Through The Lens Ministry

1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.
4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function,
5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.
7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.
8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly...

1 As I watched, the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals on the scroll. Then I heard one of the four living beings say with a voice like thunder, “Come!”
2 I looked up and saw a white horse standing there. Its rider carried a bow, and a crown was placed on his head. He rode out to win many battles and gain the victory.

3 When the Lamb broke the second seal, I heard the second living being say, “Come!”
4 Then another horse appeared, a red one. Its rider was given a mighty sword and the authority to take peace from the earth. And there was war and slaughter everywhere.

5 When the Lamb broke the third seal, I heard the third living being say, “Come!” I looked up and saw a black horse, and its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice from among the four living beings say, “A loaf of wheat bread or three loaves of barley will cost a day’s pay. And don’t waste the olive oil and wine.”

7 When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living being say, “Come!”
8 I looked up and saw a horse whose color was pale green. Its rider was named Death, and his companion was the Grave. These two were given authority over one-fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword and famine and disease and wild animals.

9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony.
10 They shouted to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?”...

1 Good people pass away;
    the godly often die before their time.
    But no one seems to care or wonder why.
No one seems to understand
    that God is protecting them from the evil to come.

2 For those who follow godly paths
    will rest in peace when they die.
Idolatrous Worship Condemned


3 “But you—come here, you witches’ children,
    you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!

4 Whom do you mock,
    making faces and sticking out your tongues?
    You children of sinners and liars!

5 You worship your idols with great passion
    beneath the oaks and under every green tree.
You sacrifice your children down in the valleys,
    among the jagged rocks in the cliffs.

6 Your gods are the smooth stones in the valleys.
    You worship them with liquid offerings and grain offerings.
They, not I, are your inheritance.
    Do you think all this makes me happy?

7 You have committed adultery on every high mountain.
    There you have worshiped idols
    and have been unfaithful to me.

8 You have put pagan symbols
    on your doorposts and behind your doors.
You have left me
    and climbed into bed with these detestable gods.
You have committed yourselves to them.
    You love to look at their naked bodies.

9 You have gone to Molech
    with olive oil and many perfumes,
sending your agents far and wide,
    even to the world of the dead...

1 When David was settled in his palace, he summoned Nathan the prophet. “Look,” David said, “I am living in a beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant is out there under a tent!”

2 Nathan replied to David, “Do whatever you have in mind, for God is with you.”

3 But that same night God said to Nathan,

4 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord has declared: You are not the one to build a house for me to live in.
5 I have never lived in a house, from the day I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until this very day. My home has always been a tent, moving from one place to another in a Tabernacle.
6 Yet no matter where I have gone with the Israelites, I have never once complained to Israel’s leaders, the shepherds of my people. I have never asked them, “Why haven’t you built me a beautiful cedar house?”’

7 “Now go and say to my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel.
8 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth!
9 And I will provide a homeland for my people Israel, planting them in a secure place where they will never be disturbed. Evil nations won’t oppress them as they’ve done in the past,
10 starting from the time I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. And I will defeat all your enemies.

1 Send your grain across the seas,
    and in time, profits will flow back to you.

2 But divide your investments among many places,
    for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.
3 When clouds are heavy, the rains come down.
    Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls.
4 Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant.
    If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.
5 Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.

6 Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.


Advice for Young and Old

7 Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning.

8 When people live to be very old, let them rejoice in every day of life. But let them also remember there will be many dark days. Everything still to come is meaningless.

9 Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.
10 So refuse to worry, and keep your body healthy. But remember that youth, with a whole life before you, is meaningless...

1 This letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy.
We are writing to the church in Thessalonica, to you who belong to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.


Encouragement during Persecution

3 Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing.
4 We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering.
5 And God will use this persecution to show his justice and to make you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering.
6 In his justice he will pay back those who persecute you.

7 And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels,
8 in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus.
9 They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power.
10 When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people—praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him...

1 But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
    O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
    I have called you by name; you are mine.

2 When you go through deep waters,
    I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
    you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
    you will not be burned up;
    the flames will not consume you.

3 For I am the Lord, your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom;
    I gave Ethiopia and Seba in your place.

4 Others were given in exchange for you.
    I traded their lives for yours
because you are precious to me.
    You are honored, and I love you.
5 “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
    I will gather you and your children from east and west.

6 I will say to the north and south,
    ‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel
    from the distant corners of the earth.

7 Bring all who claim me as their God,
    for I have made them for my glory.
    It was I who created them.’”
8 Bring out the people who have eyes but are blind,
    who have ears but are deaf.

9 Gather the nations together!
    Assemble the peoples of the world!
Which of their idols has ever foretold such things?
    Which can predict what will happen tomorrow?
Where are the witnesses of such predictions?
    Who can verify that they spoke the truth?...

1 Unfriendly people care only about themselves;
    they lash out at common sense.
2 Fools have no interest in understanding;
    they only want to air their own opinions.
3 Doing wrong leads to disgrace,
    and scandalous behavior brings contempt.
4 Wise words are like deep waters;
    wisdom flows from the wise like a bubbling brook.
5 It is not right to acquit the guilty
    or deny justice to the innocent.
6 Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels;
    they are asking for a beating.
7 The mouths of fools are their ruin;
    they trap themselves with their lips.
8 Rumors are dainty morsels
    that sink deep into one’s heart.
9 A lazy person is as bad as
    someone who destroys things.
10 The name of the Lord is a strong fortress;
    the godly run to him and are safe...

1 One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

2 He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow;
3 red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times!
4 Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.” Then Jesus left them and went away.


Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees

5 Later, after they crossed to the other side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any bread.
6 “Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

7 At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread.
8 Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “You have so little faith! Why are you arguing with each other about having no bread?...

1 “At that time Michael, the archangel who stands guard over your nation, will arise. Then there will be a time of anguish greater than any since nations first came into existence. But at that time every one of your people whose name is written in the book will be rescued.
2 Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace.
3 Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever.
4 But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end, when many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase.”

5 Then I, Daniel, looked and saw two others standing on opposite banks of the river.
6 One of them asked the man dressed in linen, who was now standing above the river, “How long will it be until these shocking events are over?”

7 The man dressed in linen, who was standing above the river, raised both his hands toward heaven and took a solemn oath by the One who lives forever, saying, “It will go on for a time, times, and half a time. When the shattering of the holy people has finally come to an end, all these things will have happened.”

8 I heard what he said, but I did not understand what he meant. So I asked, “How will all this finally end, my lord?”

9 But he said, “Go now, Daniel, for what I have said is kept secret and sealed until the time of the end.
10 Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined by these trials. But the wicked will continue in their wickedness, and none of them will understand. Only those who are wise will know what it means.

11 “From the time the daily sacrifice is stopped and the sacrilegious object that causes desecration is set up to be worshiped, there will be 1,290 days.
12 And blessed are those who wait and remain until the end of the 1,335 days!

13 “As for you, go your way until the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days, you will rise again to receive the inheritance set aside for you.”