How Jesus Regarded Women

I am reading in Luke 7:36-50 NKJV (one of my favorite Bible stories) about a woman who had a reputation of being a sinner. Upon hearing that Jesus was eating at the home of a Pharisee, she went to his house, and she

 

37“brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 38and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.”

 

She, thus, demonstrated her repentance of her sin and her heartfelt worship of our Lord Jesus and her desire to be forgiven and to change her life course.

 

But Simon, the Pharisee, did not see her through the eyes of Jesus, and he hypocritically judged her because of her reputation. He, thus, showed no compassion towards her whatsoever, but he saw her as a “throw away.” And so Jesus told him a parable to show him the love that the woman had for Jesus. And then he turned to the woman and he said to Simon:

 

44“Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

 

My whole life of 76 years I have seen many women being treated as though they are less than men, as though men are to rule over them in such an authoritative manner that they should be regarded as slaves to order around and to use and abuse. They were not given the same rights as men, nor were they paid equally as men for the same amount of work. And they were not given the same amount of respect and honor as many men received, either, even if they earned it and they deserved it. But some things have changed. Some things have gotten better. But not all; not by everyone.

 

But if you read the teachings of the Scriptures you can see that is not how Jesus treated women. There was one case where Jesus tested the faith of a woman who was not a Jew, and she passed the test, and Jesus honored her for her faith. Some might think he was unkind to the woman, but Jesus treated women with honor and with respect. He valued women enough, in fact, to lead one to share the gospel with the people of her city, to direct others to share the good news of his resurrection with his men disciples, and to forgive one who had been caught in adultery and to spare her from death.

 

See: [Matthew 26:6-13; Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 5:25-34; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 2:36-38; Luke 7:36-50; Luke 10:38-42; Luke 24:1-12; John 2:1-11; John 4:1-42; John 8:1-11; John 20:1-18; Acts 2:17-18; Acts 21:9; 1 Corinthians 11:5]

 

And then if you read the teachings on marriage in the Scriptures, women are not treated there as though they are slaves and less than men and people to be stomped on and used and abused, either. We read in the Scriptures:

 

“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24 KJV)

 

“For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.” “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her.. husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself” (see Ephesians 5:3,15-33 to get the whole context).

 

“Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.” (Colossians 3:18-19 ESV)

 

“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” (Hebrews 13:4 ESV)

 

“Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.” (1 Peter 3:1-7 ESV)

 

The husband being the head, thus, does not mean that he is to dominate his wife, mistreat her, treat her as though she is less, or as though she is his slave. He is supposed to be one flesh with her, united with her in love, giving her honor and respect, treating her with value, loving her as Christ loves the church, and as husbands love their own bodies. And they are not to be harsh with their wives, nor adulterous, but making certain the marriage bed remains undefiled by remaining faithful and pure always. And they are to live with their wives in an understanding way, showing honor to their wives.

 

See: [Genesis 2:24; Matthew 5:28; Matthew 15:19-20; Matthew 19:4-9; Mark 7:20-23; Mark 10:6-9; Romans 13:9; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 1 Corinthians 6:9-20; Galatians 5:13-24; Ephesians 5:22-33; Colossians 3:18-19; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; Titus 2:3-5; Hebrews 13:4; James 4:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7; 2 Peter 2:13-19]

 

So, in the church, we are to give women the same honor as Jesus gave them, and that he instructed their husbands to give to them. And we must realize that, although generally speaking men are to be the spiritual leaders in the church, that Jesus will use women in his service, instead of men, if women are willing and spiritually fit while men are spiritually AWOL (like the example given us in Luke 7:36-50). And he will send women out to the mission field (in person or on the internet) in place of men if the women are spiritually equipped while the men are “dropping the ball” because of sin.

 

And this is not to be taken as an attack on men or on women, but to share the critical importance of treating our women with honor, value, and respect, and to not treat them as though they are less just because they are women. And on the day of Pentecost, there were both men and women who were speaking to the people, and the people were hearing them in their own language. And it does not say that the men were in one room and the women in another. And Peter quoted Joel by stating that in the last days God’s daughters and sons will prophesy (preach, proclaim the gospel).

 

As the Deer

 

By Martin J. Nystrom

Based off Psalm 42:1

 

As the deer panteth for the water

So my soul longeth after You

You alone are my heart's desire

And I long to worship You

 

You alone are my strength, my shield

To You alone may my spirit yield

You alone are my heart's desire

And I long to worship You

 

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

 

Caution: This link may contain ads

 

How Jesus Regarded Women

An Original Work / May 12, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Profaning the Name of Jesus

Luke 7:31-35 NKJV

And the Lord said, “To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? 32They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying:

‘We played the flute for you,

And you did not dance;

We mourned to you,

And you did not weep.’

33For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35But wisdom is justified by all her children.”

There are many ways to profane the name of Jesus Christ and they are not all that obvious. Some of them are more subtle, but with the same results. I just learned today that the phrase “Jeepers Creepers,” coined in the 1920’s, I believe it was, was a replacement for using the name “Jesus Christ” as a cuss word. But it was still profaning his name, but which is an indirect version of a profanity. But whether profaning the name of Jesus is direct or indirect it is still profanity against our Lord, whether in actions or in words.

We live in an era today where the name of Jesus Christ is very much so being used as profanity, even by some people who profess faith in him. But profaning his name is profaning who he is in character and what he stands for in righteousness, whether this is being done in words or in deeds. For our actions often speak louder than our words. For it is easy to profess something with our lips, but it is harder to put what we profess into practice. And many deliberately and habitually do the opposite of what they profess.

The song by the name “Jeepers Creepers” is in a movie called “Going Places.” And in the story a sports store clerk poses as a famous jockey as an advertising stunt, but he ends up entangled in lies and having to ride a bucking horse. So this is an example of someone posing as something he is not for his own personal gain and it coming back to bite him, it appears. And the song lyrics have a romantic theme to them but also hint at someone cheating on someone with someone else who has hypnotic eyes (peepers).

So, not all profanity is verbal, in other words. And not all of it is verbally using the name of Jesus Christ in a way which is profane. But when someone professes Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and perhaps even speaks as though they are listening to the Lord and are doing what he says to do, but while they are deliberately, secretively, and habitually cheating on both Jesus/God and spouse, then that is profaning the name (character) of Jesus Christ, who he is, and what he stands for, which is righteous and holy living.

But then there are those who think that Jesus/God should come down to their level, and that he should do things their way, to please them, to make them happy. And if life does not go the way they want, they are critical of him, and they may even mock him or cuss him out for not giving them what they want, when they want it, and the way they want it. For many people treat God as though he is a genie in the sky there to grant our every request, but he is not! He is the only God of this world to be worshipped.

And there are those who believe in a false concept of who Jesus is and what he did for us on that cross. And so they think that if they profess the name of Jesus that they are secured to go to heaven when they die, but regardless of how they continue to live while on the earth. But Jesus put our sins to death with him on that cross so that, by faith in him, we will deny self, die to sin, and follow him in surrender to his will in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living, all in the power of God, and not of our own flesh.

So, when we claim Jesus as our Lord and Savior, it should be our full intention and practice to follow him wherever he leads us in doing all that he has for us to do. And this doesn’t mean we will be absolutely perfect in every way from that moment forward or that we will never sin again against our Lord. But Jesus/God does “draw a line in the sand” in that area. And his word teaches us that if sin is what we practice (our habit), and obedience to our Lord and to his commands is not our habit, we don’t have life in HIM.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 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] 

Better Is

Based in part off Proverbs 27

An Original Work / October 5, 2018

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Better is Love’s chastisement

From a friend,

Than to have your sins coddled

To no end.

Wisdom is seeing danger –

Flees from sin,

Trusting in your Redeemer,

Pure within.

Jesus is your salvation –

Freed from sin –

Giving you life eternal,

Without end.

Trusting in His provisions,

Peace within,

Simply by giving your life

All to Him.

Living your life for Jesus

Ev’ry day,

Tell of His mighty power,

Lives to save.

Listening to Him speaking

To your heart,

Tell of His grace which gave you

A new start.

https://vimeo.com/293958787

Profaning the Name of Jesus

An Original Work / May 11, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

The Ruin of That House is Great

Luke 6:46-49 NKJV

“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? 47Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. 49But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.” 

The picture the Lord is giving me of this today is that of those who make professions of faith in Jesus Christ, who claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but who do not agree with all that Jesus and his New Testament apostles taught as the gospel of our salvation. For it does not fit with their chosen lifestyles. And so they are not participants in the true gospel and of Jesus’ sacrifice on that cross to deliver us from slavery to sin. But they are outside of the true faith, still living to please the flesh, and not to please God.

And many of them are our leaders, either as teachers or pastors or deacons or evangelists, or as the president of our nation and our congress. Even though many of them claim Jesus as their Lord, they are not living according to his commands. For they do not worship the one true God in truth, but in performance only. For the god they truly follow is a pagan God of this world who gives them the liberty to live as they want while still claiming Jesus as their Lord. So they are fakes and phonies pretending to be Jesus followers.

The Lord, I believe, is having me focus this morning on the president of the USA, who claims to be a follower of Jesus Christ, but whose behaviors, words, attitudes, decisions and treatments of other people, and of other nations, does not line up with the teachings of Christ. He is a man full of pride and self-glory, who has statues of himself erected, who is continually applauding himself while tearing others down, and who makes continuous insults, sneers, and cutting remarks about those who oppose him.

He is also hungry for the blood of our fellow humans with a strong desire to murder anyone who gets in his way of what appears to be world dominion. For it is no secret, except to those not paying attention closely, that the US government serves the elite and powerful people of the world who are truly the ones running the world. The US government, I believe, is the harlot who rides (serves) the beast. For the USA de facto government is the ruling class of the world, not our elected officials who we think are running things.

And I believe our government heads, being led by our president, are willfully participating in a political “Ponzi scheme” of sorts. First they “knock the squirrels out of the tree, and then they save them.” First they create the chaos so that they can come in as “saviors” to fix the problem. They lie to the people habitually about what they are doing, and about what other nations are doing, too. For their goal is for our “house” to collapse, i.e. for the ultimate collapse of the US government to bring us into the N.W.O.

But this isn’t just about what the US government is plotting against their own citizens and against the people of the world, but this is about all people in my nation (and in the world) who profess faith in Jesus Christ with their lips but whose hearts are far from God. For they are living outside the will of God, for they do not agree with the teachings of Jesus and of his New Testament apostles on the subject of what it means to believe in Jesus Christ and to have that hope of salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

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

Those who follow Jesus and his teachings, who have by faith in him been crucified with him in death to sin, and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as those who are walking in obedience to our Lord’s commands, are secure in Christ. But those who give lip service to Jesus and who disregard his commands, and who live however they please, for the desires of the flesh, will not enter the kingdom of God. And the USA as a nation is about to come crashing down, I believe.

[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 Christ Alone 

By Stuart Townend & Keith Getty

In Christ alone my hope is found,

He is my light, my strength, my song;

This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My Comforter, my All in All,

Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! - who took on flesh,

Fullness of God in helpless babe.

This gift of love and righteousness,

Scorned by the ones He came to save:

Till on that cross as Jesus died,

The wrath of God was satisfied -

For every sin on Him was laid;

Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,

Light of the world by darkness slain:

Then bursting forth in glorious day

Up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,

For I am His and He is mine -

Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,

This is the power of Christ in me;

From life's first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny.

No power of hell, no scheme of man,

Can ever pluck me from His hand:

Till He returns or calls me home,

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

https://youtu.be/m_063OI38RQ?si=JbjKhHrSaKk8WwBT 

Caution: This link may contain ads

The Ruin of That House is Great

An Original Work / May 11, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Judging Good and Evil

Luke 6:43-45 NKJV

“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

There are many people today who are pushing for global unity, for all people in the world to join hearts and hands together in unity in singing “Kumbaya.” And what is meant by that is that we would all think the same, believe the same, and act the same, so that there would be no more divisions among us. And I believe that a lot (if not most) of the chaos we see going on in our nations is intentionally driven by those in positions of rule and authority and for the whole purpose to force the people of the world to be united as one.

But many do not recognize the significance of this supposed unity or what that will cost them regarding their freedoms. It may look good and sound good to have everyone in the world joining hands in unity with one another, but the ultimate goal of it all is to make us to all be minions under the control of a global order to where we have no more freedoms of expression, or beliefs, or actions, but to where we now would all bow to the beast (the New World Order) and to come under its control where we lose all freedoms.

But God made us all different for a reason. Yes, as followers of Jesus Christ we should all be united with our Lord and with the teachings of the Scriptures. And all of us should have, by faith in Jesus Christ, died with Christ to sin, and we should all be walking in obedience to our Lord’s commands in holy living, by God’s grace, and in his power at work within us. So, in that way we should be united as one body by faith in Jesus Christ. But God still made us uniquely who we are to serve him in our gifted areas.

He gave us different looks and personalities and giftedness and passions and callings. And he will use us in so many different ways if we are willing to obey him and to do what he says he wants us to do. So we are not to be carbon copies of one another. As Christians we should all agree on the fundamental truths of the gospel and of the teachings of Jesus and of his New Testament apostles. And we should all be putting into daily practice those instructions from the Lord, but still be uniquely who God made us.

For, within the body of Christ, we are all uniquely gifted of God with spiritual gifts, and we are all given by God our “body part” assignments, i.e. our individual callings of God in ministry to one another. And we are to put to use our spiritual gifts, and we are to serve in our “body parts” assigned to us by God, in His power, as led by the Holy Spirit. Yet we are not supposed to all be the same. So we should not try to put everyone in the same basket. Yes, we are all to obey our Lord’s commands, but still be uniquely us.

So, when we look to see what “trees” among us are bearing bad fruit, and which ones are bearing good fruit, we need to measure this by the teachings in the Scriptures regarding the gospel of our salvation and not by our own personal prejudices or who we think people ought to be, and how we think they need to be living. For God did not make us to be like everyone else and to do things the way everyone else does them. We are not to be “cookie cutter” Christians who all conform to a human standard not of God.

Thus, bad fruit and good fruit are not to be judged by human standards of society and social circles, even within the gatherings of “the church.” But all is to be determined by the teachings of Christ and of his New Testament apostles as they teach us what is bad and what is good in the eyes of the Lord. And they teach us that if sin remains our practice (habit), and if obedience to God and to his commands is not our practice, then we are not of God, and we do not have salvation from sin nor eternal life with God.

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

So, in making judgments regarding who bears bad fruit or who bears good fruit, make certain you are measuring by God’s standards of right and wrong and not by the world’s standards. For bad fruit can be disguised to look good on the outside, and good fruit can be hidden and/or attacked to try to make it look like it is bad. So just because it looks good on the outside, it does not mean it is good. “Wolves in sheep’s clothing” abound everywhere. So, make sure your judgments line up with what the Scriptures teach, in context.

[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

 

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

Caution: This link may contain ads

Judging Good and Evil

An Original Work / May 10, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Love Instead of Legalism

Luke 6:6-11 NKJV

Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. 8But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood. 9Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” 10And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 11But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

God instituted the Sabbath Day in the Old Testament times in order to give his people Israel a day to rest from their labors. Under the New Covenant God did away with the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, circumcision, dietary, and Sabbath laws. But when Jesus lived on the earth, the people of Israel were still under the Old Covenant, although Jesus was already moving them toward the New Covenant in his teachings. But the scribes and the Pharisees had the wrong perspective of what the Sabbath was created for, for it was not to punish the people.

So, Jesus posed the question to the scribes and Pharisees, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” Good question! And this goes right back to what Jesus said about the Sabbath when he said, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath” (see Mark 2:27-28; also Luke 6:1-5). For the Sabbath was not created to punish the people, but it was something intended for their good, to give them rest from their labors, not so they will ignore the needs of the people.

And there are still “the religious” today who hold on to Old Covenant liturgical laws and who feel compelled to force them upon those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, even at the cost of not demonstrating the love of God to the people. They are more concerned with externals and rituals which have nothing to do with our salvation from sin and eternal life with God than they are with living holy lives, pleasing to God, in submission to his will and purpose for our lives. We call them the legalists who will attack people for not keeping rituals while they themselves sin against God and other people.

Are we, as followers of Jesus Christ, to obey our Lord and his New Covenant commands? Absolutely! But we are not bound by legalistic requirements that God does not require of us which have nothing to do with holy living and spiritual maturity and loving the people of the world. And God does NOT require of us that we attend services at a building once a week called “church,” and sing some songs, and listen to a sermon, then go home, live however we want, and then repeat the same routine the next week. He requires we die to sin and obey him in living holy lives, pleasing to God.

And, as far as us gathering together as the church, the body of Christ, the Scriptures teach that we are to do this daily, but not in any one specific location or day of the week or time of day, and not necessarily with all the same people every time, either. And the location doesn’t even have to be physical. For we are to worship God in spirit and in truth anywhere. So it could be a gathering with other Christians via a phone call or texting or video conferencing or on internet discussion sites where we have the freedom presently to share our faith and to encourage one another.

But we have Pharisees living among us today who believe if we are not in a building called “church” every Sunday morning, going through their routines, that we must be out of God’s will, or we must be backslidden. And they will condemn us and even snub us for being “unchristian” by their perspective. But the Scriptures teach that we are to gather daily, and for mutual edification and encouragement, and where we can utilize our spiritual gifts and serve in our “body parts” assigned us by God. And for me, that has been the internet, which is where God sent me nearly 22 years ago.

Obey God and his commands? Yes! Live holy lives pleasing to God? Yes! Turn from your sins and now serve the Lord with your lives? Yes! But don’t get caught up in legalism and having to go through certain ritualistic routines and then totally miss the purpose for the church. For we the people of God are the church, and we are to gather together so we can minister to one another and to help one another to follow the Lord and obey his commands and to not fall into sin or be led astray by people in their deceitful scheming. So go where God sends you where he can use you in other people’s lives.

[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]

The Peace of Christ  

Based off of Colossians 3:1-17; Ephesians 5:19-20

An Original Work / October 31, 2011

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Let the word of Christ dwell in you,

As you teach with all wisdom,

Teaching one another to not

Think on earthly things;

Think instead on things above,

Where Christ sits with God, in love,

Saving us from all of our sins,

Cleansing us; made new within.

Let the peace of Christ rule your hearts,

As you sing songs unto Him;

Speak to one another with psalms,

Hymns, and spir’tual songs;

Always giving thanks to God,

In the name of Christ, His Son,

Who gave His life up for us all,

And gave us eternal life.

Let the love of Christ within you

Rule in your hearts; grace within,

Purifying you from your sin,

Make you whole within.

Forgive as the Lord forgave.

Show His kindness ev’ry day.

In word or deed, whate’er you do,

Glory give to Jesus Christ. 

https://vimeo.com/125863950

Love Instead of Legalism

An Original Work / May 10, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Adding On or Letting Go?

Jesus Christ was under scrutiny and condemnation from the scribes and Pharisees of his day because he forgave people’s sins, and because he ate with “tax collectors and sinners,” and because he and his disciples did not fast, but they ate and drank. So Jesus answered them with a parable:

Luke 5:36-39 NKJV

Then Jesus spoke a parable to them: “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old. 37And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. 38But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. 39And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’ ”

Adding On

Jesus Christ was bringing in the new way of the cross, and the new way of God’s grace and redemption through Jesus’ shed blood on the cross for our sins. But the new way was not an addition (like the patch of un-shrunk cloth) to the old system, but the new way of redemption was all by itself (new wine in new wineskins). For it is not the Old Covenant law plus Jesus. Jesus is the fulfillment of the law. For it is by God’s grace that we are saved, through God-given faith in Jesus Christ, and it is not of our own doing.

Also, I believe the old garment and the old wineskins represent our old lives of living in sin and for self. Therefore, we cannot put Jesus Christ, in the person of his Spirit, into our old sinful lives. He is not an add-on to our old lives. He is a replacement for our old lives of living for self and in sin. For he died so we would die to sin and live to righteousness, in walks of obedience to him, by his grace and in his power, or else we don’t have genuine faith in Jesus Christ, nor salvation from sin, nor eternal life with God in heaven. 

Therefore, we cannot combine righteousness with worldly living. We cannot mix sanctification with degradation. We cannot live for the pleasures of the flesh and live for Jesus Christ, too. Just because we pray a prayer to “receive Christ” it does not mean that, in truth, we really received Christ into our lives if we have not first died to our old lives of sin. For Jesus put our sins to death with him on that cross that we might now die to sin and walk in obedience to his commands as servants of Christ and of his righteousness. 

I also believe there is a caution here against following religious practices which we think are going to make us more spiritual, but then for us to still end up living our lives for ourselves. For what good is it to deny yourself food for a period of time so you can pray and draw near to God if, once the fast is over, you go right back to business as usual? God doesn’t want that kind of fasting. He wants the kind of sacrifice to him that is there all the time, and that doesn’t just add him on to our old lives, but which allows him to put our sins to death so that we can now live new lives by faith in him.

Letting Go

There are many people professing faith in Jesus Christ, though, who don’t want to let go of the old system or the Old Covenant or the old traditional religious practices which are not of God. And there are many of them, too, who don’t want to let go of their old sinful lifestyles and practices, many of which they may have been living according to for many years. For them, having to let go of their sinful addictions is like having to break up with someone they want to be with for forever, like a love/lust relationship.

Just the thought of having to get rid of those sinful practices out of their lives is heartbreaking for them, and so they are holding on for dear life, hoping that somehow they don’t have to let go but that they can still believe in Jesus and still have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. But it doesn’t work that way, even though many people are teaching it that way. But the Scriptures teach that we have to die to sin so we can live for God and for his righteousness in obedience to his commands, in his power.

The ones who won’t let go of their old sinful lifestyles are like those who want to be married but who also want to live like they are single. Those are failed marriages even before they begin. Sadly, many marriages are just like that. They want the best (what they perceive is the best) of both worlds. But Jesus makes us make a choice – Him? Or them? We can’t have Jesus and the world and the lusts of the flesh and the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life all in one big happy package deal. It is him or them! We must choose!

[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] 

No Less  

An Original Work / March 19, 2012

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

I can do no less than praise You,

Lord, for all You’ve done for me.

You died for my sins to save me,

So I would be set free.

I adore You! Lord, I praise You!

Jesus, Savior, King of kings!

You provided my redemption.

Your grace has pardoned me.

I can do no less than serve You. 

Lord, Your witness I would be,

Telling others of Your love,

And why You died on that tree.

Tell of how You gave of Your life,

So from sin we’d be set free,

So we could worship You forever,

And live eternally.

I can do no less than love You,

Lord, for You have first loved me.

You gave of Your life so willing,

Because You cared for me.

Turn from my sin! Obey freely!

Live for You each passing day.

Read Your word, and follow Your lead,

Lord, as I humbly pray. 

https://vimeo.com/125493623

Adding On or Letting Go?

An Original Work / May 10, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Nevertheless, at Your Word

Luke 5:4-11 NKJV

When Jesus had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” 6And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 

8When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” 9For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” 11So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

Have you ever faced a circumstance in your life that you thought was beyond hope? You tried hard to make it work, but it kept failing? And perhaps you gave up all hope that it would ever work? But then the Lord encouraged you to try again? And so you listened to his counsel? And then it all came together? I have done that many times, including this morning. I think I made more than one attempt to write a second devotion, but I felt overwhelmed. I was tired, and I wanted to sleep, but that wasn’t working. And I didn’t believe my mind was alert enough to take it all in. But then…

The Lord put a song in my head, and it kept playing over and over in my mind, so I finally looked up the lyrics. It is from an old musical. And I believe the storm referenced in it had to do with someone dying. The song, evidently, is often requested for funerals. But this doesn’t have to be about death, although it could be. And the storm can be something rather simple, like mine this morning, to something more tragic, to anything in between. We face all kinds of storms in this life that we must overcome by the grace of God and in the power of God as we listen to our Lord and to his counsel.

Sometimes I think we stall things, or we hold up things from happening that need to happen when they do, because of our own limitations we set on ourselves, or because we are tired and our brains aren’t working very well, and so we give up. But if God is in it, he will supply what we need. He can even make 2 hours of sleep feel like a whole night of sleep. Or he can keep us up all day and all night and us still function like we had enough sleep if he has a purpose for it, because there is something he wants us to do at a particular time that won’t be the same if we put it off to another time.

Therefore, even though we may feel ill equipped to do what we sense the Lord is calling us to do at a particular time, because we have already made attempts at it that didn’t work for us, we should listen to that quiet voice speaking to us in our minds and hearts, and we should do what we believe he is leading us to do, even if our emotions are not there, and even if we feel as though we are not ready for this. For the devil is going to try to discourage us and to get us to give up trying just because it didn’t work the first or second time. But we must listen to the Lord and trust him to provide.

For our God can do in us and through us what we cannot do in our own flesh, in our own strength and power. He can work miracles in our difficult situations, and in our trials and tribulations, beyond our imaginations. So, even if our circumstances appear hopeless or beyond our comprehension or our ability to do anything to change them, we serve a miracle working God who can do far beyond anything we could ever imagine. And so we need to follow his lead and do what he says and then just watch him work. And that doesn’t mean we will see results immediately, but we may. So we trust him.

The following is the song I spoke of, which is a secular song, so it doesn’t mention the names God or Jesus. But the words encourage us to not give up hope, and to keep moving forward, and to not let the storms of life hold us back and discourage us and keep us from continuing to live life as we ought. We are not to fear hard times or what might happen to us next. We need to keep moving forward in the grace of God, in his power, and strength, and wisdom, and keep trusting him with everything going on in our lives and in the world around us. For he will not leave us or forsake us if we are HIS.

You’ll Never Walk Alone  

By Oscar Hammerstein II / Richard Rodgers

When you walk through a storm

Hold your head up high

And don't be afraid of the dark

At the end of a storm

There's a golden sky

And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind

Walk on through the rain

Though your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on, walk on

With hope in your heart

And you'll never walk alone

You'll never walk alone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7du-RHGrJrA

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Nevertheless, at Your Word

An Original Work / May 9, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love