Take Refuge in The Lord

Psalm 5:1-6 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“1Give ear to my words, O LORD;

consider my groaning.

2Attend to the sound of my cry,

my King and my God,

for to You I pray.

3In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice;

at daybreak I lay my plea before You

and wait in expectation.

4For You are not a God who delights in wickedness;

no evil can dwell with You.

5The boastful cannot stand in Your presence;

You hate all workers of iniquity.

6You destroy those who tell lies;

the LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.”

 

The Workers of Evil

 

Who are the workers of evil who delight in wickedness in our world today? They are all who reject the authority of God, who deny His Lordship over their lives, by their practices, who deliberately and habitually sin against the Lord God, and who refuse to obey His commands, all the while they make professions of faith in Jesus, and they claim to be His followers. They are hypocrites who profess one thing with their lips while they live the opposite, who are plotting evil in secret against the righteous who they despise.

 

But they are also those who make no professions of faith in Jesus Christ, and who plot evil against the righteous, but not just against the righteous, but against all people who do not bow to them. For they want the people’s undivided loyalties and devotion, and they want the world to see them as kings who are supposedly making this world a better place for us all to live. But they are the wicked, the immoral, and the arrogant who want to be worshipped above God so that every knee will bow to them as “gods.”

 

Those God Regards as The Righteous

 

The righteous are all who have bowed the knee to God in true worship of Him, for whom sin is no longer what they practice, but for whom godliness and righteousness are what they practice in obedience to God and to His New Covenant Commands. They are those who love the Lord and the teachings of the Scriptures, who make it their practice to do what all of us who profess faith in Jesus are instructed to do in the Scriptures, which is to deny self, die to sin, and obey God in life practice, in the power of God.

 

We are not yet made perfect, and it is possible that we could still sin (1 John 2:1-2), but because we love and serve our Lord, sin is not our practice, but obedience to God is our practice. Our lives are now surrendered to the Lord to doing His will in His service. Therefore, many of us are speaking boldly the words of the Lord to the people for their deliverance from slavery to sin so they might also find favor with God and have eternal life in Him. And we stand for what is right, and we speak against evil, just as Jesus did.

 

Psalm 5:8-9 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“8Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness

because of my enemies;

make straight Your way before me.

9For not a word they speak can be trusted;

destruction lies within them.

Their throats are open graves;

their tongues practice deceit.”

 

We live in a day and time when the gospel of Christ is under attack, and when many liars and deceivers are teaching a false half-truth gospel message to the people, and when multitudes of people are embracing the lies and are rejecting the truth, because the lies convince them that they can continue living in sin, doing what their evil hearts desire, and that they are not required to obey God and His commands. And then they are being promised forgiveness of all sins and heaven as their eternal destiny.

 

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]

 

Psalm 5:11-12 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“11But let all who take refuge in You rejoice;

let them ever shout for joy.

May You shelter them,

that those who love Your name may rejoice in You.

12For surely You, O LORD, bless the righteous;

You surround them with the shield of Your favor.”

 

Yes! If we are following Jesus Christ with our lives, in obedience to His commands, as a matter of life practice, and if our lives are surrendered to Him to doing His will, and so we are out there in the world declaring to the people of this world the truth of what God’s Word teaches as the gospel of our salvation, we are going to face opposition. And some people will fight against us, and what we are sharing from God’s Word, because they are believing the lies of the enemy so that they can keep living in their sin.

 

But we are not to let them discourage us. We must take refuge in the Lord and keep on keeping on in our walks of faith, in obedience to our Lord, in doing what He has called us to do and to say. And even though the enemy is against us, and if we are being verbally attacked, and if we are being lied about and accused falsely of what we did not do or say, we are to continue to rejoice in the Lord and in His Word and to speak His truths to the people. For the Lord will bless us, and He will be our shield of protection.

 

Take Refuge in The Lord

An Original Work / November 11, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

I Take Refuge

 

Based off Psalm 71

An Original Work / September 1, 2018

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

O, Lord, I take refuge in You,

For You are my God.

Turn Your ear now to me.

 

Be my Rock and Fortress

To which I do go.

Deliver me, God. You’re my hope.

 

My lips now give praise to You, God.

I always have hope,

Since You saved me from sin.

 

My enemies speak evil

‘gainst me, O God.

Oh, help me, O Lord, rescue me.

 

The path of my life has been hard.

For, I have had troubles

Too many to bear.

 

But You will increase honor,

Restore again.

Your faithfulness, Lord, comforts me.

 

https://vimeo.com/287942028

What's The Answer?

Voices speaking, people listening,

World around us is transitioning.

Some say change is for the better,

Others put change in a shredder.

Some think wrong way is the right way.

Some think right way not for this day.

Many shepherds are deceiving

Those who’re living, those who’re breathing.

Many wolves are in sheep’s clothing,

Righteousness and God they’re loathing,

Put on masks to fool the people,

Hoping to gain many sheeple.

Right and wrong, they are so twisted,

Truth and lies are coexisted.

Liars plenty become heroes,

Those who tell truth rated zero.

All is backwards, goes the wrong way,

Truth is finished, lies they do sway.

Who can you trust? Are there any?

Satan’s got his messengers plenty.

Much confusion, misperceptions,

Truth not getting much reception.

Idols plenty fool the masses,

People who of many classes.

What’s the answer? What’s the right way?

Faith in Jesus Christ on this day.

Forsake your sins, follow Jesus,

From our sins He will now free us.

Live for Jesus, follow His ways,

Delight in Him, to Him now pray.

Leave your life of sin behind you,

Serve Him and don’t let sin blind you.

An Original Work / January 23, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Set Apart for God

Psalm 4:1-8 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“1 Answer me when I call,

O God of my righteousness!

You have relieved my distress;

show me grace and hear my prayer.

2How long, O men, will my honor be maligned?

How long will you love vanity and seek after lies?

Selah

 

“3Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself;

the LORD hears when I call to Him.

4Be angry, yet do not sin;

on your bed, search your heart and be still.

Selah

 

“5Offer the sacrifices of the righteous

and trust in the LORD.

6Many ask, ‘Who can show us the good?’

Shine the light of Your face upon us, O LORD.

7You have filled my heart with more joy

than when grain and new wine abound.

8I will lie down and sleep in peace,

for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.”

 

Trust in Christ Jesus

 

When we trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, and so we surrender our lives to Him, to do His will and purpose for our lives, we are likely to face opposition and rejection by many who do not approve of our decisions to make Christ the owner of our lives, and to now follow Him in obedience to His commands wherever He may lead us. They might be okay with us if we just say we believe in Jesus, and perhaps if we attend church gatherings weekly, but if we are sold out to Christ, that is at another level.

 

The more serious we are about our walks of faith in Jesus Christ, and the greater commitment we have to serving the Lord with our lives wherever He leads us, in doing whatever He has called us to do, we may find that we will begin losing friends, or they may just keep a safe distance from us. Or the leaders of “the church” may try to persuade us to be less serious and to have more fun, or to not take the Scriptures so seriously, but to listen to and to follow the teachings of men, instead. For that’s how things are today.

 

Call Out To God

 

Rather than letting our circumstances get us down, or to dishearten and to discourage us, we should pray and seek God’s face and His counsel and His wisdom and discernment, as well as His comfort. We should pray for wisdom in knowing the correct way to respond to all who oppose us or who mock us or criticize us, or who try to get us to compromise our faith and convictions. For we want to represent Christ well in how we respond, and we want to show love even to those who mistreat us and who speak evil against us.

 

God may lead us to speak to those who oppose and reject us, with regard to their treatment of us, which is unkind. And if those who are treating us badly are also those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, then the Lord may lead us to speak with them about what it means to be a child of God and a follower of Christ. And He may have us share with them what the Scriptures teach that our lives should look like if we truly believe in Jesus. For, honestly, that is the loving thing to do, to point them to Christ and to His truth.

 

The Godly

 

If by faith in Jesus Christ, a faith which comes from God, and not from ourselves, which is gifted to us by God, we then surrender our lives to the Lord Jesus to follow Him in obedience to His commands, and if we put our sins behind us so we can now live godly and holy lives in service to our Lord, in the power of God, by the grace of God, then we are regarded by God as the godly who He has set apart for Himself. And what that means now is our lives are no longer our own, but we now belong to God to do His will.

 

And so the Lord is going to instruct us in the ways that He would have us to go, according to His will and purpose for our lives. And He will show us what needs to be cut out of our lives and what now needs to be added on to our lives in service to Him. And all throughout the New Testament Scriptures we are given lists of what we need to put out of our lives, and what we need to put on in our lives to replace what we got rid of. For we need to put off sin and to put on obedience, and to put off self, and to put on righteousness.

 

[Matthew 5:27-30; Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Colossians 3:5-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; 1 Timothy 4:7; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 12:1-17; 1 Peter 1:14; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10] 

 

The Sacrifices of The Righteous

 

What do we sacrifice when we put our trust in Jesus to be Lord of our lives? In reality we lose nothing of value, but we gain what is of eternal value. For we give up our sins, and we put on obedience to God. We give up living in fear, and living by our feelings, and worrying about everything that goes on in the world. And, instead, we put our trust and our faith in the Lord that He has us in His hands, and that He will direct our paths, and that He will be with us every step of the way as we remain in Him and as we follow 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]

 

Set Apart for God

An Original Work / November 11, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Nearer, My God, to Thee

 

Lyrics: Sarah F. Adams, pub. 1841

Vs. 6: Edward H. Bickersteth, Jr.

Music: Lowell Mason, 1856

 

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!

E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me,

Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!

 

Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,

Darkness be over me, my rest a stone;

Yet in my dreams I’d be nearer, my God, to Thee.

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!

 

Or, if on joyful wing cleaving the sky,

Sun, moon, and stars forgot, upward I’ll fly,

Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!

 

There in my Father’s home, safe and at rest,

There in my Savior’s love, perfectly blest;

Age after age to be nearer, my God, to Thee.

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5WLZAVKB88

 

Caution: This link may contain ads

Was Paul a Hypocrite?

This was originally published on October 31, 2020, but since this is a subject which keeps resurfacing, I believe I am to repost it today:

 

I hear a lot of people quote Paul from Romans 7, using him as an example of a life of struggling (regularly giving in) to sin. Usually this is in the context of the cheap grace gospel being presented. And they quote, too, where he said that he was the chief of sinners, as though Paul was consistently sinning.

 

I believe the Lord Jesus wants me to examine this today. So, let’s begin with the quoted texts:

 

#1: 1 Timothy 1:15 ESV

 

“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”

 

Okay, so if Paul was literally saying that he was (present tense) the chief (foremost, leading) of all sinners, that would mean that he was committing every sin possible to man, that he was living in sin, and he was making sin his practice (Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Rom 1:18-32; 1 Co 6:9-10).

 

#2: Romans 7:14-23 ESV

 

“For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

 

“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

 

“So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.”

 

Pay attention to the wording here. For, if Paul was saying that this was a description of his present life, then he was saying that he:

 

• Is sold as a slave to sin
• Does not understand his own actions
• Is doing (actively, as a matter of practice) what is sinful
• Does not have the ability to carry out what is right
• Keeps on doing what is evil (practicing sin)
• Is captive (a slave) to the law of sin

 

But Romans 7 falls “smack dab in the middle” of Romans 6 and Romans 8. And what do they say about slavery to sin, making sin our practice, keeping on doing what is evil, and not having the ability to do what is right?

 

Romans 6

 

“How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (v. 2)

 

“We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would NO LONGER be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.” (vv. 6-7)

 

“Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are SLAVES of the one whom you obey, either of SIN, which leads to DEATH, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (v. 16)

 

Romans 8

 

“For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who WALK NOT according to the flesh BUT according to the Spirit.” (vv. 3-4)

 

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the MIND ON THE FLESH IS DEATH, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is HOSTILE TO GOD, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh CANNOT PLEASE God.” (vv. 5-8)

 

“So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For IF YOU LIVE according to the flesh YOU WILL DIE, but if by the Spirit you PUT TO DEATH the deeds of the body, YOU WILL LIVE. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” (vv. 12-14)

So, how could Paul write what he wrote in Romans 7 and also write what he wrote in Romans 6 and 8 and in all the other books he wrote in the New Testament? Do we really get what Paul taught about sin, slavery to sin, death, righteousness, and life eternal with God? If truly he meant what a lot of people are saying he meant in Romans 7 and in 1 Timothy 1:15, then he was not only the chief of sinners, but he was the chief of hypocrites, too.

 

Or, we have to take his words in Romans 7 and in 1 Timothy 1:15 and interpret them in the context of everything else he wrote that is now part of our Bible. And he wrote probably half of the books in the New Testament.

 

Let’s Examine It

 

For Paul wrote that if we live in sin, according to the flesh, we will die in sin. If we keep on doing what is evil, if we remain enslaved to sin, and if we make sin our practice, then we don’t have eternal life with God (Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Rom 1:18-32; 1 Co 6:9-10; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8).

 

But isn’t that exactly what he said he was doing in Romans 7? So, is he a big fat liar and the chief of hypocrites? Or is there another explanation for what he said in Romans 7? Yes! There is!!

 

Look at how Romans 7 was sandwiched in between Romans 6 and 8. Study word by word what he said in Romans 6 and Romans 8. What he is describing in Romans 7 is the life of one who is still under the power and control of the flesh. But then the good news comes in Romans 6 and in Romans 8. Through abiding faith in Jesus Christ, we are delivered from that slavery to sin and we now become slaves of righteousness. Amen!

 

Paul was a slave of righteousness. Read his writings. He was sold out to Jesus Christ 100%. He lived or he died for Christ and for His gospel. And that gospel teaches that we must no longer be enslaved to sin but that we are now to become slaves of God and of His righteousness.

 

And it teaches that if we remain living in sin, doing the kinds of things he described in Romans 7, that we are hostile to God, and we cannot please God, and that our lives will end in death without Christ because we refused to die to sin and to live for Christ in this life on earth.

 

So, when Paul said he was the chief of sinners, and he did say it in present tense, apparently, we have to take it that what he was talking about was his past life, and that the kinds of things he did in his past, he felt, made him chief of all sinners because he persecuted and murdered Christians who were following Jesus Christ with their lives.

 

So, let’s go back two verses to verse 13 in 1 Timothy 1:

 

“though FORMERLY I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy…”

 

And what does he say at the end of Romans 7?

 

“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

 

Jesus delivered him from his slavery to sin, and that is why he could write what he did in half of the New Testament. He was no longer a slave to sin, but now he was a slave to God, to Jesus Christ, and to his righteousness. And that is why he could boldly teach us that we must do likewise, or we will not have eternal life with God, but we will face the wrath of God, instead.

 

So, don’t believe the lies telling you that Paul was living in sin or that he was struggling with (regularly giving in to) sin. Study Paul’s writings and you will see that he lived such a holy and godly life above reproach that he could, in fact, tell people to imitate his manner of life. How many of us could do that?

 

And don’t believe the lies, thus, that tell you that you can be saved from your sins, be guaranteed heaven when you die, but that you can continue making sin your practice (your habit, your go to). Either walk according to the Spirit and live with Christ for eternity or walk (in lifestyle) according to the flesh and be prepared to die in your sins.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

An Original Work / October 31, 2020

Reposted November 10, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Put Your Trust in God

Life today is so uncertain.

Who’s the man behind the curtain?

Do you know him, know him really?

Or think you know him, love him dearly?

Trust in his words, think they’ll help you?

Think he’s God’s man, come to rescue?

Are you sure he’s not the devil?

Behind the mask will come all evil?

Bible tells us to test all man

Don’t be fooled by earthly wisdom.

Test the prophets, test the teachers,

Test our leaders, test the preachers.

Listen carefully to what they say,

Be so careful you they not sway.

We live in times with so much evil,

Lies and liars, much upheaval.

Bible warns of days of Noah,

Much rebellion, undergo a

Time of testing, tribulation,

Tiring, trying situation.

Don’t be fooled by earthly wisdom,

Don’t be fooled by men with visions.

What’s on surface may be for show.

What’s beneath we may not yet know.

Times ahead not be what some hope.

Times ahead may be hard to cope.

Not for our best, our best interest,

Might be for others, their self-interest.

So put your trust, your trust in God,

Rely on His word, not a fraud.

Depend upon Him, on His word,

And not on men who’re so absurd.

An Original Work / January 20, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

The Two Paths

Psalm 1:1-6 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“1 Blessed is the man

who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,

or set foot on the path of sinners,

or sit in the seat of mockers.

2But his delight is in the Law of the LORD,

and on His law he meditates day and night.

3He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

yielding its fruit in season,

whose leaf does not wither,

and who prospers in all he does.

4Not so the wicked!

For they are like chaff driven off by the wind.

5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6For the LORD guards the path of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.”

 

The Counsel of The Wicked

 

So what is the counsel of the wicked that we are not to walk in? Well, it can be many different things, but the primary one of concern here is those who counsel us that we can believe in Jesus Christ and have heaven secured for us for when we die, and yet we do not have to cease from sin and we do not have to obey God and His commandments (New Covenant), for they call that “works salvation,” which is a lie. For they offer a protection from hell, which is a nothing gospel, which circumvents God’s restrictions, i.e. His commands.

 

The Path of The Sinners

 

What is the path of the sinners? It is the way of sin, of unrighteousness, of godlessness, of immorality, wickedness, homosexuality, sexual idolatry, sexual immorality, lying, cheating, stealing, unfaithfulness, adultery, envy, drunkenness, greed, reviling, swindling, gossiping, slandering, and the like. And this is not to say that we, as followers of Christ will never commit sin, but the Scriptures teach us that if sin is our practice, and not obedience to God and to His commands, that we will not inherit eternal life with God.

 

List of specific sins and put offs and put ons taught in the Scriptures:

 

[Matthew 5:27-30; Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Colossians 3:5-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; 1 Timothy 4:7; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 12:1-17; 1 Peter 1:14; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10] 

 

The Seat of Mockers

 

Who are the mockers? They can be non-Christians who attack Christians and their beliefs and who persecute followers of Christ for their faith in the Lord Jesus. Or they can be nominal Christians, those who profess faith in Jesus with their lips, including pastors of “churches,” who are the ones teaching and/or accepting the false gospel message, mentioned above, which permits sinners to continue in sin and which gives them permission to not obey God. They will mock those of us who are teaching the biblical gospel of Christ.

 

The Righteous Who Obey God

 

When Jesus Christ gave His life up for us on that cross it was to put our sins to death with Him so that, by faith in Him, a faith which comes from God and is not of our own making, we will now deny self, die to sin daily, suffer for the sake of righteousness, and follow our Lord in obedience to His commands. Again, this is not to say we will now be perfect in every respect or that we might never sin again (see 1 John 2:1-2), but that sin must no longer be our practice. Now obedience to God is to be what we practice.

 

We are regarded by God as the upright, the godly, and the morally pure who walk in His ways, in His truth, and in His righteousness as a matter of life practice, in the power of God, as being led by the Holy Spirit. We are not those who have bought into a cheapened “gospel” so that we can keep on sinning without guilt and without remorse. For we honor God and His Word and His commands out of love for Him, and out of a desire to do what pleases Him, and because we no longer crave sin, but righteousness.

 

The Wicked vs The Righteous

 

The wicked are all (whether or not they profess faith in Jesus Christ) for whom sin is still their practice, their habit, their go to, and for whom obedience to God is not their practice. For they include the self-indulgent, the selfish, the addicted to sexual immorality, liars, deceivers, egocentrics, manipulators, the untrustworthy, malicious, morally unclean, corrupt, dishonest, perverted, and crooked, etc. who do not honor God with their lives even if they profess to be Christians who say they love Jesus.

 

The righteous, in the sight of God, are, on the other hand, those who honor God with their lives, who obey His commands in life practice, and for whom sin is no longer their habit, their practice, what they keep going back to over and over again. They are most likely not absolutely perfect in every way possible, and who never fail to be all who God wants them to be. But they are followers of Christ who do His bidding and who live to please God and who follow Him wherever He leads them. They have eternal life with God.

 

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

 

The Two Paths

An Original Work / November 10, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Near the Cross 

 

Hymn lyrics by Fanny J. Crosby, 1869

Music by William H. Doane, 1869

 

Jesus, keep me near the cross;

There a precious fountain,

Free to all, a healing stream,

Flows from Calvary's mountain.

 

Near the cross, a trembling soul,

Love and mercy found me;

There the bright and morning star

Sheds its beams around me.

          

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,

Bring its scenes before me;

Help me walk from day to day

With its shadow o'er me.

 

Near the cross I'll watch and wait,

Hoping, trusting ever,

Till I reach the golden strand

Just beyond the river.

        

In the cross, in the cross,

Be my glory ever,

Till my raptured soul shall find

Rest beyond the river.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5C9FfVA-OI

 

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God is Able to Keep You from Stumbling

Jude 1:24-25 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“24Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy— 25to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.”

 

If we are in Christ, by biblical faith in Jesus Christ, and so we have died with Christ to sin, and we are now walking in fellowship with Him in obedience to His commands, in the power of God; if He is truly our Lord and master, then we have nothing to fear. It doesn’t mean we won’t ever feel fear, for to feel fear warns us of danger ahead so that we can be ready for what is coming, and so we can pray for the strength we need to endure whatever is coming next, and for the wisdom to make the right choices, and to trust God fully.

 

If we are truly in Christ, by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in Him, He can keep us from falling back into sin if our trust is securely in Him and if it is not in ourselves, in our own flesh. He can keep us from falling if we do not let fear overtake us and believe the lies of the enemy which are against us that say we’re helpless against the temptations of the flesh. He can keep us from falling if we do not compromise with the world of sin and give in to the temptations of the flesh. He will empower us to obey Him if we are willing.

 

But we have to want to obey Him. We have to want to die to sin and to follow Jesus Christ with our lives in surrender of our wills to the will of God. And we have to not tempt fate, i.e. we have to not take foolish risks and think we can go “this far” and that we will not go further. We have to set boundaries for ourselves and not put ourselves in positions where we might be tempted. And we have to remove from our lives everything possible that might present a temptation for us, that might trip us up so that we fall.

 

So our hearts have to be right with God. “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.” “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” So if the heart is filled with lust, sinful desire, hatred, unforgiveness, pride, selfishness, and idolatry, this is what will be produced in the person’s life.

 

See: Matthew 15:17-20; Luke 6:45; etc.

 

So if we feed the flesh, and not the Spirit, i.e. if we continually take into our minds and hearts what is pure garbage (sinful, hateful, lustful, prideful), that is what we will produce. For you may have heard the old saying, “garbage in, garbage out.” We are not going to have pure hearts and minds if we are allowing ourselves to be consumed by what is impure and immoral and wicked, and if that is what we approve of. For one little compromise can lead to another and to another, until now it is a huge compromise with sin.

 

Many people professing faith in Jesus Christ, though, are continuing in sin because they have been fed a bunch of lies coming from Satan, and they have adopted those lies into their daily lives, and they have, thus, rejected the truth of the gospel as taught by Jesus and by His New Testament apostles, taught in the correct biblical context. For they want to continue in their sin, but they also want the assurance that when they die they will not end up in hell. But they cannot have it both ways. It doesn’t work that way.

 

So if you are someone who is struggling with sinful addiction, probably more often than not in the area of sexual immorality, please know that Jesus Christ made a way out for you from sin so that you can serve Him with your life in walks of obedience to His commands. But you have to bow to Him in submission to His will. You have to, by the grace of God, deny self, die to sin, and obey God in life practice, in the power of God. And you have to cooperate with God and with His work of grace or you will never be free.

 

[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]

 

God is Able to Keep You from Stumbling

An Original Work / November 9, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Blessed Be Your Name

 

by Matt Redman

 

In the land that is plentiful

Where Your streams of abundance flow

When I'm found in the desert place

Though I walk through the wilderness

 

When the sun's shining down on me

When the world's 'all as it should be'

On the road marked with suffering

Though there's pain in the offering

 

Blessed be the name of the Lord

 

You give and take away

You give and take away

My heart will choose to say

Lord, blessed be Your name

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw4H5t3TwHM

 

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