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

When Grief or Loss Hits Like a Wave

Women of the New Testament

I Said Yes to Jesus: A 5-Day Journey to Take Your Next Steps in Faith by Youth Alive Australia

THE RIPPLE EFFECT: The Art of Discipleship

Seeing With Your Ears

Boundaries: A Biblical Perspective

Sent With Purpose

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

The Cultivation of Consistency

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

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Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

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 <div class="label">7</div><div class="s1">False Religion Worthless</div><div class="p"> 1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2&#8220;Stand at the gate of the Lord&#8217;s house and there proclaim this message:</div><div class="p">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. 3This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4Do not trust in deceptive words and say, &#8220;This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!&#8221; 5If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. 8But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.</div><div class="p"> 9&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury,#7:9 Or and swear by false gods burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, &#8220;We are safe&#8221;&#8212;safe to do all these detestable things? 11Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 12&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. 13While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. 14Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors. 15I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 16&#8220;So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you. 17Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to arouse my anger. 19But am I the one they are provoking? declares the Lord. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame?</div><div class="p"> 20&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place&#8212;on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the crops of your land&#8212;and it will burn and not be quenched.</div><div class="p"> 21&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! 22For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, 23but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. 24But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. 25From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. 26But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their ancestors.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 27&#8220;When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you; when you call to them, they will not answer. 28Therefore say to them, &#8216;This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips.</div><div class="p"> 29&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Cut off your hair and throw it away; take up a lament on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under his wrath.</div><div class="s1">The Valley of Slaughter</div><div class="p"> 30&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it. 31They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire&#8212;something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind. 32So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, for they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 33Then the carcasses of this people will become food for the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away. 34I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, for the land will become desolate.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch11" data-usfm="MAT.11">
 <div class="label">11</div><div class="s1">Jesus and John the Baptist</div><div class="p"> 1After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.#11:1 Greek in their towns</div><div class="p"> 2When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3to ask him, &#8220;Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4Jesus replied, &#8220;Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy#11:5 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin. are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7As John&#8217;s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: &#8220;What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings&#8217; palaces. 9Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10This is the one about whom it is written:</div><div class="q1"> &#8220;&#8198;&#8216;I will send my messenger ahead of you,</div><div class="q2"> who will prepare your way before you.&#8217; # 11:10 
 Mal. 3:1
 </div><div class="m"> 11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence,#11:12 Or been forcefully advancing and violent people have been raiding it. 13For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 15Whoever has ears, let them hear.</div><div class="p"> 16 &#8220;To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:</div><div class="q1"> 17 &#8220;&#8198;&#8216;We played the pipe for you,</div><div class="q2"> and you did not dance;</div><div class="q1"> we sang a dirge,</div><div class="q2"> and you did not mourn.&#8217;</div><div class="m"> 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, &#8216;He has a demon.&#8217; 19The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, &#8216;Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.&#8217; But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Woe on Unrepentant Towns</div><div class="p"> 20Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 21&#8220;Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.#11:23 That is, the realm of the dead For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Father Revealed in the Son</div><div class="p"> 25At that time Jesus said, &#8220;I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.</div><div class="p"> 27 &#8220;All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.</div><div class="p"> 28 &#8220;Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkMAT">
 <div class="chapter ch23" data-usfm="MAT.23">
 <div class="label">23</div><div class="s1">A Warning Against Hypocrisy</div><div class="p"> 1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2&#8220;The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses&#8217; seat. 3So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people&#8217;s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.</div><div class="p"> 5 &#8220;Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries # 23:5 That is, boxes containing Scripture verses, worn on forehead and arm wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called &#8216;Rabbi&#8217; by others.</div><div class="p"> 8 &#8220;But you are not to be called &#8216;Rabbi,&#8217; for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9And do not call anyone on earth &#8216;father,&#8217; for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11The greatest among you will be your servant. 12For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.</div><div class="s1">Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees</div><div class="p"> 13 &#8220;Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people&#8217;s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. [14]#23:14 Some manuscripts include here words similar to Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47.</div><div class="p"> 15 &#8220;Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.</div><div class="p"> 16 &#8220;Woe to you, blind guides! You say, &#8216;If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.&#8217; 17You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18You also say, &#8216;If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.&#8217; 19You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God&#8217;s throne and by the one who sits on it.</div><div class="p"> 23 &#8220;Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices&#8212;mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law&#8212;justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.</div><div class="p"> 25 &#8220;Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.</div><div class="p"> 27 &#8220;Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.</div><div class="p"> 29 &#8220;Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30And you say, &#8216;If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.&#8217; 31So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!</div><div class="p"> 33 &#8220;You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.</div><div class="p"> 37 &#8220;Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, &#8216;Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.&#8217;#23:39 Psalm 118:26&#8221;</div>
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 <div class="chapter ch15" data-usfm="MRK.15">
 <div class="label">15</div><div class="s1">Jesus Before Pilate</div><div class="p"> 1Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.</div><div class="p"> 2&#8220;Are you the king of the Jews?&#8221; asked Pilate.</div><div class="p"> &#8220;You have said so,&#8221; Jesus replied.</div><div class="p"> 3The chief priests accused him of many things. 4So again Pilate asked him, &#8220;Aren&#8217;t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.</div><div class="p"> 6Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.</div><div class="p"> 9&#8220;Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?&#8221; asked Pilate, 10knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.</div><div class="p"> 12&#8220;What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?&#8221; Pilate asked them.</div><div class="p"> 13&#8220;Crucify him!&#8221; they shouted.</div><div class="p"> 14&#8220;Why? What crime has he committed?&#8221; asked Pilate.</div><div class="p">But they shouted all the louder, &#8220;Crucify him!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.</div><div class="s1">The Soldiers Mock Jesus</div><div class="p"> 16The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18And they began to call out to him, &#8220;Hail, king of the Jews!&#8221; 19Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.</div><div class="s1">The Crucifixion of Jesus</div><div class="p"> 21A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means &#8220;the place of the skull&#8221;). 23Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.</div><div class="p"> 25It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. 26The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.</div><div class="p"> 27They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. [28]#15:28 Some manuscripts include here words similar to Luke 22:37. 29Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, &#8220;So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30come down from the cross and save yourself!&#8221; 31In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. &#8220;He saved others,&#8221; they said, &#8220;but he can&#8217;t save himself! 32Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.&#8221; Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.</div><div class="s1">The Death of Jesus</div><div class="p"> 33At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, &#8220;Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?&#8221; (which means &#8220;My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?&#8221;).#15:34 Psalm 22:1</div><div class="p"> 35When some of those standing near heard this, they said, &#8220;Listen, he&#8217;s calling Elijah.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 36Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. &#8220;Now leave him alone. Let&#8217;s see if Elijah comes to take him down,&#8221; he said.</div><div class="p"> 37With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.</div><div class="p"> 38The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died,#15:39 Some manuscripts saw that he died with such a cry he said, &#8220;Surely this man was the Son of God!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 40Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph,#15:40 Greek Joses, a variant of Joseph; also in verse 47 and Salome. 41In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.</div><div class="s1">The Burial of Jesus</div><div class="p"> 42It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus&#8217; body. 44Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkMRK">
 <div class="chapter ch16" data-usfm="MRK.16">
 <div class="label">16</div><div class="s1">Jesus Has Risen</div><div class="p"> 1When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus&#8217; body. 2Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3and they asked each other, &#8220;Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.</div><div class="p"> 6&#8220;Don&#8217;t be alarmed,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter, &#8216;He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.#16:8 Some manuscripts have the following ending between verses 8 and 9, and one manuscript has it after verse 8 (omitting verses 9-20): Then they quickly reported all these instructions to those around Peter. After this, Jesus himself also sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. Amen.</div><div class="iex">[The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9&#8211;20.]</div><div class="p"> 9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. 11When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.</div><div class="p"> 12 Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.</div><div class="p"> 14 Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.</div><div class="p"> 15 He said to them, &#8220;Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.</div>
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