Treasures on Earth and In Heaven

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21 NASB1995)

Treasures on Earth

What is a treasure? It can be wealth (riches). Or it can be possessions of any kind. Or it can be treasured thoughts stored up in the heart and mind. It can be anything which we value, which we consider a prize or a treasure. It could even be a sinful habit that someone treasures above all else and will not relinquish. So a treasure stored can be anything we hold on to that is unnecessary for us to possess, or it can be things which are evil in nature.

Now, if it is something sinful, like a sinful habit, or pride, envy, bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness, and the like, it is obvious that these are things we should not treasure (hold on to), but they are things we should cut out of our lives. But physical possessions are things that we use every day such as shoes, clothing, coats, towels, wash cloths, sheets, blankets, dishes, pots and pans, cups, plates, and the like. So how much to keep of these?

A couple of weeks ago I sensed the Lord leading me to go through my shoes and clothing, which are not in a large number by American standards, and to give away all that I don’t really need or that I am not using but is just being stored for future use. And he had me donate to charity a good number of items of clothing, shoes, sweaters, hangers, socks, and other items I don’t need and that I am just storing and not presently using. And that was good.

So, how much is too much, or what to keep or not to keep, is something we must determine between us and God. And then where it should go has to be between us and the Lord. For if we don’t need it, and someone else can use it, then it should go someplace where they will give it away or will not charge a large fee for something they received free of charge. Like I said, if it is something sinful, it has to go, no doubt! Otherwise, we pray for wisdom.

Treasures in Heaven

And we are to store up for ourselves treasures in heaven, for where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. So, what should that look like? Well, first of all we must believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives. And that involves us dying with him to sin and us being raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as servants of righteousness in obedience to our Lord’s commands.

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

And then we follow our Lord wherever he leads us in ministry, in doing what he has called us to do, in going where he sends us, and saying what he gives us to say, as his servants and messengers. We commit our lives to him to doing his will, which involves us giving of ourselves and our time and our resources to ministering to the needs of others, which can be physical needs, emotional needs, and/or spiritual needs. And we share with them the gospel.

[Acts 2:14-18,42-47; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]

Obviously, if we are married, this has to be worked out between the two people married to each other. But doing the will of God, and obeying his Word, should always be at the forefront. We should never submit to anything sinful, impure, or against the teachings of the Scriptures, taught in the correct biblical context. Any changes of location (moves) my husband and I made, we made in agreement with one another. Same with our giving. 

The most important thing here for us is that we remain in the center of God’s will, doing what he has called all of us to do, obeying his commands, forsaking our sins, and doing what pleases the Lord. We need to have our ears tuned in to hearing his voice so that we follow his leading in everything. And if he says, “You don’t need that, give it away,” then that is what we must do. But make sure it is his voice speaking, and then obey the Lord.

Rejoice in the Lord Always!  

Based off Phil. 4 & Col. 3

An Original Work / January 26, 2013

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Rejoice in our Lord God always.

I say again: “Rejoice always!”

Let your love and kindness show forth.

Our Lord Christ will soon appear.

Do not let yourself be troubled.

Do not fear your circumstances.

In all of life’s complications,

Pray to God with thankfulness.

God will give you peace and rest.

Set your minds on things of heaven:

What is true and right and lovely.

Do not focus your attention

On the things that pass away.

Therefore put to death your old self.

Clothe yourselves with God’s compassion.

Put the word of Christ in practice.

Let God’s peace rule in your hearts.

Sing songs of praise unto God.

In all of life’s circumstances

I’ll learn to trust; be contented.

Whether I have none or plenty,

I will give thanks unto God.

I can live my life to please Him,

Because Jesus gives me His strength.

My God will meet all of my needs,

From his treasure chest in Christ.

Glory, praise be unto God.

https://vimeo.com/117317580

Treasures on Earth and In Heaven

An Original Work / March 31, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Don't Be a Hypocrite

“Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:16-18 NASB1995)

Living as a Hypocrite

What does it look like to be a hypocrite? What are their characteristic traits? Well, mainly a hypocrite is someone who willfully puts on a performance, to pretend something they are not, to fake their true identity so as to give a false impression to others of who they really are. It means to be a fake, a phony, a pretender, but in order to deceive others and to get others to think better of them than who they really are, in practice, by lifestyle. For they want to look good in the eyes of others to make a good impression.

From a Christian perspective, a hypocrite is someone who claims faith in the One True God – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who is Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – but who lives the opposite of the faith they profess. They put on a show (performance) of righteousness while secretly they are engaged in deliberate and habitual sin against God, most often in the category of sexual immorality, idolatry, and adultery, although certainly not limited to just those sin areas. For they want the praise of humans.

Basically, a hypocrite is someone who fakes who they are and what they are doing and how they are doing it and for what purpose in order to draw attention to themselves so that others will think well of them, or so that others will sympathize with them. And it is to gain the sympathy and/or the approval of others, such as in the case of the example given us in this passage of Scripture, in order to be noticed by others as those who are doing what is something sacred or righteous or godly in nature.

Now, this is not to say that those who are true followers of Jesus Christ cannot share their testimonies or experiences in order to encourage the body of Christ and so that the body of Christ will pray for them. Paul did this on a consistent basis, and we are taught in Scriptures to bear one another’s burdens and to pray for one another and to encourage and exhort one another. So, that is biblical. But we are not to fake it in order to draw attention to ourselves so that others will think better of us than is the truth.

Our Identity in Christ

And hypocrisy really fits with the subject of identity, i.e. who a person really is, not who they present themselves as being. Their true identity is not in who they claim to be but in who they really are in thought, word, character, attitude, and deed. Who we really are is who we are when no one else is around, when no one else is watching. How do we behave when no one else is watching? Is it the same as when they are watching? Are we who we say we are whether anyone else is watching us or not? We should be!

So then this goes to the issue of the subject of “identity in Christ” which is greatly being misconstrued and misused and misunderstood in our present day. So many people are teaching that a profession of faith in Jesus Christ warrants God gifting you with a new identity, which is who you are, they say, regardless of how you behave or whether or not you have denied self, died to sin, and are walking in obedience to the Lord. But the Scriptures do not teach that. Jesus said that not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God (Matthew 7:21-23).

What Jesus gifts us with is the faith to believe in him, which must align with God’s definition of faith, which has to do with us being persuaded of God as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to deny self, die to sin daily, by the Spirit, and to walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in practice, in the power of God. He gifts us with deliverance out of bondage to sin (our salvation) so that we can live holy lives, pleasing to God, in obedience to his commands, so that we can have the hope of eternal life with God (Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23).

For, if we claim to be in fellowship with God, but while we still walk in deliberate and habitual sin, we are liars who do not live by the truth. If we claim to know God, but we do not obey his commandments, in practice, we are liars and the truth is not in us. For it is not the one who claims he is “in Christ” who is “in Christ,” but it is the one who, by faith in Christ, has denied self, died with Christ to sin, and who is now walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in practice, and no longer in sin. We have the hope and the promise of eternal life with God in heaven (see 1 John 1,2,&3).

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

The Heart of Man  

Based off Matthew 15:1-20; Mark 7:1-23

An Original Work / April 4, 2012

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Listen to me ev’ryone and

Understand this teaching of Christ:

Why do you break the commands 

Of God for the sake of tradition?

When you follow the ways of man,

And don’t obey the words of Christ,

You nullify the words of God,

And you hold to the ways of man. 

What comes out of a man’s mouth is

What makes him unclean and dirty.

The things that come out of the mouth

Come from the heart, from within him.

The heart of man is so sinful;

From his nature, out comes evil:

Lying, cursing, greed and malice,

Lust and lewdness, deceit, slander.

Jesus calls us to obey him;

Turn from our sins; follow His ways.

Yet, his people honor him with their lips, 

but their hearts not with Him.

Their worship of God is in vain.

Their teachings are rules taught by man.

Jesus calls us; gently leads us 

To return and follow His truth. 

https://vimeo.com/125490002

Don’t Be a Hypocrite

An Original Work / March 31, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

A Model Prayer

“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. 

“Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father who is in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

‘Your kingdom come.

Your will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

‘Give us this day our daily bread.

‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’] (Matthew 6:7-13 NASB1995)

Based on the context of this passage of Scripture, this is not teaching us that we need to repeat this prayer word for word by memory, saying the same words over and over again, in a ritualistic fashion. That is not what is intended here. What this does is give us a model of the kinds of things we should be praying, and the kind of attitude we should have toward God in our prayers. 

Now when I was younger I learned that a model prayer should include four things: 1. Adoration, 2. Confession, 3. Thanksgiving, and 4. Supplication, for which the abbreviation is ACTS or A.C.T.S. And I believe this may have been modeled after the “Lord’s Prayer,” as it is commonly referred to. But is it true that every time that we pray that we need to include all four of these items? I don’t believe so. Again, I believe that is a model prayer.

So, what is the danger of us reciting the “Lord’s Prayer,” over and over again? It can become just words that we recite without us even meaning the words that we speak. It can become a ritualistic religious practice, but not anything that we are applying to our daily lives, in practice, and not anything that we genuinely mean from the depths of our hearts. And it can end up superseding the rest of the teachings of the Scriptures with regard to the things that we should be doing and saying, as followers of Jesus Christ.

So, should we be thanking and praising the Lord Jesus every day of our lives? I believe that we should. But we need to be more specific in our expressions of praise and thanksgiving, as applied to whatever it is we are going through on any particular day and with regard to what the Lord is doing in our lives today. Like I will thank the Lord for a good night of sleep and/or for another day of life to serve him. And I will thank him even for opponents, for through opposition I am strengthened in my walk of faith.

And I pray for the salvation of all people and that my loved ones will all surrender their lives to Jesus Christ. And I pray for the prayer needs of other people. And I pray for physical and mental strength just to make it through each day, because I am growing old and some of my mental and physical agility is beginning to decline, which often happens to people as they age. And in prayer I choose to forgive those who have sinned against me, and I pray that I may love my enemies as my Lord loves and forgives me.

And I do pray that the will of God will be done in my life and that God will use me for his purposes and for his glory. I pray that he will guide me in what I am to write each day, that he will put the thoughts in my mind that he wants me to have and to share. And I pray that I will have the right attitude in my life’s situations and that the will of God will be accomplished in my life each day. For my goal in life is to serve the Lord Jesus with my life in being who he created me to be and for his purposes.

And then if we are to pray and to ask the Lord for forgiveness, I believe that we need to be more specific in what we ask forgiveness for and that we understand what all the Scriptures teach on that subject. For they teach that if we claim to be in fellowship with God but while we walk (in conduct, in practice) in darkness (sin), we are liars, and that if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to God, that we will not receive forgiveness of sins and we will not inherit eternal life with God (1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Romans 6:1-23; Galatians 5:16-21).

So, the Lord’s prayer is a good model for us to follow with regard to the things we should be praying about each day, but we should guard against making that our only prayer and against being ritualistic about it to the point that it has no meaning in our lives, or to the point to where we neglect to pray for other people and their needs, or where we fail to pray more specifically about the things going on in our lives each day. For our prayers to the Lord need to be current and specific and relative to our lives today.

When in The Stillness  

An Original Work / September 26, 2011

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

When in the stillness of this moment,

Speak to me, Lord, I humbly pray.

Be my desire, set me on fire,

Teach me to love always.

Help me to walk in fellowship with You,

Listening to You; sit at Your feet.

Whisper Your words to me, 

Oh, how gently, guiding me in Your truth. 

While we are waiting for Your blessing,

Lord, in our hearts be King today.

Help us to live for you ev’ry moment,

List’ning to what You say.

May we not stray from your word within us,

Help us obey You, Lord, in all things,

Walking each moment, Lord, in Your presence,

Our offerings to You bring.

Help us to love You, Lord, our master;

Be an example of Your love,

Helping the hurting, lift up the fallen,

Showing them Your great love.

Teach them to love You, follow You always,

Bearing their cross and turning from sin;

Walking in daily fellowship with You,

Making You Lord and King.

https://vimeo.com/126984144

A Model Prayer

An Original Work / March 30, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Pierced for Our Transgressions

“Surely our griefs He Himself bore,

And our sorrows He carried;

Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten of God, and afflicted.

But He was pierced through for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,

And by His scourging we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray,

Each of us has turned to his own way;

But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all

To fall on Him.” (Isaiah 53:4-6 NASB1995)

This is talking about Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, who is God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He always existed with God but then he left his throne in heaven, came to earth, and humbled himself to the point of being born as a baby to a human mother, but conceived of the Holy Spirit, so without sin. So, when he lived on the earth he was fully human (man) and fully God (God incarnate). 

Deity of Christ [John 1:1-36; John 8:24,58; John 10:30-33; John 20:28-29; Romans 9:5; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 2:9; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8-9; 1 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Peter 1:1]

As a grown man Jesus began his earthly ministry, calling 12 men alongside him to be his disciples and to minister alongside him. And he preached repentance (death to sin and change of heart, mind, and behavior) for the forgiveness of sins. He taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin and to self), and follow him in obedience to his commands, in his power. For this is what faith looks like.

But he was hated by the religious rulers in the temple and by people of influence who wanted him dead. So they plotted out his crucifixion on a tree (cross), which was carried out by the Romans. But it was God’s will that Jesus should suffer and die, for in his death he took our sins upon him, putting them to death with him, so that by faith in him we will die to sin and live for God in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living.

For we all are born into this world with sin natures, in the image of Adam, separate from God, and unable within ourselves to be approved by God. And not one of us can even come to God unless God draws us to Christ. And even the faith to believe in Jesus is not of our own doing, but it is gifted to us by God, and it is persuaded of God. So by faith in Jesus we now surrender our lives to God to do his will, to live holy lives which are pleasing to Him.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; Acts 26:18; 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; Colossians 3:1-17; 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]   

Praise Be Told!  

Based off Various Scriptures 

An Original Work / December 28, 2013

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

He was pierced for our transgressions.

He was crushed for all our sin.

Our chastisement was upon Him.

By His stripes, we now are healed.

He has witnessed all our trials,

And the sins we choose to wear.

Yet, while we were dead in our sin,

Jesus died, our sins to bear.

He himself bore all of our sins

In His body on a cross,

So that we might die to our sin,

And live for His righteousness.

By faith in the pow’r of Jesus

And His blood shed for our sins,

We can be forgiven our sin,

And have life with God in heav’n.

He will lead us and He’ll guide us

In the way that we should go.

He will comfort and protect us,

Because Jesus, we do know.

Though He disciplines for our good,

He will heal us – Praise be told!

Do not fear, your Lord is with you.

Just have faith in Christ your Lord.

https://vimeo.com/112335646 

Video Talk on the Same Subject

https://youtu.be/IOiFyV0EO04

Pierced for Our Transgressions

An Original Work / March 30, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Despised and Forsaken

“He was despised and forsaken of men,

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

And like one from whom men hide their face

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” 

(Isaiah 53:3 NASB1995)

This passage of Scriptures in Isaiah 53 is about Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God (who is God), born to a virgin mother, who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, and not of man, so he was not born with a sin nature as we are. And when Jesus Christ lived on the earth, as fully God and as fully human, he never sinned against God. But he healed the sick and afflicted, raised the dead, delivered people from demons, fed the hungry, comforted the sorrowful, and preached repentance for salvation from sin.

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).

Although he had large followings right up close to the end, mainly because of his miracles of healing people from their infirmities, and raising their dead back to life, and delivering them from demons, and feeding large crowds of people miraculously, he was not admired by everyone, and not everyone who followed him were his true followers, either. And he had enemies among the religious who claimed faith in the one true God, and who taught the Scriptures, and who were rulers or people of influence in the Temple of God.

For they were jealous of Jesus’ temporary popularity among the people, and they were threatened by him, and they were worried they might lose their own positions of power and rule and authority among the people. And they did not believe that he was who he said he was, so they would not accept him as their Messiah. And they laid psychological traps for him, hoping to trip him up with his words so they might have cause to accuse him of wrong. But when that didn’t work, they arranged for him to be crucified on a tree.

But Jesus surprised them when he did not remain dead, but he was resurrected back to life from the dead as he said he would be. And he appeared to his disciples (the 11, for Judas was dead) and to many other people for about 40 days before he ascended back to the Father in heaven. And after some time he then sent his Holy Spirit to indwell those who were his true followers, i.e. all who by faith in him were crucified with him in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as servants of God in obedience to his commands.

[Isaiah 53:1-12; Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 26:26-29; Luke 9:23-26; Luke 17:25; John 1:1-36; John 6:35-58; John 8:24,58; John 10:27-33; John 20:28-29; Romans 5:8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 9:5; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-24; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 2:9; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 1:8-9; Hebrews 2:14-15; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 1:20-21; 1 Peter 2:24; 2 Peter 1:1; 1 John 3:4-10]  

But here we are today in 2026, about 2000 years past when Jesus died on that cross (tree). And he is still being despised and forsaken by the many, many of whom are “the religious” who claim him as Lord and Savior, and/or who claim to believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but who do not submit to Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives. They go through the motions of religious practice, but Jesus is not their Lord for they are still living to please the flesh and to walk in sin and to not obey God in practice.

But the sad reality of it all is that is what is being taught as truth by the majority of what is being called “the church” these days. They are largely teaching that a profession of faith alone assures them of salvation from all sin and heaven as their eternal destiny, but regardless of how they live. And if you teach the truth of what Jesus taught as the gospel, then you are tagged as someone who teaches “works salvation,” even though it is the salvation message Jesus and his apostles taught in the Scriptures.

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).

So, we need to be students of the Scriptures who study them in their correct biblical context so that we are hearing and believing the truth and not the lies. And on that note, I saw a video posted on Facebook by a fellow Christian which fits with this subject. I do not have the lyrics, but if you are able, it would be worthwhile to listen to the message in this video, for it speaks to what I shared today about so many who profess faith in Jesus but who do not believe that they have to die to sin and to obey God.

Dead Faith

A rap song by Reformed & Dangerous

Featuring Paul Washer, evangelist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTt5X5AyBJI&list=RDFTt5X5AyBJI&start_radio=1

Despised and Forsaken

An Original Work / March 30, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Come Out From Their Midst

“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,

“’I will dwell in them and walk among them;

And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,’ says the Lord.

‘And do not touch what is unclean;

And I will welcome you.

And I will be a father to you,

And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,’

Says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18 NASB1995)

Who all are the “unbelievers”? They are not all who make no professions of faith in Jesus Christ, for many people make false professions of faith in the Lord Jesus but their hearts are not surrendered to the Lord. According to the Scriptures, the unbelievers are those who have not died with Christ to sin, by God-persuaded faith in him. And they are all who do not obey our Lord and his commands, in practice. So, habitual disobedience is unbelief, and belief is self-denial, dying to sin, and obedience to our Lord God, in practice.

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

So, as followers of Jesus Christ we are not to be partners (in an alliance and cooperation and participation and agreement with) the ungodly, which includes many who give lip service to God but whose hearts are far from God for they are still living to please the flesh and they are not living to please God. And the church at large has made such a forbidden alliance with the world and with the government in the USA via the 501c3 incorporation status. And they have largely turned the gatherings of “the church” into businesses to be marketed to the world, all of which God fully forbids.

[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5] 

And so pastors have largely been turned into entertainers and salesmen and marketeers who have altered the gospel message to make it more attractive and appealing to human flesh and to the ungodly. And the ungodly are all who have not denied self and have not died to sin and who do not obey God as a matter of life practice, but who still live to please the flesh and to continue in their sinful practices (and addictions). And “church” gatherings have largely been turned into stage productions intended to attract the world to their gatherings and to grow their numbers. And Jesus is pushed out.  

We are not to be in fellowship and partnership with such as this. For “the church” is the body of believers in Christ Jesus who obey him, in practice, and for whom sin is not their practice. But it is possible for those of genuine faith in the Lord to fall back into sin, at some point, and to need to be brought back to repentance and to walks of obedience to our Lord. But they should not be those for whom obedience to God has never been their practice and who have never denied self and died to sin, in the power of God. For faith requires death to sin and walks of obedience to God.

[Galatians 6:1; James 5:19-20; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

But now all who have united themselves with the ungodly and with the government and have turned the church into a place of business to be marketed to the people of the world, or are participants in this wickedness, must come out from among such partnerships as this and to be separate. We are not to participate in what is contrary to the will of God and that which performs the opposite of what God intends for the gatherings of his people. And we are not to participate in what is a diluted gospel which appeals to human flesh and does not put sin to death in the sinner.

But we are to operate as the biblical body of Christ in being and in doing what God has for us to do as his people, and as his followers.

[Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 28:18-20; John 4:31-38; John 13:13-17; John 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18,42-47; Acts 26:18; Romans 10:14-15; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:11-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20; 1 Peter 2:9,21; 1 John 2:6]

Only in Him  

Based off Isaiah 30

An Original Work / February 19, 2014

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love 

Woe to those who look to man’s help;

Who turn away from Jesus Christ;

Forming an alliance not in step with God;

Making their own plans, and praying not.

Willing not to listen to truth,

They close their ears to what is right.

Pleasing words are all that they’ll hear;

Feel good messages that bring cheer.

Trust in your Lord; turn from your sin.

Put your faith now ONLY IN HIM.

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

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

Your Lord will be gracious to you.

He cares all about you, ‘tis true.

He forgives you all of your sin

When you give your life up to Him.

Oh, how truly gracious He’ll be

When you bow to Him on your knees;

Turning now from your sin; walking in his ways.

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

Now you will sing praises to Him.

He delivered you from your sin.

You’ll tell others now of His grace,

So they may see Christ face-to-face. 

https://vimeo.com/87181019

Come Out From Their Midst

An Original Work / March 29, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

If We are In Christ

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-19 NASB1995)

It is a very popular teaching today that we can be “in Christ” by a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ, no dying to sin and no obeying God required. For they call that “works salvation.” Therefore, they can continue living in deliberate and habitual sin with no requirements for obedience to our Lord’s commands in holy living. So, when they sin habitually, if they begin to feel guilty about their sin, many of them are being taught to just “claim who you are in Christ,” and they are given a list of things to claim.

But we are not “in Christ” via lip service only. We are “in Christ” when by biblical faith in Christ, which comes from God, and not from ourselves, we deny self, die to sin daily, and we walk in conduct in obedience to our Lord and to his commands – all in the power of God living within us. For to be reconciled to God means that, by faith in Jesus Christ, we exchanged our old lives of living in sin for our new lives in Christ in obedience to his commands so that sin is no longer our practice, but we now obey our God in practice.

For God not counting our sins against us is not accomplished by us giving our Lord lip service only. While it is true that we do nothing in ourselves to earn or to deserve our own salvation, it is not true that we are saved from our sin and on our way to heaven if we do not change, and if we continue living in deliberate and habitual sin against our Lord, and not in walks of surrender to his will in obedience to his commands. For Jesus taught that we must deny self, die to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience to be “in Christ.”

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

To My Beloved  

Based off I Peter 5:6-9; Ephesians 6:10-20; James 4:4-10

An Original Work / November 14, 2011

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Be strong in the grace of Christ, and

Put on His full armor in your fight

Against the enemy of your souls,

And resist him with all your might.

Take up the shield of your faith within you.

Salvation’s helmet – you put it on.

Put on the belt of truth, 

And walk in the Spirit,

And you’ll not be ashamed.

Love your Lord Jesus; call His Name. 

Call on your Lord and Savior, Jesus, and

Make Him Lord and King of your hearts.

Obey all of His teachings He has given

To you to follow in all His ways. 

Repent of your sins. Return to your God.

Follow Him where’er He leads you now.

Humble yourselves in full

Surrender to His will

For your lives today.

Bow before Him, and humbly pray. 

Be strong in the grace of Christ, and

Obey your Lord in ev’rything, always

Keeping His teachings in your hearts near you.

Walk with Christ in ev’ry way.

Resist the devil. He will flee from you.

Draw near to God, and He’ll be near you.

Wash your hands you sinners

And double minded.

Weep and wail o’er sin.

With Christ, your new lives begin.

https://vimeo.com/125863190

If We are In Christ

An Original Work / March 29, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love