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Bible Study 2: Naomi's Journey - Finding Strength in Mentorship

Shatter the Stigma

A People Set Apart | Men's Devotional

Seize the Day: A 3-Day Marriage Plan

Childrearing With the End in View: A 3-Day Parenting Plan

Bible Study 3: Philip - Seizing Mentoring Moments

Allowing Our Children to Grow and Go: A 3-Day Parenting Plan

The Sound of Worship: Lessons From Revelation

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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2KI">
 <div class="chapter ch1" data-usfm="2KI.1">
 <div class="label">1</div><div class="s1">The Lord&#8217;s Judgment on Ahaziah</div><div class="p"> 1After Ahab&#8217;s death, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, &#8220;Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, &#8220;Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, &#8216;Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?&#8217; 4Therefore this is what the Lord says: &#8216;You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; So Elijah went.</div><div class="p"> 5When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, &#8220;Why have you come back?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6&#8220;A man came to meet us,&#8221; they replied. &#8220;And he said to us, &#8216;Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!&#8221;&#8198;&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7The king asked them, &#8220;What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8They replied, &#8220;He had a garment of hair#1:8 Or He was a hairy man and had a leather belt around his waist.&#8221;</div><div class="p">The king said, &#8220;That was Elijah the Tishbite.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, &#8220;Man of God, the king says, &#8216;Come down!&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10Elijah answered the captain, &#8220;If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!&#8221; Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.</div><div class="p"> 11At this the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. The captain said to him, &#8220;Man of God, this is what the king says, &#8216;Come down at once!&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12&#8220;If I am a man of God,&#8221; Elijah replied, &#8220;may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!&#8221; Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.</div><div class="p"> 13So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. &#8220;Man of God,&#8221; he begged, &#8220;please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! 14See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, &#8220;Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.&#8221; So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.</div><div class="p"> 16He told the king, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!&#8221; 17So he died, according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken.</div><div class="p">Because Ahaziah had no son, Joram#1:17 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant of Joram succeeded him as king in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. 18As for all the other events of Ahaziah&#8217;s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2KI">
 <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="2KI.2">
 <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1">Elijah Taken Up to Heaven</div><div class="p"> 1When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2Elijah said to Elisha, &#8220;Stay here; the Lord has sent me to Bethel.&#8221;</div><div class="p">But Elisha said, &#8220;As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.&#8221; So they went down to Bethel.</div><div class="p"> 3The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, &#8220;Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Yes, I know,&#8221; Elisha replied, &#8220;so be quiet.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4Then Elijah said to him, &#8220;Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.&#8221;</div><div class="p">And he replied, &#8220;As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.&#8221; So they went to Jericho.</div><div class="p"> 5The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, &#8220;Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Yes, I know,&#8221; he replied, &#8220;so be quiet.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6Then Elijah said to him, &#8220;Stay here; the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.&#8221;</div><div class="p">And he replied, &#8220;As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.&#8221; So the two of them walked on.</div><div class="p"> 7Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.</div><div class="p"> 9When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, &#8220;Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,&#8221; Elisha replied.</div><div class="p"> 10&#8220;You have asked a difficult thing,&#8221; Elijah said, &#8220;yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours&#8212;otherwise, it will not.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12Elisha saw this and cried out, &#8220;My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!&#8221; And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two.</div><div class="p"> 13Elisha then picked up Elijah&#8217;s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. &#8220;Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?&#8221; he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.</div><div class="p"> 15The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, &#8220;The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.&#8221; And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. 16&#8220;Look,&#8221; they said, &#8220;we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;No,&#8221; Elisha replied, &#8220;do not send them.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17But they persisted until he was too embarrassed to refuse. So he said, &#8220;Send them.&#8221; And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. 18When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, &#8220;Didn&#8217;t I tell you not to go?&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Healing of the Water</div><div class="p"> 19The people of the city said to Elisha, &#8220;Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20&#8220;Bring me a new bowl,&#8221; he said, &#8220;and put salt in it.&#8221; So they brought it to him.</div><div class="p"> 21Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: &#8216;I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; 22And the water has remained pure to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.</div><div class="s1">Elisha Is Jeered</div><div class="p"> 23From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. &#8220;Get out of here, baldy!&#8221; they said. &#8220;Get out of here, baldy!&#8221; 24He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. 25And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2KI">
 <div class="chapter ch3" data-usfm="2KI.3">
 <div class="label">3</div><div class="s1">Moab Revolts</div><div class="p"> 1Joram#3:1 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant of Joram; also in verse 6 son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years. 2He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father and mother had done. He got rid of the sacred stone of Baal that his father had made. 3Nevertheless he clung to the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.</div><div class="p"> 4Now Mesha king of Moab raised sheep, and he had to pay the king of Israel a tribute of a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams. 5But after Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6So at that time King Joram set out from Samaria and mobilized all Israel. 7He also sent this message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: &#8220;The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;I will go with you,&#8221; he replied. &#8220;I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8&#8220;By what route shall we attack?&#8221; he asked.</div><div class="p">&#8220;Through the Desert of Edom,&#8221; he answered.</div><div class="p"> 9So the king of Israel set out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. After a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for the animals with them.</div><div class="p"> 10&#8220;What!&#8221; exclaimed the king of Israel. &#8220;Has the Lord called us three kings together only to deliver us into the hands of Moab?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11But Jehoshaphat asked, &#8220;Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord?&#8221;</div><div class="p">An officer of the king of Israel answered, &#8220;Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.#3:11 That is, he was Elijah&#8217;s personal servant.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12Jehoshaphat said, &#8220;The word of the Lord is with him.&#8221; So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.</div><div class="p"> 13Elisha said to the king of Israel, &#8220;Why do you want to involve me? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;No,&#8221; the king of Israel answered, &#8220;because it was the Lord who called us three kings together to deliver us into the hands of Moab.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14Elisha said, &#8220;As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not pay any attention to you. 15But now bring me a harpist.&#8221;</div><div class="p">While the harpist was playing, the hand of the Lord came on Elisha 16and he said, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: I will fill this valley with pools of water. 17For this is what the Lord says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. 18This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord; he will also deliver Moab into your hands. 19You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20The next morning, about the time for offering the sacrifice, there it was&#8212;water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water.</div><div class="p"> 21Now all the Moabites had heard that the kings had come to fight against them; so every man, young and old, who could bear arms was called up and stationed on the border. 22When they got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water. To the Moabites across the way, the water looked red&#8212;like blood. 23&#8220;That&#8217;s blood!&#8221; they said. &#8220;Those kings must have fought and slaughtered each other. Now to the plunder, Moab!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24But when the Moabites came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and fought them until they fled. And the Israelites invaded the land and slaughtered the Moabites. 25They destroyed the towns, and each man threw a stone on every good field until it was covered. They stopped up all the springs and cut down every good tree. Only Kir Hareseth was left with its stones in place, but men armed with slings surrounded it and attacked it.</div><div class="p"> 26When the king of Moab saw that the battle had gone against him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom, but they failed. 27Then he took his firstborn son, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him as a sacrifice on the city wall. The fury against Israel was great; they withdrew and returned to their own land.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkJAS">
 <div class="chapter ch1" data-usfm="JAS.1">
 <div class="label">1</div><div class="p"> 1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p">To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p">Greetings.</div><div class="s1">Trials and Temptations</div><div class="p"> 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,#1:2 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God&#8217;s family; also in verses 16 and 19; and in 2:1, 5, 14; 3:10, 12; 4:11; 5:7, 9, 10, 12, 19. whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.</div><div class="p"> 9Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. 10But the rich should take pride in their humiliation&#8212;since they will pass away like a wild flower. 11For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.</div><div class="p"> 12Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.</div><div class="p"> 13When tempted, no one should say, &#8220;God is tempting me.&#8221; For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.</div><div class="p"> 16Don&#8217;t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.</div><div class="s1">Listening and Doing</div><div class="p"> 19My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.</div><div class="p"> 22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it&#8212;not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it&#8212;they will be blessed in what they do.</div><div class="p"> 26Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.</div>
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