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1 Timothy 5:1-16
/RSS Feed1 Timothy 5:1-16
1 Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as to a father. Treat younger men as brothers,
2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.
3 Honor the widows who are truly widows.
4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to show godliness to their own family and repay their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.
5 The widow who is truly in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day in her petitions and prayers.
6 But she who lives for pleasure is dead even while she is still alive.
7 Give these instructions to the believers, so that they will be above reproach.
8 If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
9 A widow should be enrolled if she is at least sixty years old, the wife of one man,
10 and well known for good deeds such as bringing up children, entertaining strangers, washing the feet of the saints, imparting relief to the afflicted, and devoting herself to every good work.
11 But refuse to enroll younger widows. For when their passions draw them away from Christ, they will want to marry,
12 and thus will incur judgment because they are setting aside their first faith.
13 At the same time they will also learn to be idle, going from house to house and being not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, discussing things they should not mention.
14 So I advise the younger widows to marry, have children, and manage their households, denying the adversary occasion for slander.
15 For some have already turned aside to follow Satan.
16 If any believing woman has dependent widows, she must assist them and not allow the church to be burdened, so that it can help the widows who are truly in need. -
Revelation 3:1-6
/RSS FeedRevelation 3:1-6
1 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of the One who holds the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation for being alive, yet you are dead.
2 Wake up and strengthen what remains, which was about to die; for I have found your deeds incomplete in the sight of My God.
3 Remember, then, what you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know the hour when I will come upon you.
4 But you do have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments, and because they are worthy, they will walk with Me in white.
5 Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels.
6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. -
Revelation 2:1-7
/RSS FeedRevelation 2:1-7
1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.
2 I know your deeds, your labor, and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate those who are evil, and you have tested and exposed as liars those who falsely claim to be apostles.
3 Without growing weary, you have persevered and endured many things for the sake of My name.
4 But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love.
5 Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
6 But you have this to your credit: You hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God. -
Revelation 1:9-20
/RSS FeedRevelation 1:9-20
9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance that are in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and my testimony about Jesus.
10 On the Lord’s day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
11 saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands,
13 and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe, with a golden sash around His chest.
14 The hair of His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like a blazing fire.
15 His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters.
16 He held in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.
17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last,
18 the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.
19 Therefore write down the things you have seen, and the things that are, and the things that will happen after this.
20 This is the mystery of the seven stars you saw in My right hand and of the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
