Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Hosea’s Wife and Children

² The Lord began to speak through Hosea. He said to him, “Go. Marry a woman who has sex with anyone she wants. Have children with her. Do this because the people of the land are like that kind of wife. They have not been faithful to me.” ³ So Hosea married Gomer. She was the daughter of Diblaim. Gomer became pregnant and had a son by Hosea.

⁴ Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Name him Jezreel. That’s because I will soon punish Jehu’s royal family. He killed many people at the city of Jezreel. So I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. ⁵ At that time I will break their military power. It will happen in the Valley of Jezreel.”

⁶ Gomer became pregnant again. She had a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Name her Lo-Ruhamah.” Lo-Ruhamah means Not Loved. “That’s because I will no longer show love to the people of Israel. I will not forgive them anymore. ⁷ But I will show love to the people of Judah. And I will save them. I will not use bows or swords or other weapons of war to do it. I will not save them by using horses and horsemen either. Instead, I will use my own power to save them. I am the Lord their God. And I will save them.”

⁸ Later, Gomer stopped nursing Lo-Ruhamah. After that, she had another son. ⁹ Then the Lord said, “Name him Lo-Ammi.” Lo-Ammi means Not My People. “That’s because Israel is no longer my people. And I am no longer their God.

¹⁰ “But the time will come when the people of Israel will be like the sand on the seashore. It can’t be measured or counted. Now it is said about them, ‘You are not my people.’ But at that time they will be called ‘children of the living God.’

For the director of music. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.

Having All Things in Christ

⁶ You received Christ Jesus as Lord. So keep on living your lives in him. ⁷ Have your roots in him. Build yourselves up in him. Grow strong in what you believe, just as you were taught. Be more thankful than ever before.

⁸ Make sure no one controls you. They will try to control you by using false reasoning that has no meaning. Their ideas depend on human teachings. They also depend on the basic spiritual powers of this world. They don’t depend on Christ.

⁹ God’s whole nature is living in Christ in human form. ¹⁰ Because you belong to Christ, you have been made complete. He is the ruler over every power and authority. ¹¹ When you received Christ, your circumcision was not done by human hands. Instead, your circumcision was done by Christ. He put away the person you used to be. At that time, sin’s power ruled over you. ¹² When you were baptized, you were buried together with Christ. And you were raised to life together with him when you were baptized. You were raised to life by believing in God’s work. God himself raised Jesus from the dead.

¹³ At one time you were dead in your sins. Your desires controlled by sin were not circumcised. But God gave you new life together with Christ. He forgave us all our sins. ¹⁴ He wiped out what the law said that we owed. The law stood against us. It judged us. But he has taken it away and nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ He took away the weapons of the powers and authorities. He made a public show of them. He won the battle over them by dying on the cross.

Freedom From Human Rules

¹⁶ So don’t let anyone judge you because of what you eat or drink. Don’t let anyone judge you about holy days. I’m talking about special feasts and New Moons and Sabbath days. ¹⁷ They are only a shadow of the things to come. But what is real is found in Christ. ¹⁸ Some people enjoy pretending they aren’t proud. They worship angels. But don’t let people like that judge you. These people tell you every little thing about what they have seen. They are proud of their useless ideas. That’s because their minds are not guided by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ They aren’t connected anymore to the head, who is Christ. But the whole body grows from the head. The muscles and tendons hold the body together. And God causes it to grow.

Jesus Teaches About Prayer

11 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples spoke to him. “Lord,” he said, “teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

² Jesus said to them, “When you pray, this is what you should say.

⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend. You go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. ⁶ A friend of mine on a journey has come to stay with me. I have no food to give him.’ ⁷ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked. My children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ ⁸ I tell you, that person will not get up. And he won’t give you bread just because he is your friend. But because you keep bothering him, he will surely get up. He will give you as much as you need.

⁹ “So here is what I say to you. Ask, and it will be given to you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ Everyone who asks will receive. The one who searches will find. And the door will be opened to the one who knocks.

¹¹ “Fathers, suppose your son asks for a fish. Which of you will give him a snake instead? ¹² Or suppose he asks for an egg. Which of you will give him a scorpion? ¹³ Even though you are evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your Father who is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”