Treasures in Heaven
(Luke 12.33, 34)
Matthew 6 19Don't store up treasures on earth! Moths and rust can destroy them, and thieves can break in and steal them. 20Instead, store up your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy them, and thieves cannot break in and steal them. 21Your heart will always be where your treasure is.
Light
(Luke 11.34-36)
22Your eyes are like a window for your body. When they are good, you have all the light you need. 23But when your eyes are bad, everything is dark. If the light inside you is dark, you surely are in the dark.
Money
(Luke 16.13)
24You cannot be the slave of two masters! You will like one more than the other or be more loyal to one than the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Worry
(Luke 12.22-31)
25I tell you not to worry about your life. Don't worry about having something to eat, drink, or wear. Isn't life more than food or clothing? 26Look at the birds in the sky! They don't plant or harvest. They don't even store grain in barns. Yet your Father in heaven takes care of them. Aren't you worth more than birds?
27Can worry make you live longer? 28Why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow. They don't work hard to make their clothes. 29But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth wasn't as well clothed as one of them. 30God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. He will surely do even more for you! Why do you have such little faith?
31Don't worry and ask yourselves, "Will we have anything to eat? Will we have anything to drink? Will we have any clothes to wear?" 32Only people who don't know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father in heaven knows that you need all of these. 33But more than anything else, put God's work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well.
34Don't worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself. You have enough to worry about today.
Laws for the Sabbath Exodus 35 Moses called together the people of Israel and told them that the LORD had said:
2You have six days in which to do your work. But the seventh day must be dedicated to me, your LORD, as a day of rest. Whoever works on the Sabbath will be put to death. 3Don't even build a cooking fire at home on the Sabbath.
Offerings for the Sacred Tent
(Exodus 25.1-9; 35.10-19) 4Moses told the people of Israel that the LORD had said:
5I would welcome an offering from anyone who wants to give something. You may bring gold, silver, or bronze; 6blue, purple, or red wool; fine linen; goat hair; 7tanned ram skin or fine leather; acacia wood; 8olive oil for the lamp; sweet-smelling spices for the oil of dedication and for the incense; or 9onyx stones or other gems for the sacred vest and breastpiece.
10If you have any skills, you should use them to help make what I have commanded: 11the sacred tent with its covering and hooks, its framework and crossbars, and its post and stands; 12the sacred chest with its carrying poles, its place of mercy, and the curtain in front of it; 13the table with all that goes on it, including the sacred bread; 14the lamp with its equipment and oil; 15the incense altar with its carrying poles and sweet-smelling incense; the ordination oil; the curtain for the entrance to the sacred tent; 16the altar for sacrifices with its bronze grating, its carrying poles, and its equipment; the large bronze bowl with its stand; 17the curtains with the posts and stands that go around the courtyard; 18the pegs and ropes for the tent and the courtyard; 19and the finely woven priestly clothes for Aaron and his sons.
Gifts for the LORD 20Moses finished speaking, and everyone left. 21Then those who wanted to bring gifts to the LORD, brought them to be used for the sacred tent, the worship services, and the priestly clothes. 22Men and women came willingly and gave all kinds of gold jewelry such as pins, earrings, rings, and necklaces. 23Everyone brought their blue, purple, and red wool, their fine linen, and their cloth made of goat hair, as well as their ram skins dyed red and their fine leather. 24Anyone who had silver or bronze or acacia wood brought it as a gift to the LORD.
25The women who were good at weaving cloth brought the blue, purple, and red wool and the fine linen they had made. 26And the women who knew how to make cloth from goat hair were glad to do so.
27The leaders brought different kinds of jewels to be sewn on the special clothes and the breastpiece for the high priest. 28They also brought sweet-smelling spices to be mixed with the incense and olive oil that were for the lamps and for ordaining the priests. 29Moses had told the people what the LORD wanted them to do, and many of them decided to bring their gifts.
Bezalel and Oholiab
(Exodus 31.1-11) 30Moses said to the people of Israel:
The LORD has chosen Bezalel of the Judah tribe. 31-33Not only has the LORD filled him with his Spirit, but he has given him wisdom and made him a skilled craftsman who can create objects of art with gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood. 34The LORD is urging him and Oholiab from the tribe of Dan to teach others. 35And he has given them all kinds of artistic skills, including the ability to design and embroider with blue, purple, and red wool and to weave fine linen.
Exodus 36 The LORD has given to Bezalel, Oholiab, and others the skills needed for building a place of worship, and they will follow the LORD's instructions.
2Then Moses brought together these workers who were eager to work, 3and he gave them the money that the people of Israel had donated for building the place of worship. In fact, so much money was being given each morning, 4that finally everyone stopped working 5and said, "Moses, there is already more money than we need for what the LORD has assigned us to do." 6So Moses sent word for the people to stop giving, and they did. 7But there was already more than enough to do what needed to be done.
The Curtains and Coverings for the Sacred Tent
(Exodus 26.1-14) 8-9The skilled workers got together to make the sacred tent and its linen curtains woven with blue, purple, and red wool and embroidered with figures of winged creatures. Each of the ten panels was fourteen yards long and two yards wide, 10and they were sewn together to make two curtains with five panels each. 11-13Then fifty loops of blue cloth were put along one of the wider sides of each curtain, and the two curtains were fastened together at the loops with fifty gold hooks.
14-15As the material for the tent, goat hair was used to weave eleven sections fifteen yards by two yards each. 16These eleven sections were joined to make two panels, one with five and the other with six sections. 17Fifty loops were put along one of the wider sides of each panel, 18and the two panels were fastened at the loops with fifty bronze hooks. 19Two other coverings were made--one with fine leather and the other with ram skins dyed red.
The Framework for the Sacred Tent
(Exodus 26.15-30) 20Acacia wood was used to build the framework for the walls of the sacred tent. 21Each frame was fifteen feet high and twenty-seven inches wide 22-26with two wooden pegs near the bottom. Then two silver stands were placed under each frame with sockets for the pegs, so they could be joined together. Twenty of these frames were used along the south side and twenty more along the north. 27Six frames were used for the back wall along the west side 28-29with two more at the southwest and northwest corners. These corner frames were joined from top to bottom. 30Altogether, along the back wall there were eight frames with two silver stands under each of them.
31-33Five crossbars were made for each of the wooden frames, with the center crossbar running the full length of the wall. 34The frames and crossbars were covered with gold, and gold rings were attached to the frames to run the crossbars through.
The Inside Curtain for the Sacred Tent
(Exodus 26.31-37) 35They made the inside curtain of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool, and embroidered with figures of winged creatures. 36They also made four acacia wood posts and covered them with gold. Then gold rings were fastened to the posts, which were set on silver stands.
37For the entrance to the tent, they used a curtain of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool and embroidered with fancy needlework. 38They made five posts, covered them completely with gold, and set them each on a gold-covered bronze stand. Finally, they attached hooks for the curtain.
The LORD Has the Final Word Proverbs 16 We humans make plans,
but the LORD
has the final word.
2We may think we know
what is right,
but the LORD is the judge
of our motives.
3Share your plans with the LORD,
and you will succeed.
4The LORD has a reason
for everything he does,
and he lets evil people live
only to be punished.
5The LORD doesn't like
anyone who is conceited--
you can be sure
they will be punished.
6If we truly love God,
our sins will be forgiven;
if we show him respect,
we will keep away from sin.
7When we please the LORD,
even our enemies
make friends with us.
8It's better to be honest
and poor
than to be dishonest
and rich.
9We make our own plans,
but the LORD decides
where we will go.
10Rulers speak with authority
and are never wrong.
11 The LORD doesn't like it
when we cheat in business.
12Justice makes rulers powerful.
They should hate evil
13and like honesty and truth.
14An angry ruler
can put you to death.
So be wise!
Don't make one angry.
15When a ruler is happy
and pleased with you,
it's like refreshing rain,
and you will live.
16It's much better to be wise
and sensible
than to be rich.
17God's people avoid evil ways,
and they protect themselves
by watching where they go.
18Too much pride
will destroy you.
19You are better off
to be humble and poor
than to get rich
from what you take by force.
20If you know what you're doing,
you will prosper.
God blesses everyone
who trusts him.
21Good judgment proves
that you are wise,
and if you speak kindly,
you can teach others.
22Good sense is a fountain
that gives life,
but fools are punished
by their foolishness.
23You can persuade others
if you are wise
and speak sensibly.
24Kind words are like honey--
they cheer you up
and make you feel strong.
25Sometimes what seems right
is really a road to death.
26 The hungrier you are,
the harder you work.
27Worthless people plan trouble.
Even their words burn
like a flaming fire.
28Gossip is no good!
It causes hard feelings
and comes between friends.
29Don't trust violent people.
They will mislead you
to do the wrong thing.
30When someone winks
or grins behind your back,
trouble is on the way.
31Gray hair is a glorious crown
worn by those
who have lived right.
32Controlling your temper
is better than being a hero
who captures a city.
33We make our own decisions,
but the LORD alone
determines what happens.
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