Slaves, obey
in all things
your earthly masters,
not only when being watched
like people-pleasers
but (obey) with sincere hearts
out of reverence for the Lord.
Whatever you are doing,
work from the soul
as for the Lord
and not for people,
knowing that you will receive from the Lord
‘the inheritance’ as a reward.
Serve the Lord Christ.
For the one who does wrong
will be repaid for the wrong they did
and there is no favouritism.
Masters give your slaves
justice and fairness
knowing you too have a master in heaven.

Grant, Lord,
that we may hold to you without parting,
worship you without wearying,
serve you without failing;
faithfully seek you,
happily find you,
and forever possess you,
the only God,blessed now and for ever.
Amen

St Anselm

Wives, be subject to your husbands,
as has been proper in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives
and do not be harsh on them.
Children, obey your parents
in all things,
for it is pleasing to the Lord.
Fathers, do not embitter your children,
that they might not become discouraged.

Thank you, dear Jesus,
for all you have given me,
for all you have taken away from me,
for all you have left me.

Thomas More (c.1478-1535)

So put to death
your limbs
‘used for earthly things’:
sexual immorality
impurity
lustful passion
evil desire
and especially greed
which is idolatry,
because of these things
comes the wrath of God,
in which you also formerly walked.
when you lived in these (sins).
But now you also put off all these things:
wrath,
rage,
spite,
slander
dirty talk from your mouth.
Do not lie to one another,
having put off the old humanity
with its deeds
and having put on the new (humanity)
– being made new again
(until s/he reaches full) knowledge
according to the likeness of the Creator
where there is not
Greek or Judean
Circumcised or uncircumcised
barbarian,
Scythian,
slave, free person,
but Christ is all
and is in all (of you?)

O Lord Jesus Christ,
stay beside me to defend me,
within me to guide me,
before me to lead me,
and above me to bless me,
that with you and in you,
I may live, and move and have my being,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

(unknown)

So, if you have been raised with Christ
keep seeking the things above
where Christ is,
sitting at the right hand of God.
keep thinking about the things above-
not the things upon the earth.

For you have died,
and your life is hidden
with Christ,
in God.

When Christ appears,
-your life,
then also you will appear
with him
in glory.

Take from us,
O God, all pride and vanity,
all boasting and self-assertion,
and give us the true courage that shows itself in gentleness,
the true wisdom that shows itself in simplicity,
and the true power that shows itself in modesty.

Charles Kingsley

If you have died with Christ
from the spiritual forces of the world
why do you submit to decrees
as if living in the world? –
‘Do not handle’
‘-nor taste’
‘-nor touch’
these things that are all for destruction
by being used (up)
according to human rules and doctrines.
which to be sure have the reputation of wisdom-
by would-be-wisdom
and false humility
– (to be) severe discipline of the body
but they do not have any value
for (dealing with) the flesh.

Steer the ship of my life, good Lord, to your quiet harbour,
where I can be safe from the storms of sin and conflict.
Show me the course I should take.
Renew in me the gift of discernment,
so that I can always see the right direction in which I should go.
And give me the strength and the courage to choose the right course,
even when the sea is rough and the waves are high,
knowing that through enduring hardship and danger in your name
we shall find comfort and peace.
Amen

Basil of Caesarea (c.329-379)

So, let no-one judge you
– in matters of eating and drinking
or with regard to a festival
or new moons or sabbaths,
which are shadows of what is to come
– the substance is (the things of) Christ.
Let no-one disqualify you
taking pleasure in false humility
and in the worship of angels.
which they have seen
and go on about
being puffed up
without cause
and by their unspiritual mind
and not holding onto the head (i.e. Christ)
from whom all the body
through the joints and ligaments
being nourished
and held together
grows with a growth that is from God.

O thou, who art the light of the minds that know thee,
the life of the souls that love thee,
and the strength of the wills that serve thee;
help us so to know thee that we may truly love thee;
so to love thee that we may fully serve thee,
whom to serve is perfect freedom.
Amen

…and you
being dead in your sins 
    and the uncircumcision of the flesh
he (God) made-alive-together with him
having forgiven all our trespasses
having wiped the-record-of-the debt against us
– the written codes       
– which was hostile to us
and he took it away from our midst
having nailed it to the cross.
having disarmed the rulers and authorities,
he (God) boldly made them a public disgrace
by leading them in a triumphal procession
in him (Christ). 

God be in head and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes and in my looking;
God be in my mouth and in my speaking;
God be in my heart and in my thinking;
God be at my end and at my departing.

that is empty deceit,
… and not according to Christ.

because
in him all the fullness of deity
permanently lives
in bodily form
and in him you are fulfilled
who is the head over every ruler and authority,
in whom also you have been circumcised
with a circumcision not made by hands
when you completely stripped off the fleshly body
in Christ’s (way of) circumcision
having been buried together with him,
in the act of baptism
in which you also were raised together (with him)
through (your) faith in the power of God
which raised him from among the dead…

Lord God,
your feed us with the living bread from heaven.
You renew our faith
increase our hope
and strengthen our love.
Teach us to hunger for Christ
who is the true and living bread
and live by every word that comes from your mouth,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

So, as you received the Christ, Jesus the Lord
(go on) walking in him,
having been firmly rooted
and being built up in him
and being settled in the Faith
– just as you have been taught,
overflowing in thankfulness.

Watch out! Perhaps there will be someone
who will carry you off as spoil
through ‘philosophy’
that is empty deceit,
according to human traditions
according to the spirits of the world
and not according to Christ.

God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.