The Lord's Will Be Done

Acts 21:10-14 NKJV

10After we had been there several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands, and said, “The Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and hand him over to the Gentiles.’” 12When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.

13Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14When he would not be dissuaded, we quieted down and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”

God’s Will

Paul was now in Caesarea, and he was staying at the home of Philip, the evangelist. But he was on a journey to Jerusalem, where he knew he was going to be persecuted. A prophet of God even confirmed that before Paul and all the people. And the people pleaded with him not to go to Jerusalem. But Paul’s response was that he was ready, not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. So, when the people were not able to change his mind they said to him, “The Lord’s will be done.”

Now, Paul should not be regarded as the only exception to the rule of “let’s play it safe.” For we are taught all throughout the New Testament that faith in Jesus Christ, if it is true biblical faith in the Lord, must involve us having tribulations and trials to test our faith, and us being hated and persecuted as Jesus was treated for the sake of righteousness, and for the sake of the gospel. So, if we are out there, like Paul, sharing the truth of the gospel, and not the lies spreading so rapidly, we should be experiencing some of this.

Facing Persecution

Especially in our day and time when so many preachers and evangelists are altering and diluting the gospel to make it less offensive and more appealing to the ungodly (which includes many who profess faith in Jesus Christ), if we teach and preach what Jesus taught, and what his New Testament apostles taught as the gospel, in its correct biblical context, unless we are not really out there in the world where people can hear us or read what we write, we will face opposition, even from others who say they believe in Jesus Christ.

We won’t be opposed just by the general populace. But we will be opposed, rejected, crucified (words only), hated, and cast aside as unwanted by many preachers and evangelists, too, who are diluting the gospel to make it more appealing to human flesh. In fact, many of them are being trained, in their training sessions on how to “do church,” to reject the gospel truth and its messengers. And they are being warned about people like me with “strong convictions,” that they are to invite us to go somewhere else where we fit.

Be Ready

We should not be surprised if we are not generally accepted even by most who also profess faith in Jesus Christ, but if we are more often than not rejected and even persecuted, if we are speaking the truth of the gospel of Christ to the people. We should be fully ready and fully prepared to face the kinds of things we are warned about in the Scriptures that Jesus and the prophets and the New Testament apostles experienced for their walks of faith in the Lord and for preaching the truth of the gospel to the people.

We must be prepared, as Paul was, that we could be put in prison, or beaten, or falsely accused of wrong we did not commit. And we could be put on trial in a court of law on false charges. And the liars may be believed over us based on false evidence, which is very easy to create in our generation, especially with the assistance of AI (artificial intelligence). And we could be put to death because we refuse to deny Jesus as the Christ. This is all coming our way. So we need to be fully ready for when it comes.

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10:16-25,34-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 16:33; Acts 14:22; Romans 5:3-5; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; Hebrews 12:3-12; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]   

Fully Ready!  

Based off Acts 20-22,26; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8

An Original Work / June 19, 2013

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Why are you weeping and breaking my heart?

I’m fully ready to suffer for Christ.

If I must die for the sake of His name,

I am convinced it will not be in vain.

Glory to God and to His Son Jesus,

Who has redeemed us; bought with His blood.

May I speak to you? Jesus came to me;

Asked of me, “Why do you persecute me?”

He said, “Now get up and stand on your feet.

Go, and you’ll be told all I have for you.

I have appointed you as a servant,

And as a witness; you have been sent.”

“Go into the world and preach the gospel.

Open the blind eyes. They will receive sight.

Turn them from darkness to the light of Christ;

From power of the evil one to God,

So they may receive forgiveness of sins,

And a place among those who’re in heav’n.”

https://vimeo.com/115439432

The Lord’s Will Be Done

An Original Work / June 1, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

The Whole Counsel of God

Acts 20:25-31 NKJV

 

“25And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. 26Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. 28Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. 31Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.”

 

Self Defense

 

This was Paul speaking. He was on his way to Jerusalem. And the Holy Spirit had testified to him that in every city chains and tribulations awaited him. So, as he spoke to the elders of the church in Ephesus here, he was also convinced that he would never see them again. And so these were his parting remarks to them, much like someone might say who was dying.

 

Now, all throughout Paul’s ministry on this earth he was persecuted, beaten, left for dead, imprisoned, rejected, lied about, falsely accused of wrong, and opposed strongly by his opposition. So, at times, he had to come to his own defense to tell the truth about himself, as opposed to the lies. Jesus Christ did this, too, sometimes, when he was opposed and lied about and falsely accused of wrongdoing. So, it is not wrong or prideful or bragging, necessarily, to state the truth about yourself in opposition to the lies.

 

Therefore, he declared himself innocent of the blood of all people. For he had not shunned to declare to the people the whole counsel of God. And what is that? It is the whole plan of our salvation from sin and eternal life with God. It is God’s revealed will and purpose concerning our salvation from sin. It is the pure and unadulterated gospel message regarding Jesus’ death and resurrection, and for what purpose he died and was raised from the dead to deliver us out of bondage to sin so we will now serve him with our lives.

 

The Gospel

 

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).

 

For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, 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 slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. 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).

 

For 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 wait for Jesus’ return. For Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (See Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10)

 

Take Heed

 

Then Paul gave counsel to the elders of the church in Ephesus. They were to take heed, as overseers, to shepherd the church of God which our Lord purchased with his own blood via his death on that cross in putting our sins to death with him so that we can now die to sin and live to righteousness. And to shepherd is to lead, to give counsel to, to teach, to instruct, but also to provide comfort, encouragement, and compassion towards the people without compromise of truth and righteousness, for the sake of godly living.

 

And why was Paul so concerned about the church? He knew that after his departure that savage wolves would come in among them, not sparing the flock. And he was speaking of “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” i.e. of human beings who would pretend to be Christians and followers of Christ and preachers of the gospel. But they would speak lies to the people to lead them in the wrong direction. And we have many of them in the gatherings of “the church” in our world today who are leading many people astray.

 

Also, he said, from among their own selves men would rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. And we have many such people in our gatherings of “the church” today who are speaking lies to the people, who are diluting the gospel to make it less offensive and more acceptable to human flesh, and who are leading many people to hell on the promise of heaven. Therefore, we do need to keep watch, and to test the spirits, and to reject the lies, and to embrace the truth of God’s Word.

 

[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; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; 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 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

 

Forever with Us

 

Based off Psalm 46

An Original Work / February 5, 2016

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Be still and know God is over all things.

Throughout the earth, He’ll be honored as King.

The Lord Almighty, forever with us.

He is our refuge when we’re in distress.

 

Therefore, we have not a reason to fear.

Trials will come, but our God is still near.

He is our helper, so we do not fall.

Mountains will quake, but on Jesus we call.

 

Joy to the Church, even if sorrow comes.

Enemies rage, but our faith marches on.

God’s Holy Spirit, now living within,

Gives peace and comfort, and grace without end.

 

https://vimeo.com/154477497

 

The Whole Counsel of God

An Original Work / June 1, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

That I May Finish My Race

Acts 20:16-24 NKJV

Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the Day of Pentecost.

From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. 18And when they had come to him, he said to them: “You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, 19serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; 20how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, 21testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. 

22And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, 23except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. 24But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

Be Faithful

All of us who believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives are to serve the Lord Jesus with our lives in ministry, according to the giftedness of the Holy Spirit within us, and according to God’s calling (his assignment) upon our lives, which will not all be the same. Now we are all called to die to sin daily and to walk in obedience to our Lord and to serve him with our lives, but he doesn’t call all of us to the same exact areas of ministry, although we are all called to be sharing the true gospel with other people.

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

And we are all called of God to be faithful to those callings and to not be slack, and to not be neglectful to do what God has called us to do, both to these general callings of God to all of us who believe in him, and to our individual and specific areas of ministry to which he has called us. For we were all created by God for a specific purpose, and he has very specific areas of ministry which he has selected just for us to do. And as his followers, we are to learn what those are and to do them.

Fully Surrendered

Like when Jesus interrupted Paul’s (then Saul’s) journey to Damascus where he intended to persecute even more Christians, and in order to call him to open spiritually blinded eyes, turning them from darkness (sin) to the light (God/Jesus Christ, the gospel), and from the power of Satan to God, so that they could receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord. And Paul then surrendered to the will of God and ended up writing probably half of the New Testament (see Acts 26:18).

And Paul didn’t serve the Lord in ministry, according to his calling, because it was easy or popular or because he got a lot of “likes.” He suffered much persecution and rejection and beatings and imprisonment and false accusations and abandonment, etc. – all for the cause of Christ and for the sake of his gospel message, and in order to win people to faith in Jesus Christ, and then to nurture them and to exhort them to walk in obedience to the Lord and to no longer walk (in conduct) in sin. Praise Jesus!

Falsely Accused

And if we are following the Lord Jesus according to his callings upon our lives, we are promised that we will be hated and persecuted as Jesus was, and that we will be falsely accused of wrongdoing, rejected, forsaken, forgotten, cast aside as unwanted, harassed, ignored, mocked, and falsely arrested and imprisoned. And even some of us will be put to death for our walks of faith and for our obedience to the Lord. And some or many of our persecutors may be others who profess faith in Jesus Christ, too.

But through it all we are to remain faithful to our Lord in obedience to his commands, in holy living, in dying daily to sin and to self, and in serving him in the specific areas of ministry to which he has called us, regardless of how we are treated in return, even from others who profess to know the same Lord as we do, and even from family members. For Jesus told us that if our lives are surrendered to him, to follow him in obedience, that we can expect our family members to reject and to persecute us, because they lack faith.

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 7:13-14; Matthew 10:16-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 17:14; Romans 5:3-5; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; 2 Timothy 3:12; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; James 1:2-4; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Hebrews 12:3-12; 1 John 3:13; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13] 

Much Perseverance

And we must keep speaking the truth of the gospel to all who will listen. And the truth is that if we are to come after Jesus, we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in walks of obedience to his commands. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin (by the Spirit), and follow Jesus in obedience to his commands, and in obedience to his callings on our lives, then we have the hope of eternal life with God (see Luke 9:23-26).

And the only way that we are going to follow through with this, and to remain faithful to the Lord and to his callings upon our lives, is if we do not account our lives of any value nor as precious to ourselves in such a manner as to prefer the approval of other humans over the approval of God, and as more valuable to us than the salvation (from sin) of other human lives. And we must be committed to finishing the course and the ministry that we received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

God’s Grace

But this grace, which is bringing us salvation, and which is gifted to us by God, is training us to renounce (say “No!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works, the works which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them (see Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10).

Myopic  

An Original Work / August 19, 2013

Based off 2 Peter 1:3-11

Christ's Free Servant, Sue J Love

Jesus has given ev’rything

Needed for life and godliness.

His great and precious promises

Free us from our sin and distress.

Add to your faith His goodness;

Knowledge; patience; godliness;

Brotherly love and mutual affection;

Kindness and unselfishness.

If you possess these qualities,

Growing in your maturity,

They will keep you from vanity.

You will bear fruit effectually. 

Nonetheless, if you lack them;

Forget you’ve been cleansed from sin,

Nearsighted are you; you can’t see Jesus.

You have closed your heart to Him.

Therefore, beloved, confirm, then,

Your calling and your election.

Do this by showing diligence:

Obey your Lord; be repentant.

Practice all these qualities

God provided on a tree.

He died for our sins so we’d be given

Life with Him eternally. 

https://vimeo.com/115839336

That I May Finish My Race

An Original Work / May 31, 2026

Copied mostly from “Faithful to Our Callings,”

An Original Work / May 27, 2024

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Compelled by The Spirit

Acts 18:5-11 NKJV

 

5When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. 6But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, “Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.

 

9Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; 10for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.” 11And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

 

Facing Opposition

 

Sometimes the Lord will send us to a particular place because he wants us to share the truth of the gospel of Christ with the people there, even knowing that we will be rejected, in return. Perhaps, in this way, the seed has been planted in their minds, and it could come back to them at a later time when they would then receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. For God knows the end from the beginning, and he knows who will believe in him, and who will not. So we must always obey the Lord and follow his leading in our lives.

 

But, if where he sends us, the people reject us, and they reject the message of the gospel of Christ (the undiluted message), the Lord may then send us somewhere else where the people (not all) will listen and will believe in Jesus and will deny self, die to sin, and obey God, in practice, by faith in him, and in his power at work within them. And perhaps our rejection in the one place was intended of God as a catalyst to get us to go somewhere else where we might not have otherwise gone if we were not rejected first.

 

Changing Locations

 

In my own life the Lord sent me several different places where I was rejected by the institutional church, all in preparation for him then to send me to the internet, where I might not have otherwise gone if I had not first been rejected in these other places. For it took me a while to believe that I should leave the institutional market-driven churches. I kept thinking there had to be an exception to the rule. But everywhere I went, it was the same. In all cases they had diluted the gospel and were catering to the world.

 

So, I left the institutional church, which is not to be confused with the biblical church, the body of Christ, i.e. all who are of genuine faith in the Lord Jesus. I did not desert the body of Christ. In fact, by the Lord sending me to the internet, that just opened the door for me to share what the Lord was teaching me through my times spent with him daily in his word. And now I was able to be used of God to encourage my fellow believers in Christ in the ways of the Lord, as we are taught in the Scriptures we are all to do.

 

No Guarantees

 

But there are no guarantees that wherever God sends us that we will not be hated, rejected, and persecuted for the name of Jesus and for the gospel of our salvation. And I have certainly faced opposition on the internet, too. But here, so far, I have had the freedom, in most places, to share what the Lord teaches me and what he shares with me that he wants me to then share with the people of the world and with my fellow followers of Jesus Christ. Here I am able to use the gifts of God in my spiritual body part assignment.

 

But that does not assure me that all will go smoothly all the time. So, if I should begin to feel afraid, the Lord then encourages me to not be afraid, but to keep speaking the truth of his words, and to not go silent out of fear of how I might be treated, in return. For he is with me always, leading and guiding me in the way that he would have me to go. And so far he has kept me safe from any kind of grave harm to myself, and he has kept the door open wide for me to keep speaking his truth to the people.

 

Troubled Times

 

But I am well aware of the times in which we live, and where all the craziness we are seeing in the news every day is all headed, which is to the ultimate rule of the beast and his one world totalitarian regime. It feels like it won’t be long before everything comes crashing down all around us, the way things are headed right now. But only God knows the day and the hour when all those things will take place. And he is still in control. So we must trust him with the future and keep following him wherever he leads us.

 

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10:16-25,34-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 16:33; Acts 14:22; Romans 5:3-5; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; James 1:2-4; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Hebrews 12:3-12; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]

 

Safe in the Arms of Jesus

 

By Frances J. Crosby and William H. Doane 1868

 

Safe in the arms of Jesus,

Safe on His gentle breast;

There by His love o’ershaded,

Sweetly my soul shall rest.

Hark! ’tis the voice of angels

Borne in a song to me,

Over the fields of glory,

Over the jasper sea.

 

Safe in the arms of Jesus,

Safe from corroding care,

Safe from the world’s temptations;

Sin cannot harm me there.

Free from the blight of sorrow,

Free from my doubts and fears;

Only a few more trials,

Only a few more tears!

 

Jesus, my heart’s dear Refuge,

Jesus has died for me;

Firm on the Rock of Ages

Ever my trust shall be.

Here let me wait with patience,

Wait till the night is o’er;

Wait till I see the morning

Break on the golden shore.

 

Compelled by The Spirit

An Original Work / May 31, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

The Unknown God

The apostle Paul was now in Athens. As he looked around the city, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. So, in the synagogue and in the marketplace he reasoned with the Jews, with the Gentile worshipers, and with any who happened to be in the marketplace. Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers took him and brought him to the Areopagus, because they wanted to know what doctrine he was teaching, for they wanted to know what those things meant.

 

Acts 17:22-31 NKJV

 

22Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:

 

TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.

 

Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: 24God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ 29Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. 30Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

 

Being religious does not automatically translate to being righteous. And worship does not necessarily mean relationship, surrender, and obedience, depending upon how the word is being used, and in what context. For biblical worship of our creator God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – is not about religious activities and performances and ritualistic exercises. True worship of the one true God is about surrender, submission, fidelity, repentance, and obedience to God and to his commands, in practice.

 

And so you can’t truly worship what you don’t know. And they did not know the one true God. For the Bible teaches us that if we say that we know God but we do not obey him, we are liars. And if we claim we are in fellowship with him, but while we deliberately and habitually sin against him, we are liars. And Jesus taught that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the ones doing (obeying) the will of God. And Jesus said to follow him we must deny self, die to sin, and obey God.

 

So the people were not worshiping the one true God, in a biblical sense, without realizing that they were doing so. This is not what this is teaching. They were giving their devotion to all kinds of idols, one of which they called “The Unknown God,” and in all sorts of forms of religious exercises. But Paul used this opportunity as a stepping stone to presenting to them the God who was truly unknown to them and that is God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit. He was letting them know that the God who they did not know was our creator God who made us and who formed us all for a purpose.

 

Now what Paul stated next is something that everyone today who professes faith in Jesus Christ needs to hear. The Lord of heaven and earth does not dwell in temples made with hands. No building called “church” is “the house of God.” We who believe in Jesus are the church, the body of Christ. And when we step inside one of those buildings, we are not “standing on holy ground.” And true worship of God is not just doing “good deeds” or going through religious rituals, nor is it in regular “church attendance,” but it is in death to sin and in walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands.

 

So, there is nothing sacred about going to a building called “church” once or twice a week, then sitting on a chair or on a bench, then singing some songs, then listening to the preacher preach, and then going home and resuming life as normal until the next week. We, the true church, the body of Christ, are to be ministering to one another daily, encouraging one another in obedience to our Lord and in holy living, and warning one another about the consequences of deliberate and habitual sin against God. Then we are functioning as the biblical body of Christ, as God had always intended.

 

[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]

 

For God commands that all of us repent of our sins. And to repent is to have a change of heart and mind resulting in a change of behavior. We were going one direction, and now we turn, and we go the opposite direction. So this means denying self, dying to sin, and following our Lord in obedience to his commands, in practice, in going wherever he sends us, and doing whatever he commands and calls us to do, as his followers. For God is going to judge all of us. And he will say to many who claimed faith in Jesus Christ that he never knew them because they did not obey the commands 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; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; 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 2:1-6; 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

 

The Unknown God

An Original Work / May 30, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Be Like the Bereans

Acts 17:10-13 NKJV

 

“Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. 12Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men. 13But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds.”

 

Persecuted for Righteousness’ Sake

 

It seems like wherever Paul was sent by God to preach the message of the gospel of Christ to the people, if not right away, eventually someone among the Jews (mainly Jews) would stir up the crowds against him, which would sometimes land him in jail or to being beaten. Basically, he was persecuted pretty much everywhere he went because he spoke the truth of the gospel that certain people did not want to hear. And this often resulted in Paul having to depart from where he was and having to go to another location.

 

I empathize with him. Although, as an adult, I have not been physically beaten, and I have not been put in prison for speaking the truth of the gospel, I have been strongly opposed, mistreated, rejected, persecuted, and cast aside as unwanted because I spoke the truth of the gospel that many did not want to hear. And I have been falsely accused of what I did not do and of who I am not, because people were judging me by their own selves or because they did not want to hear what the Scriptures teach, in truth.

 

Truth Tellers vs Thieves and Liars

 

It is so refreshing if you go somewhere and you are received well, and there are people who want to hear what you have to share with them. And this was the situation for Paul in Berea. The Jews there received the word spoken by Paul with all readiness. But they didn’t believe it just because Paul said it, but they tested his words against the Scriptures to find out whether or not what Paul was teaching was indeed the truth. And this is what we all should be doing. We should be testing words spoken to make sure they are of God.

 

Especially in our day and age, for we have so many thieves and liars and manipulators who are “wolves in sheep’s clothing” pretending to be who and what they are not in order to deceive the people and to lead them astray to follow after what is not of God but is of the devil, instead. Many of them are trained and educated pastors of “churches.” Some of them are politicians or rulers of nations who may or may not have the appearance of all goodness, but they are leading many people to hell on the false promise of heaven.

 

The Gospel in Summary

 

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).

 

For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, 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 slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. 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).

 

For 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 wait for Jesus’ return. For Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (See Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10)

 

And we learn in 1 John 1-3 that if we claim that we have fellowship with God, but yet we walk in darkness (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 claims he is “in Christ” who is “in Christ,” but it is the one who has denied self, died with Christ to sin, and who is now walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in practice, and no longer in sin. We have the hope and the promise of eternal life with God in heaven.

 

Believe the Truth and Not the Lies

 

So, as those who are seekers of truth and righteousness, we should be testing the spirits to see which ones are of God, and we should not believe someone just because they are famous or well known or well liked among the people. But we should also not just disregard someone either just because what they are teaching may be different from what we originally believed unless it is obviously blasphemous. We should all be Bereans who search the Scriptures so that we know firsthand what they really teach.

 

[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; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; 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 2:1-6; 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

 

Be Like the Bereans

An Original Work / May 30, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

They Sang Hymns to God

The Apostle Paul was now traveling with Silas, and Timothy may have joined them, as well. Paul, in the name of Jesus, commanded a spirit of divination to depart from a slave girl who did fortune telling. This angered her masters who then seized Paul and Silas and brought them before the authorities. And the magistrates commanded them to be beaten with rods, and then they had them thrown into prison, and they fastened their feet in the stocks.

 

Acts 16:25-34 NKJV

 

25But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. 27And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”

 

29Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

 

31So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

 

Praying and Singing Hymns

 

Paul and Silas had just been accused falsely of wrongdoing, they had been beaten, and were now thrown into prison with their feet in the stocks. But did they whine and complain and plot evil against their persecutors? No! They did not! Instead, they prayed and sang hymns to God, and they worshipped the Lord. And when the earthquake opened the doors of the prison and released them from the chains which bound them, did they immediately run for it and escape their captors? No! They did not.

 

And because of that the keeper of the prison and his family believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, and they were all baptized in the name of Jesus.

 

So, sometimes, what has all the appearance of hopelessness and despair because of injustice, with no hope in sight, God turns around for good when we put our trust in the Lord, and when we do not let our circumstances defeat us. For people are watching our lives. They are watching how we respond to persecution and injustice, whether we turn on our persecutors, or whether we love them with the love of Jesus, instead, and we trust the Lord with our circumstances, and we do not let them get the best of us.

 

Faith and Salvation

 

Now, this passage of Scripture does not present to us the full gospel of our salvation and what it means to believe in Jesus Christ. And when Paul told the jailer to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and he would be saved, he and his household, this is not teaching that the household was saved because of this one man’s belief, for we all have to individually believe on the Lord Jesus. And to believe in Jesus is to be persuaded of God as to his righteousness and holiness and of our sinfulness and of our need to repent of (turn from) our sins and now obey our Lord and his commandments.

 

For the apostle Paul taught this as the gospel of our salvation: By God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, 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 slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. 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).

 

Lost Opportunities

 

When we, as human beings, go through our trials and tribulations which come to test our faith, how we respond to those circumstances may make all the difference in whether or not others turn their hearts to Jesus Christ in genuine biblical faith to the Lord, and die to sin, and now obey our Lord and his commands in daily practice. Yet all of us are responsible for our own choices we make in this life, so we cannot blame others if we make wrong decisions. But if we respond to our tribulations in anger, hatred, malice, and whining and complaining, we will be poor witnesses for the gospel of Christ.

 

But Because Paul and Silas had a godly and loving and kind response to their circumstances, and to their jailor, a family believed in Jesus Christ.

 

[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; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; 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 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

 

Safe in the Arms of Jesus

 

By Frances J. Crosby and William H. Doane 1868

 

Safe in the arms of Jesus,

Safe on His gentle breast;

There by His love o’ershaded,

Sweetly my soul shall rest.

Hark! ’tis the voice of angels

Borne in a song to me,

Over the fields of glory,

Over the jasper sea.

 

Safe in the arms of Jesus,

Safe from corroding care,

Safe from the world’s temptations;

Sin cannot harm me there.

Free from the blight of sorrow,

Free from my doubts and fears;

Only a few more trials,

Only a few more tears!

 

Jesus, my heart’s dear Refuge,

Jesus has died for me;

Firm on the Rock of Ages

Ever my trust shall be.

Here let me wait with patience,

Wait till the night is o’er;

Wait till I see the morning

Break on the golden shore.

 

https://youtu.be/BllH3EmH-og?si=mijnyAEtsN8JYV-K

 

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They Sang Hymns to God

An Original Work / May 29, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love