Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Lord rules as king!^[a]

33 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘You must now leave here with the people that you brought out of Egypt. You must take them to the land that I promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I made a serious promise to them that I would give the land to their descendants. ² I will send an angel to lead you. I will chase the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites out of the land. ³ You will go to that land where there is plenty of food and drink, enough for everyone. But I will not travel with you. You are proud people who refuse to obey me. If I go with you, I might destroy you as you travel.’

⁴ The Israelites heard God's strong words. His message made them very upset. They stopped wearing their jewels, to show that they were sad. ⁵ The Lord had said to Moses, ‘Tell the Israelites, “You are proud people who refuse to obey me. If I go with you, even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now remove your jewels. Then I will decide what I should do with you.” ’

⁶ So the Israelites no longer wore their jewels after they left Sinai mountain.

¹³ My Christian friends, I do not think that I have reached that place yet. But this is what I do: I do not think about past things that have already happened. Instead, I try hard to reach the things that are in front of me. ¹⁴ I am like a runner who wants to reach the end of the race. I run straight towards that place, so that I can win God's gift. Because I belong to Christ Jesus, God has called me to live with him in heaven. That is God's gift to me at the end of the race.

¹⁵ All of us should agree to live like that, if we properly understand God's message. If you think differently about these things, God will show you clearly what is right. ¹⁶ But we should continue to live in the way that we already know is right.

¹⁷ My Christian friends, you should try to live in the way that I do. Carefully watch other people who live like that. We have shown you what is right. ¹⁸ Many people live in a way that shows they do not agree with God's message. I have told you about these people many times before. And now I am crying when I tell you about them. I am very sad, because they speak against Christ's death on the cross. ¹⁹ In the end, God will destroy them. Their stomach is what they worship. They are proud of things that should make them ashamed. Their thoughts are full of things that belong to this world. ²⁰ But as for us, the home where we belong is in heaven. We are waiting for the Lord Jesus Christ to come from there. He is the one who will come from heaven and save us. ²¹ He will change these weak bodies that we have now on this earth. He will make them become strong and beautiful, like his own body that he has in heaven. Christ will use his great power to do this. That is the power that he uses to rule over everything.

How Christians should live

4 My dear Christian friends, I love you very much. I want very much to see you again. You make me very happy. You show that my work among you had good results. Please continue to live in a way that pleases the Lord. This is what I have taught you to do.