Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
You Are My God
Psalm 63
1 A psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
2 O God, You are my God,
earnestly I seek You.
My soul thirsts for You.
My flesh longs for You
in a dry and weary land, where there is no water.
3 So, I looked for You in the Sanctuary,
to see Your power and Your glory.
4 Since Your lovingkindness is better than life,
my lips will praise You.
5 So I will bless You as long as I live.
In Your name I lift up my hands.[a]
6 My soul is satisfied as with fat and oil,
so my mouth praises You with joyful lips.
7 When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You through the night watches.
8 For You have been my help,
and in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage and the appearance of his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than it was normally heated 20 and commanded some of the mighty men in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego and to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, tunics, hats and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. 22 But because the king’s order was so urgent and the furnace so extremely hot, a raging flame killed those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, fell bound into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and leapt to his feet. He asked his ministers, “Didn’t we cast three men bound into the middle of the fire?”
They replied to the king, “Surely, O king.”
25 But he answered saying, “Look! I see four men walking about unbound and unharmed in the middle of the fire, and the fourth has the appearance like a son of the gods!”
26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and exclaimed, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come here!”
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out from the middle of the fire. 27 When the satraps, administrators, governors and royal ministers had gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men. Not a hair of their head was singed, nor were their robes scorched, nor was there a smell of fire on them.
28 Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him! They defied the king’s edict and to gave up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I hereby decree that any people, nation or language that says anything slanderous against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego will be torn limb from limb and their house made a pile of rubble, because there is no other god that is able to deliver in this way.”
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in the province of Babylon.
Smyrna: Do Not Fear Satan’s Testing
8 To the angel of Messiah’s community in Smyrna write: “Thus says the First and Last, who was dead and came to life. 9 I know your tribulation and your poverty (yet you are rich), as well as the slander of those who say they are Jewish and are not, but are a synagogue of satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, so that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. [a] 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Ruach is saying to Messiah’s communities. The one who overcomes shall never be harmed by the second death.”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.