| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry: End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of THE GIFT OF THE MAGI.
The Gift of the Magi |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Tanach: Micah 6: 8 It hath been told thee, O man, what is good, and what the LORD doth require of thee: only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.
Micah 6: 9 Hark! the LORD crieth unto the city--and it is wisdom to have regard for Thy name--hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.
Micah 6: 10 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable?
Micah 6: 11 'Shall I be pure with wicked balances, and with a bag of deceitful weights?'
Micah 6: 12 For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
Micah 6: 13 Therefore I also do smite thee with a grievous wound; I do make thee desolate because of thy sins.
Micah 6: 14 Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy sickness shall be in thine inward parts; and thou shalt conceive, but shalt not bring forth; and whomsoever thou bringest forth will I give up to the sword.
Micah 6: 15 Thou shalt sow, but shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but shalt not anoint thee with oil; and the vintage, but shalt not drink wine.
Micah 6: 16 For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I may make thee an astonishment, and the inhabitants thereof a hissing; and ye shall bear the reproach of My people.
The Tanach |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians by Martin Luther: intemperance in eating and drinking, which is a common vice nowadays,
is a work of the flesh. Those who are given to excess are to know that they
are not spiritual but carnal. Sentence is pronounced upon them that they
shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven. Paul desires that Christians
avoid drunkenness and gluttony, that they live temperate and sober lives,
in order that the body may not grow soft and sensual.
VERSE 21. Of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in
the past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom
of God.
This is a hard saying, but very necessary for those false Christians and
hypocrites who speak much about the Gospel, about faith, and the Spirit,
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