38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’[f] 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor[g] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,[h] 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren[i] only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors[j] do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
joyindestructible 
Thank you Pam for sharing God’s inspired Words in Scripture they always touch our heart for good and plant good seeds too, when we are willing to receive them.
We are to do for others what we want them to do for us but we do it first, Love and Kindness are shown in actions not just words and not just half hearted but 100%
Yes we are to Love everyone and our enemies too or those who hurt us but we are also warned not to accept the evil they do or Teach, we are to test their spirit and we are also to correct error with the confirmation of Scripture, but sadly today many reject Scripture for their own fleshy understanding or what they have been taught in error.
I don’t know about you Pam but if God had not continued to Love me when I was an Atheist for almost 30 years what Hope would I have now and yet I hurt Him greatly but of course we all put Jesus on the cross.
The Scripture that you shared Pam also tells us…… Therefore you shall be Perfect just as your Father in heaven is Perfect….. but this is often not understood in the context of other Scripture, I will leave some more Scripture for you Pam with this focus, please if wanted let me know your thoughts on it or if you want more Scripture. God opened my eyes to it’s Truth when I asked for His Wisdom and empowering and rejected worldly or fleshy understanding.
Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore Perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect.
1John 4:16-17 And we have known and believed the Love that God hath to us. God is Love; and he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our Love made Perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world.
1John 4: 18-19 There is no fear in Love; but Perfect Love casteth out fear because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made Perfect in Love. We Love Him, because He first Loved us.
Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto Perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
2Timithy 3:17 That the man of God may be Perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
1 John 2:4-6 He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His Commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the Love of God Perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. He that saith he bideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.
2 Corinthians 7: 1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, Perfecting Holiness in the fear of God.
Philippians 3:12-15 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made Perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me Heavenward in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be Perfect, be thus minded and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded God shall reveal even this unto you.
2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be Perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in Peace and the God of Love and Peace shall be with you.
Christian Love Always from both of us – Anne.
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Hi Anne, I agree with you that scripture interprets scripture (that is what the Bible says of itself) and if we don’t understand something we read, then we should dig deeper. Jesus Christ is our perfection and as believers, we should seek to mirror His perfection but we possess no perfection of our own in this life. I shared this portion of scripture because it covered the posts I wrote last week about how we should respond to evil. Turning the other cheek or choosing to love others doesn’t promise to change them but it is the right thing for follower of Christ to do.
I’m glad that Jesus saved you from Atheism and placed you in a personal relationship with God. I’m thankful I also, enjoy a loving relationship with Him. I still remember what it was like trying to live without Him and life is so much better with Him.:0) God bless you, Anne and thank you for reading and sharing.
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We are to aim for Perfection in Love Pam as the Scripture I shared confirms and we are to work out our Salvation not meaning work for it.
Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto Perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Do you believe that Paul was a Christian Pam, that he repented and believed in Jesus as his Lord and Saviour, of course you do and yet He still aimed to be Perfected in Love and he reached it before he died. Philippians 3:12-15
We will know God’s Truth if we ask for His wisdom and empowering, we were not Born with them and as the Scripture below confirms when we are Perfected in Love we will no longer sin, Love does not sin, we have Jesus within us and we have His mind so we do not choose to sin either, we can’t sin we have God’s seed or Nature and so we walk as Jesus did in righteousness, we are conformed into His image, we don’t just reflect Him
1John 4:16-17 And we have known and believed the Love that God hath to us. God is Love; and he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our Love made Perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world.
1 John 3:9 No one who is Born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been Born of God.
1 John 3: 1-11 ( 6-7 ) Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous.
1 John 2:4-6 He that saith, I know Him and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the Love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. He that saith hebideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.
Blessings – Anne
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I used the word mirror in the sense as a child mirrors their parents to learn how to be. I do believe we are being perfected in Love. Thank you for taking the time to post scripture. I hope those who visit take the time to read it. In my life, I also, seek to apply it. I am far from being perfect and learn something new about my Savior and my Heavenly Father every day. Jesus lives in my heart and my every thought and action is open to Him for judgment and correction. I am thankful for His personal correction because I am not fit to even rightfully judge myself. I also, leave the judgment of others to Him as I seek to write and share the things He places on my heart and live a life that pleases Him. God bless and keep you, Anne.
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Many don’t read the Scriptures with understanding Pam because they don’t ask for God’s Wisdom and empowering or if they do ask, they keep asking not believing they have received, so they don’t work out their Salvation, or put to death their Carnal Flesh by The Spirit’s empowering as they Aim to be perfected in Love because they don’t understand what it means to be Born Again and even believe they will sin till they die but say they are under Grace so it doesn’t matter if they do sin but that is not what the Scriptures confirm, they say the opposite as you can see in the Scriptures I shared with you but there are more Scriptures that confirm this Truth if you want them.
We are saved by Grace and we will show we have Salvation if we don’t we are still in darkness not saying we will always be but if we sin it is not Love or obedience for those in the Body of Christ to look the other way and not rebuke us so that we will come to heart repentance but they are to do so with God’s Truth not a fleshy agenda and remembering also that they were forgiven of their many sins and they are also not to judge critically our weaknesses, faults and shortcomings or our Eternal Destiny, only God knows our heart although we will know if someone is not walking in the Spirit -(Romans 8:1-4 KJV)
Blessings – Anne.
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I’ve never known a Christian who didn’t sometimes, sin though I agree, a true believer won’t be comfortable living a life of sin. I don’t spend a lot of time trying to figure out someone else’s spiritual status because I have enough to work on in myself. I do believe that someone involved in a genuine relationship with God will have the fruits of the spirit evident in their life. We know the tree by the fruit produced.
I’m a little confused about your intent. It’s easy to get tripped up over words. Are you trying to correct me on some point?
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Blessings – Anne
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I read your post and understood it. A great deal of what you said is similar to my Dad he used to talk that way. He used to leave us to believe he was not a Christian but deep down he was a wise man and very humbly I did enjoy your post.
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I’m kind of confused…I just quoted scripture in this post and wrote nothing of my own…
I thought part of it might be differences in vernacular because of being from different countries. When I write, I try to express things in modern terms maybe, that’s part of it too.
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I know you quoted scripture as I have come to know it, it is just that sometimes when I read scripture I hear my Dad talking to me. I know it sounds funny but it’s the truth
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That’s wonderful. I had an older friend who said when her husband was dying, he was in and out of consciousness and quoting verses of scripture. I want God’s Words so imbedded in my heart and in my thinking that they are my words too.
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Have not been on line for a couple of days, just coming to terms with life and realising yesterday I did not dream I got the call to say “I have a place for my op” . May be it is the Holy Spirit that speaks to me, but as I find a great deal of Bible scripture, I wonder about my Dad he always said, “When the Priest came to town in the bush, him and his brothers used to shoot through”. I reckon my Dad knew more about the Bible than he let on. He was a humble but kind and gentle man.
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Very, very relevant in our day and age where vengeance is steaming
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Yes, it stands out sharply in this atmosphere. It requires courage from on high to live it but it’s the right thing to do.
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Amen. We must lovingly obey our Savior.
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You asked Pam am I trying to correct you on some point, well if you believe we go on sinning when we are Born Again and are Perfected in Love even after reading the Scripture below there is no point in me even trying to help you understand God’s Truth and correct your error but if you do accept what the Scriptures are confirming I will continue to share what many do not understand because they do not do as Jesus tells us to do which is; Ask , Seek and Knock, Jesus is our only Teacher, we share His Truth not what man thinks. No Temptation to sin will be greater than we can bear, Jesus has set us free..
John 8:34-36 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Romans 6:18-20 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Romans 6:6- 7 For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
1 John 3: 1-11 ( 9 ) No one who is Born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.
1 John 5:18-20 We know that no one who is Born of God sins; but He who was Born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.
1 John 3: 1-11 ( 6-7 ) Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth Righteousness is Righteous, even as He is Righteous.
1 John 2:4-6 He that saith, I know Him and keepeth not His Commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the Love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. He that saith hebideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.
Luke 6:45-46 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
Colossians 3:4-6 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
2 Corinthians 7 1Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, Perfecting Holiness in the fear of God.
Romans 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto Sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6 : 1 – 2 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
1 Peter 1:21-23 Being Born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
Romans 8: 8 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Romans 8 :12-15 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. or if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Romans 6:5-7 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Romans 6:22-23 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 John 4:17-19 Herein is our Love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in Love; but perfect Love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in Love. We Love Him, because He first Loved us.
1 Peter 2:24 Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
Ephesians 4:23-24 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and True Holiness.
1 John 4:17-19 Herein is our Love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in Love; but perfect Love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in Love. We Love Him, because He first Loved us.
Titus 2:13-15 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all Authority. Let no man despise thee.
Colossians 1:27-29 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man Perfect in Christ Jesus Whereunto I also labour, striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily(KJV)
Daniel 12:10 Many shall be purified, and made white and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
Christian Love from both of us – Anne.
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Hi Anne, I believe I’m in the process of being perfected in love but I’m not there yet. When it is complete, I will awake with the likeness of Christ. I certainly, don’t believe in living a sinful life while naming Jesus but I do stumble sometimes. I didn’t just make this up, my view is scriptural so, I need some time to compile them but I will come back to this. God bless.
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Hi again Anne, Here is one scriptural reference that I believe paints an accurate picture of a born-again believer: 1John 1:5-10 and 1John 2: 1-2
it is from the NIV: This is the message we have heard from and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word is not in us.
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father–Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also, but also for the sins of the whole world.
I love Jesus and want my life to please Him but sometimes, I stumble. Jesus is my righteousness, He is my Shepherd, the Savior of my soul, and when I stumble, He picks me up, brushes me off and sets me back on the narrow path. If I should harden my heart and choose to live a life of sin with full knowledge of Who Jesus is and understand Him as Truth, then I would be an apostate. I would be like Judas. However, I don’t think a true believer can be happy living a life of sin because when a child of God sins, the Holy Spirit living within makes us very uncomfortable with our sin. Believe me, Anne I don’t want what the world offers, I want Jesus and I want the kind of life that obedience brings. I want to be like Jesus.
God bless and have a wonderful day!
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Hey Pam
Good scripture there. I have the passage in Luke 6: 27-38 underlined, boxed in, and starred in my Bible as a constant reminder to me of not how I am quite yet, but how I am striving to be as I follow Jesus. I try to read it every day so that when I go out into the world, I am armed with my sword and might act properly. Good reminder, thanks.
“Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”
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Thank you, Wally. If I don’t daily wash in the Word I can get pretty stinky. I’ll be happy when my redemption is complete and His Words all live in me as if my own thoughts. That’s what keeps me involved in the process.:0)
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That is a great quote about washing! I am so stealing it
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Can’t steal it…kind of like sour-dough, take a piece home and it grows.:0)
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Witty! And true.
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Thanks, Jim.:0)
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I use the K.J.V Pam as some other Translations are not based on the original Greek and so Scripture has been changed or deleted.
When you read the Scripture you shared in context Pam you will see John is not talking about continuing to sin which means we are still in Darkness what he is referring to is if we say we haven’t sinned and so don’t need Salvation we are calling God a liar and many unbelievers do this but when we confess our sins God purifies us from all unrighteousness so if we than say we go on sinning when we are Born Again we are also calling God a liar because we no longer have Adam’s seed we have God’s seed or His Nature, Christ lives within us, yes the Old has gone the New has come.
1 John 3: 1-11 ( 9 ) No one who is Born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been Born of God.
1 John 5:18-20 We know that no one who is Born of God sins but He who was Born of God keeps him and the evil one does not touch him.
1 John 3: 1-11 ( 6-7 ) Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him. Little children let no man deceive you he that doeth Righteousness is Righteous even as He is Righteous.
What people do Pam is base their understanding of Salvation on their own experience of sin or what they see or hear others doing instead of what God tells us.
He tells us He knows those who are His and has before we were even conceived and so by His foreknowledge of our heart repentance He chooses us to be conformed into the image of Jesus and not one of us will be lost.
This means until we are perfected in Love and Born Again we are under the covering of Christ’s Blood just as the Old Testament Saints were, they had the promise but not the reality that we have, Pentecost had not come. When we come to heart repentance which also means we turn away from sin and choose to to good by the empowering of The Holy Spirit as we walk in His Fruit which puts our Carnal flesh to death, we are washed in His Blood and made White and Spotless but until than if we sin which does mean we are still in Darkness, Jesus is our Advocate.
I believe like you Pam and Paul before he was Perfected in Love that I’m still aiming to be Perfected but like Paul I know I will receive the Crown of Righteousness just as he did and my dear Pam so will you and all who believe in their heart Jesus is their Lord and Saviour and so show they do by walking as He does but not by our own might but by His empowering through The Holy Spirit.
1 John 4:17-19 Herein is our Love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world.
Christian Love and Blessings – Anne.
P.S I do not believe in the Doctrine of Sinless Perfection Pam which is all about working for our Salvation which can be lost through any disobedience, this is wrong because we already have the Free Gift of Salvation before we are Born and we cannot loose it or we would not have it, which is why some commit Apostasy, they have heard the Truth and can even have a Spiritual gift like King Saul did but they reject Jesus until death and never come to True heart repentance, instead they choose to continue to sin and even claim it is OK to do so, yes they are Wolves in Sheep’s clothing.
Daniel 12:10 Many shall be purified and made white and tried but the wicked shall do wickedly and none of the wicked shall understand but the wise shall understand.
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Well then, Anne I think we agree and the confusion, on my part at least, was only, semantics. I read KJV for a long time until, I was working with teens who could barely read and trying to teach them with the KJV was like Greek to them. Now, that age group are adults who still aren’t as literate in many instances as generations before them so, it’s hard. I know the controversy over manuscripts and I tend to read and study different versions mostly, the NIV and NKJV and sometimes, reading different versions gives a better perspective. I also, like to do word studies and know what I can about the culture when the various books were written. Every believer should read and study the Bible for themselves. An in depth understanding can’t be spoon-fed to anyone. When I post scripture, I can’t post every reference with it but I hope if people have questions about what I posted, it will spur them to study deeper on their own.
Thank you for your interest and for the discussion. God bless and keep you.
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Good post, Pam. After reading the long list of replies, all I’ve got to say is, “Wow!!”
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That radical One, Jesus always stirring up controversy! I’m just happy it all ended well.:0)
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Very difficult to do but it is the words from the Holy Book.
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Impossible to do without the Holy Spirit but the right thing to do and the only, solution. The world would be different if we practiced this.
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