Everything you do or say, then, should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks through him to God the Father.

He was successful, because everything he did for the Temple or in observance of the Law, he did in a spirit of complete loyalty and devotion to his God.

Sing praise to God; sing praise to our king!

God is king over all the world; praise him with songs!

Praise the LORD, my soul! All my being, praise his holy name!

With all my heart I try to serve you; keep me from disobeying your commandments.

Explain your law to me, and I will obey it; I will keep it with all my heart.

With all my heart I call to you; answer me, LORD, and I will obey your commands!

Work hard at whatever you do, because there will be no action, no thought, no knowledge, no wisdom in the world of the dead---and that is where you are going.

And after all this, Judah, Israel's unfaithful sister, only pretended to return to me; she was not sincere. I, the LORD, have spoken."

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.

He said, "Tell the people of the land and the priests that when they fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during these seventy years, it was not in honor of me.

This is what the LORD said through the earlier prophets at the time when Jerusalem was prosperous and filled with people and when there were many people living not only in the towns around the city but also in the southern region and in the western foothills.

"And when you fast, do not put on a sad face as the hypocrites do. They neglect their appearance so that everyone will see that they are fasting. I assure you, they have already been paid in full.

Those who think highly of a certain day do so in honor of the Lord; those who will eat anything do so in honor of the Lord, because they give thanks to God for the food. Those who refuse to eat certain things do so in honor of the Lord, and they give thanks to God.

If we live, it is for the Lord that we live, and if we die, it is for the Lord that we die. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands as to the Lord.

Do this not only when they are watching you, because you want to gain their approval; but with all your heart do what God wants, as slaves of Christ.

Do your work as slaves cheerfully, as though you served the Lord, and not merely human beings.

For the sake of the Lord submit yourselves to every human authority: to the Emperor, who is the supreme authority,

For God wants you to silence the ignorant talk of foolish people by the good things you do.