I have chosen him. He must direct his children to live in the way that pleases me. And he must direct the members of his family after him to do the same. So he must guide all of them in doing what is right and fair. Then I, the Lord, will do for Abraham what I have promised him.”
The Lord tells the people of Judah, “Stand where the roads cross, and look around. Ask where the old paths are. Ask for the good path, and walk on it. Then your hearts will find rest in me. But you said, ‘We won’t walk on it.’
If someone is wise, they will realize that what I’ve said is true. If they have understanding, they will know what it means. The ways of the Lord are right. People who are right with God live the way he wants them to. But those who refuse to obey him trip and fall.
They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of honor. You don’t let other people tell you what to do or say. You don’t care how important they are. But you teach the way of God truthfully. Is it right to pay the royal tax to Caesar or not?
“You are a child of the devil! You are an enemy of everything that is right! You cheat people. You use all kinds of tricks. Won’t you ever stop twisting the right ways of the Lord?
He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. Priscilla and Aquila heard him. So they invited him to their home. There they gave him a better understanding of the way of God.
But some of them wouldn’t listen. They refused to believe. In public they said evil things about the Way of Jesus. So Paul left them. He took the believers with him. Each day he talked with people in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
He asked the priest for letters to the synagogues in Damascus. He wanted to find men and women who belonged to the Way of Jesus. The letters would allow him to take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
So confess your sins to one another. Pray for one another so that you might be healed. The prayer of a godly person is powerful. Things happen because of it.
I will use those nations to test Israel. I will see whether Israel will live the way I, the Lord, want them to. I will see whether they will be like their people of long ago. I will see whether they will follow my path.”