Psalms 10; Psalms 11; Psalms 12; Acts 19:1-20

1 Why do you stand so far away, LORD, hiding yourself in troubling times?

2 Meanwhile, the wicked are proudly in hot pursuit of those who suffer. Let them get caught in the very same schemes they've thought up!

3 The wicked brag about their body's cravings; the greedy reject the LORD, cursing.

4 At the peak of their wrath, the wicked don't seek God: There's no God— that's what they are always thinking.

5 Their ways are always twisted. Your rules are too lofty for them. They snort at all their foes.

6 They think to themselves, We'll never stumble. We'll never encounter any resistance.

7 Their mouths are filled with curses, dishonesty, violence. Under their tongues lie troublemaking and wrongdoing.

8 They wait in a place perfect for ambush; from their hiding places they kill innocent people; their eyes spot those who are helpless.

9 They lie in ambush in secret places, like a lion in its lair. They lie in ambush so they can seize those who suffer! They seize the poor, all right, dragging them off in their nets.

10 Their helpless victims are crushed; they collapse, falling prey to the strength of the wicked.

11 The wicked think to themselves: God has forgotten. God has hidden his face. God never sees anything!

12 Get up, LORD! Get your fist ready, God! Don't forget the ones who suffer!

13 Why do the wicked reject God? Why do they think to themselves that you won't find out?

14 But you do see! You do see troublemaking and grief, and you do something about it! The helpless leave it all to you. You are the orphan's helper.

15 Break the arms of those who are wicked and evil. Seek out their wickedness until there's no more to find.

16 The LORD rules forever and always! The nations will vanish from his land.

17 LORD, you listen to the desires of those who suffer. You steady their hearts; you listen closely to them,

18 to establish justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that people of the land will never again be terrified.

1 I have taken refuge in the LORD. So how can you say to me, “Flee to the hills like a bird

2 because the wicked have already bent their bows; they've already strung their arrows; they are ready to secretly shoot those whose heart is right”?

3 When the very bottom of things falls out, what can a righteous person possibly accomplish?

4 But the LORD is in his holy temple. The LORD! His throne is in heaven. His eyes see— his vision examines all of humanity.

5 The LORD examines both the righteous and the wicked; his very being hates anyone who loves violence.

6 God will rain fiery coals and sulfur on the wicked; their cups will be filled with nothing but a scorching hot wind

7 because the LORD is righteous! He loves righteous deeds. Those whose heart is right will see God's face.

1 Help, LORD, because the godly are all gone; the faithful have completely disappeared from the human race!

2 Everyone tells lies to everyone else; they talk with slick speech and divided hearts.

3 Let the LORD cut off all slick-talking lips and every tongue that brags and brags,

4 that says, "We're unbeatable with our tongues! Who could get the best of us with lips like ours?"

5 But the LORD says, "Because the poor are oppressed, because of the groans of the needy, I'm now standing up. I will provide the help they are gasping for."

6 The LORD's promises are pure, like silver that's been refined in an oven, purified seven times over!

7 You, LORD, will keep us, protecting us from this generation forever.

8 The wicked roam all over the place, while depravity is praised by human beings.

1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul took a route through the interior and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples.

2 He asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you came to believe?" They replied, "We've not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."

3 Then he said, "What baptism did you receive, then?" They answered, "John's baptism."

4 Paul explained, "John baptized with a baptism by which people showed they were changing their hearts and lives. It was a baptism that told people about the one who was coming after him. This is the one in whom they were to believe. This one is Jesus."

5 After they listened to Paul, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in other languages and prophesying.

7 Altogether, there were about twelve people.

8 Paul went to the synagogue and spoke confidently for the next three months. He interacted with those present and offered convincing arguments concerning the nature of God's kingdom.

9 Some people had closed their minds, though. They refused to believe and publicly slandered the Way. As a result, Paul left them, took the disciples with him, and continued his daily interactions in Tyrannus' lecture hall.

10 This went on for two years, so that everyone living in the province of Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the Lord's word.

11 God was doing unusual miracles through Paul.

12 Even the small towels and aprons that had touched his skin were taken to the sick, and their diseases were cured and the evil spirits left them.

13 There were some Jews who traveled around throwing out evil spirits. They tried to use the power of the name of the Lord Jesus against some people with evil spirits. They said, "In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you!"

14 The seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.

15 The evil spirit replied, "I know Jesus and I'm familiar with Paul, but who are you?"

16 The person who had an evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all with such force that they ran out of that house naked and wounded.

17 This became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus. Everyone was seized with fear and they held the name of the Lord Jesus in the highest regard.

18 Many of those who had come to believe came, confessing their past practices.

19 This included a number of people who practiced sorcery. They collected their sorcery texts and burned them publicly. The value of those materials was calculated at more than someone might make if they worked for one hundred sixty-five years.

20 In this way the Lord's word grew abundantly and strengthened powerfully.