June 12
Jeremiah 23 & Acts 20
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Jeremiah 23

Chapter 23

23:1"Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!" This is the Lord's declaration. 2"Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who shepherd My people: You have scattered My flock, banished them, and have not attended to them. I will attend to you because of your evil acts"-this is the Lord's declaration. 3"I will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands where I have banished them, and I will return them to their grazing land. They will become fruitful and numerous. 4I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them. They will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any be missing." This is the Lord's declaration.
5"The days are coming"-this is the Lord's declaration-
"when I will raise up a Righteous Branch of David.
He will reign wisely as king
and administer justice and righteousness in the land.
6In His days Judah will be saved,
and Israel will dwell securely.
This is what He will be named:
Yahweh Our Righteousness.
7"The days are coming"-the Lord's declaration-"when it will no longer be said, 'As the Lord lives who brought the Israelites from the land of Egypt,' 8but, 'As the Lord lives, who brought and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other countries where I had banished them.' They will dwell once more in their own land."
9Concerning the prophets:
My heart is broken within me,
and all my bones tremble.
I have become like a drunkard,
like a man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord,
because of His holy words.
10For the land is full of adulterers;
the land mourns because of the curse,
and the grazing lands in the wilderness have dried up.
Their way of life has become evil,
and their power is not rightly used
11because both prophet and priest are ungodly,
even in My house I have found their evil.

This is the Lord's declaration.
12Therefore, their way will be to them
like slippery paths in the gloom.
They will be driven away and fall down there,
for I will bring disaster on them,
the year of their punishment.

This is the Lord's declaration.
13Among the prophets of Samaria
I saw something disgusting:
They prophesied by Baal
and led My people Israel astray.
14Among the prophets of Jerusalem also
I saw a horrible thing:
They commit adultery and walk in lies.
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,
and none turns his back on evil.
They are all like Sodom to Me;
Jerusalem's residents are like Gomorrah.
15Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts says concerning the prophets:
I am about to feed them wormwood
and give them poisoned water to drink,
for from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness has spread throughout the land.
16This is what the Lord of Hosts says: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are making you worthless. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the Lord's mouth. 17They keep on saying to those who despise Me, 'The Lord has said: You will have peace.' They have said to everyone who follows the stubbornness of his heart, 'No harm will come to you.'"
18For who has stood in the council of the Lord
to see and hear His word?
Who has paid attention to His word and obeyed?
19Look, a storm from the Lord!
Wrath has gone out,
a whirling storm.
It will whirl about the heads of the wicked.
20The Lord's anger will not turn back
until He has completely fulfilled the purposes of His heart.
In time to come you will understand it clearly.
21I did not send these prophets,
yet they ran with a message.
I did not speak to them,
yet they prophesied.
22If they had really stood in My council,
they would have enabled My people to hear My words
and would have turned them back from their evil ways
and their evil deeds.
23"Am I a God who is only near"-this is the Lord's declaration-"and not a God who is far away? 24Can a man hide himself in secret places where I cannot see him?"-the Lord's declaration. "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?"-the Lord's declaration.
25"I have heard what the prophets who prophesy a lie in My name have said, 'I had a dream! I had a dream!' 26How long will this continue in the minds of the prophets prophesying lies, prophets of the deceit of their own minds? 27Through their dreams that they tell one another, they plan to cause My people to forget My name as their fathers forgot My name through Baal worship. 28The prophet who has only a dream should recount the dream, but the one who has My word should speak My word truthfully, for what is straw compared to grain?"-this is the Lord's declaration. 29"Is not My word like fire"-this is the Lord's declaration-"and like a hammer that pulverizes rock? 30Therefore, take note! I am against the prophets"-the Lord's declaration-"who steal My words from each other. 31I am against the prophets"-the Lord's declaration-"who use their own tongues to make a declaration. 32I am against those who prophesy false dreams"-the Lord's declaration-"telling them and leading My people astray with their falsehoods and their boasting. It was not I who sent or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people"-this is the Lord's declaration.
33"Now when these people or a prophet or a priest asks you, 'What is the burden of the Lord?' you will respond to them: What is the burden? I will throw you away"-this is the Lord's declaration. 34"As for the prophet, priest, or people who say, 'The burden of the Lord,' I will punish that man and his household. 35This is what each man is to say to his friend and to his brother, 'What has the Lord answered?' or 'What has the Lord spoken?' 36But no longer refer to the burden of the Lord, for each man's word becomes his burden and you pervert the words of the living God, the Lord of Hosts, our God. 37You must say to the prophet: What has the Lord answered you? and What has the Lord spoken? 38But if you say, 'The burden of the Lord,' then this is what the Lord says: Because you have said, 'The burden of the Lord,' and I specifically told you not to say, 'The burden of the Lord,' 39I will surely forget you and throw away from My presence both you and the city that I gave you and your fathers. 40I will bring on you everlasting shame and humiliation that will never be forgotten."

Acts 20

Chapter 20

20:1After the uproar was over, Paul sent for the disciples, encouraged them, and after saying good-bye, departed to go to Macedonia. 2And when he had passed through those areas and exhorted them at length, he came to Greece 3and stayed three months. When he was about to set sail for Syria, a plot was devised against him by the Jews, so a decision was made to go back through Macedonia. 4He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia. 5These men went on ahead and waited for us in Troas, 6but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread. In five days we reached them at Troas, where we spent seven days.
7On the first day of the week, we assembled to break bread. Paul spoke to them, and since he was about to depart the next day, he extended his message until midnight. 8There were many lamps in the room upstairs where we were assembled, 9and a young man named Eutychus was sitting on a window sill and sank into a deep sleep as Paul kept on speaking. When he was overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead. 10But Paul went down, fell on him, embraced him, and said, "Don't be alarmed, for his life is in him!" 11After going upstairs, breaking the bread, and eating, Paul conversed a considerable time until dawn. Then he left. 12They brought the boy home alive and were greatly comforted.
13Then we went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, intending to take Paul on board there. For these were his instructions, since he himself was going by land. 14When he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. 15Sailing from there, the next day we arrived off Chios. The following day we crossed over to Samos, and the day after, we came to Miletus. 16For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so he would not have to spend time in Asia, because he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, for the day of Pentecost.
17Now from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. 18And when they came to him, he said to them: "You know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time- 19serving the Lord with all humility, with tears, and with the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews- 20and that I did not shrink back from proclaiming to you anything that was profitable or from teaching it to you in public and from house to house. 21I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.
22"And now I am on my way to Jerusalem, bound in my spirit, not knowing what I will encounter there, 23except that in town after town the Holy Spirit testifies to me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me. 24But I count my life of no value to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God's grace.
25"And now I know that none of you will ever see my face again-everyone I went about preaching the kingdom to. 26Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of everyone's blood, 27for I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole plan of God. 28Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock that the Holy Spirit has appointed you to as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood. 29I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30And men will rise up from your own number with deviant doctrines to lure the disciples into following them. 31Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears.
32"And now I commit you to God and to the message of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified. 33I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. 34You yourselves know that these hands have provided for my needs and for those who were with me. 35In every way I've shown you that by laboring like this, it is necessary to help the weak and to keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, for He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"
36After he said this, he knelt down and prayed with all of them. 37There was a great deal of weeping by everyone. They embraced Paul and kissed him, 38grieving most of all over his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship.

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