Tag Archives: love

Steps to Christian Maturity

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5 “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1)

Curiously enough, I have found personally, that the order of these qualities can be trusted.  Attempt the last one first and you will find yourself in error. 

Maturity in Christ begins with faith filled repentance, and finds its culmination in love.  It is written that the fear of the living God is the beginning of wisdom.  It should be well noted the Godly love is dispensed in Godly wisdom.

By His Grace

Not Alone!

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O People of the Holy Spirit, know that you are not alone.  I repeat, you are not alone.

For as surely as you have bent your knees before the Holy Living God’s Holy Son, so have a great number of others.  We have all approached the Holy Source of Living Life.  And He, in His Great Mercy, has granted what is Holy and Good to many.  No, we are not alone.

Speak of the Beautiful things you have received, with faithful abandon, speak.  You may or may not receive an echo of your words.  But remain full of trust, you are not alone.

We know He has not abandoned us.  For we have prayed and risen full of truth.  As we will be one, on that Holy Day, so we are one today.  We are not alone.  And we are able to agree in these Holy Promises together as one.

Let us allow our hearts to be full of strength in these things.  Let us not fear in any way.  Let the Promises of the Living God’s Holy Christ fill us with confidence.  Let our legs receive the strength of eternity.  It is His Holy will that His people should stand with great and unquenchable strength.

War Up! ( the Law of Christ)

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Okay.  I’m going to do a little war hoopin here.  But you likely haven’t heard this for a while, so you might think I’m being kind of mean.  But on the other side of “takin it right” is all the peace and stability you can handle.

From the day of God’s blessing to Abraham until today, Israel has been in a state of war.  Whatever tiny moments of peace they found in that time, were short lived.  And the ensuing battles became worse and worse.  (I’m including the Holocaust in this.)

In the meantime God sent his only Son, and the battle did nothing more than get really personal.

Today’s church knows virtually nothing about this as a whole.  And this ignorance has given rise to a great influx of Tares. 

Well if you’re willing to listen, there’s a fix for this.  If not, may the will of the Living God be done in the advent of the end.

Look at what Jesus said here.  He came to take away the “National” concept (not that it was ever God’s intention).  But he distinctly replaced it with a personal burden. 

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10) 

I have found this to be blazingly true!  If you love the Lord you will be hated.  And this to the extent that I will push the envelope a little farther:  if you are not hated you might want to do a little pocket check to see if you love the Lord.

See how the war was intended to come home.  But he hasn’t left any one as an orphan.  Not only has he sent the Holy Spirit to help and to guide every individual,  but the law of Moses remains among us as strong as it ever was.  What was spoken in Moses’s day is not removed from anyone. 

Not that we should be legalistic in our approach to God, but the fire of his words ought to live in every one of his people as a great raging holy fire.

One small portion of that entire law is one of the greatest encouragements to man ever to be spoken.  It may ring out rather often from the pulpit.  But it is rarely taken home.  If it was obeyed, we would see an entirely different church.

4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6)

Since the war has become a personal issue, by a straightforward challenge from the Living God’s Holy Son, each individual has become his own house. 

Binding God’s laws on your hands does not necessarily mean a bracelet, but that everything our hands find to do should have the marks of our God on it.  Obedience leaves a distinct holy mark.

And if we have the words of the Living God in us, our entire perception will be as if we wore a little case between our eyes which is filled with holy and good words.

As many as we can rally to understand these things, to that extent the church is transformed. 

And I will add this:  If you start to speak with every member of your church as if these things were alive and true, with all expectation that they agreed with you, the tares would not think it a gentle place to live any longer.  The Christian social club would have to disband.  And O the war would come home!

By His Grace

Love Him?

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Mary Magdalene loved the Lord, because she had nothing left to lose.  The Apostle John loved the Lord, because he had everything to gain.

Why do you love the Lord Jesus?  Or do you?

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

By His Grace

Point the Tip Down!

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Inspect me in your presence.  Grill me with questions designed to test.  Make me speak of The Faith, and surely, in all my words, I will stumble.

I may not say anything false.  But one or two words are sure to come unexpectedly.  They will not be aligned as you have been told they should.  And you will surely label me a heretic.

Or love me as a brother in Christ.  Love me as God has commanded us both to love one another.  Show me the mercy that God has shown you. 

Let me speak of Our mutual Lord.  Let me confess that he is risen from the dead.  Let me confess that he is seated at the right hand of his Heavenly Father.  Accept my confession that my sins are forgiven.  Inspect my actions as well as my words.  And let that be enough between us.  Then we will be brothers in Christ.

Perhaps the Lord has revealed to you something “different”.  Perhaps you have revealed to your self.  Perhaps the only revelation you have is what you have been taught, or what you have read.  What is that to me?  And what does my understanding have to do with you?  Only let us display our faith in that we love one another in Christ.

There are differences that cannot be accepted.  But let those who know better, speak correction in love.   Call them in that they may divide between us.

There are wolves in sheep’s clothing.  But let them speak of the Holy Lord we serve.  In a very short time their error will be seen.  But a wolf will not receive correction.  And he will not strive to listen.  His words are bent toward devouring.  When you are sure of his pedigree, be diligent to see him go.  But by all means be sure.

Valiant warriors on a field of blood point down their swords for a moment.  “Let us not be so quick to shed blood, simply because a man has a foreign tongue.  But let wisdom and holy custom dictate our response.

Then we can be brothers in Christ.  Then we can stand with confidence.  Then we can praise our God together, while the smell of victory floats across the field.”

A warrior is not easily be perceived as a docile farmer.  A liar cannot tell the truth.  And it should be established that a Christian can not hate.

Tired arms raised by souls of steel. 

Hearts aflame with love. 

Praise to our God who set us free. 

Praise to our Lord above!

By His Grace

Regardless the Acceptance

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There is no one like God, in Christ Jesus His Holy Son.

There is nothing like His embrace of Holy Forgiveness.

There is nothing on earth worth our time, if we don’t have His Love;

His Holy Love that transcends every barrier.

 

I know you balk at this, all you of this world.

I know the flesh hates such words of proper praise and placement.

I know the eternal nature of the Living God has no place within the things of man.

I know you cannot accept these words, or the ones who speak them.

 

And what a shame, that you should remain outside His Holy Love.

And what horrible future there is for such a heart.

And what potential there is if you would just lay down your pride.

And how long is eternity, that you should remain estranged from the Living God’s Son.