6 Turn to the Lord!

He can still be found.

Call out to God! He is near.

6 Turn to the Lord!

He can still be found.

Call out to God! He is near.

1 *I, the Lord, was ready

to answer even those

who were not asking

and to be found by those

who were not searching.

To a nation that refused

to worship me,*

I said, "Here I am!"

29 The Lord gives strength

to those who are weary.

30 Even young people get tired,

then stumble and fall.

31 But those who trust the Lord

will find new strength.

They will be strong like eagles

soaring upward on wings;

they will walk and run

without getting tired.

11 Trust the Lord

and his mighty power.

Worship him always.

11 Trust the Lord

and his mighty power.

Worship him always.

9 Solomon, my son, worship God and obey him with all your heart and mind, just as I have done. He knows all your thoughts and your reasons for doing things, and so if you turn to him, he will hear your prayers. But if you ignore him, he will reject you forever.

14 If my own people will humbly pray and turn back to me and stop sinning, then I will answer them from heaven. I will forgive them and make their land fertile once again.

2 At once, Azariah went to Asa and said:

Listen to me, King Asa and you people of Judah and Benjamin. The Lord will be with you and help you, as long as you obey and worship him. But if you disobey him, he will desert you.

1 Some time later, God spoke to Azariah son of Oded. 2 At once, Azariah went to Asa and said:

Listen to me, King Asa and you people of Judah and Benjamin. The Lord will be with you and help you, as long as you obey and worship him. But if you disobey him, he will desert you.

3 For a long time, the people of Israel did not worship the true God or listen to priests who could teach them about God. They refused to obey God’s Law. 4 But whenever trouble came, Israel turned back to the Lord their God and worshiped him.

5 There was so much confusion in those days that it wasn’t safe to go anywhere in Israel. 6 Nations were destroying each other, and cities were wiping out other cities, because God was causing trouble and unrest everywhere.

7 So you must be brave. Don’t give up! God will honor you for obeying him.

8 As soon as Asa heard what Azariah the prophet said, he gave orders for all the idols in Judah and Benjamin to be destroyed, including those in the towns he had captured in the territory of Ephraim. He also repaired the Lord's altar that was in front of the temple porch.

9 Asa called together the people from Judah and Benjamin, as well as the people from the territories of Ephraim, West Manasseh, and Simeon who were living in Judah. Many of these people were now loyal to Asa, because they had seen that the Lord was with him.

10 In the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s rule, they all met in Jerusalem. 11 That same day, they took 700 bulls and 7,000 sheep and goats from what they had brought back from Gerar and sacrificed them as offerings to the Lord. 12 They made a solemn promise to faithfully worship the Lord God their ancestors had worshiped, 13 and to put to death anyone who refused to obey him. 14 The crowd solemnly agreed to keep their promise to the Lord, then they celebrated by shouting and blowing trumpets and horns. 15 Everyone was happy because they had made this solemn promise, and in return, the Lord blessed them with peace from all their enemies.

16 Asa’s grandmother Maacah had made a disgusting idol of the goddess Asherah, so he cut it down, crushed it, and burned it in Kidron Valley. Then he removed Maacah from her position as queen mother.*17 As long as Asa lived, he was faithful to the Lord, even though he did not destroy the local shrines* in Israel. 18 He placed in the temple all the silver and gold objects that he and his father had dedicated to God.

19 There was peace in Judah until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s rule.

13 *You will worship me with all your heart, and I will be with you

13 *You will worship me with all your heart, and I will be with you

29 My words are a powerful fire; they are a hammer that shatters rocks.

29,30 *In all of your troubles, you may finally decide that you want to worship only the Lord. And if you turn back to him and obey him completely, he will again be your God.

2 You bless all those

who follow your commands

from deep in their hearts

2 You bless all those

who follow your commands

from deep in their hearts

10 I worship you

with all my heart.

Don’t let me walk away

from your commands.

28 I am overcome with sorrow.

Encourage me,

as you have promised to do.

45 I have gained perfect freedom

by following your teachings,

4 Trust the Lord

and his mighty power.

4 Trust the Lord

and his mighty power.

8 My heart tells me to pray.

I am eager to see your face,

1 *You are my God. I worship you.

In my heart, I long for you,

as I would long for a stream

in a scorching desert.

7 *Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you.

9 So I tell you to ask and you will receive, search and you will find, knock and the door will be opened for you. 10 Everyone who asks will receive, everyone who searches will find, and the door will be opened for everyone who knocks.

9 So I tell you to ask and you will receive, search and you will find, knock and the door will be opened for you.

31 But put God’s work first, and these things will be yours as well.

10 *The Son of Man came to look for and to save people who are lost."

10 Everyone who honors your name

can trust you,

because you are faithful

to all who depend on you.

10 Everyone who honors your name

can trust you,

because you are faithful

to all who depend on you.

4 I asked the Lord for help,

and he saved me

from all my fears.

10 Young lions* may go hungry

or even starve,

but if you trust the Lord,

you will never miss out

on anything good.

4 Do what the Lord wants,

and he will give you

your heart’s desire.

2 From heaven the Lord

looks down to see

if anyone is wise enough

to search for him.

1 You have looked deep

into my heart, Lord,

and you know all about me.

2 You know when I am resting

or when I am working,

and from heaven

you discover my thoughts.

5 The Lord God, who saves them,

will bless and reward them,

6 because they worship and serve

the God of Jacob.*

4 The Lord keeps saying,

"Israel, turn back to me

and you will live!

4 The Lord keeps saying,

"Israel, turn back to me

and you will live!

14 If you really want to live,

you must stop doing wrong

and start doing right.

I, the Lord God All-Powerful,

will then be on your side,

just as you claim I am.

16 God is wonderful and glorious. I pray that his Spirit will make you become strong followers

10 Finally, let the mighty strength of the Lord make you strong.

11 His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything, and you will be truly happy.

7 God’s Spirit* doesn’t make cowards out of us. The Spirit gives us power, love, and self-control.

6 But without faith no one can please God. We must believe that God is real and rewards everyone who searches for him.

6 But without faith no one can please God. We must believe that God is real and rewards everyone who searches for him.

8 *But the Holy Spirit will come upon you and give you power. Then you will tell everyone about me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world."

12 I pray that the Lord God of Israel will reward you for what you have done. And now that you have come to him for protection, I pray that he will bless you."

6 But the Lord's Spirit took control of Samson, and with his bare hands he tore the lion apart, as though it had been a young goat. His parents didn’t know what he had done, and he didn’t tell them.

28 Samson prayed, "Please remember me, Lord God. The Philistines poked out my eyes, but make me strong one last time, so I can take revenge for at least one of my eyes!"*

8 It is better to trust the Lord

for protection

than to trust anyone else,

9 including strong leaders.

22 *A man’s greatest treasure

is his wife—

she is a gift from the Lord.

14 Wisdom is like honey

for your life—

if you find it,

your future is bright.