Home > Reading > Daily Reading – June 1, 2020

Jer. 7:1–29

7:1 The Lord said to Jeremiah: 2“Stand in the gate of the Lord’s temple and proclaim this message: ‘Listen to the Lord’s message, all you people of Judah who have passed through these gates to worship the Lord. 3The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Change the way you have been living and do what is right. If you do, I will allow you to continue to live in this land. 4Stop putting your confidence in the false belief that says, “We are safe! The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here!” 5You must change the way you have been living and do what is right. You must treat one another fairly. 6Stop oppressing resident foreigners who live in your land, children who have lost their fathers, and women who have lost their husbands. Stop killing innocent people in this land. Stop paying allegiance to other gods. That will only bring about your ruin. 7If you stop doing these things, I will allow you to continue to live in this land that I gave to your ancestors as a lasting possession.

8“‘But just look at you! You are putting your confidence in a false belief that will not deliver you. 9You steal. You murder. You commit adultery. You lie when you swear on oath. You sacrifice to the god Baal. You pay allegiance to other gods whom you have not previously known. 10Then you come and stand in my presence in this temple I have claimed as my own and say, “We are safe!” You think you are so safe that you go on doing all those hateful sins! 11Do you think this temple I have claimed as my own is to be a hideout for robbers? You had better take note! I have seen for myself what you have done! says the Lord. 12So, go to the place in Shiloh where I allowed myself to be worshiped in the early days. See what I did to it because of the wicked things my people Israel did. 13You also have done all these things, says the Lord, and I have spoken to you over and over again. But you have not listened! You have refused to respond when I called you to repent! 14So I will destroy this temple that I have claimed as my own, this temple that you are trusting to protect you. I will destroy this place that I gave to you and your ancestors, just like I destroyed Shiloh. 15And I will drive you out of my sight just like I drove out your relatives, the people of Israel.’

16“But as for you, Jeremiah, do not pray for these people. Do not raise a cry of prayer for them! Do not plead with me to save them, because I will not listen to you. 17Do you see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18Children are gathering firewood, fathers are building fires with it, and women are mixing dough to bake cakes to offer to the goddess they call the Queen of Heaven. They are also pouring out drink offerings to other gods. They seem to do all this just to trouble me. 19But I am not really the one being troubled! says the Lord. Rather they are bringing trouble on themselves to their own shame! 20So, the Sovereign Lord says, my raging fury will be poured out on this land. It will be poured out on human beings and animals, on trees and crops. And it will burn like a fire that cannot be extinguished.

21“The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to the people of Judah: ‘You might as well go ahead and add the meat of your burnt offerings to that of the other sacrifices and eat it, too! 22Consider this: When I spoke to your ancestors after I brought them out of Egypt, I did not merely give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23I also explicitly commanded them: “Obey me. If you do, I will be your God and you will be my people. Live exactly the way I tell you and things will go well with you.” 24But they did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They followed the stubborn inclinations of their own wicked hearts. They acted worse and worse instead of better. 25From the time your ancestors departed the land of Egypt until now, I sent my servants the prophets to you again and again, day after day. 26But your ancestors did not listen to me nor pay attention to me. They became obstinate and were more wicked than even their own forefathers.’”

27Then the Lord said to me, “When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you. When you call out to them, they will not respond to you. 28So tell them: ‘This is a nation that has not obeyed the Lord their God and has not accepted correction. Faithfulness is nowhere to be found in it. These people do not even profess it anymore. 29So mourn, you people of this nation. Cut off your hair and throw it away. Sing a song of mourning on the hilltops. For the Lord has decided to reject and forsake this generation that has provoked his wrath!’”

(NET Bible)

Ps. 120–121

120:1 A song of ascents.

In my distress I cried out

to the Lord and he answered me.

2I said, “O Lord, rescue me

from those who lie with their lips

and those who deceive with their tongues.”

3How will he severely punish you,

you deceptive talker?

4Here’s how! With the sharp arrows of warriors,

with arrowheads forged over the hot coals.

5How miserable I am.

For I have lived temporarily in Meshech;

I have resided among the tents of Kedar.

6For too long I have had to reside

with those who hate peace.

7I am committed to peace,

but when I speak, they want to make war.

121:1 A song of ascents.

I look up toward the hills.

From where does my help come?

2My help comes from the Lord,

the Creator of heaven and earth.

3May he not allow your foot to slip.

May your Protector not sleep.

4Look! Israel’s Protector

does not sleep or slumber.

5The Lord is your protector;

the Lord is the shade at your right hand.

6The sun will not harm you by day,

or the moon by night.

7The Lord will protect you from all harm;

he will protect your life.

8The Lord will protect you in all you do,

now and forevermore.

(NET Bible)

Acts 4:23–31

4:23 When they were released, Peter and John went to their fellow believers and reported everything the high priests and the elders had said to them. 24When they heard this, they raised their voices to God with one mind and said, “Master of all, you who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them, 25who said by the Holy Spirit through your servant David our forefather,

Why do the nations rage,

and the peoples plot foolish things?

26The kings of the earth stood together,

and the rulers assembled together,

against the Lord and against his Christ.’

27“For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together in this city against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, 28to do as much as your power and your plan had decided beforehand would happen. 29And now, Lord, pay attention to their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your message with great courage, 30while you extend your hand to heal, and to bring about miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God courageously.

(NET Bible)

At the end of November the Reformer published his writing, On the Abuse of the Mass. At the beginning of this we read: “ Therefore let the unreasonable sophists, the ignorant bishops, monks, and parsons, the Pope with all his Gomorrahs know that we were not baptized in the name of Augustine, Bernard, Gregory, Peter or Paul, nor yet in the name of those from Paris but only in the name of Jesus Christ. Him only, and Him not otherwise than crucified, and no other do we acknowledge as our Master. Paul does not desire that we should believe him or an angel, unless Christ lives and speaks in him. … The saints were subject to error in their writings and to sin in their lives; Scripture cannot err.” Again, “It is not the Word of God because the Church says so, but because God’s Word said so, therefore is the Church. The Church does not make the Word but is made by the Word.” (22)

–Johann Michael Reu, Luther on the Scriptures

This daily Bible reading guide, Reading the Word of God, was conceived and prepared as a result of the ongoing discussions between representatives of three church bodies: Lutheran Church—Canada (LCC), The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). The following individuals have represented their church bodies and approved this introduction and the reading guide: LCC: President Robert Bugbee; NALC: Bishop John Bradosky, Revs. Mark Chavez, James Nestingen, and David Wendel; LCMS: Revs. Albert Collver, Joel Lehenbauer, John Pless, and Larry Vogel.

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