The One Year Bible TLB (207 page)
Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
To plan evil is as wrong as doing it.
September 29The high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, the Holy One, says this: I live in that high and holy place where those with contrite, humble spirits dwell; and I refresh the humble and give new courage to those with repentant hearts.
16
For I will not fight against you forever, nor always show my wrath; if I did, all mankind would perish—the very souls that I have made.
17
I was angry and smote these greedy men. But they went right on sinning, doing everything their evil hearts desired.
18
I have seen what they do, but I will heal them anyway! I will lead them and comfort them, helping them to mourn and to confess their sins.
19
Peace, peace to them, both near and far, for I will heal them all.
20
But those who still reject me
*
are like the restless sea, which is never still, but always churns up mire and dirt.
21
There is no peace, says my God, for them!
58:
1
Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast; tell my people of their sins!
2
Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and are so delighted to hear the reading of my laws—just as though they would obey them—just as though they don’t despise the commandments of their God! How anxious they are to worship correctly; oh, how they love the Temple services!
3
“We have fasted before you,” they say. “Why aren’t you impressed? Why don’t you see our sacrifices? Why don’t you hear our prayers? We have done much penance, and you don’t even notice it!” I’ll tell you why! Because you are living in evil pleasure even while you are fasting, and you keep right on oppressing your workers.
4
Look, what good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me.
5
Is this what I want—this doing of penance and bowing like reeds in the wind, putting on sackcloth and covering yourselves with ashes? Is this what you call fasting?
6
No, the kind of fast I want is that you stop oppressing those who work for you and treat them fairly and give them what they earn.
7
I want you to share your food with the hungry and bring right into your own homes those who are helpless, poor, and destitute. Clothe those who are cold, and don’t hide from relatives who need your help.
8
If you do these things, God will shed his own glorious light upon you. He will heal you; your godliness will lead you forward, goodness will be a shield before you, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
9
Then, when you call, the Lord will answer. “Yes, I am here,” he will quickly reply. All you need to do is to stop oppressing the weak and stop making false accusations and spreading vicious rumors!
10
Feed the hungry! Help those in trouble! Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you shall be as bright as day.
11
And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy you with all good things, and keep you healthy too; and you will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.
12
Your sons will rebuild the long-deserted ruins of your cities, and you will be known as “The People Who Rebuild Their Walls and Cities.”
13
If you keep the Sabbath holy, not having your own fun and business on that day, but enjoying the Sabbath, speaking of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day, and honoring the Lord in what you do, not following your own desires and pleasure nor talking idly—
14
then the Lord will be your delight, and I will see to it that you ride high and get your full share of the blessings I promised to Jacob, your father. The Lord has spoken.
59:
1
Listen now! The Lord isn’t too weak to save you. And he isn’t getting deaf! He can hear you when you call!
2
But the trouble is that your sins have cut you off from God. Because of sin he has turned his face away from you and will not listen anymore.
3
For your hands are those of murderers and your fingers are filthy with sin. You lie and grumble and oppose the good.
4
No one cares about being fair and true. Your lawsuits are based on lies; you spend your time plotting evil deeds and doing them.
5
You spend your time and energy in spinning evil plans that end up in deadly actions.
6
You cheat and shortchange everyone. Everything you do is filled with sin; violence is your trademark.
7
Your feet run to do evil and rush to murder; your thoughts are only of sinning, and wherever you go you leave behind a trail of misery and death.
8
You don’t know what true peace is, nor what it means to be just and good; you continually do wrong and those who follow you won’t experience any peace either.
9
It is because of all this evil that you aren’t finding God’s blessings; that’s why he doesn’t punish those who injure you. No wonder you are in darkness when you expected light. No wonder you are walking in the gloom.
10
No wonder you grope like blind men and stumble along in broad daylight, yes, even at brightest noontime, as though it were the darkest night! No wonder you are like corpses when compared with vigorous young men!
11
You roar like hungry bears; you moan with mournful cries like doves. You look for God to keep you, but he doesn’t. He has turned away.
12
For your sins keep piling up before the righteous God and testify against you.
Yes, we know what sinners we are.
13
We know our disobedience; we have denied the Lord our God. We know what rebels we are and how unfair we are, for we carefully plan our lies.
14
Our courts oppose the righteous man; fairness is unknown. Truth falls dead in the streets, and justice is outlawed.
15
Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who tries a better life is soon attacked. The Lord saw all the evil and was displeased to find no steps taken against sin.
16
He saw no one was helping you and wondered that no one intervened. Therefore he himself stepped in to save you through his mighty power and justice.
17
He put on righteousness as armor and the helmet of salvation on his head. He clothed himself with robes of vengeance and of godly fury.
18
He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds—fury for his foes in distant lands.
19
Then at last they will reverence and glorify the name of God from west to east. For he will come like a flood tide driven by Jehovah’s breath.
20
He will come as a Redeemer to those in Zion who have turned away from sin.
21
“As for me, this is my promise to them,” says the Lord: “My Holy Spirit shall not leave them, and they shall want the good and hate the wrong—they and their children and their children’s children forever.”
From:
Paul and Timothy, slaves of Jesus Christ.
To:
The pastors and deacons and all the Christians in the city of Philippi.
2
May God bless you all. Yes, I pray that God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ will give each of you his fullest blessings and his peace in your hearts and your lives.
3
All my prayers for you are full of praise to God!
4
When I pray for you, my heart is full of joy
5
because of all your wonderful help in making known the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.
6
And I am sure that God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns.
7
How natural it is that I should feel as I do about you, for you have a very special place in my heart. We have shared together the blessings of God, both when I was in prison and when I was out, defending the truth and telling others about Christ.
8
Only God knows how deep is my love and longing for you—with the tenderness of Jesus Christ.
9
My prayer for you is that you will overflow more and more with love for others, and at the same time keep on growing in spiritual knowledge and insight,
10
for I want you always to see clearly the difference between right and wrong, and to be inwardly clean, no one being able to criticize you from now until our Lord returns.
11
May you always be doing those good, kind things that show you are a child of God, for this will bring much praise and glory to the Lord.
12
And I want you to know this, dear brothers: Everything that has happened to me here has been a great boost in getting out the Good News concerning Christ.
13
For everyone around here, including all the soldiers over at the barracks, knows that I am in chains simply because I am a Christian.
14
And because of my imprisonment, many of the Christians here seem to have lost their fear of chains! Somehow my patience has encouraged them, and they have become more and more bold in telling others about Christ.
15
Some, of course, are preaching the Good News because they are jealous of the way God has used me. They want reputations as fearless preachers! But others have purer motives,
16-17
preaching because they love me, for they know that the Lord has brought me here to use me to defend the Truth. And some preach to make me jealous, thinking that their success will add to my sorrows here in jail!
18
But whatever their motive for doing it, the fact remains that the Good News about Christ is being preached, and I am glad.
19
I am going to keep on being glad, for I know that as you pray for me, and as the Holy Spirit helps me, this is all going to turn out for my good.
20
For I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that will cause me to be ashamed of myself but that I will always be ready to speak out boldly for Christ while I am going through all these trials here, just as I have in the past; and that I will always be an honor to Christ, whether I live or whether I must die.
21
For to me, living means opportunities for Christ, and dying—well, that’s better yet!
22
But if living will give me more opportunities to win people to Christ, then I really don’t know which is better, to live or die!
23
Sometimes I want to live, and at other times I don’t, for I long to go and be with Christ. How much happier for
me
than being here!
24
But the fact is that I can be of more help to
you
by staying!
25
Yes, I am still needed down here, and so I feel certain I will be staying on earth a little longer, to help you grow and become happy in your faith;
26
my staying will make you glad and give you reason to glorify Christ Jesus for keeping me safe when I return to visit you again.
Lord, you are my refuge! Don’t let me down!
2
Save me from my enemies, for you are just! Rescue me! Bend down your ear and listen to my plea and save me.
3
Be to me a great protecting Rock, where I am always welcome, safe from all attacks. For you have issued the order to save me.
4
Rescue me, O God, from these unjust and cruel men.
5
O Lord, you alone are my hope; I’ve trusted you from childhood.
6
Yes, you have been with me from birth and have helped me constantly—no wonder I am always praising you!
7
My success—at which so many stand amazed—is because you are my mighty protector.
8
All day long I’ll praise and honor you, O God, for all that you have done for me.
9
And now, in my old age, don’t set me aside. Don’t forsake me now when my strength is failing.
10
My enemies are whispering,
11
“God has forsaken him! Now we can get him. There is no one to help him now!”
12
O God, don’t stay away! Come quickly! Help!
13
Destroy them! Cover them with failure and disgrace—these enemies of mine.
14
I will keep on expecting you to help me. I praise you more and more.
15
I cannot count the times when you have faithfully rescued me from danger. I will tell everyone how good you are, and of your constant, daily care.
16
I walk in the strength of the Lord God. I tell everyone that you alone are just and good.
17
O God, you have helped me from my earliest childhood—and I have constantly testified to others of the wonderful things you do.
18
And now that I am old and gray, don’t forsake me. Give me time to tell this new generation (and their children too) about all your mighty miracles.
19
Your power and goodness, Lord, reach to the highest heavens. You have done such wonderful things. Where is there another God like you?
20
You have let me sink down deep in desperate problems. But you will bring me back to life again, up from the depths of the earth.
21
You will give me greater honor than before and turn again and comfort me.
22
I will praise you with music, telling of your faithfulness to all your promises, O Holy One of Israel.
23
I will shout and sing your praises for redeeming me.
24
I will talk to others all day long about your justice and your goodness. For all who tried to hurt me have been disgraced and dishonored.