When Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, he said about him, "Here is a real Israelite; there is nothing false in him!"

You study the Scriptures, because you think that in them you will find eternal life. And these very Scriptures speak about me!

Happy are those who reject the advice of evil people, who do not follow the example of sinners or join those who have no use for God.

They are like trees that grow beside a stream, that bear fruit at the right time, and whose leaves do not dry up. They succeed in everything they do.

May I perfectly obey your commandments and be spared the shame of defeat.

Your word is a lamp to guide me and a light for my path.

Examine me, O God, and know my mind; test me, and discover my thoughts.

Find out if there is any evil in me and guide me in the everlasting way.

You are to answer them, "Listen to what the LORD is teaching you! Don't listen to mediums---what they tell you cannot keep trouble away."

The people there were more open-minded than the people in Thessalonica. They listened to the message with great eagerness, and every day they studied the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was really true.

Many of them believed; and many Greek women of high social standing and many Greek men also believed.

If, then, we say that we have fellowship with him, yet at the same time live in the darkness, we are lying both in our words and in our actions.

Remain united to me, and I will remain united to you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it can do so only if it remains in the vine. In the same way you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me.

"I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me.

You will give us prosperity, LORD; everything that we achieve is the result of what you do.

The people of Israel will have nothing more to do with idols; I will answer their prayers and take care of them. Like an evergreen tree I will shelter them; I am the source of all their blessings."

But by God's grace I am what I am, and the grace that he gave me was not without effect. On the contrary, I have worked harder than any of the other apostles, although it was not really my own doing, but God's grace working with me.

We are proud that our conscience assures us that our lives in this world, and especially our relations with you, have been ruled by God-given frankness and sincerity, by the power of God's grace and not by human wisdom.

But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

humility, and self-control. There is no law against such things as these.

If you plant in the field of your natural desires, from it you will gather the harvest of death; if you plant in the field of the Spirit, from the Spirit you will gather the harvest of eternal life.

for it is the light that brings a rich harvest of every kind of goodness, righteousness, and truth.

Your lives will be filled with the truly good qualities which only Jesus Christ can produce, for the glory and praise of God.

because God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey his own purpose.

To get this done I toil and struggle, using the mighty strength which Christ supplies and which is at work in me.

(SEE 13:20)

Now that by your obedience to the truth you have purified yourselves and have come to have a sincere love for other believers, love one another earnestly with all your heart.

For this very reason do your best to add goodness to your faith; to your goodness add knowledge;

to your godliness add Christian affection; and to your Christian affection add love.

But if you do not have them, you are so shortsighted that you cannot see and have forgotten that you have been purified from your past sins.

But as for you, Christ has poured out his Spirit on you. As long as his Spirit remains in you, you do not need anyone to teach you. For his Spirit teaches you about everything, and what he teaches is true, not false. Obey the Spirit's teaching, then, and remain in union with Christ.

You know that Christ is righteous; you should know, then, that everyone who does what is right is God's child.

No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in union with us, and his love is made perfect in us.

We are sure that we live in union with God and that he lives in union with us, because he has given us his Spirit.

If we declare that Jesus is the Son of God, we live in union with God and God lives in union with us.

And we ourselves know and believe the love which God has for us. God is love, and those who live in love live in union with God and God lives in union with them.

"To the angel of the church in Sardis write: "This is the message from the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know what you are doing; I know that you have the reputation of being alive, even though you are dead!

So wake up, and strengthen what you still have before it dies completely. For I find that what you have done is not yet perfect in the sight of my God.

I know what you have done; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were either one or the other!

My dear friend, do not imitate what is bad, but imitate what is good. Whoever does good belongs to God; whoever does what is bad has not seen God.