May We Love.

Loving others. Love, love, love!

What is love?

It is SACRIFICE.

Love is God, God is love.

God SACRIFICED. Rather than destroy us messed up sinful human beings that allowed ourselves to be seduced into sinning, into disobeying our Creator, He decided we were worth redemption. The only way to receive redemption is through SACRIFICE. God with God, the declared SON of God chose to make the sacrifice of His own LIFE. He would give up his God-life, and subject Himself to decaying flesh- flesh and bone that begins its descent into death slowly as various bits and pieces of us wear out, or become mutated from their given state, killing us minute by minute. Jesus took on the flesh that was able to die after never being subject to death, never being subject to pain, Jesus took all of it on.

Sacrifice.

Love is sacrifice.  We sacrifice our SELFISHNESS. The tiniest bit of selfishness to the greatest selfishness we possess- all needs to be sacrificed, by the GRACE of God!

When we sacrifice self- we love.

May we love!

Joh_13:34  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Joh_13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

As Christ loved us- we love.  He sacrificed Himself for us.

Joh_15:12  This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Joh_15:17  These things I command you, that ye love one another.

Rom_13:8  Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

1Th_3:12  And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you

1Th_4:9  But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

1Pe_1:22  Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently

1Jn_3:11  For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

1Jn_3:23  And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

1Jn_4:7  Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

1Jn_4:11  Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

1Jn_4:12  No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

2Jn_1:5  And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.

The Truth- Loving Others.

1Jn 3:19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. 

We can know that we are of truth.

1Jn 3:14  We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. 

We need to LOVE OTHERS!

Something that sounds so simple is truly so hard for so very many people.

Loving others.

Joh_13:34  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Joh_13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Joh_15:12  This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Joh_15:17  These things I command you, that ye love one another.

Rom_13:8  Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

1Th_3:12  And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you

1Th_4:9  But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

1Pe_1:22  Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently

1Jn_3:11  For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

1Jn_3:23  And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

1Jn_4:7  Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

1Jn_4:11  Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

1Jn_4:12  No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

2Jn_1:5  And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.

It isn't faith if we hear, if we see.

Rom 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Rom 14:22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.

On a show I watch a member of the clergy went to his higher up and told them that they were having problems believing. Told to pray about it, the clergy member said I do but I can't hear God any more. The higher up told him, if we heard God then it wouldn't be faith.

It wouldn't be faith…

Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen.

Faith is also the substance of things hope for and the evidence of things not heard, right? 

To have faith means we believe when everything around us shouts at us not to believe.

Every circumstance that can deter us from Christ will happen, make no doubt about it! Around every corner lurks another obstacle to our faith. We cannot let our guard down, and yet we do all the time. We become lackadaisical in our faith not counting on it being tested to the extremes it will be tested.

Faith-believing no matter what!

We have to give an account of ourselves to God, every single one of us. Those who are unbelievers and haters will also have to give an account of themselves. The self-deceiving Christian who lie to themselves about being true followers of Christ, they too will have to give an account. ALL- will have to from the least to the greatest, from the closest to the farthest away stand before God. There will be no running away, no turning our backs, no hiding, we will each stand before God and give an account to Him. If you don't believe it, you don't have to believe it for it to be truth. Many will not believe truth, MOST will not believe truth, but it won't make it any less truthful.

It doesn't matter if the majority of people think the world is flat- it will always be round.

We must have faith before God. In all we do believe of His truth we must be convicted of that truth in His sight. We cannot waffle back and forth in our belief, but rather stand strong before our God.

Please, Lord, please let us hold our faith firm in You! Let us give an account to You in the day we are to stand before You and may they be only words You long to hear from us! We would be Yours!

All by the grace, by the mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Bearing the infirmities of the weak.

Rom 15:1  We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 

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The weak.

Act 20:35  I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. 

1Co_1:27  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty

1Co_9:22  To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

2Co_12:10  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

2Co_13:4  For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

1Th_5:14  Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.

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Bear the infirmities of the weak. Support the weak.

Being weak isn't something we encourage, why would we? We are to be able-bodied, able to do for ourselves and not rely upon others. Yet throughout our Lord's word we are told to help those who are weak. If being weak is offensive then why are they to be helped? Seriously, why? Weakness can come in so many forms and if we possess a weakness that is self-willed and self-encouraged then we are not just weak we are sluggards, we are liars to ourselves, to God. If our weakness is something in us that we strive against so we can be strong in the Lord, then our weakness is not evil. Admitting a weakness isn't easy for most people. We don't want to be considered weak. Even those who end up being weak through various illnesses, or old age and such do not want to be weak. Many of those who are weak despise the weakness within them yet they are victims to that weakness. 

I would love to say that I am one of the strong supporting the weak but lately I feel I am one of the weak ones in need of supporting. Or rather, I thought I was strong and able to support the weak only to come face to face with my own weakness when I could not support the weak.

We do need to bear the infirmities of the weak, but what do we do if we are weak?  Do we allow others to support us? Do we rail against our weakness and shun the helping hand? 

When we are helping the weak do we feel they are somehow less than they should be, or is our compassion for them so much greater than anything else? Where is our mercy if we despise those we are helping? Christ would NEVER despise those He's helped, which is all of us in our great weakness.

No, we can't strive to be weak, but if we do find ourselves weak we must not hate ourselves but humble ourselves allowing those who are stronger to be blessed in our weakness.

Also, when we are strong we must not hesitate to support the weak, the bear the infirmities of the weak. We are called to this …

Rom 15:1  We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 

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And a note to make here is we aren’t to be concerned with pleasing ourselves before helping others. If we think about taking our pleasure when someone is in need, we are not doing God's work. This isn't to say if we can't help someone for legitimate reasons then we can't, but to choose self over others will forever be against all our Savior has revealed to us. 

May God forgive me if I've done this in my situation of late, truly my weakness has prevented me from being strong for another, forgive me, Savior, forgive me.

All in the name of our Savior, our Lord, Jesus Christ now and forever!

Able to save our souls.

Jas 1:21  Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. 

We have to LAY APART - all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness.

(Filthiness-foul with, characterized by, or having the nature of filth; disgustingly or completely dirty)

(Superfluity-Superfluous definition, being more than is sufficient or required; excessive)

(Naughtiness- 1. Behaving disobediently or mischievously 2. Indecent; improper.

Lay apart (STOP all filthy, disgusting and excessive disobedience and mischief.

Do we do this? Do we allow ourselves to keep bits and pieces of our naughtiness? How often do people believe naughtiness is cute and acceptable? How often do we joke about things that are truly filthy? We have to lay apart- give up the part of us that gives into the world's acceptable account of what is proper and what isn't. The world is NOT our standard! The world doing something and behaving a certain way is NOT our example! We are NOT to blend into the world!  We are NOT to let ourselves be drawn away by the world and yet it is so hard to keep ourselves from the world and it's ways. God help us!

Jas 4:8  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 

2Co 7:1  Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 

Eph 5:4  Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. 

We truly have to receive with meekness the established word of our God if we wish to be saved!

We need to humble ourselves before God and receive His truth! All by HIS grace!  We can't truly expect to be filthy, to be disobedient and willfully give ourselves to the world and its ways and then be saved, can we?

Paul lamented His connection to the flesh, to the world- he called himself a wretched man for doing the things he didn't want to do, things he knew were not of the Spirit. When we pat ourselves on the back and long to be of the world and its ways, we cannot truly be God's. Jesus was not of this world, and we are not of this world! Please, by the grace of our Lord may we NOT be of the world! May we put aside all that is of this world! May we RECEIVED the WORD of our LORD which is able to save our souls!

All through Jesus Christ our LORD and SAVIOR now and forever!

Our Wrath, God's Wrath.

Not appointed to wrath--

Jas 1:19  Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 

Jas 1:20  For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 

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1Th 5:9  For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 

1Th 5:10  Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. 

1Th 5:11  Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

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We are NOT appointed to wrath.

There is a wrath to come unlike any wrath we may personally possess.

1Th 1:9  … how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; 

1Th 1:10  And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. 

Luk 3:7  Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 

Heb 10:27  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 

Rev_19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

Rev_16:1  And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.

Rev_15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

Rev_14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb

Rev_12:12  Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Rev_6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Heb 4:2  For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 

Heb 4:3  For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 

God has a wrath.

God has a wrath to come.

People do NOT like to talk about God's wrath at all, and why would they? It's a very fearful thing.

We are not to be wrathful, we are not to be unkind to any. When Jesus walked the earth during His ministry He did not bring any wrath with Him. Jesus didn't mete out punishment, there is a day appointed for that and it's not for us to promote.

We truly are not to be wrathful in our dealings it does NOT work any righteousness whatsoever and we will be delivered from the 'wrath' to come.

Prayerfully we will delve more deeply into the WRATH to come, we need to know more about it don't we?

We also need to keep ourselves from wrath and we can ignite wrath within us in so many ways. Pay attention to your life, notice the wrath. If you do NOT have any wrath in your life, if you are not prone to ire, to anger then PRAISE GOD!

Please, Lord, please help us all. Give us the knowledge, the understanding we need to know about the wrath to come. Keep us from any personal wrath we are prone towards. We don't want to be kept from  Your righteousness.  All by the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ now and FOREVER!

Slow to Wrath.

Jas 1:19  Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 

Jas 1:20  For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 

How slow is our wrath?  Seriously, how fast do we become wrathful?

Anger or Wrath is an intense emotional response. It is an emotion that involves a strong uncomfortable and emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat. Anger can occur when a person feels their personal boundaries are being or going to be violated. Some have a learned tendency to react to anger through retaliation as a way of coping. (wiki)

Let me ask you this? Have you ever had any road rage? Even a little bit? Road rage truly has become an epidemic. The anger we feel when driving and encounter what we perceive as anger inducing situations causes us to react in ways we shouldn't. We yell, we swear, we drive unsafely, we let that anger fuel us and you know what? Many times things we get upset about from other drivers are innocent mistakes, unintended swerves, a hurried lane change from an instinctive reaction to get into the right lane for a turn, a total miscalculation of the time it takes to stop… there are a lot of mistakes made innocently, I know- I've made lots of them. Yet when we encounter *stupid* drivers we instantly feel we have the right to be angry, to get wrathful.  How slow are we to wrath behind the steering wheel of our cars?

There are many situations that bring wrathful feelings upon us- having to wait extra long in lines, at drive throughs of fast food places, at tardy waiters/waitresses, at slow moving people when we are in a rush (I've even gotten perturbed at my elderly dog- much to my shame- for not moving fast enough when I need to rush to do something(important somethings). It's not my dog's fault I'm in a rush and she can't comprehend I have to run to get to grandma before she falls on the floor.  We get angry in many, many situations and most of them have the root cause of us being self-centered. Did the need to get to grandma bring out my selfishness? No, not all anger is selfish but a lot of it is. We are in a rush simply because we don't want out precious time wasted in many situations.  That time we believe is being wasted could be spent in prayer, couldn't it? Instead we use it to get wrathful, to get angry and fueled by that anger allow it to rile us into doing things we shouldn't (swearing, etc)

Also, how many of us are swift to speak and slow to hear? Preferring to speak not listen? How many of us have to fight not to interrupt those talking to us because we are in such a hurry to add our point of view, our two cents to the conversation? We believe our need to speak supersedes the one talking to us because what we have to say is so incredibly important it might just take away the need for the other to speak at all.  We understand, we know things, we have opinions that matter greatly, we, we, we! 

God knows how important it is for us to be slow to speak, fast to hear and slow to anger. God knows and wants us to know and comprehend fully. If we want to work the righteousness of God, we have to pray for these words of the greatest wisdom to become a part of our lives- so ingrained in us it is natural for us to be slow to speak, swift to hear and very slow to anger.

Please, Lord, we would work Your righteousness! Live in us, let us do Your will, all through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and FOREVER!