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

1 Lord, why are you so far away? Why do you hide when there is trouble?

2 Proudly the wicked chase down those who suffer. Let them be caught in their own traps.

3 They brag about the things they want. They bless the greedy but hate the Lord.

4 The wicked people are too proud. They do not look for God; there is no room for God in their thoughts.

5 They always succeed. They are far from keeping your laws; they make fun of their enemies.

6 They say to themselves, "Nothing bad will ever happen to me; I will never be ruined."

7 Their mouths are full of curses, lies, and threats; they use their tongues for sin and evil.

8 They hide near the villages. They look for innocent people to kill; they watch in secret for the helpless.

9 They wait in hiding like a lion. They wait to catch poor people; they catch the poor in nets.

10 The poor are thrown down and crushed; they are defeated because the others are stronger.

11 The wicked think, "God has forgotten us. He doesn't see what is happening."

12 Lord, rise up and punish the wicked. Don't forget those who need help.

13 Why do wicked people hate God? They say to themselves, "God won't punish us."

14 Lord, surely you see these cruel and evil things; look at them and do something. People in trouble look to you for help. You are the one who helps the orphans.

15 Break the power of wicked people. Punish them for the evil they have done.

16 The Lord is King forever and ever. Destroy from your land those nations that do not worship you.

17 Lord, you have heard what the poor people want. Do what they ask, and listen to them.

18 Protect the orphans and put an end to suffering so they will no longer be afraid of evil people. For the director of music. Of David.

1 I trust in the Lord for protection. So why do you say to me, "Fly like a bird to your mountain.

2 Like hunters, the wicked string their bows; they set their arrows on the bowstrings. They shoot from dark places at those who are honest.

3 When all that is good falls apart, what can good people do?"

4 The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord sits on his throne in heaven. He sees what people do; he keeps his eye on them.

5 The Lord tests those who do right, but he hates the wicked and those who love to hurt others.

6 He will send hot coals and burning sulfur on the wicked. A whirlwind is what they will get.

7 The Lord does what is right, and he loves justice, so honest people will see his face. For the director of music. Upon the sheminith. A psalm of David.

1 Save me, Lord, because the good people are all gone; no true believers are left on earth.

2 Everyone lies to his neighbors; they say one thing and mean another.

3 The Lord will stop those flattering lips and cut off those bragging tongues.

4 They say, "Our tongues will help us win. We can say what we wish; no one is our master."

5 But the Lord says, "I will now rise up, because the poor are being hurt. Because of the moans of the helpless, I will give them the help they want."

6 The Lord's words are pure, like silver purified by fire, like silver purified seven times over.

7 Lord, you will keep us safe; you will always protect us from such people.

8 But the wicked are all around us; everyone loves what is wrong. For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul was visiting some places on the way to Ephesus. There he found some followers

2 and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They said, "We have never even heard of a Holy Spirit."

3 So he asked, "What kind of baptism did you have?" They said, "It was the baptism that John taught."

4 Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of changed hearts and lives. He told people to believe in the one who would come after him, and that one is Jesus."

5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

6 Then Paul laid his hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came upon them. They began speaking different languagesn and prophesying.

7 There were about twelve people in this group.

8 Paul went into the synagogue and spoke out boldly for three months. He talked with the Jews and persuaded them to accept the things he said about the kingdom of God.

9 But some of the Jews became stubborn. They refused to believe and said evil things about the Way of Jesus before all the people. So Paul left them, and taking the followers with him, he went to the school of a man named Tyrannus. There Paul talked with people every day

10 for two years. Because of his work, every Jew and Greek in the country of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

11 God used Paul to do some very special miracles.

12 Some people took handkerchiefs and clothes that Paul had used and put them on the sick. When they did this, the sick were healed and evil spirits left them.

13 But some Jews also were traveling around and making evil spirits go out of people. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus to force the evil spirits out. They would say, "By the same Jesus that Paul talks about, I order you to come out!"

14 Seven sons of Sceva, a leading Jewish priest, were doing this.

15 But one time an evil spirit said to them, "I know Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?"

16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them. Because he was so much stronger than all of them, they ran away from the house naked and hurt.

17 All the people in Ephesus -- Jews and Greeks -- learned about this and were filled with fear and gave great honor to the Lord Jesus.

18 Many of the believers began to confess openly and tell all the evil things they had done.

19 Some of them who had used magic brought their magic books and burned them before everyone. Those books were worth about fifty thousand silver coins.

20 So in a powerful way the word of the Lord kept spreading and growing.