One Year Bible.

You Turned My Mourning into Dancing

¹A Psalm. A song for the dedication of the temple. Of David.

I will exalt You, O LORD,

for You have lifted me up

and have not allowed my foes

to rejoice over me.

²O LORD my God, I cried to You for help,

and You healed me.

³O LORD, You pulled me up from Sheol;

You spared me from descending into the Pit.

⁴Sing to the LORD, O you His saints,

and praise His holy name.

⁵For His anger is fleeting,

but His favor lasts a lifetime.

Weeping may stay the night,

but joy comes in the morning.

⁶In prosperity I said,

“I will never be shaken.”

⁷O LORD, You favored me;

You made my mountain stand strong.

When You hid Your face,

I was dismayed.

⁸To You, O LORD, I called,

and I begged my Lord for mercy:

⁹“What gain is there in my bloodshed,

in my descent to the Pit?

Will the dust praise You?

Will it proclaim Your faithfulness?

¹⁰Hear me, O LORD, and have mercy;

O LORD, be my helper.”

¹¹You turned my mourning into dancing;

You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

¹²that my heart may sing Your praises and not be silent.

O LORD my God, I will give thanks forever.

Paul’s Ministry

¹You yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not in vain. ²As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.

³For our appeal does not arise from deceit or ulterior motives or trickery. ⁴Instead, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, not in order to please men but God, who examines our hearts. ⁵As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness! ⁶Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it.

⁷On the contrary, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother caring for her children. ⁸We cared so deeply that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives as well. That is how beloved you have become to us.

⁹Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. ¹⁰You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless our conduct was among you who believed. ¹¹For you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children— ¹²encouraging you, comforting you, and urging you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

¹³And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is also now at work in you who believe.

¹⁴For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews, ¹⁵who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men, ¹⁶hindering us from telling the Gentiles how they may be saved. As a result, they continue to heap up their sins to full capacity; the utmost wrath has come upon them.

Paul’s Longing to Visit

¹⁷Brothers, although we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in heart), our desire to see you face to face was even more intense. ¹⁸For we wanted to come to you — indeed I, Paul, tried again and again — but Satan obstructed us. ¹⁹After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? ²⁰You are indeed our glory and our joy.

Judging Others

¹“Do not judge, or you will be judged. ²For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

³Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but fail to notice the beam in your own eye? ⁴How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while there is still a beam in your own eye? ⁵You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

⁶Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

Ask, Seek, Knock

⁷Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

⁹Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

¹²In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.

The Narrow Gate

¹³Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.

A Tree and Its Fruit

¹⁵Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.

²¹Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²²Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’

²³Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’

The House on the Rock

²⁴Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock.

²⁶But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell— and great was its collapse!”

The Authority of Jesus

²⁸When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, ²⁹because He taught as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.