Isaiah 26; Isaiah 27; Philippians 2

1 At that time people will sing this song in Judah: We have a strong city. God protects us with its strong walls and defenses.

2 Open the gates, and the good people will enter, those who follow God.

3 You, Lord, give true peace to those who depend on you, because they trust you.

4 So, trust the Lord always, because he is our Rock forever.

5 He will destroy the proud city, and he will punish the people living there. He will bring that high city down to the ground and throw it down into the dust.

6 Then those who were hurt by the city will walk on its ruins; those who were made poor by the city will trample it under their feet.

7 The path of life is level for those who are right with God; Lord, you make the way of life smooth for those people.

8 But, Lord, we are waiting for your way of justice. Our souls want to remember you and your name.

9 My soul wants to be with you at night, and my spirit wants to be with you at the dawn of every day. When your way of justice comes to the land, people of the world will learn the right way of living.

10 Evil people will not learn to do good even if you show them kindness. They will continue doing evil, even if they live in a good world; they never see the Lord's greatness.

11 Lord, you are ready to punish those people, but they do not see that. Show them your strong love for your people. Then those who are evil will be ashamed. Burn them in the fire you have prepared for your enemies.

12 Lord, all our success is because of what you have done, so give us peace.

13 Lord, our God, other masters besides you have ruled us, but we honor only you.

14 Those masters are now dead; their ghosts will not rise from death. You punished and destroyed them and erased any memory of them.

15 Lord, you multiplied the number of your people; you multiplied them and brought honor to yourself. You made the borders of the land wide.

16 Lord, people remember you when they are in trouble; they say quiet prayers to you when you punish them.

17 Lord, when we are with you, we are like a woman giving birth to a baby; she cries and has pain from the birth.

18 In the same way, we had pain. We gave birth, but only to wind. We don't bring salvation to the land or make new people for the world.

19 Your people have died, but they will live again; their bodies will rise from death. You who lie in the ground, wake up and be happy! The dew covering you is like the dew of a new day; the ground will give birth to the dead.

20 My people, go into your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide in your rooms for a short time until God's anger is finished.

21 The Lord will leave his place to punish the people of the world for their sins. The earth will show the blood of the people who have been killed; it will not cover the dead any longer.

1 At that time the Lord will punish Leviathan, the gliding snake. He will punish Leviathan, the coiled snake, with his great and hard and powerful sword. He will kill the monster in the sea.

2 At that time people will sing about the pleasant vineyard.

3 "I, the Lord, will care for that vineyard; I will water it at the right time. No one will hurt it, because I will guard it day and night.

4 I am not angry. If anyone builds a wall of thornbushes in war, I will march to it and burn it.

5 But if anyone comes to me for safety and wants to make peace with me, he should come and make peace with me."

6 In the days to come, the people of Jacob will be like a plant with good roots; Israel will grow like a plant beginning to bloom. Then the world will be filled with their children.

7 The Lord has not hurt his people as he hurt their enemies; his people have not been killed like those who tried to kill them.

8 He will settle his argument with Israel by sending it far away. Like a hot desert wind, he will drive it away.

9 This is how Israel's guilt will be forgiven; this is how its sins will be taken away: Israel will crush the rocks of the altar to dust, and no statues or altars will be left standing for the Asherah idols.

10 At that time the strong, walled city will be empty like a desert. Calves will eat grass there. They will lie down there and eat leaves from the branches.

11 The limbs will become dry and break off, so women will use them for firewood. The people refuse to understand, so God will not comfort them; their Maker will not be kind to them.

12 At that time the Lord will begin gathering his people one by one from the Euphrates River to the brook of Egypt. He will separate them from others as grain is separated from chaff.

13 Many of my people are now lost in Assyria. Some have run away to Egypt. But at that time a great trumpet will be blown, and all those people will come and worship the Lord on that holy mountain in Jerusalem.

1 Does your life in Christ give you strength? Does his love comfort you? Do we share together in the spirit? Do you have mercy and kindness?

2 If so, make me very happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and having one mind and purpose.

3 When you do things, do not let selfishness or pride be your guide. Instead, be humble and give more honor to others than to yourselves.

4 Do not be interested only in your own life, but be interested in the lives of others.

5 In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus.

6 Christ himself was like God in everything. But he did not think that being equal with God was something to be used for his own benefit.

7 But he gave up his place with God and made himself nothing. He was born to be a man and became like a servant.

8 And when he was living as a man, he humbled himself and was fully obedient to God, even when that caused his death -- death on a cross.

9 So God raised him to the highest place. God made his name greater than every other name

10 so that every knee will bow to the name of Jesus -- everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.

11 And everyone will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and bring glory to God the Father.

12 My dear friends, you have always obeyed God when I was with you. It is even more important that you obey now while I am away from you. Keep on working to complete your salvation with fear and trembling,

13 because God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases him.

14 Do everything without complaining or arguing.

15 Then you will be innocent and without any wrong. You will be God's children without fault. But you are living with crooked and mean people all around you, among whom you shine like stars in the dark world.

16 You offer the teaching that gives life. So when Christ comes again, I can be happy because my work was not wasted. I ran the race and won.

17 Your faith makes you offer your lives as a sacrifice in serving God. If I have to offer my own blood with your sacrifice, I will be happy and full of joy with all of you.

18 You also should be happy and full of joy with me.

19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon. I will be happy to learn how you are.

20 I have no one else like Timothy, who truly cares for you.

21 Other people are interested only in their own lives, not in the work of Jesus Christ.

22 You know the kind of person Timothy is. You know he has served with me in telling the Good News, as a son serves his father.

23 I plan to send him to you quickly when I know what will happen to me.

24 I am sure that the Lord will help me to come to you soon.

25 Epaphroditus, my brother in Christ, works and serves with me in the army of Christ. When I needed help, you sent him to me. I think now that I must send him back to you,

26 because he wants very much to see all of you. He is worried because you heard that he was sick.

27 Yes, he was sick, and nearly died, but God had mercy on him and me too so that I would not have more sadness.

28 I want very much to send him to you so that when you see him you can be happy, and I can stop worrying about you.

29 Welcome him in the Lord with much joy. Give honor to people like him,

30 because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to give me the help you could not give in your service to me.