Do This More and More

“Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, or that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.” (1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 ESV)

This brotherly love mentioned here has to do with the love that is among us who are followers of Jesus Christ. It is the love that we have for one another that is a proper affection and morally pure emotional feelings that we have for one another who are within the family of God. But when it says here that we who believe in Jesus have been taught by God to love one another, a different love is mentioned, which is agape love, which comes from God.

And this agape love means to prefer what God prefers, which is all that is holy, righteous, morally pure, upright, honest, godly, faithful, and obedient to our Lord and to his commands. For the Christian it means to prefer to live through Christ, choosing his choices, and obeying them in his power, strength, and wisdom. It means that we are actively doing what God prefers because we have the Holy Spirt living within us by faith in Jesus Christ.

So, in what ways is that love expressed to one another? Well, it is based in moral purity, so it will be morally pure. And it has to do with doing what God has designed and purposed for us to do, so it is going to involve obedience to his commands. And it is a love which comes from God, who is love, and so we will love one another in the same ways in which God loves us. So we will not deliberately and habitually do what is evil against one another.

Rather, we will show to one another kindness, compassion, concern, caring, and sympathy. And we will minister to one another’s legitimate needs in the power of and under the direction and leading of the Holy Spirit, utilizing the spiritual gifts we have been given by the Spirit. And we will encourage and exhort one another and speak the truth in love to one another in order to help one another to walk faithfully in obedience to our Lord in holy living.

[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]

But when this counsels us to live quietly, and to mind our own affairs, this is not to negate the teachings all throughout the New Testament which teach us the many ways in which we are to demonstrate the love of God for one another. For this engages us in exhorting one another and in speaking the truth in love to one another and in helping one another out of sin if any have been caught in sin. For we are to bear one another’s burdens.

Definitely we must be those who are walking properly before everyone. We all should be living righteous and godly lives in submission to Christ as Lord, and in surrender of our wills to his perfect will. We should all be modeling what it means to be a true follower (disciple) of Jesus Christ. And we should, thus, speak the same kinds of messages that Jesus taught, and to warn against taking God’s grace for granted and of falling back into sin.

We should also be warning our brothers and sisters in the Lord against false teachings and false gospels and false preachers and prophets and apostles and evangelists and politicians and newscasters who are proclaiming and teaching lies to the people in order to lead them astray. For so many professers of Christianity are being duped by master manipulators and they are being led away from the truth and to following after lies, instead.

But Jesus Christ is the ONLY Savior of the people, and the only one to rescue us from what ails us as a people, as a nation, and as the world. He is our ONLY hope for salvation and for deliverance, and his gospel message is the ONLY one that we should be following, which is the same one that his NT apostles taught. And that is basically that we must die to sin and to self and follow the Lord in obedience, by his grace, if we want eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

As the Deer 

By Martin J. Nystrom

Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water

 So my soul longeth after You

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield

 To You alone may my spirit yield

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70

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