“He replied, ‘I have walked faithfully with the Lord. He will send his angel with you. He will give you success on your journey. So you will be able to get a wife for my son. She will be from my own relatives and from my father’s family.
Then Israel gave Joseph his blessing. He said, “May God bless these boys. He is the God of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac. They walked faithfully with him. He is the God who has been my shepherd all my life right up to this day.
The Lord will keep the promise he made to me. He said, ‘Your sons must be careful about how they live. They must be faithful to me with all their heart and soul. Then you will always have a son from your family line to sit on the throne of Israel.’
“Lord, please remember how faithful I’ve been to you. I’ve lived the way you wanted me to. I’ve served you with all my heart. I’ve done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Lord, teach me how you want me to live. Do this so that I will depend on you, my faithful God. Give me a heart that doesn’t want anything more than to worship you.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people must go out each day. Have them gather enough bread for that day. Here is how I will test them. I will see if they will follow my directions.
Take me away with you. Let us hurry! King Solomon, bring me into your palace.” “King Solomon, you fill us with joy. You make us happy. We praise your love more than we praise wine.” “It is right for them to love you!
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.
The Lord has shown you what is good. He has told you what he requires of you. You must act with justice. You must love to show mercy. And you must be humble as you live in the sight of your God.
True teaching came from his mouth. Nothing but the truth came from his lips. He walked with me in peace. He did what was right. He turned many people away from their sins.
Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. The church was strengthened and grew larger. That’s because they worshiped the Lord and the Holy Spirit helped them.
But each believer should live in whatever situation the Lord has given them. Stay as you were when God chose you. That’s the rule all the churches must follow.
How can the temple of the true God and the statues of other gods agree? We are the temple of the living God. God has said, “I will live with them. I will walk among them. I will be their God. And they will be my people.” (Leviticus 26:12; Jeremiah 32:38; Ezekiel 37:27)
The Lord your God will make you his holy people. He will set you apart for himself. He promised to do this. He promised to do it if you would keep his commands and live exactly as he wants you to live.
Live exactly as the Lord your God has commanded you to live. Then you will enjoy life in the land you will soon own. Things will go well with you there. You will live there for a long time.
Then you will be able to lead a life that is worthy of the Lord. We pray that you will please him in every way. So we want you to bear fruit in every good thing you do. We pray that you will grow to know God better.
We gave you hope and strength. We comforted you. We really wanted you to live in a way that is worthy of God. He chooses you to enter his glorious kingdom.
Now I want to talk about some other matters, brothers and sisters. We taught you how to live in a way that pleases God. In fact, that is how you are living. In the name of the Lord Jesus we ask and beg you to do it more and more.
But suppose we walk in the light, just as he is in the light. Then we share life with one another. And the blood of Jesus, his Son, makes us pure from all sin.