and then celebrate the Harvest Festival, to honor the LORD your God, by bringing him a freewill offering in proportion to the blessing he has given you.

Be joyful in the LORD's presence, together with your children, your servants, and the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows who live in your towns. Do this at the one place of worship.

My heart is with the commanders of Israel, with the people who gladly volunteered. Praise the LORD!

On the day you fight your enemies, your people will volunteer. Like the dew of early morning your young men will come to you on the sacred hills.

I can assure you that they gave as much as they could, and even more than they could. Of their own free will

If you are eager to give, God will accept your gift on the basis of what you have to give, not on what you don't have.

You should each give, then, as you have decided, not with regret or out of a sense of duty; for God loves the one who gives gladly.

And God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have all you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause.

I know that you test everyone's heart and are pleased with people of integrity. In honesty and sincerity I have willingly given all this to you, and I have seen how your people who are gathered here have been happy to bring offerings to you.

May you, his people, always be faithful to the LORD our God, obeying all his laws and commands as you do today."

My child, if you become wise, I will be very happy.

I will be proud when I hear you speaking words of wisdom.

and carry it back home. Then you call your friends and neighbors together and say to them, 'I am so happy I found my lost sheep. Let us celebrate!'

"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

so that you may be innocent and pure as God's perfect children, who live in a world of corrupt and sinful people. You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky,

Perhaps my life's blood is to be poured out like an offering on the sacrifice that your faith offers to God. If that is so, I am glad and share my joy with you all.

So then, my friends, how dear you are to me and how I miss you! How happy you make me, and how proud I am of you!---this, dear friends, is how you should stand firm in your life in the Lord.

In my life in union with the Lord it is a great joy to me that after so long a time you once more had the chance of showing that you care for me. I don't mean that you had stopped caring for me---you just had no chance to show it.

Now Timothy has come back, and he has brought us the welcome news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always think well of us and that you want to see us just as much as we want to see you.

because now we really live if you stand firm in your life in union with the Lord.