God was also at work in Judah and united the people in their determination to obey his will by following the commands of the king and his officials.

Those who guard the city are shouting, shouting together for joy. They can see with their own eyes the return of the LORD to Zion.

I will give them a new heart and a new mind. I will take away their stubborn heart of stone and will give them an obedient heart.

Then they will keep my laws and faithfully obey all my commands. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart.

I will unite them into one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. They will have one king to rule over them, and they will no longer be divided into two nations or split into two kingdoms.

I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me.

The group of believers was one in mind and heart. None of them said that any of their belongings were their own, but they all shared with one another everything they had.

And now, my friends, good-bye! Strive for perfection; listen to my appeals; agree with one another; live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

Your life in Christ makes you strong, and his love comforts you. You have fellowship with the Spirit, and you have kindness and compassion for one another.

I urge you, then, to make me completely happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and being one in soul and mind.

The LORD said to his people, "Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths and where the best road is. Walk in it, and you will live in peace." But they said, "No, we will not!"

There will be a highway there, called "The Road of Holiness." No sinner will ever travel that road; no fools will mislead those who follow it.

Jesus answered him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me.

He opened for us a new way, a living way, through the curtain---that is, through his own body.

I will make an eternal covenant with them. I will never stop doing good things for them, and I will make them fear me with all their heart, so that they will never turn away from me.

"Don't hurt the boy or do anything to him," he said. "Now I know that you honor and obey God, because you have not kept back your only son from him."

Praise the LORD! Happy is the person who honors the LORD, who takes pleasure in obeying his commands.

Reverence for the LORD gives confidence and security to a man and his family.

Do you want to avoid death? Reverence for the LORD is a fountain of life.

Don't be envious of sinful people; let reverence for the LORD be the concern of your life.

And so it was that the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had a time of peace. Through the help of the Holy Spirit it was strengthened and grew in numbers, as it lived in reverence for the Lord.

"I will keep my promise to you and to your descendants in future generations as an everlasting covenant. I will be your God and the God of your descendants.

I have chosen him in order that he may command his sons and his descendants to obey me and to do what is right and just. If they do, I will do everything for him that I have promised."

If only they would always feel this way! If only they would always honor me and obey all my commands, so that everything would go well with them and their descendants forever.

"Remember these commands and cherish them. Tie them on your arms and wear them on your foreheads as a reminder.

Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

He will bless everyone who honors him, the great and the small alike.

May you be blessed by the LORD, who made heaven and earth!

May you live to see your grandchildren! Peace be with Israel!

They will live on the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They will live there forever, and so will their children and all their descendants. A king like my servant David will rule them forever.

For God's promise was made to you and your children, and to all who are far away---all whom the Lord our God calls to himself."

And so God chose his Servant and sent him to you first, to bless you by making every one of you turn away from your wicked ways."

(SEE 13:32)

If the first piece of bread is given to God, then the whole loaf is his also; and if the roots of a tree are offered to God, the branches are his also.

For the unbelieving husband is made acceptable to God by being united to his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made acceptable to God by being united to her Christian husband. If this were not so, their children would be like pagan children; but as it is, they are acceptable to God.