Don't Let Fiery Trials Surprise You

1 Peter 4:12-13 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

12Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.

What kind of fiery trial? It could be many kinds. But in the verses previously (1 Peter 4:1-5) we learn that, if we are true followers of Christ who have died with Him to sin, and who are now living for Him in walks of obedience to His commands, and no longer as slaves to sin, that we will be opposed by those who are still living as slaves to sin. For those who are still living in lust, debauchery, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, detestable idolatry, and/or reckless indiscretion, they might heap abuse (physical or emotional) on us.

Especially if you have left your life of sin behind you, and you have now surrendered your life to the will of God, and if you are, by the grace of God, and as called of God, speaking out against sin, including sin in the lives of many who profess faith in Jesus Christ, you will most likely be opposed by those who are still holding on to sinful practices deliberately and habitually. For you will be an offense to them, for you will be a reminder to them that God has called us out of addiction to sin so we will now obey His commands.

But we are to rejoice that we share in the sufferings of Christ, so that we may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory at His second coming when He comes to judge the people of the world and to take His faithful bride to be with Him for eternity. For the sufferings of Christ are for our good to humble us, to mature us, to make us holy, to draw us closer to God, to make us more compassionate towards others who are suffering, and so that God is able to make us and to mold us into His likeness for the glory of His name.

1 Peter 4:14-16 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

14If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15Indeed, none of you should suffer as a murderer or thief or wrongdoer, or even as a meddler. 16But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear that name. 

Why should anyone want to insult us if we are speaking the truth of the Scriptures? Well, if they do not believe in God, and so they do not believe the Scriptures, and so they do not hold to what the Scriptures teach us, they might find us an offense and an annoyance if we are calling out sin in sinful human beings, and if we are calling all people to repentance (death to sin) and to walks of obedience to our Lord and to His commands. But sadly, many who profess Jesus as Lord are also the ones doing the insulting.

Why? Because so many of them are being taught and trained that faith in Jesus Christ requires nothing more than an acknowledgment of who He is and of what He did for us on that cross and in His resurrection. Many are being taught that God no longer requires repentance and obedience to His commands, which is a lie straight from hell. And so we are an annoyance to them because we keep speaking against sinful addiction and of our need to repent and to obey God and His commands for us to be truly saved.

We are not to be ashamed of our Lord or of His gospel message or of having to suffer persecution because of our faith and for our testimonies for Christ. 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 obey sin and not God, we will not 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; Romans 6:1-23).

1 Peter 4:17-19 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

17For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God? 18And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” 19So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should entrust their souls to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

Who is the family of God, or the house of God? We who believe in Jesus Christ by God-gifted faith in Him, who have, by the grace of God, denied self, died to sin (repented of sin) and who are now obeying our Lord and His commands as a matter of life practice, all in the power of God. We who believe in Jesus are His house, His body, His church. The church is not a building. It is not a church denomination. And it is not to be in partnership with the world and with the government, for that is forbidden by God.

[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] 

So, in what ways does God judge His church, His body, the people of faith in Jesus Christ? He allows us to go through trials and tribulations. He allows us to be persecuted for the sake of righteousness. He points out in us the things which need to be forsaken by us, and the things which we need to take hold of, instead. He prunes us, in other words, so that we will draw closer to our Lord in walks of surrender to Him and in obedience to His commands. He disciplines us for our good that we might live for Him.

But with regard to those who are not of faith in the Lord Jesus, who are still making sin their practice, even if they profess faith with their lips, they will not have salvation from sin and eternal life with God unless, by faith in Jesus Christ, they die with Him to sin and now walk with Him in obedience to His commands in life practice (not necessarily in absolute sinless perfection). 

[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] 

Don’t Let Fiery Trials Surprise You

An Original Work / October 4, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

If Jesus Goes with Me

Charles A. Miles, pub. 1908

It may be in the valley, where countless dangers hide;

It may be in the sunshine that I, in peace, abide;

But this one thing I know—if it be dark or fair,

If Jesus is with me, I’ll go anywhere!

It may be I must carry the blessed Word of life

Across the burning deserts to those in sinful strife;

And though it be my lot to bear my colors there,

If Jesus goes with me, I’ll go anywhere!

But if it be my portion to bear my cross at home,

While others bear their burdens beyond the billow’s foam,

I’ll prove my faith in Him—confess His judgments fair,

If Jesus stays with me, I’ll stay anywhere!

It is not mine to question the judgment of my Lord,

It is but mine to follow the leadings of His Word;

But if to go or stay, or whether here or there,

I’ll be, with my Savior, content anywhere!

If Jesus goes with me, I’ll go anywhere!

’Tis heaven to me, where’er I may be, if He is there!

I count it a privilege here, His cross to bear,

If Jesus goes with me, I’ll go anywhere!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SL5ULp_GeE

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When I Don't Know What to Pray

So, when I don’t know what to pray

I don’t know what to God to say

He intercedes for my requests

For He knows what is truly best

 

He counsels me when I’m confused

When I am hurting or misused

When things in life just don’t make sense

When people live lives in pretense

 

He shows the way I am to go

And how His truth I am to know

He leads me in His righteousness

And comforts when I’m in distress

 

For He’s my Lord, my Savior King

To Him I give my everything

I want to walk with Him each day

To read His word, to bow and pray

 

I want to make Him Lord of life

So I do not live life in strife

He gives me peace I would not know

If love for Him I did not show

 

So He’s my life, my everything

My life to Him my offering

I follow Him where’er He leads

While on His Word I daily feed

 

An Original Work / November 8, 2022

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Suffering for What's Right

1 Peter 3:13-17 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

13Who can harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be shaken.” 15But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who slander you may be put to shame by your good behavior in Christ. 17For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

 

What is Good?

 

God is good! His Word is good! Kindness, goodness, faithfulness, honesty, integrity, and moral purity are all good. Loving God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – is good. Loving those who hate us, who mistreat us, who abuse us, and who speak evil against us is good. Loving those trapped in sinful addiction, praying for them, doing good to them and not harm, while attempting to help them to come out from under addiction to sin, and while sharing with them the truth of the gospel of our salvation, is all good.

 

Who Can Harm You?

 

But a lot of people don’t want to hear the truth. They prefer the lies. And even though you love those who are caught in sin, and because you love them you want to show them the way to victory over sin, this doesn’t automatically mean that they will love you back, or that they will not despise you for telling them the truth they do not want to hear. Chances are pretty good that they will not appreciate your kindness to them but that they will respond with hatred, bitterness, resentment, and with chastisement.

 

If You Should Suffer

 

But even if we should suffer for what is right in the eyes of the Lord, and according to the teachings of the Scriptures, we are blessed of God. And so we are not to be afraid of what might happen to us, or of how others might treat us or perceive us, or of what they might say about us which could be lies, lies spoken out of anger and resentment and bitterness. For that is how Jesus and His New Testament apostles and God’s prophets before them were treated. They were treated like they were the enemy when they were not.

 

Prepared to Give a Defense

 

If someone challenges what we are doing, or what we are teaching, and so we have tested ourselves in prayer to God against the teachings of the Scriptures to make certain that we are in line with the Scriptures and that what we are sharing and/or doing is not against the Scriptures, we are clear to give a defense to everyone who makes the challenge or who asks for the reason for the hope that is in us. We are not to get heated and nasty, but in love we can defend our own honor for the glory of God and for the truth.

 

The Result

 

When you stand on the truth, in defense of the gospel, in defense of biblical teachings on the subjects of sin, repentance, obedience, faith, forgiveness, morality, and the like, be prepared for backlash. Be prepared for people to attack you and/or to accuse you falsely of what you did not do or of what you did not say. Many people will take your words out of context and they will twist them to make them say what you did not mean, and so they will accuse you falsely of what you did not do or say. Be kind back to them.

 

And be prepared that sometimes you may have to stand alone, and that the people you love may turn against you. They will not love you back. But they may stab you in the back because you stepped on one of their idols, and they did not like that. They won’t be content with just hating you or with being angry with you all by themselves, and so they may bring others into the conversation, and while they misrepresent you and what you are saying, they may turn others against you, too. Pray for wisdom to do what is right.

 

[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] 

 

Suffering for What’s Right

An Original Work / October 4, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Why So Downcast?

 

Based off Psalm 42

An Original Work / December 21, 2012 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Why so downcast, O my soul,

And why so disturbed now within me?

Put your hope in Jesus Christ,

For I will praise His name.

He’s my Savior and my God,

So therefore I’ll remember Him through

Storms and tempests sweeping o’er me.

Still I’ll praise His name.

Put your hope in God.

 

By day the Lord sends forth His love.

In the night His song is with me.

I pray to the God of my life.

I will praise His name. I say to God my Rock,

“Why must I be called to suffer this way?”

Foes attack me; Satan sneering.

Still I’ll praise my God.

Put your hope in Him.

 

As a deer pants for the waters,

So my soul pants for You, O God.

My soul thirsts for God who’s living.

When can I meet Him?

My tears have been my food at night,

When men say, “So, where is your God?”

I pour out my soul to my God.

I’ll still praise His name.

Shout with joy to Him.

 

https://vimeo.com/117318376

Turning from Evil

1 Peter 3:8-12 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

8Finally, all of you, be like-minded and sympathetic, love as brothers, be tenderhearted and humble. 9Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10For,

“Whoever would love life

and see good days

must keep his tongue from evil

and his lips from deceitful speech.

11He must turn from evil and do good;

he must seek peace and pursue it.

12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

and His ears are inclined to their prayer.

But the face of the Lord is against

those who do evil.”

 

So many people today are teaching a gospel of salvation free from all repentance and obedience to our Lord. And they have convinced multitudes of people to accept that as the gospel message, that Jesus Christ died on that cross merely to forgive us our sins and to guarantee us eternal life in heaven with God, end of story, no obedience and no repentance required. But Jesus shed His blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out from our addiction to sin so we will obey His commands.

 

And faith in Jesus Christ is not something we can create in our own minds to make it fit sinful lifestyles. For faith in Jesus Christ, which comes from God, and which is not of our own doing, is persuaded of God as to His holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of God’s requirement that we deny self, die to sin daily, and that we walk (in conduct) in obedience to His commands. 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 in the present age (Titus 2:11-14; Luke 9:23-26).

 

All throughout the New Testament writings we are taught that, by faith in Jesus Christ, we are to put sin to death and we are now to obey God and His New Covenant commands in life practice. We must keep our tongues from evil and our lips from deceitful speech. Speaking lies should never be our practice! We must turn away from doing what is evil and now we must be committed to doing what is good in the eyes of the Lord. And we are not to repay others with the evil and the insults which they give out to us.

 

All of us who profess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior are required of God that we must repent of our sins. We must turn away from doing evil, from making sin our practice, and now we are to be obeying God and His commands, in life practice. And we are to be loving others, even our enemies, which should also be our practice. And love is not just feelings, but love is action, and love prefers what God prefers which is what is holy, righteous, morally pure, upright, honest, and faithful to our Lord and Savior.

 

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. So this means that the face of the Lord is against ALL who make evil (sin) their practice, their habit, which includes multitudes of people who profess faith in Jesus Christ with their lips. For we live in a day and time when so many are embracing the lies and they are rejecting the truth, and they have convinced themselves that their habitual and deliberate sins against God will not hinder their relationship with God, nor will it send them to hell if they don’t repent.

 

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).

 

[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, we need to take this to heart, to believe it, and to not play with fate assuming that God will not judge us just because we made a profession of faith in Him. For faith is not in words only, but it is in action and in truth. For faith comes from God and is not of our own doing. And it requires that we deny self, die to sin, and obey our Lord and His commands in daily practice, by the grace of God, in the power of God, and as led by the Spirit of God.

 

Turning From Evil

An Original Work / October 3, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

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

 

[A Prayer of Devotion to God Alone]

Donkeys Honking

Donkeys honking in their pride,

Taking others for a ride,

Telltale signs of something bad,

Someone somewhere has been had.

Magic tricks, that is their game,

Mischief making, all the same.

Looking, though, to others blame,

Absolute, they feel no shame.

Corner others with their tricks,

That is how they get their kicks.

Who, they think, can they deceive?

Who can they get to believe?

Consciences, they have been seared,

God the Father they not fear.

Human hearts care nothing for

People’s feelings, they ignore.

All about themselves, they are,

Care not people’s lives they mar.

Selfish, selfish, to the core,

It’s themselves that they adore.

Cry to them that they would change,

That their hearts would rearrange,

Not a flicker, not a flinch,

They will not budge, not one inch.

Sad that many, this they are,

That they’ve gotten yet this far,

Hard as nails and cold as stone,

They are evil to the bone.

Sad the evil that they do

Stabbing others’ hearts right through.

Bitter hearts right to the core,

So the Bible they ignore.

An Original Work / October 19, 2022

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

If You Do What is Right

1 Peter 3:1-7 BSB (Berean Study Bible)

 

“1Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands, so that even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words by the behavior of their wives 2when they see your pure and reverent demeanor.

 

“3Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes, 4but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight. 5For this is how the holy women of the past adorned themselves. They put their hope in God and were submissive to their husbands, 6just as Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. And you are her children if you do what is right and refuse to give way to fear.

 

“7Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as a delicate vessel, and with honor as fellow heirs of the gracious gift of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.”

 

The Right Thing To Do

 

I am going to present a scenario here which is probably in the majority of households, at least here in the USA it is, based off current statistics. And I want us to examine that scenario in light of the teachings of the Scriptures, and not just the ones quoted above. A man and a woman, both professing faith in Jesus Christ, got married to one another. Now what the woman did not know is that her husband was not living a morally pure life, but he was living in adultery against her even before they got married, and it continued throughout their marriage, and they are still married and living together.

 

Some people will advise that she should just leave him, that she should divorce him. But does the Bible teach that a man or a woman must divorce an unfaithful spouse? I don’t believe it does. They have the biblical right to do so, but it doesn’t say that they must, as far as what I recall. So what if the couple agree to remain together but the wife decides that, biblically speaking, she is no longer bound to submit to her husband sexually, and her husband agrees to that arrangement? Is she in the wrong? Is she still required to be in an intimate relationship with a sexually addicted spouse?

 

To The Scriptures

 

“4Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” Hebrews 13:4

 

“14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! 15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness.” 2 Peter 2:14-15

 

“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. 2 And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this?” 1 Corinthians 5:1-2

 

“13The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, ‘The two will become one flesh.’ 17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

 

“18Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:13-20

 

“3But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” “6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them.” Ephesians 5:3,6-7

 

“3It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8

 

“28But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:28 ESV

 

“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.” Matthew 15:19-20 ESV

 

The Marriage Bed Kept Pure

 

So, is the marriage bed being kept pure if one spouse, in this scenario the man (but it could be in reverse of this, too), is living in sexual immorality and in adultery against his wife? And the reason for stressing the roles here of male and female is because the woman is supposed to submit to her husband, and not the other way around. Is she required biblically to submit to having relationships with a spouse who is deliberately and habitually living in adultery against his wife as a life pattern? For the marriage bed is definitely not being kept pure in this scenario. It is being adulterated.

 

“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!” 1 Corinthians 6:15

 

And what defines a prostitute? Interestingly enough, the Greek word for prostitute is “porné.” And “porn” is short for pornography, which is what so many people are using today in place of or in addition to their spouses in order to gratify their sexual desires. And a prostitute is a “sex worker,” “one who deliberately stimulates or fulfills unwedded sexual desire by dress, speech, or conduct.” “Figuratively an idolater.” (source: Bible Hub Greek Interlinear). So this includes the practice of self-gratification and porn addiction. So if your spouse fits this description, biblically speaking you should not unite with him or with her sexually. For we are not to obey sin!

 

“Therefore do not become partners with them.” Ephesians 5:7

 

It does not say we must divorce them or that we cannot live in the same house as them, but that we should not be sexual partners with those who are sexual partners with themselves or with other people. We should not be sexual partners with “one who deliberately stimulates or fulfills unwedded sexual desire by dress, speech, or conduct.” So if you are in a marriage relationship like this, biblically speaking you are not bound to have sex with someone who is having sex outside of the marriage relationship. You are to keep the marriage bed pure. We are not to unite ourselves with a prostitute.

 

Bible verses on marriage, adultery, divorce, and moral purity:

 

[Genesis 2:24; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7; 2 Peter 2:13-19; 1 Corinthians 5:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-20; Ephesians 5:1-33; Colossians 3:18-19; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; Titus 2:3-5; Matthew 5:28; Matthew 15:19-20; Matthew 19:9; Mark 7:20-22; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:13-21]

 

If You Do What is Right

An Original Work / October 3, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

His Tender Mercies

 

An Original Work / January 26, 2014

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Fear not! I’m with you. Be not dismayed!

God watches o’er you. Trust Him today.

He’ll lead and guide you; Give you His aid.

He’ll love and keep you with Him always.

 

Walk in His footsteps. He’ll lead the way.

Trust in His love; Believe that He cares.

He will not leave you. Faithful He’ll be.

His tender mercies now you will see.

 

Fellowship with Him throughout the day.

Tell Him your heartaches. He’ll heal always.

Rest in His comfort. He is your friend.

Your faith He’ll strengthen, true to the end.

 

https://vimeo.com/379513308

Following in Christ's Footsteps

1 Peter 2:21-23 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

21For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps:

 

22“He committed no sin,

and no deceit was found in His mouth.”

23When they heaped abuse on Him,

He did not retaliate;

when He suffered, He made no threats,

but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.

 

Following Christ’s Example

 

When we believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, it is not just so that we can have our sins forgiven and so we can go to heaven when we die. Jesus gave His life up for us on that cross to redeem us, i.e. to buy us back for God, i.e. to deliver us out from under our addiction to sin so that we will now serve Him with our lives in walks of surrender to the will of God in obedience to His commands. And we who believe in Jesus are to follow after His example in how He lived so that we follow Him in His footsteps.

 

Flee From Addiction to Sin

 

Now, Jesus Christ was not born with a sin nature as we are, because He was not conceived of man, but of the Holy Spirit, to a virgin woman. So when He lived on the earth He was both fully God and fully human (God incarnate). Although He was tempted to sin as we are, He never sinned. That will not be true of us who are born with sin natures. But, by the grace of God, and in the power of God, by biblical faith in Jesus Christ, we can be delivered out of our addiction to sin so that we no longer make sin our practice (our habit).

 

No Lies! Speak Truth!

 

And no deceit was found in His mouth. We who profess faith in Jesus are to be truth tellers, not liars, not deceivers. Even what some people call “white lies” are still lies. Now this does not mean that you have to tell everyone everything you know or that you have ever done in your life. But we who follow Jesus with our lives are not to be liars, but truth tellers. We are not to be those who say things as though they are truth in order to deceive other people when we know full well that what we are telling them is a lie.

 

No Retaliation

 

If we are following Jesus Christ with our lives, and if we are following His example to us in how we are to live, not necessarily in absolute sinless perfection, but definitely in habitual obedience to His commands, and so we are speaking the truth of God’s Word to the people, we should be prepared that even other professing Christians, and “the church,” in general, might heap abuse upon us. For so many have gone the way of the world and have rejected the biblical gospel, and so they may go to attacking us personally.

 

Although it is certainly acceptable for us to respectfully defend our own honor, as did Jesus and His New Testament apostles when they were being mistreated, or when they were being falsely accused of what they did not do, we are never to retaliate. We are not to do anything to get back at them. Instead, we are to forgive them, and do good to them, pray for them, and love them, and speak the truth to them which is for their good. For we are to do good to those who hate us and who mistreat us (see Luke 6:27-28).

 

1 Peter 2:24-25 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

24He Himself bore our sins

in His body on the tree,

so that we might die to sin

and live to righteousness.

“By His stripes you are healed.”

 

25For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

 

The Gospel

 

If I had to summarize the message of the gospel of our salvation in a very short statement, I would probably choose to quote 1 Peter 2:24. Why? Because it says it so plainly and yet precisely. For Jesus Christ’s whole purpose in allowing Himself to be crucified on that cross was to put our sins to death with Him so that, by faith in Him, we will now die to sin and live to His righteousness in walks of obedience to His commands in surrender to His will and purpose for our lives. This is what the Scriptures teach us.

 

Jesus Christ did not die that horrible death on that cross just to forgive us our sins and to guarantee us life eternal with Him in heaven without the purpose and the requirement that we must now die to sin and obey our Lord in holy living, giving glory to God by how we live our lives. For that was the whole reason He died for us, to free us from our addiction to sin so we will now follow Him with our lives wherever He leads us in doing what He has called us to do for His purposes and for His glory. We must follow our 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; 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]

 

Following in Christ’s Footsteps

An Original Work / October 2, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Follow Him 

 

Based off Luke 9:22-25

An Original Work / February 21, 2013

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Jesus, Son of God,

Died for us on a cross.

 

Anyone who would come to Him

Must deny himself and follow.

He must take up his cross daily;

Die to sin and self each day.

 

Father, God above,

Loved us so: gave His Son.

 

If you want to save your old life;

Keep on sinning, follow your ways,

You will lose your life forever;

Hope of heaven gone away.

 

Spirit of our God

Gives us life in God’s Son.

 

Nonetheless, if you die to self;

Forsake your sin; follow Jesus,

You will live with God in heaven,

And forever praise His name!

 

https://vimeo.com/117316842