My son, if you receive my words and
treasure my commands,2 Turning your ear to wisdom, inclining
your heart to understanding;3 Yes, if you call for
intelligence, and to understanding raise your voice; 4 If
you seek her like silver, and like hidden treasures search her out, 5 Then
will you understand the fear of the Lord; the knowledge of God you will find
There is more profit in it than there is
in silver; it is worth more to you than gold. 15 Wisdom is
more valuable than jewels; nothing you could want can compare with it.
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get
wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.
Take my instruction instead of silver, and
knowledge rather than choice gold; 11 for wisdom is better
than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.
Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance
in the way of understanding.
How much better to get wisdom than gold!
To get understanding is preferable to silver.
For she is an unfailing treasure; those
who gain this treasure win the friendship of God, being commended by the gifts
that come from her discipline.
Blessed is the man who meditates on
wisdom and who reasons intelligently. 21He who reflects in
his mind on her ways will also ponder her secrets. 22 Pursue
wisdom like a hunter, and lie in wait on her paths.
23 He who peers through her windows will
also listen at her doors; 24 he who encamps near her house will
also fasten his tent peg to her walls;25 he will pitch his
tent near her, and will lodge in an excellent lodging
place;
26 he will place his children under her
shelter,
and will camp under her boughs; 27 he
will be sheltered by her from the heat, and will dwell in
the midst of her glory.
15 The man who fears
the Lord will do this, and he who holds to
the law will obtain wisdom. 2 She will come
to meet him like a mother, and like the wife of
his youth she will welcome him.3 She will feed him
with the bread of understanding, and
give him the water of wisdom to drink.4 He will lean on her
and will not fall, and he will rely on
her and will not be put to shame.5
She will exalt him above his neighbors, and
will open his mouth in the midst of the assembly.6 He
will find gladness and a crown of rejoicing, and will acquire an everlasting
name.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures
on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. 20 But
store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor
thieves break in and steal.
No one can serve two masters. Either you
will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and
despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Seek first His kingdom and His
righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“[a]Ask, and it will be
given to you; [b]seek, and you will find; [c]knock,
and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks
finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Footnotes:
a Matthew
7:7 Or Keep asking
b Matthew
7:7 Or keep seeking
Matthew 7:7 Or keep knocking
your Father who is in heaven give what
is good to those who ask Him!
Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate
is wide and the way is easy,[a]
that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For
the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find
it are few.
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure
hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes
and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a
merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one
pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Jesus said to him, “If you would be
perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
They ran throughout that whole region
and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And
wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in
the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak,
and all who touched it were healed.
And one of the scribes came up and heard
them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked
him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” 29 Jesus
answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30 and
you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when
it grew, it withered for lack of moisture.
***
Those on rocky ground are the ones who,
when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe
only for a time and fall away in time of trial.
Luke 11:9-10
Luke 11:9-10
“So I say to you, [a]ask,
and it will be given to you; [b]seek, and you will
find; [c]knock,
and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks,
receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.
Footnotes:
a Luke
11:9 Or keep asking
b Luke
11:9 Or keep seeking
Luke 11:9 Or keep knocking
the Father in heaven give the holy
Spirit[a] to those who ask him
Make every effort to enter through the
narrow door,
because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be
able to.
But whatever gain I had, I counted as
loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed I count
everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my
Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as
refuse, in order that I may gain Christ
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so
great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings
to us[b] and persevere in running the
race that lies before us
