by Mary Harwell Sayler
Let your love be genuine
and sincere.
Abhor what is evil.
Hold on to what is good.
Love one another
like an affectionate family.
Take delight
in honoring each other.
Be enthusiastic!
Let the Holy Spirit
glow in you
as you serve the Lord.
Oh, how blessed you are
to have hope!
Hope helps you to be patient
in times of trouble,
but keep on praying too.
Give what you can
to God’s people,
and warmly
welcome strangers.
Bless and do not curse
those who mistreat you.
Rejoice in the joy of others,
and weep with those who weep.
Regard everyone fairly
with equal care,
and never think of yourself
as better or wiser
than anyone else.
Do not pay back evil for evil,
but let your actions honor
all that's good.
As much as possible,
live at peace with other people
and look not to retaliate,
but leave it up to God.
If your enemies are hungry,
feed them!
If your enemies thirst,
give them something to drink.
Showing love like this
will convict them
and convince them of shame
as surely as if they carried
a pan of red-hot coals
on their heads
for everyone to see!
Let no evil defeat you,
but overcome evil
with good.
©2014, Mary Sayler, a life-long student of the Bible and poet-author of many traditionally published books, prayer-a-phrased the above poem by researching and reading the wealth of translations found on Bible Gateway.
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