The scriptures read are Isaiah 49-51, Psalm 41 and Titus 1.
Isaiah 49. God's servant, in his service since birth, will not only bring back God's scattered people but will act as a beacon to the world. And God will not neglect Zion either.
Isaiah 50. God didn't abandon his people; it was the other way around. But as usual with him, God hasn't washed his hands of them.
Isaiah 51. God will bring his deliverance and justice back to his people in Zion. This chapter harkens back to Adam and Eve, Abraham and Rahab "the chaos-dragon," as Peterson calls it.
Don't be afraid of anyone as ephemeral as other human being. God is on your side and he can handle anything.
So sleep off the awful night of judgment, shake off its hangover and be prepared for everlasting salvation.
Psalm 41. A Celtic-flavored take on this psalm.
Titus 1. Titus was left in Crete to appoint leaders in the churches Paul planted there. He gives him much the same qualifications as he did Timothy. He similarly warns him about religious charlatans who are in it for the money.
Paul quotes a popular depiction of Cretans, usually attributed to Epimenides, that is hardly complementary. But the island's name came to mean "to lie." Paul obviously doesn't feel that way about all Cretans, like his church members, but it sure describes those people peddling myths and disrupting the families of church members.
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