An openness to people and ideas which needs to be tempered by discernment. It is an attitude which God desires and which he shows to all who call to him. Passages gathered in the Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin H. Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it out.
When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, "Woman, here is your son." Then He said to the disciple, "Here is your mother." So from that hour, this disciple took her into his home.
And he said to the kinsman-redeemer, "Naomi, who has returned from the land of Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech. I thought I should inform you that you may buy it back in the presence of those seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you want to redeem it, do so. But if you will not redeem it, tell me so I may know, because there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you." "I will redeem it," he replied. Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the land from Naomi and also from Ruth the Moabitess, you must also acquire the widow of the deceased in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance."
So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And when he had relations with her, the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.
"Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes not only Me, but the One who sent Me."
And He said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. For whoever is the least among all of you, he is the greatest."
For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in,
All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they shared with anyone who was in need.
The multitude of believers was one in heart and soul. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they owned.
Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
And although my illness was a trial to you, you did not despise or reject me. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus Himself.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.
The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
so that you may be able to test and prove what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.
I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims a Jesus other than the One we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the One you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it way too easily.
But be careful that you are not enticed to turn aside to worship and bow down to other gods,
For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been.
With her great persuasion she entices him; with her flattering lips she lures him.
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.
Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace and not by foods of no value to those devoted to them.
If anyone comes to you but does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home or even greet him.
I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
My son, keep your father's commandment, and do not forsake your mother's teaching. Bind them always upon your heart; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.
But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.
Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
For the LORD saw that the affliction of the Israelites, both slave and free, was very bitter. There was no one to help Israel,
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are dust.
In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, "I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may faint along the way."
"I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way. For some of them have come a great distance."
The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.
And the LORD said to him: "I have heard your prayer and petition before Me. I have consecrated this temple you have built by putting My Name there forever; My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.
the LORD appeared to him at night and said to him: "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.
Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for the LORD has heard my weeping. The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.
Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled by your iniquity. Bring your confessions and return to the LORD. Say to Him: "Take away all our iniquity and receive us graciously, that we may present the fruit of our lips. Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, 'Our gods!' to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion." I will heal their apostasy; I will freely love them, for My anger has turned away from them.
Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." "The LORD has taken away your sin," Nathan replied. "You will not die.
But if a wicked man turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life. Because he considered and turned from all the transgressions he had committed, he will surely live; he will not die.
So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.
When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them.
So he prayed to the LORD, saying, "O LORD, is this not what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I was so quick to flee toward Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion—One who relents from sending disaster.
In the same way, I tell you that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.
In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God's angels over one sinner who repents."
But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts.
Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too shall cry out and receive no answer.
But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.
Therefore this is what the LORD says: 'I am about to bring upon them a disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to Me, but I will not listen to them.
Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!'
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from my words of groaning?
But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.
He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me.
Those who embraced his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to the believers that day.
Among those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message.
Therefore, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in Him,
We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone's judgment. "For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
In my judgment, however, she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God.
The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of discipleship, to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning; He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple. The Lord GOD has opened My ears, and I have not been rebellious, nor have I turned back.
But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.
Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at the posts of my doorway.
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,
My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.
One day in a place where Jesus had just finished praying, one of His disciples requested, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."
It is written in the Prophets: 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to Me—
So Philip ran up and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. "How can I," he said, "unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.
And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as the true word of God—the word which is now at work in you who believe.
And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught.
Jesus replied, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
But Samuel declared: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.
Isn't this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke? Isn't it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
But Jesus answered them, "To this very day My Father is at His work, and I too am working."
If anyone desires to do His will, he will know whether My teaching is from God or whether I speak on My own.
But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.
But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing. They made their hearts like flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of Hosts.
Nevertheless, the LORD sent prophets to bring the people back to Him and to testify against them; but they would not listen.
They have turned their backs to Me and not their faces. Though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline.
And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.
If anyone will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that place, as a testimony against them."
If anyone does not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that town, as a testimony against them."
You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did. Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers— you who received the law ordained by angels, yet have not kept it."
That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.