Songs for today: God Rest Ye Merry / Who Is He in Yonder Stall / Adore

Today’s Country: Unites States of America

A good name is to be more desired than great wealth,
Favor is better than silver and gold.
•••
The rich and the poor have a common bond,
The Lord is the maker of them all.
•••
The prudent sees the evil and hides himself,
•••
Train up a child in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
•••
Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out,
Even strife and dishonor will cease.
•••
Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,
And apply your mind to my knowledge;
For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,
That they may be ready on your lips.
So that your trust may be in the Lord,
I have taught you today, even you.
Have I not written to you excellent things
Of counsels and knowledge,
To make you know the certainty of the words of truth
That you may correctly answer him who sent you?
•••
Do not be among those who give pledges,
Among those who become guarantors for debts.
If you have nothing with which to pay,
Why should he take your bed from under you?
from Proverbs 23

war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
from Revelation 12

the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”
from Revelation 13

Songs for today: What Child is this? / Breath of Heaven / Come and See What’s Happenin in the Barn

Today’s Country: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Every man’s way is right in his own eyes,
But the Lord weighs the hearts.
•••
To do righteousness and justice
Is desired by the Lord more than sacrifice.
•••
It is better to live in a corner of a roof
Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.
•••
The exercise of justice is joy for the righteous,
But is terror to the workers of iniquity.
•••
It is better to live in a desert land
Than with a contentious and vexing woman.
•••
He who pursues righteousness and loyalty
Finds life, righteousness and honor.
•••
There is no wisdom and no understanding
And no counsel against the Lord.
from Proverbs 21

The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.
from Revelation 10

And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.
•••
after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.
from Revelation 11

Songs for today: While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks / Jesus, Light of the World / When Love Was Born

Today’s Country: United Arab Emirates

Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.
•••
Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man,
But any fool will quarrel.
•••
A righteous man who walks in his integrity
How blessed are his sons after him.
•••
Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart,
I am pure from my sin”?
•••
“Bad, bad,” says the buyer,
But when he goes his way, then he boasts.
•••
He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets,
Therefore do not associate with a gossip.
•••
Do not say, “I will repay evil”;
Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.
from Proverbs 20

And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth
from Revelation 8

But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
from Revelation 9

Songs for today: We Three Kings of Orient are / Birn in Bethlehem / Son of God

Today’s Country: Ukraine

Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity
Than he who is perverse in speech and is a fool.
Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge,
And he who hurries his footsteps errs.
•••
A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger,
And it is his glory to overlook a transgression.
•••
Listen to counsel and accept discipline,
That you may be wise the rest of your days.
Many plans are in a man’s heart,
But the counsel of the Lord will stand.
•••
The fear of the Lord leads to life,
So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.
•••
Cease listening, my son, to discipline,
And you will stray from the words of knowledge.
from Proverbs 19

When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.
•••
the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
from Revelation 6

“Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
•••
I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying:
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen.”
•••
“These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
from Revelation 7

So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
from Revelation 8

Songs for today: The First Noel / God with Us / God With Us / Infant Holy Infant Lowly

Today’s Country: Republic of Uganda

A fool does not delight in understanding,
But only in revealing his own mind.
•••
To show partiality to the wicked is not good,
Nor to thrust aside the righteous in judgment.
•••
The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
The righteous runs into it and is safe.
•••
Before destruction the heart of man is haughty,
But humility goes before honor.
•••
He who gives an answer before he hears,
It is folly and shame to him.
•••
A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city,
And contentions are like the bars of a citadel.
•••
He who finds a wife finds a good thing
And obtains favor from the Lord.
from Proverbs 18

“Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!”
•••
“You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created.”
from Revelation 4

I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”
•••
“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.”
•••
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:
“Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”
from Revelation 5

Songs for today: Strange Way to Save the World / While You Were Sleeping

Today’s Country: Tuvalu

Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it
Than a house full of feasting with strife.
•••
Grandchildren are the crown of old men,
And the glory of sons is their fathers.
•••
The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
So abandon the quarrel before it breaks out.
•••
A joyful heart is good medicine,
But a broken spirit dries up the bones.
•••
He who restrains his words has knowledge,
And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
from Proverbs 17

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come,
the Almighty.”
from Revelation 1

I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
•••
hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’
•••
hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” ’
•••
hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” ’
•••
he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—
‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron;
They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—as I also have received from My Father;
and I will give him the morning star.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’
from Revelation 2

He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
•••
He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.
•••
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
from Revelation 3

Songs for today: Silent Night / Christmas Time Again

Today’s Country: Turkmenistan

The plans of the heart belong to man,
But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight,
But the Lord weighs the motives.
Commit your works to the Lord
And your plans will be established.
•••
Better is a little with righteousness
Than great income with injustice.
The mind of man plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps.
•••
It is an abomination for kings to commit wicked acts,
For a throne is established on righteousness.
•••
Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before stumbling.
It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly
Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
He who gives attention to the word will find good,
And blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
•••
A worthless man digs up evil,
While his words are like scorching fire.
A perverse man spreads strife,
And a slanderer separates intimate friends.
from Proverbs 16

A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name.
•••
from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord of hosts.
•••
for I am a great King,” says the Lord of hosts, “and My name is feared among the nations.”
from Malachi 1

the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.
•••
Do we not all have one father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?
•••
This is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
•••
Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth. For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says the Lord of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”
from Malachi 2

“Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts. “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify
•••
From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. “
•••
You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.
from Malachi 3

behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,” says the Lord of hosts.
•••
“Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”
from Malachi 4

Songs for today: O Little Town of Bethlehem / How Great Our Joy / Do You Have Room?

Today’s Country: Republic of Turkey

A gentle answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger.
•••
The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
Watching the evil and the good.
•••
Better is a little with the fear of the Lord
Than great treasure and turmoil with it.
•••
Better is a dish of vegetables where love is
Than a fattened ox served with hatred.
•••
The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,
•••
He who neglects discipline despises himself,
But he who listens to reproof acquires understanding.
The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom,
And before honor comes humility.
from Proverbs 15

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
•••
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.
from Jude

Songs for today: O Holy Night / I Wonder as I Wander / Fullness of Grace

Today’s Country: Republic of Tunisia

The wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.
He who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord,
•••
A trustworthy witness will not lie,
But a false witness utters lies.
•••
There is a way which seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.
•••
A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil,
But a fool is arrogant and careless.
•••
In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence,
And his children will have refuge.
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
That one may avoid the snares of death.
•••
A tranquil heart is life to the body,
But passion is rottenness
•••
Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a disgrace to any people.
from Proverbs 14

Thus declares the Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the Lord of hosts, their God.’
“In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem. The Lord also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
from Zechariah 12

Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,
And against the man, My Associate,”
Declares the Lord of hosts.
“Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered;
And I will turn My hand against the little ones.
“It will come about in all the land,”
Declares the Lord,
“That two parts in it will be cut off and perish;
But the third will be left in it.
“And I will bring the third part through the fire,
Refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are My people,’
And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
from Zechariah 13

For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!
In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. For it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light.
And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.
•••
And the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one.
from Zechariah 14

Songs for today: O Come O Come Emmanuel / Emanueal, God with Us

Today’s Country: Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

Through insolence comes nothing but strife,
But wisdom is with those who receive counsel.
Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles,
But the one who gathers by labor increases it.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
•••
The one who despises the word will be in debt to it,
But the one who fears the commandment will be rewarded.
The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,
To turn aside from the snares of death.
•••
He who walks with wise men will be wise,
But the companion of fools will suffer harm.
•••
He who withholds his rod hates his son,
But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.
from Proverbs 13

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
He is just and endowed with salvation,
Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
And the horse from Jerusalem;
And the bow of war will be cut off.
And He will speak peace to the nations;
And His dominion will be from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
from Zechariah 9

I will strengthen the house of Judah,
And I will save the house of Joseph,
And I will bring them back,
Because I have had compassion on them;
And they will be as though I had not rejected them,
For I am the Lord their God and I will answer them.
“Ephraim will be like a mighty man,
And their heart will be glad as if from wine;
Indeed, their children will see it and be glad,
Their heart will rejoice in the Lord.
“I will whistle for them to gather them together,
For I have redeemed them;
And they will be as numerous as they were before.
“When I scatter them among the peoples,
They will remember Me in far countries,
And they with their children will live and come back.
“I will bring them back from the land of Egypt
And gather them from Assyria;
And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon
Until no room can be found for them.
“And they will pass through the sea of distress
And He will strike the waves in the sea,
So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up;
And the pride of Assyria will be brought down
And the scepter of Egypt will depart.
“And I will strengthen them in the Lord,
And in His name they will walk,” declares the Lord.
from Zechariah 10

the afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the Lord. I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages. Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord. Then I cut in pieces my second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
from Zechariah 11