"Now, people of Israel, listen to what the LORD your God demands of you: Worship the LORD and do all that he commands. Love him, serve him with all your heart,

Obey the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. Remember the great things he has done for you.

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.

God said to us humans, "To be wise, you must have reverence for the Lord. To understand, you must turn from evil."

The way to become wise is to honor the LORD; he gives sound judgment to all who obey his commands. He is to be praised forever.

But you forgive us, so that we should stand in awe of you.

But the time will come when the people of Israel will once again turn to the LORD their God and to a descendant of David their king. Then they will fear the LORD and will receive his good gifts.

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.

"Then get rid of those foreign gods that you have," he demanded, "and pledge your loyalty to the LORD, the God of Israel."

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.

Abraham himself said that she was his sister, and she said the same thing. I did this with a clear conscience, and I have done no wrong."

God replied in the dream, "Yes, I know that you did it with a clear conscience; so I kept you from sinning against me and did not let you touch her.

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.

Happy are those whose lives are faultless, who live according to the law of the LORD.

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

The seeds that fell in good soil stand for those who hear the message and retain it in a good and obedient heart, and they persist until they bear fruit.

But the time is coming and is already here, when by the power of God's Spirit people will worship the Father as he really is, offering him the true worship that he wants.

God is Spirit, and only by the power of his Spirit can people worship him as he really is."

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.

May God's grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with undying love.

so that you will be able to choose what is best. Then you will be free from all impurity and blame on the Day of Christ.

Joshua said to all the people, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, has to say: 'Long ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. One of those ancestors was Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor.

"Then get rid of those foreign gods that you have," he demanded, "and pledge your loyalty to the LORD, the God of Israel."

So Jacob said to his family and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods that you have; purify yourselves and put on clean clothes.

"Worship no god but me.

"Do not make for yourselves images of anything in heaven or on earth or in the water under the earth.

The people of Israel must no longer be unfaithful to the LORD by killing their animals in the fields as sacrifices to the goat demons. The people of Israel must keep this regulation for all time to come.

that you gave us through your servants, the prophets. They told us that the land we were going to occupy was an impure land because the people who lived in it filled it from one end to the other with disgusting, filthy actions.

Instead, I warned the young people among them: Do not keep the laws your ancestors made; do not follow their customs or defile yourselves with their idols.

"People of Israel, I did not demand sacrifices and offerings during those forty years that I led you through the desert.

But now, because you have worshiped images of Sakkuth, your king god, and of Kaiwan, your star god, you will have to carry those images

I told them to throw away the disgusting idols they loved and not to make themselves unclean with the false gods of Egypt, because I am the LORD their God.

But they defied me and refused to listen. They did not throw away their disgusting idols or give up the Egyptian gods. I was ready to let them feel the full force of my anger there in Egypt.

When they were young, living in Egypt, they lost their virginity and became prostitutes.