With Christ Staying

Based off Hebrews 12:1-17

Hear ye, hear ye, Christians listen,

Hear the words of God and hasten

To obey Him, follow His ways,

Here and now and throughout your days.

Lay aside the sins which tangle,

Which, your faith, they surely strangle,

And then run with perseverance

The race God has set before us.

Fix your eyes on Jesus, Savior,

Of our faith, He is perfecter.

Follow Him where’re He leads you,

And now eat what Jesus feeds you.

With regard to sin’s temptations,

Don’t reject the Lord’s disciplines.

Discipline of God for our good.

Holiness of God understood.

Deeds of flesh and knees that feeble

Must be brought to Jesus’ table,

At His altar sacrifice them,

Put to death and not live in them.

Follow straight and narrow way to

Life with Jesus, surrender to

Follow Him in ways that are true,

Life with Jesus daily renew.

Sanctifying, not denying,

Holiness, not outright lying,

God obeying, not sin playing,

Life eternal with Christ staying.

An Original Work / April 3, 2025 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Make Straight Paths for Your Feet

“Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

“Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.” (Hebrews 12:12-17 NASB’95)

The subject matter is that of getting rid of any lingering and captivating sins in our lives so that we can walk the walk that God has for us to walk, as his followers, in walks of surrender to his will and in obedience to his commands in holy living, without which no one will see the Lord. For all throughout the New Testament writings the church is being warned against thinking that they can continue in their sins, and not in walks of obedience to God, and that heaven will still be their eternal destiny. It won’t. Believe it!

And whenever I read verses 12-13, I think of them somewhat in a symbolic sense in that our hands represent our deeds, our works, our actions. Our knees represent surrender of our lives to God, in submission to his will and purpose for our lives, in true humility and in genuine repentance (death to sin). And the straight paths for our feet represent the gospel which teaches faith in Jesus resulting in us dying with him to sin and walks of obedience to his commands. And our feet represent our walks (our conduct and patterns).

Therefore, the message that I get from this section of Scripture, in relation to the message spoken in Hebrews 12, as a whole, is that we need to have our deeds in line with God’s will and purpose, in living holy and godly lives, and no longer making sin our practice. And we do this by surrendering our lives to the Lord, dying with him to sin, and now walking in obedience to his commands, by the Spirit, in the power of God. Now our lives are to be committed to doing the will of God and no longer to sinful practices.

But now when this says that we are to pursue peace with all men (all people), this is not the kind of peace which makes compromises with truth and righteousness, and with the Scriptures, and with the gospel message, and with the character of God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – in order to be accepted by others so that they will like us, and so that we will not be persecuted by them. We only make peace with anyone as far as it depends on us not having to compromise holiness and righteousness.

And what follows next? We are to pursue sanctification (holiness) without which no one will see the Lord. For the Scriptures make it clear that faith in Jesus, which is of God, and which is persuaded of God, will result in us dying with Christ to sin and us walking in obedience to his commands, or it is not genuine faith which saves. If we give lip service only to the Lord, and then we continue in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord, and we do not make obedience to God our practice, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

For it is possible to profess faith in Jesus Christ, convinced that all your sins are forgiven, and that heaven is secured for you for when you die, but for you to come short of the grace of God. For God’s grace is what sent Jesus to the cross to put our sins to death with him so that, by God-persuaded faith in Jesus, we will no longer walk in sin, but we will now walk in obedience to our Lord. And God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await our Lord’s return (see Titus 2:11-14).

In other words, God’s grace is not a free ride to heaven based on making a verbal confession of faith in Jesus Christ alone. God’s grace is deliverance from our slavery (addiction) to sin and empowerment of the Spirit to walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. And this is not saying that we will never sin again (1 John 2:1-2), but that sin must no longer be our practice, but obedience to God should be our practice from now to eternity. Too many people are thinking they are going to heaven who are still living in sin and not in obedience to the Lord, sadly so.

For if we claim to believe in Jesus, and we claim that we are now saved from all sins, and that heaven is now our eternal destiny, but then we continue living in sin and in disobedience to God, it is the same as Esau selling his birthright for a single meal, who was not able to get it back, and who did not inherit the blessing, even though he sought it with tears. He came short of the grace of God for he sold out his inheritance to satisfy the cravings of his flesh. And sadly, this is what many professing “Christians” are doing today.

Many people today, who are professing faith in Jesus Christ, are still living immoral and godless lives in surrender to self and to sin. And one day they will stand before the Lord on the day of judgment, and they will call him, “Lord,” and they will proclaim all that they believed they did in his name, but they will hear him say, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness,” for they would not obey God, but they obeyed sin, instead. So don’t be like them. Repent of your sins and obey God now and forevermore.

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

Lead Me Gently Home, Father

By Will L. Thompson, 1879

Lead me gently home, Father,

Lead me gently home;

When life’s toils are ended,

And parting days have come,

Sin no more shall tempt me,

Ne’er from Thee I’ll roam,

If Thou’ll only lead me, Father,

Lead me gently home.

Lead me gently home, Father,

Lead me gently home;

In life’s darkest hours, Father,

When life’s troubles come,

Keep my feet from wand’ring,

Lest from Thee I roam,

Lest I fall upon the wayside,

Lead me gently home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4Y9cb0f76A

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Make Straight Paths for Your Feet

An Original Work / April 3, 2025 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

The Discipline of The Lord

“You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,

“’My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

Nor faint when you are reproved by Him;

For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines,

And He scourges every son whom He receives.’

“It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” (Hebrews 12:4-11 NASB’95)

This was addressed to believers in Jesus Christ, perhaps to those who were fairly new to the faith, I do not know, and they were strongly being encouraged to forsake all their sinful practices and not to hold on to any of them, but to resist the devil, to flee temptation, and to draw near to God in walks of obedience to him and to his commands. And they were to keep their focus on Jesus Christ and his example that he set before us in how to resist the devil, as he did to the point of shedding his blood on that cross.

And we are now to run the race (or walk the walk of faith), with endurance, that God has set before all of us to run. And that means daily denying self, putting sin to death, by the Spirit, and walking (in conduct, in practice) in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in the power of God and in his strength and wisdom, under his direction and guidance. And this means following his leading in our lives daily in where he would send us and in what he would have us to do and to say, all for the glory of God.

Now, since we still live in flesh bodies, and we still live on this earth, and Satan is still actively at work in trying to take us down, we are going to be tempted to sin at some time or another, in some way. Or we may be tempted to let our emotions get the best of us to where we easily get discouraged and we run away from situations we feel are too hard to have to endure. So, if we are of genuine faith in the Lord Jesus, he is going to bring difficulties into our lives to try our faith to make us strong in our faith.

So, when we go through hard times, like when we are rejected by others, and we are mistreated by them, this is God allowing these hardships in our lives to test us in order to make us strong in our faith so that we will persevere and not give up when things get much worse, which they will. So God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share his holiness, i.e. so that we will be holy as he is holy in all our conduct, which means to live lives which are different from the world because we are becoming like Jesus.

And he is letting us know in advance that when these times of discipline come upon us, not only are they for our good, but they will be painful. But for us who have been trained by such discipline as this, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. So God allows trials and tribulations and persecutions to come into our lives to strengthen us in our walks of faith, in obedience to him, so that we will serve him with our lives as he intended in ministering to others the love, grace, and righteousness and holiness of God.

But if you are someone who “prayed the prayer to receive Christ,” but then nothing changed, and you just went on living in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord, not willing to submit to him as Lord in walks of obedience to his commands, if you do not turn from your sins, and if obedience to God does not become your practice, then you will not inherit eternal life with God regardless of what profession of faith you made with your lips. This is what the Scriptures teach all throughout the New Testament writings.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

For Our Nation  

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

https://vimeo.com/379406352

The Discipline of The Lord

An Original Work / April 3, 2025 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Don't Lose Heart

 

The Sin Which So Easily Entraps

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2 NASB’95)

The “great cloud of witnesses,” I believe, is in reference to the preceding chapter, which many have come to call “The faith chapter of the Bible,” for it speaks of people of faith in biblical history and of the things that they did in either obedience to God and to his specific instructions, and/or that they did in love response to God in submission to his will and for the glory and praise of God. It is symbolic of the biblical truth that faith in God, which is genuine, will result in obedience to him and to his commands, or it is not of God.

Now faith in Jesus Christ, which is of God, and which is not of the flesh, will result in repentance (the forsaking of our sins, dying with Christ to sin) and walks of obedience to our Lord’s New Covenant commands, in practice, by the Spirit, or it is not biblical faith. “Faith” which results in the sinner continuing in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord, and not in walks of obedience to God and to his commands, and not in surrender to his will, is not biblical faith. The end result of that “faith” is not eternal life with God.

As those who have trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, we are to be his followers who walk in obedience to his commands, and no longer in deliberate and habitual sin. And so we have many instructions and cautions and warnings written to the church in the New Testament, teaching us that we must forsake all sins, which we may still be holding on to, and which easily entangle (deceive, lure, entrap, ensnare) us. And we must get rid of everything in our lives which has the potential to lead us into sin.

For many people continue in deliberate and habitual sin, because, in truth, they want to continue, but also because they do not get rid of those “doors” which typically and habitually lead them to committing the same sins over again. And smartphones, as useful as they can be sometimes, are a door wide open always to people who are undisciplined, who are self-indulgent, who are immature, who are selfish, and who are lazy, to keep going right back to the same sins over again without genuine change (repentance).

But if you are going to be followers of Christ, you must cut the ties with all that leads you into sin and with all those sins which captivate you and keep you in slavery to them. And depending upon how long you have been enslaved to the same sins, this may require some very serious cuts and things discarded. But.. and this is critical that we grasp this first. The Bible teaches that “out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander” (see Matthew 15:17-20).

So, first, all the evil that is stored up in the heart must come out for good so that good can come out of the heart and so that you will no longer habitually and deliberately keep returning to the same sins repeatedly, some people for the course of their entire lives, until death, some of them into their 80’s or 90’s, and still they do not repent and change their evil ways. For we act out what is stored up in our hearts. What we believe, in truth, is what will come out in our words, in our attitudes, in our actions, and how we treat others.

So, if there is hatred, unforgiveness, resentment, bitterness, prejudice, lust, greed, pride, selfishness, evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander, and the like, stored up in your heart, this is what is going to come out in your actions and attitudes and words towards other people, even those you profess to love, but don’t, in truth, because hate is what has taken over your heart, instead. So all these must be cleansed out of the heart, by the Spirit, if you are to be free from addiction.

Some people just try behavioral modification, but that doesn’t work if the heart does not change. They will make changes to their routines, or they will try to avoid certain things which remain in place to tempt them again, and again. But the heart still spews out the same stuff because the heart has not changed. It has not had a house cleaning of the Spirit of God, and so there is no room for the Holy Spirit to take up his dwelling there. So, even if they profess faith in Jesus, he is not their Lord, for obedience is not their practice.

So, the heart has to change. We must all die with Christ to sin and be reborn of the Spirit of God and be raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. But then we must no longer allow sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires, for if sin is what we obey, it leads to death (not life). But if obedience to God is what we obey, then we have the promise of salvation from sin and eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

So, we must die with Christ to sin and now walk with God in obedience to his commands, in daily practice, by the Spirit, and we must no longer give the devil a foothold in our lives. We must cut out of our lives all hindrances to our walks of faith, and then we can run with perseverance the race God has marked out for us to run, which is our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord in denying self and in dying daily to sin, by the Spirit, as we keep focused on Jesus and we choose to cooperate with God in his work of grace in our lives.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

How Long Till the Morning

Scripture: I Thessalonians 4:17

By C. E. Couchman

Consider the mornings of this mortal land, 

Each a new beginning from the Maker’s hand. 

While the storms may gather ‘gainst the evening sky, 

The day breaks cloudless in the morning.

Rise up to the battle, for the skies dawn clear. 

Let us gather courage while the foe draws near. 

Though the night falls weary, saints of God, march on! 

And He’ll raise our banner in the morning.

When the trumpet sounds to signal Heaven’s day, 

Resurrection Morning when the dead shall wake, 

What a glorious gath’ring when the Lord descends 

And we rise to meet him in the morning.

How long, my Lord? Till we see the morning? 

How long, O, my Lord, till we see your face? 

O my Lord, guide us through our troubles 

Till we rise above them in the morning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoelKw7M3aU

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The Sin Which So Easily Entraps

An Original Work / April 3, 2025 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Will You Tell Them the Truth?

Looking through the window glass,

What I’m seeing, need not ask.

People staring everywhere

Looking as if they don’t care.

World is going straight to hell,

For the most are under spell,

Hypnotized by what they see

On their teeny tiny screens.

World is lost in all their sins,

While the time is wearing thin.

Need to hear the gospel truth,

Not the lies that many spew.

Who will tell them? Be it you?

Will you tell them what is true?

Will you call for death to sin?

Let the Spirit rule within?

Will you say they must obey

Our Lord Savior, not delay?

Will you warn of sinful pride

Which takes people on a ride?

Will you say, if not obey,

Think that sinning is okay,

Will not promise life with Christ,

For they’ve taken truth by heist?

Or will you now shy away,

And continue games to play,

Watch your stories, sing your songs,

Not to Christ do you belong?

Jesus calls us, Him obey,

And the gospel not betray,

Share the gospel truth, do tell,

So the people know not hell.

An Original Work / April 2, 2025 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Don't Listen to The Crowds

As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They *said to Him, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.” Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him. (Matthew 20:29-34 NASB’95)

Whenever I read this passage of Scripture I am always moved by the persistence of these blind men and their refusal to be intimidated by the crowd who wanted to silence them. It brings me to tears, in fact. Why? My feelings of compassion for them, having been treated the same way many times in my life, people wanting to silence me because I am a woman, and because I speak the truth that many people do not want to hear. So I feel with them, I grieve with them, but I also rejoice with them in their victory.

And I am certainly not promoting rebellion nor disrespect nor riotous or irreverent behavior. But what I am promoting are the teachings of the Scriptures and the courage that they teach us to stand up for truth and for righteousness, and to not give in to the lies and to the pressures of society to conform to the ways of the world in diluting the gospel message to make it less offensive to the people of the world. “For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). Amen!

And this isn’t just about sharing the message of the gospel, but this is about not listening to the naysayers who will try to convince you that you did not hear from God, and that God did not call you to a specific ministry, and that God cannot use you in a particular way, either because you are female, or because you are too young, or too old, or because you don’t have a college or a seminary degree, or because you are not an “official worker” of a particular church denomination, but you are just a follower of Jesus Christ.

Now I will add a word of caution here because there are many people claiming to have heard from God who are getting messages which are contrary to the divine character and will of God, and which are contrary to the doctrinal teachings of the Scriptures. So all must be tested against the Scriptures to make certain that what we think we are hearing is truly from God and not from other voices. But God does speak to us individually or else we would not know to what ministry he has called us, and what we’re to do.

I can tell you one thing for certain. If I had listened to the crowds, and if I had allowed myself to be intimidated by their attempts to silence my voice, I would never have stepped out in faith nearly 21 years ago and accepted God’s call on my life to write down what he is teaching me from his word each day and to post these writings on the internet so that a herald could “run with it.” But this is my body part within the universal body of Christ, and this is my assignment from God (see 1 Corinthians 12:1-31).

I didn’t let the naysayers discourage and dishearten me, but I persevered in following the leading of the Lord in my life. And where did it take me? It took me to the internet and to multiple internet sites where I have been sharing with the people of the world my daily times with the Lord in his word, either expressed in devotions, like this one, or in Christian memes (short devotions), or in songs, or in poems, or in testimonies, or in video talk devotions – however he leads me. And these go to people all over the world.

So, what is my point in sharing this with you? Don’t let the opinions of other humans determine your destiny or your walk of faith in the Lord Jesus. Be respectful, but don’t give in to intimidation intended to silence your voices. Make sure you are being led of the Lord, and that what you are sharing is biblical and/or that it is not anti-biblical, that it is of God, and that it will bring honor and glory to God, and that it will mean the salvation of human lives. But don’t back down and run away because of the naysayers.

If these men let themselves be intimidated by the crowd they probably would never have been healed of their blindness. And Jesus is calling each of us to specific areas of ministry which involve the healing of other people’s spiritual blindness, their salvation from slavery to sin, and the empowerment of God to now live holy and godly lives, to the glory and praise of God, resulting in eternal life with God. If we keep our voices silent, then how will they hear the truth of the gospel of our salvation, and so be saved?

So, don’t give in to peer pressure. Don’t listen to what the majority are saying, because the majority are those who are on that broad (wide) road to hell (destruction). It is that small minority who are walking the narrow way, and they are few in number, who we should be listening to. But even there we must test everything we hear from other people against the teachings of the Scriptures, taught IN CONTEXT, to make certain that what we are hearing, and repeating, is the truth of the Scriptures, and not the lies.

So, be bold! Be brave! Be submissive, but never to the point of denying Christ and his Word and his calling on your life, and never to the point of accepting the lies and repeating the lies because the lies are more acceptable and less offensive to the people of the world. Don’t let the crowds determine your destiny. Speak to Jesus! Call out to him! And let him work his work in your hearts and minds in making you the people of God that he wants you to be, to be used of him to minister his love to other people.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Lu 6:27-28; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Ac 1:8; Ac 2:14-18; Ac 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Gal 6:1; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:11-27; Eph 6:10-20; Php 2:1-8; Col 1:9; Col 3:12-16; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; Jas 5:19-20; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6; Jude 1:22-23]  

Lead Me Gently Home, Father

By Will L. Thompson, 1879

Lead me gently home, Father,

Lead me gently home;

When life’s toils are ended,

And parting days have come,

Sin no more shall tempt me,

Ne’er from Thee I’ll roam,

If Thou’ll only lead me, Father,

Lead me gently home.

Lead me gently home, Father,

Lead me gently home, Father,

Lest I fall upon the wayside,

Lead me gently home.

Lead me gently home, Father,

Lead me gently home;

In life’s darkest hours, Father,

When life’s troubles come,

Keep my feet from wand’ring,

Lest from Thee I roam,

Lest I fall upon the wayside,

Lead me gently home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4Y9cb0f76A

Caution: This link may contain ads

Don’t Listen to The Crowds

An Original Work / April 2, 2025 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love