[Be a Gentleman] Authenticity

Perfectly Imperfect | Discovering Grace When Perfect Isn’t Possible, a 7-Day Devotional by Jacques McNeil

Resting in God’s Presence

Acts 19:23-41 | Living for Christ in a Confused World

Seeing With Your Ears

Help Your Man Overcome Pornography

The Cultivation of Consistency

Sent With Purpose

Do Not Be Anxious About Anything

Women of the New Testament

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 bkLUK">
 <div class="chapter ch19" data-usfm="LUK.19">
 <div class="label">19</div><div class="s1">Zacchaeus the Tax Collector</div><div class="p"> 1Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.</div><div class="p"> 5When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, &#8220;Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.&#8221; 6So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.</div><div class="p"> 7All the people saw this and began to mutter, &#8220;He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, &#8220;Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9Jesus said to him, &#8220;Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Parable of the Ten Minas</div><div class="p"> 11While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. 12He said: &#8220;A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.#19:13 A mina was about three months&#8217; wages. &#8216;Put this money to work,&#8217; he said, &#8216;until I come back.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 14 &#8220;But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, &#8216;We don&#8217;t want this man to be our king.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 15 &#8220;He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.</div><div class="p"> 16 &#8220;The first one came and said, &#8216;Sir, your mina has earned ten more.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 17 &#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Well done, my good servant!&#8217; his master replied. &#8216;Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 18 &#8220;The second came and said, &#8216;Sir, your mina has earned five more.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 19 &#8220;His master answered, &#8216;You take charge of five cities.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 20 &#8220;Then another servant came and said, &#8216;Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 22 &#8220;His master replied, &#8216;I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23Why then didn&#8217;t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 24 &#8220;Then he said to those standing by, &#8216;Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 25 &#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Sir,&#8217; they said, &#8216;he already has ten!&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 26 &#8220;He replied, &#8216;I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 27But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them&#8212;bring them here and kill them in front of me.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King</div><div class="p"> 28After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30&#8220;Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, &#8216;Why are you untying it?&#8217; say, &#8216;The Lord needs it.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 32Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, &#8220;Why are you untying the colt?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 34They replied, &#8220;The Lord needs it.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 35They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.</div><div class="p"> 37When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:</div><div class="q1"> 38&#8220;Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!&#8221;#19:38 Psalm 118:26</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">&#8220;Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, &#8220;Teacher, rebuke your disciples!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 40 &#8220;I tell you,&#8221; he replied, &#8220;if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 41As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42and said, &#8220;If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace&#8212;but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God&#8217;s coming to you.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Jesus at the Temple</div><div class="p"> 45When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. 46&#8220;It is written,&#8221; he said to them, &#8220;&#8198;&#8216;My house will be a house of prayer&#8217;#19:46 Isaiah 56:7; but you have made it &#8216;a den of robbers.&#8217;#19:46 Jer. 7:11&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 47Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. 48Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1SA">
 <div class="chapter ch13" data-usfm="1SA.13">
 <div class="label">13</div><div class="s1">Samuel Rebukes Saul</div><div class="p"> 1Saul was thirty#13:1 A few late manuscripts of the Septuagint; Hebrew does not have thirty. years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-#13:1 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see Acts 13:21); Masoretic Text does not have forty-. two years.</div><div class="p"> 2Saul chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand were with him at Mikmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the men he sent back to their homes.</div><div class="p"> 3Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul had the trumpet blown throughout the land and said, &#8220;Let the Hebrews hear!&#8221; 4So all Israel heard the news: &#8220;Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel has become obnoxious to the Philistines.&#8221; And the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.</div><div class="p"> 5The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand#13:5 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac; Hebrew thirty thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Mikmash, east of Beth Aven. 6When the Israelites saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns. 7Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.</div><div class="p">Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear. 8He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul&#8217;s men began to scatter. 9So he said, &#8220;Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.&#8221; And Saul offered up the burnt offering. 10Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.</div><div class="p"> 11&#8220;What have you done?&#8221; asked Samuel.</div><div class="p">Saul replied, &#8220;When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, 12I thought, &#8216;Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord&#8217;s favor.&#8217; So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13&#8220;You have done a foolish thing,&#8221; Samuel said. &#8220;You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. 14But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord&#8217;s command.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15Then Samuel left Gilgal#13:15 Hebrew; Septuagint Gilgal and went his way; the rest of the people went after Saul to meet the army, and they went out of Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin, and Saul counted the men who were with him. They numbered about six hundred.</div><div class="s1">Israel Without Weapons</div><div class="p"> 16Saul and his son Jonathan and the men with them were staying in Gibeah#13:16 Two Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts Geba, a variant of Gibeah in Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Mikmash. 17Raiding parties went out from the Philistine camp in three detachments. One turned toward Ophrah in the vicinity of Shual, 18another toward Beth Horon, and the third toward the borderland overlooking the Valley of Zeboyim facing the wilderness.</div><div class="p"> 19Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, &#8220;Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!&#8221; 20So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their plow points, mattocks, axes and sickles#13:20 Septuagint; Hebrew plow points sharpened. 21The price was two-thirds of a shekel#13:21 That is, about 1/4 ounce or about 8 grams for sharpening plow points and mattocks, and a third of a shekel#13:21 That is, about 1/8 ounce or about 4 grams for sharpening forks and axes and for repointing goads.</div><div class="p"> 22So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.</div><div class="s1">Jonathan Attacks the Philistines</div><div class="p"> 23Now a detachment of Philistines had gone out to the pass at Mikmash.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1SA">
 <div class="chapter ch15" data-usfm="1SA.15">
 <div class="label">15</div><div class="s1">The Lord Rejects Saul as King</div><div class="p"> 1Samuel said to Saul, &#8220;I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. 2This is what the Lord Almighty says: &#8216;I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 3Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy#15:3 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 8, 9, 15, 18, 20 and 21. all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim&#8212;two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah. 5Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. 6Then he said to the Kenites, &#8220;Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.&#8221; So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.</div><div class="p"> 7Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt. 8He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves#15:9 Or the grown bulls; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain. and lambs&#8212;everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.</div><div class="p"> 10Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11&#8220;I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.&#8221; Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.</div><div class="p"> 12Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, &#8220;Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13When Samuel reached him, Saul said, &#8220;The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord&#8217;s instructions.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14But Samuel said, &#8220;What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15Saul answered, &#8220;The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16&#8220;Enough!&#8221; Samuel said to Saul. &#8220;Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Tell me,&#8221; Saul replied.</div><div class="p"> 17Samuel said, &#8220;Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18And he sent you on a mission, saying, &#8216;Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.&#8217; 19Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20&#8220;But I did obey the Lord,&#8221; Saul said. &#8220;I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22But Samuel replied:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices</div><div class="q2">as much as in obeying the Lord?</div><div class="q1">To obey is better than sacrifice,</div><div class="q2">and to heed is better than the fat of rams.</div><div class="q1"> 23For rebellion is like the sin of divination,</div><div class="q2">and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.</div><div class="q1">Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,</div><div class="q2">he has rejected you as king.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24Then Saul said to Samuel, &#8220;I have sinned. I violated the Lord&#8217;s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them. 25Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 26But Samuel said to him, &#8220;I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 27As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28Samuel said to him, &#8220;The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors&#8212;to one better than you. 29He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 30Saul replied, &#8220;I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.&#8221; 31So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 32Then Samuel said, &#8220;Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Agag came to him in chains.#15:32 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain. And he thought, &#8220;Surely the bitterness of death is past.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 33But Samuel said,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;As your sword has made women childless,</div><div class="q2">so will your mother be childless among women.&#8221;</div><div class="m">And Samuel put Agag to death before the Lord at Gilgal.</div><div class="p"> 34Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 35Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1SA">
 <div class="chapter ch16" data-usfm="1SA.16">
 <div class="label">16</div><div class="s1">Samuel Anoints David</div><div class="p"> 1The Lord said to Samuel, &#8220;How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 2But Samuel said, &#8220;How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.&#8221;</div><div class="p">The Lord said, &#8220;Take a heifer with you and say, &#8216;I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.&#8217; 3Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, &#8220;Do you come in peace?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5Samuel replied, &#8220;Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.&#8221; Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.</div><div class="p"> 6When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, &#8220;Surely the Lord&#8217;s anointed stands here before the Lord.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7But the Lord said to Samuel, &#8220;Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, &#8220;The Lord has not chosen this one either.&#8221; 9Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, &#8220;Nor has the Lord chosen this one.&#8221; 10Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, &#8220;The Lord has not chosen these.&#8221; 11So he asked Jesse, &#8220;Are these all the sons you have?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;There is still the youngest,&#8221; Jesse answered. &#8220;He is tending the sheep.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Samuel said, &#8220;Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.</div><div class="p">Then the Lord said, &#8220;Rise and anoint him; this is the one.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.</div><div class="s1">David in Saul&#8217;s Service</div><div class="p"> 14Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil#16:14 Or and a harmful; similarly in verses 15, 16 and 23 spirit from the Lord tormented him.</div><div class="p"> 15Saul&#8217;s attendants said to him, &#8220;See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the lyre. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes on you, and you will feel better.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17So Saul said to his attendants, &#8220;Find someone who plays well and bring him to me.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18One of the servants answered, &#8220;I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 19Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, &#8220;Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.&#8221; 20So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul.</div><div class="p"> 21David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers. 22Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, &#8220;Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.</div>
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