A good person brings good out of the treasure of good things in his heart; a bad person brings bad out of his treasure of bad things. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

The LORD your God will give you and your descendants obedient hearts, so that you will love him with all your heart, and you will continue to live in that land.

Create a pure heart in me, O God, and put a new and loyal spirit in me.

The new covenant that I will make with the people of Israel will be this: I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

and set it on fire. They will burn it down, together with the houses where people have made me angry by burning incense to Baal on the rooftops and by pouring out wine offerings to other gods.

I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart.

I will put my spirit in you and will see to it that you follow my laws and keep all the commands I have given you.

I know that good does not live in me---that is, in my human nature. For even though the desire to do good is in me, I am not able to do it.

For it is by God's grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God's gift, so that no one can boast about it.

Do not be deceived, my dear friends!

By his own will he brought us into being through the word of truth, so that we should have first place among all his creatures.

Rid yourselves, then, of all evil; no more lying or hypocrisy or jealousy or insulting language.

Be like newborn babies, always thirsty for the pure spiritual milk, so that by drinking it you may grow up and be saved.

But Jesus answered, "Rather, how happy are those who hear the word of God and obey it!"

I follow faithfully the road he chooses, and never wander to either side.

I always do what God commands; I follow his will, not my own desires.

Happy are those who reject the advice of evil people, who do not follow the example of sinners or join those who have no use for God.

They are like trees that grow beside a stream, that bear fruit at the right time, and whose leaves do not dry up. They succeed in everything they do.

I keep your law in my heart, so that I will not sin against you.

I love your commands more than gold, more than the finest gold.

Your teachings are wonderful; I obey them with all my heart.

My child, don't forget what I teach you. Always remember what I tell you to do.

You spoke to me, and I listened to every word. I belong to you, LORD God Almighty, and so your words filled my heart with joy and happiness.

"If you love me, you will obey my commandments.

"Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. My Father will love those who love me; I too will love them and reveal myself to them."

Jesus answered him, "Those who love me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and my Father and I will come to them and live with them.

If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.

For whether or not a man is circumcised means nothing; what matters is to obey God's commandments.

That is why we must hold on all the more firmly to the truths we have heard, so that we will not be carried away.

Do not deceive yourselves by just listening to his word; instead, put it into practice.

They take a good look at themselves and then go away and at once forget what they look like.

If we obey God's commands, then we are sure that we know him.

But whoever holds out to the end will be saved.

Some people keep on doing good, and seek glory, honor, and immortal life; to them God will give eternal life.

But now you have been set free from sin and are the slaves of God. Your gain is a life fully dedicated to him, and the result is eternal life.

That is how it is with you, my friends. As far as the Law is concerned, you also have died because you are part of the body of Christ; and now you belong to him who was raised from death in order that we might be useful in the service of God.

But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have put to death their human nature with all its passions and desires.

We must not be proud or irritate one another or be jealous of one another.

Your lives will be filled with the truly good qualities which only Jesus Christ can produce, for the glory and praise of God.

Of course, my friends, I really do not think that I have already won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead.

All of us who are spiritually mature should have this same attitude. But if some of you have a different attitude, God will make this clear to you.

The gospel keeps bringing blessings and is spreading throughout the world, just as it has among you ever since the day you first heard about the grace of God and came to know it as it really is.

Then you will be able to live as the Lord wants and will always do what pleases him. Your lives will produce all kinds of good deeds, and you will grow in your knowledge of God.

Our great desire is that each of you keep up your eagerness to the end, so that the things you hope for will come true.

We do not want you to become lazy, but to be like those who believe and are patient, and so receive what God has promised.

You need to be patient, in order to do the will of God and receive what he promises.

Make sure that your endurance carries you all the way without failing, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Be patient, then, my friends, until the Lord comes. See how patient farmers are as they wait for their land to produce precious crops. They wait patiently for the autumn and spring rains.

You also must be patient. Keep your hopes high, for the day of the Lord's coming is near.