AME Zion Universal Reading September 15th, 2024

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2 Kings 19:20–31 (NLT): Isaiah Predicts Judah’s Deliverance

20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer about King Sennacherib of Assyria. 21 And the Lord has spoken this word against him:

“The virgin daughter of Zion

despises you and laughs at you.

The daughter of Jerusalem

shakes her head in derision as you flee.

22 “Whom have you been defying and ridiculing?

Against whom did you raise your voice?

At whom did you look with such haughty eyes?

It was the Holy One of Israel!

23 By your messengers you have defied the Lord.

You have said, ‘With my many chariots

I have conquered the highest mountains—

yes, the remotest peaks of Lebanon.

I have cut down its tallest cedars

and its finest cypress trees.

I have reached its farthest corners

and explored its deepest forests.

24 I have dug wells in many foreign lands

and refreshed myself with their water.

With the sole of my foot

I stopped up all the rivers of Egypt!’

25 “But have you not heard?

I decided this long ago.

Long ago I planned it,

and now I am making it happen.

I planned for you to crush fortified cities

into heaps of rubble.

26 That is why their people have so little power

and are so frightened and confused.

They are as weak as grass,

as easily trampled as tender green shoots.

They are like grass sprouting on a housetop,

scorched before it can grow lush and tall.

27 “But I know you well—

where you stay

and when you come and go.

I know the way you have raged against me.

28 And because of your raging against me

and your arrogance, which I have heard for myself,

I will put my hook in your nose

and my bit in your mouth.

I will make you return

by the same road on which you came.”

29 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Here is the proof that what I say is true:

“This year you will eat only what grows up by itself,

and next year you will eat what springs up from that.

But in the third year you will plant crops and harvest them;

you will tend vineyards and eat their fruit.

30 And you who are left in Judah,

who have escaped the ravages of the siege,

will put roots down in your own soil

and will grow up and flourish.

31 For a remnant of my people will spread out from Jerusalem,

a group of survivors from Mount Zion.

The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies

will make this happen!

Monday

Romans 8:29–39 (NLT):

29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Tuesday

2 Corinthians 4:8–18 (NLT): his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away. 8 Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? 9 If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! 10 In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. 11 So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever!

12 Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. 14 But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. 15 Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand.

16 But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his

Wednesday

Psalm 69:1–15 (NLT): 1 Save me, O God,

for the floodwaters are up to my neck.

2 Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire;

I can’t find a foothold.

I am in deep water,

and the floods overwhelm me.

3 I am exhausted from crying for help;

my throat is parched.

My eyes are swollen with weeping,

waiting for my God to help me.

4 Those who hate me without cause

outnumber the hairs on my head.

Many enemies try to destroy me with lies,

demanding that I give back what I didn’t steal.

5 O God, you know how foolish I am;

my sins cannot be hidden from you.

6 Don’t let those who trust in you be ashamed because of me,

O Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Don’t let me cause them to be humiliated,

O God of Israel.

7 For I endure insults for your sake;

humiliation is written all over my face.

8 Even my own brothers pretend they don’t know me;

they treat me like a stranger.

9 Passion for your house has consumed me,

and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.

10 When I weep and fast,

they scoff at me.

11 When I dress in burlap to show sorrow,

they make fun of me.

12 I am the favorite topic of town gossip,

and all the drunks sing about me.

13 But I keep praying to you, Lord,

hoping this time you will show me favor.

In your unfailing love, O God,

answer my prayer with your sure salvation.

14 Rescue me from the mud;

don’t let me sink any deeper!

Save me from those who hate me,

and pull me from these deep waters.

15 Don’t let the floods overwhelm me,

or the deep waters swallow me,

or the pit of death devour me.

Thursday

Psalm 69:16–36 (NLT):

16 Answer my prayers, O Lord,

for your unfailing love is wonderful.

Take care of me,

for your mercy is so plentiful.

17 Don’t hide from your servant;

answer me quickly, for I am in deep trouble!

18 Come and redeem me;

free me from my enemies.

19 You know of my shame, scorn, and disgrace.

You see all that my enemies are doing.

20 Their insults have broken my heart,

and I am in despair.

If only one person would show some pity;

if only one would turn and comfort me.

21 But instead, they give me poison for food;

they offer me sour wine for my thirst.

22 Let the bountiful table set before them become a snare

and their prosperity become a trap.

23 Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see,

and make their bodies shake continually.

24 Pour out your fury on them;

consume them with your burning anger.

25 Let their homes become desolate

and their tents be deserted.

26 To the one you have punished, they add insult to injury;

they add to the pain of those you have hurt.

27 Pile their sins up high,

and don’t let them go free.

28 Erase their names from the Book of Life;

don’t let them be counted among the righteous.

29 I am suffering and in pain.

Rescue me, O God, by your saving power.

30 Then I will praise God’s name with singing,

and I will honor him with thanksgiving.

31 For this will please the Lord more than sacrificing cattle,

more than presenting a bull with its horns and hooves.

32 The humble will see their God at work and be glad.

Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged.

33 For the Lord hears the cries of the needy;

he does not despise his imprisoned people.

34 Praise him, O heaven and earth,

the seas and all that move in them.

35 For God will save Jerusalem

and rebuild the towns of Judah.

His people will live there

and settle in their own land.

36 The descendants of those who obey him will inherit the land,

and those who love him will live there in safety.

Friday

2 Thessalonians 3:1–5 (NLT): Paul’s Request for Prayer

Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. 2 Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer. 3 But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. 4 And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we commanded you. 5 May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.

Saturday

2 Kings 19:14–19 (NLT):

14 After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the Lord’s Temple and spread it out before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord: “O Lord, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. 16 Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God.

17 “It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations. 18 And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all—only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands. 19 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O Lord, are God.”