Through the Bible – Day 221

Bible text(s)

Psalms 107

(Psalms 107—150)

The LORD is good to his people

1Shout praises to the LORD!

He is good to us,

and his love never fails.

2Everyone the LORD has rescued

from trouble

should praise him,

3everyone he has brought

from the east and the west,

the north and the south.

4Some of you were lost

in the scorching desert,

far from a town.

5You were hungry and thirsty

and about to give up.

6You were in serious trouble,

but you prayed to the LORD,

and he rescued you.

7Straight away he brought you

to a town.

8You should praise the LORD

for his love

and for the wonderful things

he does for all of us.

9To everyone who is thirsty,

he gives something to drink;

to everyone who is hungry,

he gives good things to eat.

10Some of you were prisoners

suffering in deepest darkness

and bound by chains,

11because you had rebelled

against God Most High

and refused his advice.

12You were worn out

from working like slaves,

and no one came to help.

13You were in serious trouble,

but you prayed to the LORD,

and he rescued you.

14He brought you out

of the deepest darkness

and broke your chains.

15You should praise the LORD

for his love

and for the wonderful things

he does for all of us.

16He breaks down bronze gates

and shatters iron locks.

17Some of you had foolishly

committed a lot of sins

and were in terrible pain.

18The very thought of food

was disgusting to you,

and you were almost dead.

19You were in serious trouble,

but you prayed to the LORD,

and he rescued you.

20By the power of his own word,

he healed you and saved you

from destruction.

21You should praise the LORD

for his love

and for the wonderful things

he does for all of us.

22You should celebrate

by offering sacrifices

and singing joyful songs

to tell what he has done.

23Some of you made a living

by sailing the mighty sea,

24and you saw the miracles

the LORD performed there.

25At his command a storm arose,

and waves covered the sea.

26You were tossed to the sky

and to the ocean depths,

until things looked so bad

that you lost your courage.

27You staggered like drunkards

and gave up all hope.

28You were in serious trouble,

but you prayed to the LORD,

and he rescued you.

29He made the storm stop

and the sea be quiet.

30You were happy because of this,

and he brought you to the port

where you wanted to go.

31You should praise the LORD

for his love

and for the wonderful things

he does for all of us.

32Honour the LORD

when you and your leaders

meet to worship.

33If you start doing wrong,

the LORD will turn rivers

into deserts,

34flowing streams

into scorched land,

and fruitful fields

into beds of salt.

35But the LORD can also turn

deserts into lakes

and scorched land

into flowing streams.

36If you are hungry,

you can settle there

and build a town.

37You can plant fields

and vineyards that produce

a good harvest.

38The LORD will bless you

with many children

and with herds of cattle.

39Sometimes you may be crushed

by troubles and sorrows,

until only a few of you

are left to survive.

40But the LORD will take revenge

on those who conquer you,

and he will make them wander

across desert sands.

41When you are suffering

and in need,

he will come to your rescue,

and your families will grow

as fast as a herd of sheep.

42You will see this because

you obey the LORD,

but everyone who is wicked

will be silenced.

43Be wise! Remember this

and think about the kindness

of the LORD.

Psalms 108

(A song and a psalm by David.)

With God on our side

1Our God, I am faithful to you

with all my heart,

and you can trust me.

I will sing

and play music for you

with all that I am.

2I will start playing my harps

before the sun rises.

3I will praise you, LORD,

for everyone to hear;

I will sing hymns to you

in every nation.

4Your love reaches higher

than the heavens,

and your loyalty extends

beyond the clouds.

5Our God, may you be honoured

above the heavens;

may your glory be seen

everywhere on earth.

6Answer my prayers

and use your powerful arm

to give us victory.

Then the people you love

will be safe.

7Our God, from your holy place

you made this promise:

“I will gladly divide up

the city of Shechem

and give away Succoth Valley

piece by piece.

8The lands of Gilead

and Manasseh are mine.

Ephraim is my war helmet,

and Judah is my symbol

of royal power.

9Moab is merely my washbasin,

and Edom belongs to me.

I shout with victory

over the Philistines.”

10Our God, who will bring me

to the fortress

or lead me to Edom?

11Have you rejected us?

You don't lead our armies.

12Help us defeat our enemies!

No one else can rescue us.

13You are the one

who gives us victory

and crushes our enemies.

Psalms 107:1-108:13CEVOpen in Bible reader

Romans 8

God's love

31What can we say about all this? If God is on our side, can anyone be against us? 32God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won't he freely give us everything else? 33If God says his chosen ones are acceptable to him, can anyone bring charges against them? 34Or can anyone condemn them? No indeed! Christ died and was raised to life, and now he is at God's right side, speaking to him for us. 35Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, suffering, and hard times, or hunger and nakedness, or danger and death? 36It is exactly as the Scriptures say,

“For you we face death

all day long.

We are like sheep

on their way

to be butchered.”

37In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. 38I am sure that nothing can separate us from God's love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, 39and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God's love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Romans 9

What about the people of Israel?

God's choice of Israel

1I am a follower of Christ, and the Holy Spirit is a witness to my conscience. So I tell the truth and I am not lying when I say 2my heart is broken and I am in great sorrow. 3I would gladly be placed under God's curse and be separated from Christ for the good of my own people. 4They are the descendants of Israel, and they are also God's chosen people. God showed them his glory. He made agreements with them and gave them his Law. The temple is theirs and so are the promises that God made to them. 5They have those famous ancestors, who were also the ancestors of Jesus Christ. I pray that God, who rules over all, will be praised for ever! Amen.

6It cannot be said that God broke his promise. After all, not all the people of Israel are the true people of God. 7-8In fact, when God made the promise to Abraham, he meant only Abraham's descendants by his son Isaac. God was talking only about Isaac when he promised 9Sarah, “At this time next year I will return, and you will already have a son.”

10Don't forget what happened to the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah. 11-12Even before they were born or had done anything good or bad, the Lord told Rebekah that her elder son would serve the younger one. The Lord said this to show that he makes his own choices and that it wasn't because of anything either of them had done. 13That's why the Scriptures say that the Lord liked Jacob more than Esau.

14Are we saying that God is unfair? Certainly not! 15The Lord told Moses that he has pity and mercy on anyone he wants to. 16Everything then depends on God's mercy and not on what people want or do. 17In the Scriptures the Lord says to Pharaoh of Egypt, “I let you become king, so that I could show you my power and be praised by all people on earth.” 18Everything depends on what God decides to do, and he can either have pity on people or make them stubborn.

Romans 8:31-9:18CEVOpen in Bible reader
Canadian Bible Societyv.4.24.4
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