the way Adam did,
or conceal my guilt behind closed doors Because I was afraid what people would say,
fearing the gossip of the neighbors so much That I turned myself into a recluse?
You know good and well that I didn't.

^{35 -37} "Oh, if only someone would give me a hearing!
I've signed my name to my defense—let the
Almighty One answer!
I want to see my indictment in writing. Anyone's welcome to read my defense;
I'll write it on a poster and carry it around town. I'm prepared to account for every move I've ever made—
to anyone and everyone, prince or pauper.

^{38 -40} "If the very ground that I farm accuses me,
if even the furrows fill with tears from my abuse, If I've ever raped the earth for my own profit
or dispossessed its rightful owners, Then curse it with thistles instead of wheat,
curse it with weeds instead of barley."

The words of Job to his three friends were finished.

Acts 13

^{26 -29}"Dear brothers and sisters, children of Abraham, and friends of God, this message of salvation has been precisely targeted to you. The citizens and rulers in Jerusalem didn't recognize who he was and condemned him to death. They couldn't find a good reason, but demanded that Pilate execute him anyway. They did just what the prophets said they would do, but had no idea they were following to the letter the script of the prophets, even though those same prophets are read every Sabbath in their meeting places.

^{29 -31}"After they had done everything the prophets said they would do, they took him down from the cross and buried him. And then God raised him from death. There is no disputing that—he appeared over and over again many times and places to those who had known him well in the Galilean years, and these same people continue to give witness that he is alive.

^{32 -35}"And we're here today bringing you good news: the Message that what God promised the fathers has come true for the children—for us! He raised Jesus, exactly as described in the second Psalm:

My Son! My very own Son!
Today I celebrate you! "When he raised him from the dead, he did it for good—no going back to that rot and decay for him. That's why Isaiah said, 'I'll give to all of you David's guaranteed blessings.' So also the psalmist's prayer: 'You'll never let your Holy One see death's rot and decay.'

^{36 -39}"David, of course, having completed the work God set out for him, has been in the grave, dust and ashes, a long time now. But the One God raised up—no dust and ashes for him! I want you to know, my very dear friends, that it is on account of this resurrected Jesus that the forgiveness of your sins can be promised. He accomplishes, in those who believe, everything that the Law of Moses could never make good on. But everyone who believes in this raised-up Jesus is declared good and right and whole before God.

^{40 -41}"Don't take this lightly. You don't want the prophet's sermon to describe you:

Watch out, cynics;
Look hard—watch your world fall to pieces.
I'm doing something right before your eyes
That you won't believe, though it's staring you in the face."

^{42 -43}When the service was over, Paul and Barnabas were invited back to preach again the next Sabbath. As the meeting broke up, a good many Jews and converts to Judaism went along with Paul and Barnabas, who urged them in long conversations to stick with what they'd started, this living in and by God's grace.

^{44 -45}When the next Sabbath came around, practically the whole city showed up to hear the Word of God. Some of the Jews, seeing the crowds, went wild with jealousy and tore into Paul, contradicting everything he was saying, making an ugly scene.

^{46 -47}But Paul and Barnabas didn't back down. Standing their ground they said, "It was required that God's Word be spoken first of all to you, the Jews. But seeing that you want no part of it—you've made it quite clear that you have no taste or inclination for eternal life—the door is open to all the outsiders. And we're on our way through it, following orders, doing what God commanded when he said,

I've set you up
as light to all nations.
You'll proclaim salvation
to the four winds and seven seas!"

^{48 -49}When the non-Jewish outsiders heard this, they could hardly believe their good fortune. All who were marked out for real life put their trust in God—they honored God's Word by receiving that life. And this Message of salvation spread like wildfire all through the region.

^{50 -52}Some of the Jews convinced the most respected women and leading men of the town that their precious way of life was about to be destroyed. Alarmed, they turned on Paul and Barnabas and forced them to leave. Paul and Barnabas shrugged their shoulders and went on to the next town, Iconium, brimming with joy and the Holy Spirit, two happy disciples.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

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

Old/New Testament Reading for Wednesday July 4, 2012 (MSG)

Posted: 03 Jul 2012 10:00 PM PDT

Job 28

Where Does Wisdom Come From?

^{1 -11}"We all know how silver seams the rocks, we've seen the stuff from which gold is refined, We're aware of how iron is dug out of the ground
and copper is smelted from rock. Miners penetrate the earth's darkness,
searching the roots of the mountains for ore,
digging away in the suffocating darkness. Far from civilization, far from the traffic,
they cut a shaft,
and are lowered into it by ropes. Earth's surface is a field for grain,
but its depths are a forge Firing sapphires from stones
and chiseling gold from rocks. Vultures are blind to its riches,
hawks never lay eyes on it. Wild animals are oblivious to it,
lions don't know it's there. Miners hammer away at the rock,
they uproot the mountains. They tunnel through the rock
and find all kinds of beautiful gems. They discover the origins of rivers,
and bring earth's secrets to light.

^{12 -19} "But where, oh where, will they find Wisdom?
Where does Insight hide? Mortals don't have a clue,
haven't the slightest idea where to look. Earth's depths say, 'It's not here';
ocean deeps echo, 'Never heard of it.' It can't be bought with the finest gold;
no amount of silver can get it. Even famous Ophir gold can't buy it,
not even diamonds and sapphires. Neither gold nor emeralds are comparable;
extravagant jewelry can't touch it. Pearl necklaces and ruby bracelets—why bother?
None of this is even a down payment on Wisdom! Pile gold and African diamonds as high as you will,
they can't hold a candle to Wisdom.

^{20 -22} "So where does Wisdom come from?
And where does Insight live? It can't be found by looking, no matter
how deep you dig, no matter how high you fly. If you search through the graveyard and question the dead,
they say, 'We've only heard rumors of it.'

^{23 -28} "God alone knows the way to Wisdom,
he knows the exact place to find it. He knows where everything is on earth,
he sees everything under heaven. After he commanded the winds to blow
and measured out the waters, Arranged for the rain
and set off explosions of thunder and lightning, He focused on Wisdom,
made sure it was all set and tested and ready. Then he addressed the human race: 'Here it is!
Fear-of-the-Lord—that's Wisdom,
and Insight means shunning evil.'"

Job 29

When God Was Still by My Side

^{1 -6} Job now resumed his response: "Oh, how I long for the good old days,
when God took such very good care of me. He always held a lamp before me
and I walked through the dark by its light. Oh, how I miss those golden years
when God's friendship graced my home, When the Mighty One was still by my side
and my children were all around me, When everything was going my way,
and nothing seemed too difficult.

^{7 -20} "When I walked downtown
and sat with my friends in the public square, Young and old greeted me with respect;
I was honored by everyone in town. When I spoke, everyone listened;
they hung on my every word. People who knew me spoke well of me;
my reputation went ahead of me. I was known for helping people in trouble
and standing up for those who were down on their luck. The dying blessed me,
and the bereaved were cheered by my visits. All my dealings with people were good.
I was known for being fair to everyone I met. I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame, Father to the needy,
and champion of abused aliens. I grabbed street thieves by the scruff of the neck
and made them give back what they'd stolen. I thought, 'I'll die peacefully in my own bed,
grateful for a long and full life, A life deep-rooted and well-watered,
a life limber and dew-fresh, My soul suffused with glory
and my body robust until the day I die.'

^{21 -25} "Men and women listened when I spoke,
hung expectantly on my every word. After I spoke, they'd be quiet,
taking it all in. They welcomed my counsel like spring rain,
drinking it all in. When I smiled at them, they could hardly believe it;
their faces lit up, their troubles took wing! I was their leader, establishing the mood
and setting the pace by which they lived.
Where I led, they followed."

Acts 13

Barnabas, Saul, and Doctor Know-It-All

^{1 -2}The congregation in Antioch was blessed with a number of prophet-preachers and teachers:

Barnabas,
Simon, nicknamed Niger,
Lucius the Cyrenian,
Manaen, an advisor to the ruler Herod,
Saul. One day as they were worshiping God—they were also fasting as they waited for guidance—the Holy Spirit spoke: "Take Barnabas and Saul and commission them for the work I have called them to do."

³So they commissioned them. In that circle of intensity and obedience, of fasting and praying, they laid hands on their heads and sent them off.

^{4 -5}Sent off on their new assignment by the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Saul went down to Seleucia and caught a ship for Cyprus. The first thing they did when they put in at Salamis was preach God's Word in the Jewish meeting places. They had John along to help out as needed.

^{6 -7}They traveled the length of the island, and at Paphos came upon a Jewish wizard who had worked himself into the confidence of the governor, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man not easily taken in by charlatans. The wizard's name was Bar-Jesus. He was as crooked as a corkscrew.

^{7 -11}The governor invited Barnabas and Saul in, wanting to hear God's Word firsthand from them. But Dr. Know-It-All (that's the wizard's name in plain English) stirred up a ruckus, trying to divert the governor from becoming a believer. But Saul (or Paul), full of the Holy Spirit and looking him straight in the eye, said, "You bag of wind, you parody of a devil—why, you stay up nights inventing schemes to cheat people out of God. But now you've come up against God himself, and your game is up. You're about to go blind—no sunlight for you for a good long stretch." He was plunged immediately into a shadowy mist and stumbled around, begging people to take his hand and show him the way.

¹²When the governor saw what happened, he became a believer, full of enthusiasm over what they were saying about the Master.

Don't Take This Lightly

^{13 -14}From Paphos, Paul and company put out to sea, sailing on to Perga in Pamphylia. That's where John called it quits and went back to Jerusalem. From Perga the rest of them traveled on to Antioch in Pisidia.

^{14 -15}On the Sabbath they went to the meeting place and took their places. After the reading of the Scriptures—God's Law and the Prophets—the president of the meeting asked them, "Friends, do you have anything you want to say? A word of encouragement, perhaps?"

^{16 -20}Paul stood up, paused and took a deep breath, then said, "Fellow Israelites and friends of God, listen. God took a special interest in our ancestors, pulled our people who were beaten down in Egyptian exile to their feet, and led them out of there in grand style. He took good care of them for nearly forty years in that godforsaken wilderness and then, having wiped out seven enemies who stood in the way, gave them the land of Canaan for their very own—a span in all of about 450 years.

^{20 -22}"Up to the time of Samuel the prophet, God provided judges to lead them. But then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul, son of Kish, out of the tribe of Benjamin. After Saul had ruled forty years, God removed him from office and put King David in his place, with this commendation: 'I've searched the land and found this David, son of Jesse. He's a man whose heart beats to my heart, a man who will do what I tell him.'

^{23 -25}"From out of David's descendants God produced a Savior for Israel, Jesus, exactly as he promised—but only after John had thoroughly alerted the people to his arrival by preparing them for a total life-change. As John was finishing up his work, he said, 'Did you think I was the One? No, I'm not the One. But the One you've been waiting for all these years is just around the corner, about to appear. And I'm about to disappear.'

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

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

Old/New Testament Reading for Tuesday July 3, 2012 (MSG)

Posted: 02 Jul 2012 10:00 PM PDT

Job 25

Bildad's Third Attack

Even the Stars Aren't Perfect in God's Eyes

^{1 -6} Bildad the Shuhite again attacked Job: "God is sovereign, God is fearsome—
everything in the cosmos fits and works in his plan. Can anyone count his angel armies?
Is there any place where his light doesn't shine? How can a mere mortal presume to stand up to God?
How can an ordinary person pretend to be guiltless? Why, even the moon has its flaws,
even the stars aren't perfect in God's eyes, So how much less, plain men and women—
slugs and maggots by comparison!"

Job 26

Job's Defense

God Sets a Boundary Between Light and Darkness

^{1 -4} Job answered: "Well, you've certainly been a great help to a helpless man!
You came to the rescue just in the nick of time! What wonderful advice you've given to a mixed-up man!
What amazing insights you've provided! Where in the world did you learn all this?
How did you become so inspired?

^{5 -14} "All the buried dead are in torment,
and all who've been drowned in the deep, deep sea. Hell is ripped open before God,
graveyards dug up and exposed. He spreads the skies over unformed space,
hangs the earth out in empty space. He pours water into cumulus cloud-bags
and the bags don't burst. He makes the moon wax and wane,
putting it through its phases. He draws the horizon out over the ocean,
sets a boundary between light and darkness. Thunder crashes and rumbles in the skies.
Listen! It's God raising his voice! By his power he stills sea storms,
by his wisdom he tames sea monsters. With one breath he clears the sky,
with one finger he crushes the sea serpent. And this is only the beginning,
a mere whisper of his rule.
Whatever would we do if he really raised his voice!"

Job 27

No Place to Hide

^{1 -6} Having waited for Zophar, Job now resumed his defense: "God-Alive! He's denied me justice!
God Almighty! He's ruined my life! But for as long as I draw breath,
and for as long as God breathes life into me, I refuse to say one word that isn't true.
I refuse to confess to any charge that's false. There is no way I'll ever agree to your accusations.
I'll not deny my integrity even if it costs me my life. I'm holding fast to my integrity and not loosening my grip—
and, believe me, I'll never regret it.

^{7 -10} "Let my enemy be exposed as wicked!
Let my adversary be proven guilty! What hope do people without God have when life is cut short?
when God puts an end to life? Do you think God will listen to their cry for help
when disaster hits? What interest have they ever shown in the Almighty?
Have they ever been known to pray before?

^{11 -12} "I've given you a clear account of God in action,
suppressed nothing regarding God Almighty. The evidence is right before you. You can all see it for yourselves,
so why do you keep talking nonsense?

^{13 -23} "I'll quote your own words back to you:

"'This is how God treats the wicked,
this is what evil people can expect from God Almighty: Their children—all of them—will die violent deaths;
they'll never have enough bread to put on the table. They'll be wiped out by the plague,
and none of the widows will shed a tear when they're gone. Even if they make a lot of money
and are resplendent in the latest fashions, It's the good who will end up wearing the clothes
and the decent who will divide up the money. They build elaborate houses
that won't survive a single winter. They go to bed wealthy
and wake up poor. Terrors pour in on them like flash floods—
a tornado snatches them away in the middle of the night, A cyclone sweeps them up—gone!
Not a trace of them left, not even a footprint. Catastrophes relentlessly pursue them;
they run this way and that, but there's no place to hide— Pummeled by the weather,
blown to kingdom come by the storm.'"

Acts 12

Peter Under Heavy Guard

^{1 -4} That's when King Herod got it into his head to go after some of the church members. He murdered James, John's brother. When he saw how much it raised his popularity ratings with the Jews, he arrested Peter—all this during Passover Week, mind you—and had him thrown in jail, putting four squads of four soldiers each to guard him. He was planning a public lynching after Passover.

⁵All the time that Peter was under heavy guard in the jailhouse, the church prayed for him most strenuously.

⁶Then the time came for Herod to bring him out for the kill. That night, even though shackled to two soldiers, one on either side, Peter slept like a baby. And there were guards at the door keeping their eyes on the place. Herod was taking no chances!

^{7 -9}Suddenly there was an angel at his side and light flooding the room. The angel shook Peter and got him up: "Hurry!" The handcuffs fell off his wrists. The angel said, "Get dressed. Put on your shoes." Peter did it. Then, "Grab your coat and let's get out of here." Peter followed him, but didn't believe it was really an angel—he thought he was dreaming.

^{10 -11}Past the first guard and then the second, they came to the iron gate that led into the city. It swung open before them on its own, and they were out on the street, free as the breeze. At the first intersection the angel left him, going his own way. That's when Peter realized it was no dream. "I can't believe it—this really happened! The Master sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's vicious little production and the spectacle the Jewish mob was looking forward to."

^{12 -14}Still shaking his head, amazed, he went to Mary's house, the Mary who was John Mark's mother. The house was packed with praying friends. When he knocked on the door to the courtyard, a young woman named Rhoda came to see who it was. But when she recognized his voice—Peter's voice!—she was so excited and eager to tell everyone Peter was there that she forgot to open the door and left him standing in the street.

^{15 -16}But they wouldn't believe her, dismissing her, dismissing her report. "You're crazy," they said. She stuck by her story, insisting. They still wouldn't believe her and said, "It must be his angel." All this time poor Peter was standing out in the street, knocking away.

^{16 -17}Finally they opened up and saw him—and went wild! Peter put his hands up and calmed them down. He described how the Master had gotten him out of jail, then said, "Tell James and the brothers what's happened." He left them and went off to another place.

^{18 -19}At daybreak the jail was in an uproar. "Where is Peter? What's happened to Peter?" When Herod sent for him and they could neither produce him nor explain why not, he ordered their execution: "Off with their heads!" Fed up with Judea and Jews, he went for a vacation to Caesarea.

The Death of Herod

^{20 -22}But things went from bad to worse for Herod. Now people from Tyre and Sidon put him on the warpath. But they got Blastus, King Herod's right-hand man, to put in a good word for them and got a delegation together to iron things out. Because they were dependent on Judea for food supplies, they couldn't afford to let this go on too long. On the day set for their meeting, Herod, robed in pomposity, took his place on the throne and regaled them with a lot of hot air. The people played their part to the hilt and shouted flatteries: "The voice of God! The voice of God!"

²³That was the last straw. God had had enough of Herod's arrogance and sent an angel to strike him down. Herod had given God no credit for anything. Down he went. Rotten to the core, a maggoty old man if there ever was one, he died.

²⁴Meanwhile, the ministry of God's Word grew by leaps and bounds.

²⁵Barnabas and Saul, once they had delivered the relief offering to the church in Jerusalem, went back to Antioch. This time they took John with them, the one they called Mark.

Monday, July 2, 2012

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

Old/New Testament Reading for Monday July 2, 2012 (MSG)

Posted: 01 Jul 2012 10:00 PM PDT

Job 22

Eliphaz Attacks Job—The Third Round

Come to Terms with God

^{1 -11} Once again Eliphaz the Temanite took up his theme: <

>"Are any of us strong enough to give God a hand,
or smart enough to give him advice? So what if you were righteous—would God Almighty even notice?
Even if you gave a perfect performance, do you think
he'd applaud? Do you think it's because he cares about your purity
that he's disciplining you, putting you on the spot? Hardly! It's because you're a first-class moral failure,
because there's no end to your sins. When people came to you for help,
you took the shirts off their backs, exploited their helplessness. You wouldn't so much as give a drink to the thirsty,
or food, not even a scrap, to the hungry. And there you sat, strong and honored by everyone,
surrounded by immense wealth! You turned poor widows away from your door;
heartless, you crushed orphans. Now you're the one trapped in terror, paralyzed by fear.
Suddenly the tables have turned! How do you like living in the dark, sightless,
up to your neck in flood waters?

^{12 -14} "You agree, don't you, that God is in charge?
He runs the universe—just look at the stars! Yet you dare raise questions: 'What does God know?
From that distance and darkness, how can he judge? He roams the heavens wrapped in clouds,
so how can he see us?'

^{15 -18} "Are you going to persist in that tired old line
that wicked men and women have always used? Where did it get them? They died young,
flash floods sweeping them off to their doom. They told God, 'Get lost!
What good is God Almighty to us?' And yet it was God who gave them everything they had.
It's beyond me how they can carry on like this!

^{19 -20} "Good people see bad people crash, and call for a celebration.
Relieved, they crow, 'At last! Our enemies—wiped out.
Everything they had and stood for is up in smoke!'

^{21 -25} "Give in to God, come to terms with him
and everything will turn out just fine. Let him tell you what to do;
take his words to heart. Come back to God Almighty
and he'll rebuild your life. Clean house of everything evil.
Relax your grip on your money
and abandon your gold-plated luxury. God Almighty will be your treasure,
more wealth than you can imagine.

^{26 -30} "You'll take delight in God, the Mighty One,
and look to him joyfully, boldly. You'll pray to him and he'll listen;
he'll help you do what you've promised. You'll decide what you want and it will happen;
your life will be bathed in light. To those who feel low you'll say, 'Chin up! Be brave!'
and God will save them. Yes, even the guilty will escape,
escape through God's grace in your life."

Job 23

Job's Defense

I'm Completely in the Dark

^{1 -7} Job replied: <

>"I'm not letting up—I'm standing my ground.
My complaint is legitimate. God has no right to treat me like this—
it isn't fair! If I knew where on earth to find him,
I'd go straight to him. I'd lay my case before him face-to-face,
give him all my arguments firsthand. I'd find out exactly what he's thinking,
discover what's going on in his head. Do you think he'd dismiss me or bully me?
No, he'd take me seriously. He'd see a straight-living man standing before him;
my Judge would acquit me for good of all charges.

^{8 -9} "I travel East looking for him—I find no one;
then West, but not a trace; I go North, but he's hidden his tracks;
then South, but not even a glimpse.

^{10 -12} "But he knows where I am and what I've done.
He can cross-examine me all he wants, and I'll pass the test
with honors. I've followed him closely, my feet in his footprints,
not once swerving from his way. I've obeyed every word he's spoken,
and not just obeyed his advice—I've treasured it.

^{13 -17} "But he is singular and sovereign. Who can argue with him?
He does what he wants, when he wants to. He'll complete in detail what he's decided about me,
and whatever else he determines to do. Is it any wonder that I dread meeting him?
Whenever I think about it, I get scared all over again. God makes my heart sink!
God Almighty gives me the shudders! I'm completely in the dark,
I can't see my hand in front of my face."

Job 24

An Illusion of Security

^{1 -12}"But if Judgment Day isn't hidden from the Almighty, why are we kept in the dark? There are people out there getting by with murder—
stealing and lying and cheating. They rip off the poor
and exploit the unfortunate, Push the helpless into the ditch,
bully the weak so that they fear for their lives. The poor, like stray dogs and cats,
scavenge for food in back alleys. They sort through the garbage of the rich,
eke out survival on handouts. Homeless, they shiver through cold nights on the street;
they've no place to lay their heads. Exposed to the weather, wet and frozen,
they huddle in makeshift shelters. Nursing mothers have their babies snatched from them;
the infants of the poor are kidnapped and sold. They go about patched and threadbare;
even the hard workers go hungry. No matter how backbreaking their labor,
they can never make ends meet. People are dying right and left, groaning in torment.
The wretched cry out for help
and God does nothing, acts like nothing's wrong!

^{13 -17} "Then there are those who avoid light at all costs,
who scorn the light-filled path. When the sun goes down, the murderer gets up—
kills the poor and robs the defenseless. Sexual predators can't wait for nightfall,
thinking, 'No one can see us now.' Burglars do their work at night,
but keep well out of sight through the day.
They want nothing to do with light. Deep darkness is morning for that bunch;
they make the terrors of darkness their companions in crime.

^{18 -25} "They are scraps of wood floating on the water—
useless, cursed junk, good for nothing. As surely as snow melts under the hot, summer sun,
sinners disappear in the grave. The womb has forgotten them, worms have relished them—
nothing that is evil lasts. Unscrupulous,
they prey on those less fortunate. However much they strut and flex their muscles,
there's nothing to them. They're hollow. They may have an illusion of security,
but God has his eye on them. They may get their brief successes,
but then it's over, nothing to show for it. Like yesterday's newspaper,
they're used to wrap up the garbage. You're free to try to prove me a liar,
but you won't be able to do it."

Acts 11

God Has Broken Through

^{1 -3}The news traveled fast and in no time the leaders and friends back in Jerusalem heard about it—heard that the non-Jewish "outsiders" were now "in." When Peter got back to Jerusalem, some of his old associates, concerned about circumcision, called him on the carpet: "What do you think you're doing rubbing shoulders with that crowd, eating what is prohibited and ruining our good name?"

^{4 -6}So Peter, starting from the beginning, laid it out for them step-by-step: "Recently I was in the town of Joppa praying. I fell into a trance and saw a vision: Something like a huge blanket, lowered by ropes at its four corners, came down out of heaven and settled on the ground in front of me. Milling around on the blanket were farm animals, wild animals, reptiles, birds—you name it, it was there. Fascinated, I took it all in.

^{7 -10}"Then I heard a voice: 'Go to it, Peter—kill and eat.' I said, 'Oh, no, Master. I've never so much as tasted food that wasn't kosher.' The voice spoke again: 'If God says it's okay, it's okay.' This happened three times, and then the blanket was pulled back up into the sky.

^{11 -14}"Just then three men showed up at the house where I was staying, sent from Caesarea to get me. The Spirit told me to go with them, no questions asked. So I went with them, I and six friends, to the man who had sent for me. He told us how he had seen an angel right in his own house, real as his next-door neighbor, saying, 'Send to Joppa and get Simon, the one they call Peter. He'll tell you something that will save your life—in fact, you and everyone you care for.'

^{15 -17}"So I started in, talking. Before I'd spoken half a dozen sentences, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he did on us the first time. I remembered Jesus' words: 'John baptized with water; you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' So I ask you: If God gave the same exact gift to them as to us when we believed in the Master Jesus Christ, how could I object to God?"

¹⁸Hearing it all laid out like that, they quieted down. And then, as it sank in, they started praising God. "It's really happened! God has broken through to the other nations, opened them up to Life!"

^{19 -21}Those who had been scattered by the persecution triggered by Stephen's death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, but they were still only speaking and dealing with their fellow Jews. Then some of the men from Cyprus and Cyrene who had come to Antioch started talking to Greeks, giving them the Message of the Master Jesus. God was pleased with what they were doing and put his stamp of approval on it—quite a number of the Greeks believed and turned to the Master.

^{22 -24}When the church in Jerusalem got wind of this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch to check on things. As soon as he arrived, he saw that God was behind and in it all. He threw himself in with them, got behind them, urging them to stay with it the rest of their lives. He was a good man that way, enthusiastic and confident in the Holy Spirit's ways. The community grew large and strong in the Master.

^{25 -26}Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. He found him and brought him back to Antioch. They were there a whole year, meeting with the church and teaching a lot of people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were for the first time called Christians.

^{27 -30}It was about this same time that some prophets came to Antioch from Jerusalem. One of them named Agabus stood up one day and, prompted by the Spirit, warned that a severe famine was about to devastate the country. (The famine eventually came during the rule of Claudius.) So the disciples decided that each of them would send whatever they could to their fellow Christians in Judea to help out. They sent Barnabas and Saul to deliver the collection to the leaders in Jerusalem.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

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

Old/New Testament Reading for Sunday July 1, 2012 (MSG)

Posted: 30 Jun 2012 10:00 PM PDT

Job 20

Zophar Attacks Job—The Second Round

Savoring Evil as a Delicacy

^{1 -3} Zophar from Naamath again took his turn: "I can't believe what I'm hearing!
You've put my teeth on edge, my stomach in a knot. How dare you insult my intelligence like this!
Well, here's a piece of my mind!

^{4 -11} "Don't you even know the basics,
how things have been since the earliest days,
when Adam and Eve were first placed on earth? The good times of the wicked are short-lived;
godless joy is only momentary. The evil might become world famous,
strutting at the head of the celebrity parade, But still end up in a pile of dung.
Acquaintances look at them with disgust and say, 'What's that?' They fly off like a dream that can't be remembered,
like a shadowy illusion that vanishes in the light. Though once notorious public figures, now they're nobodies,
unnoticed, whether they come or go. Their children will go begging on skid row,
and they'll have to give back their ill-gotten gain. Right in the prime of life,
and youthful and vigorous, they'll die.

^{12 -19} "They savor evil as a delicacy,
roll it around on their tongues, Prolong the flavor, a dalliance in decadence—
real gourmets of evil! But then they get stomach cramps,
a bad case of food poisoning. They gag on all that rich food;
God makes them vomit it up. They gorge on evil, make a diet of that poison—
a deadly diet—and it kills them. No quiet picnics for them beside gentle streams
with fresh-baked bread and cheese, and tall, cool drinks. They spit out their food half-chewed,
unable to relax and enjoy anything they've worked for. And why? Because they exploited the poor,
took what never belonged to them.

^{20 -29} "Such God-denying people are never content with what they have
or who they are;
their greed drives them relentlessly. They plunder everything
but they can't hold on to any of it. Just when they think they have it all, disaster strikes;
they're served up a plate full of misery. When they've filled their bellies with that,
God gives them a taste of his anger,
and they get to chew on that for a while. As they run for their lives from one disaster,
they run smack into another. They're knocked around from pillar to post,
beaten to within an inch of their lives. They're trapped in a house of horrors,
and see their loot disappear down a black hole. Their lives are a total loss—
not a penny to their name, not so much as a bean. God will strip them of their sin-soaked clothes
and hang their dirty laundry out for all to see. Life is a complete wipeout for them,
nothing surviving God's wrath. There! That's God's blueprint for the wicked—
what they have to look forward to."

Job 21

Job's Response

Why Do the Wicked Have It So Good?

^{1 -3}Job replied: "Now listen to me carefully, please listen,
at least do me the favor of listening. Put up with me while I have my say—
then you can mock me later to your heart's content.

^{4 -16} "It's not you I'm complaining to—it's God.
Is it any wonder I'm getting fed up with his silence? Take a good look at me. Aren't you appalled by what's happened?
No! Don't say anything. I can do without your comments. When I look back, I go into shock,
my body is racked with spasms. Why do the wicked have it so good,
live to a ripe old age and get rich? They get to see their children succeed,
get to watch and enjoy their grandchildren. Their homes are peaceful and free from fear;
they never experience God's disciplining rod. Their bulls breed with great vigor
and their cows calve without fail. They send their children out to play
and watch them frolic like spring lambs. They make music with fiddles and flutes,
have good times singing and dancing. They have a long life on easy street,
and die painlessly in their sleep. They say to God, 'Get lost!
We've no interest in you or your ways. Why should we have dealings with God Almighty?
What's there in it for us?' But they're wrong, dead wrong—they're not gods.
It's beyond me how they can carry on like this!

^{17 -21} "Still, how often does it happen that the wicked fail,
or disaster strikes,
or they get their just deserts? How often are they blown away by bad luck?
Not very often. You might say, 'God is saving up the punishment for their children.'
I say, 'Give it to them right now so they'll know what
they've done!' They deserve to experience the effects of their evil,
feel the full force of God's wrath firsthand. What do they care what happens to their families
after they're safely tucked away in the grave?

Fancy Funerals with All the Trimmings

^{22 -26} "But who are we to tell God how to run his affairs?
He's dealing with matters that are way over our heads. Some people die in the prime of life,
with everything going for them—
fat and sassy. Others die bitter and bereft,
never getting a taste of happiness. They're laid out side by side in the cemetery,
where the worms can't tell one from the other.

^{27 -33} "I'm not deceived. I know what you're up to,
the plans you're cooking up to bring me down. Naively you claim that the castles of tyrants fall to pieces,
that the achievements of the wicked collapse. Have you ever asked world travelers how they see it?
Have you not listened to their stories Of evil men and women who got off scot-free,
who never had to pay for their wickedness? Did anyone ever confront them with their crimes?
Did they ever have to face the music? Not likely—they're given fancy funerals
with all the trimmings, Gently lowered into expensive graves,
with everyone telling lies about how wonderful they were.

³⁴ "So how do you expect me to get any comfort from your nonsense?
Your so-called comfort is a tissue of lies."

Acts 10

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."

^{27 -29}Talking things over, they went on into the house, where Cornelius introduced Peter to everyone who had come. Peter addressed them, "You know, I'm sure that this is highly irregular. Jews just don't do this—visit and relax with people of another race. But God has just shown me that no race is better than any other. So the minute I was sent for, I came, no questions asked. But now I'd like to know why you sent for me."

^{30 -32}Cornelius said, "Four days ago at about this time, midafternoon, I was home praying. Suddenly there was a man right in front of me, flooding the room with light. He said, 'Cornelius, your daily prayers and neighborly acts have brought you to God's attention. I want you to send to Joppa to get Simon, the one they call Peter. He's staying with Simon the Tanner down by the sea.'

³³"So I did it—I sent for you. And you've been good enough to come. And now we're all here in God's presence, ready to listen to whatever the Master put in your heart to tell us."

^{34 -36}Peter fairly exploded with his good news: "It's God's own truth, nothing could be plainer: God plays no favorites! It makes no difference who you are or where you're from—if you want God and are ready to do as he says, the door is open. The Message he sent to the children of Israel—that through Jesus Christ everything is being put together again—well, he's doing it everywhere, among everyone.

^{37 -38}"You know the story of what happened in Judea. It began in Galilee after John preached a total life-change. Then Jesus arrived from Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, ready for action. He went through the country helping people and healing everyone who was beaten down by the Devil. He was able to do all this because God was with him.

^{39 -43}"And we saw it, saw it all, everything he did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem where they killed him, hung him from a cross. But in three days God had him up, alive, and out where he could be seen. Not everyone saw him—he wasn't put on public display. Witnesses had been carefully handpicked by God beforehand—us! We were the ones, there to eat and drink with him after he came back from the dead. He commissioned us to announce this in public, to bear solemn witness that he is in fact the One whom God destined as Judge of the living and dead. But we're not alone in this. Our witness that he is the means to forgiveness of sins is backed up by the witness of all the prophets."

^{44 -46}No sooner were these words out of Peter's mouth than the Holy Spirit came on the listeners. The believing Jews who had come with Peter couldn't believe it, couldn't believe that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on "outsider" non-Jews, but there it was—they heard them speaking in tongues, heard them praising God.

^{46 -48}Then Peter said, "Do I hear any objections to baptizing these friends with water? They've received the Holy Spirit exactly as we did." Hearing no objections, he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

Then they asked Peter to stay on for a few days.