Leading With Love and Authority: Balancing Grace and Truth as You Lead Your Children Toward Christ

Biblical Encouragement for Business Leaders

REGRET: And a Dog, a Horse and a Cart

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Weary: Holding on to God's Word in Hard Times

Biblical Authority

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3rd Person

Navigating Mental Challenges After Loss

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch12" data-usfm="2CO.12">
 <div class="label">12</div><div class="s1">Paul&#8217;s Vision and His Thorn</div><div class="p"> 1I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know&#8212;God knows. 3And I know that this man&#8212;whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows&#8212; 4was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. 5I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, &#8220;My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.&#8221; Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ&#8217;s power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ&#8217;s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.</div><div class="s1">Paul&#8217;s Concern for the Corinthians</div><div class="p"> 11I have made a fool of myself, but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the &#8220;super-apostles,&#8221;#12:11 Or the most eminent apostles even though I am nothing. 12I persevered in demonstrating among you the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles. 13How were you inferior to the other churches, except that I was never a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!</div><div class="p"> 14Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. 15So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. If I love you more, will you love me less? 16Be that as it may, I have not been a burden to you. Yet, crafty fellow that I am, I caught you by trickery! 17Did I exploit you through any of the men I sent to you? 18I urged Titus to go to you and I sent our brother with him. Titus did not exploit you, did he? Did we not walk in the same footsteps by the same Spirit?</div><div class="p"> 19Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? We have been speaking in the sight of God as those in Christ; and everything we do, dear friends, is for your strengthening. 20For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. 21I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch13" data-usfm="2CO.13">
 <div class="label">13</div><div class="s1">Final Warnings</div><div class="p"> 1This will be my third visit to you. &#8220;Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.&#8221;#13:1 Deut. 19:15 2I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others, 3since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. 4For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God&#8217;s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God&#8217;s power we will live with him in our dealing with you.</div><div class="p"> 5Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you&#8212;unless, of course, you fail the test? 6And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. 7Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong&#8212;not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. 8For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored. 10This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority&#8212;the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.</div><div class="s1">Final Greetings</div><div class="p"> 11Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.</div><div class="p"> 12Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13All God&#8217;s people here send their greetings.</div><div class="p"> 14May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch1" data-usfm="GAL.1">
 <div class="label">1</div><div class="p"> 1Paul, an apostle&#8212;sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead&#8212; 2and all the brothers and sisters#1:2 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God&#8217;s family; also in verse 11; and in 3:15; 4:12, 28, 31; 5:11, 13; 6:1, 18. with me,</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p">To the churches in Galatia:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"> 3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.</div><div class="s1">No Other Gospel</div><div class="p"> 6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel&#8212; 7which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God&#8217;s curse! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God&#8217;s curse!</div><div class="p"> 10Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.</div><div class="s1">Paul Called by God</div><div class="p"> 11I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.</div><div class="p"> 13For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15But when God, who set me apart from my mother&#8217;s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased 16to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. 17I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.</div><div class="p"> 18Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas#1:18 That is, Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. 19I saw none of the other apostles&#8212;only James, the Lord&#8217;s brother. 20I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.</div><div class="p"> 21Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23They only heard the report: &#8220;The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.&#8221; 24And they praised God because of me.</div>
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