Through the Bible – Day 262

Bible text(s)

Proverbs 30

The sayings of Agur

1These are the sayings

and the message

of Agur son of Jakeh.

Someone cries out to God,

“I am completely worn out!

How can I last?

2I am far too stupid

to be considered human.

3I never was wise,

and I don't understand

what God is like.”

4Has anyone gone up to heaven

and come back down?

Has anyone grabbed hold

of the wind?

Has anyone wrapped up the sea

or marked out boundaries

for the earth?

If you know of any

who have done such things,

then tell me their names

and their children's names.

5Everything God says is true—

and it's a shield for all

who come to him for safety.

6Don't change what God has said!

He will correct you and show

that you are a liar.

7There are two things, Lord,

I want you to do for me

before I die:

8make me absolutely honest

and don't let me be too poor

or too rich.

Give me just what I need.

9If I have too much to eat,

I might forget about you;

if I don't have enough,

I might steal

and disgrace your name.

10Don't tell a slave owner

something bad about one

of the slaves.

That slave will curse you,

and you will be in trouble.

11Some people curse their father

and even their mother;

12others think they are perfect,

but they are stained by sin.

13Some people are stuck-up

and act like snobs;

14others are so greedy

that they gobble up

the poor and homeless.

15Greed has twins,

each named “Give me!”

There are three or four things

that are never satisfied:

16the world of the dead

and a childless wife,

the thirsty earth

and a flaming fire.

17Don't make fun of your father

or disobey your mother—

crows will peck out your eyes,

and vultures will eat

the rest of you.

18There are three or four things

I cannot understand:

19how eagles fly so high

or snakes crawl on rocks,

how ships sail the ocean

or people fall in love.

20An unfaithful wife says,

“Sleeping with another man

is as natural as eating.”

21There are three or four things

that make the earth tremble

and are unbearable:

22a slave who becomes king,

a fool who eats too much,

23a hateful woman

who finds a husband,

and a slave who takes the place

of the woman who owns her.

24On this earth four things

are small but very wise:

25ants, who seem to be feeble,

but store up food

all summer long;

26badgers, who seem to be weak,

but live among the rocks;

27locusts, who have no king,

but march like an army;

28lizards, which can be caught

in your hand,

but sneak into palaces.

29Three or four creatures

really strut around:

30those fearless lions

who rule the jungle,

31those proud cocks,

those mountain goats,

and those rulers

who have no enemies.

32If you are foolishly boasting

or planning something evil,

then stop it now!

33If you churn milk

you get butter;

if you hit your nose,

you get blood—

and if you stay angry,

you get in trouble.

Proverbs 30:1-33CEVOpen in Bible reader

Galatians 2

Paul defends his message

1Fourteen years later I went to Jerusalem with Barnabas. I also took along Titus. 2But I went there because God had told me to go, and I explained the good news that I had been preaching to the Gentiles. Then I met privately with the ones who seemed to be the most important leaders. I wanted to make sure that my work in the past and my future work would not be for nothing.

3Titus went to Jerusalem with me. He was a Greek, but still he wasn't forced to be circumcised. 4We went there because of those who pretended to be followers and had sneaked in among us as spies. They had come to take away the freedom that Christ Jesus had given us, and they were trying to make us their slaves. 5But we wanted you to have the true message. That's why we didn't give in to them, not even for a second.

6Some of them were supposed to be important leaders, but I didn't care who they were. God doesn't have any favourites! None of these so called special leaders added anything to my message. 7They realized that God had sent me with the good news for Gentiles, and that he had sent Peter with the same message for Jews. 8God, who had sent Peter on a mission to the Jews, was now using me to preach to the Gentiles.

9James, Peter, and John realized that God had given me the message about his undeserved kindness. And these men are supposed to be the backbone of the church. They even gave Barnabas and me a friendly handshake. This was to show that we would work with Gentiles and that they would work with Jews. 10They only asked us to remember the poor, and that was something I had always been eager to do.

Paul corrects Peter at Antioch

11When Peter came to Antioch, I told him face to face that he was wrong. 12He used to eat with Gentile followers of the Lord, until James sent some Jewish followers. Peter was afraid of the Jews and soon stopped eating with Gentiles. 13He and the other Jews hid their true feelings so well that even Barnabas was fooled. 14But when I saw that they were not really obeying the truth that is in the good news, I corrected Peter in front of everyone and said:

Peter, you are a Jew, but you live like a Gentile. So how can you force Gentiles to live like Jews?

15We are Jews by birth and are not sinners like Gentiles. 16But we know that God accepts only those who have faith in Jesus Christ. No one can please God by simply obeying the Law. So we put our faith in Christ Jesus, and God accepted us because of our faith.

17When we Jews started looking for a way to please God, we discovered that we are sinners too. Does this mean that Christ is the one who makes us sinners? No, it doesn't! 18But if I tear down something and then build it again, I prove that I was wrong at first. 19It was the Law itself that killed me and freed me from its power, so that I could live for God.

I have been nailed to the cross with Christ. 20I have died, but Christ lives in me. And I now live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me. 21I don't turn my back on God's undeserved kindness. If we can be acceptable to God by obeying the Law, it was useless for Christ to die.

Galatians 2:1-21CEVOpen in Bible reader
Canadian Bible Societyv.4.25.3
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