devotion

¹³No servant is able to serve two lords. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will cling to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

²²So be doers of the Word, and not listeners only, deceiving yourselves. ²³For if anyone is a listener of the Word, but not also a doer, he is comparable to a man gazing into a mirror upon the face that he was born with; ²⁴and after considering himself, he went away and promptly forgot what he had seen. ²⁵But he who gazes upon the perfect law of liberty, and who remains in it, is not a forgetful hearer, but instead a doer of the work. He shall be blessed in what he does. ²⁶But if anyone considers himself to be religious, but he does not restrain his tongue, but instead seduces his own heart: such a one’s religion is vanity. ²⁷This is religion, clean and undefiled before God the Father: to visit orphans and widows in their tribulations, and to keep yourself immaculate, apart from this age.

¹⁶All Scripture, having been divinely inspired, is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in justice, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be perfect, having been trained for every good work.

⁸Concerning the rest, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is chaste, whatever is just, whatever is holy, whatever is worthy to be loved, whatever is of good repute, if there is any virtue, if there is any praiseworthy discipline: meditate on these. ⁹All the things that you have learned and accepted and heard and seen in me, do these. And so shall the God of peace be with you.

⁵Let your behavior be without avarice; be content with what you are offered. For he himself has said, “I will not abandon you, and I will not neglect you.”

¹Therefore, if you have risen together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

¹“Pay attention, lest you perform your justice before men, in order to be seen by them; otherwise you shall not have a reward with your Father, who is in heaven.

¹⁹You know this, my most beloved brothers. So let every man be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to anger. ²⁰For the anger of man does not accomplish the justice of God.

¹²Therefore, clothe yourselves like the elect of God: holy and beloved, with hearts of mercy, kindness, humility, modesty, and patience. ¹³Support one another, and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive one another. For just as the Lord has forgiven you, so also must you do. ¹⁴And above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection.

¹⁵Be solicitous in the task of presenting yourself before God as a proven and unashamed worker who has handled the Word of Truth correctly.

¹But accept those who are weak in faith, without disputing about ideas.

¹⁶In all things, take up the shield of faith, with which you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one.