7-Day Devotional: Torn Between Two Worlds – Embracing God’s Gifts Amid Unmet Longings

Priorities of the Kingdom

The Bible for Young Explorers: Mark

Ready as You Are

Stress Less: 9 Practices That Build Resilience God's Way

Fuel the Fire Pt 2

5 Prayers to Stop Thinking Negatively About Your Spouse

Getting Dating Right

Worship Him

Learning About Love With St. Valentine

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 bkNUM">
 <div class="chapter ch24" data-usfm="NUM.24">
 <div class="label">24</div><div class="p"> 1Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not resort to divination as at other times, but turned his face toward the wilderness. 2When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came on him 3and he spoke his message:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,</div><div class="q2">the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly,</div><div class="q1"> 4the prophecy of one who hears the words of God,</div><div class="q2">who sees a vision from the Almighty,#24:4 Hebrew Shaddai; also in verse 16</div><div class="q2">who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 5&#8220;How beautiful are your tents, Jacob,</div><div class="q2">your dwelling places, Israel!</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 6&#8220;Like valleys they spread out,</div><div class="q2">like gardens beside a river,</div><div class="q1">like aloes planted by the Lord,</div><div class="q2">like cedars beside the waters.</div><div class="q1"> 7Water will flow from their buckets;</div><div class="q2">their seed will have abundant water.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">&#8220;Their king will be greater than Agag;</div><div class="q2">their kingdom will be exalted.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 8&#8220;God brought them out of Egypt;</div><div class="q2">they have the strength of a wild ox.</div><div class="q1">They devour hostile nations</div><div class="q2">and break their bones in pieces;</div><div class="q2">with their arrows they pierce them.</div><div class="q1"> 9Like a lion they crouch and lie down,</div><div class="q2">like a lioness&#8212;who dares to rouse them?</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">&#8220;May those who bless you be blessed</div><div class="q2">and those who curse you be cursed!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10Then Balak&#8217;s anger burned against Balaam. He struck his hands together and said to him, &#8220;I summoned you to curse my enemies, but you have blessed them these three times. 11Now leave at once and go home! I said I would reward you handsomely, but the Lord has kept you from being rewarded.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12Balaam answered Balak, &#8220;Did I not tell the messengers you sent me, 13&#8216;Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the Lord&#8212;and I must say only what the Lord says&#8217;? 14Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in days to come.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Balaam&#8217;s Fourth Message</div><div class="p"> 15Then he spoke his message:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,</div><div class="q2">the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly,</div><div class="q1"> 16the prophecy of one who hears the words of God,</div><div class="q2">who has knowledge from the Most High,</div><div class="q1">who sees a vision from the Almighty,</div><div class="q2">who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 17&#8220;I see him, but not now;</div><div class="q2">I behold him, but not near.</div><div class="q1">A star will come out of Jacob;</div><div class="q2">a scepter will rise out of Israel.</div><div class="q1">He will crush the foreheads of Moab,</div><div class="q2">the skulls#24:17 Samaritan Pentateuch (see also Jer. 48:45); the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain. of#24:17 Or possibly Moab, / batter all the people of Sheth.#24:17 Or all the noisy boasters</div><div class="q1"> 18Edom will be conquered;</div><div class="q2">Seir, his enemy, will be conquered,</div><div class="q2">but Israel will grow strong.</div><div class="q1"> 19A ruler will come out of Jacob</div><div class="q2">and destroy the survivors of the city.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Balaam&#8217;s Fifth Message</div><div class="p"> 20Then Balaam saw Amalek and spoke his message:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Amalek was first among the nations,</div><div class="q2">but their end will be utter destruction.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Balaam&#8217;s Sixth Message</div><div class="p"> 21Then he saw the Kenites and spoke his message:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Your dwelling place is secure,</div><div class="q2">your nest is set in a rock;</div><div class="q1"> 22yet you Kenites will be destroyed</div><div class="q2">when Ashur takes you captive.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Balaam&#8217;s Seventh Message</div><div class="p"> 23Then he spoke his message:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Alas! Who can live when God does this?#24:23 Masoretic Text; with a different word division of the Hebrew The people from the islands will gather from the north.</div><div class="q2"> 24Ships will come from the shores of Cyprus;</div><div class="q1">they will subdue Ashur and Eber,</div><div class="q2">but they too will come to ruin.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25Then Balaam got up and returned home, and Balak went his own way.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkNUM">
 <div class="chapter ch25" data-usfm="NUM.25">
 <div class="label">25</div><div class="s1">Moab Seduces Israel</div><div class="p"> 1While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, 2who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods. 3So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor. And the Lord&#8217;s anger burned against them.</div><div class="p"> 4The Lord said to Moses, &#8220;Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the Lord&#8217;s fierce anger may turn away from Israel.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5So Moses said to Israel&#8217;s judges, &#8220;Each of you must put to death those of your people who have yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6Then an Israelite man brought into the camp a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 7When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand 8and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear into both of them, right through the Israelite man and into the woman&#8217;s stomach. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped; 9but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.</div><div class="p"> 10The Lord said to Moses, 11&#8220;Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites. Since he was as zealous for my honor among them as I am, I did not put an end to them in my zeal. 12Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace with him. 13He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family. 15And the name of the Midianite woman who was put to death was Kozbi daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.</div><div class="p"> 16The Lord said to Moses, 17&#8220;Treat the Midianites as enemies and kill them. 18They treated you as enemies when they deceived you in the Peor incident involving their sister Kozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, the woman who was killed when the plague came as a result of that incident.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkNUM">
 <div class="chapter ch27" data-usfm="NUM.27">
 <div class="label">27</div><div class="s1">Zelophehad&#8217;s Daughters</div><div class="p"> 1The daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. They came forward 2and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, 3&#8220;Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among Korah&#8217;s followers, who banded together against the Lord, but he died for his own sin and left no sons. 4Why should our father&#8217;s name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father&#8217;s relatives.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5So Moses brought their case before the Lord, 6and the Lord said to him, 7&#8220;What Zelophehad&#8217;s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father&#8217;s relatives and give their father&#8217;s inheritance to them.</div><div class="p"> 8&#8220;Say to the Israelites, &#8216;If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter. 9If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. 10If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father&#8217;s brothers. 11If his father had no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan, that he may possess it. This is to have the force of law for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Joshua to Succeed Moses</div><div class="p"> 12Then the Lord said to Moses, &#8220;Go up this mountain in the Abarim Range and see the land I have given the Israelites. 13After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, 14for when the community rebelled at the waters in the Desert of Zin, both of you disobeyed my command to honor me as holy before their eyes.&#8221; (These were the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.)</div><div class="p"> 15Moses said to the Lord, 16&#8220;May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all living things, appoint someone over this community 17to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord&#8217;s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18So the Lord said to Moses, &#8220;Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership,#27:18 Or the Spirit and lay your hand on him. 19Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. 20Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him. 21He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly. 23Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the Lord instructed through Moses.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkMRK">
 <div class="chapter ch8" data-usfm="MRK.8">
 <div class="label">8</div><div class="s1">Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand</div><div class="p"> 1During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 2&#8220;I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. 3If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4His disciples answered, &#8220;But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5 &#8220;How many loaves do you have?&#8221; Jesus asked.</div><div class="p">&#8220;Seven,&#8221; they replied.</div><div class="p"> 6He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. 7They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. 8The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 9About four thousand were present. After he had sent them away, 10he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.</div><div class="p"> 11The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. 12He sighed deeply and said, &#8220;Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.&#8221; 13Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.</div><div class="s1">The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod</div><div class="p"> 14The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15&#8220;Be careful,&#8221; Jesus warned them. &#8220;Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16They discussed this with one another and said, &#8220;It is because we have no bread.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: &#8220;Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don&#8217;t you remember? 19When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Twelve,&#8221; they replied.</div><div class="p"> 20 &#8220;And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?&#8221;</div><div class="p">They answered, &#8220;Seven.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 21He said to them, &#8220;Do you still not understand?&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida</div><div class="p"> 22They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man&#8217;s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, &#8220;Do you see anything?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24He looked up and said, &#8220;I see people; they look like trees walking around.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25Once more Jesus put his hands on the man&#8217;s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26Jesus sent him home, saying, &#8220;Don&#8217;t even go into#8:26 Some manuscripts go and tell anyone in the village.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah</div><div class="p"> 27Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, &#8220;Who do people say I am?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 28They replied, &#8220;Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 29 &#8220;But what about you?&#8221; he asked. &#8220;Who do you say I am?&#8221;</div><div class="p">Peter answered, &#8220;You are the Messiah.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 30Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.</div><div class="s1">Jesus Predicts His Death</div><div class="p"> 31He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.</div><div class="p"> 33But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. &#8220;Get behind me, Satan!&#8221; he said. &#8220;You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Way of the Cross</div><div class="p"> 34Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: &#8220;Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35For whoever wants to save their life#8:35 The Greek word means either life or soul; also in verses 36 and 37. will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father&#8217;s glory with the holy angels.&#8221;</div>
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