Study Desk

No one who has even a small portion of the Spirit in him does this. What did our ancestor do when seeking a child from God? Be attentive, then, to your own spirit, for one should not be disloyal to the wife he took in his youth.

"I hate divorce," says the Lord God of Israel, "and the one who is guilty of violence," says the Lord who rules over all. "Pay attention to your conscience, and do not be unfaithful."

You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, "How have we wearied him?" Because you say, "Everyone who does evil is good in the Lord's opinion, and he delights in them," or "Where is the God of justice?"

Can a person rob God? You indeed are robbing me, but you say, ‘How are we robbing you?' In tithes and contributions!

You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God. How have we been helped by keeping his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord who rules over all?

So now we consider the arrogant to be happy; indeed, those who practice evil are successful. In fact, those who challenge God escape!'"

Then once more you will see that I make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not.

" Look! The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will name him Emmanuel ," which means " God with us ."

and don't think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

After Jesus was baptized, just as he was coming up out of the water, the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming on him.

The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread."

But he answered, "It is written, ‘ Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God .'"

and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘ He will command his angels concerning you ' and ‘ with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone .'"

Jesus said to him, "Once again it is written: ‘ You are not to put the Lord your God to the test .'"

Then Jesus said to him, "Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘ You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him .'"

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.

But I say to you, do not take oaths at all—not by heaven, because it is the throne of God,

"No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.

And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, won't he clothe you even more, you people of little faith?