Resurrection to Mission: Living the Ancient Faith

Journey Through Kings & Chronicles Part 2

One Chapter a Day: Matthew

Journey Through Isaiah & Micah

Retirement: The 3 Decisions Most People Miss for Lasting Success

5 Days of 5-Minute Devotions for Teen Girls

Journey Through Genesis 12-50

The 3 Types of Jealousy (And Why 2 Aren't Sinful)

The Lord's Prayer

Psalms of Lament

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

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

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 <div class="label">1</div><div class="p"> 1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p">To God&#8217;s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p">Grace and peace be yours in abundance.</div><div class="s1">Praise to God for a Living Hope</div><div class="p"> 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God&#8217;s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith&#8212;of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire&#8212;may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.</div><div class="p"> 10Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.</div><div class="s1">Be Holy</div><div class="p"> 13Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: &#8220;Be holy, because I am holy.&#8221;#1:16 Lev. 11:44,45; 19:2</div><div class="p"> 17Since you call on a Father who judges each person&#8217;s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.</div><div class="p"> 22Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.#1:22 Some early manuscripts from a pure heart 23For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24For,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;All people are like grass,</div><div class="q2">and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;</div><div class="q1">the grass withers and the flowers fall,</div><div class="q2"> 25but the word of the Lord endures forever.&#8221;#1:25 Isaiah 40:6-8 (see Septuagint)</div><div class="m">And this is the word that was preached to you.</div>
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 <div class="label">2</div><div class="p"> 1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.</div><div class="s1">The Living Stone and a Chosen People</div><div class="p"> 4As you come to him, the living Stone&#8212;rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him&#8212; 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house#2:5 Or into a temple of the Spirit to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For in Scripture it says:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;See, I lay a stone in Zion,</div><div class="q2">a chosen and precious cornerstone,</div><div class="q1">and the one who trusts in him</div><div class="q2">will never be put to shame.&#8221;#2:6 Isaiah 28:16</div><div class="m"> 7Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;The stone the builders rejected</div><div class="q2">has become the cornerstone,&#8221;#2:7 Psalm 118:22</div><div class="m"> 8and,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;A stone that causes people to stumble</div><div class="q2">and a rock that makes them fall.&#8221;#2:8 Isaiah 8:14</div><div class="m">They stumble because they disobey the message&#8212;which is also what they were destined for.</div><div class="p"> 9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God&#8217;s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.</div><div class="s1">Living Godly Lives in a Pagan Society</div><div class="p"> 11Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.</div><div class="p"> 13Submit yourselves for the Lord&#8217;s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15For it is God&#8217;s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 16Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God&#8217;s slaves. 17Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.</div><div class="p"> 18Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. 20But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.</div><div class="q1"> 22&#8220;He committed no sin,</div><div class="q2">and no deceit was found in his mouth.&#8221;#2:22 Isaiah 53:9</div><div class="m"> 23When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24&#8220;He himself bore our sins&#8221; in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; &#8220;by his wounds you have been healed.&#8221; 25For &#8220;you were like sheep going astray,&#8221;#2:24,25 Isaiah 53:4,5,6 (see Septuagint) but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.</div>
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 <div class="label">3</div><div class="p"> 1Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God&#8217;s sight. 5For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, 6like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.</div><div class="p"> 7Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.</div><div class="s1">Suffering for Doing Good</div><div class="p"> 8Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10For,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Whoever would love life</div><div class="q2">and see good days</div><div class="q1">must keep their tongue from evil</div><div class="q2">and their lips from deceitful speech.</div><div class="q1"> 11They must turn from evil and do good;</div><div class="q2">they must seek peace and pursue it.</div><div class="q1"> 12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous</div><div class="q2">and his ears are attentive to their prayer,</div><div class="q1">but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.&#8221;#3:12 Psalm 34:12-16</div><div class="p"> 13Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. &#8220;Do not fear their threats#3:14 Or fear what they fear; do not be frightened.&#8221;#3:14 Isaiah 8:12 15But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17For it is better, if it is God&#8217;s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 19After being made alive,#3:18,19 Or but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which also he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits&#8212; 20to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also&#8212;not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God.#3:21 Or but an appeal to God for a clear conscience It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22who has gone into heaven and is at God&#8217;s right hand&#8212;with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.</div>
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 <div class="label">4</div><div class="s1">Living for God</div><div class="p"> 1Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 2As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do&#8212;living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. 5But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.</div><div class="p"> 7The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God&#8217;s grace in its various forms. 11If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.</div><div class="s1">Suffering for Being a Christian</div><div class="p"> 12Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17For it is time for judgment to begin with God&#8217;s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18And,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,</div><div class="q2">what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?&#8221;#4:18 Prov. 11:31 (see Septuagint)</div><div class="p"> 19So then, those who suffer according to God&#8217;s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.</div>
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 <div class="label">5</div><div class="s1">To the Elders and the Flock</div><div class="p"> 1To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ&#8217;s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2Be shepherds of God&#8217;s flock that is under your care, watching over them&#8212;not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.</div><div class="p"> 5In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;God opposes the proud</div><div class="q2">but shows favor to the humble.&#8221;#5:5 Prov. 3:34</div><div class="m"> 6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God&#8217;s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.</div><div class="p"> 8Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.</div><div class="p"> 10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.</div><div class="s1">Final Greetings</div><div class="p"> 12With the help of Silas,#5:12 Greek Silvanus, a variant of Silas whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.</div><div class="p"> 13She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. 14Greet one another with a kiss of love.</div><div class="p">Peace to all of you who are in Christ.</div>
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 <div class="label">1</div><div class="p"> 1Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p">To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"> 2Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.</div><div class="s1">Confirming One&#8217;s Calling and Election</div><div class="p"> 3His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.</div><div class="p"> 5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.</div><div class="p"> 10Therefore, my brothers and sisters,#1:10 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God&#8217;s family. make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.</div><div class="s1">Prophecy of Scripture</div><div class="p"> 12So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.</div><div class="p"> 16For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, &#8220;This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.&#8221;#1:17 Matt. 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35 18We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.</div><div class="p"> 19We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet&#8217;s own interpretation of things. 21For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.</div>
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 <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1">False Teachers and Their Destruction</div><div class="p"> 1But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them&#8212;bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.</div><div class="p"> 4For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell,#2:4 Greek Tartarus putting them in chains of darkness#2:4 Some manuscripts in gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; 5if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)&#8212; 9if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. 10This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh#2:10 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verse 18. and despise authority.</div><div class="p">Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; 11yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from#2:11 Many manuscripts beings in the presence of the Lord. 12But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish.</div><div class="p"> 13They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.#2:13 Some manuscripts in their love feasts 14With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed&#8212;an accursed brood! 15They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer,#2:15 Greek Bosor who loved the wages of wickedness. 16But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey&#8212;an animal without speech&#8212;who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet&#8217;s madness.</div><div class="p"> 17These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity&#8212;for &#8220;people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.&#8221; 20If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22Of them the proverbs are true: &#8220;A dog returns to its vomit,&#8221;#2:22 Prov. 26:11 and, &#8220;A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.&#8221;</div>
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 <div class="label">3</div><div class="s1">The Day of the Lord</div><div class="p"> 1Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.</div><div class="p"> 3Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4They will say, &#8220;Where is this &#8216;coming&#8217; he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.&#8221; 5But they deliberately forget that long ago by God&#8217;s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.</div><div class="p"> 8But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.</div><div class="p"> 10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.#3:10 Some manuscripts be burned up</div><div class="p"> 11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.#3:12 Or as you wait eagerly for the day of God to come That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.</div><div class="p"> 14So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15Bear in mind that our Lord&#8217;s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.</div><div class="p"> 17Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. 18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.</div>
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Journey Through 1 & 2 Peter and JudeSample

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