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dfroza · 4 years ago

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Today’s reading in the ancient book of Proverbs and Psalms

for Sunday, july 12 of 2020 with Proverbs 12 and Psalm 12 accompanied by Psalm 23 for the 23rd day of Summer and Psalm 44 for day 194 of the year

[Proverbs 12]

To learn the truth you must long to be teachable,

or you can despise correction and remain ignorant.

If your heart is right, favor flows from the Lord,

but a devious heart invites his condemnation.

You can’t expect success by doing what’s wrong.

But the lives of his lovers are deeply rooted and firmly planted.

The integrity and strength of a virtuous wife

transforms her husband into an honored king.

But the wife who disgraces her husband

weakens the strength of his identity.

The lovers of God are filled with good ideas

that are noble and pure,

but the schemes of the sinner

are crammed with nothing but lies.

The wicked use their words to ambush and accuse,

but the lovers of God speak to defend and protect.

The wicked are taken out, gone for good,

but the godly families shall live on.

Everyone admires a man of principles,

but the one with a corrupt heart is despised.

Just be who you are and work hard for a living,

for that’s better than pretending to be important

and starving to death.

A good man takes care of the needs of his pets,

while even the kindest acts of a wicked man are still cruel.

Work hard at your job and you’ll have what you need.

Following a get-rich-quick scheme is nothing but a fantasy.

The cravings of the wicked are only for what is evil,

but righteousness is the core motivation for the lovers of God,

and it keeps them content and flourishing.

[Wisdom Means Being Teachable]

The wicked will get trapped by their words

of gossip, slander, and lies.

But for the righteous, honesty is its own defense.

For there is great satisfaction in speaking the truth,

and hard work brings blessings back to you.

A fool is in love with his own opinion,

but wisdom means being teachable.

[Learning to Speak Wisely]

If you shrug off an insult and refuse to take offense,

you demonstrate discretion indeed.

But the fool has a short fuse

and will immediately let you know when he’s offended.

Truthfulness marks the righteous,

but the habitual liar can never be trusted.

Reckless words are like the thrusts of a sword,

cutting remarks meant to stab and to hurt.

But the words of the wise soothe and heal.

Truthful words will stand the test of time,

but one day every lie will be seen for what it is.

Deception fills the hearts of those who plot harm,

but those who plan for peace are filled with joy.

Calamity is not allowed to overwhelm the righteous,

but there’s nothing but trouble waiting for the wicked.

Live in the truth and keep your promises,

and the Lord will keep delighting in you,

but he detests a liar.

Those who possess wisdom don’t feel the need

to impress others with what they know,

but foolish ones make sure their ignorance is on display.

If you want to reign in life,

don’t sit on your hands.

Instead work hard at doing what’s right,

for the slacker will end up working to make someone else succeed.

Anxious fear brings depression,

but a life-giving word of encouragement

can do wonders to restore joy to the heart.

Lovers of God give good advice to their friends,

but the counsel of the wicked will lead them astray.

A passive person won’t even complete a project,

but a passionate person makes good use

of his time, wealth, and energy.

Abundant life is discovered by walking in righteousness,

but holding on to your anger leads to death.

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 12 (The Passion Translation)

[Psalm 12]

A David Psalm

Quick, God, I need your helping hand!

The last decent person just went down,

All the friends I depended on gone.

Everyone talks in lie language;

Lies slide off their oily lips.

They doubletalk with forked tongues.

Slice their lips off their faces!

Pull the braggart tongues from their mouths!

I’m tired of hearing, “We can talk anyone into anything!

Our lips manage the world.”

Into the hovels of the poor,

Into the dark streets where the homeless groan, God speaks:

“I’ve had enough; I’m on my way

To heal the ache in the heart of the wretched.”

God’s words are pure words,

Pure silver words refined seven times

In the fires of his word-kiln,

Pure on earth as well as in heaven.

God, keep us safe from their lies,

From the wicked who stalk us with lies,

From the wicked who collect honors

For their wonderful lies.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 12 (The Message)

[Psalm 23]

The Lord the Shepherd

A psalm of David.

The Lord is my shepherd;

I have everything I need.

He lets me rest in green pastures.

He leads me to calm water.

He gives me new strength.

He leads me on paths that are right

for the good of his name.

Even if I walk through a very dark valley,

I will not be afraid,

because you are with me.

Your rod and your shepherd’s staff comfort me.

You prepare a meal for me

in front of my enemies.

You pour oil of blessing on my head;

you fill my cup to overflowing.

Surely your goodness and love will be with me

all my life,

and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 23 (New Century Version)

[Psalm 44]

Wake Up, Lord, We’re in Trouble

For the Pure and Shining One, by the prophetic singers of Korah’s clan

A contemplative poem for instruction

[The Past]

God, we’ve heard about all the glorious miracles

you’ve done for our ancestors in days gone by.

They told us about the ancient times, how by your power

you drove out the ungodly nations from this land,

crushing all their strongholds and giving the land to us.

Now the people of Israel cover the land

from one end to the other,

all because of your grace and power!

Our forefathers didn’t win these battles by their own strength

or their own skill or strategy.

But it was through the shining forth of your radiant presence

and the display of your mighty power.

You loved to give them victory,

for you took great delight in them.

You are my God, my King!

It’s now time to decree majesties for Jacob!

Through your glorious name and your awesome power

we can push through to any victory and defeat every enemy.

For I will not trust in the weapons of the world;

I know they will never save me.

Only you will be our Savior from all our enemies.

All those who hate us you have brought to shame.

So now I constantly boast in you.

I can never thank you enough!

Pause in his presence

[The Present]

But you have turned your back on us; you walked off and left us!

You’ve rejected us, tossing us aside in humiliating shame.

You don’t go before us anymore in our battles.

We retreat before our enemies in defeat,

for you are no longer helping us.

Those who hate us have invaded our land

and plundered our people.

You have treated us like sheep in the slaughter pen,

ready to be butchered.

You’ve scattered us to the four winds.

You have sold us as slaves for nothing!

You have counted us, your precious ones, as worthless.

You have caused our neighbors to despise and scorn us.

All that are around us mock and curse us.

You have made us the butt of their jokes.

Disliked by all, we are the laughingstock of the people.

There’s no escape from this constant curse, this humiliation!

We are despised, jeered, overwhelmed by shame,

and overcome at every turn

by our hateful and heartless enemies.

Despite all of this, we have not forgotten you;

we have not broken covenant with you.

We have not betrayed you; our hearts are still yours.

Our steps have not strayed from your path.

Yet you have crushed us,

leaving us in this wilderness place of misery and desperation.

With nowhere else to turn,

death’s dark door seems to be the only way out.

If we had forsaken your holy name, wouldn’t you know it?

You’d be right in leaving us.

If we had worshiped before other gods,

no one would blame you for punishing us.

God, you know our every heart secret.

You know we still want you!

Because of you we face death threats every day.

Like martyrs we are dying daily.

We are seen as lambs lined up to be slaughtered as sacrifices.

[The Future]

So wake up, Lord God!

Why would you sleep when we’re in trouble?

Are you forsaking us forever?

You can’t hide your face any longer from us!

How could you forget our agonizing sorrow?

Now we lay facedown, sinking into the dust of death,

the quicksand of the grave.

Arise, awake, and come to help us, O Lord.

Let your unfailing love save us from this sorrow!

The Book of Psalms, Poem 44 (The Passion Translation)

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