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Love for Enemies
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
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But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
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that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
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And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
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Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
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Giving to the Needy
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
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But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
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so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
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But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
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Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
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“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
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your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
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For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
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But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
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But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,
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so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
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Treasures in Heaven
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
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But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
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For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
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“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.
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But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
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Do Not Worry
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
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Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
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Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
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For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
