Celebrating Character

Helping Your Kids Know God's Good Design

The Story of God

Heal Girl Heal

Commissioned 3: Jesus Saves: From Brokenness to Freedom

Holy, Healthy, Whole: Growing Fruits of the Spirit for Weight Loss and Wellness

5 Pillars of Faith & Finances: Anchored in God, Growing in Wealth

5 Spiritual Needs You Must Not Ignore

God's Will for Your Work

Fatherless No More: Discovering God’s Father-Heart

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">
 <div class="book bk1PE">
 <div class="chapter ch1" data-usfm="1PE.1">
 <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="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1PE">
 <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="1PE.2">
 <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="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1PE">
 <div class="chapter ch3" data-usfm="1PE.3">
 <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="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkJER">
 <div class="chapter ch34" data-usfm="JER.34">
 <div class="label">34</div><div class="s1">Warning to Zedekiah</div><div class="p"> 1While Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms and peoples in the empire he ruled were fighting against Jerusalem and all its surrounding towns, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2&#8220;This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Go to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, &#8216;This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down. 3You will not escape from his grasp but will surely be captured and given into his hands. You will see the king of Babylon with your own eyes, and he will speak with you face to face. And you will go to Babylon.</div><div class="p"> 4&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Yet hear the Lord&#8217;s promise to you, Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what the Lord says concerning you: You will not die by the sword; 5you will die peacefully. As people made a funeral fire in honor of your predecessors, the kings who ruled before you, so they will make a fire in your honor and lament, &#8220;Alas, master!&#8221; I myself make this promise, declares the Lord.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6Then Jeremiah the prophet told all this to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, 7while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah that were still holding out&#8212;Lachish and Azekah. These were the only fortified cities left in Judah.</div><div class="s1">Freedom for Slaves</div><div class="p"> 8The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom for the slaves. 9Everyone was to free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Hebrew in bondage. 10So all the officials and people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their male and female slaves and no longer hold them in bondage. They agreed, and set them free. 11But afterward they changed their minds and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.</div><div class="p"> 12Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13&#8220;This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I said, 14&#8216;Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you six years, you must let them go free.&#8217;#34:14 Deut. 15:12 Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay attention to me. 15Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to your own people. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name. 16But now you have turned around and profaned my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again.</div><div class="p"> 17&#8220;Therefore this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom to your own people. So I now proclaim &#8216;freedom&#8217; for you, declares the Lord&#8212;&#8216;freedom&#8217; to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18Those who have violated my covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces. 19The leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests and all the people of the land who walked between the pieces of the calf, 20I will deliver into the hands of their enemies who want to kill them. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.</div><div class="p"> 21&#8220;I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials into the hands of their enemies who want to kill them, to the army of the king of Babylon, which has withdrawn from you. 22I am going to give the order, declares the Lord, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, take it and burn it down. And I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkJER">
 <div class="chapter ch35" data-usfm="JER.35">
 <div class="label">35</div><div class="s1">The Rekabites</div><div class="p"> 1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: 2&#8220;Go to the Rekabite family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms of the house of the Lord and give them wine to drink.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons&#8212;the whole family of the Rekabites. 4I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God. It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. 5Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the Rekabites and said to them, &#8220;Drink some wine.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6But they replied, &#8220;We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jehonadab#35:6 Hebrew Jonadab, a variant of Jehonadab; here and often in this chapter son of Rekab gave us this command: &#8216;Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. 7Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.&#8217; 8We have obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab son of Rekab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine 9or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops. 10We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab commanded us. 11But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded this land, we said, &#8216;Come, we must go to Jerusalem to escape the Babylonian#35:11 Or Chaldean and Aramean armies.&#8217; So we have remained in Jerusalem.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: 13&#8220;This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, &#8216;Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?&#8217; declares the Lord. 14&#8216;Jehonadab son of Rekab ordered his descendants not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather&#8217;s command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. 15Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, &#8220;Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.&#8221; But you have not paid attention or listened to me. 16The descendants of Jehonadab son of Rekab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 17&#8220;Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: &#8216;Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Rekabites, &#8220;This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: &#8216;You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jehonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.&#8217; 19Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: &#8216;Jehonadab son of Rekab will never fail to have a descendant to serve me.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div>
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