The Double-Minded Person

James 1:5-8 BSB

 

“5Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

 

This is one of those passages of Scripture where you can’t read just one sentence or one verse, and stop there. For the promise given to us who believe in Jesus Christ, in verse 5, it has a condition attached to it given to us in verses 6-8. So we need to read verses 5-8 to get the whole picture.

 

Seeking God’s Wisdom

 

So, as those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, we are to be getting our wisdom from God, and not from the world; and from the Spirit of God, and not just from human flesh. We are to be seeking the counsel of God with regard to who we are to become, and what we are to do with our lives, and where we should live, and who we should marry, and what gathering of the church (the biblical body of believers in Jesus Christ) with whom we should find fellowship and mutual encouragement in our walks of faith in Christ.

 

If any are finding themselves “struggling” with sin, which usually means they are living in sinful addiction, and they sincerely want to find the way out from underneath that captivity to any sinful practice, they should pray to God for the wisdom to know what his word teaches on this subject, and what God expects of those who profess his name. But they must pray sincerely, truly desiring to know and to follow “the way out.” And when they have been shown the right way, then they must trust and obey God for deliverance.

 

Rejecting God’s Wisdom

 

Sadly, many claim they want the wisdom of God in their situation, that they desire to be free from their addiction to sin, and on a surface evaluation it looks like they could be heading in the right direction. But oftentimes, and not in all cases, many say they want to be free but then they don’t put God’s wisdom into action in their lives, but they still do it their way, which is not God’s way. And that is what this is talking about. Therefore they are double-minded, unstable in all their ways, still heading the same old direction.

 

Now, this is not the only area of our lives where this can be applied. This can cover any area of our lives where we lack wisdom and we need the counsel of God, and so we ask God for wisdom, but then we don’t take his counsel, and we still go it our own way, instead. But this isn’t about someone who might one time ask God for wisdom and then not follow his counsel. Look how the person here is described as a person who is double-minded in character, who is unstable in ALL HIS WAYS. This speaks of addiction.

 

An Illustration

 

When I was a child, and I played on a playground, we had something called a see-saw or a teeter-totter. It was a long board balanced on something in the middle, and one child would sit on the right end and the other child would sit on the left end, and they would go up and down, back and forth. And that is the picture I get in my mind of someone who is double-minded, who is on both ends of this teeter-totter going up and down and back and forth in opinion, so unstable in all their ways, not remaining in one place.

 

And to teeter is to waver, to totter, to wobble, to sway back and forth. So this is not someone who once or twice has asked the Lord for counsel and then did not take his counsel, but this is someone who habitually claims to be seeking the counsel of God but then goes their own way anyway. And double-minded means to vacillate in opinion or purpose, but it also means to be two-spirited, i.e. “two souled,” i.e. a person split in half mentally. And someone like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

 

The Conclusion

 

So, what does that look like with regard to our faith in Christ? We cannot be half on one side and half on the other. That doesn’t mean we have to be absolutely perfect in every respect. But we can’t walk in sin and in obedience to God at the same time. Either our lives are committed to Christ, or they are not. Either sin is our practice or obedience to God is our practice. Either we are living to please the flesh or we are living to please God. The two don’t mix. If we are double-minded we will not have eternal life with God.

 

For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

 

[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

 

The Double-Minded Person

An Original Work / July 10, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

The Silencing and Removal of Corrupt Pastors/Teachers

Hebrews 12:25-27 BSB

 

25See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if the people did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject Him who warns us from heaven? 26At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth, but heaven as well.” 27The words “Once more” signify the removal of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that the unshakable may remain.

 

The Removal of The Shakable

 

What is this teaching us? Well, it is definitely teaching us that there is a need to remove what can be shaken so that the unshakable may remain. And the “unshakable kingdom” is the kingdom of God, and of heaven. So the opposite of that is the kingdom that is of this world, which is of human flesh, which is not of God, and which is shakable. It is a worldly kingdom which rejects and refuses God’s warnings and his teachings and which goes after the lies of the devil which are being taught by worldly people, instead.

 

Sadly, this describes probably the majority of what is being called “church” here in the USA. And sadly it also describes what I believe are the majority of the pastors/teachers within these congregations which are being referred to as “the church.” Now, we hear much about how women should be silenced in the churches, and how they must not preach (prophesy), but we hear very little about how the seeming majority of these pastors are yielding to sin, teaching lies, and diluting the gospel message to appease human flesh.

 

Where is the outcry for them to be silenced and removed from their positions? And why are our godly women being called to be silenced? For God gave us a voice, not to be in authority over men, but to prophesy, to proclaim the truths of God’s Word. While godly women are being silenced, ungodly men are being permitted to rule in the gatherings of the church and to preach lies to the people and to turn “the church” into a marketplace to be marketed to the world. And so they make compromises with the world.

 

This should not be! But God will have the final word on this! One day this shaking is going to take place, and it may come in phases, and not all at once. I don’t know. But God will remove the liars, the cheats, the adulterers, the manipulators, the sexually immoral, the deceivers, the fakes, the corrupt, the dishonorable, the wicked, and the opportunists from their positions of power and influence over the people within the gatherings of what are being called “churches.” How and when, I do not know.

 

False prophets/pastors/teachers: [Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 24:11-14; Luke 6:26; John 10:1-15; Romans 16:17-19; 2 Corinthians 11:3,13-15; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 3:2; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 John 2:18-22; 1 John 4:1-6; 2 John 1:7; Jude 1:1-25]

 

Hebrews 12:28-29 BSB

 

28Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. 29“For our God is a consuming fire.”

 

Take God Seriously!

 

We need to take God and his word seriously to put his word into practice in our daily lives. For faith in Jesus Christ is not just words we profess. The faith to believe in Jesus comes from God, is authored and perfected by Jesus Christ, is persuaded of God, and it is gifted to us by God, and it is not of our own flesh; not of our own doing. And by faith in Jesus Christ we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them. Faith = obedience. Disobedience = unbelief. So if we are people of faith, we are living to obey our Lord.

 

And to worship God is not just singing “worship” songs in a gathering of the church (or what is falsely being called church). True worship of God must involve us denying self, dying to sin daily, and walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, as a matter of life practice. This does not necessarily mean we will be perfect, but that sin must no longer be our practice. Obedience to our Lord and to his commands must now be what we practice (in lifestyle), in the power of God, by the grace of God. This is to worship God “acceptably with reverence and awe,” not just singing songs.

 

For our God is a consuming fire, and he will judge, and he will condemn those who give lip service only to Jesus Christ, and who do not obey him.

 

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]

 

Zeal for Your House

 

Based off John 2:17; Psalms 69:9

An Original Work / August 1, 2016

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Zeal for Your house, it consumes me.

Lord, I love my times with You.

I love to worship You and sing Your praises.

Time in Your Word brings me closer to You,

List’ning to You speaking to me,

Gently guiding me in truth.

 

Lord, You are my life’s example,

Showing me how I should live.

I love to walk with You where’er You lead me.

No greater joy have I when serving You.

Loving, giving, resting in Your strength,

I’m yielding to Your will.

 

Zeal for Your house, it consumes me.

See the church turned upside down:

Marketing ventures taking place of worship,

Men of the gospel turning into clowns.

Gospel message made appealing,

So the world will feel at home.

 

Lord, we need a great revival.

Turn their hearts, Lord, back to You.

Open the blind eyes, turn them all from darkness,

Lord, to the light. May they return to You,

Turn from their sin, forsake idols,

Be restored to God again.

 

https://vimeo.com/177433676

 

The Silencing and Removal of Corrupt Pastors/Teachers

An Original Work / July 10, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

In Your Struggle Against Sin

Hebrews 12:4-11 BSB

 

“4In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons:

 

“’My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord,

and do not lose heart when He rebukes you.

6For the Lord disciplines the one He loves,

and He chastises every son He receives.’

 

“7Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you do not experience discipline like everyone else, then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live?

 

“10Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. 11No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.”

 

God’s Discipline

 

Jesus Christ shed his blood for us on that cross, not just to forgive us our sins so we would have eternal life with God, but so we would now die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to his commands. For our salvation is not about a free ride to heaven based off a verbal confession of faith in Jesus Christ. Our salvation is about being delivered out of our bondage (slavery, addiction) to sin so we will now live for the Lord in moral purity, honesty, faithfulness, and obedience to God.

 

So, for us who believe in Jesus Christ, in truth, and in righteousness, he offers many instructions in the Scriptures to us on how we are now to live as followers of Christ, and of the consequences if we should choose our sin over God. And he takes us through trials and tribulations to test our faith, to strengthen us in our walks of faith, and to get us to remain on the straight path and to not sway from where our Lord is leading us. Discipline is necessary to keep us focused on the Lord, and following him in his ways.

 

Hebrews 12:12-13 BSB

 

12Therefore strengthen your limp hands and weak knees. 13Make straight paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.”

 

The Adulterous Church

 

So many people today are teaching a very diluted “gospel” message which gives sinners who profess faith in Jesus Christ full freedom to continue in deliberate and habitual sin without conscience and without true remorse. Many are teaching that once you “pray the prayer” to receive Christ that now all your sins are forgiven and God doesn’t even see when you sin anymore. That is a lie from hell! And they tell them they are now “in Christ,” and if they feel guilty for sinning they should just claim “who you are in Christ.”

 

Many “church” gatherings and preachers/pastors have altered the gospel message to make it less offensive to the world and more acceptable to the ungodly who they are trying to attract to their gatherings. And many do this, as well, to appease themselves, for many preachers are not living according to the will of God, but they are still living according to the will of the flesh. And they are running “the churches” more like businesses to be marketed to the world rather than gatherings of the body of Christ for mutual edification.

 

God’s Word

 

So, we need to be students of the Scriptures who study them in their appropriate biblical context so we are getting the truth of what they teach and not the lies which are spreading so rapidly and which are being embraced it seems by the majority of those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, at least here in the USA. For Jesus taught that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow him in obedience to his commands in holy living.

 

And that is basically the message here in verses 12-13. For our hands have to do with our deeds, and our knees have to do with submission and surrender, and our feet have to do with our walks, how we live, in practice. So, either we bow to sin and do what is sinful, in practice, and surrender to sinful practices, or instead we bow to God and submit to him and do what he commands. We can’t do both. For straight paths are the ways of God and of his righteousness and holiness in walks of obedience to his commands.

 

[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]

 

Your Servant 

 

An Original Work / September 21, 2011

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Lord, I love to have You near me

As I go throughout my day,

Walking daily in Your footsteps,

As I humbly pray.

List’ning to You, hear You teaching

Me to live and work for You,

Lord, I pray You lead and guide me

Daily in Your truth.

 

Lord, I want to be Your witness,

Telling others of Your grace;

Telling how they can be set free

Of their sins today;

Share with them the love of Jesus,

He died on a cruel tree,

So that we’d be forgiven

For all eternity.

 

Lord, I want to serve You only,

As I bow on bended knee,

Making You my Lord and master,

And Your servant be.

Humbly walking in obedience,

Doing what You say to me,

Lord, may I be an example

Of one who’s set free.

 

https://vimeo.com/126318100

 

In Your Struggle Against Sin

An Original Work / July 9, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Run With Endurance

Hebrews 12:1-3 BSB

 

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

 

I believe the “great cloud of witnesses” is in reference to the people of faith listed for us in the previous chapter, chapter 11, the Faith Chapter of the Bible, as it is called. Their walks of faith, or their faith responses to God, in certain circumstances, serve as a model for us in how we are to live to please God. They were not perfect people, and there were times when some of them failed God. But God honored them for the times when they obeyed him, and they did what was honoring to him, and they walked by faith.

 

Throw It Off!

 

Contrary to what so many are teaching these days, God is not okay with us continuing in deliberate and habitual sin against God, and in disobedience to his commands (New Covenant). God’s grace to us is not a free ride to heaven based off lip service only. God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return (Titus 2:11-14). And Jesus taught that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow the Lord in walks of obedience to his commands, or not have salvation (Luke 9:23-26).

 

So, the encouragement for us here, and yes this is encouragement, is that we must throw off (get rid of) every obstacle in our way, which is keeping us from obeying the Lord, and every addictive (repetitive, habitual) sin in our lives. We must die to all sin and its grip on our lives so that we can live holy lives, pleasing to God, by the grace of God, in his power. For the “race” that is set before us is our daily walks of faith in obedience to our Lord in surrender to his will and to his purpose for our lives. And it involves daily submission to our Lord and to his will in going where he sends us and in doing all that he commands – all in the power of God, and not of our flesh.

 

Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus

 

Jesus Christ is the author and the perfecter of our faith. It is only because of his sacrifice of himself on that cross, in putting our sins to death with him, and in being raised from the dead, that any of us can be saved from our sins and live victorious over sin, and walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands. For in his death and resurrection, he put our sins to death with him so that, by faith in him, we might now die to sin, live in victory over sin, and walk in obedience to his commands in holy living, by his grace, and in his power.

 

And our faith comes from God, it is gifted to us by God, and it is persuaded of God as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of God’s requirement that we deny self, die to sin daily, and follow our Lord in surrender to his will, in walks of obedience to his commands. The faith we profess cannot be of our own doing or it is not biblical faith. In fact, we cannot even believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives unless God first draws us to Christ. And biblical faith = obedience. Disobedience = unbelief.

 

[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]

 

So, our eyes, minds, hearts, and souls must be centered in and focused on Jesus Christ, and on the teachings of the Scriptures. And we must allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit and no longer by the flesh. A “My Do It” approach to faith in Jesus Christ will never suffice to get anyone saved from sin and given the hope of eternal life with God. Jesus died and rose from the dead so we will die with him to sin and have victory over sin and no longer walk in deliberate and habitual sin, but in obedience to God’s commands.

 

Our Eyes on Jesus

 

Based off Hebrews 12:2-13

An Original Work / April 23, 2012

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.

Our faith starts and grows in Him,

Who for the joy set before Him

Endured all our sin.

Scorning the shame of the cross,

He sat down beside God above.

He was willing to die for us,

To save us, in love.

 

Think about the opposition

He endured from sinful men,

So when you go through life’s trials,

You stay strong within.

Knowing all He went through for us

Helps us not grow weak of heart;

Not grow weary; don’t give up;

And not from Him depart.

 

In your struggle against sin’s ways,

Resist not to shed your blood.

Have you forgotten the words

God spoke to us in love?

“My child, don’t ignore it when

The Lord corrects you; do faint not,

Because the Lord disciplines those

That He loves, of God.”

 

God rebukes us all for our good;

Share with Him in holiness.

It produces a harvest of

God’s own righteousness.

Therefore, strengthen all within you

That is weak and might give way.

Stand firm in the faith God gives you;

Trust Him and obey.

 

https://vimeo.com/125489683

 

Run With Endurance

An Original Work / July 9, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Keep Persevering

By Faith Moses

 

Hebrews 11:23-29 BSB

 

“23By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were unafraid of the king’s edict.

 

“24By faith Moses, when he was grown, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25He chose to suffer oppression with God’s people rather than to experience the fleeting enjoyment of sin. 26He valued disgrace for Christ above the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his reward.

 

“27By faith Moses left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch Israel’s own firstborn.

 

“29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were drowned.”

 

Pharaoh’s Daughter (see Exodus 2:1-10)

 

Pharaoh issued an edict at the time of Moses’ birth that all newborn Hebrew boys were to be killed. But by faith Moses’ mother hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she put him in a basket and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. And then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to the river, saw the basket, and decided to take care of the child. And long story short, the mother of Moses ended up being paid by Pharaoh’s daughter to nurse the baby. When the child grew older she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she named him Moses.

 

When Moses was Grown

 

But when Moses was grown, by faith he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, and instead he chose to suffer oppression along with God’s people. He chose this rather than to experience the fleeting enjoyment of sin. For, he would rather endure such reproaches as Christ suffered, along with his people, than to participate in the treasures of Egypt.

 

And what lesson can we get from that for our own lives? I believe this is a very good illustration of what it looks like when we, by genuine faith in Jesus Christ, willingly give up our lives of sin to now follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands. We willingly give up other people’s friendships, if necessary, and the sinful pleasures of this world, in order to follow our Lord wherever he leads us in doing whatever he has called us to do. And it will cost us if we get serious about our walks of obedience to Christ.

 

He Persevered

 

God called Moses to rescue God’s people who were being held captive in slavery in Egypt. Moses wasn’t real excited about the idea, at first, but he yielded to the calling of God on his life, and he did what God called him to do. But Pharaoh would not let the people go, even after God sent all kinds of plagues against Pharaoh and his people. But the final plague got Pharaoh to let the people go because it meant the death of so many of his people. But then he still chased after them. But the Egyptians drowned in the Red Sea.

 

And what can we learn from this? Never give up hope! Keep persevering! Keep believing God! Keep trusting him! Even when all looks hopeless. Even when you have had to suffer this way many times before. Even when the prayers you pray are not being answered in the timing you had hoped for. Don’t give up! Even if it looks like the world is coming crashing down all around you. Keep moving forward. Even if it looks like no one’s listening. Keep speaking the truth of God’s word for the salvation of human lives.

 

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10:16-25,34-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 16:33; Acts 14:22; Romans 5:3-5; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; Hebrews 12:3-12; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13] 

 

Courageous! 

 

Based off Various Scriptures

An Original Work / December 24, 2013

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

The Word of God throughout taught.

Some people heard but did doubt.

Still others had faith in Christ.

By grace He purified them.

 

They turned from sin

And they obeyed Christ.

He opened up their blinded eyesight;

Turned them from darkness

To the true Light;

Forgave their sin by His might.

 

He strengthened them in their faith.

He said, “Remain my faithful.”

He called them to obedience.

By faith, they were so grateful.

 

By faith, they were to follow Jesus;

To daily sit and listen to Him;

To have such faith

That mountains could move;

To love those whom He gave them.

 

Be on your guard; courageous.

Stand firm in faith. Be thankful.

Take up the shield of your faith;

Protect against all evil.

 

Do not move from

The hope that you have.

Your faith in Jesus let it endure.

Hold to the truth;

Your conscience be clear.

Endure with perseverance.

 

https://vimeo.com/112338495

 

Keep Persevering

An Original Work / July 8, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

A Man of Faith

Hebrews 11:8-10 BSB

 

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going. 9By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”

 

I am in the process of working my way through Hebrews, chapter 11, the Faith Chapter of the Bible. But I am not going to cover it all verse by verse. But I will try to cover certain people and certain aspects of their faith, and what that faith looked like, and how it is an example to us who are of faith.

 

By Faith Abraham

 

Again, faith in God, in Jesus Christ, results in obedience to God and to his commands or it is not biblical faith. So Abraham, a man of God, when God called him to go to a particular place, he obeyed God, even without knowing where he was going. Have you ever experienced that in your life? I have. Sometimes it is just the Lord leading you in a direction, one step at a time, but you not knowing what the end result will be. So you do what he says, by faith, and you go where he sends you, not knowing what it all will lead to.

 

The direction isn’t always to a physical location. Sometimes he may just give you a name, or he might visit you in a dream, and so you look up the name, or you let him walk you through the dream to show you what it means. Or he may lead you to talk to a stranger, or to call someone on the phone, or to write someone a letter. You don’t know why, and you don’t know where it will lead, but you follow him, and you do what he says, and you may then see immediately the purpose, or you may not, but still you trust him.

 

As a Stranger

 

And Abraham, by faith in the Lord, dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. Has God ever sent you to a foreign country? Or to a city or a state in your own country where you felt like a stranger, an outsider, as though you did not belong? And did you live in temporary housing, like in a tent or in an apartment building with hundreds of other tenants? But did God open any doors of ministry for you there? Did he reveal to you his purpose in sending you there? But even if he didn’t, did you still trust he had a reason?

 

God doesn’t always give us reasons for why he has us do what he has called us to do or to say or to write, etc. Sometimes we just have to trust him on blind faith, knowing it is him leading, and that his will is to be accomplished through it in some way. It may just be to test our faith and our obedience, and for no other purpose. Or he may have us impact someone else’s life for the Lord without us even knowing about it. But whatever it is, it can’t be against the Scriptures and against God’s expressed will and purpose for us.

 

For What Reason?

 

Abraham went with God where he sent him, even though he did not know where he was going, to live in tents as a stranger in a foreign country, why? Because he loved God, and he wanted to obey God, and because his eyes were focused, not on this world, but on God and on his heavenly kingdom. His mind was kingdom focused and not worldly focused. So he was willing to do all God asked out of love for God, and in obedience to his commands, because he was a follower of God who desired to obey the will of God.

 

And that is the same reason that we should want to obey our Lord, because we love him, and we want to do what pleases him, and because our minds and hearts are kingdom (his kingdom) focused and not worldly focused. We should be willing to go wherever he sends us, and to do whatever he asks of us (within his perfect will), even if we don’t always see the results. For God may use us in ways we may never know about while we live on this earth. And we don’t have to know. We just have to follow his lead and trust Him.

 

[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]

 

In Faithfulness He Leads Me

 

Based off Various Scriptures:

(Psalms 26:3; Psalms 86:11; Psalms 91:4-5; Psalms 111:7-8; Psalms 119:73-76; Isaiah 25:1-9; Isaiah 42:6-7; Hosea 2:16-20)

An Original Work / March 20, 2013

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Teach me Your ways, Lord, and I’ll walk in them.

Give me a pure heart. I’ll fear Your name.

Your love is always, ever before me.

Continually I’ll walk in Your truth.

You will cover me with feathers.

Under Your wings I’ll find refuge.

My Lord’s faithfulness will be my

Comfort and my shield.

The works of His hands are faithful and just.

Trustworthy are all of His precepts.

 

Your hands have made me, and they have formed me.

Give understanding of Your commands.

I have put my hope, O Lord, in Your word.

Your teachings, O Lord, are righteousness.

Lord, in faithfulness You have

Afflicted me so I may learn of

Your unfailing love and comfort

And Your truthfulness.

You are my husband; You have betrothed me

In love, compassion and faithfulness.

 

O Lord, You are my God, I’ll exalt You.

In faithfulness You’ve done wondrous things.

You’ve been a refuge for those who’re needy;

A shelter in storms; shade from the heat.

This is the Lord, we trusted in Him,

Let us be glad and rejoice

In His salvation which He

Provided through the Lamb.

Open the blind eyes; free all the captives.

Tell them of Jesus: “Be born again!”

 

https://vimeo.com/115747912

 

A Man of Faith

An Original Work / July 8, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

What Faith Looks Like

By Faith

 

I am presently reading in Hebrews 11, the whole chapter. This chapter of Hebrews is commonly referred to as the Faith Chapter of the Bible because it details for us many of the people of faith of long ago. And for most of them, it was about what they did by faith in Jesus Christ, whether for a long period or for a very short period of time; whether they had always walked with the Lord by faith, or if they had one specific moment of faith in action that was memorable enough to include in this chapter. For this is what faith looks like.

 

Now, it is way too long to quote the whole thing and to write on it, too, so I am going to summarize a lot of it, and quote some of it. And I hope you will read the whole chapter for yourselves, if you have not already done so. For we learn throughout this chapter, and throughout the Scriptures, as a whole, that faith in Jesus is not a feeling or a confession with our lips only, but faith is shown as genuine by what we do in love response to God, in obedience to his commands. By faith we do what the Lord is leading us to do, out of love.

 

By Faith Noah

 

“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7 BSB)

 

Noah, who was 500 years old, and his family, lived in a time of great rebellion carried out by the people of the earth (minus Noah and his family). The people were living however they wanted to live without regard for God, just doing whatever their sinful hearts desired.

 

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time. 6And the LORD regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7So the LORD said, “I will blot out man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—every man and beast and crawling creature and bird of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.” 8Noah, however, found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (Genesis 6:5-8 BSB)

 

So, the Lord instructed Noah to build an ark, and he gave him complete instructions on how it was to be built, and Noah obeyed God. And God did as he said he would do, and Noah and his family, and two of every living creature (not humans) went into the ark, and the door was shut. And then God flooded the earth and everyone and every living creature on the earth died. And Noah was now 600 years old. So it appears that he worked on building this ark for 100 years. That takes enormous faith! And I am most certain that the people thought he was absolutely crazy for obeying the Lord.

 

For Us

 

Now, it looks like I am not going to cover the whole chapter of Hebrews 11 in one writing, so this may end up being a short series. We will see. But what can we learn from Noah’s experience with God from the time God called him to build this ark until the time it was completed, and that the flood had come and gone, and now Noah and his family were back on the earth?

 

One of the first things that comes to mind is his age. Now I don’t know what 500 years old felt like at that time, but that was old. And I am old by our time standard, and so I feel what that is like. He may have had the support of his wife and children, but he did not have any other support. So he was doing this without much outside support at all, with probably the people laughing at him, mocking him, calling him names, and thinking he must be absolutely crazy. I mean, put yourselves in his place.

 

And this wasn’t a quick fix, either. I assume it took him 100 years to build this ark. Can you imagine that? And that he stayed the course? And that he did not give up? Was he ever disheartened and discouraged? He may have been. But if he was, he didn’t let it stop him. He remained true to the calling that God gave him regardless of his circumstances or his surroundings or what other people were thinking about him. And he finished well! He kept the faith, and he obeyed the Lord against all odds against him.

 

And this is a picture of what faith looks like! It is not our emotions. It is not lip service to God only, minus obedience and submission and putting sin to death in our lives. It is obedience, first and foremost. And then it involves perseverance, staying the course, running the race, and not giving up just because things got harder. It is staying faithful to the Lord in service to him, in death to sin and obedience to his commands, despite all odds against us.

 

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

 

The Spirit Calling

 

An Original Work / November 12, 2019

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Hear the Spirit calling. He’ll keep you from falling.

Tenderly He’s calling, “Come and follow Him.”

Walk with Jesus daily. Don’t give in to lazy.

Folks may call you crazy. Fellowship with Him.

 

Follow where He leads you. Eat what Jesus feeds you.

His love will renew you, if you follow Him.

Do what Jesus tells you. Don’t let your faith fail you.

His love will avail you, if you walk with Him.

 

Jesus, Lord and Savior, reigneth now forever.

He gave us His favor, so we’d live with Him.

Turning now from our sin, Holy Spirit live-in.

Holiness we walk in, purified by Him.

 

https://vimeo.com/373006449

 

What Faith Looks Like

An Original Work / July 8, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love