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February 6 - February 6, 2022
Speak well of those who speak badly about you. Pray for your enemies. Fast for those who harass you because what credit do you deserve if you love those who love you. Don’t even unbelievers[4] do that? Love those who hate you, and you will have no enemies.
If someone takes something that belongs to you, do not ask for it back, and do not try to take it back by force.
“Let your gift sweat in your hand until you know to whom you are to give it.”
Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not have sex with children. Do not be sexually promiscuous. Do not steal. Do not practice magic. Do not use drugs.[5] Do not abort a child or kill babies. Do not yearn to possess things that belong to your neighbor.
The earliest Christians (1st - 2nd century AD) were already openly in opposition to the rampant abortion present in pre-Christian Rome.
Do not commit perjury. Do not give false testimony. Do not speak evil. Do not hold a grudge. Do not be two-faced[6] because this is a deadly snare. Do not let your words be meaningless, but back them up by what you do.
Do not be greedy. Do not be materialistic.[7] Do not be a hypocrite. Do not be malicious. Do not be arrogant. Do not hatch evil plots against your neighbor.
Do not hate anyone. You are to correct some, pray for others, and some you are to love even more than your own life.
My child, flee from every kind of evil and from everything that looks evil. Do not get angry because anger leads to murder. Do not be jealous, argumentative, or hot-tempered because all these things breed murders.
My child, do not be lustful because that leads to being sexually promiscuous. Do not be foul-mouthed and do not let your eyes wander because it breeds adultery.
My child, do not be a fortune-teller[8] because that leads to idolatry. Do not cast spells. Do not be an astrologer. Do not make magic charms or amulets to ward off illnesses. Do not even want to look at any of these things because they all breed idolatry.
The stumbling blocks of modern women.
My child, do not be a liar because lying leads to stealing. Do not be greedy or conceited because all these things lead to stealing.
First time hearing that lying leads to stealing but it's disturbingly accurate.
My child, do not complain because it leads to blasphemy. Do not be self-important or evil-minded because all these things lead to blasphemies.
Complaining certainly does leads to some form of blasphemy; taking the form of a lack of appreciation for gratitude toward God.
Be meek because the meek will inherit the earth. Be slow to get angry. Be merciful. Be innocent. Be slow to speak. Be kind. Revere the words you have heard.
Revere Scripture
Do not exalt yourself. Don’t let your soul become over-confident. Do not let your soul embrace the lofty but walk with the just and the lowly.
Accept whatever happens to you as good, knowing that nothing happens apart from God.
Calvinistic determinism is the only view that can ultimately say that every evil act is good in the final analysis.
Treat these preachers as if they were the Lord himself because the Lord is present in the Word they preach. Seek out the saints every day and find support in their company and in their words.
It's a shame that in the modern world you would be hard-pressed to find faithful Christians who met for fellowship more than once or twice a week.
Do not turn away from someone in need, but instead, share everything you have, not claiming anything as your own because if you can share what will perish, how much more will you share what is imperishable!
Do not neglect your responsibilities to your children. Begin teaching your children when they are very young to reverently fear God.
Raise your children in the Lord.
God does not come to people because of their status. God comes to those whom the Spirit has prepared.
Regeneration logically precedes faith.
If you can bear the whole yoke of the Lord, you will be perfect; but if you are unable to bear all of it, then do the best you can with what you can.
Baptize in running water, but if you have no running water, then baptize in some other water. Baptize in cold water, but if you do not have cold water, then use warm water. If you do not have a place with water, then pour water on the head three times in the name of the Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit.
Baptism
Don’t ever let anyone eat or drink of your Eucharist who has not been baptized into the name of the Lord because the Lord has also spoken about this: “Do not give holy things to dogs.”
But if his teaching contributes in some way to being in a right relationship with God and increases the knowledge of the Lord, then welcome him as you would welcome the Lord himself.
Every prophet who teaches the truth, but does not do what he teaches, is a false prophet.
Prophets were present in the late 1st - early 2nd century.
Every prophet who is judged to be genuine, who does something that seems worldly to express some mystery of the church, but who does not teach others that they should do what he is doing, is not to be judged by any of you. God will be his judge in this matter – because the prophets of old behaved in the same way.
Receive everyone who comes in the name of the Lord. But examine him while he is with you. Then as you get to know him, you will know if he is a true or false Christian.
You will know them by their fruits.
On the Lord’s Day, gather together and break bread and give thanks after you have confessed your missteps, so that your sacrifice may be pure.
Take the Eucharist every Lord's Day.
Appoint for yourselves bishops and deacons who are worthy of the Lord.
Correct one another without anger, but do so peacefully, as you have it described in the Gospel.
Literally, “sorcery” or “mix potions.” The word is pharmakeusis form which we get the word “pharmacy.”
