Hypocritical Liars and Abusers

Revelation 3:7-9 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“7To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: “These are the words of the One who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open. 8I know your deeds. Behold, I have placed before you an open door, which no one can shut. I know that you have only a little strength, yet you have kept My word and have not denied My name. 9As for those who belong to the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews but are liars instead, I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I love you.”

 

Trust God! No Fear!

 

If our lives are surrendered to Jesus Christ, and if we are following Him wherever He leads us, in doing and in saying whatever He gives us to do and to say, and if He has opened a door of ministry for us, what He opens no human can shut. And that is not a promise that no doors will be shut which have been opened for us, but that if God wants them to remain open they will remain open, and if He is ready to shut them He will shut them and they cannot be reopened. So we are not to fear that life might suddenly pull a U-turn on us and all of a sudden things are not the same as they were before.

 

But we should be prepared that Satan is going to try to stop us any which way that he can, and he is going to pull his tricks and use other humans against us to try to make us afraid. We are not to fear him or his tricks he pulls. We must keep moving forward in the strength of the Lord in continuing to do what God has called us to do even while the enemy is throwing his darts at us to try to get us to give up and to run away. For, no matter what happens, God is still in control. None of this takes Him by surprise, and He already has a plan in place for us. And He will make a way for us always.

 

The Synagogue of Satan

 

The synagogue of Satan is a false church of a false faith being led by those who are habitual liars and deceivers and manipulators and con artists and those who are narcissistic. And the narcissists are those who are self-serving chameleons who are lacking in compassion, caring, and sympathy, who are hard-hearted egotistical abusers and users who use gaslighting as a means to strike fear in some people in order to gain control over them. They are double-minded people who profess one thing while they live another. And they love playing mind games and twisting people’s words to upset them.

 

They might be physical abusers but they are definitely emotional abusers. And they might be cheaters and adulterers and the sexually immoral who are addicted to their sins of choice. They are self-absorbed, the selfish, and self-indulgent. And they are actors who can put on a good show in front of others. They can be very winsome and charming people who are well-loved by people who do not know them and who do not live with them and who are not their objects on whom they use their gaslighting and mind-games, etc. And they can be very hostile when they do not get their own way.

 

Hypocritical Liars

 

Sadly, there are many people with these characteristic traits who profess faith in Jesus Christ, who claim to be Christians, and who claim to be followers of Christ. Some (or many) of them are serving as pastors in “churches,” in roles which are of the nature of cult leaders rather than serving as shepherds of the flock caring for the needs of the sheep. Some of them are heads of governments or they are doctors or school teachers, i.e. they are people in positions of much power and influence who have the real potential of taking advantage of other people who are under their care.

 

But one day God will humble them, perhaps not in the sense of bringing them to repentance and to genuine faith in Jesus Christ, but something will take place which will bring them down and at this time they will acknowledge that the one (or ones) they used and abused and mistreated and took advantage of are indeed loved of God. They are His children, His followers, those who served Him with their lives and did what He called them to do despite how they were treated by the narcissistic people in positions of rule and authority in the church, in the government, in the world, or in the home.

 

P.S. Narcissism is not a mental health disorder over which people have no control. It is sin, plain and simple, for which God has provided a remedy. But the narcissist has to repent and turn to God and now obey God to be whole.

 

Revelation 3:10-13 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“10Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from My God), and My new name. 13He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

The Hour of Testing

 

This is written to those who are faithful in Christ Jesus to obey Him and His commands and to forsake their sinful practices to now live for the Lord and to do His will. This is written to the faithful in Christ Jesus who have had to endure trials and tribulations to test their faith but who have kept Jesus’ word and who have not denied Him and who He is and what He has done for us and what He taught us. Even though they had been persecuted and mistreated by hypocritical professers of faith in Jesus, they stood the test, they remained faithful, and they kept doing what God had called them to do.

 

So God promised them that He would keep them from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth. And many people have misinterpreted this and they are telling all who profess faith in Jesus that Jesus will come and get them prior to the tribulation so they will not have to suffer persecution and abuse. But one thing I have learned about this is that this word “from” can also mean “through,” i.e. “out from within,” which would indicate the Lord keeping us through the hour of trial rather than us escaping the hour of trial.

 

Hold Fast!

 

While we wait for our Lord’s return when He comes to take His faithful bride to be with Him for eternity, we are to hold fast to the teachings of Christ and of His New Testament apostles, as taught in their correct biblical context. We are not to give up just because things are going to get much worse, which they already are. And if you are someone who is waiting for the pre-tribulation rapture to take place, be prepared that you may have been lied to, for that just isn’t biblical, and God promised us that being followers of Christ will involve much suffering. So be prepared to suffer for Christ.

 

For salvation is not a one-time thing which takes place in our lives, done deal, and now heaven is secured for us for eternity regardless of how we live. Biblical salvation is progressive. We are saved (past), we are being saved (present active) and we will be saved (future when Christ returns). But we must be those who have, by faith in Jesus Christ, died with Him to sin and who are now walking with Him in obedience to His commands in the power of God who persevere in our walks of faith until the end. We will be those who have salvation from sin and eternal life with God when He comes.

 

[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]

 

Hypocritical Liars and Abusers

An Original Work / October 12, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

The Great Redeemer

 

Lyrics by Francis Foster, 1915

Music by Samuel W. Beazley, 1915

 

How I love the great Redeemer

Who is doing so much for me;

With what joy I tell the story

Of the love that makes men free.

Till my earthly life is ended,

I will send songs above,

Then beside the crystal sea

More and more my soul shall be

Praising Jesus and His love.

 

He has purchased my redemption,

Rolled my burden of sin away,

And is walking on beside me,

Growing dearer day by day.

That is why I sing His praises,

That is why joy is mine,

That is why forevermore

On the everlasting shore

I shall sing of love divine.

 

Glory be to Him forever!

Endless praises to Christ the Lamb!

He has filled my life with sunshine,

He has made me what I am.

Oh, that everyone would know Him,

Oh, that all would adore!

Oh, that all would trust the love

Of the mighty Friend above

And be His forevermore.

 

He is everything to me, to me,

He is everything to me,

And everything shall always be;

I will never cease to raise

A song of gladness in His praise;

Here, and in the world above,

My soul shall sing of saving love;

Life and light and joy is He,

The precious Friend who died for me.

 

https://youtu.be/i6xzBPjROnY?si=JPBik1F0AF1SovRC

 

Caution: This link may contain ads

Not According to Expectations

At the top of her lungs

She cried out in exasperation.

Nothing was working out

According to her expectations.

Life was not giving her

What she thought life was all about.

Life was giving to her

What she had hoped that it would not.

So her expectations,

She learned, were not to be realized.

And all that she hoped for

Was now only to be fantasized.

Her thinking about life,

It seemed, was so unrealistic.

Her thinking must now change,

So that she does not go ballistic.

A change of mind she needs

Away from that on which she now feeds.

Belief in Jesus Christ

Will yield a life which to Christ now heeds.

For by true faith in Christ

She can die to that life of confusion.

So a new life in Christ

Will bring that old life to its conclusion.

Now this new life in Christ

May change not all her circumstances

But her trust now in Christ

Gives peace now in Christ which advances.

An Original Work / April 20, 2023

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

“She” can be anyone and does not have to be female at all. We all must guard against unrealistic expectations and understand that God does not promise us an easy life. He promises we will suffer for our faith in Christ.

Are You Dead or Alive?

Revelation 3:1-6 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“1To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of the One who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation for being alive, yet you are dead. 2Wake up and strengthen what remains, which is about to die; for I have found your deeds incomplete in the sight of My God. 3Remember, then, what you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know the hour when I will come upon you.

 

“4But you do have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments, and because they are worthy, they will walk with Me in white. 5Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels. 6He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

 

A Reputation for Being Alive?

 

In the day and time and culture in which we presently live here in the USA, and perhaps in the world, as a whole, for a “church” to have a reputation of being alive, it appears that it has little to do with being alive spiritually. Usually “alive” means it is friendly, fun, entertaining, non-judgmental, and it has lots of fun activities for the family, as a whole. The preachers are usually very charismatic (captivating, charming, fun) people who blend in with the culture in order that they might draw in large crowds to their “churches.”

 

So many of what are called “churches” are businesses incorporated under the state in unholy unions with the ungodly, the world, the government, and with big business. And their gatherings are being marketed to the people of the world, both of which God forbids. And, in order to attract the world to their gatherings, many of them have diluted the gospel message to make it less offensive and more acceptable to human flesh and to the ungodly. And most are not insisting on repentance and obedience to God’s commands.

 

Therefore, the church gatherings where the truth of the gospel is being taught, in its fulness, from the Scriptures taught in their correct biblical context, where death to sin and obedience to God and to His commands and holy living are being taught as necessary components of believing faith, these gatherings are often referred to as “dead” because they are not entertaining and they are not catering to the desires of the world. And so this whole thing of “alive” or “dead” is being flipflopped on purpose.

 

[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]

 

The Biblical Church

 

But let me say here that the biblical church is not a building. It is not a church denomination. And it is not a corporation united with the world and with the government, although this is what many (or most) “church” gatherings have turned out to be. But the biblical church is the universal body of Christ, the body of believers in Jesus Christ throughout the entire world who are united by faith in Jesus Christ via death to sin (repentance) and obedience to God and to His commands. We the people are the church.

 

So, when we read in Revelation about the church in a specific location, it is speaking of the body of believers in Christ in that location meeting together, but the church is universal. And this is speaking of the church in one whole city, and they usually met in homes, so they were probably not all in one place like we think of today. And that could be why the majority of them were not spiritually alive, but were mostly dead, and while some of them were spiritually alive and were those who walked worthy of The Lord.

 

But spiritually alive has to do with our lives surrendered to the Lord in walks of obedience to His commands in holy living, and no longer as slaves to sin. But the gatherings of the church where they are making compromises with the world in order to “win the world” to their gatherings are spiritually mostly dead and are in great need of revival. So what is being called “alive” is often, more than not, mostly dead, while what is being called “dead” may actually be what is genuinely spiritually alive but not entertaining the world.

 

[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 2:42-47; Acts 5:27-32; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-32; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Philippians 3:18-19; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]

 

A Wake Up Call

 

So, this is a call for all who profess faith in Jesus Christ and for all gatherings of what are called “the church” to know what the Scriptures teach about salvation and what it looks like if our faith is genuine biblical faith, and if what we are doing in our lives and in our gatherings agrees with God and with the Scriptures or if it is against God and is against the Scriptures, and if it is sinful or if it is holy in nature. But we need to read the Scriptures in their correct biblical context, and then we need to obey our Lord God.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Are You Dead or Alive?

An Original Work / October 12, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Nails Were Pounded 

 

An Original Work / June 4, 2011

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Nails were pounded when He hung on a tree;

Suffered for us so we could be set free.

He died for our sins; rose up from the grave,

So we could be forgiven; by His grace we’re saved.

 

A spear pierced His side; His clothes they’d divide;

A crown on His head to mock Him instead

Of honoring Him as our Savior, King,

Who gave His life for the world to be free from sin.

 

Forsaken by friends, though He’d not offend.

He lived perfectly; our High Priest to be.

He calls us to see, and by faith believe;

In repentance receive Him; live eternally.

 

https://vimeo.com/125966495

I Asked the Lord in Prayer

Today I asked the Lord in prayer

If life on earth should not be fair,

Should everyone get what’s deserved

For all they’ve done, for all they’ve served.

I contemplated that in mind,

In hoping that the truth I’d find.

And as I gave it some deep thought,

The truth of all, it surely brought.

For life, you see, it isn’t fair,

For if it was, our lives not spared.

We’d die because of all our sins,

And from our sins not be forgiven.

But thank the Lord, although He’s just,

For us who’ve sinned, He did not bust,

But in His mercy, saved from sin,

So now, by faith, we’d live in Him.

But there’s a catch, not free for all,

But on our Lord, we must now call,

We must repent of all our sins,

Obey our Lord and walk in Him.

And this must be how we should live,

And to our Lord, our lives we give,

Surrendered now to Him each day,

To walk with Him, to kneel and pray.

An Original Work / April 2, 2023

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

To The Ones Who Overcome

She is Unwilling

 

Revelation 2:18-21 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“18To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like a blazing fire and whose feet are like polished bronze. 19I know your deeds—your love, your faith, your service, your perseverance—and your latest deeds are greater than your first. 20But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21Even though I have given her time to repent of her immorality, she is unwilling.”

 

Who Jezebel was literally in this context is not important for us to try to determine. What she represented is what is important. And, again, the church in that city was all Christians in the entire city, and most likely they did not meet in large buildings like so many do today. Mostly they met in people’s homes, and each home could probably fit 20-30 people. So this Jezebel, if it was one person, could have been in just one of the gatherings, but the church, as a whole, was responsible to not allow such as what she did and taught, for it was misleading some people to be sexually immoral.

 

Sadly, this is the condition of probably the majority of gatherings of what are called “the church” today here in the USA. So many have adopted a half-truth “gospel” which deliberately removes God’s requirements that we die to sin (repent) and obey God’s commands as necessary components of faith which saves. And so those who follow that false doctrine feel the freedom to continue in deliberate and habitual sin, convinced they are saved and that heaven is secured them. And sexual immorality is HUGE in so many people’s lives who have accepted that false gospel and/or who own smart phones.

 

Unless You Repent

 

Revelation 2:22-23 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“22Behold, I will cast her onto a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer great tribulation unless they repent of her deeds. 23Then I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.”

 

Applying this to the church today, in our world today, the Lord is definitely calling to the church to repent of her sins of idolatry and adultery and sexual immorality and all other addictive sins which are keeping them from following the Lord with sincere hearts and minds in walks of obedience to His commands in holy living, which is what we are called to do as His followers. And He is letting them know that if sin remains their practice, and not obedience to God’s commands, that they will not inherit eternal life with God regardless of what their lips profess. For He will judge those living in sin.

 

I do believe that the church at large here in the USA is already under the judgment of God for her idolatries and adulteries and because she has adopted a cheap grace gospel because she is listening to the liars and to their lies with their “feel-good” messages. And things are beginning to go downhill in this nation rapidly. And so many marriages and family units are being destroyed because of sin being tolerated by so much of what is called “church” via those who serve in positions of pastor and teachers within the gatherings of the church whose teachings are leading people to sin.

 

Continuing in His Work

 

Revelation 2:24-29 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“24But I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned the so-called deep things of Satan: I will place no further burden upon you 25than to hold fast to what you have until I come. 26And to the one who overcomes and continues in My work until the end, I will give authority over the nations. 27He will rule them with an iron scepter and shatter them like pottery —just as I have received authority from My Father. 28And I will give him the morning star. 29He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

 

Thankfully, there is still a remnant of Christians who have not compromised with the world and with false teachings which open the door wide for the people who call themselves Christians to keep walking in sin. I do not know what percentage we are, but in the USA we are definitely in the minority. For we are those who believe we must deny self, die to sin, and obey God and His commands as necessary components of faith which saves, and that if we choose to keep living in sin and not in obedience to God, that we will not have salvation and eternal life with God. We will die in our sins, instead.

 

[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]

 

To The Ones Who Overcome

An Original Work / October 11, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

When I Go Home

 

By G. M. Eldridge

 

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes…” Revelation 21:4

 

In the moment He appears

And the light from heaven shines,

I’ll forget ev’ry fear,

Ev’ry pain I’ll leave behind.

Then I’ll see Him as He is

And I’ll know Him as I’m known.

Ev’ry tear wiped away when I go home.

 

Ever present is the tho’t

That a moment waits for me

When unworthy as I am,

His glory I will see.

I will empty all my praise

Before my Father’s throne.

Ev’ry tear wiped away when I go home.

 

If the trial I endure,

And your presence I can’t find,

Be near me, Lord, I pray,

Bring back unto my mind

That your promises are firm

And I’m never on my own.

Ev’ry tear wiped away when I go home.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z98Zvr1CyXg

 

Caution: This link may contain ads

Then You Have True Hope

The Sharp, Double-Edged Sword

 

Revelation 2:12 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“12To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of the One who holds the sharp, double-edged sword.”

 

We read this in Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” These are the words of Jesus, for Jesus/God is the author of the Scriptures, the living word of God. They cut to the heart and they pierce through the soul in conviction of truth to our consciences and to our hearts. They convict the sinner of sin and they call for the sinner to repent of sin.

 

For the Word of God is not the wishy-washy, light, and fluffy feel-good stuff which leaves people feeling good about themselves and perhaps feeling as though they did something religious or that they connected with God (or a god), but which never pierces to the division of the soul and spirit, never discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. For the “feel-good” stuff is not intended to cut to the heart in conviction of sin and of gospel truth. It is intended to keep the sinner still bound in captivity to sin without God.

 

Where the Throne of Satan Sits

 

Revelation 2:13 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“13 I know where you live, where the throne of Satan sits, yet you hold fast to My name. You did not deny your faith in Me, even in the days of My faithful witness Antipas, who was killed among you where Satan dwells.”

 

The throne of Satan sits on the earth, which is where we humans live. And when we are born into this world, we are born with sin natures in the image of Adam, the first man created by God, and the first man to sin against God. So, only by biblical faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, but which comes from God, and is gifted to us by God, can any of us be free from our bondage to sin and live holy lives pleasing to God. And this faith must be persuaded of God as to His righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of God’s requirement that we die to sin and obey His Word.

 

And then we can be those who follow our Lord in walks of obedience to His commands in holy living, in the power of God, and for whom sin is no longer what we practice (our habit), but for whom righteousness, godliness, moral purity, uprightness, self-control, honesty and faithfulness are our practice, by the grace of God. In the power of God we can walk worthy of the calling of God, we can hold fast to the teachings of the Scriptures, to obey them, and we can persevere in our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord even in the face of much opposition and persecution – all in the power of God!!

 

A Few Things Against You

 

Revelation 2:14-16 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“14But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. 15In the same way, some of you also hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16Therefore repent! Otherwise I will come to you shortly and wage war against them with the sword of My mouth."

 

Now the church in Pergamum was the collective body of Christ throughout the city. And most likely they did not regularly meet all in one place, which was dependent on the size of the city and the number of believers in Christ within the city. Mostly the early church met in people’s homes which were generally not large, and so a normal congregation may have been the size of not more than 20-30 people all in one place. So, in some people’s homes they may have taught the teachings of Balaam, a false prophet, while in other homes they may have held firmly to the gospel of Christ Jesus.

 

And this may be how these separations of teachings and theologies took place, perhaps much like we have multiple “church denominations” today which do not all hold to the same teachings. Some of their teachings are way off base, while others make compromises here or there, while even fewer in numbers are literally holding to the teachings of Christ and of the New Testament apostles, as taught and adhered to in their correct biblical context. The majority in the USA appear to have accepted a diluted gospel message which is intended to attract the ungodly to their gatherings.

 

So, it appears the majority are teaching that repentance (dying to sin) and obedience to God and to His commandments are not requirements of God for salvation from sin and for eternal life with God as long as the sinners have “prayed the prayer” to “receive Christ.” So that leaves the door wide open for them to continue in deliberate and habitual sin against God in moral impurity, sexual immorality, adultery, lying, cheating, and stealing, etc. So, this is a call of God to repent of sin, i.e. to die to sin and to now walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to God’s commands or face judgment.

 

He Who Has an Ear

 

Revelation 2:17 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“17He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.”

 

And here is the good news! If we listen to God and to what His Word teaches us, in the correct biblical context, with open minds and with open hearts to receive His teachings into our lives in order that we might now walk in obedience to our Lord and to His commands, and so that, by the grace of God, we will no longer walk in deliberate and habitual sin against God, then we will have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. We will be in relationship with our Lord, we will have fellowship with Him, and we will have Him with us all the time guiding and directing us in the ways of God.

 

But if we close our ears and hearts and minds to the truth of the gospel, and we embrace the lies which tickle itching ears instead, and so we keep on living in deliberate and habitual sin against God, and not in holiness and in righteousness and in obedience to our Lord’s commands, we do not have the hope nor the promise of eternal life with God. What we have is a promise that we will spend eternity in the fires of hell because we refused God and His commands and we chose our sins to obey them instead. So choose God! Turn away from sin. Obey God’s commands. Then you have true hope!

 

[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]

 

Then You Have True Hope!

An Original Work / October 11, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

The Spirit Calling

 

An Original Work / November 12, 2019

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

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

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

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

Folks may call you crazy. Fellowship with Him.

 

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

His love will renew you if you follow Him.

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

His love will avail you if you walk with Him.

 

Jesus, Lord and Savior, reigneth now forever.

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

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

Holiness we walk in, purified by Him.

 

https://vimeo.com/373006449

A Thought to Consider

Have any of you ever given thought to this? We as human beings are created in the image of God, but we are born into this world with sin natures in the image of Adam, separate from God and unable within ourselves to be acceptable to and approved of God. And this is why Jesus had to give His life up for us on that cross to free us from our addiction to sin and to purify us and to make us holy in Christ Jesus, by biblical faith in Him, so that we will now, in the power of God, live holy lives according to God’s likeness.