Following Worthless Idols

Jeremiah 2:1-2 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

1Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says:

‘I remember the devotion of your youth,

your love as a bride,

how you followed Me in the wilderness,

in a land not sown.’”

 

It is entirely possible for those of genuine biblical faith in Jesus Christ, who walked with the Lord in obedience to His commands in holy living, for a long while, with their lives surrendered to the Lord, dedicated to His service, in love with God, to, at some point in their walks of faith, encounter temptation to sin and end up sinning against the Lord in disobedience to His commands. And it is dumfounding to comprehend how that could happen, but it happened to King David, did it not? And it happened to me a long time ago.

 

And when I look back on that time it saddens my heart to think of it. But if we are not careful, and if our hearts are not guarded, and if we begin to let even little bits of the world into our minds and hearts, we can be led astray and fall back into sin, and be in need of restoration and renewal. But thanks be to God, He did not leave me there. He brought me back, and He restored me, and He gave me a new lease on life. And in due time He called me to this present ministry. I am so thankful that He did! All glory to God!!

 

Jeremiah 2:5 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

5This is what the LORD says:

“What fault did your fathers find in Me

that they strayed so far from Me?

They followed worthless idols,

and became worthless themselves.”

 

And then there are those who profess faith in Jesus Christ with their lips, who go through some of the motions of religious practice, but who never did have a change of heart and mind resulting in a change of behavior. Or, if they did, it did not last long, and soon after they began to stray far from the Lord and to follow after worthless idols to the point to where they became worthless themselves. For they forsook the God they claimed to worship, and they worshipped and served the idols of man, instead.

 

No amount of God’s corrections and disciplines and calls to repentance made any difference in their lives. They stubbornly held on to their sin, refused to give up their idols, and continued to do what they knew was wrong. For it was what their flesh craved. And that is where many professing Christians are today, giving lip service to the Lord but while they continue to walk in darkness, in deliberate and habitual sin against God, bowing to their idols of the flesh. And it will not end well for them if they refuse to change course.

 

Jeremiah 2:13 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“13For My people have committed two evils:

They have forsaken Me,

the fountain of living water,

and they have dug their own cisterns—

broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

 

Here in the USA, where I live, we are seeing this much. So many professing Christians have gone the ways of the world, and they have forsaken the ways of the Lord. They have accepted a diluted and altered “gospel” message which makes no requirements of them that they must repent of (forsake, die to) their sins and obey God, in life practice. And so many who do still teach repentance and obedience to God teach them more as something we “should” do, but not as something that God requires of us.

 

Instead of allowing the Lord Jesus to build His church, His way, many have turned the church into a man-made business which is being marketed to the world just like other businesses. For they have rejected the life-giving water of the Spirit of God in salvation from sin, and replaced the true gospel of salvation with what is fake and broken and cannot hold water (the Spirit of God). In other words they rejected the one true God and His plan of salvation for their lives in favor of following after man-made idols.

 

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

 

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

 

So, if this is where you are, living to please your flesh, and not God, and/or following after the ways of the world, accepting a diluted “gospel” message, in place of the one taught by Jesus and by his New Testament apostles, when taught in the correct biblical context, I pray you will repent of your sins, and that you will submit to Christ as Lord, and follow Him in obedience to His commands from this day forward. Don’t let the devil trap you into sinning against God. Resist him! Flee from him! And follow Jesus always!

 

Following Worthless Idols

An Original Work / August 16, 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://youtu.be/Xrmlv806bGM?si=2UEIyPZ01xCiV2W1

 

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If God is Calling You

Jeremiah 1:5-10 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying:

 

“5Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

and before you were born I set you apart

and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

6“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!”

 

7But the LORD told me:

“Do not say,

‘I am only a child.’

For to everyone I send you,

you must go,

and all that I command you,

you must speak.

8Do not be afraid of them,

for I am with you to deliver you,”

declares the LORD.

 

9Then the LORD reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and said to me:

“Behold, I have put My words

in your mouth.

10See, I have appointed you today

over nations and kingdoms

to uproot and tear down,

to destroy and overthrow,

to build and plant.”

 

Psalm 139:13-16 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

"For You formed my inmost being;

You knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14I praise You,

for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Marvelous are Your works,

and I know this very well.

15My frame was not hidden from You

when I was made in secret,

when I was woven together

in the depths of the earth.

16Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all my days were written in Your book

and ordained for me

before one of them came to be."

 

Why are We Here?

 

Christian, what does this tell you about your life? Why you are here? And we won’t all have the same callings of God. But if you are in Christ, by faith in Jesus Christ, God has a purpose for your life. There is a reason you were born into this world. And we are not here for our own selves to live life the way that we want, doing what pleases us. We are here to serve the Lord, to do His will His way. And God had a plan for our lives even before He created (formed) us in the wombs of our mothers. And marvelous are His works!

 

So, don’t say “I can’t do that.” Or “I am not gifted that way.” Or “I am too young,” or “I am too old.” Or “I am not smart enough.” Or “I am not a public speaker.” For God can do in us and through us what we, in our human flesh, cannot do, and what we never even thought of doing. Even if we failed miserably to obey our Lord, in our past, and we sinned against God in some way we thought unforgiveable, through genuine repentance and renewed walks of obedience to our Lord, God can still use us, if we are submissive.

 

Our Callings of God

 

Now, all of us are called of God to lay down our lives, to humble ourselves, to surrender our lives to Christ, to deny self, to die to sin daily, and to walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to our Lord and to His commands. We are all called of God to follow our Lord wherever He leads us in doing whatever He calls us to do, according to His plan and purpose for our lives. And we are to trust Him with our lives that He will give us everything we need to accomplish His will and purpose for our lives. All glory to God!!

 

But God will never call us to do anything against His will and purpose for our lives. And for all the females out there, God has gifted us to teach, to preach, to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light. We are not to usurp authority over any biblically qualified males in positions of authority within the gatherings of the church, but God did not call us to be silent, either. Submissive, yes, but not submissive to the point of dismissing (not obeying) God’s calling on your life.

 

And I am not promoting rebellion here. But God has a plan and a purpose for our lives, too. And Jesus used women to preach the message of the gospel even to men, not to have authority over the men, but to obey God in saying what God directed them to say to the people that He had planned for them to speak to, which sometimes included men. And we live in a day and time when there is a severe shortage of biblically qualified males to preach the truth of the gospel to the people. So don’t rebel. But follow God’s leading.

 

[Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 9:23-26; John 4:31-38; John 10:27-30; John 13:13-17; John 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 26:18; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 10:14-15; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-14; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Peter 2:9,21,24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

 

My Calling of God

 

22 years ago, when I was 54 years old, God called me to this present ministry, to write down what the Lord is teaching me each day from my times spent with Him in His word and to post these writings on the internet. And I have been faithful to that calling of God, all glory to God. And this is not anything I would have ever thought of or imagined. And He has had me doing things I never thought possible for my life, like posting these writings on the internet, and writing songs and hundreds of poems not like any I had ever written before, and then making video talks of what I am learning, too.

 

All this is and was of God, and not of my human flesh. I never had such aspirations as this. Obeying God? Yes! Teaching His word? Yes! But not this! But this was God’s calling on my life from even before He formed me in the womb of my mother, with Him even knowing the times that I would fail Him (prior to this calling, in the past) in drifting from His plans and purpose for my life and falling back into sin, for a time. But He brought me back, and then He called me. And He told me to not fear those who might oppose me, for He would be with me, and He would guide me in what to say.

 

If God is Calling You

 

So, if God is calling you to His service, and the calling is biblical, and it is supported in the Scriptures, then follow His lead. Go where He sends you, and say what He commands you to say to the people. Do not fear the opposition. Do not be afraid of those who will oppose you and who will try to mislead you. Be respectful. Be loving. Be kind. But don’t compromise the truth of the Scriptures or God’s calling on your life so that other people will like you, and so that they will not oppose you. Say what God gives you to say for the salvation of human lives from slavery to sin. And trust 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]

 

If God is Calling You

An Original Work / August 16, 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=-5gong-PNmY

 

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It Still Fits

This popped up on the internet today, my first video talk, I believe, and it occurred to me, again, that this still applies to where we are today:

In Troubled Times

On March 21, 2020, I did my first video talk (devotion) titled, “In Troubled Times.” It was during the beginning of the Covid Pandemic, but the message is not limited to just that period of time. For it is a message of hope and healing during times of trouble and distress, which definitely applies to where we are in the world today. For the world as we know it seems to be coming apart at the seams presently, looking more and more apocalyptic as the days progress.

Now public speaking has never been my forte, but the Lord was encouraging me to do this. So, what I did is I just talked about what the Lord was putting on my heart, about what was going on in our world at that time. And then I read a Scripture, and then I just shared what I was getting out of it at that moment, as related to the times in which we were living at that time, and as the Holy Spirit was speaking to my heart. So this was not preplanned other than the Scripture. And it still fits with where we are today.

In Troubled Times

https://youtu.be/ZFiz_L9O8LE

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An Original Work / March 21, 2020

Reposted on August 15, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Anointed to Preach the Good News

Isaiah 61:1-2 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me,

because the LORD has anointed Me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives

and freedom to the prisoners,

2to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor

and the day of our God’s vengeance..”

 

Remembering

 

Right before I got to this passage of Scripture this evening, the Lord brought to mind a ministry my husband and I used to have to college students and to college age adults out of our home from January of 1999 to May of 2006 (7.5 years). Our oldest son, David, found some old videos of our times together with these young people, and my husband Rick and I were so much enjoying those memories. For those young adults became family to us, and we still consider them as our family, and we do miss our times with them.

 

Every Sunday evening we opened our home to them (or sometimes we met in a building of a local church), and we had times of fellowship, friendship, enjoying one another, and singing songs of worship to God. And some of the students played musical instruments. There was much singing, rejoicing, Bible study, and prayer, and we shared a meal together, too. And we got involved in their lives and they got involved in our lives, and we did things together, and we went to their concerts and graduation ceremonies, too.

 

Also today we heard from a friend of ours who is looking to perhaps begin a house church. And he has been talking with us about what church should really look like biblically, rather than what so many have been turned into. And we are in agreement with him, that church is the body of believers in Christ, and not the building, and it is to be for all of us to participate, and not just for a select few, and we are to be ministering to one another, and using our gifts given to us by God. And all this was brought to mind today.

 

Our Gatherings

 

So, when we come together as the church, the body of Christ, it is not for us to have to go to a building called “church” where we all sit in rows and while only a select few get to sing or play musical instruments or preach or teach for the encouragement of the body of Christ. The majority of those within these gatherings largely sit as spectators but do not get to use their spiritual gifts and ministries for the encouragement of the body of Christ, as a whole. And so the body is not operating as it should. It is all lopsided.

 

Yet we read in Acts 2:42 about the New Testament church gatherings: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” And “they continued to meet daily in the temple courts and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (vs 46-47). And this is what our gatherings should look like.

 

But “the temple of God” is no longer a building, and it is not a building called “church.” We who believe in Jesus Christ are that temple of God. We are the church. And we can gather together anywhere where we are invited or permitted to meet, on any day of the week, and at any hour of the day, but where everyone attending is included in some way, and where every follower of Christ is given opportunity to use his or her gifts of the Spirit for the encouragement and uplifting of the body of Christ in obedience to our Lord.

 

Called to Preach

 

Now, on the day of Pentecost, both men and women prophesied in a mixed assembly of men and women declaring the words of the Lord to the people. And Peter quoted the words of Joel which stated (Acts 2:17-18 BSB):

 

“17In the last days, God says,

I will pour out My Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

your old men will dream dreams.

18Even on My menservants and maidservants

I will pour out My Spirit in those days,

and they will prophesy.”

 

And to prophesy is not just future telling, but it is to proclaim the words of the Lord, i.e. to preach. And God has called both men and women to prophesy, to preach, to proclaim the words of the Lord. And this can be done in mixed company under the authority of the spiritually qualified overseer, as tested against the Scriptures to make certain that what is being preached is biblically sound. And this does not necessitate any female usurping authority over men, and it must be done in an orderly manner, as given permission.

 

For we live in a day and time when there are becoming fewer and fewer biblically qualified men to serve as pastors and elders and to preach the truths of the Scriptures to the people. And we live in a day and time, as well, when not many gatherings of “the church” are meeting the biblical qualifications of who the church is and what she is supposed to be doing. And so we need men and women of God, anointed of the Lord, to preach the good news, to be given permission to preach the truth in our gatherings.

 

But the “good news” is not “invite Jesus into your heart and now you are saved and on your way to heaven, done deal.” The good news is that Jesus gave His life up for us on that cross to put our sins to death with Him so that, by faith in Him, we will deny self, die to sin, and follow Him in walks of obedience to His commands, in holy living. He died to set us free from captivity (addiction) to sin. And His grace 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 for His faithful bride.

 

But we are also to declare the day of our God’s vengeance, i.e. that all who do not, by biblical faith in Jesus Christ, deny self, die to sin, and obey God, in practice, that they will not have salvation from sin and eternal life with God, regardless of what their lips profess. We cannot leave that out of the gospel message. For if sin remains our practice, and not obedience to our Lord and to His commands, then we will not inherit eternal life with God. So, be those who are living for the Lord, and share the truth of the gospel with the people, and not the “feel good” stuff so many are craving today.

 

[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]

 

Anointed to Preach the Good News

An Original Work / August 15, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Should I Not Preach Jesus

 

Based off 1 Corinthians 9:16-10:13

An Original Work / July 4, 2013

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Woe to me should I not preach Jesus.

I’m compelled to preach the full gospel.

I make myself a slave to ev’ryone

To win their hearts to Christ.

All this I do for my Lord Jesus,

And for the sake of His Name;

Do it for the sake of His gospel,

So that I, its blessings gain.

 

Scripture notates the sins of others;

Written down for us as examples

To keep us from setting our hearts

On evil as did those of old.

Do not worship other gods of man;

Do not give your hearts to them;

Not partake in immorality.

Do not test your Lord and King.

 

So, be careful if you think you are

Standing firm in your faith in Jesus.                        

God has given his word to warn us,

So through faith we will not fall.

No temptation has o’ertaken you

Except what is commonplace.

God is faithful to not let you be

Tempted past what you can bear.

He gives the way of escape.

 

https://vimeo.com/116057811

They Conceive Mischief

Barriers Between You and God

 

Isaiah 59:1-3 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“1Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,

nor His ear too dull to hear.

2But your iniquities have built barriers

between you and your God,

and your sins have hidden His face from you,

so that He does not hear.

3For your hands are stained with blood,

and your fingers with iniquity;

your lips have spoken lies,

and your tongue mutters injustice.”

 

The picture the Lord is giving me of this today is that of a human being, of human flesh, who is giving an impression that they are on level ground, in uniformity with the Word of God, and walking a straight path, but it is in appearance only. In reality they are living a double life, for in reality they are cunning, deceitful, sneaky, and devious. They are those who are living in sexual immorality and in adultery against their spouses, deliberately and habitually, while they will put on a performance that the opposite is true.

 

Even though they profess faith in Jesus Christ, they are living in a pit of sin, in a situation of the lowest quality spiritually speaking. For they are living opposite of the will and purpose of God for our lives, in willful, deliberate, and habitual sin against God and against their spouses. Instead of taking the opportunity to repent and to turn from their sin, they take the opportunity to indulge in what is of the flesh, and they continue to plunge into sin, to descend to the lowest level in their thinking and in their behaviors.

 

They Give Birth to Iniquity

 

Isaiah 59:4-6 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“4No one calls for justice;

no one pleads his case honestly.

They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies;

they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.

5They hatch the eggs of vipers

and weave a spider’s web.

Whoever eats their eggs will die;

crack one open, and a viper is hatched.

6Their cobwebs cannot be made into clothing,

and they cannot cover themselves with their works.

Their deeds are sinful deeds,

and acts of violence are in their hands.”

 

But this is not about just one person, is it? This has reached epidemic proportions within the gatherings of the church (or what is falsely called “the church”). But so many of them are following after the ways of the flesh and not the ways of God. They are fixed in their ways and in their beliefs and practices, regardless of what the Scriptures teach. For they have attached themselves to the world and to big business and to partnering themselves with the government and with the world in order to attract the world to their gatherings. And so they compromise the Scriptures to win the world.

 

Therefore, many of them have gone the way of the world, and they have diluted the message of the gospel in order to attract the world to their gatherings. And many of their “pastors” are just cult leaders who are following the marketing schemes of worldly businesses in order to draw in large crowds of people from the world. So they spin their webs of deceit, and they tell lies to the people, in the name of truth, and so no one calls for justice, for justice is being outlawed, for it offends people who are living in deliberate and habitual sin. So they can continue in their sinful deeds.

 

Their Feet Run to Evil

 

Isaiah 59:7-8 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“7Their feet run to evil;

they are swift to shed innocent blood.

Their thoughts are sinful thoughts;

ruin and destruction lie in their wake.

8The way of peace they have not known,

and there is no justice in their tracks.

They have turned them into crooked paths;

no one who treads on them will know peace.”

 

So, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, who by faith in Jesus Christ has denied self, died to sin, and who is now obeying God and His commands, as a matter of life practice, and so you are following the Lord wherever He leads you in doing and in saying what He commands, then those whose feet run to evil may be opposed to you. And they may come after you fiercely to try to discredit you by speaking lies against you. And they may twist the Scriptures to try to make you look like you are “the bad guy” while making themselves appear as the victims, so people will feel sorry for them.

 

For if you are a genuine follower of Christ, the gospel message that you speak will not bring them comfort, for it calls them to repentance and to obedience to God and to His commands. But they prefer a friendlier “gospel” which does not require that they deny self, die to sin, and obey God, in practice, in order to be saved from sin and to have eternal life with God. So, because they love their sin, they may attack you, hoping to sway you to give up the fight out of fear of what they might do to you. But the only one we are to fear is God, and to give Him only our submission and surrender.

 

[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] 

 

Have Thine Own Way, Lord

 

Words by Adelaide A. Pollard, 1907

Music by George C. Stebbins, 1907

 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Thou art the potter, I am the clay.

Mold me and make me after Thy will,

While I am waiting, yielded and still.

 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Search me and try me, Master, today!

Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,

As in Thy presence humbly I bow.

 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Wounded and weary, help me I pray!

Power, all power, surely is Thine!

Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!

 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Hold o'er my being absolute sway.

Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see

Christ only, always, living in me!

 

https://vimeo.com/401213349

Declare to The People

Raise Your Voice!

 

Isaiah 58:1-2 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“1Cry aloud, do not hold back!

Raise your voice like a ram’s horn.

Declare to My people their transgression

and to the house of Jacob their sins.

2For day after day they seek Me

and delight to know My ways,

like a nation that does what is right

and does not forsake the justice of their God.

They ask Me for righteous judgments;

they delight in the nearness of God.”

 

I have read this passage of Scripture in multiple Bible translations, including in the KJV and in one of the more literal translations, and the sense here is not that the people actually delighted to know the ways of God, but that they sought God daily, to know His ways, as though they were a nation that did righteousness and who did not forsake the justice of their God. For they gave the outward impression of a people who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and who did not forsake the judgments and justice of God.

 

And so this is a call for the servant of the Lord to give an outward cry (call, shout, plea, appeal), and to not hold back. The servant of the Lord is to raise their voice and to declare to the people their sins. And their sins include this outward display of a nation who actually delights in the ways of the Lord and who does not forsake the righteous judgments of God. And this reminds me of my nation (the USA) which is called a “Christian” nation, but as a nation is not surrendered to the will of God in full compliance with His commands.

 

Performing but Not Obeying

 

Isaiah 58:3-7 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

3“Why have we fasted,

and You have not seen?

Why have we humbled ourselves,

and You have not noticed?”

 

“Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please,

and you oppress all your workers.

4You fast with contention and strife

to strike viciously with your fist.

You cannot fast as you do today

and have your voice be heard on high.

 

5Is this the fast I have chosen:

a day for a man to deny himself,

to bow his head like a reed,

and to spread out sackcloth and ashes?

Will you call this a fast

and a day acceptable to the LORD?

 

6Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen:

to break the chains of wickedness,

to untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free

and tear off every yoke?

7Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry,

to bring the poor and homeless into your home,

to clothe the naked when you see him,

and not to turn away

from your own flesh and blood?

 

The people thought that, just because they participated in some religious practices, God should be pleased with them, that God should notice their efforts to do what was right in the eyes of God. But God is not impressed by human performances, by things done in the flesh, supposedly to please God, but while those who perform for God’s (or other humans’) approval are sinning against the Lord, against the will of God. But this is what some professing Christians do, perform to make themselves look righteous.

 

And this can be done in many different ways. This does not have to do with fasting, at all, but this is a great illustration for us. For we can do all sorts of “good deeds” outwardly to give a “good Christian” persona, and to make it appear that what we are doing is obeying God and serving the people, but while it is possible that any of us might be sinning in secret (I am not), deliberately doing what is evil in the eyes of God. But God sees what is going on inside our hearts, and He knows who is doing evil and who is not.

 

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).

 

The Lord will Guide You

 

Isaiah 58:8-11 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

8Then your light will break forth like the dawn,

and your healing will come quickly.

Your righteousness will go before you,

and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

9Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;

you will cry out, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

If you remove the yoke from your midst,

the pointing of the finger and malicious talk,

10and if you give yourself to the hungry

and satisfy the afflicted soul,

then your light will go forth in the darkness,

and your night will be like noonday.

11The LORD will always guide you;

He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land

and strengthen your frame.

You will be like a well-watered garden,

like a spring whose waters never fail.

 

When our lives are surrendered to the Lord, to doing His will His ways, to following Him wherever He leads us, to leave our lives of sin behind us, and to now walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to His commands, then we will be regarded of the Lord as those who are righteous in the sight of God. When we forsake our selfish and sinful desires to love and serve God, and to love and minister to our fellow humans, especially to the poor and needy who He places in our paths, then God will be pleased with us.

 

We who love God and who love the people of this world, and our fellow Christians and our family members, with the love of God, are to follow the example of Jesus Christ in how He lived, and in the things that He did and said, and how He did and said them. We do need to be people of God who speak the truth of the Scriptures to the people, and we should not soften the message to make it more attractive to the world. But we must guard against being nasty and hateful towards those who disagree with us, too.

 

Jesus Christ is our model. And if our lives are surrendered to the Lord, to doing His will His ways, He will guide us in the ways which are right and just in the sight of God. And we must then walk in them, in His power and wisdom and strength at work within us who belong to Him. We must guard against the flesh taking over, and we must allow for the Holy Spirit to work through us in saying and in doing the things which God requires of us who are His servants and messengers. For we must love like Jesus loves us.

 

[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]

 

Declare to The People

An Original Work / August 14, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

A Still Small Voice 

 

An Original Work / May 23, 2011

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

In a still small voice He calls you.

Won’t you hear and let him in?

He’s still speaking, oh, how gently.

He died to save you from sin.

Softly He speaks to our hearts.

His mercy and love imparts.

Won’t you come to Him today?

Let Him wash your sins away.

 

In a still small voice He whispers,

Kindly, calling you to Him.

He loves you so much, He’s willing

You not die, but live with Him.

He keeps prodding, gently so,

For His grace, you come to know.

He died so that you’d go free;

Live with Him eternally.

 

In a still small voice He hastens

You to turn your lives to Him,

Humbly walking in obedience,

Making Him your Lord and King!

Turn from your sin, turn to God,

Put your trust in Christ, His Son.

Invite Him into your hearts.

He’ll give you a brand new start.

 

https://vimeo.com/127502844

But The Wicked Are..

The Repentant

 

Who are the repentant, according to the New Testament Scriptures? Biblical repentance is a change of heart and mind leading to a change of attitude and behavior. You were going one direction. Now you have turned, and you are going the opposite direction, away from sin and to God and to obedience to His commands. It is a lot like making a U-turn on a road. You were going west, but now you are going east. You are now heading in the opposite direction of what you were heading, only from a spiritual perspective.

 

And repentance is indeed required by God for salvation from sin and for eternal life with God. Without repentance we do not have forgiveness of sins. If we do not deny self, die to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience to His commands, as a matter of life practice, we do not know God, we are not saved from our sins, and we do not have eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess. This does not mean we must be absolutely perfect (1 John 2:1-2), but that lack of perfection is no excuse for deliberate sin.

 

[Matthew 3:8; Matthew 4:17; Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 11:20-21; Matthew 12:41; Matthew 21:28-31; Mark 1:15; Mark 6:12; Luke 5:32; Luke 9:23-26; Luke 13:3,5; Luke 15:2-8; Luke 24:47; Acts 3:19-20; Acts 5:30-31; Acts 8:22; Acts 11:17-18; Acts 17:29-31; Acts 19:18-20; Acts 20:21; Acts 26:18-20; Romans 2:4; Romans 6:1-23; 2 Corinthians 7:8-10; 2 Corinthians 12:21; Ephesians 4:17-32; 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10; 2 Timothy 2:24-26; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 1:5-10; Revelation 2:5,16; Revelation 3:3,19]

 

The Wicked Are..

 

Isaiah 57:20-21 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

20But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea,

for it cannot be still,

and its waves churn up mire and muck.

21“There is no peace,” says my God,

“for the wicked.”

 

The picture that the Lord is giving me this morning of the wicked is not just those who make no professions of faith in Jesus Christ, but they are all who have not repented of (turned from) their sins, but who are still following a sinful course of behavior, still deliberately and habitually sinning against God and against others as a matter of life practice, who are not obeying God in daily practice. They are the unwise, foolish, reckless, and the self-indulgent who habitually abandon what is right and who chase after what is sinful.

 

They are like a storm-tossed sea, which cannot be still, and its waves churn up mire and muck. In other words, these are those who are continually wandering, drifting, who are spiritually lazy and asleep, who are corrupt, vile, immoral, dishonest, crooked, perverted, and the sexually immoral. They are those who act foolishly, unwise, recklessly, selfishly, and irresponsibly as a matter of practice, for they are still living according to the flesh. Rather than submitting to God, they surrender to their flesh over and again.

 

There is no peace for the wicked, says God. For one cannot continue on a sinful course, repeating the same sins over again, foolishly looking only to (or primarily to) self and to self-pleasure, and then be at peace with God. You cannot habitually “churn up mire and muck” (moral filth) and be at peace with God. For Jesus Christ gave His life up for us on that cross to put our sins to death with Him so that, by faith in Him, we will deny self, die to sin, and obey God in lifestyle. There is no peace for those who practice sin.

 

But The Wicked Are..

An Original Work / August 14, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Broken Cord

 

An Original Work / August 29, 2018

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Your bond is broken with your Lord and Savior

And your testimony is separate from Him.

Your words not matching your actions today.

Repent of your sin and bow down and pray.

Live what you testify in truth always.

 

Purity’s lacking in your life and witness,

For you profess one thing, but other you do.

Not moral, spiritual. Still of the flesh.

Not living in truth to what you confess.

Lying about it puts you in a mess.

 

Living a lie is your practice, ‘tis true of you.

Masquerade righteousness – none of it true.

Your heart is not given to your Lord God.

Because of how you live, you are a fraud.

Turn from your sin and give your life to God.

 

https://vimeo.com/287303934