May the fields grow plenty of grain.\par May the hills be covered with crops.\par May the fields be as fertile as Lebanon.\par And may the cities be filled with people\par like fields covered with grass.\par
The Lord is our protector and glorious king. {\cf2\super [491]} \par God blesses us with kindness and glory.\par The Lord gives every good thing\par to people who follow and obey him.\par
“May the clouds in the skies above\par drop goodness on the earth like rain!\par May the earth open\par and let salvation grow!\par And may goodness grow with it!\par I, the Lord, made him. {\cf2\super [403]} \par
If you do those things, then I will give you rains at the time they should come. The land will grow crops and the trees of the field will grow their fruit.
Man, the Lord told you what goodness is.\par This is what the Lord wants from you:\par Be fair to other people.\par Love kindness and loyalty.\par Live humbly with your God.\par \{Don’t try to impress him with gifts.\}\par
“These people will plant in peace. Their grapevines will produce grapes. The land will give good crops, and the skies will give rain. I will give all these things to these, my people.
But what is the seed that fell on the good ground? That seed is like the person that hears the teaching and understands it. That person grows and makes fruit, sometimes 100 times more, sometimes 60 times more, and sometimes 30 times more.”
Some other seed fell on good ground. In the good ground, the seed grew and made grain. Some plants made 100 times more grain. Some plants made 60 times more, and some made 30 times more grain.
Then those people who accepted (believed) what Peter said were baptized. {\cf2\super [44]} On that day about 3,000 people were added to the group of believers.
When the leaders heard these things, they praised God. Then they said to Paul, “Brother, you can see that thousands of Jews have become believers. But they think it is very important to obey the law of Moses.
It is God that has made you part of Christ Jesus. Christ has become wisdom for us from God. Christ is the reason we are right with God and have freedom from sin; Christ is the reason we are holy. {\cf2\super [10]}
Everything good comes from God. And every perfect gift is from God. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky (sun, moon, stars). But God never changes \{like those lights\}. He is always the same.