13 You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you”—this is the LORD’s declaration—“and I will restore your fortunes,f and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you”—this is the LORD’s declaration. “I will restore you to the place from which I deported you.”

8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he got up, went out, and made his way to a deserted place; and there he was praying. 36 Simon and his companions searched for him, 37 and when they found him they said, “Everyone is looking for you.”

“Examine your motives to make sure you’re not showing off when you do your good deeds, only to be admired by others; otherwise, you will lose the reward of your heavenly Father. 2 So when you give to the poor, don’t announce it and make a show of it just to be seen by people, like the hypocrites in the streets and in the marketplace. They’ve already received their reward! 3 But when you demonstrate generosity, do it with pure motives and without drawing attention to yourself. 4 Give secretly and your Father, who sees all you do, will reward you openly.”

28 Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the whole earth.

He never becomes faint or weary;

there is no limit to his understanding.

29 He gives strength to the faint

and strengthens the powerless.

30 Youths may become faint and weary,

and young men stumble and fall,

31 but those who trust in the LORD

will renew their strength;

they will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not become weary,

they will walk and not faint.

6 In the same way you received Jesus our Lord and Messiah by faith, continue your journey of faith, progressing further into your union with him! 7 Your spiritual roots go deeply into his life as you are continually infused with strength, encouraged in every way. For you are established in the faith you have absorbed and enriched by your devotion to him!

3 Everything we could ever need for life and complete devotion to God has already been deposited in us by his divine power. For all this was lavished upon us through the rich experience of knowing him who has called us by name and invited us to come to him through a glorious manifestation of his goodness.

20 My son, pay attention to my words;

listen closely to my sayings.

21 Don’t lose sight of them;

keep them within your heart.

22 For they are life to those who find them,

and health to one’s whole body.

23 Guard your heart above all else,

for it is the source of life.

13 The Lord said:

These people approach me with their speeches

to honor me with lip-service—

yet their hearts are far from me,

and human rules direct their worship of me.

14 Therefore, I will again confound these people

with wonder after wonder.

The wisdom of their wise will vanish,

and the perception of their perceptive will be hidden.

15 Woe to those who go to great lengths

to hide their plans from the LORD.

They do their works in the dark,

and say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”

18 Their corrupted logic has been clouded because their hearts are so far from God—their blinded understanding and deep-seated moral darkness keeps them from the true knowledge of God. 19 Because of spiritual apathy, they surrender their lives to lewdness, impurity, and sexual obsession.