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![]() "Are not five sparrows sold
for two cents? And yet not one of them is forgotten before God. "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do
not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows. (NAS, Luke 12:6-7) "For everyone who asks receives,
and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened. "Or what man is there among you, when his son shall ask
him for a loaf, will give him a stone? "Or if he shall ask for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? "If you then,
being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good
to those who ask Him! (NAS, Matthew 7:8-11) "For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. "For God did not
send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. (NAS, John 3:16-17) "A farmer was sowing grain
in his fields. As he scattered the seed across the ground, some fell beside a path, and the birds came and ate it. And some
fell on rocky soil where there was little depth of earth; the plants sprang up quickly enough in the shallow soil, but the
hot sun soon scorched them and they withered and died, for they had so little root. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the
thorns choked out the tender blades. But some fell on good soil and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred
times as much as he had planted. (TLB, Matthew 13:1-8) "Now here is the explanation
of the story I told about the farmer planting grain: The hard path where some of the seeds fell represents the heart of a
person who hears the Good News about the Kingdom and doesn't understand it; then Satan comes and snatches away the seeds from
his heart. The shallow, rocky soil represents the heart of a man who hears the message and receives it with real joy, but
he doesn't have much depth in his life, and the seeds don't root very deeply, and after a while when trouble comes, or persecution
begins because of his beliefs, his enthusiasm fades, and he drops out. The ground covered with thistles represents a man who
hears the message, but the cares of this life and his longing for money choke out God's Word, and he does less and less for
God. The good ground represents the heart of a man who listens to the message and understands it and goes out and brings thirty,
sixty, or even a hundred others into the Kingdom." (TLB, Matthew 13:18-23) "…, blessed are those
who hear the word of God, and observe it." (NAS, Luke 11:28) Whoever has my commands
and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself
to him. (NIV, John 14:21) For if you forgive men when
they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will
not forgive your sins. (NIV, Matthew 6:14-15) Do not let your hearts be
troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. (NIV, John 14:1) "No servant can serve two
masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot
serve both God and Money." (NIV, Luke 16:13) "A new command I give you:
Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples,
if you love one another." (NIV, John 13:34-35) "There is a saying, 'Love
your friends and hate your enemies.' But I say: Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way you will
be acting as true sons of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and sends rain on
the just and on the unjust too. If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even scoundrels do that much. If you
are friendly only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even the heathen do that. But you are to be perfect,
even as your Father in heaven is perfect. (TLB, Matthew 5:43-48) For if you give, you will
get! Your gift will return to you in full and overflowing measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and
running over. Whatever measure you use to give- large or small- will be used to measure what is given back to you."
(TLB, Luke 6:38) So in everything, do to
others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. (NIV, Matthew 7:12)
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