Finding God’s Love in Suffering—a 7-Day Plan for When the Journey Hurts

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Wisdom for Work From James

Lent for Everyone (Especially if You Haven't Celebrated Lent Before)

This Was to Fulfill the Scripture Which Says… (The Bible Effect)

What Is Prayer?

Devoted by Krissy Nordhoff

Journey Through 1 Thessalonians

Poison or Peace: Quieting Anxiety

Ignite Revival

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 bk2SA">
 <div class="chapter ch1" data-usfm="2SA.1">
 <div class="label">1</div><div class="s1">David Hears of Saul&#8217;s Death</div><div class="p"> 1After the death of Saul, David returned from striking down the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days. 2On the third day a man arrived from Saul&#8217;s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor.</div><div class="p"> 3&#8220;Where have you come from?&#8221; David asked him.</div><div class="p">He answered, &#8220;I have escaped from the Israelite camp.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4&#8220;What happened?&#8221; David asked. &#8220;Tell me.&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;The men fled from the battle,&#8221; he replied. &#8220;Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, &#8220;How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6&#8220;I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,&#8221; the young man said, &#8220;and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit. 7When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, &#8216;What can I do?&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 8&#8220;He asked me, &#8216;Who are you?&#8217;</div><div class="p">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;An Amalekite,&#8217; I answered.</div><div class="p"> 9&#8220;Then he said to me, &#8216;Stand here by me and kill me! I&#8217;m in the throes of death, but I&#8217;m still alive.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 10&#8220;So I stood beside him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. 12They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.</div><div class="p"> 13David said to the young man who brought him the report, &#8220;Where are you from?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite,&#8221; he answered.</div><div class="p"> 14David asked him, &#8220;Why weren&#8217;t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord&#8217;s anointed?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15Then David called one of his men and said, &#8220;Go, strike him down!&#8221; So he struck him down, and he died. 16For David had said to him, &#8220;Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, &#8216;I killed the Lord&#8217;s anointed.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="s1">David&#8217;s Lament for Saul and Jonathan</div><div class="p"> 17David took up this lament concerning Saul and his son Jonathan, 18and he ordered that the people of Judah be taught this lament of the bow (it is written in the Book of Jashar):</div><div class="q1"> 19&#8220;A gazelle#1:19 Gazelle here symbolizes a human dignitary. lies slain on your heights, Israel.</div><div class="q2">How the mighty have fallen!</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 20&#8220;Tell it not in Gath,</div><div class="q2">proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon,</div><div class="q1">lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad,</div><div class="q2">lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 21&#8220;Mountains of Gilboa,</div><div class="q2">may you have neither dew nor rain,</div><div class="q2">may no showers fall on your terraced fields.#1:21 Or / nor fields that yield grain for offerings</div><div class="q1">For there the shield of the mighty was despised,</div><div class="q2">the shield of Saul&#8212;no longer rubbed with oil.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 22&#8220;From the blood of the slain,</div><div class="q2">from the flesh of the mighty,</div><div class="q1">the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,</div><div class="q2">the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied.</div><div class="q1"> 23Saul and Jonathan&#8212;</div><div class="q2">in life they were loved and admired,</div><div class="q2">and in death they were not parted.</div><div class="q1">They were swifter than eagles,</div><div class="q2">they were stronger than lions.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 24&#8220;Daughters of Israel,</div><div class="q2">weep for Saul,</div><div class="q1">who clothed you in scarlet and finery,</div><div class="q2">who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 25&#8220;How the mighty have fallen in battle!</div><div class="q2">Jonathan lies slain on your heights.</div><div class="q1"> 26I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother;</div><div class="q2">you were very dear to me.</div><div class="q1">Your love for me was wonderful,</div><div class="q2">more wonderful than that of women.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 27&#8220;How the mighty have fallen!</div><div class="q2">The weapons of war have perished!&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPSA">
 <div class="chapter ch85" data-usfm="PSA.85">
 <div class="label">85</div><div class="cl">Psalm 85#In Hebrew texts 85:1-13 is numbered 85:2-14.</div><div class="d">For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.</div><div class="q1"> 1You, Lord, showed favor to your land;</div><div class="q2">you restored the fortunes of Jacob.</div><div class="q1"> 2You forgave the iniquity of your people</div><div class="q2">and covered all their sins.#85:2 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.</div><div class="q1"> 3You set aside all your wrath</div><div class="q2">and turned from your fierce anger.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 4Restore us again, God our Savior,</div><div class="q2">and put away your displeasure toward us.</div><div class="q1"> 5Will you be angry with us forever?</div><div class="q2">Will you prolong your anger through all generations?</div><div class="q1"> 6Will you not revive us again,</div><div class="q2">that your people may rejoice in you?</div><div class="q1"> 7Show us your unfailing love, Lord,</div><div class="q2">and grant us your salvation.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 8I will listen to what God the Lord says;</div><div class="q2">he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants&#8212;</div><div class="q2">but let them not turn to folly.</div><div class="q1"> 9Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,</div><div class="q2">that his glory may dwell in our land.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 10Love and faithfulness meet together;</div><div class="q2">righteousness and peace kiss each other.</div><div class="q1"> 11Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,</div><div class="q2">and righteousness looks down from heaven.</div><div class="q1"> 12The Lord will indeed give what is good,</div><div class="q2">and our land will yield its harvest.</div><div class="q1"> 13Righteousness goes before him</div><div class="q2">and prepares the way for his steps.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkMAT">
 <div class="chapter ch24" data-usfm="MAT.24">
 <div class="label">24</div><div class="s1">The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times</div><div class="p"> 1Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2&#8220;Do you see all these things?&#8221; he asked. &#8220;Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. &#8220;Tell us,&#8221; they said, &#8220;when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4Jesus answered: &#8220;Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, &#8216;I am the Messiah,&#8217; and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.</div><div class="p"> 9 &#8220;Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.</div><div class="p"> 15 &#8220;So when you see standing in the holy place &#8216;the abomination that causes desolation,&#8217; # 24:15 
 Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11 spoken of through the prophet Daniel&#8212;let the reader understand&#8212; 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now&#8212;and never to be equaled again.</div><div class="p"> 22 &#8220;If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23At that time if anyone says to you, &#8216;Look, here is the Messiah!&#8217; or, &#8216;There he is!&#8217; do not believe it. 24For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25See, I have told you ahead of time.</div><div class="p"> 26 &#8220;So if anyone tells you, &#8216;There he is, out in the wilderness,&#8217; do not go out; or, &#8216;Here he is, in the inner rooms,&#8217; do not believe it. 27For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.</div><div class="p"> 29 &#8220;Immediately after the distress of those days</div><div class="q1"> &#8220;&#8198;&#8216;the sun will be darkened,</div><div class="q2"> and the moon will not give its light;</div><div class="q1"> the stars will fall from the sky,</div><div class="q2"> and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.&#8217; # 24:29 
 Isaiah 13:10; 34:4 </div><div class="p"> 30 &#8220;Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth # 24:30 Or the tribes of the land will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.#24:30 See Daniel 7:13-14. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.</div><div class="p"> 32 &#8220;Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it#24:33 Or he is near, right at the door. 34Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.</div><div class="s1">The Day and Hour Unknown</div><div class="p"> 36 &#8220;But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, # 24:36 Some manuscripts do not have nor the Son. but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.</div><div class="p"> 42 &#8220;Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.</div><div class="p"> 45 &#8220;Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, &#8216;My master is staying away a long time,&#8217; 49and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.</div>
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