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Reading
First Lesson
Isaiah 54:1-10
1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into
singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child:
for more are the children of the desolate than the children of
the married wife, saith the LORD.
2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the
curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords,
and strengthen thy stakes;
3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left;
and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate
cities to be inhabited.
4 Fear
not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded;
for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the
shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy
widowhood any more.
5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name;
and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole
earth shall he be called.
6 For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved
in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith
thy God.
7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies
will I gather thee.
8 In
a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with
everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD
thy Redeemer.
9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn
that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so
have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke
thee.
10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed;
but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the
covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy
on thee.
QUESTIONS - Isaiah 54:1-10. Do I have any shame of my youth which I still remember? (V. 4). What stops me from getting rid of it? do I believe verse 8 speaks to me in life? What, specifically, was God's last "everlasting kindness" that He gave me? RESOLVE
Second Lesson
Acts 28:23-31
23 And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to
him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the
kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of
the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till
evening.
24 And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed
not.
25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed,
after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost
by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear,
and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
27 For
the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull
of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should
see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand
with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal
them.
28 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God
is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.
29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had
great reasoning among themselves.
30 And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and
received all that came in unto him,
31 Preaching
the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the
Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.
QUESTIONS - Acts 28:23-31. What is it to have a heart that is waxed gross. (V. 27) Do I know anyone like that? How are my eyes and ears? Do I have anything akin to Paul's confidence mentioned in verse 31? How so? RESOLVE.