Let's shift our focus away from our circumstances and turn our attention to Jesus.
As the world rushes on,
We are choosing to slow down and listen.
Let's trade our exhaustion for his endurance.
Lord,
Wash away the stress of the day with the clarity of your scripture.
Guide us into a place of peace where we can hear from you.
And let us absorb your word with a sound mind.
Amen.
Psalm 34.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
" My soul shall boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me!
Let's exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord,
And he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried,
And the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
O fear the Lord,
You his saints!
For there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger.
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come,
You children,
Listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is someone who desires life and loves many days.
That he may see good.
Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
The Lord's face is against those who do evil.
To cut off their memory from the Earth.
The righteous cry,
And the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.
And saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
None of those who take refuge in Him shall be condemned.
Thank you.
Isaiah 53 who has believed our message.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
No beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces.
He was despised,
And we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.
Yet we considered him stricken,
Struck down by God,
And afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his stripes we are healed.
We all like sheep have gone astray,
Each one has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
So he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment,
He was taken away.
And who can recount his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer.
And when his soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring,
He will prolong his days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
After the anguish of his soul.
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
My righteous servant will justify many,
And he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore,
I will allot him a portion with the great,
And he will divide the spoils with the strong.
Because he has poured out his life unto death,
And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
John 14.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
You believe in God,
Believe in me as well.
In my father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and welcome you into my presence,
So that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Lord,
" said Thomas,
We do not know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you had known me,
You would know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
Show us the Father,
And that will be enough for us.
Jesus replied,
Philip,
I have been with you all this time,
And still you do not know me.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
And the Father is in me?
The words I say to you I do not speak on my own.
Instead,
It is the Father dwelling in me,
Performing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly,
Truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate to be with you forever,
The Spirit of Truth.
" The world cannot receive him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you do know Him,
For He abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see me no more,
But you will see me.
Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will know that I am in my father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my father,
And I will love him and reveal myself to him.
Judas,
Not Iscariot,
Asked him.
Lord,
Why are you going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?
Jesus replied.
If anyone loves me,
He will keep my word.
My father will love him,
And we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
The word that you hear is not my own,
But it is from the Father who sent me.
" All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
But the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name.
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
Do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
Because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer,
For the prince of this world is coming,
And he has no claim on me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded me,
So that the world may know that I love the Father.
Let us go on from here.
2 Corinthians 4 Therefore,
Since God,
In his mercy,
Has given us this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
Instead,
We have renounced secret in shameful ways.
We do not practice deceit,
Nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary,
By open proclamation of the truth,
We commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
Who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves,
But Jesus Christ as Lord,
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God,
Who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard-pressed on all sides,
But not crushed.
Perplexed,
But not in despair.
Persecuted,
But not forsaken.
Struck down,
But not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then,
Death is at work in us,
But life is at work in you.
And in keeping with what is written.
I believed,
Therefore I have spoken.
We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
All this is for your benefit,
So that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore,
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
Yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled,
We have a building from God,
An eternal house in heaven,
Not built by human hands.
For in this tent we groan,
Longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
Because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent,
We groan under our burdens,
Because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed,
So that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident,
Although we know that while we are at home in the body,
We are away from the Lord.
For we walk by faith,
Not by sight.
We are confident then,
And would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we aspire to please him,
Whether we are at home in this body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
That each one may receive his due for the things done in the body,
Whether good or bad.
Therefore,
Since we know what it means to fear the Lord,
We try to persuade men.
What we are is clear to God,
And I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
We are not commending ourselves to you again.
Instead,
We are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
So that you can answer those who take pride in appearances,
Rather than in the heart.
If we are out of our mind,
It is for God.
If we are of sound mind,
It is for you.
For Christ's love compels us,
Because we are convinced that one died for all,
Therefore all died.
And he died for all,
That those who live should no longer live for themselves,
But for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.
Although we once regarded Christ in this way,
We do so no longer.
Therefore,
If anyone is in Christ,
He is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
The new has come.
All this is from God,
Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
Not counting men's trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore,
We are ambassadors for Christ,
As though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ.
Be reconciled to God.
God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 1 Peter,
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
To the elect who are exiles of the dispersion throughout Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
And Bithynia.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
And sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By his great mercy,
He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And into an inheritance that is imperishable,
Undefiled and unfading,
Reserved in heaven for you,
Who through faith are shielded by God's power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this,
You greatly rejoice.
Though now,
For a little while,
You may have had to suffer grief in various trials,
So that the proven character of your fate more precious than gold,
Which perishes even though refined by fire,
May result in praise,
Glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen Him,
You love Him.
And though you do not see him now,
You believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
The salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation,
The prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
Trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
But you,
When they foretold the things now announced by those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore,
Prepare your minds for action.
Be sober-minded.
Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children,
Do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
But just as He who called you is holy.
So be holy in all you do,
For it is written,
Be holy,
Because I am holy.
Since you call on a father who judges each one's work impartially,
Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
But with the precious blood of Christ,
A lamb without blemish or spot.
He was known before the foundation of the world,
But was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God,
Who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
And so your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers.
Love one another deeply,
From a pure heart.
For you have been born again,
Not of perishable seed,
But of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God.
For all flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flowers of the field.
Grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord stands forever.
" And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 147 Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
How pleasant and lovely to praise him.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars.
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord,
And mighty in power.
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble,
But casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth.
Who makes grass to grow on the hills.
He provides food for the animals and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
Who hope in his loving devotion.
Exalt the Lord,
O Jerusalem.
Praise your God,
O Zion.
For he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
He makes peace at your borders.
He fills you with the finest wheat.
Sends forth his command to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool.
Scatters the frost like ashes,
He casts forth his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends forth his word and melts them.
He unleashes his winds and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Hallelujah.
Revelation 21.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Then I,
John,
Saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem.
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men.
And he will dwell with them,
And they shall be his people.
God himself will be with them.
And be their God.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
Nor sorrow,
Nor crying.
There shall be no more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said to me,
Write,
For these words are true and faithful.
And he said to me,
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
The beginning and the end.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
And I will be his God,
And he shall be my son.
But the cowardly,
Unbelieving,
Abominable,
Murderers,
Sexually immoral,
Sorcerers,
Idolaters,
And all liars shall have their part in the lake,
Which burns with fire and brimstone,
Which is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels,
Who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,
Came to me and talked with me,
Saying,
Come,
I will show you the bride,
The Lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
And showed me the great city,
The holy Jerusalem.
Descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God.
Her light was like a most precious stone.
Like a jasper stone,
Clear as crystal.
Also she had a great and high wall,
With twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates,
And names written on them,
Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Three gates on the east,
Three gates on the north,
Three gates on the south,
And three gates on the west.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city is laid out as a square,
Its length being the same as its width.
And he measured the city with the reed.
Twelve thousand furlongs.
Its length,
Breadth,
And height are equal.
Then he measured its wall,
144 cubits,
According to the measure of a man,
That is,
Of an angel.
The construction of its wall was of jasper.
And the city was pure gold,
Like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was Jasper.
The second Sapphire,
The third Chalcedony,
The fourth Emerald,
The fifth Sardonyx,
The sixth Sardius,
The seventh Chrysolite,
The eighth Beryl,
The ninth Topaz,
The tenth Chrysoprase,
The eleventh Jacinthe,
And the twelfth Amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each individual gate was of one pearl,
And the street of the city was pure gold,
Like transparent glass.
But I saw no temple in it.
For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God illuminated it.
The lamb is its light.
And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light,
And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day.
There shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles,
Or causes an abomination,
Or a lie.
But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Psalm 34.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
" My soul shall boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me!
Let's exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord,
And he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried,
And the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
O fear the Lord,
You his saints!
For there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger.
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come,
You children,
Listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is someone who desires life and loves many days.
That he may see good.
Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
The Lord's face is against those who do evil.
To cut off their memory from the Earth.
The righteous cry,
And the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.
And saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
None of those who take refuge in Him shall be condemned.
Isaiah 53 who has believed our message.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
No beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces,
He was despised and we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.
Yet we considered him stricken,
Struck down by God,
And afflicted.
He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his stripes we are healed.
" We all like sheep have gone astray,
Each one has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
So he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment,
He was taken away.
And who can recount his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer.
And when his soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring,
He will prolong his days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
After the anguish of his soul.
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
My righteous servant will justify many,
And he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore,
I will allot him a portion with the great,
And he will divide the spoils with the strong.
Because he has poured out his life unto death,
And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
John 14.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
You believe in God,
Believe in me as well.
In my father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and welcome you into my presence,
So that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Lord,
" said Thomas,
We do not know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you had known me,
You would know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
Show us the Father,
And that will be enough for us.
Jesus replied,
Philip,
I have been with you all this time,
And still you do not know me.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
And the Father is in me?
The words I say to you I do not speak on my own.
Instead,
It is the Father dwelling in me,
Performing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly,
Truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
" If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate to be with you forever,
The Spirit of Truth.
" The world cannot receive him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you do know Him,
For He abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see me no more,
But you will see me.
Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will know that I am in my Father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my father,
And I will love him and reveal myself to him.
Judas,
Not Iscariot,
Asked him.
Lord,
Why are you going to reveal yourself to us,
Not to the world?
Jesus replied,
If anyone loves me,
He will keep my word.
My father will love him,
And we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
The word that you hear is not my own,
But it is from the Father who sent me.
All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
" but the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name.
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
Because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer,
For the prince of this world is coming,
And he has no claim on me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded me,
So that the world may know that I love the Father.
Let us go on from here.
2 Corinthians 4 Therefore,
Since God,
In his mercy,
Has given us this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
Instead,
We have renounced secret in shameful ways.
We do not practice deceit,
Nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary,
By open proclamation of the truth,
We commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
Who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves,
But Jesus Christ as Lord,
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God,
Who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard-pressed on all sides,
But not crushed.
Perplexed,
But not in despair.
Persecuted,
But not forsaken.
Struck down,
But not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then,
Death is at work in us,
But life is at work in you.
And in keeping with what is written.
I believed,
Therefore I have spoken.
We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
All this is for your benefit,
So that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore,
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
Yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled,
We have a building from God,
An eternal house in heaven,
Not built by human hands.
For in this tent we groan,
Longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
Because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent,
We groan under our burdens,
Because we do not wish to be unclothed,
But clothed,
So that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident,
Although we know that while we are at home in the body,
We are away from the Lord.
For we walk by faith,
Not by sight.
We are confident then,
And would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we aspire to please him,
Whether we are at home in this body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
That each one may receive his due for the things done in the body,
Whether good or bad.
Therefore,
Since we know what it means to fear the Lord,
We try to persuade men.
What we are is clear to God,
And I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
We are not commending ourselves to you again.
Instead,
We are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
So that you can answer those who take pride in appearances,
Rather than in the heart.
If we are out of our mind,
It is for God.
If we are of sound mind,
It is for you.
For Christ's love compels us,
Because we are convinced that one died for all,
Therefore all died.
And he died for all,
That those who live should no longer live for themselves,
But for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.
Although we once regarded Christ in this way,
We do so no longer.
Therefore,
If anyone is in Christ,
He is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
The new has come.
All this is from God,
Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
Not counting men's trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore,
We are ambassadors for Christ,
As though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
Be reconciled to God.
God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 1.
Peter,
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
To the elect who are exiles of the dispersion throughout Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
And Bithynia.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
And sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By His great mercy,
He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And into an inheritance that is imperishable,
Undefiled and unfading,
Reserved in heaven for you,
Who through faith are shielded by God's power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this,
You greatly rejoice.
Though now,
For a little while,
You may have had to suffer grief in various trials,
So that the proven character of your faith more precious than gold,
Which perishes even though refined by fire,
May result in praise,
Glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him,
You love him.
And though you do not see him now,
You believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
The salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation,
The prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
Trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
But you,
When they foretold the things now announced by those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore,
Prepare your minds for action.
Be sober-minded.
Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children,
Do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
But just as He who called you is holy.
So be holy in all you do,
For it is written,
Be holy,
Because I am holy.
Since you call on a father who judges each one's work impartially,
Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
But with the precious blood of Christ,
A lamb without blemish or spot.
He was known before the foundation of the world,
But was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God,
Who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
And so your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth,
So that you have a genuine love for your brothers.
Love one another deeply,
From a pure heart.
For you have been born again,
Not of perishable seed,
But of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God.
For all flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord stands forever.
And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 147.
Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
How pleasant and lovely to praise him.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Determines the number of the stars.
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord,
And mighty in power,
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble,
But casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the hills.
He provides food for the animals and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
Who hope in his loving devotion.
Exalt the Lord,
O Jerusalem.
Praise your God,
O Zion.
For he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
Makes peace at your borders.
He fills you with the finest wheat.
" sends forth his command to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool.
He scatters the frost like ashes.
He casts forth his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends forth his word and melts them.
He unleashes his winds and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Hallelujah.
Revelation 21.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Then I,
John,
Saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem.
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men.
And he will dwell with them,
And they shall be his people.
God himself will be with them,
And be their God.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
Nor sorrow,
Nor crying.
There shall be no more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said to me,
Write,
For these words are true and faithful.
And he said to me,
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega.
The beginning and the end.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
And I will be his God,
And he shall be my son.
But the cowardly,
Unbelieving,
Abominable,
Murderers,
Sexually immoral,
Sorcerers,
Idolaters,
And all liars shall have their part in the lake,
Which burns with fire and brimstone,
Which is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels,
Who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,
Came to me and talked with me,
Saying,
Come,
I will show you the bride,
The Lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
And showed me the great city,
The holy Jerusalem.
Descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God.
Her light was like a most precious stone.
Like a jasper stone,
Clear as crystal.
Also she had a great and high wall,
With twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates,
And names written on them,
Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Three gates on the east,
Three gates on the north,
Three gates on the south,
And three gates on the west.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city is laid out as a square,
Its length being the same as its width.
And he measured the city with the reed,
Twelve thousand furlongs.
Its length,
Breadth,
And height are equal.
Then he measured its wall.
144 cubits,
According to the measure of a man,
That is,
Of an angel.
The construction of its wall was of jasper.
And the city was pure gold,
Like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was jasper,
The second sapphire,
The third chalcedony,
The fourth emerald,
The fifth sardonyx,
The sixth sardius,
The seventh chrysolite,
The eighth beryl,
The ninth topaz,
The tenth chrysoprase,
The eleventh jacinth,
And the twelfth amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each individual gate was of one pearl.
And the street of the city was pure gold,
Like transparent glass.
But I saw no temple in it.
For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God illuminated it.
The Lamb.
Is its light.
And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light.
And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day.
There shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles,
Or causes an abomination,
Or a lie.
But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Psalm 34.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
My soul shall boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me!
Let's exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord,
And he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried,
And the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
O fear the Lord,
You his saints!
For there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger.
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come,
You children,
Listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is someone who desires life and loves many days.
That he may see good.
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
The Lord's face is against those who do evil.
To cut off their memory from the Earth.
The righteous cry,
And the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.
And saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
None of those who take refuge in Him shall be condemned.
Isaiah 53 who has believed our message.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
No beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces,
He was despised and we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.
Yet we considered him stricken,
Struck down by God,
And afflicted.
He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his stripes we are healed.
We all like sheep have gone astray,
Each one has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
So he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment,
He was taken away.
And who can recount his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
Was assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer.
And when his soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring,
He will prolong his days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
After the anguish of his soul.
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
My righteous servant will justify many,
And he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore,
I will allot him a portion with the great,
And he will divide the spoils with the strong.
Because he has poured out his life unto death,
And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
John 14.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
You believe in God,
Believe in me as well.
In my father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and welcome you into my presence,
So that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Lord,
" said Thomas,
We do not know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you had known me,
You would know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
Show us the Father,
And that will be enough for us.
Jesus replied,
Philip,
I have been with you all this time,
And still you do not know me.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
And the Father is in me?
The words I say to you,
I do not speak on my own.
Instead,
It is the Father dwelling in me,
Performing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly,
Truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
" If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate to be with you forever,
The Spirit of Truth.
" The world cannot receive him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you do know Him,
For He abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans,
I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see me no more,
But you will see me.
Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will know that I am in my Father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my father,
And I will love him and reveal myself to him.
Judas,
Not Iscariot,
Asked him,
Lord,
Why are you going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?
Jesus replied,
If anyone loves me,
He will keep my word.
My father will love him,
And we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
The word that you hear is not my own,
But it is from the Father who sent me.
All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
" but the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name,
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
Because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer,
For the prince of this world is coming,
And he has no claim on me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded me,
So that the world may know that I love the Father.
Let us go on from here.
2 Corinthians 4 Therefore,
Since God,
In his mercy,
Has given us this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
Instead,
We have renounced secret and shameful ways.
We do not practice deceit,
Nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary,
By open proclamation of the truth,
We commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
Who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves,
But Jesus Christ as Lord,
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God,
Who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard-pressed on all sides,
But not crushed.
Perplexed,
But not in despair.
Persecuted,
But not forsaken.
Struck down,
But not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus.
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then,
Death is at work in us,
But life is at work in you.
And in keeping with what is written.
I believed,
Therefore I have spoken.
We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
All this is for your benefit,
So that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore,
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
Yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled,
We have a building from God,
An eternal house in heaven,
Not built by human hands.
For in this tent we groan,
Longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
Because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent,
We groan under our burdens,
Because we do not wish to be unclothed,
But clothed,
So that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident,
Although we know that while we are at home in the body,
We are away from the Lord.
For we walk by faith,
Not by sight.
We are confident then,
And would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we aspire to please him,
Whether we are at home in this body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
That each one may receive his due for the things done in the body,
Whether good or bad.
Therefore,
Since we know what it means to fear the Lord,
We try to persuade men.
What we are is clear to God,
And I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
We are not commending ourselves to you again.
Instead,
We are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
So that you can answer those who take pride in appearances,
Rather than in the heart.
If we are out of our mind,
It is for God.
If we are of sound mind,
It is for you.
For Christ's love compels us,
Because we are convinced that one died for all,
Therefore all died.
And he died for all,
That those who live should no longer live for themselves,
But for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.
Although we once regarded Christ in this way,
We do so no longer.
Therefore,
If anyone is in Christ,
He is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
The new has come.
All this is from God,
Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
Not counting men's trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore,
We are ambassadors for Christ,
As though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ.
Be reconciled to God.
God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 1 Peter,
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
To the elect who are exiles of the dispersion throughout Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
And Bithynia.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
And sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By his great mercy,
He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And into an inheritance that is imperishable,
Undefiled and unfading,
Reserved in heaven for you,
Who through faith are shielded by God's power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this,
You greatly rejoice.
Though now,
For a little while,
You may have had to suffer grief in various trials,
So that the proven character of your faith more precious than gold,
Which perishes even though refined by fire,
May result in praise,
Glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him,
You love him.
And though you do not see him now,
You believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
The salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation,
The prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
Trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
But you,
When they foretold the things now announced by those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore,
Prepare your minds for action.
Be sober-minded.
Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children,
Do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
But just as He who called you is holy.
So be holy in all you do,
For it is written,
Be holy,
Because I am holy.
Since you call on a father who judges each one's work impartially,
Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
But with the precious blood of Christ,
A lamb without blemish or spot.
He was known before the foundation of the world,
But was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God,
Who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
And so your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth,
So that you have a genuine love for your brothers.
Love one another deeply,
From a pure heart.
For you have been born again,
Not of perishable seed,
But of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God.
For all flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flowers of the field.
Grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord stands forever.
" And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 147.
Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
How pleasant and lovely to praise him.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Determines the number of the stars.
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord,
And mighty in power.
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble,
But casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the hills.
He provides food for the animals and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
Who hope in his loving devotion.
Exalt the Lord,
O Jerusalem.
Praise your God,
O Zion.
For he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
Makes peace at your borders.
He fills you with the finest wheat.
" sends forth his command to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool.
Scatters the frost like ashes,
He casts forth his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends forth his word and melts them.
He unleashes his winds and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Hallelujah.
Revelation 21.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Then I,
John,
Saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem.
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men.
And He will dwell with them,
And they shall be His people.
God himself will be with them and be their God,
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
Nor sorrow,
Nor crying.
There shall be no more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said to me,
Write,
For these words are true and faithful.
And he said to me,
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
The beginning and the end.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
And I will be his God,
And he shall be my son.
But the cowardly,
Unbelieving,
Abominable,
Murderers,
Sexually immoral,
Sorcerers,
Idolaters,
And all liars shall have their part in the lake,
Which burns with fire and brimstone,
Which is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels,
Who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,
Came to me and talked with me,
Saying,
Come,
I will show you the bride,
The Lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
And showed me the great city,
The holy Jerusalem.
Descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God.
Her light was like a most precious stone.
Like a jasper stone,
Clear as crystal.
Also she had a great and high wall,
With twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates,
And names written on them,
Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Three gates on the east,
Three gates on the north,
Three gates on the south,
And three gates on the west.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city is laid out as a square,
Its length being the same as its width.
And he measured the city with the reed,
Twelve thousand furlongs.
Its length,
Breadth,
And height are equal.
Then he measured its wall.
144 cubits,
According to the measure of a man,
That is,
Of an angel.
The construction of its wall was of jasper.
And the city was pure gold,
Like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was Jasper.
The second,
Sapphire.
The third,
Chalcedony.
The fourth,
Emerald.
The fifth,
Sardonyx.
The sixth,
Sardius.
The seventh,
Chrysolite.
The eighth,
Beryl.
The ninth,
Topaz.
The tenth,
Chrysoprase.
The eleventh,
Jacinthe.
And the twelfth,
Amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each individual gate was of one pearl.
And the street of the city was pure gold,
Like transparent glass.
But I saw no temple in it,
For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
City had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God illuminated it.
The Lamb.
Is its light.
And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light.
And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day.
There shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles,
Or causes an abomination,
Or a lie.
But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Psalm 34.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
My soul shall boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me!
Let's exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord,
And he answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried,
And the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
O fear the Lord,
You his saints!
For there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger.
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come,
You children.
Listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is someone who desires life and loves many days.
That he may see good.
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
The Lord's face is against those who do evil.
To cut off their memory from the Earth.
The righteous cry,
And the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.
And saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
None of those who take refuge in Him shall be condemned.
Isaiah 53 who has believed our message.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
No beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces.
He was despised,
And we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.
Yet we considered him stricken,
Struck down by God,
And afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his stripes we are healed.
We all like sheep have gone astray,
Each one has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
So he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment,
He was taken away.
And who can recount his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer.
And when his soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring,
He will prolong his days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
After the anguish of his soul.
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
My righteous servant will justify many,
And he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
And he will divide the spoils with the strong.
Because he has poured out his life unto death,
And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
John 14.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
You believe in God,
Believe in me as well.
In my father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and welcome you into my presence,
So that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Lord,
" said Thomas,
We do not know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you had known me,
You would know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
Show us the Father,
And that will be enough for us.
Jesus replied,
Philip,
I have been with you all this time,
And still you do not know me.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
And the Father is in me?
The words I say to you,
I do not speak on my own.
Instead,
It is the Father dwelling in me,
Performing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly,
Truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
" If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate to be with you forever,
The Spirit of Truth.
" The world cannot receive him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you do know him,
For he abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see me no more,
But you will see me.
Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will know that I am in my father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my father,
And I will love him and reveal myself to him.
Judas,
Not Iscariot,
Asked him.
Lord,
Why are you going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?
Jesus replied.
If anyone loves me,
He will keep my word.
My father will love him,
And we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
The word that you hear is not my own,
But it is from the Father who sent me.
" All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
" but the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name,
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
Do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
Because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer,
For the prince of this world is coming,
And he has no claim on me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded me,
So that the world may know that I love the Father.
Let us go on from here.
2 Corinthians 4 Therefore,
Since God,
In his mercy,
Has given us this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
Instead,
We have renounced secret and shameful ways.
We do not practice deceit,
Nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary,
By open proclamation of the truth,
We commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
Who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves,
But Jesus Christ as Lord,
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God,
Who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard-pressed on all sides,
But not crushed.
Perplexed,
But not in despair.
Persecuted,
But not forsaken.
Struck down,
But not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus.
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then,
Death is at work in us,
But life is at work in you.
And in keeping with what is written.
I believed,
Therefore I have spoken.
We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
All this is for your benefit,
So that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore,
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
Yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled,
We have a building from God,
An eternal house in heaven,
Not built by human hands.
For in this tent we groan,
Longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
Because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent,
We groan under our burdens,
Because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed,
So that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident,
Although we know that while we are at home in the body,
We are away from the Lord.
For we walk by faith,
Not by sight.
We are confident then,
And would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we aspire to please him,
Whether we are at home in this body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
That each one may receive his due for the things done in the body,
Whether good or bad.
Therefore,
Since we know what it means to fear the Lord,
We try to persuade men.
What we are is clear to God,
And I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
We are not commending ourselves to you again.
Instead,
We are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
So that you can answer those who take pride in appearances,
Rather than in the heart.
If we are out of our mind,
It is for God.
If we are of sound mind,
It is for you.
For Christ's love compels us,
Because we are convinced that one died for all,
Therefore all die.
And he died for all,
That those who live should no longer live for themselves,
But for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.
Although we once regarded Christ in this way,
We do so no longer.
Therefore,
If anyone is in Christ,
He is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
The new has come.
All this is from God,
Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
Not counting men's trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore,
We are ambassadors for Christ,
As though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
Be reconciled to God.
God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 1 Peter,
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
To the elect who are exiles of the dispersion throughout Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
And Bithynia.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
And sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By his great mercy,
He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And into an inheritance that is imperishable,
Undefiled and unfading,
Reserved in heaven for you,
Who through faith are shielded by God's power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this,
You greatly rejoice.
Though now,
For a little while,
You may have had to suffer grief in various trials,
So that the proven character of your faith more precious than gold,
Which perishes even though refined by fire,
May result in praise,
Glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him,
You love him.
And though you do not see him now,
You believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
The salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation,
The prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
Trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
But you,
When they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore,
Prepare your minds for action.
Be sober-minded.
Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children,
Do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
But just as He who called you is holy.
So be holy in all you do,
For it is written,
Be holy,
Because I am holy.
Since you call on a father who judges each one's work impartially,
Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
But with the precious blood of Christ,
A lamb without blemish or spot.
He was known before the foundation of the world,
But was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God,
Who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
And so your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth,
So that you have a genuine love for your brothers.
Love one another deeply,
From a pure heart.
For you have been born again,
Not of perishable seed,
But of imperishable through the living and enduring Word of God.
For all flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord stands forever.
And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 147 Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
How pleasant and lovely to praise him.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars.
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord,
And mighty in power.
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble,
But casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the hills.
He provides food for the animals and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
Who hope in his loving devotion.
Exalt the Lord,
O Jerusalem.
Praise your God,
O Zion.
For he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
He makes peace at your borders.
He fills you with the finest wheat.
He sends forth his command to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool.
Scatters the frost like ashes,
He casts forth his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends forth his word and melts them.
He unleashes his winds and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Hallelujah.
Revelation 21.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Then I,
John,
Saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem.
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men.
And he will dwell with them,
And they shall be his people.
God himself will be with them,
And be their God.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
Nor sorrow,
Nor crying.
There shall be no more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said to me,
Write,
For these words are true and faithful.
And he said to me,
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
The beginning and the end.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
And I will be his God,
And he shall be my son.
But the cowardly,
Unbelieving,
Abominable,
Murderers,
Sexually immoral,
Sorcerers,
Idolaters,
And all liars shall have their part in the lake,
Which burns with fire and brimstone,
Which is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels,
Who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,
Came to me and talked with me,
Saying,
Come,
I will show you the bride,
The Lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
And showed me the great city,
The holy Jerusalem.
Descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God.
Her light was like a most precious stone.
Like a jasper stone,
Clear as crystal.
Also she had a great and high wall,
With twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates,
And names written on them,
Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Three gates on the east,
Three gates on the north,
Three gates on the south,
And three gates on the west.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city is laid out as a square,
Its length being the same as its width.
And he measured the city with the reed,
Twelve thousand furlongs.
Its length,
Breadth,
And height are equal.
Then he measured its wall,
One hundred forty-four cubits,
According to the measure of a man,
That is,
Of an angel.
The construction of its wall was of jasper,
And the city was pure gold,
Like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was Jasper.
The second Sapphire,
The third Chalcedony,
The fourth Emerald,
The fifth Sardonyx,
The sixth Sardius,
The seventh Chrysolite,
The eighth Beryl,
The ninth Topaz,
The tenth Chrysoprase,
The eleventh Jacinthe,
And the twelfth Amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each individual gate was of one pearl,
And the street of the city was pure gold.
Like transparent glass.
But I saw no temple in it.
For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God illuminated it.
The lamb is its light.
And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light.
And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day.
There shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles,
Or causes an abomination,
Or a lie.
But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Psalm 34.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
" My soul shall boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me!
Let's exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord,
And he answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried,
And the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
O fear the Lord,
You his saints!
For there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger.
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come,
You children,
Listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is someone who desires life and loves many days.
That he may see good.
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
The Lord's face is against those who do evil.
To cut off their memory from the Earth.
The righteous cry,
And the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.
And saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
None of those who take refuge in Him shall be condemned.
Isaiah 53 who has believed our message.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
No beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces.
He was despised,
And we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.
Yet we considered him stricken,
Struck down by God,
And afflicted.
He was pierced for our transgressions.
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his stripes we are healed.
We all like sheep have gone astray,
Each one has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
So he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment,
He was taken away.
And who can recount his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer.
And when his soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring,
He will prolong his days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
After the anguish of his soul.
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
My righteous servant will justify many,
And he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore,
I will allot him a portion with the great,
And he will divide the spoils with the strong.
Because he has poured out his life unto death,
And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
John 14.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
You believe in God,
Believe in me as well.
In my father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and welcome you into my presence,
So that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Lord,
" said Thomas,
We do not know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you had known me,
You would know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
Show us the Father,
And that will be enough for us.
Jesus replied,
Philip,
I have been with you all this time,
And still you do not know me.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
And the Father is in me?
The words I say to you,
I do not speak on my own.
Instead,
It is the Father dwelling in me,
Performing His works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly,
Truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
" If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate to be with you forever,
The Spirit of Truth.
" The world cannot receive him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you do know him,
For he abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see me no more,
But you will see me.
Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will know that I am in my Father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my father,
And I will love him and reveal myself to him.
Judas,
Not Iscariot,
Asked him.
Lord,
Why are you going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?
Jesus replied.
If anyone loves me,
He will keep my word.
My father will love him,
And we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
The word that you hear is not my own,
But it is from the Father who sent me.
" All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
But the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name,
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
Because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer,
For the prince of this world is coming,
And he has no claim on me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded me,
So that the world may know that I love the Father.
Let us go on from here.
2 Corinthians 4 Therefore,
Since God,
In his mercy,
Has given us this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
Instead we have renounced secret and shameful ways.
We do not practice deceit,
Nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary,
By open proclamation of the truth,
We commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
Who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves,
But Jesus Christ as Lord,
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God,
Who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard-pressed on all sides,
But not crushed.
Perplexed,
But not in despair.
Persecuted,
But not forsaken.
Struck down,
But not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then,
Death is at work in us,
But life is at work in you.
And in keeping with what is written.
I believed,
Therefore I have spoken.
We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
All this is for your benefit,
So that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore,
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
Yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled,
We have a building from God,
An eternal house in heaven,
Not built by human hands.
For in this tent we groan,
Longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
Because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent,
We groan under our burdens,
Because we do not wish to be unclothed,
But clothed,
So that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident,
Although we know that while we are at home in the body,
We are away from the Lord.
For we walk by faith,
Not by sight.
We are confident then,
And would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we aspire to please him,
Whether we are at home in this body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
That each one may receive his due for the things done in the body,
Whether good or bad.
Therefore,
Since we know what it means to fear the Lord,
We try to persuade men.
What we are is clear to God,
And I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
We are not commending ourselves to you again.
Instead,
We are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
So that you can answer those who take pride in appearances,
Rather than in the heart.
If we are out of our mind,
It is for God.
If we are of sound mind,
It is for you.
For Christ's love compels us,
Because we are convinced that one died for all,
Therefore all die.
And he died for all,
That those who live should no longer live for themselves,
But for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.
Although we once regarded Christ in this way,
We do so no longer.
Therefore,
If anyone is in Christ,
He is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
The new has come.
All this is from God,
Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
Not counting men's trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore,
We are ambassadors for Christ,
As though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
Be reconciled to God.
God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 1 Peter,
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
To the elect who are exiles of the dispersion throughout Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
And Bithynia.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
And sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By his great mercy,
He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And into an inheritance that is imperishable,
Undefiled and unfading,
Reserved in heaven for you,
Who through faith are shielded by God's power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this,
You greatly rejoice.
Though now,
For a little while,
You may have had to suffer grief in various trials,
So that the proven character of your faith more precious than gold,
Which perishes even though refined by fire,
May result in praise,
Glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen Him,
You love Him.
And though you do not see him now,
You believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
The salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation,
The prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
Trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
But you,
When they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore,
Prepare your minds for action.
Be sober-minded.
Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children,
Do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
But just as He who called you is holy.
So be holy in all you do,
For it is written,
Be holy,
Because I am holy.
Since you call on a father who judges each one's work impartially,
Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
But with the precious blood of Christ,
A lamb without blemish or spot.
He was known before the foundation of the world,
But was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God,
Who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
And so your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth,
So that you have a genuine love for your brothers.
Love one another deeply,
From a pure heart.
For you have been born again,
Not of perishable seed.
But of imperishable through the living and enduring Word of God.
For all flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord stands forever.
And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 147 Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
How pleasant and lovely to praise him.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Determines the number of the stars.
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord,
And mighty in power.
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble,
But casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the hills.
He provides food for the animals and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
Who hope in his loving devotion.
Exalt the Lord,
O Jerusalem.
Praise your God,
O Zion.
For he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
He makes peace at your borders.
He fills you with the finest wheat.
He sends forth his command to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool.
Scatters the frost like ashes,
He casts forth his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends forth his word and melts them.
He unleashes his winds and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Hallelujah.
Revelation 21.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Then I,
John,
Saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem.
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men.
And he will dwell with them,
And they shall be his people.
God himself will be with them and be their God,
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
Nor sorrow,
Nor crying.
There shall be no more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said to me,
Write,
For these words are true and faithful.
And he said to me,
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
The beginning and the end.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
And I will be his God,
And he shall be my son.
But the cowardly,
Unbelieving,
Abominable,
Murderers,
Sexually immoral,
Sorcerers,
Idolaters,
And all liars shall have their part in the lake,
Which burns with fire and brimstone,
Which is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels,
Who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,
Came to me and talked with me,
Saying,
Come,
I will show you the bride,
The lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
And showed me the great city,
The holy Jerusalem.
Descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God.
Her light was like a most precious stone.
Like a jasper stone,
Clear as crystal.
Also she had a great and high wall,
With twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates,
And names written on them,
Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Three gates on the east,
Three gates on the north,
Three gates on the south,
And three gates on the west.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city is laid out as a square,
Its length being the same as its width.
And he measured the city with the reed,
Twelve thousand furlongs.
Its length,
Breadth,
And height are equal.
Then he measured its wall,
One hundred forty-four cubits,
According to the measure of a man,
That is,
Of an angel.
The construction of its wall was of jasper.
And the city was pure gold,
Like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was Jasper.
The second Sapphire,
The third Chalcedony,
The fourth Emerald,
The fifth Sardonyx,
The sixth Sardius,
The seventh Chrysolite,
The eighth Beryl,
The ninth Topaz,
The tenth Chrysoprase,
The eleventh Jacinthe,
And the twelfth Amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each individual gate was of one pearl,
And the street of the city was pure gold.
Like transparent glass.
But I saw no temple in it.
For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God illuminated it.
The Lamb.
Is its light.
And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light,
And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day.
There shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles,
Or causes an abomination,
Or a lie.
But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Psalm 34.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
" My soul shall boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me!
Let's exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord,
And he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried,
And the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
O fear the Lord,
You his saints!
For there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger.
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come,
You children.
Listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is someone who desires life and loves many days.
That he may see good.
Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
The Lord's face is against those who do evil.
To cut off their memory from the Earth.
The righteous cry,
And the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.
And saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
None of those who take refuge in Him shall be condemned.
Isaiah 53 who has believed our message.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
No beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces,
He was despised and we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.
Yet we considered him stricken,
Struck down by God,
And afflicted.
He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his stripes we are healed.
We all like sheep have gone astray,
Each one has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
So he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment,
He was taken away.
And who can recount his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer.
And when his soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring,
He will prolong his days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
After the anguish of his soul.
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
My righteous servant will justify many,
And he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore,
I will allot him a portion with the great,
And he will divide the spoils with the strong.
Because he has poured out his life unto death,
And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
John 14.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
You believe in God,
Believe in me as well.
In my father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and welcome you into my presence,
So that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Lord,
" said Thomas,
We do not know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
" If you had known me,
You would know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
Show us the Father,
And that will be enough for us.
Jesus replied,
Philip,
I have been with you all this time,
And still you do not know me.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
And the Father is in me?
The words I say to you,
I do not speak on my own.
Instead,
It is the Father dwelling in me,
Performing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly,
Truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
" If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate to be with you forever,
The Spirit of Truth.
" The world cannot receive him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you do know Him,
For He abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see me no more,
But you will see me.
Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will know that I am in my father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my father,
And I will love him and reveal myself to him.
Judas,
Not Iscariot,
Asked him.
Lord,
Why are you going to reveal yourself to us,
Not to the world?
Jesus replied,
If anyone loves me,
He will keep my word.
My Father will love him,
And we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
The word that you hear is not my own,
But it is from the Father who sent me.
All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
But the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name,
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
Do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
Because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer,
For the prince of this world is coming,
And he has no claim on me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded me,
So that the world may know that I love the Father.
Let us go on from here.
2 Corinthians 4 Therefore,
Since God,
In his mercy,
Has given us this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
Instead we have renounced secret and shameful ways.
We do not practice deceit,
Nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary,
By open proclamation of the truth,
We commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
Who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves,
But Jesus Christ as Lord,
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God,
Who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard-pressed on all sides,
But not crushed.
Perplexed,
But not in despair.
Persecuted,
But not forsaken.
Struck down,
But not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then,
Death is at work in us,
But life is at work in you.
And in keeping with what is written.
I believed,
Therefore I have spoken.
We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
All this is for your benefit,
So that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore,
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
Yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled,
We have a building from God,
An eternal house in heaven,
Not built by human hands.
For in this tent we groan,
Longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
Because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent,
We groan under our burdens,
Because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed,
So that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident,
Although we know that while we are at home in the body,
We are away from the Lord.
For we walk by faith,
Not by sight.
We are confident then,
And would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we aspire to please him,
Whether we are at home in this body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
That each one may receive his due for the things done in the body,
Whether good or bad.
Therefore,
Since we know what it means to fear the Lord,
We try to persuade men.
What we are is clear to God,
And I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
We are not commending ourselves to you again.
Instead,
We are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
So that you can answer those who take pride in appearances,
Rather than in the heart.
If we are out of our mind,
It is for God.
If we are of sound mind,
It is for you.
For Christ's love compels us,
Because we are convinced that one died for all,
Therefore all died.
And he died for all,
That those who live should no longer live for themselves,
But for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.
Although we once regarded Christ in this way,
We do so no longer.
Therefore,
If anyone is in Christ,
He is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
The new has come.
All this is from God,
Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
Not counting men's trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore,
We are ambassadors for Christ,
As though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
Be reconciled to God.
God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 1.
Peter,
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
To the elect who are exiles of the dispersion throughout Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
And Bithynia.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
And sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By his great mercy,
He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And into an inheritance that is imperishable,
Undefiled and unfading,
Reserved in heaven for you,
Who through faith are shielded by God's power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this,
You greatly rejoice.
Though now,
For a little while,
You may have had to suffer grief in various trials,
So that the proven character of your faith more precious than gold,
Which perishes even though refined by fire,
May result in praise,
Glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him,
You love him.
And though you do not see him now,
You believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
The salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation,
The prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
Trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
But you,
When they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore,
Prepare your minds for action.
Be sober-minded.
Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children,
Do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
But just as He who called you is holy.
So be holy in all you do,
For it is written,
Be holy,
Because I am holy.
Since you call on a father who judges each one's work impartially,
Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
But with the precious blood of Christ,
A lamb without blemish or spot.
He was known before the foundation of the world,
But was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God,
Who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
And so your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth,
So that you have a genuine love for your brothers.
Love one another deeply,
From a pure heart.
For you have been born again,
Not of perishable seed,
But of imperishable through the living and enduring Word of God.
For all flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flowers of the field.
Grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord stands forever.
" And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 147.
Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
How pleasant and lovely to praise him.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Determines the number of the stars.
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord,
And mighty in power,
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble,
But casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the hills.
He provides food for the animals and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
Who hope in his loving devotion.
Exalt the Lord,
O Jerusalem.
Praise your God,
O Zion.
For he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
He makes peace at your borders.
He fills you with the finest wheat.
He sends forth his command to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool.
Scatters the frost like ashes,
He casts forth his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends forth his word and melts them.
He unleashes his winds and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Hallelujah.
Revelation 21.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Then I,
John,
Saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem.
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men.
And he will dwell with them,
And they shall be his people.
God himself will be with them,
And be their God.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
Nor sorrow,
Nor crying.
Shall be no more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said to me,
Write,
For these words are true and faithful.
And he said to me,
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega.
The beginning and the end.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
And I will be his God,
And he shall be my son.
But the cowardly,
Unbelieving,
Abominable,
Murderers,
Sexually immoral,
Sorcerers,
Idolaters,
And all liars shall have their part in the lake,
Which burns with fire and brimstone,
Which is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels,
Who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,
Came to me and talked with me,
Saying,
Come,
I will show you the bride,
The Lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
And showed me the great city,
The holy Jerusalem.
Descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God.
Her light was like a most precious stone.
Like a jasper stone,
Clear as crystal.
Also she had a great and high wall,
With twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates,
And names written on them,
Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Three gates on the east,
Three gates on the north,
Three gates on the south,
And three gates on the west.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city is laid out as a square,
Its length being the same as its width.
And he measured the city with the reed,
Twelve thousand furlongs.
Its length,
Breadth,
And height are equal.
Then he measured its wall,
144 cubits,
According to the measure of a man,
That is,
Of an angel.
The construction of its wall was of jasper.
And the city was pure gold,
Like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was Jasper.
The second Sapphire,
The third Chalcedony,
The fourth Emerald,
The fifth Sardonyx,
The sixth Sardius,
The seventh Chrysolite,
The eighth Beryl,
The ninth Topaz,
The tenth Chrysoprase,
The eleventh Jacinthe,
And the twelfth Amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each individual gate was of one pearl,
And the street of the city was pure gold.
Like transparent glass.
But I saw no temple in it.
For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.
Are its temple.
The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God illuminated it.
The Lamb.
Is its light.
And the nations of those who are saved.
Shall walk in its light.
And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day.
There shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles,
Or causes an abomination,
Or a lie.
But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Psalm 34.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
My soul shall boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me!
Let's exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord,
And he answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried,
And the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
O fear the Lord,
You his saints!
For there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger.
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come,
You children,
Listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is someone who desires life and loves many days.
That he may see good.
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
The Lord's face is against those who do evil.
To cut off their memory from the Earth.
The righteous cry,
And the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.
And saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
None of those who take refuge in Him shall be condemned.
Isaiah 53 who has believed our message.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
No beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces.
He was despised,
And we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.
Yet we considered him stricken,
Struck down by God,
And afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his stripes we are healed.
We all like sheep have gone astray,
Each one has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
So he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment,
He was taken away.
And who can recount his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
Was assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer.
And when his soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring,
He will prolong his days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
After the anguish of his soul.
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
My righteous servant will justify many,
And he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore,
I will allot him a portion with the great,
And he will divide the spoils with the strong.
Because he has poured out his life unto death,
And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
John 14.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
You believe in God,
Believe in me as well.
In my father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and welcome you into my presence,
So that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Lord,
" said Thomas,
We do not know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you had known me,
You would know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
Show us the Father,
And that will be enough for us.
Jesus replied,
Philip,
I have been with you all this time,
And still you do not know me.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
And the Father is in me?
The words I say to you,
I do not speak on my own.
Instead,
It is the Father dwelling in me,
Performing His works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly,
Truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
" If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate to be with you forever,
The Spirit of Truth.
" The world cannot receive him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you do know Him,
For He abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see me no more,
But you will see me.
Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will know that I am in my father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my father,
And I will love him and reveal myself to him.
Judas,
Not Iscariot,
Asked him.
Lord,
Why are you going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?
Jesus replied.
If anyone loves me,
He will keep my word.
My Father will love him,
And we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
The word that you hear is not my own,
But it is from the Father who sent me.
" All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
But the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name.
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you,
My peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
Because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer,
For the prince of this world is coming,
And he has no claim on me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded me,
So that the world may know that I love the Father.
Let us go on from here.
2 Corinthians 4 Therefore,
Since God,
In his mercy,
Has given us this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
Instead,
We have renounced secret and shameful ways.
We do not practice deceit,
Nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary,
By open proclamation of the truth,
We commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
Who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves,
But Jesus Christ as Lord,
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God,
Who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay,
To show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard-pressed on all sides,
But not crushed.
Perplexed,
But not in despair.
Persecuted,
But not forsaken.
Struck down,
But not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then,
Death is at work in us,
But life is at work in you.
And in keeping with what is written.
I believed,
Therefore I have spoken.
We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
All this is for your benefit,
So that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore,
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
Yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled,
We have a building from God,
An eternal house in heaven,
Not built by human hands.
For in this tent we groan,
Longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
Because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent,
We groan under our burdens,
Because we do not wish to be unclothed,
But clothed,
So that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident,
Although we know that while we are at home in the body,
We are away from the Lord.
For we walk by faith,
Not by sight.
We are confident then,
And would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we aspire to please him,
Whether we are at home in this body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
That each one may receive his due for the things done in the body,
Whether good or bad.
Therefore,
Since we know what it means to fear the Lord,
We try to persuade men.
What we are is clear to God,
And I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
We are not commending ourselves to you again.
Instead,
We are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
So that you can answer those who take pride in appearances,
Rather than in the heart.
If we are out of our mind,
It is for God.
If we are of sound mind,
It is for you.
For Christ's love compels us,
Because we are convinced that one died for all,
Therefore all died.
And he died for all,
That those who live should no longer live for themselves,
But for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.
Although we once regarded Christ in this way,
We do so no longer.
Therefore,
If anyone is in Christ,
He is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
The new has come.
All this is from God,
Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
Not counting men's trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore,
We are ambassadors for Christ,
As though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
Be reconciled to God.
God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 1.
Peter,
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
To the elect who are exiles of the dispersion throughout Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
And Bithynia.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
And sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By his great mercy,
He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And into an inheritance that is imperishable,
Undefiled and unfading,
Reserved in heaven for you,
Who through faith are shielded by God's power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this,
You greatly rejoice.
Though now,
For a little while,
You may have had to suffer grief in various trials,
So that the proven character of your faith more precious than gold,
Which perishes even though refined by fire,
May result in praise,
Glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him,
You love him.
And though you do not see him now,
You believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
The salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation,
The prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
Trying to determine the time and setting to which the spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
But you,
When they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore,
Prepare your minds for action.
Be sober-minded.
Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children,
Do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
But just as He who called you is holy.
So be holy in all you do,
For it is written,
Be holy,
Because I am holy.
Since you call on a father who judges each one's work impartially,
Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
But with the precious blood of Christ,
A lamb without blemish or spot.
He was known before the foundation of the world,
But was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God,
Who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
And so your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth,
So that you have a genuine love for your brothers.
Love one another deeply,
From a pure heart.
For you have been born again,
Not of perishable seed,
But of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God.
For all flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flowers of the field.
Grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord stands forever.
" And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 147 Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
How pleasant and lovely to praise him.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars.
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord,
And mighty in power.
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble,
But casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth.
Who makes grass to grow on the hills.
He provides food for the animals and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear Him,
Who hope in His loving devotion.
Exalt the Lord,
O Jerusalem.
Praise your God,
O Zion.
For he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
He makes peace at your borders.
He fills you with the finest wheat.
He sends forth his command to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool.
He scatters the frost like ashes.
He casts forth his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends forth his word and melts them.
He unleashes his winds and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Hallelujah.
Revelation 21.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Then I,
John,
Saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem.
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men.
And he will dwell with them,
And they shall be his people.
God himself will be with them.
And be their God.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
Nor sorrow,
Nor crying.
There shall be no more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said to me,
Write,
For these words are true and faithful.
And he said to me,
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega.
The beginning and the end.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
And I will be his God,
And he shall be my son.
But the cowardly,
Unbelieving,
Abominable,
Murderers,
Sexually immoral,
Sorcerers,
Idolaters,
And all liars shall have their part in the lake,
Which burns with fire and brimstone,
Which is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels,
Who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,
Came to me and talked with me,
Saying,
Come,
I will show you the bride,
The Lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
And showed me the great city,
The holy Jerusalem.
Descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God.
Her light was like a most precious stone.
Like a jasper stone,
Clear as crystal.
Also she had a great and high wall,
With twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates,
And names written on them,
Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Three gates on the east,
Three gates on the north,
Three gates on the south,
And three gates on the west.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city is laid out as a square,
Its length being the same as its width.
And he measured the city with the reed,
Twelve thousand furlongs.
Its length,
Breadth,
And height are equal.
Then he measured its wall,
144 cubits,
According to the measure of a man,
That is,
Of an angel.
The construction of its wall was of jasper.
And the city was pure gold,
Like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was Jasper.
The second Sapphire.
The 3rd Chalcedony,
The 4th Emerald,
The 5th Sardonyx,
The 6th Sardius,
The 7th Chrysolite,
The 8th Beryl,
The 9th Topaz,
The 10th Chrysoprase,
The 11th Jacinthe,
And the 12th Amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each individual gate was of one pearl,
And the street of the city was pure gold,
Like transparent glass.
But I saw no temple in it.
For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God illuminated it.
The lamb is its light.
And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light.
And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day.
There shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles,
Or causes an abomination,
Or a lie.
But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Psalm 34.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
" My soul shall boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me!
Let's exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord,
And he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried,
And the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
O fear the Lord,
You his saints!
For there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger.
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come,
You children.
Listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is someone who desires life and loves many days.
That he may see good.
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
The Lord's face is against those who do evil.
To cut off their memory from the Earth.
The righteous cry,
And the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.
And saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
None of those who take refuge in Him shall be condemned.
Isaiah 53 who has believed our message.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
No beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces.
He was despised,
And we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.
Yet we considered him stricken,
Struck down by God,
And afflicted.
He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his stripes we are healed.
" We all like sheep have gone astray,
Each one has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
So he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment,
He was taken away.
And who can recount his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer.
And when his soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring,
He will prolong his days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
After the anguish of his soul.
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
My righteous servant will justify many,
And he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore,
I will allot him a portion with the great,
And he will divide the spoils with the strong.
Because he has poured out his life unto death,
And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
John 14.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
You believe in God,
Believe in me as well.
In my father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and welcome you into my presence,
So that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Lord,
" said Thomas,
We do not know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you had known me,
You would know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
Show us the Father,
And that will be enough for us.
Jesus replied,
Philip,
I have been with you all this time,
And still you do not know me.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
And the Father is in me?
The words I say to you,
I do not speak on my own.
Instead,
It is the Father dwelling in me,
Performing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly,
Truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
" If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate to be with you forever,
The Spirit of Truth.
" The world cannot receive him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you do know Him,
For He abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see me no more,
But you will see me.
" Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will know that I am in my Father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my father,
And I will love him and reveal myself to him.
Judas,
Not Iscariot,
Asked him.
Lord,
Why are you going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?
Jesus replied,
If anyone loves me,
He will keep my word.
My father will love him,
And we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
The word that you hear is not my own,
But it is from the Father who sent me.
All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
But the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name,
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
Do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
Because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer,
For the prince of this world is coming,
And he has no claim on me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded me,
So that the world may know that I love the Father.
Let us go on from here.
2 Corinthians 4 Therefore,
Since God,
In his mercy,
Has given us this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
Instead we have renounced secret in shameful ways.
We do not practice deceit,
Nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary,
By open proclamation of the truth,
We commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
Who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves,
But Jesus Christ as Lord,
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God,
Who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay,
To show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard-pressed on all sides,
But not crushed.
Perplexed,
But not in despair.
Persecuted,
But not forsaken.
Struck down,
But not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then,
Death is at work in us,
But life is at work in you.
And in keeping with what is written.
I believed,
Therefore I have spoken.
We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
All this is for your benefit,
So that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore,
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
Yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled,
We have a building from God,
An eternal house in heaven,
Not built by human hands.
For in this tent we groan,
Longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
Because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent,
We groan under our burdens,
Because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed,
So that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident,
Although we know that while we are at home in the body,
We are away from the Lord.
For we walk by faith,
Not by sight.
We are confident then,
And would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we aspire to please him,
Whether we are at home in this body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
That each one may receive his due for the things done in the body,
Whether good or bad.
Therefore,
Since we know what it means to fear the Lord,
We try to persuade men.
What we are is clear to God,
And I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
We are not commending ourselves to you again.
Instead,
We are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
So that you can answer those who take pride in appearances,
Rather than in the heart.
If we are out of our mind,
It is for God.
If we are of sound mind,
It is for you.
For Christ's love compels us,
Because we are convinced that one died for all,
Therefore all die.
And he died for all,
That those who live should no longer live for themselves,
But for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.
Although we once regarded Christ in this way,
We do so no longer.
Therefore,
If anyone is in Christ,
He is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
The new has come.
All this is from God,
Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
Not counting men's trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore,
We are ambassadors for Christ,
As though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ.
Be reconciled to God.
God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 1 Peter,
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
To the elect who are exiles of the dispersion throughout Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
And Bithynia.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
And sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By His great mercy,
He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And into an inheritance that is imperishable,
Undefiled and unfading,
Reserved in heaven for you,
Who through faith are shielded by God's power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this,
You greatly rejoice.
Though now,
For a little while,
You may have had to suffer grief in various trials,
So that the proven character of your faith more precious than gold,
Which perishes even though refined by fire,
May result in praise,
Glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him,
You love him.
And though you do not see him now,
You believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
The salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation,
The prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
Trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
But you,
When they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore,
Prepare your minds for action.
Be sober-minded.
Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children,
Do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
But just as He who called you is holy.
So be holy in all you do,
For it is written,
Be holy,
Because I am holy.
Since you call on a father who judges each one's work impartially,
Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
But with the precious blood of Christ,
A lamb without blemish or spot.
He was known before the foundation of the world,
But was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God,
Who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
And so your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth,
So that you have a genuine love for your brothers.
Love one another deeply,
From a pure heart.
For you have been born again,
Not of perishable seed,
But of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God.
For all flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flowers of the field.
Grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord stands forever.
" And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 147 Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
How pleasant and lovely to praise him.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars.
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord,
And mighty in power.
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble,
But casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the hills.
He provides food for the animals and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
Who hope in his loving devotion.
Exalt the Lord,
O Jerusalem.
Praise your God,
O Zion.
For he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
He makes peace at your borders.
He fills you with the finest wheat.
He sends forth his command to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool.
He scatters the frost like ashes.
He casts forth his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends forth his word and melts them.
He unleashes his winds and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Hallelujah.
Revelation 21.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Than I John.
Saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem.
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men.
And he will dwell with them,
And they shall be his people.
God himself will be with them,
And be their God.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
Nor sorrow,
Nor crying.
There shall be no more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said to me,
Write,
For these words are true and faithful.
And he said to me,
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
The beginning and the end.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
And I will be his God,
And he shall be my son.
But the cowardly,
Unbelieving,
Abominable,
Murderers,
Sexually immoral,
Sorcerers,
Idolaters,
And all liars shall have their part in the lake,
Which burns with fire and brimstone,
Which is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels,
Who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,
Came to me and talked with me,
Saying,
Come,
I will show you the bride,
The Lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
And showed me the great city,
The holy Jerusalem.
Descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God.
Her light was like a most precious stone.
Like a jasper stone,
Clear as crystal.
Also she had a great and high wall,
With twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates,
And names written on them,
Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Three gates on the east,
Three gates on the north,
Three gates on the south,
And three gates on the west.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city is laid out as a square,
Its length being the same as its width.
And he measured the city with the reed,
Twelve thousand furlongs.
Its length,
Breadth,
And height are equal.
Then he measured its wall.
144 cubits,
According to the measure of a man,
That is,
Of an angel.
The construction of its wall was of jasper.
And the city was pure gold,
Like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was Jasper.
The second Sapphire,
The third Chalcedony,
The fourth Emerald,
The fifth Sardonyx,
The sixth Sardius,
The seventh Chrysolite,
The eighth Beryl,
The ninth Topaz,
The tenth Chrysoprase,
The eleventh Jacinthe,
And the twelfth Amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each individual gate was of one pearl,
And the street of the city was pure gold.
Like transparent glass.
But I saw no temple in it,
For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God illuminated it.
The lamb is its light.
And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light,
And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day.
There shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles,
Or causes an abomination,
Or a lie.
But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Psalm 34.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
My soul shall boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me!
Let's exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord,
And he answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried,
And the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
O fear the Lord,
You his saints.
For there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger.
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come,
You children,
Listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is someone who desires life and loves many days.
That he may see good.
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
The Lord's face is against those who do evil.
To cut off their memory from the earth.
The righteous cry,
And the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.
And saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
None of those who take refuge in Him shall be condemned.
Isaiah 53 who has believed our message.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
No beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces.
He was despised,
And we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows,
Yet we considered him stricken,
Struck down by God,
And afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his stripes we are healed.
We all like sheep have gone astray,
Each one has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
So he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment,
He was taken away.
And who can recount his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer.
And when his soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring,
He will prolong his days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
After the anguish of his soul.
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
My righteous servant will justify many,
And he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore,
I will allot him a portion with the great,
And he will divide the spoils with the strong.
Because he has poured out his life unto death,
And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
John 14.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
You believe in God,
Believe in me as well.
In my father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and welcome you into my presence,
So that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Lord,
" said Thomas,
We do not know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you had known me,
You would know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
Show us the Father,
And that will be enough for us.
Jesus replied,
Philip,
I have been with you all this time,
And still you do not know me.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
And the Father is in me?
The words I say to you,
I do not speak on my own.
Instead,
It is the Father dwelling in me,
Performing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly,
Truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
" If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate to be with you forever,
The Spirit of Truth.
" The world cannot receive him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you do know Him,
For He abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see me no more,
But you will see me.
" Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will know that I am in my father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my father,
And I will love him and reveal myself to him.
Judas,
Not Iscariot,
Asked him.
Lord,
Why are you going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?
Jesus replied.
If anyone loves me,
He will keep my word.
My father will love him,
And we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
The word that you hear is not my own,
But it is from the Father who sent me.
All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
" But the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name,
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
Because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer,
For the prince of this world is coming,
And he has no claim on me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded me,
So that the world may know that I love the Father.
Let us go on from here.
2 Corinthians 4 Therefore,
Since God,
In his mercy,
Has given us this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
Instead,
We have renounced secret and shameful ways.
We do not practice deceit,
Nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary,
By open proclamation of the truth,
We commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
Who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves,
But Jesus Christ as Lord,
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God,
Who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard-pressed on all sides,
But not crushed.
Perplexed,
But not in despair.
Persecuted,
But not forsaken.
Struck down,
But not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then,
Death is at work in us,
But life is at work in you.
And in keeping with what is written.
I believed,
Therefore I have spoken.
We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
All this is for your benefit,
So that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore,
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
Yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled,
We have a building from God,
An eternal house in heaven,
Not built by human hands.
For in this tent we groan,
Longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
Because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent,
We groan under our burdens,
Because we do not wish to be unclothed,
But clothed,
So that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident,
Although we know that while we are at home in the body,
We are away from the Lord.
For we walk by faith,
Not by sight.
We are confident then,
And would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we aspire to please him,
Whether we are at home in this body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
That each one may receive his due for the things done in the body,
Whether good or bad.
Therefore,
Since we know what it means to fear the Lord,
We try to persuade men.
What we are is clear to God,
And I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
We are not commending ourselves to you again.
Instead,
We are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
So that you can answer those who take pride in appearances,
Rather than in the heart.
If we are out of our mind,
It is for God.
If we are of sound mind,
It is for you.
For Christ's love compels us,
Because we are convinced that one died for all,
Therefore all died.
And he died for all,
That those who live should no longer live for themselves,
But for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.
Although we once regarded Christ in this way,
We do so no longer.
Therefore,
If anyone is in Christ,
He is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
The new has come!
All this is from God,
Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
Not counting men's trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore,
We are ambassadors for Christ,
As though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
Be reconciled to God.
God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 1 Peter,
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
To the elect who are exiles of the dispersion throughout Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
And Bithynia.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
And sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By His great mercy,
He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And into an inheritance that is imperishable,
Undefiled and unfading,
Reserved in heaven for you,
Who through faith are shielded by God's power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this,
You greatly rejoice.
Though now,
For a little while,
You may have had to suffer grief in various trials,
So that the proven character of your faith more precious than gold,
Which perishes even though refined by fire,
May result in praise,
Glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him,
You love him.
And though you do not see him now,
You believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
The salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation,
The prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
Trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
But you,
When they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore,
Prepare your minds for action.
Be sober-minded.
Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children,
Do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
But just as He who called you is holy.
So be holy in all you do,
For it is written,
Be holy,
Because I am holy.
Since you call on a father who judges each one's work impartially,
Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
But with the precious blood of Christ,
A lamb without blemish or spot.
He was known before the foundation of the world,
But was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God,
Who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
And so your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers.
Love one another deeply,
From a pure heart.
For you have been born again,
Not of perishable seed,
But of imperishable through the living and enduring Word of God.
For all flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flowers of the field.
Grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord stands forever.
" And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 147.
Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
How pleasant and lovely to praise him.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Determines the number of the stars.
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord,
And mighty in power.
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble,
But casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the hills.
He provides food for the animals and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
Who hope in his loving devotion.
Exalt the Lord,
O Jerusalem.
Praise your God,
O Zion.
For he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
He makes peace at your borders.
He fills you with the finest wheat.
He sends forth his command to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool.
Scatters the frost like ashes.
He casts forth his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends forth his word and melts them.
He unleashes his winds and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Hallelujah!
Revelation 21.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Than I John.
Saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem.
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men.
And he will dwell with them.
And they shall be his people.
God himself will be with them.
And be their God.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
Nor sorrow,
Nor crying.
There shall be no more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said to me,
Write,
For these words are true and faithful.
And he said to me,
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
The beginning and the end.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
And I will be his God,
And he shall be my son.
But the cowardly,
Unbelieving,
Abominable,
Murderers,
Sexually immoral,
Sorcerers,
Idolaters,
And all liars shall have their part in the lake,
Which burns with fire and brimstone,
Which is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels,
Who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,
Came to me and talked with me,
Saying,
Come,
I will show you the bride,
The Lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
And showed me the great city,
The holy Jerusalem.
Descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God.
Her light was like a most precious stone.
Like a jasper stone,
Clear as crystal.
Also she had a great and high wall,
With twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates,
And names written on them,
Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Three gates on the east,
Three gates on the north,
Three gates on the south,
And three gates on the west.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city is laid out as a square,
Its length being the same as its width.
And he measured the city with the reed,
Twelve thousand furlongs.
Its length,
Breadth,
And height are equal.
Then he measured its wall,
144 cubits,
According to the measure of a man,
That is,
Of an angel.
The construction of its wall was of jasper.
And the city was pure gold,
Like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was Jasper.
The second Sapphire.
The 3rd Chalcedony,
The 4th Emerald,
The 5th Sardonyx,
The 6th Sardius,
The 7th Chrysolite,
The 8th Beryl,
The 9th Topaz,
The 10th Chrysoprase,
The 11th Jacinthe,
And the 12th Amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each individual gate was of one pearl,
And the street of the city was pure gold,
Like transparent glass.
But I saw no temple in it,
For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God illuminated it.
The lamb is its light.
And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light,
And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day.
There shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles,
Or causes an abomination,
Or a lie.
But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Psalm 34.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
" My soul shall boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me!
Let's exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord,
And He answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried,
And the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
O fear the Lord,
You his saints!
For there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger.
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come,
You children.
Listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is someone who desires life and loves many days.
That he may see good.
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
The Lord's face is against those who do evil.
To cut off their memory from the earth.
The righteous cry,
And the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.
And saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
None of those who take refuge in Him shall be condemned.
Isaiah 53 who has believed our message.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
No beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces.
He was despised,
And we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.
Yet we considered him stricken,
Struck down by God,
And afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his stripes we are healed.
We all like sheep have gone astray,
Each one has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
So he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment,
He was taken away.
And who can recount his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer.
And when his soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring,
He will prolong his days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
After the anguish of his soul.
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
My righteous servant will justify many,
And he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore,
I will allot him a portion with the great,
And he will divide the spoils with the strong.
Because he has poured out his life unto death,
And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
John 14.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
You believe in God,
Believe in me as well.
In my father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and welcome you into my presence,
So that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Lord,
" said Thomas,
We do not know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you had known me,
You would know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
Show us the Father,
And that will be enough for us.
Jesus replied,
Philip,
I have been with you all this time,
And still you do not know me.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
And the Father is in me?
The words I say to you,
I do not speak on my own.
Instead,
It is the Father dwelling in me,
Performing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly,
Truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
" If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate to be with you forever,
The Spirit of Truth.
" The world cannot receive him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you do know Him,
For He abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see me no more,
But you will see me.
Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will know that I am in my father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my father,
And I will love him and reveal myself to him.
Judas,
Not Iscariot,
Asked him,
Lord,
Why are you going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?
Jesus replied.
If anyone loves me,
He will keep my word.
My father will love him,
And we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
The word that you hear is not my own,
But it is from the Father who sent me.
All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
" but the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name,
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
Do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
Because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer,
For the prince of this world is coming,
And he has no claim on me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded me,
So that the world may know that I love the Father.
Let us go on from here.
2 Corinthians 4 Therefore,
Since God,
In his mercy,
Has given us this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
Instead,
We have renounced secret in shameful ways.
We do not practice deceit,
Nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary,
By open proclamation of the truth,
We commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
Who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves,
But Jesus Christ as Lord,
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God,
Who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard-pressed on all sides,
But not crushed.
Perplexed,
But not in despair.
Persecuted,
But not forsaken.
Struck down,
But not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus.
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then,
Death is at work in us,
But life is at work in you.
And in keeping with what is written.
I believed,
Therefore I have spoken.
We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
All this is for your benefit,
So that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore,
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
Yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled,
We have a building from God,
An eternal house in heaven,
Not built by human hands.
For in this tent we groan,
Longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
Because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent,
We groan under our burdens,
Because we do not wish to be unclothed,
But clothed,
So that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident,
Although we know that while we are at home in the body,
We are away from the Lord.
For we walk by faith,
Not by sight.
We are confident then,
And would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we aspire to please him,
Whether we are at home in this body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
That each one may receive his due for the things done in the body,
Whether good or bad.
Therefore,
Since we know what it means to fear the Lord,
We try to persuade men.
What we are is clear to God,
And I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
We are not commending ourselves to you again.
Instead,
We are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
So that you can answer those who take pride in appearances,
Rather than in the heart.
If we are out of our mind,
It is for God.
If we are of sound mind,
It is for you.
For Christ's love compels us,
Because we are convinced that one died for all,
Therefore all die.
And he died for all,
That those who live should no longer live for themselves,
But for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.
Although we once regarded Christ in this way,
We do so no longer.
Therefore,
If anyone is in Christ,
He is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
The new has come.
All this is from God,
Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
Not counting men's trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore,
We are ambassadors for Christ,
As though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
Be reconciled to God.
God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 1 Peter,
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
To the elect who are exiles of the dispersion throughout Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
And Bithynia.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
And sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By His great mercy,
He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And into an inheritance that is imperishable,
Undefiled and unfading,
Reserved in heaven for you,
Who through faith are shielded by God's power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this,
You greatly rejoice.
Though now,
For a little while,
You may have had to suffer grief in various trials,
So that the proven character of your faith more precious than gold,
Which perishes even though refined by fire,
May result in praise,
Glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him,
You love him.
And though you do not see him now,
You believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
The salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation,
The prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
Trying to determine the time and setting to which the spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
But you,
When they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore,
Prepare your minds for action.
Be sober-minded.
Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children,
Do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
But just as He who called you is holy.
So be holy in all you do,
For it is written,
Be holy,
Because I am holy.
Since you call on a father who judges each one's work impartially,
Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
But with the precious blood of Christ,
A lamb without blemish or spot.
He was known before the foundation of the world,
But was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God,
Who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
And so your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth,
So that you have a genuine love for your brothers.
Love one another deeply,
From a pure heart.
For you have been born again,
Not of perishable seed,
But of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God.
For all flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord stands forever.
And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 147.
Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
How pleasant and lovely to praise him.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars.
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord,
And mighty in power,
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble,
But casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the hills.
He provides food for the animals and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
Who hope in his loving devotion.
Exalt the Lord,
O Jerusalem.
Praise your God,
O Zion.
For he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
He makes peace at your borders.
He fills you with the finest wheat.
He sends forth his command to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool.
He scatters the frost like ashes.
He casts forth his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends forth his word and melts them.
He unleashes his winds and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Hallelujah!
Revelation 21.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Then I,
John,
Saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem.
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men.
And he will dwell with them,
And they shall be his people.
God himself will be with them and be their God,
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
Nor sorrow,
Nor crying.
There shall be no more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said to me,
Write,
For these words are true and faithful.
And he said to me,
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega.
The beginning and the end.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things.
And I will be his God.
And he shall be my son.
But the cowardly,
Unbelieving,
Abominable,
Murderers,
Sexually immoral,
Sorcerers,
Idolaters,
And all liars shall have their part in the lake,
Which burns with fire and brimstone,
Which is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels,
Who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,
Came to me and talked with me,
Saying,
Come,
I will show you the bride,
The Lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
And showed me the great city,
The holy Jerusalem.
Descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God.
Her light was like a most precious stone.
Like a jasper stone,
Clear as crystal.
Also she had a great and high wall,
With twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates,
And names written on them,
Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Three gates on the east,
Three gates on the north,
Three gates on the south,
And three gates on the west.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city is laid out as a square,
Its length being the same as its width.
And he measured the city with the reed,
Twelve thousand furlongs.
Its length,
Breadth,
And height are equal.
Then he measured its wall,
144 cubits,
According to the measure of a man,
That is,
Of an angel.
The construction of its wall was of jasper.
And the city was pure gold,
Like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was Jasper.
The second Sapphire.
The 3rd Chalcedony,
The 4th Emerald,
The 5th Sardonyx,
The 6th Sardius,
The 7th Chrysolite,
The 8th Beryl,
The 9th Topaz,
The 10th Chrysoprase,
The 11th Jacinthe,
And the 12th Amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each individual gate was of one pearl,
And the street of the city was pure gold,
Like transparent glass.
But I saw no temple in it.
For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God illuminated it.
The lamb is its light.
And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light,
And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day.
There shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles,
Or causes an abomination,
Or a lie.
But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Psalm 34.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
" My soul shall boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me!
Let's exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord,
And he answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried,
And the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
O fear the Lord,
You his saints!
For there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger.
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come,
You children.
Listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is someone who desires life and loves many days.
That he may see good.
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
The Lord's face is against those who do evil.
To cut off their memory from the earth.
The righteous cry,
And the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.
And saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
None of those who take refuge in Him shall be condemned.
Isaiah 53 who has believed our message.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
No beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces.
He was despised,
And we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.
Yet we considered him stricken,
Struck down by God,
And afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his stripes we are healed.
We all like sheep have gone astray,
Each one has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
So he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment,
He was taken away.
And who can recount his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer.
And when his soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring,
He will prolong his days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
After the anguish of his soul.
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
My righteous servant will justify many,
And he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
And he will divide the spoils with the strong.
Because he has poured out his life unto death,
And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
John 14.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
You believe in God,
Believe in me as well.
In my father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and welcome you into my presence,
So that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Lord,
" said Thomas,
We do not know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you had known me,
You would know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
Show us the Father,
And that will be enough for us.
Jesus replied,
Philip,
I have been with you all this time,
And still you do not know me.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
And the Father is in me?
The words I say to you,
I do not speak on my own.
Instead,
It is the Father dwelling in me,
Performing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly,
Truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
" If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate to be with you forever,
The Spirit of Truth.
" The world cannot receive him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you do know Him,
For He abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see me no more,
But you will see me.
" Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will know that I am in my father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my father,
And I will love him and reveal myself to him.
Judas,
Not Iscariot,
Asked him.
Lord,
Why are you going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?
Jesus replied,
If anyone loves me,
He will keep my word.
My father will love him,
And we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
The word that you hear is not my own,
But it is from the Father who sent me.
" All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
" but the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name,
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
Do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
Because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer,
For the prince of this world is coming,
And he has no claim on me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded me,
So that the world may know that I love the Father.
Let us go on from here.
2nd Corinthians 4 Therefore,
Since God,
In his mercy,
Has given us this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
Instead,
We have renounced secret and shameful ways.
We do not practice deceit,
Nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary,
By open proclamation of the truth,
We commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
Who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves,
But Jesus Christ as Lord,
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God,
Who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard-pressed on all sides,
But not crushed.
Perplexed,
But not in despair.
Persecuted,
But not forsaken.
Struck down,
But not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then,
Death is at work in us,
But life is at work in you.
And in keeping with what is written.
I believed,
Therefore I have spoken.
We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
All this is for your benefit,
So that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore,
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
Yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled,
We have a building from God,
An eternal house in heaven,
Not built by human hands.
For in this tent we groan,
Longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
Because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent,
We groan under our burdens,
Because we do not wish to be unclothed,
But clothed,
So that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident,
Although we know that while we are at home in the body,
We are away from the Lord.
For we walk by faith,
Not by sight.
We are confident then,
And would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we aspire to please him,
Whether we are at home in this body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
That each one may receive his due for the things done in the body,
Whether good or bad.
Therefore,
Since we know what it means to fear the Lord,
We try to persuade men.
What we are is clear to God,
And I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
We are not commending ourselves to you again.
Instead,
We are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
So that you can answer those who take pride in appearances,
Rather than in the heart.
If we are out of our mind,
It is for God.
If we are of sound mind,
It is for you.
For Christ's love compels us,
Because we are convinced that one died for all,
Therefore all died.
And he died for all,
That those who live should no longer live for themselves,
But for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.
Although we once regarded Christ in this way,
We do so no longer.
Therefore,
If anyone is in Christ,
He is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
The new has come.
All this is from God,
Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
Not counting men's trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore,
We are ambassadors for Christ,
As though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ.
Be reconciled to God.
God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 1 Peter,
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
To the elect who are exiles of the dispersion throughout Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
And Bithynia.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
And sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.
Let grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By his great mercy,
He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And into an inheritance that is imperishable,
Undefiled and unfading,
Reserved in heaven for you,
Who through faith are shielded by God's power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this,
You greatly rejoice.
Though now,
For a little while,
You may have had to suffer grief in various trials,
So that the proven character of your faith more precious than gold,
Which perishes even though refined by fire,
May result in praise,
Glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him,
You love him.
And though you do not see him now,
You believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
The salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation,
The prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
Trying to determine the time and setting to which the spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
But you,
When they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore,
Prepare your minds for action.
Be sober-minded.
Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children,
Do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
But just as He who called you is holy.
So be holy in all you do,
For it is written,
Be holy,
Because I am holy.
Since you call on a father who judges each one's work impartially,
Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
But with the precious blood of Christ,
A lamb without blemish or spot.
He was known before the foundation of the world,
But was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God,
Who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
And so your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth,
So that you have a genuine love for your brothers.
Love one another deeply,
From a pure heart.
For you have been born again,
Not of perishable seed,
But of imperishable through the living and enduring Word of God.
For all flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flowers of the field.
Grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord stands forever.
" And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 147 Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
How pleasant and lovely to praise him.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Determines the number of the stars.
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord,
And mighty in power.
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble,
But casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the hills.
He provides food for the animals and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
Who hope in his loving devotion.
Exalt the Lord,
O Jerusalem.
Praise your God,
O Zion.
For he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
He makes peace at your borders.
He fills you with the finest wheat.
He sends forth his command to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool.
He scatters the frost like ashes.
He casts forth his hail like pebbles.
Can withstand his icy blast?
He sends forth his word and melts them.
He unleashes his winds and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Hallelujah!
Revelation 21.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Than I John.
Saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem.
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men.
And he will dwell with them,
And they shall be his people.
God himself will be with them,
And be their God.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
Nor sorrow,
Nor crying.
There shall be no more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said to me,
Write,
For these words are true and faithful.
And he said to me,
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega.
The beginning and the end.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
And I will be his God,
And he shall be my son.
But the cowardly,
Unbelieving,
Abominable,
Murderers,
Sexually immoral,
Sorcerers,
Idolaters,
And all liars shall have their part in the lake,
Which burns with fire and brimstone,
Which is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels,
Who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,
Came to me and talked with me,
Saying,
Come.
I will show you the bride,
The lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
And showed me the great city,
The holy Jerusalem.
Descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God.
Her light was like a most precious stone.
Like a jasper stone,
Clear as crystal.
Also she had a great and high wall,
With twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates,
And names written on them,
Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Three gates on the east,
Three gates on the north,
Three gates on the south,
And three gates on the west.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city is laid out as a square,
Its length being the same as its width.
And he measured the city with the reed,
Twelve thousand furlongs.
Its length,
Breadth,
And height are equal.
Then he measured its wall,
144 cubits,
According to the measure of a man,
That is,
Of an angel.
The construction of its wall was of jasper.
And the city was pure gold,
Like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was Jasper.
The second Sapphire,
The third Chalcedony,
The fourth Emerald,
The fifth Sardonyx,
The sixth Sardius,
The seventh Chrysolite,
The eighth Beryl,
The ninth Topaz,
The tenth Chrysoprase,
The eleventh Jacinthe,
And the twelfth Amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each individual gate was of one pearl,
And the street of the city was pure gold.
Like transparent glass.
But I saw no temple in it.
For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God illuminated it.
The Lamb.
Is its light.
And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light.
And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day.
There shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles,
Or causes an abomination,
Or a lie.
But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Psalm 34.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
" My soul shall boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me!
Let's exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord,
And He answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried,
And the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
O fear the Lord,
You his saints!
For there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger.
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come,
You children.
Listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is someone who desires life and loves many days.
That he may see good.
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
The Lord's face is against those who do evil.
To cut off their memory from the Earth.
The righteous cry,
And the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.
And saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
None of those who take refuge in Him shall be condemned.
Isaiah 53 who has believed our message.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
No beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces.
He was despised,
And we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.
Yet we considered him stricken,
Struck down by God,
And afflicted.
He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his stripes we are healed.
We all like sheep have gone astray,
Each one has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
So he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment,
He was taken away.
And who can recount his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer.
And when his soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring,
He will prolong his days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
After the anguish of his soul.
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
My righteous servant will justify many,
And he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore,
I will allot him a portion with the great,
And he will divide the spoils with the strong.
Because he has poured out his life unto death,
And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
John 14.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
You believe in God,
Believe in me as well.
In my father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
" And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and welcome you into my presence,
So that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Lord,
" said Thomas,
We do not know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you had known me,
You would know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
Show us the Father,
And that will be enough for us.
Jesus replied,
Philip,
I have been with you all this time,
And still you do not know me.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
And the Father is in me?
The words I say to you,
I do not speak on my own.
Instead,
It is the Father dwelling in me,
Performing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly,
Truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
" If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate to be with you forever,
The Spirit of Truth.
" The world cannot receive him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you do know Him,
For He abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see me no more,
But you will see me.
Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will know that I am in my Father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my father,
And I will love him and reveal myself to him.
Judas,
Not Iscariot,
Asked him,
Lord,
Why are you going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?
Jesus replied.
If anyone loves me,
He will keep my word.
My father will love him,
And we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
The word that you hear is not my own,
But it is from the Father who sent me.
" All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
" but the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name,
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
Because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer,
For the prince of this world is coming,
And he has no claim on me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded me,
So that the world may know that I love the Father.
Let us go on from here.
2 Corinthians 4 Therefore,
Since God,
In his mercy,
Has given us this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
Instead,
We have renounced secret and shameful ways.
We do not practice deceit,
Nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary,
By open proclamation of the truth,
We commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
Who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves,
But Jesus Christ as Lord,
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God,
Who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard-pressed on all sides,
But not crushed.
Perplexed,
But not in despair.
Persecuted,
But not forsaken.
Struck down,
But not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then,
Death is at work in us,
But life is at work in you.
And in keeping with what is written.
I believed,
Therefore I have spoken.
We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
All this is for your benefit,
So that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore,
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
Yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled,
We have a building from God,
An eternal house in heaven,
Not built by human hands.
For in this tent we groan,
Longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
Because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent,
We groan under our burdens,
Because we do not wish to be unclothed,
But clothed,
So that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident,
Although we know that while we are at home in the body,
We are away from the Lord.
For we walk by faith,
Not by sight.
We are confident then,
And would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we aspire to please him,
Whether we are at home in this body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
That each one may receive his due for the things done in the body,
Whether good or bad.
Therefore,
Since we know what it means to fear the Lord,
We try to persuade men.
What we are is clear to God,
And I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
We are not commending ourselves to you again.
Instead,
We are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
So that you can answer those who take pride in appearances,
Rather than in the heart.
If we are out of our mind,
It is for God.
If we are of sound mind,
It is for you.
For Christ's love compels us,
Because we are convinced that one died for all,
Therefore all died.
And he died for all,
That those who live should no longer live for themselves,
But for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.
Although we once regarded Christ in this way,
We do so no longer.
Therefore,
If anyone is in Christ,
He is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
The new has come.
All this is from God,
Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
Not counting men's trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore,
We are ambassadors for Christ,
As though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
Be reconciled to God.
God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 1 Peter,
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
To the elect who are exiles of the dispersion throughout Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
And Bithynia.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
And sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By His great mercy,
He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And into an inheritance that is imperishable,
Undefiled and unfading,
Reserved in heaven for you,
Who through faith are shielded by God's power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this,
You greatly rejoice.
Though now,
For a little while,
You may have had to suffer grief in various trials,
So that the proven character of your faith more precious than gold,
Which perishes even though refined by fire,
May result in praise,
Glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him,
You love him.
And though you do not see him now,
You believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
The salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation,
The prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
Trying to determine the time and setting to which the spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
But you,
When they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore,
Prepare your minds for action.
Be sober-minded.
Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
But just as He who called you is holy.
So be holy in all you do,
For it is written,
Be holy,
Because I am holy.
Since you call on a father who judges each one's work impartially,
Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
But with the precious blood of Christ,
A lamb without blemish or spot.
He was known before the foundation of the world,
But was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God,
Who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
And so your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers.
Love one another deeply,
From a pure heart.
For you have been born again,
Not of perishable seed,
But of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God.
For all flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flowers of the field.
Grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord stands forever.
" And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 147.
Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
How pleasant and lovely to praise him.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars.
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord,
And mighty in power.
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble,
But casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth.
Who makes grass to grow on the hills.
He provides food for the animals and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
Who hope in his loving devotion.
Exalt the Lord,
O Jerusalem.
Praise your God,
O Zion.
For he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
He makes peace at your borders.
He fills you with the finest wheat.
He sends forth his command to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool.
He scatters the frost like ashes.
He casts forth his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends forth his word and melts them.
He unleashes his winds and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Hallelujah.
Revelation 21.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Then I,
John,
Saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem.
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men.
And he will dwell with them,
And they shall be his people.
God himself will be with them and be their God.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
Nor sorrow,
Nor crying.
There shall be no more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said to me,
Write,
For these words are true and faithful.
And he said to me,
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega.
The beginning and the end.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
And I will be his God,
And he shall be my son.
But the cowardly,
Unbelieving,
Abominable,
Murderers,
Sexually immoral,
Sorcerers,
Idolaters,
And all liars shall have their part in the lake,
Which burns with fire and brimstone,
Which is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels,
Who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,
Came to me and talked with me,
Saying,
Come,
I will show you the bride,
The Lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
And showed me the great city,
The holy Jerusalem.
Descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God.
Her light was like a most precious stone.
Like a jasper stone,
Clear as crystal.
Also she had a great and high wall,
With twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates,
And names written on them,
Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Three gates on the east,
Three gates on the north,
Three gates on the south,
And three gates on the west.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city is laid out as a square,
Its length being the same as its width.
And he measured the city with the reed,
12,
000 furlongs.
Its length,
Breadth and height are equal.
Then he measured its wall,
144 cubits,
According to the measure of a man,
That is,
Of an angel.
The construction of its wall was of jasper.
And the city was pure gold,
Like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was Jasper.
The second Sapphire,
The third Chalcedony,
The fourth Emerald,
The fifth Sardonyx,
The sixth Sardius,
The seventh Chrysolite,
The eighth Beryl,
The ninth Topaz,
The tenth Chrysoprase,
The eleventh Jacinthe,
And the twelfth Amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each individual gate was of one pearl,
And the street of the city was pure gold.
Like transparent glass.
But I saw no temple in it,
For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God illuminated it.
The lamb is its light.
And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light.
And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day.
There shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles,
Or causes an abomination,
Or a lie.
But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Psalm 34.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
" My soul shall boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me!
Let's exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord,
And he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried,
And the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
O fear the Lord,
You his saints!
For there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger.
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come,
You children,
Listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is someone who desires life and loves many days.
That he may see good.
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
The Lord's face is against those who do evil.
To cut off their memory from the Earth.
The righteous cry,
And the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.
And saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
None of those who take refuge in Him shall be condemned.
Isaiah 53 who has believed our message.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
No beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces.
He was despised,
And we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.
Yet we considered him stricken,
Struck down by God,
And afflicted.
He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his stripes we are healed.
We all like sheep have gone astray,
Each one has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
So he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment,
He was taken away.
And who can recount his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer.
And when his soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring,
He will prolong his days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
After the anguish of his soul.
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
My righteous servant will justify many,
And he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore,
I will allot him a portion with the great,
And he will divide the spoils with the strong.
Because he has poured out his life unto death,
And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
John 14.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
You believe in God,
Believe in me as well.
In my father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and welcome you into my presence,
So that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Lord,
" said Thomas,
We do not know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way,
The truth,
And the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
" If you had known me,
You would know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
Show us the Father,
And that will be enough for us.
Jesus replied,
Philip,
I have been with you all this time,
And still you do not know me.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
And the Father is in me?
The words I say to you I do not speak on my own.
Instead,
It is the Father dwelling in me,
Performing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly,
Truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
" If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate to be with you forever,
The Spirit of Truth.
" The world cannot receive him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you do know him,
For he abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see me no more,
But you will see me.
Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will know that I am in my Father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my father,
And I will love him and reveal myself to him.
Judas,
Not Iscariot,
Asked him.
Lord,
Why are you going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?
Jesus replied.
If anyone loves me,
He will keep my word.
My Father will love him,
And we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
The word that you hear is not my own,
But it is from the Father who sent me.
" All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
But the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name,
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
Do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
Because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer,
For the prince of this world is coming,
And he has no claim on me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded me,
So that the world may know that I love the Father.
Let us go on from here.
2 Corinthians 4 Therefore,
Since God,
In his mercy,
Has given us this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
Instead we have renounced secret and shameful ways.
We do not practice deceit,
Nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary,
By open proclamation of the truth,
We commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
Who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves,
But Jesus Christ as Lord,
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God,
Who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard-pressed on all sides,
But not crushed.
Perplexed,
But not in despair.
Persecuted,
But not forsaken.
Struck down,
But not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then death is at work in us,
But life is at work in you.
And in keeping with what is written.
I believed,
Therefore I have spoken.
We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
All this is for your benefit,
So that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore,
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
Yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled,
We have a building from God,
An eternal house in heaven,
Not built by human hands.
For in this tent we groan,
Longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
Because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent,
We groan under our burdens,
Because we do not wish to be unclothed,
But clothed,
So that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident,
Although we know that while we are at home in the body,
We are away from the Lord.
For we walk by faith,
Not by sight.
We are confident then,
And would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we aspire to please him,
Whether we are at home in this body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
That each one may receive his due for the things done in the body,
Whether good or bad.
Therefore,
Since we know what it means to fear the Lord,
We try to persuade men.
What we are is clear to God,
And I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
We are not commending ourselves to you again.
Instead,
We are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
So that you can answer those who take pride in appearances,
Rather than in the heart.
If we are out of our mind,
It is for God.
If we are of sound mind,
It is for you.
For Christ's love compels us,
Because we are convinced that one died for all,
Therefore all died.
And he died for all,
That those who live should no longer live for themselves,
But for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.
Although we once regarded Christ in this way,
We do so no longer.
Therefore,
If anyone is in Christ,
He is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
The new has come.
All this is from God,
Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
Not counting men's trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore,
We are ambassadors for Christ,
As though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
Be reconciled to God.
God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 1 Peter,
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
To the elect who are exiles of the dispersion throughout Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
And Bithynia.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
And sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By his great mercy,
He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And into an inheritance that is imperishable,
Undefiled and unfading,
Reserved in heaven for you,
Who through faith are shielded by God's power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this,
You greatly rejoice.
Though now,
For a little while,
You may have had to suffer grief in various trials,
So that the proven character of your faith more precious than gold,
Which perishes even though refined by fire,
May result in praise,
Glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him,
You love him.
And though you do not see him now,
You believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
The salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation,
The prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
Trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
But you,
When they foretold the things now announced by those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore,
Prepare your minds for action.
Be sober-minded.
Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children,
Do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
But just as He who called you is holy.
So be holy in all you do,
For it is written,
Be holy,
Because I am holy.
Since you call on a father who judges each one's work impartially,
Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
But with the precious blood of Christ,
A lamb without blemish or spot.
He was known before the foundation of the world,
But was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God,
Who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
And so your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers.
Love one another deeply,
From a pure heart.
For you have been born again,
Not of perishable seed,
But of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God.
For all flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flowers of the field.
Grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord stands forever.
" And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 147.
Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
How pleasant and lovely to praise him.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars.
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord,
And mighty in power,
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble,
But casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the hills.
He provides food for the animals and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
Who hope in his loving devotion.
Exalt the Lord,
O Jerusalem.
Praise your God,
O Zion.
For he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
He makes peace at your borders.
He fills you with the finest wheat.
He sends forth his command to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool.
He scatters the frost like ashes.
He casts forth his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends forth his word and melts them.
He unleashes his winds and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Hallelujah.
Revelation 21.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Then I,
John,
Saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem.
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men.
And he will dwell with them,
And they shall be his people.
God himself will be with them,
And be their God.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
Nor sorrow,
Nor crying.
There shall be no more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said to me,
Write,
For these words are true and faithful.
And he said to me,
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
The beginning and the end.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
And I will be his God,
And he shall be my son.
But the cowardly,
Unbelieving,
Abominable,
Murderers,
Sexually immoral,
Sorcerers,
Idolaters,
And all liars shall have their part in the lake,
Which burns with fire and brimstone,
Which is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels,
Who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,
Came to me and talked with me,
Saying,
Come,
I will show you the bride,
The Lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
And showed me the great city,
The holy Jerusalem.
Descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God.
Her light was like a most precious stone.
Like a jasper stone,
Clear as crystal.
Also she had a great and high wall,
With twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates,
And names written on them,
Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Three gates on the east,
Three gates on the north,
Three gates on the south,
And three gates on the west.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city is laid out as a square,
Its length being the same as its width.
And he measured the city with the reed,
Twelve thousand furlongs.
Its length,
Breadth,
And height are equal.
Then he measured its wall,
144 cubits,
According to the measure of a man,
That is,
Of an angel.
The construction of its wall was of jasper.
And the city was pure gold,
Like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was Jasper.
The second Sapphire,
The third Chalcedony,
The fourth Emerald,
The fifth Sardonyx,
The sixth Sardius,
The seventh Chrysolite,
The eighth Beryl,
The ninth Topaz,
The tenth Chrysoprase,
The eleventh Jacinthe,
And the twelfth Amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each individual gate was of one pearl,
And the street of the city was pure gold.
Like transparent glass.
But I saw no temple in it.
For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.
Or its temple.
The city had no need of the sun.
Or of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God illuminated it.
The Lamb.
Is its light.
And the nations of those who are saved.
Shall walk in its light.
And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day.
There shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles,
Or causes an abomination,
Or a lie.
But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Psalm 34.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
My soul shall boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me!
Let's exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord,
And he answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried,
And the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
O fear the Lord,
You his saints!
For there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger.
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come,
You children.
Listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is someone who desires life and loves many days.
That he may see good.
Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
The Lord's face is against those who do evil.
To cut off their memory from the Earth.
The righteous cry,
And the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.
And saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
None of those who take refuge in Him shall be condemned.
Isaiah 53 who has believed our message.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
No beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces.
He was despised,
And we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.
Yet we considered him stricken,
Struck down by God,
And afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his stripes we are healed.
We all like sheep have gone astray,
Each one has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
So he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment,
He was taken away.
And who can recount his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer.
And when his soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring,
He will prolong his days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
After the anguish of his soul.
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
My righteous servant will justify many,
And he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore,
I will allot him a portion with the great,
And he will divide the spoils with the strong.
Because he has poured out his life unto death,
And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
John 14.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
You believe in God,
Believe in me as well.
In my father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and welcome you into my presence,
So that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Lord,
" said Thomas,
We do not know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you had known me,
You would know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
Show us the Father,
And that will be enough for us.
Jesus replied,
Philip,
I have been with you all this time,
And still you do not know me.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
And the Father is in me?
The words I say to you,
I do not speak on my own.
Instead,
It is the Father dwelling in me,
Performing His works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly,
Truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate to be with you forever,
The Spirit of Truth.
" The world cannot receive him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you do know Him,
For He abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see me no more,
But you will see me.
Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will know that I am in my father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my father,
And I will love him and reveal myself to him.
Judas,
Not Iscariot,
Asked him.
Lord,
Why are you going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?
Jesus replied.
If anyone loves me,
He will keep my word.
My father will love him,
And we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
The word that you hear is not my own,
But it is from the Father who sent me.
All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
" but the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name,
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
Because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer,
For the prince of this world is coming,
And he has no claim on me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded me,
So that the world may know that I love the Father.
Let us go on from here.
2 Corinthians 4 Therefore,
Since God,
In his mercy,
Has given us this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
Instead,
We have renounced secret and shameful ways.
We do not practice deceit,
Nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary,
By open proclamation of the truth,
We commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
Who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves,
But Jesus Christ as Lord,
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God,
Who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard-pressed on all sides,
But not crushed.
Perplexed,
But not in despair.
Persecuted,
But not forsaken.
Struck down,
But not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then death is at work in us,
But life is at work in you.
And in keeping with what is written.
I believed,
Therefore I have spoken.
We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
All this is for your benefit,
So that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore,
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
Yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled,
We have a building from God,
An eternal house in heaven,
Not built by human hands.
For in this tent we groan,
Longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
Because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent,
We groan under our burdens,
Because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed,
So that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident,
Although we know that while we are at home in the body,
We are away from the Lord.
For we walk by faith,
Not by sight.
We are confident then,
And would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we aspire to please him,
Whether we are at home in this body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
That each one may receive his due for the things done in the body,
Whether good or bad.
Therefore,
Since we know what it means to fear the Lord,
We try to persuade men.
What we are is clear to God,
And I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
We are not commending ourselves to you again.
Instead,
We are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
So that you can answer those who take pride in appearances,
Rather than in the heart.
If we are out of our mind,
It is for God.
If we are of sound mind,
It is for you.
For Christ's love compels us,
Because we are convinced that one died for all,
Therefore all died.
And he died for all,
That those who live should no longer live for themselves,
But for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.
Although we once regarded Christ in this way,
We do so no longer.
Therefore,
If anyone is in Christ,
He is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
The new has come.
All this is from God,
Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
Not counting men's trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore,
We are ambassadors for Christ,
As though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ.
Be reconciled to God.
God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 1 Peter,
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
To the elect who are exiles of the dispersion throughout Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
And Bithynia.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
And sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By his great mercy,
He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And into an inheritance that is imperishable,
Undefiled and unfading,
Reserved in heaven for you,
Who through faith are shielded by God's power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this,
You greatly rejoice.
Though now,
For a little while,
You may have had to suffer grief in various trials,
So that the proven character of your faith more precious than gold,
Which perishes even though refined by fire,
May result in praise,
Glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him,
You love him.
And though you do not see him now,
You believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
The salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation,
The prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
Trying to determine the time and setting to which the spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
But you,
When they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore,
Prepare your minds for action.
Be sober-minded.
Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children,
Do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
But just as He who called you is holy.
So be holy in all you do,
For it is written,
Be holy,
Because I am holy.
Since you call on a father who judges each one's work impartially,
Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
But with the precious blood of Christ,
A lamb without blemish or spot.
He was known before the foundation of the world,
But was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God,
Who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
And so your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers.
Love one another deeply,
From a pure heart.
For you have been born again,
Not of perishable seed.
But of imperishable through the living and enduring Word of God.
For all flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord stands forever.
And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 147 Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
How pleasant and lovely to praise him.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars.
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord,
And mighty in power.
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble,
But casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the hills.
He provides food for the animals and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
Who hope in his loving devotion.
Exalt the Lord,
O Jerusalem.
Praise your God,
O Zion.
For he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
He makes peace at your borders.
He fills you with the finest wheat.
He sends forth his command to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool.
He scatters the frost like ashes.
He casts forth his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends forth his word and melts them.
He unleashes his winds and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Hallelujah.
Revelation 21.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Then I,
John,
Saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem.
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men.
And he will dwell with them,
And they shall be his people.
God himself will be with them and be their God.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
Nor sorrow,
Nor crying.
There shall be no more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said to me,
Write,
For these words are true and faithful.
And he said to me,
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega.
The beginning and the end.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
And I will be his God,
And he shall be my son.
But the cowardly,
Unbelieving,
Abominable,
Murderers,
Sexually immoral,
Sorcerers,
Idolaters,
And all liars shall have their part in the lake,
Which burns with fire and brimstone,
Which is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels,
Who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,
Came to me and talked with me,
Saying,
Come,
I will show you the bride,
The Lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
And showed me the great city,
The holy Jerusalem.
Descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God.
Her light was like a most precious stone.
Like a jasper stone,
Clear as crystal.
Also she had a great and high wall,
With twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates,
And names written on them,
Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Three gates on the east,
Three gates on the north,
Three gates on the south,
And three gates on the west.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city is laid out as a square,
Its length being the same as its width.
And he measured the city with the reed,
Twelve thousand furlongs.
Its length,
Breadth,
And height are equal.
Then he measured its wall,
144 cubits,
According to the measure of a man,
That is,
Of an angel.
The construction of its wall was of jasper.
And the city was pure gold,
Like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was Jasper.
The second Sapphire.
The 3rd Chalcedony,
The 4th Emerald,
The 5th Sardonyx,
The 6th Sardius,
The 7th Chrysolite,
The 8th Beryl,
The 9th Topaz,
The 10th Chrysoprase,
The 11th Jacinthe,
And the 12th Amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each individual gate was of one pearl,
And the street of the city was pure gold,
Like transparent glass.
You But I saw no temple in it,
For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
" The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God illuminated it.
The Lamb.
Is its light.
And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light.
And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day.
There shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles,
Or causes an abomination,
Or a lie.
But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Psalm 34.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
" My soul shall boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me!
Let's exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord,
And he answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried,
And the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
O fear the Lord,
You his saints!
For there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger.
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come,
You children.
Listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is someone who desires life and loves many days.
That he may see good.
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
The Lord's face is against those who do evil.
To cut off their memory from the Earth.
The righteous cry,
And the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.
And saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
None of those who take refuge in Him shall be condemned.
Isaiah 53 who has believed our message.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
No beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces.
He was despised,
And we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.
Yet we considered him stricken,
Struck down by God,
And afflicted.
He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his stripes we are healed.
We all like sheep have gone astray,
Each one has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
So he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment,
He was taken away.
And who can recount his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer.
And when his soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring,
He will prolong his days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
After the anguish of his soul.
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
My righteous servant will justify many,
And he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore,
I will allot him a portion with the great,
And he will divide the spoils with the strong.
Because he has poured out his life unto death,
And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
John 14.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
You believe in God,
Believe in me as well.
In my father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and welcome you into my presence,
So that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Lord,
" said Thomas,
We do not know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you had known me,
You would know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
Show us the Father,
And that will be enough for us.
Jesus replied,
Philip,
I have been with you all this time,
And still you do not know me.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
And the Father is in me?
The words I say to you,
I do not speak on my own.
Instead,
It is the Father dwelling in me,
Performing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly,
Truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
" If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate to be with you forever,
The Spirit of Truth.
" The world cannot receive him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you do know Him,
For He abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see me no more,
But you will see me.
Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will know that I am in my Father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my father,
And I will love him and reveal myself to him.
Judas,
Not Iscariot,
Asked him,
Lord,
Why are you going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?
Jesus replied.
If anyone loves me,
He will keep my word.
My Father will love him,
And we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
The word that you hear is not my own,
But it is from the Father who sent me.
All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
" but the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name.
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
Do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
Because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer,
For the prince of this world is coming,
And he has no claim on me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded me,
So that the world may know that I love the Father.
Let us go on from here.
2 Corinthians 4 Therefore,
Since God,
In his mercy,
Has given us this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
Instead we have renounced secret and shameful ways.
We do not practice deceit,
Nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary,
By open proclamation of the truth,
We commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
Who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves,
But Jesus Christ as Lord,
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God,
Who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay,
To show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard-pressed on all sides,
But not crushed.
Perplexed,
But not in despair.
Persecuted,
But not forsaken.
Struck down,
But not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then,
Death is at work in us,
But life is at work in you.
And in keeping with what is written.
I believed,
Therefore I have spoken.
We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
All this is for your benefit,
So that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore,
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
Yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled,
We have a building from God,
An eternal house in heaven,
Not built by human hands.
For in this tent we groan,
Longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
Because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent,
We groan under our burdens,
Because we do not wish to be unclothed,
But clothed,
So that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident,
Although we know that while we are at home in the body,
We are away from the Lord.
For we walk by faith,
Not by sight.
We are confident then,
And would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we aspire to please him,
Whether we are at home in this body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
That each one may receive his due for the things done in the body,
Whether good or bad.
Therefore,
Since we know what it means to fear the Lord,
We try to persuade men.
What we are is clear to God,
And I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
We are not commending ourselves to you again.
Instead,
We are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
So that you can answer those who take pride in appearances,
Rather than in the heart.
If we are out of our mind,
It is for God.
If we are of sound mind,
It is for you.
For Christ's love compels us,
Because we are convinced that one died for all,
Therefore all die.
And he died for all,
That those who live should no longer live for themselves,
But for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.
Although we once regarded Christ in this way,
We do so no longer.
Therefore,
If anyone is in Christ,
He is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
The new has come.
All this is from God,
Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
Not counting men's trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore,
We are ambassadors for Christ,
As though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
Be reconciled to God.
God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 1 Peter,
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
To the elect who are exiles of the dispersion throughout Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
And Bithynia.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
And sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By his great mercy,
He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And into an inheritance that is imperishable,
Undefiled and unfading,
Reserved in heaven for you,
Who through faith are shielded by God's power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this,
You greatly rejoice.
Though now,
For a little while,
You may have had to suffer grief in various trials,
So that the proven character of your faith more precious than gold,
Which perishes even though refined by fire,
May result in praise,
Glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him,
You love him.
And though you do not see him now,
You believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
The salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation,
The prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
Trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
But you,
When they foretold the things now announced by those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore,
Prepare your minds for action.
Be sober-minded.
Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children,
Do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
But just as He who called you is holy.
So be holy in all you do,
For it is written,
Be holy,
Because I am holy.
Since you call on a father who judges each one's work impartially,
Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
But with the precious blood of Christ,
A lamb without blemish or spot.
Was known before the foundation of the world,
But was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God,
Who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
And so your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth,
So that you have a genuine love for your brothers.
Love one another deeply,
From a pure heart.
For you have been born again,
Not of perishable seed,
But of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God.
For all flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord stands forever.
And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 147 Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
How pleasant and lovely to praise him.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars.
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord,
And mighty in power.
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble,
But casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the hills.
He provides food for the animals and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
Who hope in his loving devotion.
Exalt the Lord,
O Jerusalem.
Praise your God,
O Zion.
For he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
He makes peace at your borders.
He fills you with the finest wheat.
He sends forth his command to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool.
He scatters the frost like ashes.
He casts forth his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends forth his word and melts them.
He unleashes his winds and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Hallelujah.
Revelation 21.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Then I,
John,
Saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem.
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men.
And he will dwell with them,
And they shall be his people.
God himself will be with them,
And be their God.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
Nor sorrow,
Nor crying.
There shall be no more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said to me,
Write,
For these words are true and faithful.
And he said to me,
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega.
The beginning and the end.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
And I will be his God,
And he shall be my son.
But the cowardly,
Unbelieving,
Abominable,
Murderers,
Sexually immoral,
Sorcerers,
Idolaters,
And all liars shall have their part in the lake,
Which burns with fire and brimstone,
Which is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels,
Who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,
Came to me and talked with me,
Saying,
Come,
I will show you the bride,
The Lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
And showed me the great city,
The holy Jerusalem.
Descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God.
Her light was like a most precious stone.
Like a jasper stone,
Clear as crystal.
Also she had a great and high wall,
With twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates,
And names written on them,
Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Three gates on the east,
Three gates on the north,
Three gates on the south,
And three gates on the west.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city is laid out as a square,
Its length being the same as its width.
And he measured the city with the reed,
Twelve thousand furlongs.
Its length,
Breadth,
And height are equal.
Then he measured its wall,
One hundred forty-four cubits,
According to the measure of a man,
That is,
Of an angel.
The construction of its wall was of jasper.
And the city was pure gold,
Like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was jasper,
The second sapphire,
The third chalcedony,
The fourth emerald,
The fifth sardonyx,
The sixth sardius,
The seventh chrysolite,
The eighth beryl,
The ninth topaz,
The tenth chrysoprase,
The eleventh jacinth,
And the twelfth amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each individual gate was of one pearl.
And the street of the city was pure gold,
Like transparent glass.
But I saw no temple in it.
For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God illuminated it.
The lamb is its light.
And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light.
And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day.
There shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles,
Or causes an abomination,
Or a lie.
But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Psalm 34.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
" My soul shall boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me!
Let's exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord,
And He answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried,
And the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
O fear the Lord,
You his saints!
For there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger.
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come,
You children,
Listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is someone who desires life and loves many days.
That he may see good.
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
The Lord's face is against those who do evil.
To cut off their memory from the Earth.
The righteous cry,
And the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.
And saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
None of those who take refuge in Him shall be condemned.
Isaiah 53 who has believed our message.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
No beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces,
He was despised and we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.
Yet we considered him stricken,
Struck down by God,
And afflicted.
He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his stripes we are healed.
" We all like sheep have gone astray,
Each one has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers' asylum,
So he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment,
He was taken away.
And who can recount his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
Was assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer.
And when his soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring,
He will prolong his days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
After the anguish of his soul.
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
My righteous servant will justify many,
And he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
And he will divide the spoils with the strong.
Because he has poured out his life unto death,
And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
John 14.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
You believe in God,
Believe in me as well.
In my father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and welcome you into my presence,
So that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Lord,
" said Thomas,
We do not know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you had known me,
You would know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
Show us the Father,
And that will be enough for us.
Jesus replied,
Philip,
I have been with you all this time,
And still you do not know me.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
And the Father is in me?
The words I say to you,
I do not speak on my own.
Instead,
It is the Father dwelling in me,
Performing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly,
Truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
" If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate to be with you forever,
The Spirit of Truth.
" The world cannot receive him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you do know Him,
For He abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see me no more,
But you will see me.
Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will know that I am in my Father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my father,
And I will love him and reveal myself to him.
Judas,
Not Iscariot,
Asked him.
Lord,
Why are you going to reveal yourself to us,
Not to the world?
Jesus replied,
If anyone loves me,
He will keep my word.
My father will love him,
And we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
The word that you hear is not my own,
But it is from the Father who sent me.
" All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
" but the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name,
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
Because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer,
For the prince of this world is coming,
And he has no claim on me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded me,
So that the world may know that I love the Father.
Let us go on from here.
2 Corinthians 4 Therefore,
Since God,
In his mercy,
Has given us this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
Instead we have renounced secret and shameful ways.
We do not practice deceit,
Nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary,
By open proclamation of the truth,
We commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
Who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves,
But Jesus Christ as Lord,
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God,
Who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard-pressed on all sides,
But not crushed.
Perplexed,
But not in despair.
Persecuted,
But not forsaken.
Struck down,
But not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus.
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then,
Death is at work in us,
But life is at work in you.
And in keeping with what is written.
I believed,
Therefore I have spoken.
We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
All this is for your benefit,
So that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore,
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
Yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled,
We have a building from God,
An eternal house in heaven,
Not built by human hands.
For in this tent we groan,
Longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
Because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent,
We groan under our burdens,
Because we do not wish to be unclothed,
But clothed,
So that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident,
Although we know that while we are at home in the body,
We are away from the Lord.
For we walk by faith,
Not by sight.
We are confident then,
And would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we aspire to please him,
Whether we are at home in this body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
That each one may receive his due for the things done in the body,
Whether good or bad.
Therefore,
Since we know what it means to fear the Lord,
We try to persuade men.
What we are is clear to God,
And I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
We are not commending ourselves to you again.
Instead,
We are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
So that you can answer those who take pride in appearances,
Rather than in the heart.
If we are out of our mind,
It is for God.
If we are of sound mind,
It is for you.
For Christ's love compels us,
Because we are convinced that one died for all,
Therefore all die.
And he died for all,
That those who live should no longer live for themselves,
But for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.
Although we once regarded Christ in this way,
We do so no longer.
Therefore,
If anyone is in Christ,
He is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
The new has come.
All this is from God,
Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
Not counting men's trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore,
We are ambassadors for Christ,
As though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
Be reconciled to God.
God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 1.
Peter,
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
To the elect who are exiles of the dispersion throughout Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
And Bithynia.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
And sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By His great mercy,
He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And into an inheritance that is imperishable,
Undefiled and unfading,
Reserved in heaven for you,
Who through faith are shielded by God's power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this,
You greatly rejoice.
Though now,
For a little while,
You may have had to suffer grief in various trials,
So that the proven character of your faith more precious than gold,
Which perishes even though refined by fire,
May result in praise,
Glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him,
You love him.
And though you do not see him now,
You believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
The salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation,
The prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
Trying to determine the time and setting to which the spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
But you,
When they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore,
Prepare your minds for action.
Be sober-minded.
Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children,
Do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
But just as He who called you is holy.
So be holy in all you do,
For it is written,
Be holy,
Because I am holy.
Since you call on a father who judges each one's work impartially,
Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
But with the precious blood of Christ,
A lamb without blemish or spot.
He was known before the foundation of the world,
But was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God,
Who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
And so your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers.
Love one another deeply,
From a pure heart.
For you have been born again,
Not of perishable seed,
But of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God.
For all flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord stands forever.
And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 147 Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
How pleasant and lovely to praise him.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars.
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord,
And mighty in power,
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble,
But casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the hills.
He provides food for the animals and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
Who hope in his loving devotion.
Exalt the Lord,
O Jerusalem.
Praise your God,
O Zion.
For he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
He makes peace at your borders.
He fills you with the finest wheat.
He sends forth his command to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool.
He scatters the frost like ashes.
He casts forth his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends forth his word and melts them.
He unleashes his winds and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Hallelujah.
Revelation 21.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Then I,
John,
Saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem.
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men.
And he will dwell with them,
And they shall be his people.
God himself will be with them,
And be their God.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
Nor sorrow,
Nor crying.
There shall be no more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said to me,
Write,
For these words are true and faithful.
And he said to me,
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
The beginning and the end.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
And I will be his God,
And he shall be my son.
But the cowardly,
Unbelieving,
Abominable,
Murderers,
Sexually immoral,
Sorcerers,
Idolaters,
And all liars shall have their part in the lake,
Which burns with fire and brimstone,
Which is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels,
Who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,
Came to me and talked with me,
Saying,
Come,
I will show you the bride,
The lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
And showed me the great city,
The holy Jerusalem.
Descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God.
Her light was like a most precious stone.
Like a jasper stone,
Clear as crystal.
Also she had a great and high wall,
With twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates,
And names written on them,
Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Three gates on the east,
Three gates on the north,
Three gates on the south,
And three gates on the west.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city is laid out as a square,
Its length being the same as its width.
And he measured the city with the reed,
Twelve thousand furlongs.
Its length,
Breadth,
And height are equal.
Then he measured its wall.
144 cubits,
According to the measure of a man,
That is,
Of an angel.
The construction of its wall was of jasper.
And the city was pure gold,
Like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was Jasper.
The second Sapphire,
The third Chalcedony,
The fourth Emerald,
The fifth Sardonyx,
The sixth Sardius,
The seventh Chrysolite,
The eighth Beryl,
The ninth Topaz,
The tenth Chrysoprase,
The eleventh Jacinthe,
And the twelfth Amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each individual gate was of one pearl,
And the street of the city was pure gold.
Like transparent glass.
But I saw no temple in it.
For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.
Or its temple.
City had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God illuminated it.
The lamb is its light.
And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light.
And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day.
There shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles,
Or causes an abomination,
Or a lie.
But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Psalm 34.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
My soul shall boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me!
Let's exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord,
And he answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried,
And the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
O fear the Lord,
You his saints!
For there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger.
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come,
You children.
Listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is someone who desires life and loves many days.
That he may see good.
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
The Lord's face is against those who do evil.
To cut off their memory from the Earth.
The righteous cry,
And the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.
And saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
None of those who take refuge in Him shall be condemned.
Isaiah 53 who has believed our message.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
No beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces.
He was despised,
And we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.
Yet we considered him stricken,
Struck down by God,
And afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his stripes we are healed.
We all like sheep have gone astray,
Each one has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
So he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment,
He was taken away.
And who can recount his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer.
And when his soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring,
He will prolong his days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
After the anguish of his soul.
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
My righteous servant will justify many,
And he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore,
I will allot him a portion with the great,
And he will divide the spoils with the strong.
Because he has poured out his life unto death,
And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
John 14.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
You believe in God,
Believe in me as well.
In my father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and welcome you into my presence,
So that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Lord,
" said Thomas,
We do not know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
" If you had known me,
You would know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
Show us the Father,
And that will be enough for us.
Jesus replied,
Philip,
I have been with you all this time,
And still you do not know me.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
And the Father is in me?
The words I say to you,
I do not speak on my own.
Instead,
It is the Father dwelling in me,
Performing His works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly,
Truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
" If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate to be with you forever,
The Spirit of Truth.
" The world cannot receive him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you do know Him,
For He abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see me no more,
But you will see me.
Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will know that I am in my Father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my father,
And I will love him and reveal myself to him.
Judas,
Not Iscariot,
Asked him,
Lord,
Why are you going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?
Jesus replied,
If anyone loves me,
He will keep my word.
My Father will love him,
And we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
The word that you hear is not my own,
But it is from the Father who sent me.
" All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
But the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name,
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
Do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
Because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer,
For the prince of this world is coming,
And he has no claim on me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded me,
So that the world may know that I love the Father.
Let us go on from here.
2 Corinthians 4 Therefore,
Since God,
In his mercy,
Has given us this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
Instead we have renounced secret and shameful ways.
We do not practice deceit,
Nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary,
By open proclamation of the truth,
We commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
Who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves,
But Jesus Christ as Lord,
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God,
Who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard-pressed on all sides,
But not crushed.
Perplexed,
But not in despair.
Persecuted,
But not forsaken.
Struck down,
But not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then,
Death is at work in us,
But life is at work in you.
And in keeping with what is written,
I believed,
Therefore I have spoken.
We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
All this is for your benefit,
So that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore,
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
Yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled,
We have a building from God,
An eternal house in heaven,
Not built by human hands.
For in this tent we groan,
Longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
Because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent,
We groan under our burdens,
Because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed,
So that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident,
Although we know that while we are at home in the body,
We are away from the Lord.
For we walk by faith,
Not by sight.
We are confident then,
And would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we aspire to please him,
Whether we are at home in this body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
That each one may receive his due for the things done in the body,
Whether good or bad.
Therefore,
Since we know what it means to fear the Lord,
We try to persuade men.
What we are is clear to God,
And I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
We are not commending ourselves to you again.
Instead,
We are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
So that you can answer those who take pride in appearances,
Rather than in the heart.
If we are out of our mind,
It is for God.
If we are of sound mind,
It is for you.
For Christ's love compels us,
Because we are convinced that one died for all,
Therefore all die.
And he died for all,
That those who live should no longer live for themselves,
But for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.
Although we once regarded Christ in this way,
We do so no longer.
Therefore,
If anyone is in Christ,
He is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
The new has come.
All this is from God,
Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
Not counting men's trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore,
We are ambassadors for Christ,
As though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ.
Be reconciled to God.
God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 1 Peter,
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
To the elect who are exiles of the dispersion throughout Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
And Bithynia.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
And sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By his great mercy,
He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And into an inheritance that is imperishable,
Undefiled and unfading,
Reserved in heaven for you,
Who through faith are shielded by God's power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this,
You greatly rejoice.
Though now,
For a little while,
You may have had to suffer grief in various trials,
So that the proven character of your faith more precious than gold,
Which perishes even though refined by fire,
May result in praise,
Glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him,
You love him.
And though you do not see him now,
You believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
The salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation,
The prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
Trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
But you,
When they foretold the things now announced by those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore,
Prepare your minds for action.
Be sober-minded.
Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children,
Do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
But just as He who called you is holy.
So be holy in all you do,
For it is written,
Be holy,
Because I am holy.
Since you call on a father who judges each one's work impartially,
Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
But with the precious blood of Christ,
A lamb without blemish or spot.
He was known before the foundation of the world,
But was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God,
Who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
And so your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers.
Love one another deeply,
From a pure heart.
For you have been born again,
Not of perishable seed,
But of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God.
For all flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord stands forever.
And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 147.
Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
How pleasant and lovely to praise him.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars.
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord,
And mighty in power,
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble,
But casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth.
Who makes grass to grow on the hills.
He provides food for the animals and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
Who hope in his loving devotion.
Exalt the Lord,
O Jerusalem.
Praise your God,
O Zion.
For he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
He makes peace at your borders.
He fills you with the finest wheat.
He sends forth his command to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool.
He scatters the frost like ashes.
He casts forth his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends forth his word and melts them.
He unleashes his winds and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Hallelujah.
Revelation 21.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Then I,
John,
Saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem.
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men.
And He will dwell with them.
And they shall be his people.
God himself will be with them.
And be their God.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
Nor sorrow,
Nor crying.
There shall be no more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said to me,
Write,
For these words are true and faithful.
And he said to me,
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega.
The beginning and the end.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
And I will be his God,
And he shall be my son.
But the cowardly,
Unbelieving,
Abominable,
Murderers,
Sexually immoral,
Sorcerers,
Idolaters,
And all liars shall have their part in the lake,
Which burns with fire and brimstone,
Which is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels,
Who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,
Came to me and talked with me,
Saying,
Come,
I will show you the bride,
The Lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
And showed me the great city,
The holy Jerusalem.
Descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God.
Her light was like a most precious stone.
Like a jasper stone,
Clear as crystal.
Also she had a great and high wall,
With twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates,
And names written on them,
Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Three gates on the east,
Three gates on the north,
Three gates on the south,
And three gates on the west.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city is laid out as a square,
Its length being the same as its width.
And he measured the city with the reed,
Twelve thousand furlongs.
Its length,
Breadth,
And height are equal.
Then he measured its wall.
144 cubits,
According to the measure of a man,
That is,
Of an angel.
The construction of its wall was of jasper.
And the city was pure gold,
Like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was Jasper.
The second Sapphire.
The 3rd Chalcedony,
The 4th Emerald,
The 5th Sardonyx,
The 6th Sardius,
The 7th Chrysolite,
The 8th Beryl,
The 9th Topaz,
The 10th Chrysoprase,
The 11th Jacinthe,
And the 12th Amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each individual gate was of one pearl,
And the street of the city was pure gold,
Like transparent glass.
But I saw no temple in it.
For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God illuminated it.
The lamb is its light.
And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light.
And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day.
There shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles,
Or causes an abomination,
Or a lie.
But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Psalm 34.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
" My soul shall boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me!
Let's exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord,
And he answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried,
And the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
O fear the Lord,
You his saints!
For there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger.
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come,
You children.
Listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is someone who desires life and loves many days.
That he may see good.
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
The Lord's face is against those who do evil.
To cut off their memory from the Earth.
Righteous cry,
And the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.
And saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
None of those who take refuge in Him shall be condemned.
Isaiah 53 who has believed our message.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
No beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces.
He was despised,
And we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.
Yet we considered him stricken,
Struck down by God,
And afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his stripes we are healed.
We all like sheep have gone astray,
Each one has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
So he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment,
He was taken away.
And who can recount his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer.
And when his soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring,
He will prolong his days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
After the anguish of his soul.
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
My righteous servant will justify many,
And he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore,
I will allot him a portion with the great,
And he will divide the spoils with the strong.
Because he has poured out his life unto death,
And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
John 14.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
You believe in God,
Believe in me as well.
In my father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and welcome you into my presence,
So that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Lord,
" said Thomas,
We do not know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you had known me,
You would know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
Show us the Father,
And that will be enough for us.
Jesus replied,
Philip,
I have been with you all this time,
And still you do not know me.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
And the Father is in me?
The words I say to you,
I do not speak on my own.
Instead,
It is the Father dwelling in me,
Performing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly,
Truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
" If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate to be with you forever,
The Spirit of Truth.
" The world cannot receive him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you do know Him,
For He abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see me no more,
But you will see me.
Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will know that I am in my father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my father,
And I will love him and reveal myself to him.
Judas,
Not Iscariot,
Asked him,
Lord,
Why are you going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?
Jesus replied,
If anyone loves me,
He will keep my word.
My father will love him,
And we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
The word that you hear is not my own,
But it is from the Father who sent me.
All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
But the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name,
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
Do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
Because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer,
For the prince of this world is coming,
And he has no claim on me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded me,
So that the world may know that I love the Father.
Let us go on from here.
2 Corinthians 4 Therefore,
Since God,
In his mercy,
Has given us this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
Instead,
We have renounced secret and shameful ways.
We do not practice deceit,
Nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary,
By open proclamation of the truth,
We commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
Who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves,
But Jesus Christ as Lord,
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God,
Who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard-pressed on all sides,
But not crushed.
Perplexed,
But not in despair.
Persecuted but not forsaken,
Struck down but not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then,
Death is at work in us,
But life is at work in you.
And in keeping with what is written.
I believed,
Therefore I have spoken.
We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
All this is for your benefit,
So that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore,
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
Yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled,
We have a building from God,
An eternal house in heaven,
Not built by human hands.
For in this tent we groan,
Longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
Because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent,
We groan under our burdens,
Because we do not wish to be unclothed,
But clothed,
So that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident,
Although we know that while we are at home in the body,
We are away from the Lord.
For we walk by faith,
Not by sight.
We are confident then,
And would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we aspire to please him,
Whether we are at home in this body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
That each one may receive his due for the things done in the body,
Whether good or bad.
Therefore,
Since we know what it means to fear the Lord,
We try to persuade men.
What we are is clear to God,
And I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
We are not commending ourselves to you again.
Instead,
We are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
So that you can answer those who take pride in appearances,
Rather than in the heart.
If we are out of our mind,
It is for God.
If we are of sound mind,
It is for you.
For Christ's love compels us,
Because we are convinced that one died for all,
Therefore all die.
And he died for all,
That those who live should no longer live for themselves,
But for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.
Although we once regarded Christ in this way,
We do so no longer.
Therefore,
If anyone is in Christ,
He is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
The new has come.
All this is from God,
Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
Not counting men's trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore,
We are ambassadors for Christ,
As though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
Be reconciled to God.
God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 1.
Peter,
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
To the elect who are exiles of the dispersion throughout Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
And Bithynia.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
And sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By his great mercy,
He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And into an inheritance that is imperishable,
Undefiled,
And unfading,
Reserved in heaven for you.
Who through faith are shielded by God's power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this,
You greatly rejoice.
Though now,
For a little while,
You may have had to suffer grief in various trials,
So that the proven character of your faith more precious than gold,
Which perishes even though refined by fire,
May result in praise,
Glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him,
You love him.
And though you do not see him now,
You believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
The salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation,
The prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
Trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
But you,
When they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore,
Prepare your minds for action.
Be sober-minded.
Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children,
Do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
But just as He who called you is holy.
So be holy in all you do,
For it is written,
Be holy,
Because I am holy.
Since you call on a father who judges each one's work impartially,
Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
But with the precious blood of Christ,
A lamb without blemish or spot.
He was known before the foundation of the world,
But was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God,
Who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
And so your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth,
So that you have a genuine love for your brothers.
Love one another deeply.
From a pure heart.
For you have been born again,
Not of perishable seed,
But of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God.
For all flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord stands forever.
And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 147 Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
How pleasant and lovely to praise him.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Determines the number of the stars.
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord,
And mighty in power,
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble,
But casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth.
Who makes grass to grow on the hills.
He provides food for the animals and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
Who hope in his loving devotion.
Exalt the Lord,
O Jerusalem.
Praise your God,
O Zion.
For He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
He makes peace at your borders.
He fills you with the finest wheat.
He sends forth his command to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool.
Scatters the frost like ashes,
He casts forth his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends forth his word and melts them.
He unleashes his winds and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Hallelujah.
Revelation 21.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Then I,
John,
Saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem.
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men.
And he will dwell with them,
And they shall be his people.
God himself will be with them and be their God,
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
Nor sorrow,
Nor crying.
There shall be no more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said to me,
Write,
For these words are true and faithful.
And he said to me,
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
The beginning and the end.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things.
And I will be his God,
And he shall be my son.
But the cowardly,
Unbelieving,
Abominable,
Murderers,
Sexually immoral,
Sorcerers,
Idolaters,
And all liars shall have their part in the lake,
Which burns with fire and brimstone,
Which is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels,
Who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,
Came to me and talked with me,
Saying,
Come.
I will show you the bride,
The Lamb's wife.
" And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
And showed me the great city,
The holy Jerusalem.
Descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God.
Her light was like a most precious stone.
Like a jasper stone,
Clear as crystal.
Also she had a great and high wall,
With twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates,
And names written on them,
Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Three gates on the east,
Three gates on the north,
Three gates on the south,
And three gates on the west.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city is laid out as a square,
Its length being the same as its width.
And he measured the city with the reed,
Twelve thousand furlongs.
Its length,
Breadth,
And height are equal.
Then he measured its wall,
144 cubits,
According to the measure of a man,
That is,
Of an angel.
The construction of its wall was of jasper,
And the city was pure gold,
Like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was Jasper.
The second Sapphire,
The third Chalcedony,
The fourth Emerald,
The fifth Sardonyx,
The sixth Sardius,
The seventh Chrysolite,
The eighth Beryl,
The ninth Topaz,
The tenth Chrysoprase,
The eleventh Jacinthe,
And the twelfth Amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each individual gate was of one pearl,
And the street of the city was pure gold.
Like transparent glass.
But I saw no temple in it.
For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God illuminated it.
The lamb is its light.
And the nations of those who are saved.
Shall walk in its light,
And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day.
There shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles,
Or causes an abomination,
Or a lie.
But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Psalm 34.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
My soul shall boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me!
Let's exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord,
And he answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried,
And the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
O fear the Lord,
You his saints!
For there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger.
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come,
You children,
Listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is someone who desires life and loves many days.
That he may see good.
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
The Lord's face is against those who do evil.
To cut off their memory from the earth.
The righteous cry,
And the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.
And saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
None of those who take refuge in Him shall be condemned.
Isaiah 53 who has believed our message.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
No beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces,
He was despised and we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.
Yet we considered him stricken,
Struck down by God,
And afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his stripes we are healed.
We all like sheep have gone astray,
Each one has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
So he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment,
He was taken away.
And who can recount his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer.
And when his soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring,
He will prolong his days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
After the anguish of his soul.
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
My righteous servant will justify many,
And he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore,
I will allot him a portion with the great,
And he will divide the spoils with the strong.
Because he has poured out his life unto death,
And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
John 14.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
You believe in God,
Believe in me as well.
In my father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
" And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and welcome you into my presence,
So that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Lord,
" said Thomas,
We do not know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you had known me,
You would know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
Show us the Father,
And that will be enough for us.
Jesus replied,
Philip,
I have been with you all this time,
And still you do not know me.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
And the Father is in me?
The words I say to you,
I do not speak on my own.
Instead,
It is the Father dwelling in me,
Performing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly,
Truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
" If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate to be with you forever,
The Spirit of Truth.
" The world cannot receive him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you do know Him,
For He abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see me no more,
But you will see me.
" Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will know that I am in my Father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
One who loves me will be loved by my father,
And I will love him and reveal myself to him.
" Judas,
Not Iscariot,
Asked him.
Lord,
Why are you going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?
Jesus replied.
If anyone loves me,
He will keep my word.
My father will love him,
And we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
The word that you hear is not my own,
But it is from the Father who sent me.
All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
" but the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name.
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
Because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer,
For the prince of this world is coming,
And he has no claim on me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded me,
So that the world may know that I love the Father.
Let us go on from here.
2 Corinthians 4 Therefore,
Since God,
In his mercy,
Has given us this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
Instead we have renounced secret and shameful ways.
We do not practice deceit,
Nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary,
By open proclamation of the truth,
We commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
Who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves,
But Jesus Christ as Lord,
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God,
Who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard-pressed on all sides,
But not crushed.
Perplexed,
But not in despair.
Persecuted,
But not forsaken.
Struck down,
But not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus.
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then,
Death is at work in us,
But life is at work in you.
And in keeping with what is written.
I believed,
Therefore I have spoken.
We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
All this is for your benefit,
So that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore,
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
Yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled,
We have a building from God,
An eternal house in heaven,
Not built by human hands.
For in this tent we groan,
Longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
Because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent,
We groan under our burdens,
Because we do not wish to be unclothed,
But clothed,
So that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident,
Although we know that while we are at home in the body,
We are away from the Lord.
For we walk by faith,
Not by sight.
We are confident then,
And would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we aspire to please him,
Whether we are at home in this body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
That each one may receive his due for the things done in the body,
Whether good or bad.
Therefore,
Since we know what it means to fear the Lord,
We try to persuade men.
What we are is clear to God,
And I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
We are not commending ourselves to you again.
Instead,
We are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
So that you can answer those who take pride in appearances,
Rather than in the heart.
If we are out of our mind,
It is for God.
If we are of sound mind,
It is for you.
For Christ's love compels us,
Because we are convinced that one died for all,
Therefore all die.
And he died for all,
That those who live should no longer live for themselves,
But for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.
Although we once regarded Christ in this way,
We do so no longer.
Therefore,
If anyone is in Christ,
He is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
The new has come!
All this is from God,
Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
Not counting men's trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore,
We are ambassadors for Christ,
As though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
Be reconciled to God.
God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 1.
Peter,
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
To the elect who are exiles of the dispersion throughout Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
And Bithynia.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
And sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By his great mercy,
He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And into an inheritance that is imperishable,
Undefiled and unfading,
Reserved in heaven for you,
Who through faith are shielded by God's power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this,
You greatly rejoice.
Though now,
For a little while,
You may have had to suffer grief in various trials,
So that the proven character of your faith more precious than gold,
Which perishes even though refined by fire,
May result in praise,
Glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen Him,
You love Him.
And though you do not see him now,
You believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
The salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation,
The prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
Trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
But you,
When they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore,
Prepare your minds for action.
Be sober-minded.
Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children,
Do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
But just as He who called you is holy.
So be holy in all you do,
For it is written,
Be holy,
Because I am holy.
Since you call on a father who judges each one's work impartially,
Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
But with the precious blood of Christ,
A lamb without blemish or spot.
He was known before the foundation of the world,
But was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God,
Who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
And so your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth,
So that you have a genuine love for your brothers.
Love one another deeply,
From a pure heart.
For you have been born again,
Not of perishable seed,
But of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God.
For all flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flowers of the field.
Grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord stands forever.
" And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 147.
Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
How pleasant and lovely to praise him.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Determines the number of the stars.
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord,
And mighty in power.
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble,
But casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the hills.
He provides food for the animals and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear Him,
Who hope in His loving devotion.
Exalt the Lord,
O Jerusalem.
Praise your God,
O Zion.
For he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
Makes peace at your borders.
He fills you with the finest wheat.
" He sends forth his command to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool.
He scatters the frost like ashes.
He casts forth his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends forth his word and melts them.
He unleashes his winds and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Hallelujah.
Revelation 21.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Then I,
John,
Saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem.
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men.
And he will dwell with them,
And they shall be his people.
God himself will be with them,
And be their God.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
Nor sorrow,
Nor crying.
There shall be no more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said to me,
Write,
For these words are true and faithful.
And he said to me,
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
The beginning and the end.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
And I will be his God,
And he shall be my son.
But the cowardly,
Unbelieving,
Abominable,
Murderers,
Sexually immoral,
Sorcerers,
Idolaters,
And all liars shall have their part in the lake,
Which burns with fire and brimstone,
Which is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels,
Who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,
Came to me and talked with me,
Saying,
Come,
I will show you the bride,
The lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
And showed me the great city,
The holy Jerusalem.
Descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God.
Her light was like a most precious stone.
Like a jasper stone,
Clear as crystal.
Also she had a great and high wall,
With twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates,
And names written on them,
Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Three gates on the east,
Three gates on the north,
Three gates on the south,
And three gates on the west.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city is laid out as a square,
Its length being the same as its width.
And he measured the city with the reed,
Twelve thousand furlongs.
Its length,
Breadth,
And height are equal.
Then he measured its wall,
One hundred forty-four cubits,
According to the measure of a man,
That is,
Of an angel.
The construction of its wall was of jasper.
And the city was pure gold,
Like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was Jasper.
The second Sapphire,
The third Chalcedony,
The fourth Emerald,
The fifth Sardonyx,
The sixth Sardius,
The seventh Chrysolite,
The eighth Beryl,
The ninth Topaz,
The tenth Chrysoprase,
The eleventh Jacinthe,
And the twelfth Amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each individual gate was of one pearl,
And the street of the city was pure gold.
Like transparent glass.
But I saw no temple in it,
For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God illuminated it.
The lamb is its light.
And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light.
And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day.
There shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles,
Or causes an abomination,
Or a lie.
But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Psalm 34.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
My soul shall boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me!
Let's exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord,
And he answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried,
And the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
O fear the Lord,
You his saints!
For there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger.
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come,
You children.
Listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is someone who desires life and loves many days.
That he may see good.
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Lord's eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
The Lord's face is against those who do evil.
To cut off their memory from the Earth.
The righteous cry,
And the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.
And saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
None of those who take refuge in Him shall be condemned.
Isaiah 53 who has believed our message.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,
No beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief.
Like one from whom men hide their faces.
He was despised,
And we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.
Yet we considered him stricken,
Struck down by God,
And afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his stripes we are healed.
We all like sheep have gone astray,
Each one has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
So he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment,
He was taken away.
And who can recount his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer.
And when his soul is made a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring,
He will prolong his days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hands.
After the anguish of his soul.
He will see the light of life and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
My righteous servant will justify many,
And he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore,
I will allot him a portion with the great,
And he will divide the spoils with the strong.
Because he has poured out his life unto death,
And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
John 14.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
You believe in God,
Believe in me as well.
In my father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and welcome you into my presence,
So that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Lord,
" said Thomas,
We do not know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
" If you had known me,
You would know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
Show us the Father,
And that will be enough for us.
Jesus replied,
Philip,
I have been with you all this time,
And still you do not know me.
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
And the Father is in me?
The words I say to you,
I do not speak on my own.
Instead,
It is the Father dwelling in me,
Performing His works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly,
Truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate to be with you forever,
The Spirit of Truth.
" The world cannot receive him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you do know Him,
For He abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see me no more,
But you will see me.
Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will know that I am in my Father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my Father,
And I will love him and reveal myself to him.
Judas,
Not Iscariot,
Asked him.
Lord,
Why are you going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?
Jesus replied.
If anyone loves me,
He will keep my word.
My father will love him,
And we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
The word that you hear is not my own,
But it is from the Father who sent me.
" All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
But the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name,
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your heart be troubled.
Do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would rejoice that I am going to the Father,
Because the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not speak with you much longer,
For the prince of this world is coming,
And he has no claim on me.
But I do exactly what the Father has commanded me,
So that the world may know that I love the Father.
Let us go on from here.
2 Corinthians 4 Therefore,
Since God,
In his mercy,
Has given us this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
Instead,
We have renounced secret in shameful ways.
We do not practice deceit,
Nor do we distort the word of God.
On the contrary,
By open proclamation of the truth,
We commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
Who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves,
But Jesus Christ as Lord,
And ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God,
Who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard-pressed on all sides,
But not crushed.
Perplexed,
But not in despair.
Persecuted,
But not forsaken.
Struck down,
But not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus.
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake,
So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then,
Death is at work in us,
But life is at work in you.
And in keeping with what is written.
I believed,
Therefore I have spoken.
We who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
All this is for your benefit,
So that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore,
We do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away,
Yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled,
We have a building from God,
An eternal house in heaven,
Not built by human hands.
For in this tent we groan,
Longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
Because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent,
We groan under our burdens,
Because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed,
So that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident,
Although we know that while we are at home in the body,
We are away from the Lord.
For we walk by faith,
Not by sight.
We are confident then,
And would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So we aspire to please him,
Whether we are at home in this body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
That each one may receive his due for the things done in the body,
Whether good or bad.
Therefore,
Since we know what it means to fear the Lord,
We try to persuade men.
What we are is clear to God,
And I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
We are not commending ourselves to you again.
Instead,
We are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
So that you can answer those who take pride in appearances,
Rather than in the heart.
If we are out of our mind,
It is for God.
If we are of sound mind,
It is for you.
For Christ's love compels us,
Because we are convinced that one died for all,
Therefore all died.
And he died for all,
That those who live should no longer live for themselves,
But for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh.
Although we once regarded Christ in this way,
We do so no longer.
Therefore,
If anyone is in Christ,
He is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
The new has come.
All this is from God,
Who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
Not counting men's trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore,
We are ambassadors for Christ,
As though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
Be reconciled to God.
God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 1.
Peter,
An apostle of Jesus Christ.
To the elect who are exiles of the dispersion throughout Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
And Bithynia.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
And sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By his great mercy,
He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And into an inheritance that is imperishable,
Undefiled and unfading,
Reserved in heaven for you,
Who through faith are shielded by God's power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this,
You greatly rejoice.
Though now,
For a little while,
You may have had to suffer grief in various trials,
So that the proven character of your faith more precious than gold,
Which perishes even though refined by fire,
May result in praise,
Glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him,
You love him.
And though you do not see him now,
You believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
The salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation,
The prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
Trying to determine the time and setting to which the spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves,
But you,
When they foretold the things now announced by those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Even angels long to look into these things.
Therefore,
Prepare your minds for action.
Be sober minded.
Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children,
Do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
But just as He who called you is holy.
So be holy in all you do,
For it is written,
Be holy,
Because I am holy.
Since you call on a father who judges each one's work impartially,
Conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
But with the precious blood of Christ,
A lamb without blemish or spot.
He was known before the foundation of the world,
But was revealed in the last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God,
Who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
And so your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers.
Love one another deeply,
From a pure heart.
For you have been born again,
Not of perishable seed,
But of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God.
For all flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flowers of the field.
Grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of the Lord stands forever.
" And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 147 Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
How pleasant and lovely to praise him.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars.
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord,
And mighty in power.
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble,
But casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the hills.
He provides food for the animals and for the young ravens when they call.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord is pleased with those who fear Him,
Who hope in His loving devotion.
Exalt the Lord,
O Jerusalem.
Praise your God,
O Zion.
For he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
He makes peace at your borders.
He fills you with the finest wheat.
Sends forth his command to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool.
He scatters the frost like ashes.
He casts forth his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends forth his word and melts them.
He unleashes his winds and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Hallelujah.
Revelation 21.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Then I,
John,
Saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem.
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men.
And he will dwell with them,
And they shall be his people.
God himself will be with them,
And be their God.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There shall be no more death,
Nor sorrow,
Nor crying.
There shall be no more pain,
For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said to me,
Write,
For these words are true and faithful.
And he said to me,
It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega.
The beginning and the end.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
And I will be his God,
And he shall be my son.
But the cowardly,
Unbelieving,
Abominable,
Murderers,
Sexually immoral,
Sorcerers,
Idolaters,
And all liars shall have their part in the lake,
Which burns with fire and brimstone,
Which is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels,
Who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues,
Came to me and talked with me,
Saying,
Come,
I will show you the bride,
The Lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain,
And showed me the great city,
The holy Jerusalem.
Descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God.
Her light was like a most precious stone.
Like a jasper stone,
Clear as crystal.
Also she had a great and high wall,
With twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates,
And names written on them,
Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
Three gates on the east,
Three gates on the north,
Three gates on the south,
And three gates on the west.
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city is laid out as a square,
Its length being the same as its width.
And he measured the city with the reed,
Twelve thousand furlongs.
Its length,
Breadth,
And height are equal.
Then he measured its wall,
One hundred forty-four cubits,
According to the measure of a man,
That is,
Of an angel.
The construction of its wall was of jasper.
And the city was pure gold,
Like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was Jasper.
The second Sapphire.
The 3rd Chalcedony,
The 4th Emerald,
The 5th Sardonyx,
The 6th Sardius,
The 7th Chrysolite,
The 8th Beryl,
The 9th Topaz,
The 10th Chrysoprase,
The 11th Jacinthe,
And the 12th Amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each individual gate was of one pearl,
And the street of the city was pure gold,
Like transparent glass.
But I saw no temple in it.
For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.
Or its temple.
City had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God illuminated it.
The lamb is its light.
And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light.
And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day.
There shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles,
Or causes an abomination,
Or a lie.
But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
I hope this time of scripture reading has settled your spirit.
If this channel helps you connect with God,
I want to invite you to follow and join us again.
But for now,
Let go of every worry and trust in the Lord.
God bless.
