and by the time he was old they had led him into the worship of foreign gods. He was not faithful to the LORD his God, as his father David had been.

He committed the same sins as his father and was not completely loyal to the LORD his God, as his great-grandfather David had been.

Even though Asa did not destroy all the pagan places of worship, he remained faithful to the LORD all his life.

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am the Almighty God. Obey me and always do what is right.

Be completely faithful to the LORD."

"Remember, LORD, that I have served you faithfully and loyally and that I have always tried to do what you wanted me to." And he began to cry bitterly.

And to Solomon he said, "My son, I charge you to acknowledge your father's God and to serve him with an undivided heart and a willing mind. He knows all our thoughts and desires. If you go to him, he will accept you; but if you turn away from him, he will abandon you forever.

There was a man named Job, living in the land of Uz, who worshiped God and was faithful to him. He was a good man, careful not to do anything evil.

"Did you notice my servant Job?" the LORD asked. "There is no one on earth as faithful and good as he is. He worships me and is careful not to do anything evil."

Notice good people, observe the righteous; peaceful people have descendants,

All these promises are made to us, my dear friends. So then, let us purify ourselves from everything that makes body or soul unclean, and let us be completely holy by living in awe of God.

I do not claim that I have already succeeded or have already become perfect. I keep striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won me to himself.

So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God's call through Christ Jesus to the life above.

However that may be, let us go forward according to the same rules we have followed until now.