Promise Keepers

"Therefore, woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You shut the door to the kingdom of heaven in people's faces.  You yourselves do not enter, nor do you allow others to do so.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You devour widows' houses, even while for a pretense you make long prayers;  therefore you shall receive greater condemnation.  Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You travel by sea and land to win a single convert, yet once he is converted, you make him twice as fit for hell as yourselves.

"Woe to you, blind guides!  You say:  To swear by the Temple is not binding, but to swear by the treasure of the Temple is binding.  Blind fools!  Which is more worth:  the gold in the Temple, or the Temple which makes the gold a sacred treasure?  You say:  To swear by the altar is not binding, but to swear by the offering on the altar is binding.  How blind you are!  Which is of more value:  the offering on the alater, or the altar which makes the offering sacred?  Whoever swears by the altar, is swearing by the altar and by everything on it.  Whoever swears by the Temple is swearing by the Temple and by God who dwells in the Temple.  Whoever swears by heaven is swearing by the throne of God, and by him who is seated on it."

Matthew 23:13-22

"Dearest God, help us keep our promises to You and to one another.  In Jesus' name, we pray.  Amen."

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