I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church. Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God. Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.
In the past lessons, we clearly heart that God wants us to imitate the good that we see. The converse is also true which is not to imitate evil. This may seem like common sense to you, but how many times have we seen people repeat provocative works or put on shameful clothing? Have we hung out with popular people and left stranded others who don't seem to fit in? Have we put the weekly NFL contest over the weekly worship hour? All of these things and a myriad of others constitute the imitation of evil. If we slight the power of evil we will find ourselves being mastered by it. Whenever you say things and then say oops,! or do things and then regret it, understand this: you were driven by demons and quenched the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore let us proceed with caution, living a sober, thankful, and humble life before our Lord.
Daily Prayer: Father, fill and raise up the Spirit that dwells within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and supply me with wisdom and understanding. Let me take care of the body you have given me and harness my words, even before they are spoken so that I do not say or do anything I will regret. In Jesus name I pray Amen.
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