If You Hold Fast

“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-2 NASB1995)

What is the gospel message that the apostle Paul preached? It isn’t just that Jesus died on a cross for our sins, and that he was buried, and that he was raised from the dead, and that he appeared to many people before being taken up to heaven to be with God the Father. That is not the entire gospel message, as some people would like for you to believe. It is that Jesus died to put our sins to death with him, and he was raised from the dead so that, by God-gifted faith in him, we will now die to sin and live to God and to his righteousness in obedience to his commands – all in the power of God.

[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] 

We are saved from our sins, and we have the hope of eternal life with God, not by lip service only. For to receive the gospel is to embrace it, to make it one’s own, to give full assent to its message, and to take it and apply it to one’s own life in practice. For the receiving is accompanied with “in which also you stand.” And standing has to do with abiding and continuing, which has to do with obeying, complying with, following, and conforming to. This has to do with living what we say we believe and not just speaking it. For it is those doing the will of God who have salvation and eternal life with God.

By God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are being saved. For our salvation is not a one time decision to receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, regardless of how we live from that moment forward. We have been saved (past), we are being saved (present active), and we will be saved (future) when Jesus returns for his bride and he takes his faithful ones to be with him for eternity. And our salvation is deliverance from bondage to sin, God rescuing us from the power of sin over our lives so that we can now serve the Lord in obedience to his ways.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 9:23-26; John 8:31-32; John 15:1-12; Romans 6:6,16; Romans 8:24; Romans 11:17-24; Romans 13:11; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 15:1-2; Colossians 1:21-23; 2 Timothy 1:8-9; 2 Timothy 2:10-13; Hebrews 3:6,14-15; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 1:5,9; 2 Peter 1:5-11; 2 Peter 2:20-22; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6,24-25] 

For what comes next is the “IF” statement. And this is teaching us that our salvation from sin and eternal life with God are conditional upon us holding fast (keeping, obeying) the word that the apostle Paul preached to us, which would include all of his teachings on what it means to be saved from our sins and to be in relationship with Jesus Christ and to have the definite hope of salvation from sin and eternal life with God, as taught in the correct biblical context. For “our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.”

For it is possible for us to “believe in vain.” For if all we do is give lip service to God, but we do not deny self, die to sin, and follow our Lord in walks of surrender to his will, in obedience to his commands, then our “faith” is worthless, futile, and without purpose. For our faith to be genuine, it has to be biblical, which is not of our own flesh, but which is gifted to us by God. And it has to be continuous and lived out in our daily lives, in practice. So, please understand that our salvation and eternal life with God are conditional upon us dying to sin and obeying our Lord, as a matter of life practice.

Jesus, Lead Me  

An Original Work / July 22, 2011

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Jesus, lead me all the way.

Be my hope and be my stay. 

Gently lead me where I should go,

So Your Spirit, I want to know.

Open up my heart to You.

Fill me with Your love and truth.

Make my heart want to obey.

Be my Lord today. Gently lead always. 

Jesus, lover of my soul,

Cleanse my heart, and make me whole;

Be transformed in my heart today,

As I turn from my sin and pray.

Make Your will known to my heart.

May I not from You depart.

How I long to hear You now,

As I humbly bow. Jesus, hear me now.

https://vimeo.com/113559147 

If You Hold Fast

An Original Work / April 14, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Circumcision of The Heart

“For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.” (Romans 2:28-29 NASB1995)

“Jew,” here, is in reference to someone who considers oneself to be one of God’s children, of genuine faith in the Lord, a child of Abraham, and an inheritor of the promises of God to his people. But this applies to all people who profess faith in Jesus Christ, who believe they are saved and on their way to heaven, or who are faking it, but it is outward and of the flesh only. For their hearts have not changed. They have not been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and they have not been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him. But they are still living in slavery to sin, and not to God.

They are good at sounding righteous and at putting on a performance and at going through the motions of religious practice. But many of them are liars, deceivers, manipulators, immoral, untrustworthy, and malicious opportunists who are prideful, and morally deteriorating, who fake their Christianity for the purpose to deceive and to manipulate. They may claim that they have changed, and that their sins are behind them, while their sins are still stored up in their hearts and minds and continue to come out in their behaviors. And this is because their “faith” is outward only, and not real inwardly.

Physical circumcision involves the cutting away of the skin, so it is outward only. But spiritual circumcision is of the heart and it is a spiritual cutting away of the sinful flesh so that we can now serve the Lord with our lives in walks of obedience to his commands. So it involves us, by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, denying self, dying to sin, and walking in obedience to his commands, by the Spirit, in the power of God, in daily practice. This doesn’t mean we will be perfect, or that we will never sin (1 John 2:1-2), but sin should no longer be our practice, but obedience to God is to be our practice.

And let me state here that just because Jesus did away with the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, circumcision, dietary and Sabbath laws via his death on that cross, that does not translate into us becoming lawless. Jesus and his New Testament apostles made it abundantly clear all throughout the New Testament that faith in Jesus Christ requires that we deny self, die to sin, and obey God and his commands, in practice. And if we profess to be in fellowship with God, and to know God, but sin and disobedience are still our practice, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

So, please know that there are professers of faith in Jesus Christ who are in positions of pastors, elders, deacons, missionaries, and evangelists, who are not teaching the truth of the gospel, but they are teaching lies to tickle itching ears and to comfort the ungodly in their sin. And they are giving people the impression that being under grace does not require death to sin and obedience to God. But God’s grace is training us to say “No!” to sin and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await Jesus’ return. For Jesus died to deliver us from sin, not to pamper us in deliberate sin.

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

Your Heart  

An Original Work / October 24, 2011

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Tenderly He speaks, softly so.

Gently He calls - His will to know.

Won’t you invite Him in your heart?

Humbly accept Him now.

Bow before Him with contrite heart.

May you obey His will.

Seek Him with all your heart and soul,

And your heart, His Spirit fill.

Jesus died to free you from sin, 

Giving you new life to begin,

Walking with Him ev’ry hour, 

Obeying His commands.

Won’t you trust Him to be your Lord?

His grace you can’t afford.

Freely He gives you peace within, 

When you turn from all your sin. 

Live for Him ev’ry passing day.

Meet with Him; read His word and pray.

Serve Him in the way He leads you,

Doing all that He says. 

Do unto others as you would

Have them do unto you.

Love them with Jesus love within you.

Your hearts to God be true.

https://vimeo.com/125864134

Circumcision of The Heart

An Original Work / April 13, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Judgment and Mercy

“But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.” (Romans 2:3-8 NASB1995)

Not all judging is wrong. We should not judge hypocritically, or unjustly, or by human standards, or by comparing others to ourselves, or in hate, with the wrong motives, or prejudicially, or without a hearing. But we who are living righteously, in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands, are to judge sin for what it is. And we are to judge sinful behaviors in people who make sin their practice, especially in those who profess faith in Jesus Christ. And we are to expose the fruitless deeds of darkness, and to call all people to repentance and to obedience to God and to his commands.

[Matthew 7:1-6; John 7:24,51; John 8:15-16; Romans 2:3; 1 Corinthians 2:15-16; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 1 Corinthians 6:2-5; 1 Corinthians 14:29; 2 Corinthians 10:12; 2 Corinthians 11:1-4; Galatians 6:1-5; Ephesians 5:11; James 5:19-20; 2 Peter 2:1-22, 1 John 2:18-20; 1 John 4:1; Jude 1:22-23] 

But in the biblical context of this passage in Romans 2, it is addressing the subject of judging others hypocritically, i.e. of judging others for what you yourself are also doing while you may also be doing even worse things than what they are doing. Yes, you may be correct in stating the obvious, that sin is wrong, but if you are condemning another for their sins while you knowingly and deliberately and habitually are committing the same or worse sins, that is hypocritical. And, in reality, you are condemning yourself. For you will not escape the judgment of God any more than they will.

And then there is the matter of the consequences of living in sin versus living for God in walks of obedience to his commands. Jesus Christ, in his death on that cross, did not put our sins to death with him so that we can now live in sin guilt free. He did not die that horrible death and then rise from the dead to leave us unchanged, still living in sin and for the flesh. He gave his life up for us on that cross to deliver us out of our addiction to sin so we will now serve him with our lives, in surrender to his will, in walks of obedience to his commands, in holy living, and no longer as slaves to sin.

Just because we make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, it does not assure us of forgiveness of all sins, and of heaven as our eternal destiny, if we do not deny self, die to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands. For if we do not repent of (turn away from) our sins, but we stubbornly continue living to please the flesh, and not God, then rather than having the hope of eternity with God, we are, instead, storing up wrath for ourselves in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. For not all who call him “Lord” have eternal life with God.

So, please understand that all of us will stand before our Lord on the day of judgment, and we are all going to be judged by God according to our deeds. Thus, if we have died to sin, and so we have persevered in following our Lord in obedience to his commands, in his power, by his grace, then we are given the hope of eternal life with God. But if we choose to live selfishly, according to the sinful lusts of the flesh, in direct disobedience to God and to his commands, and so we do not obey our Lord, in practice, then heaven is not what awaits us. We will face the wrath of God, and hell as our destiny.

[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

Judgment and Mercy

An Original Work / April 13, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

The Righteousness of God

“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:21-26 NASB1995)

What is meant here by “the Law”? It is speaking of the Old Covenant God had with his people Israel, who were Jews only at that time. Under the Old Covenant, the people of God were required of God to obey a long list of liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, circumcision, dietary, and Sabbath laws. But when Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross to put our sins to death with him so we might die to sin and live for him and his righteousness, he did away with the Old Covenant Law, but he did not do away with God’s moral laws which remained intact under the New Covenant.

And the Lord makes it quite clear, all throughout the New Testament Scriptures, that under the New Covenant God has with his people (Jew and Gentile by biblical faith in Jesus Christ) we do not become lawless. We are still required of God to submit to him as Lord and to obey his commands and to die with him to sin and to live for him in righteousness – all in the power of God by biblical faith in Jesus Christ which comes from God and is not of our own doing. For if sin is what we obey and not obedience to God and to his commands, we will not have salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

Now, all of us who were born into this world (with the exception of Jesus Christ) were born with sin natures, in the image of Adam, the first man God created, and the first man to sin against God. Thus, we were separate from God, and we were unable in our own flesh to be acceptable to God. So, by the grace of God, via Jesus’ death and resurrection, by God-gifted faith in our Lord, we can be delivered from our slavery to sin and now serve the Lord Jesus in obedience to his commands. (Jesus Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit, and not of man, so he was not born with a sin nature as we are.) 

Now, when Jesus Christ (God, the Son) died on that cross, it was to put our sins to death with him. And then he rose from the dead in victory over death, hell, Satan, and sin, on our behalf. And all this was so that, by God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, we will now die to sin and live for God in walks of surrender to his will, in obedience to his commands, by the grace of God, and in the power of God, according to the will of God for our lives. Sin is to no longer have mastery over our lives, but God only should be our Lord and master. And obedience to him and to his commands is required of him.

So, please know that God’s gift of grace to us, via Jesus’ death and resurrection, is not permission for us to continue in deliberate and habitual sin against our Lord, in direct defiance of him and his commands. God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is instructing and training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await Jesus Christ’s return. For not everyone who calls Jesus “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the ones doing (obeying) the will of God the Father, who is in heaven.

[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] 

In Faithfulness He Leads Me 

Based off Various Scriptures: 

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

An Original Work / March 20, 2013

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

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

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

Your love is always, ever before me.

Continually I’ll walk in Your truth.

You will cover me with feathers.

Under Your wings I’ll find refuge.

My Lord’s faithfulness will be my

Comfort and my shield.

The works of His hands are faithful and just.

Trustworthy are all of His precepts.

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

Give understanding of Your commands.

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

Your teachings, O Lord, are righteousness.

Lord, in faithfulness You have

Afflicted me so I may learn of

Your unfailing love and comfort

And Your truthfulness.

You are my husband; You have betrothed me

In love, compassion and faithfulness.

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

In faithfulness You’ve done wondrous things.

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

A shelter in storms; shade from the heat.

This is the Lord, we trusted in Him,

Let us be glad and rejoice

In His salvation which He

Provided through the Lamb.

Open the blind eyes; free all the captives.

Tell them of Jesus: “Be born again!”

https://vimeo.com/115747912 

The Righteousness of God

An Original Work / April 13, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Hearing From God

I was on one of the Christian discussion sites today where I daily post what the Lord is teaching me from my times spent in his word each day. And the Lord led me to read a post by another poster by the name of Dave M. And he was speaking on the subject of us hearing from God, not audibly, but in our spirits, in our minds, and in our hearts. And he spoke on the importance of what we are hearing, or think that we are hearing from God, that it must align with the Scriptures, and it must not be contrary to God's Word. And he asked to hear from others to tell him their stories of when they know they heard from God. And the Lord led me to respond to him with the following:

Dave, I am 76 years old, and I am certain I started hearing from God from at least age 7 on up. At age 7 I was at church camp in Beulah Beach, Ohio, sitting on a hard bench in what was called "the tabernacle," which was a covered outdoor building. And I was listening to the preacher preach and to give an invitation to repent of my sins and to believe in Jesus Christ, and to obey him. And I did cry out to God in repentance with a strong desire to obey him from that moment forward. But I had seen fake Christianity, and I wanted the real thing. 

And my next big moment was (in my 20's) when I switched from reading the KJV to reading the NASB, which had just come out. And all of a sudden God's word was so clear to me (I have a reading comprehension difficulty so KJV was hard for me to understand). And God really began speaking to me in my spirit and leading me in what to do and to say, and I obeyed him. 

And fast forward, back in 2004 I got possession of my grandmother's journals (she died when I was 2). And when I began reading her journals I wept. I was so much like her in so many ways. I was not like most people in my family, but she and I heard from the Lord in the same ways, and we even used the same phrases, and had the same favorite verses. But she kept quoting this one thing (no reference) over and over, so I finally looked it up. It was from Habakkuk 2:2-3 (NIV): 

"Then the Lord replied, 'Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.'"

This showed up several times from more than one source over a span of several weeks, I think. And then I was at a church workers conference, and the Lord was speaking to my heart through all the speakers, one by one. And one of them taught on Habakkuk 2:2-3. But the Lord was speaking directly to my heart through all that was being taught at this conference:

This is a summary of what I learned:

• Preach the Word of God, not the teachings of man

• Listen to God, hear what he is saying, and then obey him

• Tell the people what God tells you to tell them and leave the results in his hands

• What you are going to do, do it NOW

• You were appointed by God as a herald and a teacher of true faith

• God has given you a clear sense of his purpose for you and an urgency…

• Fan into flame the gift(s) of God within you

• Give your ministry over to God – it is not yours; it is his

• God may have something else for you to do that you have not even thought of

• Write down what God shows you and then wait on him to bring it about

• Don’t ask God “why,” just trust him – stand firm, press on

• What you are going through is much bigger than you can imagine

• NOW is your time! – For such a time as this I was placed upon the earth…

• Be a tree climber and get a closer look at the Supremacy of Jesus Christ

• The Church is in crisis – the crisis of Supremacy

• It is indistinguishable between the lives of evangelical Christians and the world

• We need to get back to the basics – we need to put our focus on Jesus and the cross of Christ instead of on the teachings of man

A few months later the Lord began opening my mind and heart to so many things I did not know before, and he definitely used the Habakkuk passage of Scripture to call me to this ministry of writing down what I learn from him each day, in my times with him in his word, and to then post these writings on the internet so that a herald (the internet) would "run with it" (the title of my blog). And so that is what I have been doing faithfully ever since then. 

For nearly 22 years, under the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit, in the power of God, I have been writing what the Lord teaches me each day, as best as I understand it, and I have been posting these writings on the internet. And God is taking these writings to people all over the world, in many nations. And this is not anything that I would have ever imagined that the Lord would be having me do with my life. So I hear from him every day, some days more strongly (powerfully) than others. And I believe he led me to read this poster’s post and to respond to his inquiry today with my story.

Hearing From God

An Original Work / April 12, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Listen to Him

Listen to the Savior calling,

Calling you to follow Him.

Let His Spirit dwell within you

Counseling you to flee from sin.

Follow Him where’er He leads you.

Go with Him throughout your day.

Know His purpose, His compassion.

Do His will without delay.

Don’t be caught in degradation.

Don’t give in to sin’s deceit.

Don’t let Satan’s lies deceive you,

Lead you to live in defeat.

Know the gospel message wholly.

Turn from sin, obey your Lord.

Living wicked in addiction,

In rebellion, not afford.

God will judge you for your actions,

When you live in sin, for self,

When you choose to disobey Him,

And put faith up on a shelf.

You will not have His salvation,

Not to heaven you will go

If you choose to disobey Him,

Live for sin is what you show.

So commit to follow Jesus,

Do His will, obey your Lord,

Die to sin and self in service

To your Lord whom you adore.

An Original Work / April 12, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Taking Up Our Cross Daily

“And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.’” (Luke 9:23-26 NASB1995)

The modern “gospel” says, “Come as you are.” “Bring all your filth with you.” “You don’t have to change.” “You don’t have to obey God.” “Just profess faith in Jesus Christ and now all your sins are forgiven and heaven is now your eternal destiny.” “God’s grace covers it all.” “And if you start to feel guilty for your addictive and sinful life patterns, just ‘claim who you are in Christ.’” But who we are in Christ is who we are in practice in surrender to the will of God in obedience to his commands, or we are not genuinely “in Christ.”

For Jesus Christ taught that if we want to come after him, we must deny self. We must deny and put to death with Christ the sinful passions of the flesh. We must deny all fleshly lusts and desires in order to follow Jesus with our lives. We must say “NO!” to the lusts and desires of the flesh, and we must now follow our Lord in obedience to his commands in holy living. We must be willing to let go of all worldly desires in order to surrender our lives over to the will of God for our lives. For this is the will of God for our lives.

And to take up our cross daily is to daily die to sin and to self, in the power of God, and to let God have his way in our lives. For when Jesus Christ died on that cross it was to put our sins to death with him so that by God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in him we will now die to sin and walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands – all in His power at work within us. And what Jesus went through in order to save us from our sins was very painful. So we should not expect this to be easy, but it can be done in God’s power.

And to follow Jesus is to obey him, to go where he sends us, and to do all that he commands us to do. And this isn’t just about denying self and dying to sin daily, but this is about doing the will of God for our lives. This is about answering his call to his service and to be willing to be used of him in the ways he has for us. So this is about saying what he gives us to say, and about writing and posting what he gives us to write. And it is being willing to be stretched and strengthened in areas not thought possible ever.

For example, when the Lord called me to this ministry, I had never done anything quite like this ever before. I had never written devotions and posted them on the internet before 2004, that I recall. I had never before written hundreds of songs and poems and posted them on the internet. I had never written Christian memes or done video talks and posted them on the internet. And I had never before shared publicly my testimony in such depth. All of this was of God and was/is done in the power of God, too.

So, following Jesus isn’t just about obeying his New Covenant commands and no longer living in sin. Following him involves every aspect of our lives in becoming and in doing who he has for us to be in doing what he has for us to do with our lives on a day to day basis, moment by moment. It involves us being in close communion with him, listening to his voice, and being willing to go where he sends us, to do what he has called us to do, and to say the things that he gives us to say to the people, for their good.

But please know what his word teaches as the gospel of our salvation. For if we hold on to living in sin, and if obedience to our Lord’s commands is not what we practice, we will not have salvation from sin, and we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess. For if we are ashamed of Jesus on this earth, and so we don’t obey him in practice, but we live for the flesh, instead, then when he returns, he will be ashamed of us and he will say, “Depart from me you workers of iniquity.” Believe him!

[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] 

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

Taking Up Our Cross Daily

An Original Work / April 12, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love