Keep Your Spiritual Fervor

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” (Romans 12:9-13 NIV)

The love this is speaking of is agape love which prefers what God prefers, which is what is morally pure, honest, faithful, trustworthy, godly, upright, and obedient to our Lord. So if we love others with this kind of love, we will not sin against them deliberately, and especially not habitually. We will do no evil to them, but we will care about them and do for them and to them what is for their good (in the eyes of God).

If our love for them is sincere, it will be without hypocrisy, it will be honest, and it will not be fake. It will also not be motivated by hidden agendas nor come from selfish motives. And this kind of love seems to be rare these days. So many people are faking and being hypocritical in mouthing empty words of love to God and to their fellow humans, but it is being motivated by what is selfish and by hidden agendas, and so it is not love at all.

And then we are to hate what is evil, and what is evil is all that is ungodly, dishonest, untrustworthy, wicked, deceitful and immoral, etc. And to hate all of that is to abhor and to detest and to be repulsed by it. We should want no part in all that is evil. So, we should not be purposely taking in what is against God and against his morals via TV, movies, videos, and music, etc. And if we are taking in what is evil, we need to cut it out of our lives.

Then we are to cling to what is good. We are to be glued together with what is good, and we are not to be separated from it. We are to be bonded to and inseparably joined to what is good. And what is good is what is of God and it is not the opposite of what is of God. It is not what is immoral or deceitful or dishonest or untrustworthy. But it is what is kind, generous, loving, honest, morally pure, and faithful, etc.

As believers in Jesus Christ we are to be devoted to one another in love, but this is speaking of those of genuine faith who are following Jesus Christ in obedience to his ways. We are to have a kind of family love, one for the other, showing regard for one another, valuing each other, appreciating each other, encouraging one another in the Lord, and showing genuine care and concern for one another and for one another’s needs.

And above all we are to love God and be devoted to him and to be diligent in service to him, not being lazy, not dragging our feet, not being reluctant nor unwilling to obey the Lord when he leads us in any particular direction which he wants us to go. We should not be resisting the Lord in any way, but we should be enthusiastic and happy about serving him. And we should serve him by obeying him and by living godly lives and by sharing the gospel.

Then, when we are serving the Lord as we ought, we are going to be faced with persecutions, rejection, and afflictions, with people hating us and trying to take advantage of us, and who will do evil to us. But we are to remain firm and steadfast in our faith and endure unjust suffering for the glory of God and for the work of the ministry and for the furtherance of the gospel of our salvation and for the salvation of human lives.

We should be people of God who have open communication going between us and God throughout the day or night regardless of what else is going on in our lives. And this is called prayer, and it should be two-way communication to where we don’t do all the talking but we do a lot of listening and then obeying, too. And then we are to share with other Christians who are in genuine need and be hospitable to people, too.

And all this we do because we love God, and we want to serve him with our lives, and because we love other people, and we want to show the love of Christ to them, and because we care about them. And we share the gospel because we believe the message of the gospel and we want to see them set free from their slavery to sin, and walking in holiness and in righteousness, and loving God and experiencing God’s love and grace in their lives, too.

Keep Your Spiritual Fervor

Video Talk

July 2, 2023

https://youtu.be/7PAdEO7Vfk8

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No Less  

An Original Work / March 19, 2012

I can do no less than praise You,

Lord, for all You’ve done for me.

You died for my sins to save me,

So I would be set free.

I adore You! Lord, I praise You!

Jesus, Savior, King of kings!

You provided my redemption.

Your grace has pardoned me.

I can do no less than serve You. 

Lord, Your witness I would be,

Telling others of Your love,

And why You died on that tree.

Tell of how You gave of Your life,

So from sin we’d be set free,

So we could worship You forever,

And live eternally.

I can do no less than love You,

Lord, for You have first loved me.

You gave of Your life so willing,

Because You cared for me.

Turn from my sin! Obey freely!

Live for You each passing day.

Read Your word, and follow Your lead,

Lord, as I humbly pray. 

https://vimeo.com/125493623