The Good Fight of Faith

1 Timothy 6:11-12 BSB

 

“11But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession before many witnesses.”

 

Paul wrote these words to Timothy, man to man, but the instructions he gave him here are not limited to Timothy only, but for all of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, what was he telling him to flee from? From false doctrines which are contrary to the teachings of Christ, abusive talk, many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction, and giving preference to the riches of this world, which is the root of all kinds of evil, which may lead to wandering from the faith (see 1 Timothy 6:3-10).

 

So we are to flee from all kinds of evil, not just the ones listed here, and we are to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. And righteousness is whatever is deemed right in the eyes of the Lord, which is all that is honest, morally pure, upright, godly, faithful and obedient to our Lord’s commands. And godliness involves us living in walks of obedience to our Lord, in surrender to his will, and no longer as slaves to sin, for we are being transformed by God into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

 

And faith, which comes from God, for which Jesus is the author and the perfecter, and which is not of our own doing, not of human flesh, but which is born of God and gifted to us by God, and is persuaded of God, requires that we deny self, die to sin daily, and follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands from here to eternity. It does not demand that we be absolutely perfect in every way but that sin must no longer be our practice, and now following our Lord in obedience is to be what we put into practice.

 

And love, which also comes from God, is agape, which means to prefer, and in this case to prefer what God prefers, which is all that is deemed right in the eyes of the Lord (as listed above). And love does no harm to a neighbor. And perseverance involves us staying the course, keeping the faith, walking in obedience to our Lord, following his lead, and refraining from sinful practices. And gentleness is reserved strength. It is meekness, but it is not weakness. For Jesus was meek, but he was not weak. He spoke the truth in love to the people out of love for them, even if they hated him in return.

 

And to fight the good fight of faith is done with the armor of God (see Ephesians 6:10-20), which involves us putting into practice in our daily lives our faith in Jesus Christ, the truth of God’s Word, righteousness, the gospel of Christ, and the sharing of the gospel with others. And we must walk in the salvation God provided, which teaches that we must deny self, die to sin, and obey our Lord’s commands. And we must live what God’s Word teaches us, and we must use his Word to fight off the enemy of our souls, too.

 

And if we take hold of the eternal life to which we were called when we made the good confession of faith in Christ, possibly also before many witnesses, then we follow the teachings of Christ and of his New Testament apostles which teach us that faith in Christ, which is genuine, involves us denying self, dying to sin, and walking in obedience to our Lord, in practice. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to our Lord, then we do not have salvation from sin, nor do we have eternal life with God promised us.

 

[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]

 

Jesus, Rescue Me 

 

Based off of Romans 7:7-25 thru Romans 8:1-39

An Original Work / September 18, 2011

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Jesus, rescue me today.

Listen while I bow and pray.

I need Your help to obey You;

Live for You always.

Meet me in my hour of need, Lord,

As I pray to You.

Help me walk in fellowship, Lord,

Living in Your truth.

Jesus, how I long for You to

Change my heart anew.

 

Father, God, my heart’s desire

Is to live for You this hour

In Your Holy Spirit’s power

Living in me now.

Teach me to walk in Your love, Lord,

Guiding me each day.

Help me to show love and kindness

To the lost, I pray.

Father, teach me to love others

As You love always.

 

Holy Spirit come in pow’r.

Revive our hearts in this hour.

Change our hearts to be like You, Lord;

Live for You each day.

Help us to forsake our sins, Lord,

As we humbly pray.

Teach us how to live for You, Lord,

Obey You always.

Holy Spirit come in power,

Revive us today.

 

https://vimeo.com/126092919

 

The Good Fight of Faith

An Original Work / July 2, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

An Encouragement for Godly Women

1 Timothy 4:12-16 BSB

 

“12Let no one despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching.

 

14Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given you through the prophecy spoken over you at the laying on of the hands of the elders. 15Be diligent in these matters and absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. 16Pay close attention to your life and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who hear you.”

 

For Men Only?

 

Now, these words were written to Timothy by the apostle Paul, both of whom were men of God, called of God to his ministry. But God doesn’t just call men to his ministry, and he doesn’t gift only men with Spiritual gifts, and he doesn’t assign body parts to only men, and he doesn’t give the gift of prophecy (preaching, proclaiming the Word of God) only to men, either. But are women to usurp authority over men? No! Are they to instruct men in positions of authority over them? No! But there may be some exceptions.

 

[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]

 

We are All Different

 

I have already covered the subject of women in ministry recently, so it is not my intention to go into that subject in full in this writing. But the point here is that Paul’s words to Timothy here can and do apply to women, as well. We are not to let people despise us and treat us as though we are nothing just because we are women, or because we are young or old, either. But we, too, must set a good example for all believers in Christ in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. For we are to follow the example of Christ.

 

Now we all have our own personalities, and our own individual ways of communicating with other people, so we are not all going to be exactly the same as one another, and so we will not be exact replicas of Christ, either, in how we say things. For he had his own way of speaking, too. But our speech needs to be within the confines of the laws of God as to the things we should or should not be saying. We should be those who speak truth, and not lies, but truth spoken in love. For love does not deny the truth. It speaks truth!

 

God’s Daughters Will Preach

 

Now, the Scriptures do not prohibit women from teaching the Scriptures, whether out in the public or in a small group setting, unless they are usurping authority over men, and they are speaking out of turn and are not submitting to the authority of godly men who are in positions of rule over them within the gatherings of the church. For Peter quoted the prophet Joel in teaching that both God’s sons and daughters will prophecy (preach), which is what they all did in a mixed group on the day of Pentecost.

 

So, we who are God’s daughters, who have been called of God to prophesy, i.e. to preach, to proclaim the Word of God to the people, should be doing what God has called us to do wherever we are given permission to do so by those in authority over us, which, if out in the general public, it would be just the authority of God unless we are in a public location where there is another authority. But here on the internet we are under the authority of whoever is in charge of whatever internet sites we might be posting on.

 

Sharing the Gospel: [Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 9:23-26; John 4:31-38; John 10:27-30; John 13:13-17; John 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 10:14-15; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-14; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Peter 2:9,21,24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

 

Don’t Neglect Your Gift

 

But we are not to neglect the gift (or gifts) that are in us, which we have received from the Spirit of God. But we are to pray to God for opportunities to share with the people the Word of God and what lessons it has for us to follow, as those who profess faith in Jesus Christ. And we are to pray for openings from God for us to serve in our body part assignments given us by God. For not everyone is going to receive us. And there will be people who will despise us, just because we are women, who will “toss us to the curb.”

 

So, just because some people may put the “smack down” on us, thinking that we are to remain absolutely silent, and to let only the men do the talking, we should not run away in discouragement and in defeat. For if we are called of God, he will make a way for us which will not be contrary to his will and purpose for us. For he used women to share the gospel, and he honored women, and he valued them, and Jesus sent them out with the message of the gospel to be shared even with men. So God will make a way.

 

God Will Make a Way

 

We should never try to force our way into a situation, but we should pray for God to show us where we can go, and where we can proclaim his Word to the people. And then we should be diligent in obeying our Lord, and in doing what he has called us to do. For, honestly speaking, we live in a day and time when there is a huge shortage of godly men who are teaching the gospel as Jesus and his New Testament apostles taught it. And so we women are needed if we are teaching the biblical gospel of our salvation, not lies.

 

But we need to be on guard, for Satan is going to come after us in any which way he can to try to defeat us, and to try to get us to give up and to walk away because it just got too hard. And it will be hard. It will not be easy. But we must make certain we are operating in the Spirit and not from our own flesh, and that what we are teaching is the truth, and not the lies which are spreading so rapidly in our day and time. And we must persevere in these things, for by so doing we will save both ourselves and those who hear us.

 

God Will Make a Way

 

By Don Moen

 

God will make a way

Where there seems to be no way

He works in ways we cannot see

He will make a way for me

 

He will be my guide

Hold me closely to His side

With love and strength for each new day

He will make a way, He will make a way

 

By a roadway in the wilderness, He'll lead me

And rivers in the desert will I see

Heaven and Earth will fade but His Word will still remain

And He will do something new today

 

https://youtu.be/_rSWXf2Y4z0?si=ygV08i2SdJcpB0tw

 

Caution: This link may contain ads

 

An Encouragement for Godly Women

An Original Work / July 2, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Influenced by Hypocritical Liars

1 Timothy 4:1-2 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“1Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, 2influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron.”

 

The Holy Spirit

 

Who is this Spirit? He is the Holy Spirit of God, the third person of our triune God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit. And when Jesus lived on the earth he promised his followers that after his departure that he would send the Holy Spirit to indwell them, to be God living within them, reminding them of all things taught by Jesus, counseling, guiding, directing, exhorting, and encouraging them in their walks of faith in obedience to the Lord. All who are of biblical faith in Christ have the Spirit of God living within them.

 

Later Times

 

And what are the “later times”? From what I understand, the later times began with the birth of Jesus Christ, and so we are now living in those later times. And personally I believe we are nearing the end of those later times. So many things prophesied in the Scriptures regarding these last days are increasing in severity and are being revealed before our eyes. And one of the most notable, I believe, is this abandoning the faith in Christ to follow after deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, influenced by hypocritical liars.

 

Times Past and Present

 

Just as a point of reference, and I know I have mentioned this multiple times, but I was born on the last day of 1949, so I am 76 years old. And when I was growing up, in the gathering of the church I was brought into as an infant, they taught death to sin and obedience to God as part of what it means to be a Christian. They taught holy living, moral purity, uprightness, godliness, honesty, and faithfulness as necessary components of the Christian life and practice. And sin was to be done away with in our lives.

 

And that remained true most of the time I lived on the earth, at least in the church gatherings I attended. And I may have been late in realizing this, but all of a sudden things began to shift right around 1999, that I could see. And there became a strong focus on entertaining the crowd, and doing what they could do to “draw in large crowds of people from the world.” And so they began slowly and carefully dismantling the gospel taught us in the Scriptures to make it less offensive and more appealing to the ungodly of the world.

 

Sin Made Acceptable

 

Sin was now becoming acceptable, and the gospel was being reduced to a mere profession of faith in Christ with no repentance (turning from sin) and no obedience to God required, even if sometimes recommended, and other times dismissed entirely. And we were being encouraged to “stay in your own lane” and to not present people with the truth of the gospel, for it might offend them, and thus they would not want to attend these gatherings of “the church” which were/are a creation of human flesh, and not of God.

 

And all sinners were being invited into the gatherings of the church, and their sins were not being cast out, but embraced. And please understand what I am saying here. The church is not these buildings and institutions of human origin being marketed to the world. The church is the body of Christ, the people of God, and our gatherings are to be for mutual encouragement and strengthening in our walks of obedience to the Lord. They are not to entertain the world and to coddle people in their sins and to encourage sin.

 

Love is Speaking Truth

 

And this is not to say that if a non-believer should come into one of our fellowships that we should cast them out. No! We should love them. But in no way should we embrace their sin, which is what so many people are doing today under the guise of being loving and kind. No! It is not loving nor is it kind to embrace people in their sin. Our job is to share with them the truth of the gospel and how Jesus died to deliver us out of our slavery to sin so that we will, by faith in him, walk in obedience to his commands.

 

And our job is to go out into the world and to preach the gospel to the people of all nations, teaching them to OBEY God’s commands, not to coddle them in their sins, and definitely not to approve of their sins. So many people are afraid to confront anyone in their sins for fear of losing them as possible bodies to fill up their chairs or pews in their buildings and to grow their numbers in their gatherings. Love all people? YES! But love is not lying to them. Love is not accepting their sin. Love teaches them the truth.

 

[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]

 

In Harmony 

 

Based off Romans 12:9-21; 1 Peter 3:8-17

An Original Work / September 2, 2012

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Love each other truly. Cling to what is good.

Hate all that is evil. Never lack in zeal.

Serve the Lord with fervor. Joyful in hope be;

Patient in affliction; Praying faithfully.

Honor one another. Live in harmony.

 

Share with all God’s people who are found in need.

Do not be conceited. Sympathetic be.

Love, and show compassion in humility.

Keep your tongue from evil. Peaceful you must be.

Honor one another. Live in harmony.

 

God sees who are righteous; listens to their prayers.

But He’s against evil – is His to avenge.

Do not fear what they fear. Suffer patiently.

In your hearts, make Christ Lord. Serve Him faithfully.

Honor one another. Live in harmony.

 

https://vimeo.com/112832903

 

Influenced by Hypocritical Liars

An Original Work / July 1, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

In God's Household

1 Timothy 3:14-16 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“14Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these things 15in case I am delayed, so that you will know how each one must conduct himself in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

 

“16By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great:

He appeared in the flesh,

was vindicated by the Spirit,

was seen by angels,

was proclaimed among the nations,

was believed in throughout the world,

was taken up in glory.”

 

This was the apostle Paul writing to Timothy, but under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And today I am seeing this as Jesus Christ communicating to the church, saying that he will come to us soon (soon by his own definition). But while we wait for his return he has some instructions for us, and it is critical that we adhere to them. He wants us to understand that he has a spiritual standard by which he expects all of us to live, with regard to how we must conduct ourselves as those who claim him as our Lord and Savior.

 

The Church

 

But when Paul and God say “church” they do not mean these institutions of men being marketed to the people of the world which are patterning their gatherings after the world in order to attract the world to their gatherings. For the church is the collective body of believers in Jesus Christ who, by faith in Christ, have responded to Jesus’ invitation to die with him to sin, to deny self, and to take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow him in obedience to his commands, and in surrender to his will for our lives.

 

So, “The church” is not a building built by human hands. And it is not a business incorporated under the state, merged with and partnered with the government, with the ungodly, and with the world. And it is not a physical location we go to once or twice a week. The church is us, the people of God, not the buildings, not the organizations, not the corporations (businesses). It is us whose lives have been transformed and made new by the working of the Holy Spirit who are living to please God, who are no longer living in sin.

 

Our Conduct

 

And we are given many instructions all throughout the Old Testament and New Testament on what our lives should look like if we are those who are truly born of God and partakers in the promises of God to his people. Sin must no longer be what we practice, but we should be those who obey God and his New Covenant commands as a matter of life practice. This is not saying we must be absolutely perfect all the time in every respect, but that sin should not be our habit, and obedience to God is to be our practice.

 

For Jesus Christ left his throne in heaven, came to earth, and humbled himself by taking on the form of a man, born of woman, but conceived of the Holy Spirit, in order that one day he might serve as our sacrificial lamb in his death on a cross. And in that death he put our sins to death with him so that, by God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in him, which is not of our own doing, we might deny self, die to sin, and follow him in obedience wherever he leads us in doing all that he commands and calls us to do.

 

And he rose victorious over the grave that we might live in victory over sin by his grace while we wait for his return. For his 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 his return. So all who profess faith in Jesus, but who deny him by how they live, in sinful habits, in immorality, in wickedness, and in walks of disobedience to his commands, will not have salvation from sin nor 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; 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]

 

So, please take this to heart, for not all are in Christ, by faith in him, just because they claim him as their Lord. For if they hold on to addictive sin, and they do not obey God and his commands, as a matter of life practice, they are not saved, and they do not have eternal life with God. And this is not to say that we will be perfect, or that we will never sin, but the Scriptures are clear that if sin is our practice, and not obedience to our Lord, that we will not have eternal life with God, but we will die in our sins.

 

Nails Were Pounded 

 

An Original Work / June 4, 2011

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Nails were pounded when He hung on a tree;

Suffered for us so we could be set free.

He died for our sins; rose up from the grave,

So we could be forgiven; by His grace we’re saved.

 

A spear pierced His side; His clothes they’d divide;

A crown on His head to mock Him instead

Of honoring Him as our Savior, King,

Who gave his life for the world to be free from sin.

 

Forsaken by friends, though He’d not offend.

He lived perfectly; our High Priest to be.

He calls us to see, and by faith believe;

In repentance receive Him; live eternally.

 

https://vimeo.com/125966495

 

In God’s Household

An Original Work / July 1, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Qualifications of Overseers (Pastors and Elders)

1 Timothy 3:1-7 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“1This is a trustworthy saying: If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble task. 2An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, a temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not dependent on wine, not violent but gentle, peaceable, and free of the love of money.

 

“4An overseer must manage his own household well and keep his children under control, with complete dignity. 5For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for the church of God? 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same condemnation as the devil. 7Furthermore, he must have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the snare of the devil.”

 

See: 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-4

 

Who qualifies as an overseer? Pastors and Elders of the gatherings of the church, the body of Christ, i.e. those of genuine biblical faith in Jesus Christ who by faith in Christ have denied self, died to sin, by the Spirit, and who are following the Lord in obedience to his commands as a matter of life practice, although not necessarily in absolute sinless perfection. He must be:

 

·       Above reproach
·       The husband of one wife
·       Temperate
·       Self-controlled
·       Respectable
·       Hospitable
·       Able to teach
·       Not dependent on wine
·       Not violent but gentle
·       Peaceable
·       Free of the love of money
·       He must manage his own household well
·       Keep his children under control
·       Not be a recent convert
·       Have a good reputation with outsiders
·       Be shepherds of God’s flock
·       Not lording it over those entrusted to you
·       Being examples to the flock

 

“As a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you: 2Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed, but out of eagerness; 3not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” (1 Peter 5:1-4 BSB / Berean Standard Bible)

 

What Does This Mean?

 

So, what does it mean to be “above reproach”? It means to be a person of integrity, honesty, moral purity, and uprightness, who is faithful to God and to spouse. Temperate? A person of self-control and self-restraint, not given over to sinful passions and desires or to outbursts of rage or filthy language. Respectable? Living an honorable and dignified life in submission to God. Hospitable? Friendly and caring for all people, welcoming people into one’s own home. Able to teach? Follows the leading of the Holy Spirit and is a student of the Scriptures who studies and teaches in the correct context.

 

Not dependent on wine? Not addicted to alcoholic beverages; not a drunkard. Peaceable? Not someone who loves to pick fights and to attack with hate and rage with those in opposition. But also not someone who refrains from speaking the truth of God’s Word to the people out of fear of rejection or out of a desire to want to be liked and appreciated. Free of the love of money? Not doing the will of God out of selfish motives hoping to gain a fortune to spend on oneself in luxury, and with selfish motives. Too many very wealthy “pastors” living in luxury, stealing from the poor.

 

Manage his own household well? Loving his wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, being faithful to her, showing her love, honor, and value in kindness and consideration with regard to her being his other half, one with him in marriage. Being an example before his wife and children of a godly man who is following the Lord, doing the will of God as a matter of life practice. Maintaining good discipline, not overly harsh or reacting in anger, but exercising restraint with wisdom in how to best help his children to properly show honor and respect to their parents.

 

Not be a recent convert? Need time in the Word, putting the Scriptures into practice in his daily life, learning what the Scriptures teach in the correct biblical context, not depending on other men to speak truth to him, but relying on the Scriptures (in context) and the Holy Spirit to guide him into all truth so he will be spiritually prepared to instruct others in the faith. Have a good reputation with outsiders? Watch out for this one! Many liars and deceivers and “wolves in sheep’s clothing” have good reputations with outsiders and within the gatherings of the church (or false church).

 

Be shepherds of God’s flock, not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. This is critical! Too many pastors are acting like cult leaders or like military sergeants, ruling with an iron fist, acting like they are God to the people. I even had one pastor tell me that I should sit back and let him be God’s voice to me. No! No man is to replace God’s voice. God is God’s voice. But should pastors and elders be speaking under the power of the Holy Spirit, speaking God’s truth? Yes! But not many seem to be doing that. And we are still to test the spirits to see which ones are of God.

 

[Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 24:11-24; Luke 6:26; John 10:1-15; Romans 16:17-19; 2 Corinthians 11:3,13-15; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 3:2; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 1:1-25]

 

Ministers of Our God 

 

An Original Work / June 21, 2011

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Ministers of our God, harken to hear Him speak.

Have you given Him your hearts and souls today?

Hasten to give all to Him. Let Him cleanse your hearts from sin.

Cast yourselves on His altar. In your lives do not falter.

 

Ministers of our God, flee from all your idols.

Remove them from your lives. Be transformed today.

Listen to the words I say. Give your all to Christ today.

Let him rule within your hearts, cleanse from sin, His grace impart.

 

Ministers of our God, won’t you come to His cross?

Die to sin and yourselves. Penitently pray.

Humbly accept Him today. Let Him wash your sins away.

Receive Him into your hearts. His mercy and grace impart.

 

https://vimeo.com/127504455

 

Qualifications of Overseers

An Original Work / June 30, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Salvation Through Sanctification

2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 NKJV

 

“13But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.”

 

Salvation From Sin

 

A very distorted teaching on the gospel of Christ, and of our salvation, is what seems to be the most popular of teachings on the gospel in the USA today. So many are teaching a faith in Jesus Christ which requires nothing other than some kind of confession of Christ as Lord or a profession of faith in Jesus Christ with one’s lips only. And then they are told that they are now saved, forgiven all sin, and on their way to heaven, which they say cannot be taken away from them, no matter how they live from then forward.

 

But here we read that God chose us who believe in Jesus for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. So what does that look like? What is salvation? What are we saved from? Well, Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross to put our sins to death with him so that, by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him we will deny self, die to sin daily, and follow him in obedience to his commands wherever he leads us. For we are saved out from addiction to sin so we now obey God in practice.

 

And this salvation is through sanctification by the Spirit. And to be sanctified is to be made holy, morally pure, righteous, godly, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord and to his commands. It is a life-long process in the life of the believer in Christ, but it being “a process” is never an excuse to hold back from God what you know belongs to God and to hold on to sin. For we don’t get to determine the process. God does! And this is a process of God in our lives in changing us and transforming us to be more like Jesus in nature.

 

And belief in the truth comes from God, is authored and perfected by Christ, and it is not of our own doing, not of the flesh of humans. But it is gifted to us by God, and it is persuaded of God as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to deny self, die to sin, and follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands, in surrender of our lives to him. And truth is not defined by us but by God and by his word. But we must study the Scriptures in the correct biblical context if we want the truth.

 

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

 

The Gospel of Christ

 

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.

 

Additional Scriptures

 

[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]

 

Hold The Traditions?

 

Now this is not speaking of humanistic traditions created in the minds of either men or women. This is not about observing all the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, circumcision, dietary, and Sabbath laws. This is not about legalistic requirements created in the minds of humans which are not listed for us in the Scriptures. And this is not about going through a list of things “to do” which are routine only but not as led by the Spirit and which have nothing to do with following Jesus with our lives.

 

These “traditions” have more to do with instructions given the people by the Lord’s apostles as to how they are to live to please God, and of the kinds of things that God requires of us, and that he expects of us who claim to believe in Jesus Christ, which are repeated for us in the Scriptures. These were revelations from God given to the people via our Lord’s messengers, the apostles of Christ in New Testament times. So this had to do with repentance, obedience to God, and living to please God in all of our being.

 

Praise Be Told! 

 

Based off Various Scriptures

An Original Work / December 28, 2013

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

He was pierced for our transgressions.

He was crushed for all our sin.

Our chastisement was upon Him.

By His stripes, we now are healed.

 

He has witnessed all our trials,

And the sins we choose to wear.

Yet, while we were dead in our sin,

Jesus died, our sins to bear.

 

He himself bore all of our sins

In His body on a cross,

So that we might die to our sin,

And live for His righteousness.

 

By faith in the pow’r of Jesus

And His blood shed for our sins,

We can be forgiven our sin,

And have life with God in heav’n.

 

He will lead us and He’ll guide us

In the way that we should go.

He will comfort and protect us,

Because Jesus, we do know.

 

Though He disciplines for our good,

He will heal us – Praise be told!

Do not fear, your Lord is with you.

Just have faith in Christ your Lord.

 

https://vimeo.com/112335646

 

Salvation Through Sanctification

An Original Work / June 30, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

All He Asks is All Of Us

Mark 12:29-31 NIV

 

“29The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31 NIV)

 

This morning I was praying about what the Lord would have me to write on next when I came across a set of little devotionals I purchased a few years ago, put out by “Lighthouse Christian Products Co” (2015). Mark 12:30 was the verse on the front of the card, and on the back of the card it says:

 

“It’s so easy to fence off a small place in our life and designate it only for God. Then, we reserve the rest of it for ourselves – our wants, our needs, our desires. But He wants everything – every room in our life. He wants us to love Him with our entire being. He gave everything for us – the very life of His Son – to bring us to Him. All He asks is all of us. As we give ourselves to Him, He’ll guide us and help us become more like Him” (LCPC 2015).

 

So well said! Yes, love for God is not just an emotional feeling we have for God. And it is not just making a decision to believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives. It is total surrender of our lives to the Lord to be His, to give everything we have to Him, nothing held back to be only for self. For by faith in Jesus Christ we deny self, die to sin daily (by the Spirit), and we follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands (see Luke 9:23-26).

 

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

 

 

All He Asks is All Of Us

An Original Work / June 30, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Partial credit to “Lighthouse Christian Products Co” (2015)