Ye Are The Light Of The World!
[Matthew 5:14-16 KJV] 14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Are You EXCITED About Doing God's Work?
Are we letting our light shine as Jesus himself said we should? If we are filled with the light of God does he expect us to hide it under a bushel or a basket. No, of course not. He says clearly in Matt 5:14 that we are not to put our light under a bushel or HIDE what God has called us to do. That is what the ENEMY wants EACH of us to do. God wants me to tell someone today, do whatever it is that God has called you to do for his kingdom work. If God has called you to share his WORD on FB, YouTube or any social media, in the work place, in the market place, do so by ALL MEANS. Shout it from the roof top IF that is what he has called you to do.
The KINGDOM WORK is not about who can outshine who, nor is it a competition. There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing things in EXCELLENCE to GLORIFY GOD with the GIFTS and TALENTS HE has GIVEN YOU for His Kingdom PURPOSE! Also, there's nothing wrong with being EXCITED and ZEALOUS about what God is doing through us in the ministry work.
Jesus sent forth his SEVENTY disciples into the field of harvest and they came back to him EXCITED about what God was doing through them. They had true JOY of HEART! That's a natural way to react when you realize God is using you in the ministry to be effective in reaching others and seeing lives changed. But it should not be the PRIMARY thing we are concentrated on. We must always be balanced.
[Luke 10:17-20 HCSB] 17 The Seventy returned with JOY saying, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name." 18 He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a lightning flash. 19 Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing will ever harm you. 20 However, don't rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
Know Who You Are In Christ
Jesus told his disciples to be glad that their NAMES are written in heaven. So our ETERNAL LIFE in JESUS is most important overall. If we GAIN the whole world, GAIN RICHES, do all kinds of EXPLOITS, expelling demons, speaking prophecies, performing healings, having GREAT FAITH, etc and we LOSE our LIFE, what good is that. We can have a HUGE ministry or SMALL ministry either way, we must be balanced and keep our priorities in check as Jesus so lovingly taught his zealous and excited disciples. It applies to us today as well.
So, when we have our priorities in ORDER and our heart does not condemn us, we can be SECURE in WHO WE ARE IN CHRIST, in who we are called to be in HIM. We will RECOGNIZE and accept the role he has called us to have, with no need to feel insecure in seeing GOD excel someone else who has answered the call in their life as well. Nor will we feel incited to JEALOUSY because of someone else's GIFT or TALENT that the LORD has GIVEN to someone to be USED by HIM at a time such as this because LOVE is NOT JEALOUS. Do we LOVE our brothers and sisters ...this we must ASK ourselves, we must all examine our hearts before God.
It really TAKES COURAGE and BOLDNESS to share what God is putting in us with others. The courage and boldness comes from the ANOINTING of the HOLY SPIRIT. So if we are speaking forth God's Word, we can be content in knowing we are being LED by the HOLY SPIRIT. It is all about SAVING lives. This work is about sharing the WORD of GOD that has been PLANTED in our hearts if we are reading, studying and meditating upon the Word of God.
Hearts Motivated By LOVE
LOVE of GOD and NEIGHBOR should be the MOTIVATOR. But unfortunately this is not always the case. If we are motivated by LOVE to share what God has called us to do, then we have no reason to HOLD BACK. Even those who are sharing with the wrong motive will be dealt with by GOD. It's not for us to go on witch hunts to figure out a person's MOTIVE for what they do. ONLY God knows what's in a person's heart and he will judge ALL hearts in his own timing.
[1Co 4:5 HCSB] 5 Therefore don't judge anything prematurely, before the Lord comes, who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts. And then praise will come to each one from God.
[Mat 13:41 KJV] 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Jesus also said something interesting about having light in us. Remember that the enemy can change himself to an angel of light. [2Co 11:14 HCSB] 14 And no wonder! For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Jesus said that some person's light is really darkness that will be exposed when the light of a LAMP is shined on them. Jesus is the lamp.
[Rev 21:23 NIV] 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
[Luke 11:34-36 HCSB] 34 Your eye is the lamp of the body. When your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light. But when it is bad, your body is also full of darkness. 35 Take care then, that the light in you is not darkness. 36 If, therefore, your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be entirely illuminated, as when a lamp shines its light on you."
Did you catch that revelation! If our EYE is good, which is the LAMP, then our WHOLE BODY will be FULL of LIGHT! What do we LOOK at! Are we watching pictures, movies, TV, even what we LISTEN to creates IMAGES in our MIND's EYE. If what we are watching and listening to is NOT SOMETHING JESUS would watch or listen to then any light in us is coming from the wrong source. If JESUS is our LAMP, it will be reflected in what our EYES are TAKING IN, WATCHING, etc. God's LAMP which holds His Holy Spirit will shine on US revealing the true source of LIGHT in us. The truth of God's Word will be in us. Glory to God!
Also, Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees who were hypocrites, making it all about appearance, trying to impress others. It was their hearts that were dark for they lacked compassion for the people. Everything they were doing was only to impress and appear good. They had NO LOVE in their heart. Only with the HOLY SPIRIT of God, HIS ANOINTING upon us, being born again in the spirit will we be any better than the Pharisees of Jesus day.
[Luke 11:38-41, 46 HCSB] 38 When the Pharisee saw this, he was amazed that He did not first perform the ritual washing before dinner. 39 But the Lord said to him: "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and evil.
40 Fools! Didn't He who made the outside make the inside too? 41 But give from what is within to the poor, and then everything is clean for you. ... 46 Then He said: "Woe also to you experts in the law! You load people with burdens that are hard to carry, yet you yourselves don't touch these burdens with one of your fingers.
They were quick to tell the people where they were going wrong yet they didn't have a clue as to what was really important. They criticized the Lord for not washing his hands before eating where they were unclean inside, full of dead men's bones. White washed graves. Yet they had the nerve to judge the Lord because they had their OWN standards of judging others. How foolish and we can fall into the same trap when we start expecting people to live up to OUR STANDARDS of what is right and wrong. Let God be true and every man a liar. God sets the standard not us.
Do All Things In Excellence To Glorify GOD
There is nothing wrong in doing things in EXCELLENCE to GLORIFY GOD. We always want to give God our BEST. God has given many of his children GIFTS and TALENTS in this time of the END to be utilized in putting forth his messages that will APPEAL to those in NEED of the message. To those who have, more will be given and vice versa, those who have not, less will be given. Why does God say this? Could it be because the person who is grateful and recognizes what God has given them and shares it, puts it to work in the field of harvest.
By planting and watering seeds, the result is more will be given, the natural result is the reaping of a harvest in the field. Taking our talents and gifts, putting them to work for the harvest will lead us to plant seeds of the Love of Christ, of the gospel message to save lives. God has given some as apostles, prophtets, teachers, etc.
[Eph 4:11-13 NKJV] 11 And He Himself gave some [to be] apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
We must all come to the UNITY of FAITH, coming to recognize that Jesus wants us to LOVE one another and work together, not competing with one another. He didn't call us ALL to do the same thing as the scripture here says. He gave some to do one thing or be one thing and someone else to do or be another thing. He calls All for the building of HIS BODY, for the ADDING of SOULS to the KINGDOM. That's what we MUST CONCENTRATE ON. That should be our FOCUS. The LIVES that can be saved. NOT how someone is being USED by GOD.
Answer Your Calling/Let Your Light Shine
One plants, one waters but it is GOD who makes it grow. [1Co 3:6-7 NIV] 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. Many can have a share in saving ONE soul for the kingdom. This is a WORK ordained by God not man. In other words, don't let MAN or the ENEMY of God cause you to SHRINK back in any way of doing, saying, writing, sharing what God has given you to do. If he has called you to do something you feel is beyond your ability, know He will make it happen.
He will send people to help you to accomplish His WILL and PURPOSE which will GLORIFY HIM. It's all about his glory. It matters not how others see you, look at you or feel about you. Just do it because God wants HIS LIGHT to SHINE through YOU and I. He wants us to GLORIFY HIM in this DARK world. Praise God! To God be all the GLORY!
Wait on the Lord and do not give up in doing what is good. Others may never notice what you and I do but God will exalt us in his own timing as He sees fit. Jesus knew this well and that's why he spoke about it in John 8:50. Do all things to glorify God and leave others who allow the enemy to use them in judging you and accusing you of wrong motives to God. God will remove all things that are OFFENSIVE to HIS SPIRIT. All things that cause stumbling will be removed by the angels. All praise, glory and honor to God. For He is MIGHTY. We serve an AWESOME GOD! How can we not be EXCITED about HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[Mat 13:41 KJV] 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
[John 8:50 NLT] 50 And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify me. He is the true judge.;
[James 4:10 HCSB] 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.
[1Peter 5:6 HCSB] 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time,
Scriptures for reference:
[Rev 21:23 NIV] 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
[Luke 11:34-36 HCSB] 34 Your eye is the lamp of the body. When your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light. But when it is bad, your body is also full of darkness. 35 Take care then, that the light in you is not darkness. 36 If, therefore, your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be entirely illuminated, as when a lamp shines its light on you."
The Body Has Many Gifts
[Rom 12:1-21 HCSB] 1 Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. 3 For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one.
4 Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, 5 in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. 6 According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the standard of one's faith; 7 if service, in service; if teaching, in teaching; 8 if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.
LOVE is KEY
9 Love must be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. 10 Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. 13 Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Be in agreement with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Try to do what is honorable in everyone's eyes. 18 If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone. 19 Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay, says the Lord. 20 But If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head. 21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.
[1Co 4:5 HCSB] 5 Therefore don't judge anything prematurely, before the Lord comes, who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts. And then praise will come to each one from God.
[Mat 13:41 KJV] 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
[Luke 10:17-20 HCSB] 17 The Seventy returned with JOY saying, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name." 18 He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a lightning flash. 19 Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing will ever harm you. 20 However, don't rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Are You EXCITED About Doing God's Work?
Are we letting our light shine as Jesus himself said we should? If we are filled with the light of God does he expect us to hide it under a bushel or a basket. No, of course not. He says clearly in Matt 5:14 that we are not to put our light under a bushel or HIDE what God has called us to do. That is what the ENEMY wants EACH of us to do. God wants me to tell someone today, do whatever it is that God has called you to do for his kingdom work. If God has called you to share his WORD on FB, YouTube or any social media, in the work place, in the market place, do so by ALL MEANS. Shout it from the roof top IF that is what he has called you to do.
The KINGDOM WORK is not about who can outshine who, nor is it a competition. There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing things in EXCELLENCE to GLORIFY GOD with the GIFTS and TALENTS HE has GIVEN YOU for His Kingdom PURPOSE! Also, there's nothing wrong with being EXCITED and ZEALOUS about what God is doing through us in the ministry work.
Jesus sent forth his SEVENTY disciples into the field of harvest and they came back to him EXCITED about what God was doing through them. They had true JOY of HEART! That's a natural way to react when you realize God is using you in the ministry to be effective in reaching others and seeing lives changed. But it should not be the PRIMARY thing we are concentrated on. We must always be balanced.
[Luke 10:17-20 HCSB] 17 The Seventy returned with JOY saying, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name." 18 He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a lightning flash. 19 Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing will ever harm you. 20 However, don't rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
Know Who You Are In Christ
Jesus told his disciples to be glad that their NAMES are written in heaven. So our ETERNAL LIFE in JESUS is most important overall. If we GAIN the whole world, GAIN RICHES, do all kinds of EXPLOITS, expelling demons, speaking prophecies, performing healings, having GREAT FAITH, etc and we LOSE our LIFE, what good is that. We can have a HUGE ministry or SMALL ministry either way, we must be balanced and keep our priorities in check as Jesus so lovingly taught his zealous and excited disciples. It applies to us today as well.
So, when we have our priorities in ORDER and our heart does not condemn us, we can be SECURE in WHO WE ARE IN CHRIST, in who we are called to be in HIM. We will RECOGNIZE and accept the role he has called us to have, with no need to feel insecure in seeing GOD excel someone else who has answered the call in their life as well. Nor will we feel incited to JEALOUSY because of someone else's GIFT or TALENT that the LORD has GIVEN to someone to be USED by HIM at a time such as this because LOVE is NOT JEALOUS. Do we LOVE our brothers and sisters ...this we must ASK ourselves, we must all examine our hearts before God.
It really TAKES COURAGE and BOLDNESS to share what God is putting in us with others. The courage and boldness comes from the ANOINTING of the HOLY SPIRIT. So if we are speaking forth God's Word, we can be content in knowing we are being LED by the HOLY SPIRIT. It is all about SAVING lives. This work is about sharing the WORD of GOD that has been PLANTED in our hearts if we are reading, studying and meditating upon the Word of God.
Hearts Motivated By LOVE
LOVE of GOD and NEIGHBOR should be the MOTIVATOR. But unfortunately this is not always the case. If we are motivated by LOVE to share what God has called us to do, then we have no reason to HOLD BACK. Even those who are sharing with the wrong motive will be dealt with by GOD. It's not for us to go on witch hunts to figure out a person's MOTIVE for what they do. ONLY God knows what's in a person's heart and he will judge ALL hearts in his own timing.
[1Co 4:5 HCSB] 5 Therefore don't judge anything prematurely, before the Lord comes, who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts. And then praise will come to each one from God.
[Mat 13:41 KJV] 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Jesus also said something interesting about having light in us. Remember that the enemy can change himself to an angel of light. [2Co 11:14 HCSB] 14 And no wonder! For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Jesus said that some person's light is really darkness that will be exposed when the light of a LAMP is shined on them. Jesus is the lamp.
[Rev 21:23 NIV] 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
[Luke 11:34-36 HCSB] 34 Your eye is the lamp of the body. When your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light. But when it is bad, your body is also full of darkness. 35 Take care then, that the light in you is not darkness. 36 If, therefore, your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be entirely illuminated, as when a lamp shines its light on you."
Did you catch that revelation! If our EYE is good, which is the LAMP, then our WHOLE BODY will be FULL of LIGHT! What do we LOOK at! Are we watching pictures, movies, TV, even what we LISTEN to creates IMAGES in our MIND's EYE. If what we are watching and listening to is NOT SOMETHING JESUS would watch or listen to then any light in us is coming from the wrong source. If JESUS is our LAMP, it will be reflected in what our EYES are TAKING IN, WATCHING, etc. God's LAMP which holds His Holy Spirit will shine on US revealing the true source of LIGHT in us. The truth of God's Word will be in us. Glory to God!
Also, Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees who were hypocrites, making it all about appearance, trying to impress others. It was their hearts that were dark for they lacked compassion for the people. Everything they were doing was only to impress and appear good. They had NO LOVE in their heart. Only with the HOLY SPIRIT of God, HIS ANOINTING upon us, being born again in the spirit will we be any better than the Pharisees of Jesus day.
[Luke 11:38-41, 46 HCSB] 38 When the Pharisee saw this, he was amazed that He did not first perform the ritual washing before dinner. 39 But the Lord said to him: "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and evil.
40 Fools! Didn't He who made the outside make the inside too? 41 But give from what is within to the poor, and then everything is clean for you. ... 46 Then He said: "Woe also to you experts in the law! You load people with burdens that are hard to carry, yet you yourselves don't touch these burdens with one of your fingers.
They were quick to tell the people where they were going wrong yet they didn't have a clue as to what was really important. They criticized the Lord for not washing his hands before eating where they were unclean inside, full of dead men's bones. White washed graves. Yet they had the nerve to judge the Lord because they had their OWN standards of judging others. How foolish and we can fall into the same trap when we start expecting people to live up to OUR STANDARDS of what is right and wrong. Let God be true and every man a liar. God sets the standard not us.
Do All Things In Excellence To Glorify GOD
There is nothing wrong in doing things in EXCELLENCE to GLORIFY GOD. We always want to give God our BEST. God has given many of his children GIFTS and TALENTS in this time of the END to be utilized in putting forth his messages that will APPEAL to those in NEED of the message. To those who have, more will be given and vice versa, those who have not, less will be given. Why does God say this? Could it be because the person who is grateful and recognizes what God has given them and shares it, puts it to work in the field of harvest.
By planting and watering seeds, the result is more will be given, the natural result is the reaping of a harvest in the field. Taking our talents and gifts, putting them to work for the harvest will lead us to plant seeds of the Love of Christ, of the gospel message to save lives. God has given some as apostles, prophtets, teachers, etc.
[Eph 4:11-13 NKJV] 11 And He Himself gave some [to be] apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
We must all come to the UNITY of FAITH, coming to recognize that Jesus wants us to LOVE one another and work together, not competing with one another. He didn't call us ALL to do the same thing as the scripture here says. He gave some to do one thing or be one thing and someone else to do or be another thing. He calls All for the building of HIS BODY, for the ADDING of SOULS to the KINGDOM. That's what we MUST CONCENTRATE ON. That should be our FOCUS. The LIVES that can be saved. NOT how someone is being USED by GOD.
Answer Your Calling/Let Your Light Shine
One plants, one waters but it is GOD who makes it grow. [1Co 3:6-7 NIV] 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. Many can have a share in saving ONE soul for the kingdom. This is a WORK ordained by God not man. In other words, don't let MAN or the ENEMY of God cause you to SHRINK back in any way of doing, saying, writing, sharing what God has given you to do. If he has called you to do something you feel is beyond your ability, know He will make it happen.
He will send people to help you to accomplish His WILL and PURPOSE which will GLORIFY HIM. It's all about his glory. It matters not how others see you, look at you or feel about you. Just do it because God wants HIS LIGHT to SHINE through YOU and I. He wants us to GLORIFY HIM in this DARK world. Praise God! To God be all the GLORY!
Wait on the Lord and do not give up in doing what is good. Others may never notice what you and I do but God will exalt us in his own timing as He sees fit. Jesus knew this well and that's why he spoke about it in John 8:50. Do all things to glorify God and leave others who allow the enemy to use them in judging you and accusing you of wrong motives to God. God will remove all things that are OFFENSIVE to HIS SPIRIT. All things that cause stumbling will be removed by the angels. All praise, glory and honor to God. For He is MIGHTY. We serve an AWESOME GOD! How can we not be EXCITED about HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[Mat 13:41 KJV] 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
[John 8:50 NLT] 50 And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify me. He is the true judge.;
[James 4:10 HCSB] 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.
[1Peter 5:6 HCSB] 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time,
Scriptures for reference:
[Rev 21:23 NIV] 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
[Luke 11:34-36 HCSB] 34 Your eye is the lamp of the body. When your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light. But when it is bad, your body is also full of darkness. 35 Take care then, that the light in you is not darkness. 36 If, therefore, your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be entirely illuminated, as when a lamp shines its light on you."
The Body Has Many Gifts
[Rom 12:1-21 HCSB] 1 Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. 3 For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one.
4 Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, 5 in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. 6 According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the standard of one's faith; 7 if service, in service; if teaching, in teaching; 8 if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.
LOVE is KEY
9 Love must be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. 10 Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. 13 Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Be in agreement with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Try to do what is honorable in everyone's eyes. 18 If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone. 19 Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay, says the Lord. 20 But If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head. 21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.
[1Co 4:5 HCSB] 5 Therefore don't judge anything prematurely, before the Lord comes, who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts. And then praise will come to each one from God.
[Mat 13:41 KJV] 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
[Luke 10:17-20 HCSB] 17 The Seventy returned with JOY saying, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name." 18 He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a lightning flash. 19 Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing will ever harm you. 20 However, don't rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
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