Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God — you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration — what a creation!

Then Jesus took a deep breath and breathed into them. “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he said. “If you forgive someone’s sins, they’re gone for good. If you don’t forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?”

The angel spoke to the women: “There is nothing to fear here. I know you’re looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross. He is not here. He was raised, just as he said. Come and look at the place where he was placed.”

You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom. Not only that — count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort

You’re blessed when you get your inside world — your mind and heart — put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God… Food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat. You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being “care-full,” you find yourselves cared for.