- 25And now after Jesus said these words, He looked at the twelve He had chosen and said unto them: Remember the words I’ve spoken. Realize you are the ones I’ve chosen as ministers to this people.
- Therefore I tell you: Don’t focus on yourself, worrying about what you’ll eat or what you’ll drink, nor for yourself and what you’ll wear. Isn’t life more than food? And the body more than clothes? 26Notice the birds in the air. They don’t plant, nor do they harvest and store in barns, but your Heavenly Father feeds them. Don’t you matter more than them?
- 27Which of you, by wanting it, can add one inch to his height? 28And why do you think about clothing yourself? Look at the lilies of the field, how they grow. They make no effort to cover themselves; 29and yet I tell you even Solomon at the height of his glory wasn’t as splendid as one of these. 30Accordingly, if God clothes the grass of the field like that, which grows today and tomorrow is burned in an oven, He will also clothe you if you aren’t faithless. 31Therefore don’t worry and ask: What will we eat? Or, What will we drink? Or, What will we wear? 32For your Heavenly Father knows you need all these things. 33But you should first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these other things will be provided for you.
- 34Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, for the next day will have its demands. Each day will have enough challenges to occupy you.
- 14And now after Jesus had said this, He turned back to the crowd and addressed them again, saying: I warn you not to condemn others so that you aren’t condemned; 2for the reason you condemn anyone else will be the reason you’re also condemned — your standards for others will be used against you.
- 3And why do you focus on the bit of sawdust in your brother’s eye, but ignore the log in your own eye? 4Or how can you say to your brother: Let me pull the sawdust out of your eye, while there’s a log in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first get the log out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly enough to remove the bit of sawdust out of your brother’s eye. 6Don’t give anything holy to dogs, nor place your pearls in front of pigs and watch them be trampled underfoot, because then the pigs turn and attack you.
- 7Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you; 8indeed, everyone that asks, receives, and anyone that seeks, finds, and to the one that knocks, it will be opened.
- 9Or who of you, if your child asks for bread, will give them a stone? 10Or if your child asks for a fish, will give them a snake? 11If you then, with all your faults, still understand how to respond to your children’s requests, how much more does your Father who is in heaven know how to respond kindly to things asked of Him? 12Therefore everything you expect others to do for you, do that for them, for that will satisfy the law and the prophets.
- 13You should enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is vast that leads to destruction, and many enter through those; 14because the gate is narrow and the pathway tight leading to life, and very few find it.
- 15Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inside they’re ravenous wolves. 16You can identify them by their results. Can you gather grapes from thorns? Or figs from thistles? 17Likewise you know that every good fruit tree produces good fruit, but diseased trees produce diseased fruit. 18A good tree doesn’t produce bad fruit, neither does a diseased tree produce good fruit. 19Every tree that fails to produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Therefore by the fruit produced you can identify them.
- 21Not everyone that says to Me, Lord! Lord! will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who obey the will of My Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to Me on that day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? And in Your name cast out devils? And in Your name accomplished many wonderful things? 23And I’ll respond to them: I never knew you. Get away from Me, you that embraced iniquity.
- 24Therefore anyone who hears these teachings from Me and obeys them, I’ll compare to a wise man who built his house on bedrock; 25and the rain fell, the floods came, and the tempests beat against that house, but it remained unharmed, because it was built on bedrock. 26In contrast, everyone that hears these teachings from Me and disobeys them I’ll compare to a foolish man who built his house on the sand; 27and the rain fell, the floods came, and the tempests beat against that house, and it failed, and its collapse was terrible.
Chapter 6