Category
VERSES ABOUT VICES AND ADDICTIONS
Addiction and bad habits can be so destructive. Think about it, addiction is clinging to something—a behavior, a substance, an activity, even a person—that's actually harming you. So many of us struggle with these things, feeling trapped by a vice or an addiction. Sometimes, we feel like it's because of our past.
But here's the truth: in God, we're free. Christ set us free from all of that and forgave our sins. If you keep dwelling on the past, those chains can really hold you back. Sometimes, these struggles can even stem from negative spiritual influences, finding a foothold and coming to light when we unknowingly open a door, giving the enemy a legal right to step in.
You have the power to let go of what's binding you. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any areas of bondage you need to address. Receive God's forgiveness and His healing. He's there for you.
I pray that we all find freedom from anything that's hurting us and holding us back. Just like it says in John 8:36, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church and handed himself over for her,
so that he might sanctify her, washing her clean by water and the Word of life,
When a man has recently taken a wife, he shall not go out to war, nor shall any public office be enjoined upon him. Instead, he shall be free at home without guilt, so that for one year he may rejoice with his wife.
And if a man can prevail against one, two may withstand him, and a threefold cord is broken with difficulty.
But for now, these three continue: faith, hope, and charity. And the greatest of these is charity.
May marriage be honorable in every way, and may the marriage bed be immaculate. For God will judge fornicators and adulterers.
Wives, be submissive to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives, and do not be bitter toward them.
He who has found a good wife has found goodness, and he shall draw contentment from the Lord. He who expels a good wife expels goodness. But he who holds on to an adulteress is foolish and impious.
A husband should fulfill his obligation to his wife, and a wife should also act similarly toward her husband.
and those who weep, as though they were not weeping; and those who rejoice, as if they were not rejoicing; and those who buy, as if they possessed nothing;
and those who use the things of this world, as if they were not using them. For the figure of this world is passing away.
But I would prefer you to be without worry. Whoever is without a wife is worried about the things of the Lord, as to how he may please God.
But whoever is with a wife is worried about the things of the world, as to how he may please his wife. And so, he is divided.
And the unmarried woman and the virgin think about the things that are of the Lord, so that she may be holy in body and in spirit. But she who is married thinks about the things that are of the world, as to how she may please her husband.
Furthermore, I am saying this for your own benefit, not in order to cast a snare over you, but toward whatever is honest and whatever may provide you with the ability to be without hindrance, so as to worship the Lord.
But if any man considers himself to seem dishonorable, concerning a virgin who is of adult age, and so it ought to be, he may do as he wills. If he marries her, he does not sin.
But if he has decided firmly in his heart, and he does not have any obligation, but only the power of his free will, and if he has judged this in his heart, to let her remain a virgin, he does well.
And so, he who joins with his virgin in matrimony does well, and he who does not join with her does better.
A woman is bound under the law for as long as her husband lives. But if her husband has died, she is free. She may marry whomever she wishes, but only in the Lord.
It is not the wife, but the husband, who has power over her body. But, similarly also, it is not the husband, but the wife, who has power over his body.
"For this reason, a man shall leave behind his father and mother, and he shall cling to his wife; and the two shall be as one flesh."
Therefore, clothe yourselves like the elect of God: holy and beloved, with hearts of mercy, kindness, humility, modesty, and patience.
Support one another, and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive one another. For just as the Lord has forgiven you, so also must you do.
And above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ lift up your hearts. For in this peace, you have been called, as one body. And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ live in you in abundance, with all wisdom, teaching and correcting one another, with psalms, hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing to God with the grace in your hearts.
Let everything whatsoever that you do, whether in word or in deed, be done all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
For this reason, a man shall leave behind his father and mother, and he shall cling to his wife; and the two shall be as one flesh.
But let not any kind of fornication, or impurity, or rapacity so much as be named among you, just as is worthy of the saints,
For we are a part of his body, of his flesh and of his bones.
"For this reason, a man shall leave behind his father and mother, and he shall cling to his wife; and the two shall be as one flesh."
This is a great Sacrament. And I am speaking in Christ and in the Church.
Yet truly, each and every one of you should love his wife as himself. And a wife should fear her husband.
nor any indecent, or foolish, or abusive talk, for this is without purpose; but instead, give thanks.
For know and understand this: no one who is a fornicator, or lustful, or rapacious (for these are a kind of service to idols) holds an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Instead, acting according to truth in charity, we should increase in everything, in him who is the head, Christ himself.
Wives should be submissive to their husbands, as to the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the Church. He is the Savior of his body.
Therefore, just as the Church is subject to Christ, so also should wives be subject to their husbands in all things.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church and handed himself over for her,
so that he might sanctify her, washing her clean by water and the Word of life,
so that he might offer her to himself as a glorious Church, not having any spot or wrinkle or any such thing, so that she would be holy and immaculate.
So, too, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
For no man has ever hated his own flesh, but instead he nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ also does to the Church.
But let not any kind of fornication, or impurity, or rapacity so much as be named among you, just as is worthy of the saints,
For we are a part of his body, of his flesh and of his bones.
"For this reason, a man shall leave behind his father and mother, and he shall cling to his wife; and the two shall be as one flesh."
This is a great Sacrament. And I am speaking in Christ and in the Church.
Yet truly, each and every one of you should love his wife as himself. And a wife should fear her husband.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church and handed himself over for her,
For the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the Church. He is the Savior of his body.
Charity is never torn away, even if prophecies pass away, or languages cease, or knowledge is destroyed.
But, because of fornication, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.
Let not mercy and truth abandon you: encircle them around your throat, and inscribe them on the tablets of your heart.
Do not contend against a man without cause, even though he has done no evil to you.
Do not rival an unjust man, and do not imitate his ways.
For everyone who ridicules is an abomination to the Lord, and his communication is for the simple.
Destitution in the house of the impious is from the Lord. But the habitations of the just shall be blessed.
He will ridicule those who ridicule, but he will bestow grace upon the mild.
The wise will possess glory. The exaltation of the foolish is disgraceful.
And so shall you discover grace and good discipline, in the sight of God and men.
Similarly also, wives should be subject to their husbands, so that, even if some do not believe the Word, they may benefit without the Word, through the behavior of these wives,
For whoever wants to love life and to see good days should restrain his tongue from evil, and his lips, so that they utter no deceit.
Let him turn away from evil, and do good. Let him seek peace, and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are upon the just, and his ears are with their prayers, but the countenance of the Lord is upon those who do evil.
And who is it who can harm you, if you are zealous in what is good?
And yet, even when you suffer something for the sake of justice, you are blessed. So then, do not be afraid with their fear, and do not be disturbed.
But sanctify Christ the Lord in your hearts, being always ready to give an explanation to all who ask you the reason for that hope which is in you.
But do so with meekness and fear, having a good conscience, so that, in whatever matter they may slander you, they shall be confounded, since they falsely accuse your good behavior in Christ.
For it is better to suffer for doing good, if it is the will of God, than for doing evil.
For Christ also died once for our sins, the Just One on behalf of the unjust, so that he might offer us to God, having died, certainly, in the flesh, but having been enlivened by the Spirit.
And in the Spirit, he preached to those who were in prison, going to those souls
as they consider with fear your chaste behavior.
who had been unbelieving in past times, while they waited for the patience of God, as in the days of Noah, when the ark was being built. In that ark, a few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water.
And now you also are saved, in a similar manner, by baptism, not by the testimony of sordid flesh, but by the examination of a good conscience in God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
He is at the right hand of God, devouring death, so that we may be made heirs to eternal life. And since he has journeyed to heaven, the Angels and powers and virtues are subject to him.
For you, there should be no unnecessary adornment of the hair, or surrounding with gold, or the wearing of ornate clothing.
Instead, you should be a hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptibility of a quiet and a meek spirit, rich in the sight of God.
For in this way, in past times also, holy women adorned themselves, hoping in God, being subject to their own husbands.
For so Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You are her daughters, well-behaved and unafraid of any disturbance.
Similarly, you husbands should live with them in accord with knowledge, bestowing honor on the female as the weaker vessel and as co-heirs of the life of grace, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
In this is love: not as if we had loved God, but that he first loved us, and so he sent his Son as a propitiation for our sins.
But, before all things, have a constant mutual charity among yourselves. For love covers a multitude of sins.
The Lord God also said: "It is not good for the man to be alone. Let us make a helper for him similar to himself."
Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your uncertain life which have been given to you under the sun, during all the time of your vanity. For this is your portion in life and in your labor, with which you labor under the sun.
desiring to be teachers of the law, but understanding neither the things that they themselves are saying, nor what they are affirming about these things.
If I were to speak in the language of men, or of Angels, yet not have charity, I would be like a clanging bell or a crashing cymbal.
Charity is patient, is kind. Charity does not envy, does not act wrongly, is not inflated.
Charity is not ambitious, does not seek for itself, is not provoked to anger, devises no evil.
Charity does not rejoice over iniquity, but rejoices in truth.
Charity suffers all, believes all, hopes all, endures all.
My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hollows of the wall, reveal to me your face. Let your voice sound in my ears. For your voice is sweet, and your face is graceful.
You have heard that it was said to the ancients: 'You shall not commit adultery.'
But I say to you, that anyone who will have looked at a woman, so as to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Groom to Bride: Under the apple tree, I awakened you. There your mother was corrupted. There she who bore you was violated.
Set me like a seal upon your heart, like a seal upon your arm. For love is strong, like death, and envy is enduring, like hell: their lamps are made of fire and flames.
And God created man to his own image; to the image of God he created him; male and female, he created them.
And God blessed them, and he said, "Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and the flying creatures of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."
Who shall find a strong woman? Far away, and from the furthest parts, is her price.
The heart of her husband confides in her, and he will not be deprived of spoils.
She will repay him with good, and not evil, all the days of her life.
with all humility and meekness, with patience, supporting one another in charity.
But this is not what you have learned in Christ.
For certainly, you have listened to him, and you have been instructed in him, according to the truth that is in Jesus:
to set aside your earlier behavior, the former man, who was corrupted, by means of desire, unto error,
and so be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
and so put on the new man, who, in accord with God, is created in justice and in the holiness of truth.
Because of this, setting aside lying, speak the truth, each one with his neighbor. For we are all part of one another.
"Be angry, but do not be willing to sin." Do not let the sun set over your anger.
Provide no place for the devil.
Whoever was stealing, let him now not steal, but rather let him labor, working with his hands, doing what is good, so that he may have something to distribute to those who suffer need.
Let no evil words proceed from your mouth, but only what is good, toward the edification of faith, so as to bestow grace upon those who listen.
Be anxious to preserve the unity of the Spirit within the bonds of peace.
But, because of fornication, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.
Let each and every one remain in the same calling to which he was called.
Are you a servant who has been called? Do not be concerned about it. But if you ever have the ability to be free, make use of it.
For any servant who has been called in the Lord is free in the Lord. Similarly, any free person who has been called is a servant in Christ.
You have been bought with a price. Do not be willing to become the servants of men.
Brothers, let each one, in whatever state he was called, remain in that state with God.
Now, concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord. But I give counsel, as one who has obtained the mercy of the Lord, so as to be faithful.
Therefore, I consider this to be good, because of the present necessity: that it is good for a man to be such as I am.
Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be freed. Are you free of a wife? Do not seek a wife.
But if you take a wife, you have not sinned. And if a virgin has married, she has not sinned. Even so, such as these will have the tribulation of the flesh. But I would spare you from this.
And so, this is what I say, brothers: The time is short. What remains of it is such that: those who have wives should be as if they had none;
A husband should fulfill his obligation to his wife, and a wife should also act similarly toward her husband.
and those who weep, as though they were not weeping; and those who rejoice, as if they were not rejoicing; and those who buy, as if they possessed nothing;
and those who use the things of this world, as if they were not using them. For the figure of this world is passing away.
But I would prefer you to be without worry. Whoever is without a wife is worried about the things of the Lord, as to how he may please God.
But whoever is with a wife is worried about the things of the world, as to how he may please his wife. And so, he is divided.
And the unmarried woman and the virgin think about the things that are of the Lord, so that she may be holy in body and in spirit. But she who is married thinks about the things that are of the world, as to how she may please her husband.
Furthermore, I am saying this for your own benefit, not in order to cast a snare over you, but toward whatever is honest and whatever may provide you with the ability to be without hindrance, so as to worship the Lord.
But if any man considers himself to seem dishonorable, concerning a virgin who is of adult age, and so it ought to be, he may do as he wills. If he marries her, he does not sin.
But if he has decided firmly in his heart, and he does not have any obligation, but only the power of his free will, and if he has judged this in his heart, to let her remain a virgin, he does well.
And so, he who joins with his virgin in matrimony does well, and he who does not join with her does better.
A woman is bound under the law for as long as her husband lives. But if her husband has died, she is free. She may marry whomever she wishes, but only in the Lord.
It is not the wife, but the husband, who has power over her body. But, similarly also, it is not the husband, but the wife, who has power over his body.
But she will be more blessed, if she remains in this state, in accord with my counsel. And I think that I, too, have the Spirit of God.
So, do not fail in your obligations to one another, except perhaps by consent, for a limited time, so that you may empty yourselves for prayer. And then, return together again, lest Satan tempt you by means of your abstinence.
complete my joy by having the same understanding, holding to the same charity, being of one mind, with the same sentiment.
For I have no one else with such an agreeable mind, who, with sincere affection, is solicitous for you.
For they all seek the things that are of themselves, not the things that are of Jesus Christ.
So know this evidence of him: that like a son with a father, so has he served with me in the Gospel.
Therefore, I hope to send him to you immediately, as soon as I see what will happen concerning me.
But I trust in the Lord that I myself will also return to you soon.
Now I have considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and co-worker, and fellow soldier, and an attendant to my needs, but your Apostle.
For certainly, he has desired all of you, and he was saddened because you had heard that he was sick.
For he was sick, even unto death, but God took pity on him, and not only on him, but truly on myself also, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow.
Therefore, I sent him more readily, in order that, by seeing him again, you may rejoice, and I may be without sorrow.
And so, receive him with every joy in the Lord, and treat all those like him with honor.
Let nothing be done by contention, nor in vain glory. Instead, in humility, let each of you esteem others to be better than himself.
For he was brought close even to death, for the sake of the work of Christ, handing over his own life, so that he might fulfill what was lacking from you concerning my service.
Let each of you not consider anything to be your own, but rather to belong to others.
For you, brothers, have been called to liberty. Only you must not make liberty into an occasion for the flesh, but instead, serve one another through the charity of the Spirit.
It is better to be called to vegetables with charity, than to a fatted calf with hatred.
Therefore, I want the younger women to marry, to procreate children, to be mothers of families, to provide no ready opportunity for the adversary to speak evil.
A husband should fulfill his obligation to his wife, and a wife should also act similarly toward her husband.
and those who weep, as though they were not weeping; and those who rejoice, as if they were not rejoicing; and those who buy, as if they possessed nothing;
and those who use the things of this world, as if they were not using them. For the figure of this world is passing away.
But I would prefer you to be without worry. Whoever is without a wife is worried about the things of the Lord, as to how he may please God.
But whoever is with a wife is worried about the things of the world, as to how he may please his wife. And so, he is divided.
And the unmarried woman and the virgin think about the things that are of the Lord, so that she may be holy in body and in spirit. But she who is married thinks about the things that are of the world, as to how she may please her husband.
Furthermore, I am saying this for your own benefit, not in order to cast a snare over you, but toward whatever is honest and whatever may provide you with the ability to be without hindrance, so as to worship the Lord.
But if any man considers himself to seem dishonorable, concerning a virgin who is of adult age, and so it ought to be, he may do as he wills. If he marries her, he does not sin.
But if he has decided firmly in his heart, and he does not have any obligation, but only the power of his free will, and if he has judged this in his heart, to let her remain a virgin, he does well.
And so, he who joins with his virgin in matrimony does well, and he who does not join with her does better.
A woman is bound under the law for as long as her husband lives. But if her husband has died, she is free. She may marry whomever she wishes, but only in the Lord.
It is not the wife, but the husband, who has power over her body. But, similarly also, it is not the husband, but the wife, who has power over his body.
But she will be more blessed, if she remains in this state, in accord with my counsel. And I think that I, too, have the Spirit of God.
So, do not fail in your obligations to one another, except perhaps by consent, for a limited time, so that you may empty yourselves for prayer. And then, return together again, lest Satan tempt you by means of your abstinence.
And he said to them in response, "Have you not read that he who made man from the beginning, made them male and female?" And he said:
"For this reason, a man shall separate from father and mother, and he shall cling to his wife, and these two shall become one flesh.
And so, now they are not two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man separate."
But to those who have been joined in matrimony, it is not I who commands you, but the Lord: a wife is not to separate from her husband.
But if she has separated from him, she must remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband should not divorce his wife.
And it has been said: 'Whoever would dismiss his wife, let him give her a bill of divorce.'
But I say to you, that anyone who will have dismissed his wife, except in the case of fornication, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever will have married her who has been dismissed commits adultery.
There is no health in my flesh before the face of your wrath. There is no peace for my bones before the face of my sins.
But if anyone has no concern for his own, and especially for those of his own household, he has denied the faith, and he is worse than an unbeliever.
But the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, forbearance,
meekness, faith, modesty, abstinence, chastity. There is no law against such things.
Bride: Your throat is like the finest wine: wine worthy for my beloved to drink, and for his lips and teeth to contemplate.
A house and its riches are given by parents. But a prudent wife is particularly from the Lord.
You have wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse. You have wounded my heart with one look of your eyes, and with one lock of hair on your neck.