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

Caution: This link may contain ads

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

On a High and Lofty Hill

All of us humans who were born into this world were born with sin natures, in the image of Adam, the first man created by God, and the first man to sin against God. Not one of us, in our own flesh, can be made acceptable to God. We can do nothing in our own flesh to be made right with God and to now be in relationship with God and to have eternal life in Him. Only by God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ can any of us have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. But by that faith we must repent of (die to) our sins and now obey God and His commands in life practice, in His power.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 3:9-26; Romans 5:12-19; Romans 6:1-23; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22,42-49; Ephesians 2:1-3,8-10]

Isaiah 57:3-6 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

“3But come here, you sons of a sorceress,

you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!

4Whom are you mocking?

At whom do you sneer and stick out your tongue?

Are you not children of transgression,

offspring of deceit,

5who burn with lust among the oaks,

under every luxuriant tree,

who slaughter your children in the valleys,

under the clefts of the rocks?

6Your portion is among the smooth stones of the valley;

indeed, they are your lot.

Even to them you have poured out a drink offering

and offered a grain offering.

Should I relent because of these?”

Sadly, not everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ is walking uprightly in the power of God at work within them. Many are still living in captivity to sin, still committing the same sins over and over without genuine repentance and a change of heart and mind resulting in a transformation of attitude and behavior. And many of them will go on like this their whole lives, saying they belong to Christ while the flesh is still what’s ruling their lives, and while still making excuses for why they are still repeating the same sins over again. 

And idolatry, adultery, and sexual sin do seem to be at the top of the list of the most common and habitual sins in this generation, especially among men, but also including women. And adultery doesn’t have to be a physical relationship with a person to whom you are not married. Jesus said that to look at a woman with lust is to commit adultery with her in your heart. And so many people today are addicted to pornography and to self-gratification, many of them who know what the Scriptures teach but who ignore them.

By continuing to act as though they do not know what to do and how to change and how to stop sinning deliberately and habitually, they mock God and His Word, for God’s Word teaches us what we need to do to put sin to death in our lives and to now follow our Lord in obedience to His commands. And the Scriptures let us know the source of those sins, which has to do with what is stored up in our hearts. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. See: [Matthew 15:17-20; Luke 6:45]

Isaiah 57:7-8 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

“7On a high and lofty hill you have made your bed,

and there you went up to offer sacrifices.

8Behind the door and doorpost

you have set up your memorial.

Forsaking Me, you uncovered your bed;

you climbed up and opened it wide.

And you have made a pact with those whose bed you have loved;

you have gazed upon their nakedness.”

A “high and lofty hill” does not have to mean a literal physical hill made of dirt and grass, etc. It can have everything to do with pride and selfishness and arrogance, and an unwillingness to humble oneself before God and to yield to His Lordship over their lives. And to say, “You made your bed..”, it often is in reference to saying that what you did was wrong, it was evil, it was sinful, and now you must pay the consequences of your wrong choices. But the bed can also be a reference to sexual relations, as well.

The rest of the language in this passage of Scripture appears to indicate that the person, out of pride and arrogance and stubbornness, not only made bad choices, but did so secretively, behind the backs of others to whom they are accountable, forsaking God and spouse (if married). And they did so fully aware that what they were doing was sinful, against God, against spouse, and deliberately, without conscience, without caring who they hurt in the process, but out of a lustful desire to commit adultery for their own pleasure.

Isaiah 57:11-13 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

“11Whom have you dreaded and feared,

so that you lied and failed

to remember Me or take this to heart?

Is it not because I have long been silent

that you do not fear Me?

12I will expose your righteousness and your works,

and they will not profit you.

13When you cry out,

let your companies of idols deliver you!

Yet the wind will carry off all of them,

a breath will take them away.

But he who seeks refuge in Me will inherit the land

and possess My holy mountain.”

Those who live in addiction to sin, who do so deliberately and habitually, because they want to fulfill the sinful lusts of their flesh, will often find ways to do so secretly, and then lie about it, sometimes prior to the act to try to give the appearance they are doing something else, and/or after the fact so that their sins will not be discovered. They have no fear of God and of what His Word teaches with regard to the biblical consequences of deliberate and habitual sin against God, for their lusts are what are ruling their hearts.

Now when this says, “I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not profit you,” it reminds me of what Jesus said to the Pharisees who did some “good works” outwardly but inwardly they were filled with all sorts of evil which they committed, mainly in secret, I believe. So their “righteousness” was as “filthy rags,” i.e. it was a false righteousness, not of God. So those who habitually and deliberately sin in secret but who try to appear righteous outwardly will profit nothing good. They will die in sin.

Now, this is not saying that we must all live in absolute sinless perfection or we are not of God (see 1 John 2:1-2). But we are taught in the Scriptures that if sin is our practice (habit, addiction), and not obedience to God and to His commands, that we don’t know God, we don’t love God, we are not in fellowship with God, and we will not have eternal life with God. And we need to take that to heart! For if sin is what we obey, and not obedience to God, we will die in our sins. We will not inherit eternal life with God. 

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

On a High and Lofty Hill

An Original Work / August 14, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

He Gives Purpose  

An Original Work / June 9, 2012

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

“Listen to Me when I’m calling to you.

Obey freely My word.

Follow Me in all of My ways.

Do all that I say.

Hear Me gently whisper to you

My will for your life and future.

Give all of your life and heart to

Follow Me always.”

Repent of your sins and worship Jesus.

He’s your Lord and Master.

He died for your sins so you could

Live with Him today.

He has a plan for your life and

He gives purpose and direction.

He gives meaning to your life,

So follow Him today.

“I love you so much I gave My life for

You to walk in My ways,

Living for Me each day as you

Bow to Me and pray.

Witness for Me of your love for Me and

Of My grace and mercy,

How I died to save you of your

Sins now and always.”

https://vimeo.com/119038798

Spiritually Blind Watchmen

Isaiah 56:10-12 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

10Israel’s watchmen are blind,

they are all oblivious;

they are all mute dogs,

they cannot bark;

they are dreamers lying around,

loving to slumber.

11Like ravenous dogs,

they are never satisfied.

They are shepherds with no discernment;

they all turn to their own way,

each one seeking his own gain:

12“Come, let me get the wine,

let us imbibe the strong drink,

and tomorrow will be like today,

only far better!”

 

Biblical Israel

 

Who is biblical Israel today? Jesus Christ is Israel. And ever since Jesus died on that cross to put our sins to death with Him, so that we might now die to sin and obey God, He created for Himself one new humanity out of the two (Jew and Gentile), reconciling both of them to God through the cross, i.e. making them one people of God by faith in Christ. All Jews who rejected Jesus Christ were cut out of Israel while all believing Gentiles were grafted into Israel, the Israel of God, not the physical political nation called “Israel.”

 

Biblical Israel today is all people of faith in Jesus Christ who have, by faith in the Lord, surrendered their lives to Christ, dying with Him to sin, and now walking in obedience to His commands, by the grace of God, in the power of God. And all Jews who do not believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah are no longer a part of biblical Israel, the Israel of God, God’s chosen people. So, if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise God spoke to Abraham and to his seed, that is Christ.

 

Israel Today: [Matthew 21:43; John 8:18-19,38-47; John 10:16; Romans 2:28-29; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 9:4-8,25-28; Romans 11:1-36; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Galatians 3:16,26-29; Galatians 4:22-31; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:1-6; Colossians 3:12-15; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-16; Hebrews 8:6-13; 1 Peter 2:9-10,24; 1 John 2:22; Jude 1:5; Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9; see also Genesis 17:7-9; Genesis 18:19]

 

Israel’s Watchmen

 

So, Israel’s watchmen today are people of faith in Jesus Christ who have been appointed by God to teach them the truths of the biblical gospel and to warn against sin and wickedness of any kind, and of deceiving spirits, so that they do not fall into the temptation to sin and fall away from their pure devotion to Christ as their Lord and Master. But sadly, so many who are serving in these positions are not serving Jesus Christ with their lives, but they are serving themselves and the lusts of their own flesh, instead.

 

So many pastors, elders, and overseers within the gatherings of the church (or what is falsely being called “church”) who are to be the watchmen for the church, the body of Christ (the body of people of faith in Jesus Christ today), they are self-serving, fleshly, hypocritical, and worldly people who have altered the message of the gospel to make it less offensive and more acceptable to human flesh and to the ungodly of the world. For they want to draw in large crowds of people from the world into their worldly gatherings.

 

But married men, especially those with children, who also profess faith in Jesus Christ, are also to be watchmen of God for the protection of their wives and children from what is evil and sinful. But so many of them have bought into the altered gospel and into worldliness, and so they are not leading their families spiritually to walk with the Lord. For so many of them have fallen captive to particular sinful habits and worldly living, and so they have become spiritually lazy and unconcerned about obedience to God.

 

So many of these “shepherds” of the people, whether they are government officials, pastors, elders, missionaries, evangelists or just husbands and fathers, who profess faith in Jesus Christ, are not leading the people by example as to what it means to be a Christian and to follow Jesus with our lives, for they are lacking in spiritual discernment because they are choosing to go their own way, and not God’s way. And, sadly, in our world today, so many of them are being taken captive to sexual immorality and adultery.

 

God’s Ways

 

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).

 

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).

 

Callings of God

 

And so the Lord is calling out anyone whose life is committed to following Jesus Christ, including some women, to be His shepherds and watchmen in sharing with the people the biblical gospel of our salvation from sin, warning the people who profess faith in Jesus against falling into temptation to sin, and showing them the way of deliverance from addiction to sin so that they can serve God with their lives in obedience to His commands. And I am not promoting that women should be in any positions of authority over men.

 

All of us whose lives are committed to serving the Lord Jesus can be His witnesses in taking the message of the gospel, as taught by Jesus, to all people via the internet, or via writing letters, or via doing video talks or any means in which we can serve the Lord as His messengers and as His watchmen without usurping any authority over men. But where there are no biblically qualified men to serve as pastors and elders, and you have godly women among you, let the spiritually qualified share the Word of God.

 

[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]

 

Spiritually Blind Watchmen

An Original Work / August 13, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

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

 

[A Prayer of Devotion to God Alone]