Don't Be Deceived

“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says,

“Awake, sleeper,

And arise from the dead,

And Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:6-14 NASB1995)

How are you or those you love being deceived with empty words today? Where I live in the USA we have many charlatans and “wolves in sheep’s clothing” who serve as pastors, elders, and missionaries, who are teaching lies to the people, and who are ignoring the truths which they do not want to accept, and which they know will not “draw in large crowds of people from the world” into their gatherings. So, they alter and they dilute the gospel message to make it less offensive and more attractive to the world.

But Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

So, we are not to be deceived by the lies of the enemy meant to tickle itching ears and to make people feel good about themselves while they habitually engage in the sinful desires of the flesh. For Jesus and his New Testament apostles did not teach that we can just make a verbal profession of faith in Jesus Christ and now salvation from sin and eternal life with God are guaranteed us, regardless of how we live. They taught we must die to sin and obey God, in practice, if we want to have eternal life with God.

For “the sons of disobedience” are not just all who make no professions of faith in Jesus Christ, but they are all who are still walking in sin, still making sin their practice, for whom godliness and righteous living and obedience to our Lord’s commands are not their practice, even if they give lip service to God. And we who profess faith in Jesus Christ are not to be partakers with them in their sins of idolatry, adultery, sexual immorality, and refusal to submit to Christ as Lord, and their refusal to obey our Lord’s commands.

For, if our faith in Jesus Christ is biblical faith, which comes from God, and which is persuaded of God, and which is gifted to us by God, it will result in us being crucified with Christ in death to sin, and us being raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as servants of God and of his righteousness in walks of obedience to his commands. Therefore, sin will no longer have mastery over our lives, but our lives will be surrendered to God (Romans 6:1-23; Ephesians 2:8-10).

Therefore, we should be servants of the Lord who are living to please the Lord in all that we are and do and say, by the grace of God, in the power of God at work within us. And this is not to say that we will never sin again (1 John 2:1-2), but that sin must no longer be our practice, our habit. And now obedience to God’s commands is to be our practice. And that is what it means to walk as children of light, following the Lord and his teachings in living holy lives, pleasing to God, in surrender of our lives to God’s will.

So, rather than us participating in the unfruitful deeds of darkness (sin), we are to be those who are living holy lives, pleasing to God, who are exposing these unfruitful deeds of darkness for what they are. We should be calling out these who are teaching that our sins no longer matter to God, and we should be teaching what Jesus taught that we must die to sin and obey God, in practice, if we want to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. For we can’t walk in sin and disobey God and have eternal life with God.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; 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 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22] 

As the Deer 

By Martin J. Nystrom

Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water

So my soul longeth after You

You alone are my heart's desire

And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield

To You alone may my spirit yield

You alone are my heart's desire

And I long to worship You

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70

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Don’t Be Deceived

An Original Work / January 7, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Immorality Running Rampant

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

“But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” (Ephesians 5:1-5 NASB1995)

To be imitators of God is to be followers of Jesus Christ. It is not to imitate God in the sense of pretense or impersonation, but this has to do with us becoming like God in heart, mind, word, and deed. This has to do with us emulating our Lord, i.e. us patterning our lives after the character of God, following Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands in holy living. And this requires that by faith in Jesus Christ we must deny self, die to sin daily, and follow our Lord in obedience wherever he leads us in doing his will.

And the “love” in which we are to walk is not human fleshly passion, but it is agape love which comes from God, because God is love, which loves like God loves, and which centers in moral preference. It prefers what God prefers, which is all that is holy, righteous, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord and to his New Covenant commands. For the believer in Jesus Christ it means to prefer to live through Christ, choosing his choices, and obeying them in his power, because we love our Lord.

Therefore, immorality or any impurity or greed must not be among us in any fashion. It isn’t that we cannot talk about this subject, for it must be talked about. And we must learn what must be done to eradicate such things as these from our lives and from the gatherings of the church, the body of believers in Jesus Christ. But we, as the body of Christ, are to be living in moral purity and in faithfulness to our Lord, and to our spouses, and we are to no longer be living as slaves to sin, but as servants of righteousness.

Nonetheless, in the USA, where I live, and this may be true of nations all over the world, sexual immorality is running rampant among those who participate in the gatherings of the church, or what are falsely being referred to as “churches” but which are businesses of human origin being marketed to the people of the world in order to attract the world to their gatherings. So, the majority of these gatherings appear to be making moral and biblical compromises in order to not offend the ungodly and to grow their numbers.

And addiction to sexual immorality, particularly in the area of pornography addiction, is running rampant in the majority of these “churches,” from what I have been able to ascertain. And so many people have, thus, altered and diluted the gospel message to make it less offensive and/or more acceptable to be addicted to sexual immorality. And so they teach Scriptures out of context, and they make them say what they do not say if taught in context, and in order to appease human flesh and to keep people coming back.

Few, it seems, are teaching the biblical gospel of Christ these days. So many have reduced the gospel to a mere verbal confession of Christ as Lord and a belief in his bodily resurrection, but that is taken out of context. For Jesus and his New Testament apostles taught that salvation from sin, resulting in eternal life with God, requires that we put sin to death in our lives and that we now walk in purity of devotion to our Lord, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as servants of righteousness in obedience to our Lord’s commands.

For, if we read the Scriptures in their correct biblical context, we should see repeated over again that “no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” For if sin is still our practice, and not obedience to our Lord’s commands, we do not have salvation from sin nor eternal life with God, regardless of what faith in Jesus our lips profess. For Jesus taught that not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the ones DOING the will of God.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; 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 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22] 

Walking in The Light  

Based off 1 John 1-2

An Original Work / November 16, 2011

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

When I lift up my voice, and

Sing praise unto God,

I will fellowship with my

Lord and Savior, King.

In Him there is no darkness.

He is in the light of truth.

If we walk in His light,

From sin He purifies. 

If we repent of our sins,

He’ll forgive us now,

When we humble ourselves, and

Before Jesus bow.

The man who says, “I know Him,”

But does not obey His truth,

There is no truth in him.

In darkness still he’s found.

Do not love the world of sin,

For it is hell bound.

If you follow the world, you’ll

Not in Christ be found.

The world and its desires 

Will not last; they’ll expire.

The one who does God’s will,

Receives eternal life.

See that what you have heard from

Christ remains in you.

Then, you’ll remain in Christ, and

In His Father, too.

This is what He promised us –

His eternal life with God.

So, continue in Him, and

You’ll receive a crown.

https://vimeo.com/114160122

Immorality Running Rampant

An Original Work / January 7, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

In All Your Behavior

“Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” (1 Peter 1:13-16 NASB1995)

This is speaking to all who are of faith in Jesus Christ. These are instructions to us in godly living. This is what it looks like to be a follower of Christ, which is not optional for anyone who is professing to know Jesus. We do not make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and then continue to go our own way, doing our own thing, living the same as we did before we professed faith in the Lord Jesus. For our faith in Jesus means a change of heart and mind resulting in a change of attitude, thinking, and behavior, by God’s grace.

So, if we are preparing our minds for action, keeping sober in spirit, this has to do with taking God and his word seriously, believing what he teaches us about what it means to be saved from our sins and to have eternal life with God. And it is not the light and fluffy stuff. For Jesus requires that to come after him we must deny self, die to sin daily, and follow him in walks of surrender in obedience to his commands. For if sin is our practice, and not obedience to God, we do not have eternal life with God (see Luke 9:23-26).

For the grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, is not a free ride to heaven based on a confession of Christ as Lord. Instead, it is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return (see Titus 2:11-14). For, it was God’s grace which sent Jesus to the cross to put our sins to death with him so that, by God-persuaded faith in him, we will now die to sin and walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands, all in the power of God. 

Therefore, fixing our hope completely on the grace of God yet to be brought to us when Jesus returns, we live as obedient children of God. For we know what Jesus taught us, that not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one doing (obeying) the will of God, in practice. For if sin is what we obey, in practice, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God, with Christ our Lord (see Matthew 7:21-23; and Romans 6:1-23). 

Therefore, we are no longer to be conformed to our former sinful lusts and desires, for if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, we will not inherit eternal life with God. For if we claim that we have fellowship with God, but yet we walk in darkness (in sin), we are liars. If we claim that we know God, but we do not obey his commandments, in practice, we are liars. For it is not the one who says, “Jesus is Lord,” who has salvation from sin and eternal life with God, but the one doing the will of God (see 1 John 1-3).

So, like the Holy One who called us, we are to be holy in ALL our behavior. And to be holy is to be unlike (different, separate from) this sinful world we live in because we are being conformed by God to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ, but only as we cooperate fully with God’s work of changing us to be like Christ. This does not make us perfect people, but by the grace of God we should be changing, growing, and maturing in our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord, becoming more and more like him, day by day.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; 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 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22] 

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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In All Your Behavior

An Original Work / January 6, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Biblical Faith Being Tested

“In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:6-9 NASB1995)

In what do we greatly rejoice? Our salvation out of slavery to sin to walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands, all in the power of God, by the grace of God, by God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in the Lord Jesus, thus resulting in forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God. We rejoice that God chose us to obey Jesus Christ, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled, reserved in heaven for all who have died with Christ to sin and are walking in obedience to the Lord.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; 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 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22] 

What kinds of trials? Well, if we are those who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as servants of the Lord and of his righteousness, we will be persecuted. And if we, by faith in Jesus Christ, as empowered by the Spirit, are spreading the good news of the gospel, as was taught by Jesus and by his New Testament apostles, in the correct biblical context, we will be hated and persecuted by some who do not believe.

But this “some who do not believe” includes many who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who are still living according to the flesh in sinful practices, and for whom obedience to our Lord’s commands is not their practice. And among them are pastors and elders of “churches,” and others who claim faith in Jesus Christ but who are still living to please the flesh. And so they will reject, hate, discard, slander, mock, and persecute those of us who are following the Lord in obedience, who are following the leading of God.

For, who were Jesus’ greatest opponents and persecutors? They were not the non-religious, but they were the religious. They were the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Jews, the Scribes, the instructors in the law, and the rulers in the temple of God and in some of the synagogues. They were the ones who wanted Jesus dead and who tried all sorts of tricks to try to trip him up with his words so that they would have cause to accuse him. And they were the ones who planned and who had carried out his death on a cross.

So, since Jesus said that if we follow him with our lives that we will be hated and persecuted as he was, then it should not surprise us if our greatest opposition and persecution comes from within the gatherings of “the church,” and from religious people and those who serve in positions of authority within those gatherings, but who are living worldly lives in accord with business goals and marketing schemes, and not according to the Scriptures taught in their correct biblical context. So they may cast us out.

For so many of the “religious” and “church goers” and “pastors” of these institutional and market-driven “churches” are following after a false gospel message being taught by them or by charlatans and “wolves in sheep’s clothing” who are dishonest, and who are teaching lies as though they are truth. For they teach the Scriptures outside their biblical context, and they twist them to teach what they do not say if taught in context, and they distort the truth of the gospel to not teach death to sin and obeying God.

Of, if they do teach the importance of repentance (putting sin to death) and obeying our Lord and his commands, many are presenting these more as optional and not as required of God as critical components of believing faith which saves and which promises eternal life with God. So, if what you are teaching as the gospel does teach the critical nature of us putting sin to death, by the Spirit, and us walking in obedience to our Lord’s commands, in the power of God, then you may be persecuted and cast aside as unwanted.

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

So, know the truth. Obey the truth. And share the truth with the people of this world and with the worldly “church,” even if you get hated in return.

Have Thine Own Way, Lord 

Words by Adelaide A. Pollard, 1907 

Music by George C. Stebbins, 1907

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! 

Thou art the potter, I am the clay. 

Mold me and make me after Thy will, 

While I am waiting, yielded and still. 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! 

Search me and try me, Master, today! 

Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now, 

As in Thy presence humbly I bow. 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! 

Wounded and weary, help me I pray! 

Power, all power, surely is Thine! 

Touch me and heal me, Savior divine! 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! 

Hold o'er my being absolute sway. 

Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see 

Christ only, always, living in me! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z11avpKNLsA 

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Biblical Faith Being Tested

An Original Work / January 6, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

According to His Great Mercy

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5 NASB1995)

It is good if you can read the whole of 1 Peter, or at least the whole of 1 Peter 1 to get the larger picture here. But this morning we will be covering just a few verses, although I may refer to some other verses, too.

We who believe in Jesus Christ with God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in the Lord Jesus are the chosen of God “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood” (1 Peter 1:2). So those who are telling you that God does not require you to obey him, they are lying to you. And the sanctifying work of the Spirit within us is in making us holy unto God, different from the world, because we are being made to be like Jesus.

For, we are not saved from our sins and guaranteed eternal life with God on the basis of lip service only. For by genuine faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as servants of God and of his righteousness in holy living. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

And that is our inheritance, not that we “get saved” so we are forgiven all our sins so that when we die we get to go to heaven. That is certainly part of it, but that is not assured us on the basis of a one-time profession of faith in Jesus Christ, done deal. For our salvation from sin is progressive, and we are saved out of bondage to sin so that we can walk in obedience to our Lord, in his power at work within us. For “born again” has to do with a changed life, not like the old life, now living holy lives, pleasing to God, obeying our Lord.

Therefore, the inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled which will not fade away, and which is reserved in heaven for us, is not guaranteed us on the basis of a one-time profession of faith in Jesus Christ, but rather on the basis of a walk of faith in obedience to our Lord in holy living from now to eternity. And this is not demanding sinless perfection (1 John 2:1-2), but we learn in the Scriptures that if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, that we do not have salvation from sin and the hope of eternal life with God. For biblical faith results in us dying to sin and in obeying our Lord.

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

So, please take this to heart, for far too many people are teaching this passage of Scripture in 1 Peter 1:3-5 out of context, and they are assuring all who claim to believe in Jesus Christ that all their sins are forgiven, and that heaven is secured for them when they die, and that there is nothing that they can do to make that not become a reality in their lives. But the Scriptures make it quite clear that if sin continues to be our practice, and not obedience to God and to his commandments, that we will not inherit eternal life with God, even if we did once profess to believe in him. 

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; 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 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22] 

For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Recording Via Gerry Peters, music producer and arranger

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.

https://vimeo.com/379406352

According to His Great Mercy

An Original Work / January 6, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Unrequited Love

“Hear the word of the Lord,

You rulers of Sodom;

Give ear to the instruction of our God,

You people of Gomorrah.

‘What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?’

Says the Lord.

‘I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams

And the fat of fed cattle;

And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.

When you come to appear before Me,

Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?

Bring your worthless offerings no longer,

Incense is an abomination to Me.

New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies—

I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.

I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts,

They have become a burden to Me;

I am weary of bearing them.

So when you spread out your hands in prayer,

I will hide My eyes from you;

Yes, even though you multiply prayers,

I will not listen.

Your hands are covered with blood.’” (Isaiah 1:10-15 NASB1995)

What do Sodom and Gomorrah represent in our day and time? They are symbols of sin, particularly in the areas of sexual immorality, perversion, homosexuality, and rape (forced sex). And they were arrogant, haughty, prideful, apathetic, complacent, idle, and lacking in compassion toward the needy and the hurting. And they did detestable (abhorrent) things (what was morally disgusting) in the sight of God in willful defiance of God and of his commandments, without conscience, and without remorse.

But all this was while they were playing faith in God, i.e. while they were making physical sacrifices, supposedly to God, purportedly in worship of God. But those sacrifices meant nothing to God, and actually they were an offense to God, for they were not given in truth and in righteousness, with a desire to do what is pleasing to God, to show love to God. It was all an outward show to look spiritual and religious. So God considered their sacrifices to him as a trampling of his courts, for they were hypocritical.

Now, what comes to mind here is a marriage between a man and a woman. And such a union as this is supposed to be centered in life-long commitment to one another with regard to loyalty, devotion, and faithfulness. But what if this union is all one sided, with one person doing all the loving and the giving, while the other person might put on a performance of sacrificial love, but while that person is cheating on their spouse with another person, or via porn addiction and all that goes along with that, in immoral behavior.

For, as those of us who believe in Jesus Christ, in truth and in righteousness, our faith in Jesus Christ means that we are now married to Christ, and that he is our husband, and that we (male and female) are his bride. So our relationships with Jesus Christ should be like a godly marriage. Now Jesus always does his part, but we have our part to do, too. We must deny self, die to sin, and obey our Lord’s commands, in practice. And we must be faithful in our service to the Lord, and no longer live in addiction to sin.

We must not be those who just put on an outward appearance of righteousness and genuine faith in Jesus Christ but while secretly we are engaged in willful, defiant, deliberate, and habitual sin against our Lord, and perhaps against our spouses, too. And sexual sin is huge today within the gatherings of those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, partially due to the ease of access via the internet, and especially on handheld devices like smartphones and via the convenience and privacy which they offer.

And God definitely lets us know, both in the Old Testament, and in the New Testament, how he views deliberate and habitual sin among those professing his name. For the Scriptures teach us that if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to our Lord’s commands, that we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess. For we can mouth words of love and faithfulness, but the proof is in our actions, just like in a marriage. Saying, “I love you,” means nothing if not proved genuine by our actions.

So, this is what God says regarding such fakery of faith (love) which is not followed up with action (death to sin and obedience to God’s commands):

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23 NASB1995)

Love for God and faith in Jesus Christ are not seen in lip service only or in performance of “good deeds” only which are not followed up with genuine repentance (death to sin) and walks of obedience to our Lord. You can sing all the praise and worship songs there are to sing, and attend all the gatherings of the church (or what are falsely being called “church”), and you can be a “good deed doer,” and give your offerings, but if sin is still your practice, and not obedience to God, you do not have eternal life with God.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; 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 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22] 

For love, which is genuine, is seen not in outward performance, but in genuine abiding faith and obedience to our Lord and to his commands. For the Scriptures teach that if we love God, we will obey his commands. And if we claim that we know God, but we do not obey his commands, in practice, that we are liars who do not live by the truth. And if we claim to be in fellowship with God/Christ, but while sin is still our habit, we are liars, too. And then God, who loves us, does not have love returned to him by us.

Living Sacrifices  

Based off Romans 12:1-2; Romans 6:11-14 NIV

An Original Work / September 14, 2012

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Oh, holy ones, I counsel you,

In view of God’s mercy,

To give yourselves to God in love

As living offerings,

Pleasing to God, holy in love.

This is your true worship.

Do not conform to worldly lives.

Let God transform you today.

Then you’ll be able to

Test and approve of what

God’s will is – His pleasing

And perfect will. Oh, holy ones, 

I counsel you – Offer yourselves unto God. 

Oh, holy ones, I counsel you – 

Do not be conceited.

Humble yourselves before your God.

Do not be self-righteous.

The strength you have to live in love

Comes from your Lord God, so

Live your new lives in pow’r of God.

Be changed in heart, mind and will.

Do this because of what

Christ did for you when 

He died on the cross to save

The world from sin. Oh, holy ones, 

I counsel you – Humble yourselves before God.

Oh, holy ones, I counsel you –

Count yourselves dead to sin,

But be alive to God in Christ.

Do not let sin reign in

Your earthly lives so you

Obey its evil desires.

Offer yourselves unto your God

As those who’ve been born again.

For sin shall no longer be 

Your lord and master.

Give of yourselves to God

For righteousness. Oh, holy ones, 

I counsel you – Be alive to God in Christ. 

https://vimeo.com/118480946

Unrequited Love

An Original Work / January 5, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Have You Abandoned The Lord?

“Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth;

For the Lord speaks,

‘Sons I have reared and brought up,

But they have revolted against Me.’”

“Alas, sinful nation,

People weighed down with iniquity,

Offspring of evildoers,

Sons who act corruptly!

They have abandoned the Lord,

They have despised the Holy One of Israel,

They have turned away from Him.”

“How the faithful city has become a harlot,

She who was full of justice!

Righteousness once lodged in her,

But now murderers.

Your silver has become dross,

Your drink diluted with water.

Your rulers are rebels

And companions of thieves;

Everyone loves a bribe

And chases after rewards.

They do not defend the orphan,

Nor does the widow’s plea come before them.” (Isaiah 1:2,4,21-23 NASB1995)

The city of God in our world today is the church, the universal body of believers in Jesus Christ (Jew and Gentile) who by faith in Jesus have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as servants of God and of his righteousness. The term “The Church,” is also a reference to the gatherings of these believers in Christ, which is to be for the purpose of mutual encouragement in our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord, in practice, and for prayer, the teaching of God’s word, and Christian fellowship.

But so much of what is being called “the church” today is not the biblical body of Christ gathering together for mutual encouragement in our walks of obedience to our Lord, but they are businesses of human origin which are being marketed to the people of the world (to the ungodly). And so they have altered the meaning of “church” and the gospel message to make them more acceptable and appealing to human flesh, and less offensive to the ungodly who are still living in sin. And so many of these gatherings have been turned into stage productions in order to attract the world.

I can remember, when I was growing up, that the teaching I heard in the gatherings of the church was strong on biblical repentance and walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands, as were the teachings on holy living and submission to Christ as Lord, and being faithful to God and to spouse. But so much of what I hear being taught in so many of these institutional “churches” today are soft on sin, giving people permission to keep on in deliberate and habitual sin, while promising them salvation from sin and eternal life with God. So much has changed in the past 76 years.

The change has been gradual, which is of Satan and how he works, with little alterations being made and accepted, one small step at a time, cleverly presented by charlatans and “wolves in sheep’s clothing” who know how to charm the people and how to slip in the lies cleverly and discreetly to where the alterations of truth are barely noticeable as they are being presented. And little by little so many people have adapted to the lies and have rejected the truth, which they are convinced is “legalism,” which is the gospel message taught by Jesus and by his New Testament apostles, in reality.

So God today is calling out to the rebellious, disobedient, and unfaithful people who claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but who are living to please the flesh, and not God, for they have bought into Satan’s lies and have rejected the truth. This adulterous and idolatrous “church” of today is this harlot being spoken of here and in the book of Revelation, too. But it isn’t the church by itself, but it is the church in a marriage relationship with the world and with the government. And God’s word teaches that we must come out from among them so that we do not share in their sins and punishment.

[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5] 

Now, I do see in many of these worldly and flesh-driven “churches” a desire to minister to people’s physical and emotional needs, as good deed doers. But so many of them have now become partners with the world and with the government, and they have turned their gatherings into marketplaces to be marketed to the people of the world. And so they have diluted the gospel message to make it more appealing and acceptable to human flesh, and they have turned their gatherings into performances to attract the world, and so there is no place among them for the church to be the church.

So, for some of us, God took us out of those worldly gatherings, and he put us on the internet where we have been able to serve him in the way he intends for us to serve him. Here we have been able to use our spiritual gifts in the areas of ministry to which God has called us. And here we have been able to encourage the body of Christ in walks of faith in obedience to our Lord. And here we have been able to share the truth of the gospel with the people of the world for their salvation. Here we have been able to function in our body parts, assigned by God, to help each other grow in Christ. Amen!

[Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 28:18-20; John 4:31-38; John 13:13-17; John 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18,42-47; Acts 26:18; Romans 10:14-15; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:11-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20; 1 Peter 2:9,21; 1 John 2:6]

Fit for Service 

 

An Original Work / October 5, 2011

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Holy Spirit, come within us.

Cleanse our hearts, 

and from sin free us.

Make us holy vessels fit 

for service to the King.

Fill us with Your love and power.

Anoint us within this hour

To be living witnesses 

For Jesus Christ, our King.

Our praise to Him bring.

Father God, our heart’s desire,

Come and speak to us in power.

Revive our hearts to obey You;

Live for You always.

May we love and serve You only,

Walking with You; 

Not a phony.

May we always tell the truth,

And show integrity.

Your true servants be.

Jesus, Savior, sanctify us.

Purify our hearts within us;

Be transformed into Your likeness,

Holy unto You.

May we always listen to You

Speaking Your words 

Now within us.

May we heed Your counsel to us;

Follow You today.

Do all that You say. 

https://vimeo.com/113979906

Have You Abandoned The Lord?

An Original Work / January 5, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love