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The Defects Of A Preacher Are Soon Spied.
-Martin Luther
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The Defects Of A

Martin Luther
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The Defects Of A Preacher Are Soon Spied.

Understanding the Quote: "the defects of a preacher are soon spied...."

This quote by Martin Luther reflects deeply on the theme of clergymen. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Clergymen, Preacher, Defects, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Martin Luther interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Martin Luther

Martin Luther is celebrated for insightful thoughts on clergymen and preacher. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Clergymen
Preacher
Defects
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The Offering Of [the Body] Is Called A Spiritual Sacrifice Because It Is Freely Sacrificed Through The Spirit, The Christian Being Uninfluenced By The Constrainst Of The Low Or The Fear Of Hell.
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I Greatly Fear That The Universities, Unless They Teach The Holy Scriptures Diligently And Impress Them On The Young Students, Are Wide Gates To Hell.
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Here I Stand; I Can Do No Other.
Choices
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One Drop Of Christ's Blood Is Worth More Than Heaven And Earth.
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Feelings Come And Feelings Go, And Feelings Are Deceiving; My Warrant Is The Word Of God-- Naught Else Is Worth Believing. Though All My Heart Should Feel Condemned For Want Of Some Sweet Token, There Is One Greater Than My Heart Whose Word Cannot Be Broken. I'll Trust In God's Unchanging Word Till Soul And Body Sever, For, Though All Things Shall Pass Away, His Word Shall Stand Forever!
Sweet
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The Son Of God Did Not Want To Be Seen And Found In Heaven. Therefore He Descended From Heaven Into This Humility And Came To Us In Our Flesh, Laid Himself Into The Womb Of His Mother And Into The Manger And Went On To The Cross. This Was The Ladder That He Placed On Earth So That We Might Ascend To God On It. This Is The Way You Must Take.
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Lord God...use Me As Your Instrument -- But Do Not Forsake Me, For If Ever I Should Be On My Own, I Would Easily Wreck It All.
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The Devil Can So Completely Assume The Human Form, When He Wants To Deceive Us, That We May Well Lie With What Seems To Be A Woman, Of Real Flesh And Blood, And Yet All The While 'tis Only The Devil In The Shape Of A Woman. 'tis The Same With Women, Who May Think That A Man Is In Bed With Them, Yet 'tis Only The Devil; And...the Result Of This Connection Is Oftentimes An Imp Of Darkness, Half Mortal, Half Devil.
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The Human Heart Is Like A Millstone In A Mill: When You Put Wheat Under It, It Turns And Grinds And Bruises The Wheat To Flour; If You Put No Wheat, It Still Grinds On, But Then 'tis Itself It Grinds And Wears Away.
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I Can't Keep The Sparrows From Flying Around My Head, But I Can Keep Them From Making A Nest In My Hair.
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A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, A Bulwark Never Failing; Our Helper He, Amid The Flood Of Mortal Ills Prevailing: For Still Our Ancient Foe Doth Seek To Work Us Woe; His Craft And Power Are Great, And, Armed With Cruel Hate, On Earth Is Not His Equal.
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The Clergy Is The Greatest Hindrance To Faith.
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Show Me Where A Man Spends His Time & Money, And I'll Show You His God.
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When We Hear That Christ Was Made A Curse For Us, Let Us Believe It With Joy And Assurance. By Faith Christ Changes Places With Us. He Gets Our Sins, We Get His Holiness.
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God Our Father Has Made All Things Depend On Faith So That Whoever Has Faith Will Have Everything, And Whoever Does Not Have Faith Will Have Nothing
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Count It One Of The Highest Virtues Upon Earth To Educate Faithfully The Children Of Others, Which So Few, And Scarcely Any, Do By Their Own.
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For That Purpose Christ Instituted Holy Baptism, Thereby To Clothe You With His Righteousness. It Is Tantamount To His Saying, My Righteousness Shall Be Your Righteousness; My Innocence, Your Innocence. Your Sins Indeed Are Great, But By Baptism I Bestow On You My Righteousness; I Strip Death From You And Clothe You With My Life.
Baptism
Purpose
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Heretics Are Not To Be Disputed With, But To Be Condemned Unheard, And Whilst They Perish By Fire, The Faithful Ought To Pursue The Evil To Its Source, And Bathe Their Heads In The Blood Of The Catholic Bishops, And Of The Pope, Who Is The Devil In Disguise.
Fire
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None Can Believe How Powerful Prayer Is, And What It Is Able To Effect, But Those Who Have Learned It By Experience.
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Nothing On Earth Is So Well-suited To Make The Sad Merry, The Merry Sad, To Give Courage To The Despairing, To Make The Proud Humble, To Lessen Envy And Hate, As Music.
Hate
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I Compare It With A Lie, Which Like To A Snowball, The Longer It Is Rolled The Greater It Becomes.
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Many Have Been Deceived By Outward Appearances And Have Proceeded To Write And Teach About Good Works And How They Justify Without Even Mentioning Faith.... Wearying Themselves With Many Works, They Never Come To Righteousness.
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Forgiveness Is God's Command.
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It Is Necessary To Understand That Black Power Is A Cry Of Disappointment. The Black Power Slogan Did Not Spring Full Grown From The Head Of Some Philosophical Zeus. It Was Born From The Wounds Of Despair And Disappointment. It Is A Cry Of Daily Hurt And Persistent Pain.
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Men Have Broad And Large Chests, And Small Narrow Hips, And More Understanding Than Women, Who Have But Small And Narrow Breasts, And Broad Hips, To The End They Should Remain At Home, Sit Still, Keep House, And Bear And Bring Up Children.
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The Most Damnable And Pernicious Heresy That Has Ever Plagued The Mind Of Man Was The Idea That Somehow He Could Make Himself Good Enough To Deserve To Live With An All-holy God.
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Thus My Learning Is Not My Own; It Belongs To The Unlearned And Is The Debt I Owe Themmy Wisdom Belongs To The Foolish, My Power To The Oppressed. Thus My Wealth Belongs To The Poor, My Righteousness To The Sinners.
Debt
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The Priest Is Not Made. He Must Be Born A Priest; Must Inherit His Office. I Refer To The New Birth-the Birth Of Water And The Spirit. Thus All Christians Must Became Priests, Children Of God And Co-heirs With Christ The Most High Priest.
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God Indeed Tempteth No Man; But Yet We Ask, In This Petition, That He Would Keep And Preserve Us, Lest The Devil, The World, And Our Own Flesh Delude And Draw Us Away From The True Faith, And Throw Us Into Superstition, Distrust, Despair, And Other Grievous Sins And Wickedness; And That, If We Should Be Tempted Therewith Even To The Highest Degree, We Still May Conquer, And At Last Triumph Over Them.
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Do Not Suppose That Abuses Are Eliminated By Destroying The Object Which Is Abused. Men Can Go Wrong With Wine And Women. Shall We Then Prohibit And Abolish Women? The Sun, The Moon, And The Stars Have Been Worshiped. Shall We Then Pluck Them Out Of The Sky? ...see How Much He [god] Has Been Able To Accomplish Through Me, Though I Did No More Than Pray And Preach. The Word Did It All. Had I Wished I Might Have Started A Conflagration At Worms. But While I Sat Still And Drank Beer With Philip And Amsdorf, God Dealt The Papacy A Mighty Blow.
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Farewell Unhappy, Hopeless, Blasphemous Rome! The Wrath Of God Has Come Upon You, As You Deserve. We Cared For Babylon, And She Is Not Healed; Let Us Then Leave Her, That She May Become The Habitation Of Dragons, Spectres, And Witches.
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The Gospel Is Nothing Less Than Laughter And Joy.
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The Slender Capacity Of Man's Heart Cannot Comprehend The Unfathomable Depth And Burning Zeal Of God's Love Toward Us.
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Sleep Is A Most Useful And Most Salutary Operation Of Nature. Scarcely Any Minor Annoyance Angers Me More Than The Being Suddenly Awakened Out Of A Pleasant Slumber. I Understand That In Italy They Torture Poor People By Depriving Them Of Sleep. `tis A Torture That Cannot Long Be Endured.
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[the Psalms Are] A Little Bible, Wherein Everything Contained In The Entire Bible Is Beautifully And Briefly Comprehended.
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But Then Eject Them Forever From This Country. For, As We Have Heard, God's Anger With Them Is So Intense That Gentle Mercy Will Only Tend To Make Them Worse And Worse, While Sharp Mercy Will Reform Them But Little. Therefore, In Any Case, Away With Them!
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I Cannot And Will Not Recant Anything, For To Go Against Conscience Is Neither Right Nor Safe. Here I Stand, I Can Do No Other, So Help Me God. Amen.
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The Bible Is Alive, It Speaks To Me; It Has Feet, It Runs After Me; It Has Hands, It Lays Hold Of Me.
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You May As Well Quit Reading And Hearing The Word Of God, And Give It To The Devil, If You Do Not Desire To Live According To It.
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The Pope Is A Mere Tormentor Of Conscience. The Assembly Of His Greased And Religious Crew In Praying Was Altogether Like The Croaking Of Frogs, Which Edified Nothing At All.
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To Gather With God's People In United Adoration Of The Father Is As Necessary To The Christian Life As Prayer.
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It Is With All These Qualities That We Must Stand Before God And Intervene On Behalf Of Those Who Do Not Have Them, As Though Clothed With Someone Else's Garmentbut Even Before Men We Must, With The Same Love, Render Them Service Against Their Detractors And Those Who Are Violent Toward Them; For This Is What Christ Did For Us.
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I Almost Feel Like Throwing Jimmy Into The Stove, As The Priest In Kulenberg Did.
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World, Death, Devil, Hell, Away And Leave Me In Peace! You Have No Hold On Me. If You Will Not Let Me Live, Then I Will Die. But You Won't Succeed In That. Chop My Head Off, And It Won't Harm Me. I Have A God Who Will Give Me A New One.
Giving
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Every Man Must Do Two Things Alone; He Must Do His Own Believing And His Own Dying.
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Let Him Who Wants A True Church Cling To The Word By Which Everything Is Upheld.
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This Is The Good And Happy News, That Christ Has Paid For Our Sin, And Through His Suffering Has Redeemed Us From Eternal Death. It Is His Kingdom And His Ministry, To Preach The Gospel To The Poor; That Is His Purpose. For To The Great And Holy He Cannot Come. They Do Not Wish To Be Counted Sinners, And Therefore Do Not Need His Gospel.
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Truly, If Faith Is There, The Believer Cannot Hold Back... He Breaks Out Into Good Works.
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Christ Is No Moses, No Exactor, No Giver Of Laws, But A Giver Of Grace, A Savior; He Is Infinite Mercy And Goodness, Freely And Bountifully Given To Us.
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Great People And Champions Are Special Gifts Of God, Whom He Gives And Preserves; They Do Their Work, And Achieve Great Actions, Not With Vain Imaginations, Or Cold And Sleepy Cogitations, But By Motion Of God.
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What Can Only Be Taught By The Rod And With Blows Will Not Lead To Much Good; They Will Not Remain Pious Any Longer Than The Rod Is Behind Them.
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People Must Have Righteous Principals In The First, And Then They Will Not Fail To Perform Virtuous Actions.
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In A Word, The Holy Scripture Is The Highest And Best Of Books, Abounding In Comfort Under All Afflictions And Trials. It Teaches Us To See, To Feel, To Grasp, And To Comprehend Faith, Hope, And Charity, Far Otherwise Than Mere Human Reason Can; And While Evil Oppresses Us, It Teaches How These Virtues Throw Light Upon The Darkness, And How, After This Poor, Miserable Existence Of Ours On Earth, There Is Another And An Eternal Life.
Book
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For The Devil Is Better Pleased With Coarse Blockheads And With Folks Who Are Useful To Nobody; Because Where Such Characters Abound, Then Things Do Not Go On Prosperously Here On Earth.
Character
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It's Not What I Don't Know That Bothers Me - It's What I Do Know And Don't Do!
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I Have Grounded My Preaching Upon The Literal Word; He That Pleases May Follow Me; He That Will Not May Stay.
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For From The Error Of Not Knowing, Or Understanding, What Sin Is, There Necessarily Arises Another Error, That People Cannot Know Or Understand What Grace Is.
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It Is An Unsufferable Blasphemy To Reject The Public Ministry Or To Say That People Can Become Holy Without Sermons And Church. This Involves A Destruction Of The Church And Rebellion Against Ecclesiastical Order; Such Upheavals Must Be Warded Off And Punished Like All Other Revolts.
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Church
People Gave Ear To An Upstart Astrologer Who Strove To Show That The Earth Revolves, Not The Heavens Or The Firmament, The Sun And The Moon....this Fool Wishes To Reverse The Entire Science Of Astronomy; But Sacred Scripture Tells Us [joshua 10:13]that Joshua Commanded The Sun To Stand Still, And Not The Earth.
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Heaven
Faith Ever Says, "if Thou Wilt," Not "if Thou Canst.
Ifs
If By Any Effort Of Reason I Could Conceive How God, Who Shows So Much Anger And Iniquity, Could Be Merciful And Just, There Would Be No Need Of Faith.
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We Come To The New Testament, Where Again A Host Of Imperative Verbs Is Mustered In Support Of That Miserable Bondage Of Free-choice, And The Aid Of Carnal Reason With Her Inferences And Similes Is Called In, Just As In A Picture Or A Dream You Might See The King Of The Flies With His Lances Of Straw And Shields Of Hay Arrayed Against A Real And Regular Army Of Seasoned Human Troops. That Is How The Human Dreams Of Diatribe Go To War With The Battalions Of Divine Words.
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The Less I Pray, The Harder It Gets; The More I Pray, The Better It Goes.
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What Would It Matter If, For The Sake Of The Christian Church, One Were To Tell A Big Lie?
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Know That No One Can Have Indulged In The Holy Writers Sufficiently, Unless He Has Governed Churches For A Hundred Years With The Prophets, Such As Elijah And Elisha, John The Baptist, Christ And The Apostles... We Are Beggars: This Is True.
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If Then, Moses So Distinctly Announces That There Is In Us Not Only A Faculty, But Also A Facility For Keeping All Commandments, Why Are We Sweating So Much? ... What Need Is There Now Of Christ Or Of Spirit? We Have Found A Passage That Asserts Freedom Of Choice, But Also Distinctly Teaches That The Keeping Of The Commandments Is Easy.
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Let Us Not Lose The Bible, But With Diligence, In Fear And Invocation Of God, Read And Preach It. While That Remains And Flourishes, All Prospers With The State; 'tis Head And Empress Of All Arts And Faculties. Let But Divinity Fall, And I Would Not Give A Straw For The Rest.
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Giving
He Who Hears This Name [god] From A Jew Must Inform The Authorities, Or Else Throw Sow Dung At Him When He Sees Him And Chase Him Away.
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Authority
Jew
Whatever Man Loves, That Is His God. For He Carries It In His Heart; He Goes About With It Night And Day; He Sleeps And Wakes With It, Be It What It May - Wealth Or Self, Pleasure Or Renown.
Heart
Sleep
Night
Stubbornness Should Have Been My Middle Name.
Should Have
Names
Stubbornness
The Soul Can Do Without Everything Except The Word Of God, Without Which None At All Of Its Wants Are Provided For.
Soul
Want
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Over Against The Devil And His Missionaries, The Authors Of False Doctrines And Sects, We Ought To Be Like The Apostle, Impatient, And Rigorously Condemnatory, As Parents Are With The Dog That Bites Their Little One, But The Weeping Child Itself They Soothe.
Dog
Children
Parent
There Is No Wisdom Save In Truth. Truth Is Everlasting, But Our Ideas About Truth Are Changeable. Only A Little Of The First Fruits Of Wisdom, Only A Few Fragments Of The Boundless Heights, Breadths And Depths Of Truth, Have I Been Able To Gather.
Wisdom
Truth
Ideas
When Some Say That Good Works Are Forbidden When We Preach Faith Alone, It Is As If I Said To A Sick Man: "if You Had Health, You Would Have The Use Of All Your Limbs; But Without Health, The Works Of All Your Limbs Are Nothing"; And He Wanted To Infer That I Had Forbidden The Works Of All His Limbs.
Faith
Men
Sick
The Hair Is The Finest Ornament Women Have. Of Old, Virgins Used To Wear It Loose, Except When They Were In Mourning.
Hair
Mourning
Ornaments
Everything Is From God Himself, Both Commandment And Fulfillment. He Alone Commands; He Alone Fulfills.
Fulfillment
Command
Commandments
Prayer Is A Strong Wall And Fortress Of The Church; It Is A Goodly Christian Weapon.
Christian
Strong
Prayer
We Need Not Invite The Devil To Our Table; He Is Too Ready To Come Without Being Asked. The Air All About Us Is Filled With Demons.
Religious
Humor
Air
We Ought Not To Criticize, Explain, Or Judge The Scriptures By Our Mere Reason, But Diligently, With Prayer, Meditate Thereon, And Seek Their Meaning.
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Judging
Scripture
I See A Word That Hates Evil More Than It Loves Good.
Hate
Evil
Nothing Is More Beautiful In The Eyes Of God Than A Soul That Loves To Hear His Word.
Beautiful
Eye
Soul
It Is A Good Thing To Let Prayer Be The First Business In The Morning And The Last In The Evening. Guard Yourself Against Such False And Deceitful Thoughts That Keep Whispering, "wait A While. In An Hour Or So I Will Pray. I Must First Finish This Or That." Thinking Such Thoughts We Get Away From Prayer Into Other Things That Will Hold Us And Involve Us Till The Prayer Of The Day Comes To Naught.
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Thinking
The Gospel Cannot Be Truly Preached Without Offense And Tumult.
Offense
Tumult
The Spiritual Rest, Which God Particularly Intends In This Commandment, Is This: That We Not Only Cease From Our Labor And Trade, But Much More, That We Let God Alone Work In Us And That We Do Nothing Of Our Own With All Our Powers.
Letting Go
Spiritual
Trade
A Lie Is Like A Snow-ball; The Longer It Is Rolled, The Larger It Is.
Lying
Snow
Balls
It Is Impossible For One Man Both To Labor Day And Night To Get A Living, And At The Same Time Give Himself To The Study Of Sacred Learning As The Preaching Office Requires.
Night
Men
Giving
The Confidence That God Is Mindful Of The Individual Is Of Tremendous Value In Dealing With The Disease Of Fear, For It Gives Us A Sense Of Worth, Of Belonging, And Of At Homeness In The Universe.
Christian
Giving
Disease
The Inner Man Cannot Be Forced To Do Out Of His Own Free Will, What He Should Do, Except The Grace Of God Change The Heart And Make It Willing.
Heart
Men
Grace
Always Preach In Such A Way That If The People Listening Do Not Come To Hate Their Sin, They Will Instead Hate You
Hate
People
Listening
We Are Nothing With All Our Gifts Be They Ever So Great, Except God Assist Us.
The Great Event On Calvary . . . Is An Eternal Reminder To A Power Drunk Generation That Love Is The Most Durable Power In The World, And That It Is At Bottom The Heartbeat Of The Moral Cosmos. Only Through Achieving This Love Can You Expect To Matriculate Into The University Of Eternal Life.
Life
Heart
Power
The Irony Is I Stopped Going To Church A Few Weeks Later.
Church
Going To Church
Irony
Faith Looks To The Word And The Promise; That Is, To The Truth. But Hope Looks To That Which The Word Has Promised, To The Gift .
Promise
Looks
I Pray That God Would Open The Mouth In Me And The Heart In You And That He Would Be The Teacher In The Midst Of Us Who May In Us Speak And Hear.
Teacher
Heart
Would Be
The Will Is A Beast Of Burden. If God Mounts It, It Wishes And Goes As God Wills; If Satan Mounts It, It Wishes And Goes As Satan Wills; Nor Can It Choose Its Rider... The Riders Contend For Its Possession.
Wish
Satan
Beast
To Be A Christian, You Must Pluck Out The Eye Of Reason.
Christian
Religious
Humor
A Man Who Has No Part In The Grace Of God, Cannot Keep The Commandments Of God, Or Prepare Himself, Either Wholly Or In Part, To Receive Grace; But He Rests Of Necessity Under The Power Of Sin.
Men
Grace
Sin
One Thing, And Only One Thing, Is Necessary For Christian Life, Righteousness, And Freedom. That One Thing Is The Most Holy Word Of God, The Gospel Of Christ.
Christian
Holy
Righteousness
There Are Some Of Us Who Think To Ourselves, 'if I Had Only Been There! How Quick I Would Have Been To Help The Baby. I Would Have Washed His Linen. How Happy I Would Have Been To Go With The Shepherds To See The Lord Lying In The Manger!' Why Don't We Do It Now? We Have Christ In Our Neighbor.
Baby
Lying
Thinking
No Man Should Be Alone When He Opposes Satan. The Church And The Ministry Of The Word Were Instituted For This Purpose, That Hands May Be Joined Together And One May Help Another.
Men
Hands
Church
Take A Look At Your Own Heart, And You Will Soon Find Out What Has Stuck To It And Where Your Treasure Is. It Is Easy To Determine Whether Hearing The Word Of God, Living According To It, And Achieving Such A Life Gives You As Much Enjoyment And Calls Forth As Much Diligence From You As Does Accumulating And Saving Money And Property.
Heart
Giving
Doe
What Shall We Christians Do Now With This Depraved And Damned People Of The Jews? ... I Will Give My Faithful Advice: First, That One Should Set Fire To Their Synagogues. . . . Then That One Should Also Break Down And Destroy Their Houses. . . . That One Should Drive Them Out The Country.
Christian
Country
Fire
Human Nature Is Like A Drunk Peasant. Lift Him Into The Saddle On One Side, Over He Topples On The Other Side.
Drunk
Sides
Human Nature
I Am Bound By The Texts Of The Bible, My Conscience Is Captive To The Word Of God, I Neither Can Nor Will Recant Anything, Since It Is Neither Right Nor Safe To Act Against My Conscience.
Safe
Conscience
We Know, On The Authority Of Moses, That Longer Than Six Thousand Years The World Did Not Exist.
Religious
Humor
Years
Being By His Faith Replaced Afresh In Paradise And Created Anew, He (the Believer)does Not Need Works For His Justification, But That He May Not Be Idle, But That He May Exercise His Own Body And Preserve It. His Works Are To Be Done Freely, With The Sole Object Of Pleasing God.
Exercise
May
Doe
God Is A Blank Sheet Upon Which Nothing Is Found But What You Yourself Have Written.
God
Found
Sheets
Take Away The Mass, Destroy The Church.
Church
Mass
We Are Beginning To Regain A Knowledge Of Creation, A Knowledge Forfeited By The Fall Of Adam. By God's Mercy We Can Begin To Recognize His Wonderful Works And Wonders Also In Flowers When We Ponder His Might And Goodness. Therefore We Laud, Magnify And Thank Him.
Flower
Fall
Might
Heretics Cannot Themselves Appear Good Unless They Depict The Church As Evil, False, And Mendacious. They Alone Wish To Be Esteemed As The Good, But The Church Must Be Made To Appear Evil In Every Respect.
Evil
Wish
Church
That Which The Sober Man Keeps In His Breast, The Drunken Man Lets Out At The Lips. Astute People, When They Want To Ascertain A Man's True Character, Make Him Drunk.
Character
Men
People
Prayer Is Not Overcoming God's Reluctance. It Is Laying Hold Of His Willingness.
Faith
Christian
Prayer
Your God Is Altogether Too Human.
Humans
The Holy Scriptures Surpass In Efficaciousness All The Arts And All The Sciences Of The Philosophers And Jurists; These, Though Good And Necessary To Life Here Below, Are Vain And Of No Effect As To What Concerns The Life Eternal.
Art
Scripture
Philosopher
They Gave Our Master A Crown Of Thorns, Why Do We Hope For A Crown Of Roses?
Christian
Adversity
Rose
I Am Afraid That The Schools Will Prove The Very Gates Of Hell, Unless They Diligently Labor In Explaining The Holy Scriptures And Engraving Them In The Heart Of The Youth.
Inspirational
Teacher
Heart
A Good Servant Is A Real Godsend, But Truly This Is A Rare Bird In The Land.
Real
Land
Bird
So Preach That Those Who Do Not Fall Out With Their Sins May Fall Out With Thee.
Fall
May
Sin
To Pray Well Is The Better Half Of Study.
Prayer
Half
Study
The Devil Flees Before The Sound Of Music Almost As Much As Before The Word Of God.
Devil
Sound
Sound Of Music
What Harm Would It Do, If A Man Told A Good Strong Lie For The Sake Of The Good.
Strong
Lying
Men
No One Would Be Happier Than Luther To Be Commended By The Testimony Of The Time That He Had Been Neither Slack Nor Deceitful In Maintaining The Course Of Truth, But Had Shown Quite Enough And Even Too Much Vehemence.
Would Be
Vehemence
Too Much
Nothing Is More Sweet Than Harmony In Marriage, And Nothing More Distressing Than Dissension.
Christian
Sweet
Harmony
In Our Sad Condition Our Only Consolation Is The Expectancy Of Another Life. Here Below All Is Incomprehensible.
Hope
Another Life
Consolation
When God Creates Faith In A Man, That Is As Great A Work As If He Created Heaven And Earth All Over Again.
Men
Heaven
Earth
The First Thing I Ask Is That People Should Not Make Use Of My Name, And Should Not Call Themselves Lutherans But Christians. What Is Luther? The Teaching Is Not Mine. Nor Was I Crucified For Anyone...how Did I, Poor Stinking Bag Of Maggots That I Am, Come To The Point Where People Call The Children Of Christ By My Evil Name?
Christian
Children
Teaching
The Word And Works Of God Is Quite Clear, That Women Were Made Either To Be Wives Or Prostitutes.
Wife
Christian Women
Made
The Defects Of A Preacher Are Soon Spied.
Clergymen
Preacher
Defects
Music Must Be Supported By The King And The Princes, For The Maintenance Of The Arts Is Their Duty No Less Than The Maintenance Of The Laws.
Art
Kings
Law
Indeed, To Spur Your Baal To Action, I Will Taunt And Challenge You ... To Create As Much As A Single Frog In The Name And By The Power Of Free Choice, Though The Heathen And Ungodly Magicians In Egypt Were Able To Create Many.... I Will Not Set You The Heavy Task Of Creating Lice, Which They Could Not Produce Either
Egypt
Names
Creating
The Best Way To Drive Out The Devil, If He Will Not Yield To Texts Of Scripture, Is To Jeer And Flout Him, For He Cannot Bear Scorn.
Yield
Devil
Way
Scripture Is The Manger In Which We Find The Christ Child.
Bible
Christian
Children
I Know Not The Way God Leads Me, But Well Do I Know My Guide.
Faith
Way
Guides
Faith Is A Free Surrenderand A Joyous Wager On The Unseen, Unknown, Untested Goodness Of God.
Wagers
Unseen
Goodness
Men Are Not Made Religious By Performing Certain Actions Which Are Externally Good, But They Must First Have Righteous Principles, And Then They Will Not Fail To Perform Virtuous Actions.
Religious
Failure
Men
Peace Is More Important Than All Justice; And Peace Was Not Made For The Sake Of Justice, But Justice For The Sake Of Peace.
Memorial Day
Peace
Ubuntu
God Writes The Gospel Not In The Bible Alone, But Also On Trees, And In The Flowers And Clouds And Stars.
Nature
Stars
Flower
The Devil And Temptations Also Do Give Occasion Unto Us Somewhat To Learn And Understand The Scriptures, By Experience And Practice. Without Trials And Temptations We Should Never Understand Anything Thereof; No, Not Although We Diligently Read And Heard The Same.
Practice
Giving
Temptation
All Creatures Are Merely Veils Under Which God Hides Himself And Deals With Us.
Veils
Deals
Creatures
I Myself Saw And Touched At Dessay, A Child Of This Sort, Which Had No Human Parents, But Had Proceeded From The Devil. He Was Twelve Years Old, And, In Outward Form, Exactly Resembled Ordinary Children.
Religious
Children
Humor
Drive Them [jews] Like Mad Dogs From Our Land... Let Not One Of Them Live.
Dog
Land
Mad
Brief Let Me Be. The Fewer Words The Better Prayer.
Prayer
Let Me
Fewer
Either Sin Is With You, Lying On Your Shoulders, Or It Is Lying On Christ, The Lamb Of God. Now If It Is Lying On Your Back, You Are Lost; But If It Is Resting On Christ, You Are Free, And You Will Be Saved. Now Choose What You Want.
Lying
Lambs
Want
Accordingly If The Devil Should Say, 'do Not Drink,' You Should Reply To Him, 'on This Very Account, Because You Forbid It, I Shall Drink, And What Is More, I Shall Drink A Generous Amount. Thus One Must Always Do The Opposite Of That Which Satan Prohibits. What Do You Think Is My Reason For Drinking Wine Undiluted, Talking Freely, And Eating More Often, If It Is Not To Torment And Vex The Devil Who Made Up His Mind To Torment And Vex Me.
Drinking
Wine
Thinking
There Is No More Lovely, Friendly And Charming Relationship, Communion Or Company Than A Good Marriage.
Love
Friendship
Relationship
The Law Works Fear And Wrath; Grace Works Hope And Mercy.
Wrath
Law
Grace
Despair Makes Priests And Friars.
Despair
Friars
Priests
In His Life Christ Is An Example Showing Us How To Live In His Death He Is A Sacrifice Satisfying Our Sins In His Resurrection A Conqueror In His Ascension A King In His Intercession A High Priest.
Faith
Kings
Sacrifice
Whilst A Man Is Persuaded That He Has It In His Power To Contribute Anything, Be It Ever So Little, To His Salvation, He Remains In Carnal Self-confidence; He Is Not A Self-despairer, And Therefore Is Not Duly Humbled Before God, He Believes He May Lend A Helping Hand In His Salvation, But On The Contrary, Whoever Is Truly Convinced That The Whole Work Depends Singly On The Will Of God, Such A Person Renounces His Own Will And Strength; He Waits And Prays For The Operation Of God, Nor Waits And Prays In Vain
Believe
Self Confidence
Men
The Sin Underneath All Our Sins Is To Trust The Lie Of The Serpent That We Cannot Trust The Love And Grace Of Christ And Must Take Matters Into Our Own Hands
Lying
Hands
Grace
But What Will Happen Even If We Do Burn Down The Jews Synagogues And Forbid Them Publicly To Praise God, To Pray, To Teach, To Utter God's Name? They Will Still Keep Doing It In Secret. If We Know That They Are Doing This In Secret, It Is The Same As If They Were Doing It Publicly. For Our Knowledge Of Their Secret Doings And Our Toleration Of Them Implies That They Are Not Secret After All And Thus Our Conscience Is Encumbered With It Before God.
Names
Secret
Praying
It Is Certainly True That Reason Is The Most Important And The Highest Rank Among All Things And, In Comparison With Other Things Of This Life, The Best And Something Divine. It Is The Inventor And Mentor Of All The Arts, Medicines, Laws, And Of Whatever Wisdom, Power, Virtue, And Glory Men Possess In This Life.
Art
Men
Medicine
I Was Born To Fight Devils And Factions. It Is My Business To Remove Obstacles, To Cut Down Thorns, To Fill Up Quagmires And To Open And Make Straight Paths. If I Must Have Some Failing Let Me Rather Speak The Truth With Too Great Sincerity Than Once To Act The Hypocrite And Conceal The Truth.
Hypocrite
Cutting
Fighting
Undoubtedly They Do More And Viler Things Than Those Which We Know And Discover
Speech
Knows
If A Man Serves Not God Only, Then Surely He Serves The Devil.
Men
Devil
Ifs
Faith Is A Living, Bold Trust In God's Grace, So Certain Of God's Favour That It Would Risk Death A Thousand Times Trusting In It. Such Confidence And Knowledge Of God's Grace Makes You Happy, Joyful And Bold In Your Relationship To God And All Creatures. The Holy Spirit Makes This Happen Through Faith. Because Of It, You Freely, Willingly And Joyfully Do Good To Everyone, Serve Everyone, Suffer All Kinds Of Things, Love And Praise The God Who Has Shown You Such Grace.
Christian
Grace
Risk
This Is The Most Dangerous Trial Of All, When There Is No Trial And Every Thing Goes Well; For Then A Man Is Tempted To Forget God, To Become Too Bold And To Misuse Times Of Prosperity.
Men
Trials
Forget
A Gospel That Doesn't Deal With The Issues Of The Day Is Not The Gospel At All.
Issues
Deals
If The Peasants Are In Open Rebellion, Then They Are Outside The Law Of God. Therefore Let All Who Are Able Slash, Strike Down, And Kill (those Who Rebel) Openly And Secretly, Remembering That There Can Be Nothing More Venomous, Harmful, Or Devilish Than A Rebel. It Is Exactly Like Killing A Mad Dog.
Dog
Law
Mad
I Think These Things [firearms] Were Invented By Satan Himself, For They Can't Be Defended Against With (ordinary) Weapons And Fists. All Human Strength Vanishes When Confronted With Firearms. A Man Is Dead Before He Sees What's Coming.
Men
Thinking
Ordinary
When Questioned Whether The Blessed Will Not Be Saddened By Seeing Their Nearest And Dearest Tortured Answers, "not In The Least."
Blessed
Answers
Hell
The First Duty Of The Gospel Preacher Is To Declare God's Law And To Show The Nature Of Sin.
Christian
Law
Preaching The Gospel
As For The Demented, I Hold It Certain That All Beings Deprived Of Reason Are Thus Afflicted Only By The Devil.
Religious
Humor
Devil
The Mystery Of The Humanity Of Christ, That He Sunk Himself Into Our Flesh, Is Beyond All Human Understanding.
Understanding
Humanity
Flesh
We May Search Long To Find Where God Is, But We Shall Find Him In Those Who Keep The Words Of Christ. For The Lord Christ Saith, " If Any Man Love Me, He Will Keep My Words; And We Will Make Our Abode With Him.
Men
Long
May
I Put The Scriptures Above All The Sayings Of The Fathers, Angels, Men And Devils. Here I Take My Stand.
Father
Angel
Men
In Many Countries There Are Particular Places To Which Devils More Especially Resort. In Prussia There Is An Infinite Number Of Evil Spirits.
Country
Religious
Humor
May The Lord Fill You With His Blessings And With Hatred Of The Pope.
Blessing
Hatred
May
Music Is To Be Praised As Second Only To The Word Of God Because By Her All The Emotions Are Swayed. That Is Why There Are So Many Songs And Psalms. This Precious Gift Has Been Bestowed On Men Alone To Remind Them That They Are Created To Praise And Magnify The Lord.
Song
Men
Emotion
The Kingdom Of God Does Not Consist In Talk, But In Power, That Is, In Works And Practice. God Loves The 'doers Of The Word' In Faith And Love, And Not The 'mere Hearers,' Who, Like Parrots, Have Learned To Utter Certain Expressions With Readiness.
Expression
Practice
And Love
Some Will Object That The Law Is Divine And Holy. Let It Be Divine And Holy. The Law Has No Right To Tell Me That I Must Be Justified By It.
Law
Justified
Holy
Even Like As St. Paul Was Converted, Just So Are All Others Converted; For We All Resist God, But The Holy Ghost Draws The Will Of Mankind, When He Pleases, Through Preaching.
Ghost
Holy
Mankind
In This Revolution No Plans Have Been Written For Retreat.
Revolution
Retreat
Planning
Without Images We Can Neither Think Nor Understand Anything.
Thinking
Let Us Not Flutter Too High, But Remain By The Manger And The Swaddling Clothes Of Christ, 'in Whom Dwelleth All The Fullness Of The Godhead Bodily.'
Clothes
Christ
Fullness
Faith Is The Yes Of The Heart.
Heart
God Has Surely Promised His Grace To The Humbled: That Is, To Those Who Mourn Over And Despair Of Themselves. But A Man Cannot Be Thoroughly Humbled Till He Realizes That His Salvation Is Utterly Beyond His Own Powers, Counsels, Efforts, Will And Works, And Depends Absolutely On The Will, Counsel, Pleasure And Work Of Another -- God Alone.
Men
Effort
Grace
Maternity Is A Glorious Thing, Since All Mankind Has Been Conceived, Born, And Nourished Of Women. All Human Laws Should Encourage The Multiplication Of Families.
Law
Maternity
Born
To Have Peace And Love In Marriage Is A Gift Which Is Next To The Knowledge Of The Gospel.
And Love
Next
Peace And Love
When I Am Assailed With Heavy Tribulations, I Rush Out Among My Pigs Rather Than Remain Alone By Myself. The Human Heart Is Like A Millstone In A Mill: When You Put Wheat Under It, It Turns And Grinds And Bruises The Wheat To Flour; If You Put No Wheat, It Still Grinds On, But Then 'tis Itself It Grinds And Wears Away. So The Human Heart, Unless It Be Occupied With Some Employment, Leaves Space For The Devil, Who Wriggles Himself In And Brings With Him A Whole Host Of Evil Thoughts, Temptations, And Tribulations, Which Grind Out The Heart.
Heart
Space
Pigs
As When My Little Son John Offendeth: If Then I Should Not Whip Him, But Call Him To The Table Unto Me, And Give Him Sugar And Plums, Thereby, I Should Make Him Worse, Yea Should Quite Spoil Him.
Education
Son
Giving
O, This Faith Is A Living, Busy, Active, Powerful Thing! It Is Impossible That It Should Not Be Ceaselessly Doing That Which Is Good. It Does Not Even Ask Whether Good Works Should Be Done; But Before The Question Can Be Asked, It Has Done Them, And It Is Constantly Engaged In Doing Them. But He Who Does Not Do Such Works, Is A Man Without Faith. He Gropes And Casts About Him To Find Faith And Good Works, Not Knowing What Either Of Them Is, And Yet Prattles And Idly Multiplies Words About Faith And Good Works.
Powerful
Men
Knowing
The Bible Is The Cradle Wherein Christ Is Laid.
Christian Inspirational
Christ
Cradle
Peter Erred In Life And In Doctrine. Paul Might Have Dismissed Peter's Error As A Matter Of No Consequence. But Paul Saw That Peter's Error Would Lead To The Damage Of The Whole Church Unless It Were Corrected. Therefore He Withstood Peter To His Face. The Church, Peter, The Apostles, Angels From Heaven, Are Not To Be Heard Unless They Teach The Genuine Word Of God.
Angel
Errors
Heaven
Merit Is A Work For The Sake Of Which Christ Gives Rewards. But No Such Work Is To Be Found, For Christ Gives By Promise. Just As If A Prince Should Say To Me, "come To Me In My Castle, And I Will Give You A Hundred Florins." I Do A Work, Certainly, In Going To The Castle, But The Gift Is Not Given Me As The Reward Of My Work In Going, But Because The Prince Promised It To Me.
Giving
Promise
Castles
When We Are Inclined To Boast Of Our Position [as Christians] We Should Remember That We Are But Gentiles, While The Jews Are Of The Lineage Of Christ. We Are Aliens And In-laws; They Are Blood Relatives, Cousins, And Brothers Of Our Lord. Therefore, If One Is To Boast Of Flesh And Blood The Jews Are Actually Nearer To Christ Than We Are.
Christian
Cousin
Brother
My Temptations Have Been My Masters Of Divinity.
Temptation
Divinity
Masters
There Is No Wisdom Save In Truth.
Now If I Believe In God's Son And Remember That He Became Man, All Creatures Will Appear A Hundred Times More Beautiful To Me Than Before. Then I Will Properly Appreciate The Sun, The Moon, The Stars, Trees, Apples, As I Reflect That He Is Lord Over All Things. ...god Writes The Gospel, Not In The Bible Alone, But Also On Trees, And In The Flowers And Clouds And Stars.
Beautiful
Stars
Believe
The Will Of Man Without Grace Is Not Free, But Is Enslaved, And That Too With Its Own Consent.
Men
Grace
Consent
The Fool Will Upset The Whole Science Of Astronomy.
Upset
Fool
Astronomy
Now Just Behold These Miserable, Blind, And Senseless People.
People
Miserable
Blind
Isaiah Calls The Church Barren Because Her Children Are Born Without Effort By The Word Of Faith Through The Spirit Of God. It Is A Matter Of Birth, Not Of Exertion.
Children
Effort
Church
Therefore Be On Your Guard Against The Jews, Knowing That Wherever They Have Their Synagogues, Nothing Is Found But A Den Of Devils In Which Sheer Self-glory, Conceit, Lies, Blasphemy, And Defaming Of God And Men Are Practiced Most Maliciously And Veheming His Eyes On Them.
Religious
Lying
Eye
Of Whom Shall I Be Afraid? One With God Is A Majority.
Majority
Christ Will Remain A Priest And King; Though He Was Never Consecrated By Any Papist Bishop Or Greased By Any Of Those Shavelings; But He Was Ordained And Consecrated By God Himself, And By Him Anointed.
Kings
Religion
Bishops
I [i.e., God] Have Given You Baptism As A Gift For The Forgiveness Of Sins, And Preach To You Unceasingly By Word Of Mouth Concerning This Treasure, Sealing It With The Sacrament Of My Body And Blood, So That You Need Never Doubt. True, It Seems Little And Insignificant That By The Washing Of Water, The Word, And The Sacrament This Should All Be Effected. But Don't Let Your Eyes Deceive You.
Eye
Blood
Water
Be A Sinner And Sin Boldly, But Believe And Rejoice In Christ Even More Boldly.
Believe
Sin
Christ
The Holy Ghost Must Here Be Our Only Master And Tutor.
Ghost
Holy
Masters
What Is Sought By Means Of Free Choice Is To Make Room For Merits.
Mean
Choices
Rooms
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