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The one who asks always receives - Extracted from Matthew, Chapter 7:
Jesus said to his disciples:
7 'Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
8 Everyone who asks receives; everyone who searches finds; everyone who knocks will have the door opened.
9 Is there anyone among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? 10 Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish?
11 If you, then, evil as you are, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
12 'So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the Law and the Prophets.
God the Creator and Provider - Extracted from Psalm 104:
1 Bless Yahweh, my soul, Yahweh, my God, how great you are! Clothed in majesty and splendour,
2 wearing the light as a robe! You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
3 build your palace on the waters above, making the clouds your chariot, gliding on the wings of the wind,
4 appointing the winds your messengers, flames of fire your servants.
5 You fixed the earth on its foundations, for ever and ever it shall not be shaken;
6 you covered it with the deep like a garment, the waters overtopping the mountains.
7 At your reproof the waters fled, at the voice of your thunder they sped away,
8 flowing over mountains, down valleys, to the place you had fixed for them;
9 you made a limit they were not to cross, they were not to return and cover the earth.
10 In the ravines you opened up springs, running down between the mountains,
11 supplying water for all the wild beasts; the wild asses quench their thirst,
12 on their banks the birds of the air make their nests, they sing among the leaves.
13 From your high halls you water the mountains, satisfying the earth with the fruit of your works:
14 for cattle you make the grass grow, and for people the plants they need, to bring forth food from the earth,
15 and wine to cheer people's hearts, oil to make their faces glow, food to make them sturdy of heart.
16 The trees of Yahweh drink their fill, the cedars of Lebanon which he sowed;
17 there the birds build their nests, on the highest branches the stork makes its home;
18 for the wild goats there are the mountains, in the crags the coneys find refuge.
19 He made the moon to mark the seasons, the sun knows when to set.
20 You bring on darkness, and night falls, when all the forest beasts roam around;
21 young lions roar for their prey, asking God for their food.
22 The sun rises and away they steal, back to their lairs to lie down,
23 and man goes out to work, to labour till evening falls.
24 How countless are your works, Yahweh, all of them made so wisely! The earth is full of your creatures.
25 Then there is the sea, with its vast expanses teeming with countless creatures, creatures both great and small;
26 there ships pass to and fro, and Leviathan whom you made to sport with.
27 They all depend upon you, to feed them when they need it.
28 You provide the food they gather, your open hand gives them their fill.
29 Turn away your face and they panic; take back their breath and they die and revert to dust.
30 Send out your breath and life begins; you renew the face of the earth.
31 Glory to Yahweh for ever! May Yahweh find joy in his creatures!
32 At his glance the earth trembles, at his touch the mountains pour forth smoke.
33 I shall sing to Yahweh all my life, make music for my God as long as I live.
34 May my musings be pleasing to him, for Yahweh gives me joy.
35 May sinners vanish from the earth, and the wicked exist no more! Bless Yahweh, my soul. |
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You are precious in My eyes, and honoured, and I love you - Extracted from the Prophet Isaiah, Chapter 43:
1 And now, thus says Yahweh, he who created you, Jacob, who formed you, Israel: Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name, you are mine.
2 Should you pass through the waters, I shall be with you; or through rivers, they will not swallow you up. Should you walk through fire, you will not suffer, and the flame will not burn you.
3 For I am Yahweh, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. I have given Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Because you are precious in my eyes, and honoured, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not fear, for I am with you...
10 March 2012
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Concerning Good Deeds and Fasting - Extracted from Matthew, Chapter 6:
Jesus taught his disciples:
1 'Be careful not to parade your uprightness in public to attract attention; otherwise you will lose all reward from your Father in heaven.
2 So when you give alms, do not have it trumpeted before you; this is what the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win human admiration. In truth I tell you, they have had their reward.
3 But when you give alms, your left hand must not know what your right is doing;
4 your almsgiving must be secret, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.
5 'And when you pray, do not imitate the hypocrites: they love to say their prayers standing up in the synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them. In truth I tell you, they have had their reward.
6 But when you pray, go to your private room, shut yourself in, and so pray to your Father who is in that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.
16 'When you are fasting, do not put on a gloomy look as the hypocrites do: they go about looking unsightly to let people know they are fasting. In truth I tell you, they have had their reward.
17 But when you fast, put scent on your head and wash your face,
18 so that no one will know you are fasting except your Father who sees all that is done in secret; and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.
19 'Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and woodworm destroy them and thieves can break in and steal.
20 But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor woodworm destroys them and thieves cannot break in and steal.
21 For wherever your treasure is, there will your heart be too. |
