A Call to Prayer

¹First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone—

²for kings and all those in authority—so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity.

³This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,

⁴who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

⁵For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

⁶who gave Himself as a ransom for all—the testimony that was given at just the right time.

⁷For this reason I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a faithful and true teacher of the Gentiles. I am telling the truth; I am not lying about anything.

⁸Therefore I want the men everywhereto pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or dissension.

Instructions to Women

⁹Likewise, I want the women to adorn themselves with respectable apparel, with modesty, and with self-control, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes,

¹⁰but with good deeds, as is proper for women who profess to worship God.

¹¹A womanmust learn in quietness and full submissiveness.

¹²I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man;she is to remain quiet.

¹³For Adam was formed first, and then Eve.

¹⁴And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman who was deceived and fell into transgression.

¹⁵Women, however, will be savedthrough childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.

The First Seal: The White Horse

¹Then I watched as the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!”

²So I looked and saw a white horse, and its rider held a bow. And he was given a crown, and he rode out to overcome and conquer.

The Second Seal: War

³And when the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!”

⁴Then another horse went forth. It was bright red, and its rider was granted permission to take away peace from the earth and to make men slay one another. And he was given a great sword.

The Third Seal: Famine

⁵And when the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!”Then I looked and saw a black horse, and its rider held in his hand a pair of scales.

⁶And I heard what sounded like a voice from among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius,and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine.”

The Fourth Seal: Death

⁷And when the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!”

⁸Then I looked and saw a pale green horse. Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed close behind. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, by famine, by plague, and by the beasts of the earth.

The Fifth Seal: The Martyrs

⁹And when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had upheld.

¹⁰And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge those who dwell upon the earth and avenge our blood?”

¹¹Then each of them was given a white robe and told to rest a little while longer until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers, were killed, just as they had been killed.

The Sixth Seal: Terror

¹²And I watched as the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red,

¹³and the stars of the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs dropping from a tree shaken by a great wind.

¹⁴The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place.

¹⁵Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.

¹⁶And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide usfrom the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.

¹⁷For the great day of Theirwrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”

The Law of Liberty

¹Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions.

²For one person has faith to eat all things, while another, who is weak, eats only vegetables.

³The one who eats everything must not belittle the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted him.

⁴Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

⁵One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

⁶He who observes a special day does so to the Lord;he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.

⁷For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone.

⁸If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

⁹For this reason Christ died and returned to life, that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

¹⁰Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.

¹¹It is written:“As surely as I live,says the Lord,every knee will bow before Me;every tongue will confess to God.”

¹²So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

The Law of Love

¹³Therefore let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.

¹⁴I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.

¹⁵If your brother is distressed by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother, for whom Christ died.

¹⁶Do not allow what you consider good, then, to be spoken of as evil.

¹⁷For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸For whoever serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.

¹⁹So then, let us pursue what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

²⁰Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to let his eating be a stumbling block.

²¹It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything to cause your brother to stumble.

²²Keep your belief about such matters between yourself and God.Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.

²³But the one who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that is not from faith is sin.

The LORD Is My Rock

¹I 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 downwith 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 presenceHis 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 LORDand 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 Himand 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 strengthand makes my way clear.

³³He makes my feet like those of a deerand 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 meso 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 themlike 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 heartand 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 meand 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.