); 1 Kings 18:36-39 (“God of Abraham”); 1 John 4:1-6 (Testing the spirits) (The Voice)
Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 47
For the worship leader. A song of the sons of Korah.
1 Clap your hands, all of you;
raise your voices joyfully and loudly.
Give honor for the True God of the universe;
2 Here’s why: The Eternal, the Most High, is awesome and deserves our great respect.
He is the great King over everything in this world.
3 He’s helped us win wars, suppressed our enemies,
and made nations bow at our feet.
4 He decides the extent of our inheritance and selects the land where we and our children will live,
for we are the pride of Jacob, the ones He loves.
[pause][a]
5 The True God ascends the throne acclaimed by shouts of the people.
The Eternal is announced by the blast of a trumpet.
6 Sing! Shout! Play instruments!
Praise our God and King; sing praises to Him who is worthy.
7 For He is the King of all the earth. Sing praise, all who can.
Put words to music, and then sing praises
8 At the feet of the God who sits on His holy throne,
ruling over all the nations.
9 All those with influence in this world—princes, kings, and satraps—
gather with those who follow Abraham’s God.
For these defenders belong to God
who reigns over the nations!
36 When it was time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah called out to the Eternal.
Elijah (praying): Eternal One—God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel—reveal Yourself on this day as Israel’s God. Make it known that I serve You and have done all this because You commanded it of me. 37 Answer me, Eternal One. Reveal Yourself so that everyone here will know that You, Eternal One, are the True God—the only God. Do it so that everyone knows You are turning the gaze of their hearts back to You again.
38 Right then the Eternal One’s fire landed upon the altar. The flames consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the ground. The flames even drank up all the water in the ditch. 39 When everyone witnessed this extraordinary power, they all put their faces to the ground in fear and awe and wonder.
People: The Eternal One is the True God! The Eternal One is the True God!
4 My loved ones, I warn you: do not trust every spirit. Instead, examine them carefully to determine if they come from God, because the corrupt world is filled with the voices of many false prophets. 2 Here is how you know God’s Spirit: if a spirit affirms the truth that Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, has come in human flesh, then that spirit is from God. 3 If a spirit does not affirm the true nature of Jesus the Anointed, then that spirit does not come from God and is, in fact, the spirit of the antiChrist.[a] You have heard about its coming; in fact it is already active in the world. 4 My children, you have come from God and have conquered these spirits because the One who lives within you is greater than the one in this world. 5 But they are of this world, and they articulate the views of the corrupt world, which the world understands. 6 We come from God, and those who know God hear us. Whoever is not from God will not listen to us. This is the way we discern the difference between the spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.