For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you. When you take possession of it and settle in it,

“Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat their produce.

A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein.

By wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with every precious and beautiful treasure.

But remember that it is the LORD your God who gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers even to this day.

Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds for himself, but brought a portion and laid it at the apostles’ feet. Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land? Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!”

You shall not steal.

Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

In the meantime, a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling one another. Jesus began to speak first to His disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known. What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops. I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear the One who, after you have been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him! . . .

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints— the faith and love proceeding from the hope stored up for you in heaven, of which you have already heard in the word of truth, the gospel . . .

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.

The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

The LORD will decree a blessing on your barns and on everything to which you put your hand; the LORD your God will bless you in the land He is giving you.

and he blessed Abram and said: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses for others to inhabit, nor plant for others to eat. For as is the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, and My chosen ones will fully enjoy the work of their hands. They will not labor in vain or bear children doomed to disaster; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD—they and their descendants with them.

Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

But Jesus overheard their conversation and said to Jairus, “Do not be afraid; just believe.”

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and bless His name.

I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us.

Rejoice at all times. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not extinguish the Spirit.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.

Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry. . . .

Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men,

Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”

No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.

Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.

You must not defraud your neighbor or rob him. You must not withhold until morning the wages due a hired hand.

A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.

for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.”

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. So while we are in this tent, we groan under our burdens, because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed, so that our mortality may be swallowed up by life. And God has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come. . . .

God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me face to face, that they may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this so that no one will deceive you by smooth rhetoric. For although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I delight to see your orderly condition and firm faith in Christ. . . .

Masters, supply your slaves with what is right and fair, since you know that you also have a Master in heaven. Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful, as you pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may declare it clearly, as I should. Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time. . . .

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, declares the LORD of Hosts.

In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.

I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”

I have given you every place where the sole of your foot will tread, just as I promised to Moses.

For no word from God will ever fail.”

Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, yet you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your land, and the vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says the LORD of Hosts.

Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”

You are to take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess.

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.

in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure. The lines of my boundary have fallen in pleasant places; surely my inheritance is delightful.

This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who testifies to everything he saw. This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and obey what is written in it, because the time is near. John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from Him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven Spirits before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood, . . .

Do you not know that those who work in the temple eat of its food, and those who serve at the altar partake of its offerings? In the same way, the Lord has prescribed that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize.

Therefore we are always confident, although we know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing. That is why we boast among God’s churches about your perseverance and faith in the face of all the persecution and affliction you are enduring. All this is clear evidence of God’s righteous judgment. And so you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. . . .

He who watches the wind will fail to sow, and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap.

Now to Him who is able to do so much more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Then the LORD God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”

This is the vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand.” Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children of depravity! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him. Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted. . . .

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. . . .

Thus any tithe from the land, whether from the seed of the land or the fruit of the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.

Take no bag for the road, or second tunic, or sandals, or staff; for the worker is worthy of his provisions.

As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, His disciples came up to Him to point out its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” He replied. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. . . .

His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Behold, I have given to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the service of the Tent of Meeting.

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

For lack of guidance, a nation falls, but with many counselors comes deliverance.

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.

Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your harvest; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

for every beast of the forest is Mine—the cattle on a thousand hills.

for every beast of the forest is Mine—the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof.

Behold, to the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, and the earth and everything in it.

then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for life.

Moses said to him, “When I have left the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the LORD’s.

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it shortly.’” So they went and found the colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. They untied it, and some who were standing there asked, “Why are you untying the colt?” . . .

Indeed, no one can enter a strong man’s house to steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.

Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.

The slacker craves yet has nothing, but the soul of the diligent is fully satisfied.

Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.

For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Isn’t He actually speaking on our behalf? Indeed, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they should also expect to share in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much for us to reap a material harvest from you?

But Naboth replied, “The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”

For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,

when that man assigns his inheritance to his sons he must not appoint the son of the beloved wife as the firstborn over the son of the unloved wife.

You shall not steal.

You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.” But remember that it is the LORD your God who gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers even to this day.

Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Then the LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the LORD. For six years you may sow your field and prune your vineyard and gather its crops. But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land—a Sabbath to the LORD. You are not to sow your field or prune your vineyard. You are not to reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your untended vines. The land must have a year of complete rest. . . .

Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is His delight.

The simple man believes every word, but the prudent man watches his steps.

There is profit in all labor, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

Houses and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.

If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof.