Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy: To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace.

²We always thank God for all of you, making mention of you constantly in our prayers.

³We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work produced by faith, your labor motivated by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you,

⁵because our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with full assurance. You know how we lived among you for your benefit,

⁶and you yourselves became imitators of us and of the Lord when, in spite of severe persecution, you welcomed the message with joy from the Holy Spirit.

⁷As a result, you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

⁸For the word of the Lord rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place that your faith in God has gone out. Therefore, we don’t need to say anything,

⁹for they themselves report what kind of reception we had from you: how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God

¹⁰and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead  — Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

¹For you yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our visit with you was not without result.

²On the contrary, after we had previously suffered and were treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, we were emboldened by our God to speak the gospel of God to you in spite of great opposition.

³For our exhortation didn’t come from error or impurity or an intent to deceive.

⁴Instead, just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please people, but rather God, who examines our hearts.

⁵For we never used flattering speech, as you know, or had greedy motives  — God is our witness  —

⁶and we didn’t seek glory from people, either from you or from others.

⁷Although we could have been a burden as Christ’s apostles, instead we were gentle among you, as a nurse nurtures her own children.

⁸We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.

⁹For you remember our labor and hardship, brothers and sisters. Working night and day so that we would not burden any of you, we preached God’s gospel to you.

¹⁰You are witnesses, and so is God, of how devoutly, righteously, and blamelessly we conducted ourselves with you believers.

¹¹As you know, like a father with his own children,

¹²we encouraged, comforted, and implored each one of you to live worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

¹³This is why we constantly thank God, because when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you welcomed it not as a human message, but as it truly is, the word of God, which also works effectively in you who believe.

¹⁴For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, since you have also suffered the same things from people of your own country, just as they did from the Jews

¹⁵who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and persecuted us. They displease God and are hostile to everyone,

¹⁶by keeping us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. As a result, they are constantly filling up their sins to the limit, and wrath has overtaken them at last.

¹⁷But as for us, brothers and sisters, after we were forced to leave you for a short time (in person, not in heart ), we greatly desired and made every effort to return and see you face to face.

¹⁸So we wanted to come to you — even I, Paul, time and again — but Satan hindered us.

¹⁹For who is our hope or joy or crown of boasting in the presence of our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?

²⁰Indeed you are our glory and joy!

¹Therefore, when we could no longer stand it, we thought it was better to be left alone in Athens.

²And we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you concerning your faith,

³so that no one will be shaken by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are appointed to this.

⁴In fact, when we were with you, we told you in advance that we were going to experience affliction, and as you know, it happened.

⁵For this reason, when I could no longer stand it, I also sent him to find out about your faith, fearing that the tempter had tempted you and that our labor might be for nothing.

⁶But now Timothy has come to us from you and brought us good news about your faith and love. He reported that you always have good memories of us and that you long to see us, as we also long to see you.

⁷Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and affliction, we were encouraged about you through your faith.

⁸For now we live, if you stand firm in the Lord.

⁹How can we thank God for you in return for all the joy we experience before our God because of you,

¹⁰as we pray very earnestly night and day to see you face to face and to complete what is lacking in your faith?

¹¹Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you.

¹²And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone, just as we do for you.

¹³May he make your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Amen.

¹Additionally then, brothers and sisters, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received instruction from us on how you should live and please God — as you are doing  — do this even more.

²For you know what commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

³For this is God’s will, your sanctification: that you keep away from sexual immorality,

⁴that each of you knows how to control his own body in holiness and honor,

⁵not with lustful passions, like the Gentiles, who don’t know God.

⁶This means one must not transgress against and take advantage of a brother or sister in this manner, because the Lord is an avenger of all these offenses, as we also previously told and warned you.

⁷For God has not called us to impurity but to live in holiness.

⁸Consequently, anyone who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

⁹About brotherly love: You don’t need me to write you because you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.

¹⁰In fact, you are doing this toward all the brothers and sisters in the entire region of Macedonia. But we encourage you, brothers and sisters, to do this even more,

¹¹to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you,

¹²so that you may behave properly in the presence of outsiders and not be dependent on anyone.

¹³We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.

¹⁴For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

¹⁵For we say this to you by a word from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.

¹⁶For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

¹⁷Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

¹⁸Therefore encourage one another with these words.

¹About the times and the seasons: Brothers and sisters, you do not need anything to be written to you.

²For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.

³When they say, “Peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

⁴But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the dark, for this day to surprise you like a thief.

⁵For you are all children of light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or the darkness.

⁶So then, let us not sleep, like the rest, but let us stay awake and be self-controlled.

⁷For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.

⁸But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled and put on the armor of faith and love, and a helmet of the hope of salvation.

⁹For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹⁰who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

¹¹Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing.

¹²Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to give recognition to those who labor among you and lead you in the Lord and admonish you,

¹³and to regard them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.

¹⁴And we exhort you, brothers and sisters: warn those who are idle, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

¹⁵See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.

¹⁶Rejoice always,

¹⁷pray constantly,

¹⁸give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

¹⁹Don’t stifle the Spirit.

²⁰Don’t despise prophecies,

²¹but test all things. Hold on to what is good.

²²Stay away from every kind of evil.

²³Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁴He who calls you is faithful; he will do it.

²⁵Brothers and sisters, pray for us also.

²⁶Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss.

²⁷I charge you by the Lord that this letter be read to all the brothers and sisters.

²⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

¹Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy: To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

²Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³We ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, since your faith is flourishing and the love each one of you has for one another is increasing.

⁴Therefore, we ourselves boast about you among God’s churches — about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions that you are enduring.

⁵It is clear evidence of God’s righteous judgment that you will be counted worthy of God’s kingdom, for which you also are suffering,

⁶since it is just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you

⁷and to give relief to you who are afflicted, along with us. This will take place at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels,

⁸when he takes vengeance with flaming fire on those who don’t know God and on those who don’t obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

⁹They will pay the penalty of eternal destruction from the Lord’s presence and from his glorious strength

¹⁰on that day when he comes to be glorified by his saints and to be marveled at by all those who have believed, because our testimony among you was believed.

¹¹In view of this, we always pray for you that our God will make you worthy of his calling, and by his power fulfill your every desire to do good and your work produced by faith,

¹²so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified by you, and you by him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

¹Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him: We ask you, brothers and sisters,

²not to be easily upset or troubled, either by a prophecy or by a message or by a letter supposedly from us, alleging that the day of the Lord has come.

³Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.

⁴He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits in God’s temple, proclaiming that he himself is God.

⁵Don’t you remember that when I was still with you I used to tell you about this?

⁶And you know what currently restrains him, so that he will be revealed in his time.

⁷For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one now restraining will do so until he is out of the way,

⁸and then the lawless one will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his mouth and will bring him to nothing at the appearance of his coming.

⁹The coming of the lawless one is based on Satan’s working, with all kinds of false miracles, signs, and wonders,

¹⁰and with every wicked deception among those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth and so be saved.

¹¹For this reason God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe the lie,

¹²so that all will be condemned  — those who did not believe the truth but delighted in unrighteousness.

¹³But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God has chosen you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

¹⁴He called you to this through our gospel, so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁵So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold to the traditions you were taught, whether by what we said or what we wrote.

¹⁶May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal encouragement and good hope by grace,

¹⁷encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good work and word.

¹In addition, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you,

²and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not all have faith.

³But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen and guard you from the evil one.

⁴We have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command.

⁵May the Lord direct your hearts to God’s love and Christ’s endurance.

⁶Now we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from every brother or sister who is idle and does not live according to the tradition received from us.

⁷For you yourselves know how you should imitate us: We were not idle among you;

⁸we did not eat anyone’s food free of charge; instead, we labored and toiled, working night and day, so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

⁹It is not that we don’t have the right to support, but we did it to make ourselves an example to you so that you would imitate us.

¹⁰In fact, when we were with you, this is what we commanded you: “If anyone isn’t willing to work, he should not eat.”

¹¹For we hear that there are some among you who are idle. They are not busy but busybodies.

¹²Now we command and exhort such people by the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and provide for themselves.

¹³But as for you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary in doing good.

¹⁴If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take note of that person; don’t associate with him, so that he may be ashamed.

¹⁵Yet don’t consider him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

¹⁶May the Lord of peace himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

¹⁷I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand, which is an authenticating mark in every letter; this is how I write.

¹⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope:

²To Timothy, my true son in the faith. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

³As I urged you when I went to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach false doctrine

⁴or to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies. These promote empty speculations rather than God’s plan, which operates by faith.

⁵Now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.

⁶Some have departed from these and turned aside to fruitless discussion.

⁷They want to be teachers of the law, although they don’t understand what they are saying or what they are insisting on.

⁸But we know that the law is good, provided one uses it legitimately.

⁹We know that the law is not meant for a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers,

¹⁰for the sexually immoral and homosexuals, for slave traders, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching

¹¹that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which was entrusted to me.

¹²I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry —

¹³even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief,

¹⁴and the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”  — and I am the worst of them.

¹⁶But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life.

¹⁷Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁸Timothy, my son, I am giving you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies previously made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the good fight,

¹⁹having faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and have shipwrecked their faith.

²⁰Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.

¹First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone,

²for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

³This is good, and it pleases God our Savior,

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

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

⁶who gave himself as a ransom for all, a testimony at the proper time.

⁷For this I was appointed a herald, an apostle (I am telling the truth; I am not lying), and a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

⁸Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument.

⁹Also, the women are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense, not with elaborate hairstyles, gold, pearls, or expensive apparel,

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

¹¹A woman is to learn quietly with full submission.

¹²I do not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; instead, she is to remain quiet.

¹³For Adam was formed first, then Eve.

¹⁴And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and transgressed.

¹⁵But she will be saved through childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with good sense.

¹This saying is trustworthy: “If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work.”

²An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

³not an excessive drinker, not a bully but gentle, not quarrelsome, not greedy.

⁴He must manage his own household competently and have his children under control with all dignity.

⁵(If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?)

⁶He must not be a new convert, or he might become conceited and incur the same condemnation as the devil.

⁷Furthermore, he must have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he does not fall into disgrace and the devil’s trap.

⁸Deacons, likewise, should be worthy of respect, not hypocritical, not drinking a lot of wine, not greedy for money,

⁹holding the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

¹⁰They must also be tested first; if they prove blameless, then they can serve as deacons.

¹¹Wives, too, must be worthy of respect, not slanderers, self-controlled, faithful in everything.

¹²Deacons are to be husbands of one wife, managing their children and their own households competently.

¹³For those who have served well as deacons acquire a good standing for themselves and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴I write these things to you, hoping to come to you soon.

¹⁵But if I should be delayed, I have written so that you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

¹⁶And most certainly, the mystery of godliness is great: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

¹Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,

²through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared.

³They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods that God created to be received with gratitude by those who believe and know the truth.

⁴For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,

⁵since it is sanctified by the word of God and by prayer.

⁶If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished by the words of the faith and the good teaching that you have followed.

⁷But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness.

⁸For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

⁹This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance.

¹⁰For this reason we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

¹¹Command and teach these things.

¹²Don’t let anyone despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.

¹³Until I come, give your attention to public reading, exhortation, and teaching.

¹⁴Don’t neglect the gift that is in you; it was given to you through prophecy, with the laying on of hands by the council of elders.

¹⁵Practice these things; be committed to them, so that your progress may be evident to all.

¹⁶Pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.

¹Don’t rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers,

²older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters with all purity.

³Support widows who are genuinely in need.

⁴But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn to practice godliness toward their own family first and to repay their parents, for this pleases God.

⁵The widow who is truly in need and left all alone has put her hope in God and continues night and day in her petitions and prayers;

⁶however, she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives.

⁷Command this also, so that they will be above reproach.

⁸But if anyone does not provide for his own family, especially for his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹No widow is to be enrolled on the list for support unless she is at least sixty years old, has been the wife of one husband,

¹⁰and is well known for good works  — that is, if she has brought up children, shown hospitality, washed the saints’ feet, helped the afflicted, and devoted herself to every good work.

¹¹But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when they are drawn away from Christ by desire, they want to marry

¹²and will therefore receive condemnation because they have renounced their original pledge.

¹³At the same time, they also learn to be idle, going from house to house; they are not only idle, but are also gossips and busybodies, saying things they shouldn’t say.

¹⁴Therefore, I want younger women to marry, have children, manage their households, and give the adversary no opportunity to accuse us.

¹⁵For some have already turned away to follow Satan.

¹⁶If any believing woman has widows in her family, let her help them. Let the church not be burdened, so that it can help widows in genuine need.

¹⁷The elders who are good leaders are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

¹⁸For the Scripture says: Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain, and the worker is worthy of his wages.

¹⁹Don’t accept an accusation against an elder unless it is supported by two or three witnesses.

²⁰Publicly rebuke those who sin, so that the rest will be afraid.

²¹I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing out of favoritism.

²²Don’t be too quick to appoint anyone as an elder, and don’t share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.

²³Don’t continue drinking only water, but use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.

²⁴Some people’s sins are obvious, preceding them to judgment, but the sins of others surface later.

²⁵Likewise, good works are obvious, and those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden.