If God is For Us

Romans 8:31-39 NKJV

 

“31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36As it is written:

 

“’For Your sake we are killed all day long;

We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’

 

“37Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

From the Beginning

 

I was raised in an institutional church setting most all my life, following what they were teaching me, which early on was mostly good, and mostly biblical, but which later on began to drift away from the teachings of Christ and of his New Testament apostles in order to attract the people of the world to their gatherings. And so they got very caught up in marketing their “churches” to the people of the world, and I joined in with them on that journey for some time before God opened my eyes to see that was of the flesh, and not of God, and it was not God’s way to win people over to faith in Jesus Christ.

 

Most all of my life I have been a serious student of the Scriptures, believing what God’s Word teaches, that it is truth, although I was taught some things wrongly, too. As I have shared before, I did have a short period of time in my life where I got off base, and I wandered from what I knew to be the truth, in and out, with some large gaps in between, and I followed after the lies, at times, until the Lord brought me back, and he put me back on solid ground, where I have remained ever since then. But mostly I walked with God in obedience to his commands and I followed his leading in my life.

 

Persecuted for My Faith

 

Now, when I was doing wrong, they left me alone. They were fine with me. But when I stood strong in my faith, and I walked the walk God had marked out for me, then I got rejected, persecuted, mistreated, and cast aside as unwanted and as unnecessary to the body of Christ, the church. And they didn’t care where I ended up as long as I left them so they would be rid of me. For so much of “the church” was becoming so worldly, and they were following men in their marketing schemes, and so I didn’t fit in with their schemes. I stood out as different, and “different” didn’t fit with their plans.

 

Then the Lord called me to the internet where he intended to use me to share with the people the Words of the Lord in the Scriptures, and to share what he was teaching me each day from my times spent with him in prayer and in the study of his Word. Early on he taught me all sorts of things about my nation and about the institutional church and its partnership with the government. I was ignorant of so many things, so in a lot of ways he was giving me a history lesson I had never had before, and he was showing me the corruption going on in my government and in the institutional church.

 

And he had me reading from Genesis to Revelation, and again, and then from the Psalms to Revelation, and again, and again, multiple times before he had me reading individual passages of Scripture. For in so doing he was teaching me context, and context is critical to correct biblical interpretation. So many lies are being taught today from Scriptures pulled out of context and twisted to say what they do not teach in the correct context, so it was of critical importance that I learned the correct context, for I had been taught some things wrong because they were taught out of biblical context.

 

What’s The Point?

 

So, what is the point of all of this, and how does this relate to this passage of Scripture? Well, if we are following Jesus with our lives, and if we are spreading the truth of the gospel, in the correct biblical context, we are going to stand out as different, and we will be rejected, even by others who claim to be Christians, and even by some church pastors who are following the ways of the world and so they are compromising the gospel to make it less offensive and more attractive to human flesh. So, we may indeed be invited to leave and to go someplace else where we will be a better fit.

 

For we are now on the narrow road leading to life eternal, and we are not on the broad road so many are traveling on today, in the name of Jesus, which leads to destruction. We are no longer partnered with the world, marketing the church to the people of the world, but we are following the Scriptures taught in their correct biblical context, to the best of our understanding. And so that sets us up to be persecuted, for we are now “accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” But if we keep following the Lord, we will be victorious in not letting how others treat us decide the direction which we take in this life.

 

So, don’t let how other people treat you determine your destiny. I did that for a short period of time, and that is not the right way to go. Keep the faith! Keep obeying the Lord. Walk in his ways. And keep sharing with the people the truth of the gospel that faith in Jesus Christ, which is of God, will result in us denying self, dying to sin daily, and us walking (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. But if we should continue to walk in sin, and not in obedience to our Lord, then we won’t have eternal life with God when Jesus returns. So keep speaking and keep living the truth no matter how others treat you. For we are conquerors through Jesus Christ.

 

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

 

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

 

If God is For Us

An Original Work / June 6, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

In Our Weaknesses

Romans 8:18,26-30 NKJV

 

18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us… 26Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

 

28And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

 

Human Emotions

 

Life is hard sometimes. Things don’t always go the way we had hoped. We have disappointments sometimes that hurt us emotionally, sometimes which bring us to tears. We were hoping for one thing to happen when the opposite of that happened, instead. And I know that these things are minor compared to the bigger more tragic things which are going on in the world around us, but God gave us feelings. He gave us emotions. He made us capable of loving and of getting hurt, too. And so we have to work through these.

 

For suffering isn’t all just the big stuff, though it certainly is the big stuff. But I think sometimes it is the little stuff which hits us harder, because it is what is closer to our hearts, to our emotions, to what we feel. For we are feeling people. But the Spirit of God helps us in our weaknesses when the difficulties and challenges of this life hit us where it hurts emotionally, if we will turn to him for help and not let our emotions get the best of us. We just have to let go and let God take control and trust him with our circumstances.

 

He Makes Intercession

 

Do you ever feel like you are all alone in this world? You may have people all around you, and yet you feel alone, you feel isolated, perhaps even deserted. Perhaps people have deserted or abandoned you because of what you stand for and what you share publicly because that is not in their comfort zone. You stand on truth and righteousness in a day when so many people are making compromises with the world. And so you stand out as different. And different doesn’t always make people want to be with you.

 

And since God made us as people who generally want to be with other people, for that was his design, and he made us people with feelings and emotions, there might be those times in our lives when our emotions are weak when we feel this more than at other times. And so it is comforting to know that the Spirit of God is making intercession for us in our weaknesses. For in those times we need help. We need encouragement. We need the strengthening of the Lord to fight our emotional battles to victory.

 

For Our Good

 

Now, what may seem like circumstances in our lives which are without hope, God can turn around for good in our lives. And “good” doesn’t necessarily mean what feels good to our emotions, but what is for our ultimate good, i.e. what is best for us, what is needed or necessary in our lives in order for our Lord to conform us and to transform us into the likeness of Jesus Christ and to make us the people of God he wants us to be. But we must be those who love (obey) God and who are the called according to HIS purpose.

 

And HIS purpose for us is that we deny self, die to sin, and follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands in daily surrender to his will. And it is that we live for him, and that we do his will, that we go where he sends us and that we do and say all that he commands. And it is that we surrender to our Lord in allowing him to conform us to the likeness of Christ. And it is that we answer his call upon our lives and we have that change of heart and mind resulting in a change of behavior, and that we live to do HIS will.

 

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Acts 26:18]

 

I AM WILLING, LORD 

By Joni Eareckson Tada

Sometimes when I am down,
And I don't feel like You're around, Oh Lord
Feeling so sorry for me,
Not knowing that all the while You're working to see,

If when I'm put through the fire,
I'll come out shining like gold,
Oh, Lord, please don't ever stop working with me,
'til You see I can be all You want me to be.

Often when I ask why, Teach me then on You to rely O Lord,

You surely know what is best

May I learn that in confidence and strength I can rest

Then, leaning fully on You, my questions fall one by one.

Oh, dear Lord, please don't ever stop working with me
'til You see I can be all You want me to be

I am willing Lord, I am willing Lord,

To be just exactly what You want me to be 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvsWDdftb30

Caution: This link may contain ads

 

In Our Weaknesses

An Original Work / June 6, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

The Children of God

Romans 8:12-17 NKJV

“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13For 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. 14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ 16The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

Feel Good Messages

There are a massive amount of people out there saying what so many people want to hear, to make them feel good about themselves, and to make them happy. Feel good messages are just about everywhere you look these days. And so many people are being taught to avoid all messages which sound negative. Most everything, it seems, is being plugged in such a way so as to be positive, upbeat, cheerful, and acceptable to human ears, when it comes to the subject of Christianity and the gospel of our salvation. 

Therefore, many pastor/preachers are diluting and altering the gospel of Christ to make it more pleasing to human ears, and less offensive to the ungodly (which includes many who profess faith in Jesus Christ). They are deliberately feeding people lies to make them feel good knowing that they are lying to them because they want to grow their numbers. They want to do what will draw in large crowds of people from the world into their gatherings, so they compromise with the world to win the world to their gatherings.

So, although many of them present what they are doing as something good for the people, out of the goodness of their hearts, because they want them to feel good, much of this is motivated by marketing schemes and tricks which teach them what they need to do if they want to grow the size of their audience (what it really is). So much of what is called “the church” is not the biblical body of Christ following the teachings of Jesus Christ, but they are businesses being marketed to the world, in order to get more people.

Through the Spirit

But the Good News taught by Jesus and by his New Testament apostles is not all about making everyone feel good emotionally and therefore avoiding the hard truths which so many do not want to hear. For the hard truths must come first for any of the good stuff to exist. First we must learn that Jesus gave his life up for us on that cross to put our sins to death with him so that, by God-persuaded faith in him, we might deny self, die to sin, and obey God in practice, which we must then do, and then the good stuff comes.

And that is what Paul is talking about here, which he also talked about in chapters 1,2,5&6, at least. For if we do not listen to, and if we refuse to hear the hard truths of the Scriptures, then we cannot be genuinely saved from our sins and thus have the hope of eternal life with God. For we are not to live according to the flesh (the carnal nature), to please the flesh. For if we live according to the flesh, we will die. We will not have salvation from sin, and we will not have eternal life with God. Hard truth! But necessary!!

So, this is what we need to get here. If we avoid the hard truths of the Scriptures in favor of the feel good stuff, we may indeed feel good in our emotions, but we won’t feel good when we have to stand before our Lord in judgement and he says, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness.” So it is loving and kind to speak the hard truths to let you know that if you live according to the flesh, you don’t have eternal life. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, then you will live.

Suffering with Christ

And then please note what it says next. We are children of God, not only via dying with him to sin and walking in obedience to his commands, by the Spirit, but we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ if indeed we suffer with him. And this isn’t the only place this is being taught. Being a Christian is not just about “getting saved” so when you die you get to go to heaven. It means self-denial, death to sin, and obeying our Lord and his commands in practice. And it means living for him, and doing his will, day by day.

And it means following Jesus Christ wherever he leads us in doing all he commands that we must do, as his followers. It means answering his call upon our lives in doing what he has called us to do in our spiritual “body part” assignments, assigned to us by God. It means us ministering to one another within the body of Christ (the church) in encouraging and in instructing one another in the things of God, and in us warning one another against falling back into sin. For the body grows as each part does its work.

And if we are truly following the Lord Jesus in obedience to his commands, in doing his will, and in ministering to one another within the body of Christ, and in us going out to the people of the world and sharing with them the truth of the gospel of our salvation, we will suffer for the sake of righteousness. We will be hated, discarded, mocked, falsely accused, persecuted, rejected, and abandoned even by others who call themselves Christians, and even by pastors and elders in worldly “church” gatherings.

The Truth

So, be students of the Scriptures. Know what they teach. Don’t go seeking after all the “feel good” stuff, but seek after Christ and his righteousness and holiness. Submit to him and obey him, and follow him wherever he leads you, and then you will know true joy. It may not be all the emotional stuff, but it will be an inward peace of heart and mind in knowing that you are in the will of God, doing what he says, and living the life he has for you to live with purpose, and all for the glory of God and for the salvation of souls.

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).

[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] 

Only in Him  

Based off Isaiah 30

An Original Work / February 19, 2014

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love 

Woe to those who look to man’s help;

Who turn away from Jesus Christ;

Forming an alliance not in step with God;

Making their own plans, and praying not.

Willing not to listen to truth,

They close their ears to what is right.

Pleasing words are all that they’ll hear;

Feel good messages that bring cheer.

Trust in your Lord; turn from your sin.

Put your faith now ONLY IN HIM.

Do not turn to idols. They’ll not satisfy.

Jesus will save you. That’s why He died.

Your Lord will be gracious to you.

He cares all about you, ‘tis true.

He forgives you all of your sin

When you give your life up to Him.

Oh, how truly gracious He’ll be

When you bow to Him on your knees;

Turning now from your sin; walking in his ways.

He’ll lead and guide you all of your days.

Now you will sing praises to Him.

He delivered you from your sin.

You’ll tell others now of His grace,

So they may see Christ face-to-face. 

https://vimeo.com/87181019

The Children of God

An Original Work / June 5, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

No Condemnation?

Romans 8:1-8 NKJV

 

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

 

Carnally Minded

 

What does it look like to be carnally minded? According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, it is relating to or given to crude bodily pleasures and appetites. It is marked by sexuality. It is worldly. And according to Bible Hub’s Greek interlinear, being carnal is fleshly, of human origin, and it is generally used in a negative sense to describe someone who is living by the flesh, doing what the flesh desires, and what is displeasing to the Lord. It is making one’s life decisions based off the flesh and not according to our Lord.

 

So, someone who is carnally minded is someone who is still living by their sinful flesh, doing what their flesh desires, and not what God requires of them, whether or not they are professing faith in Jesus Christ with their lips. They are those who are idolaters who are living in immorality, selfishness, self-indulgence, hypocrisy, disobedience, defiance, resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness, and/or pride, just doing what pleases their flesh without regard for what God requires of them in the way of thought, word, and deed.

 

Godly Minded

 

What does it look like to be Godly minded? We are those who no longer walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. This does not necessarily mean we are absolutely perfect in every respect and that we never fail to be who God wants us to be (see 1 John 2:1-2), but it must mean that by God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ we have denied self, died with Christ to sin, and that we are now walking by the Spirit in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands in holy living.

 

This means that Jesus Christ is truly King of our lives, and our desire is to please him in every respect. We are those whose ears are tuned into hearing from the Lord as to what he wants us to do each day, and then we do what he says, not necessarily with absolute perfection and timing every time, but we listen to and we obey our Lord in daily practice, as our lifestyle. We want to please our Lord, and we want to serve him, even despite daily challenges and some opposition and persecutions, because we love our Lord Jesus.

 

No Condemnation

 

So, when this says that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, don’t stop reading there. Keep reading. For we are not “in Christ Jesus” if we are still living according to the flesh, in practice, by habit. For those who are in the flesh cannot please God, for they are carnally minded and not Godly minded. Their minds and their hearts are set on what the flesh desires, and not on what God desires. So, regardless of whether or not they profess faith in Jesus, they are not “in Christ” and they are condemned.

 

Those who are in Christ Jesus are those who are walking (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. They are those who are living (in practice) according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. Their minds and their hearts are set on doing what pleases God and on obeying his commands and on living holy lives, pleasing to our Lord, in his service. Because of what Jesus did for us on that cross, and in his resurrection, we want to serve and obey him. So we are the not condemned.

 

[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]

 

Unless You Are Born Again

 

Based off John 3:1-21

An Original Work / November 3, 2013

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Nicodemus came to Jesus.

He acknowledged God was with Him.

Jesus said, “You can’t see heaven

Unless you are born again.”

 

“How can a man be born when he’s old?

Can he enter into his mother’s womb?”

Jesus answered, “Flesh is flesh,

So of the Spirit, you must be.”

 

Jesus said to Nicodemus,

“You’re a teacher, and yet you don’t

Understand of what I tell you,

Because you will not believe.

 

“For God so loved the world that He gave

His one and His only Son for your sin.

So, whoever believes in Him

Has eternal life in heav’n.

 

“Light has come into the world,

But human beings love the darkness,

Because their deeds are so evil,

So in truth, they stand condemned.

 

“Everyone who practices evil

Fears that the Light will expose his sin.

Yet, whoever lives his life by the Light

Does so through his God.”

 

https://vimeo.com/114686371

 

No Condemnation?

An Original Work / June 5, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Christ Jesus Our Lord

 

Marriage to Christ

Romans 6:1-6,12,16 NKJV

 

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

 

“For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin… 12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts… 16Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”

 

The Wedding Ceremony

 

Imagine with me for a moment that you have just gotten married to your spouse. This is the moment you had been waiting for, and now you did it. You said your vows, and you signed the contract, and now you are husband and wife, a married couple. But then imagine with me that soon after you decide to take a vacation from your spouse, to go away somewhere else where they cannot see you or what you are up to, where they are not included, and which opens the door wide for you to find someone else.

 

This is how many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ treat the Lord, who is their spiritual husband (whether they are male or female), for they committed themselves to be his bride. The big difference is that he can and does see what we are doing in secret when no one else is looking. So he does know what we are up to. But they think that just because they prayed the prayer and said the words that they now have what they want, but that they are still free to live however they want, to go where they want to go.

 

Death to Old Life

 

But that is not how it works. That is not what a marriage should look like, and it is definitely not what a marriage relationship with Jesus Christ should look like. For God’s grace to us is not carte blanche (absolute freedom) to live however we want now that our sins are forgiven and we believe that heaven is guaranteed us. 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 now and forever (Titus 2:11-14).

 

So, we are not free to continue in sin. For by faith in Jesus Christ we die to sin that we might no longer live under its control. And this does not mean that we will never sin again (1 John 2:1-2), but that sin should no longer have dominion over us to where it is what we obey, in practice, instead of us obeying our Lord. For by faith in Jesus our former self is put to death with Christ that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we should no longer be slaves to sin but now servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Baptism Into Death

 

Now, with regard to the verses here speaking of us being baptized into Christ, thus being baptized into Christ’s death, this is clearly speaking of a spiritual baptism which may or may not include water baptism. For in the Scriptures there were people who believed, then were baptized, and those who received the Holy Spirit upon belief, and then were baptized in water. And many people get baptized in water who never, in truth, give their lives over to the Lord Jesus Christ to belong to him and to obey him forever.

 

But our water baptism serves as an outward sign of an inward faith, if truly we have believed in Jesus with biblical faith which saves. And if we are baptized by dunking in the water, it symbolizes our faith. For biblical faith involves us dying with Christ to sin and being raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but now as servants of righteousness in walks of obedience to our Lord in holy living for the glory of God. And all of this is of God, and not of the flesh, for it to be genuine.

 

Slaves to What?

 

And this is what it all comes down to. Are you, in truth, a slave to sin? Or are you a slave to God and to obedience to his commands? You cannot be both at the same time. As followers of Jesus Christ we are no longer to let sin reign (rule) in our mortal bodies, to where we still obey its lusts, in practice. For, if we present ourselves, by our actions, as slaves to sin, that leads to death (eternal separation from God). But if obedience to our Lord is what we obey, in practice, it leads to sanctification 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).

 

[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

 

Marriage to Christ

An Original Work / June 4, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Justified By Faith

Romans 5:1-2 NKJV

 

“1Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

 

I am borrowing this from a writing from two months ago, “Peace with God,” because this is what I am being led of the Lord to do today. For it is good if we can know and understand the meanings of these words in the Scriptures so that we can apply them to our walks of faith in the Lord Jesus.

 

Justified

 

What does it mean to be justified? It means to be made righteous, to be conformed to a proper standard, which is God’s standard for how we ought to live as followers of Jesus Christ. And to be righteous is to be morally pure, upright, honorable, faithful, honest, decent, and obedient to God, in practice, by the grace of God, and in the power of God, which is not of our own flesh. For it refers to what is deemed right by the Lord, what is approved in his eyes. Justification is to show what is right, and to be cleared of all charges.

 

Faith

 

And what is faith? It is belief, fidelity, moral conviction, and faithfulness. And it is divine persuasion, the persuasion of God as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to deny self, die to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands in holy living, by the grace of God, in the power of God. For this faith comes from God, it is authored by God, it is gifted to us by God, and it is persuaded of God, and it is not of our own doing, but it is something we must put into practice, by God’s grace.

 

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

 

Peace

 

And what is this peace with God being spoken of here? It is wholeness, fullness, and completeness. It has to do with us being joined together with Christ, united with him by faith in him, no longer separate (apart) from God, but now joined with him in unity of heart, mind, purpose, and action. We are now in Christ by faith in him, and he is in us by his Spirit. And we are at peace because our trust is now in our Lord and not in ourselves, and because we know God has all things under his control. So we trust him.

 

Grace

 

And what is this grace of God in which we are to be standing? Well, the grace of God, which is gifted to us by God, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. God’s grace is what sent Jesus Christ to the cross to put our sins to death with him, and to be raised from the dead, so we can now die to sin and obey God, in practice. For it is God’s purpose that we no longer walk in sin but in obedience to him.

 

[Titus 2:11-14; Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23]

 

God’s Glory

 

And so we exult (rejoice) in the hope (faith, anticipation, expectation) of the glory (honor, praise, worship, and intrinsic worth) of Almighty God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Our God always was, and always will be. And he is absolutely holy and righteous in all that he does. And he is the one who formed us in the wombs of our mothers. And he is the one who made salvation from sin possible for all of us who put our faith and hope in him to deliver us out of sin.

 

And 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]

 

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

 

Justified By Faith

Borrowed from “Peace with God”

An Original Work / April 8, 2026

Reposted on June 4, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love