One Year Bible.

The LORD Is My Rock

¹For the choirmaster. Of David the servant of the LORD, who sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:

I love You, O LORD, my strength.

²The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.

My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield, and the horn of my salvation,

my stronghold.

³I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;

so shall I be saved from my enemies.

⁴The cords of death encompassed me;

the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.

⁵The cords of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.

⁶In my distress I called upon the LORD;

I cried to my God for help.

From His temple He heard my voice,

and my cry for His help reached His ears.

⁷Then the earth shook and quaked,

and the foundations of the mountains trembled;

they were shaken because He burned with anger.

⁸Smoke rose from His nostrils,

and consuming fire came from His mouth;

glowing coals blazed forth.

⁹He parted the heavens and came down

with dark clouds beneath His feet.

¹⁰He mounted a cherub and flew;

He soared on the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness His hiding place,

and storm clouds a canopy around Him.

¹²From the brightness of His presence

His clouds advanced —

hailstones and coals of fire.

¹³The LORD thundered from heaven;

the voice of the Most High resounded —

hailstones and coals of fire.

¹⁴He shot His arrows and scattered the foes;

He hurled lightning and routed them.

¹⁵The channels of the sea appeared,

and the foundations of the world were exposed,

at Your rebuke, O LORD,

at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

¹⁶He reached down from on high and took hold of me;

He drew me out of deep waters.

¹⁷He rescued me from my powerful enemy,

from foes too mighty for me.

¹⁸They confronted me in my day of calamity,

but the LORD was my support.

¹⁹He brought me out into the open;

He rescued me because He delighted in me.

²⁰The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness;

He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.

²¹For I have kept the ways of the LORD

and have not wickedly departed from my God.

²²For all His ordinances are before me;

I have not disregarded His statutes.

²³And I have been blameless before Him

and kept myself from iniquity.

²⁴So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness,

according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

²⁵To the faithful You show Yourself faithful,

to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

²⁶to the pure You show Yourself pure,

but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.

²⁷For You save an afflicted people,

but You humble those with haughty eyes.

²⁸For You, O LORD, light my lamp;

my God lights up my darkness.

²⁹For in You I can charge an army,

and with my God I can scale a wall.

³⁰As for God, His way is perfect;

the word of the LORD is flawless.

He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

³¹For who is God besides the LORD?

And who is the Rock except our God?

³²It is God who arms me with strength

and makes my way clear.

³³He makes my feet like those of a deer

and stations me upon the heights.

³⁴He trains my hands for battle;

my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁵You have given me Your shield of salvation;

Your right hand upholds me,

and Your gentleness exalts me.

³⁶You broaden the path beneath me

so that my ankles do not give way.

³⁷I pursued my enemies and overtook them;

I did not turn back until they were consumed.

³⁸I crushed them so they could not rise;

they have fallen under my feet.

³⁹You have armed me with strength for battle;

You have subdued my foes beneath me.

⁴⁰You have made my enemies retreat before me;

I destroyed those who hated me.

⁴¹They cried for help, but there was no one to save them —

to the LORD, but He did not answer.

⁴²I ground them as dust in the face of the wind;

I trampled them like mud in the streets.

⁴³You have delivered me from the strife of the people;

You have made me the head of nations;

a people I had not known shall serve me.

⁴⁴When they hear me, they obey me;

foreigners cower before me.

⁴⁵Foreigners lose heart

and come trembling from their strongholds.

⁴⁶The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock!

And may the God of my salvation be exalted—

⁴⁷the God who avenges me

and subdues nations beneath me,

⁴⁸who delivers me from my enemies.

You exalt me above my foes;

You rescue me from violent men.

⁴⁹Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations;

I will sing praises to Your name.

⁵⁰Great salvation He brings to His king.

He shows loving devotion to His anointed,

to David and his descendants forever.

The Mystery of the Gospel

¹For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles...

²Surely you have heard about the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, ³that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. ⁴In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, ⁵which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. ⁶This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.

⁷I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace, given me through the working of His power. ⁸Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹and to illuminate for everyone the stewardship of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. ¹⁰His purpose was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, ¹¹according to the eternal purpose that He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹²In Him and through faith in Him we may enter God’s presence with boldness and confidence. ¹³So I ask you not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

Paul’s Prayer for the Ephesians

¹⁴... for this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth ¹⁹of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

²⁰Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, ²¹to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Living for God’s Glory

¹Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin. ²Consequently, he does not live out his remaining time on earth for human passions, but for the will of God. ³For you have spent enough time in the past carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry.

⁴Because of this, they consider it strange of you not to plunge with them into the same flood of reckless indiscretion, and they heap abuse on you. ⁵But they will have to give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ⁶That is why the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged as men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

⁷The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and sober, so that you can pray. ⁸Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ⁹Show hospitality to one another without complaining.

¹⁰As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another. ¹¹If anyone speaks, he should speak as one conveying the words of God. If anyone serves, he should serve with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

Suffering as Christians

¹²Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.

¹⁴If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. ¹⁵Indeed, none of you should suffer as a murderer or thief or wrongdoer, or even as a meddler. ¹⁶But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear that name. ¹⁷For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God? ¹⁸And,

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,

what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

¹⁹So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should entrust their souls to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

Instructions to Elders

¹As a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you: ²Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed, but out of eagerness; ³not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. ⁴And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

Cast Your Cares on Him

⁵Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud,

but gives grace to the humble.”

⁶Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you. ⁷Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

⁸Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.

Benediction and Farewell

¹⁰And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you. ¹¹To Him be the power forever and ever. Amen.

¹²Through Silvanus, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.

¹³The church in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, as does my son Mark.

¹⁴Greet one another with a kiss of love.

Peace to all of you who are in Christ.