Not a "Feel Good" Message

“Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:4-8 NASB’95)

The book of 1 John is not for sissies (the cowardly). It is not for those who want only messages which make them feel good, which are comfortable, and which are non-threatening, and non-intrusive, and non-confrontive. For it says it like it is in plain speaking with no “bells and whistles” attached. No flowery phrases, no jokes to ease the tension and to make everyone relaxed, either. Just plain and simple and direct as can be, because it has to be to get the reality of what it teaches to the people in a way that they cannot refute.

Many people who are of the “cheap grace gospel” mentality, who prefer a more diluted gospel message to the one taught by Jesus and by his New Testament apostles, will dismiss 1st, 2nd, & 3rd John altogether, for they do not agree with the gospel message which John was spreading, which they don’t want their adherents to believe in. For the popular gospel being taught in America today is that we can just make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ once, and now all our sins are forgiven and we are bound for heaven.

But what John taught here is the same gospel that Jesus taught, and that Paul taught, and that the other New Testament apostles taught, if truth be told, if we read what they taught in their appropriate context, and not out of context. What John taught and what James taught were not contradictory to what Paul taught, either, as many people would have you believe here in America. They all gave the same gospel message as what Jesus taught. And it wasn’t the “say you believe and now heaven is guaranteed you” message.

For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For, if we hold on to our lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if we deny self, put sin to death in our lives in daily practice, by the Spirit, and we walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to our Lord and to his commandments, then we have the hope of salvation from sin and eternal life with God. For it is the ones obeying God who have eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 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; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

So, don’t dismiss what John taught here in the book of 1 John because it is uncomfortable or because it doesn’t fit with the theology that you were taught and that you believe. Study the Scriptures in their full context, book by book, and chapter by chapter, one after another, comparing Scripture with Scripture, and you will see that what John taught here as the gospel is the same as what Jesus taught and Paul and the other New Testament apostles taught consistently and repeatedly, and insistently, too.

So, if you have made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, but then you kept on living just like you did before in deliberate and in habitual sin, without change of direction or thinking or behaviors, and so a walk of obedience to the Lord and to his commands is not your daily practice, either, then according to Jesus and to his New Testament apostles, you do not know God, you are not born of God, you are not in fellowship with God, and you do not have salvation from sin and eternal life with God in his heavenly kingdom.

It is the one who practices righteousness (of God, in the power of God) who is righteous in the sight of God, not those who just give lip service to the Lord. And those who practice sin are of the devil. And when this says that no one born of God practices sin, this is not saying that you can just give lip service to the Lord, and that constitutes being born of God, and so you are now somehow incapable of sinning. We are all still capable of sinning (1 John 2:1-2), but if sin is your practice, you will not inherit eternal life with God.

“No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:9-10 NASB’95)

For Our Nation  

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

https://vimeo.com/379406352

Not a “Feel Good” Message

An Original Work / April 6, 2025 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Love One Another

 

The Great Love of God

“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:1-3 NASB’95)

If we want to be those who are diligent to present ourselves approved to God as workmen who do not need to be ashamed, but who accurately handle the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15), we must make it our practice to study the Scriptures in their proper context. So, if we want to understand what is being said here in 1 John 3:1-3, it would behoove us to read all of 1 John first to get the right context so that we do not incorrectly handle the truth and then end up teaching unintended lies instead of the truth.

So, with that said, let’s recap a little bit of the first two chapters. We learn in chapter 1 that if we say that we have fellowship with God and yet walk (in conduct, in practice) in the darkness (sin, wickedness), we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the Light (truth, righteousness, Jesus), as God himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with God and with one another within the body of Christ who are also walking in the Light in fellowship with God, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.

In 1 John 2:3-6 we learn: “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”

So, when we begin reading in chapter 3 about the great love of God the Father, which he has bestowed on us, “that we would be called children of God,” it would be very helpful to know what the first two chapters teach us about who it is who are the children of God, who know God, and who are in fellowship with him. And 1 John 3:4-10 talks about this subject, as well. We do not know God and we are not in fellowship with God if we are still walking in sin and if it is not our practice to obey the commandments of our Lord.

And this is not saying that if we ever sin again, “Bam!”, we’re toast! For we read in 1 John 2:1-2: “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” Yet, directly after this we read that if we claim to know God, but we do not obey his commandments, in practice (keeping them), we do not speak the truth.

Basically, if we study all the New Testament Scriptures in their proper context, we will learn that to know God and to be in fellowship with God, and to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God guaranteed us at the end of our lives, we must be those who have died with Christ to sin, who are dying daily to sin, by the Spirit, and who are walking in obedience to his commands, in practice, in the power of God. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

So, back to 1 John 3:1-3. God’s great love has been poured out on us who profess him with our mouths, that he is our Lord and Savior, but who also submit to him as Lord, who surrender our lives to the will of God, who have died with him to sin, and who now walk in his ways and in his truth and righteousness, empowered by the Spirit of God. We are not the children of God if all we do is give lip service to him but then we keep on in our sinful practices and if we do not obey his commands he has for us to obey today.

But if we are those denying self, dying to sin daily, by the Spirit, and walking in the ways of the Lord, in obedience to his commands, in practice, although not necessarily in absolute sinless perfection, we will be among those not known by the world. They won’t understand us and why we do what we do in submission to the Lordship of Christ, and in obedience to his commands, and in walking in his ways, and in being led of him in what to do and what to say and to whom and when and where and why. This will be foreign to them.

And everyone who has the hope (biblical and genuine) of salvation from sin and eternal life with God, based off the truth of the gospel taught in the Scriptures, in their proper context, are ones who purify themselves, just as God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – is pure. And if we purify ourselves, it is via us, by the Spirit, denying self, dying to sin daily, and walking in obedience to our Lord and no longer in sin. And it means to be holy, different from the world, because we are becoming more like Jesus.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 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 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

Lead Me Gently Home, Father

By Will L. Thompson, 1879

Lead me gently home, Father,

Lead me gently home;

When life’s toils are ended,

And parting days have come,

Sin no more shall tempt me,

Ne’er from Thee I’ll roam,

If Thou’ll only lead me, Father,

Lead me gently home.

Lead me gently home, Father,

Lead me gently home;

In life’s darkest hours, Father,

When life’s troubles come,

Keep my feet from wand’ring,

Lest from Thee I roam,

Lest I fall upon the wayside,

Lead me gently home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4Y9cb0f76A

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The Great Love of God

An Original Work / April 6, 2025 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

The Temple of God

“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 NASB’95)

Don't Be Partners with The Ungodly

All throughout the New Testament writings we are warned against unholy unions with the ungodly of this world. But let me state here that the ungodly are not just all who make no professions of faith in Jesus Christ. The ungodly are all who are living ungodly and immoral and rebellious lives against God, for whom sin is still their practice, and for whom righteousness, godliness, moral purity, honesty, and obedience to God are not what they practice. So they can be people who profess Jesus as Lord but who live the opposite.

So, what is an example of one of these unholy unions? The primary example which comes to my mind every time are these institutional market-driven “churches” incorporated under (combined, united, merged with) the state. Although some or most of them may still teach some of the Scriptures, many of them out of context, they are largely being led by the marketing schemes of human-based institutions who have altered the character of God/Christ, his church, and his gospel, in order to draw in large crowds from the world.

Therefore, much of their decision making for “the church” is based in marketing schemes and business models for how to “grow their churches” and for how to “draw in large crowds of people from the world” into their gatherings. And so the message of the gospel is largely being altered to pacify people in their sin and to not offend the ungodly who they want in their ”churches.” And many of them no longer teach God’s requirements for biblical repentance (death to sin) and walks of obedience to our God.

And many of them have turned their gatherings into stage productions put on by a small group of people while the rest of the people sit in their pews or in their chairs and sing the songs and listen to the sermons and then go home and resume normal life until the next week when they come back and do it again. But that is not the biblical role model of “church” which is the body of believers in Jesus Christ who are walking by faith and who are ministering to one another via the gifts of the Spirit given them by God.

Cleansing of The Temple

Do you remember the story of Jesus cleansing the temple? I think there are two separate biblical accounts of him doing this, so many people believe he did this more than once, but the point is that he did this and why he did it. It was because the people had turned the temple of God into a marketplace, which is exactly what these market-driven institutional incorporated “churches” are now doing, too. So Jesus told them to STOP making his Father’s house a place of business, and he is still saying the same today.

And then we have today’s passage of Scripture which warns us against being in fellowship and union and partnership with the ungodly, which is exactly what these institutional market-driven “churches” of today have done in direct opposition to God’s commands. They have united with the world and with the ungodly and so they have turned the temple of God (the gatherings of the body of Christ, his church) into marketplaces in order to attract the ungodly to their gatherings, which is the opposite of what God commands.

And then have you read in the book of Revelation about the fall of Babylon? And who or what is “Babylon”? It can be a physical place on this earth, yes, but it is a symbol of spiritual corruption and rebellion against God and of idolatry and sexual immorality and of worldliness and moral decay. And that is a picture of these institutional market-driven “churches” partnered with the state (the ungodly) who are compromising the truth of the gospel and morality and God’s commands in order to attract the world to their meetings.

And what are we then instructed to do about this? We are to come out from among her lest we participate with her in her sins, lest we also then share with her in her punishment, “for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.” And today’s passage instructs us to “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.” We need to take this seriously!

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

The Message of the Gospel

Now, do some of these institutional market-driven “churches” (businesses) get some things right? Surely some of them do. Do some of them still teach the truth of the gospel? Some of them still teach some of the truth, but few teach the full gospel message, from what I have been able to observe. Many teach a very diluted and altered gospel which only requires a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and then the “believer” is guaranteed forgiveness of all sins and heaven as their eternal destiny, regardless of how they live.

And those who do teach God’s requirements of repentance and obedience to his commands often will teach them more as suggestions, or as things that we should be doing, but not as part of faith which saves and without which we are not saved and heaven will not be our eternal destiny. But Jesus and his New Testament apostles taught that faith which is genuine will result in death to sin and walks of obedience to his commands. But if sin is our practice, and not obedience to God, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

And the most critical thing that we need to teach the people is that if sin is our practice, and if walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands are not what we practice, then we don’t know God, we are not born of God, we are not in relationship with Jesus Christ, we are not in fellowship with him, we are not saved from our sins, and we do not have eternal life with God in heaven. And it doesn’t matter what our lips profess. What matters is that we are not walking in sin but we are obeying our Lord, in practice.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 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 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

Listen to Our Hearts

Songwriters: Geoff Moore / Steven Chapman

How do you explain, how do you describe

A love that goes from east to west

And runs as deep as it is wide?

You know all our hopes,

Lord, you know all our fears.

And words cannot express the love we feel,

But we long for You to hear.

So listen to our hearts.

Hear our spirit sing

A song of praise that flows

From those you have redeemed.

We will use the words we know

To tell you what an awesome God You are.

But words are not enough

To tell you of our love,

So listen to our hearts.

If words could fall like rain

From these lips of mine,

And if I had a thousand years

I would still run out of time.

If you listen to my heart,

Every beat will say,

Thank You for the life, 

Thank You for the truth,

Thank You for the way.

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

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The Temple of God

An Original Work / April 5, 2025 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Speaking the Truth

Speaking the truth of God’s Word, no lie,

Sharing the gospel, how Jesus died,

Sacrificed for our sins, made alive,

Grace of God to our lives now applied.

 

Jesus died for our sins on a cross,

For without Him we are at a loss,

Dead in our sins, our sins are the boss,

But for our freedom He paid the cost.

 

Now by faith in Him we can be saved,

For without Him we are now depraved,

Walking in sin we are now enslaved,

But for our freedom His life He gave.

 

Dead to our sins we can now obey

Our Lord and Savior in every way,

Our punishment for sin He did wave,

Our life eternal, the way He paved.

 

An Original Work / April 5, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

As Servants of God

“And working together with Him… giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things.” (focus on 2 Corinthians 6:3-10 NASB’95)

 

When we are genuine servants of the Lord Jesus, called of God to do his will in specific areas of ministry, and if those areas of ministry are not what are vogue (the prevailing fashion or style at a particular time), then we are likely to face some or much of what the apostle Paul described of his experiences.

 

Like take me for instance. I was called of God in 2004 to write down what he teaches me each day from his word and to put these writings on the internet, so that “a herald could run with it” (based off Habakkuk 2:2-3). So that is what I have been doing since then. And not all these writings were daily devotionals at first, but early on the Lord was teaching me much about what is going on in my nation, and in the world, and he was helping me to unlearn the lies I had been told and to see the truth through his eyes.

 

And that was just a little too weird for a lot of people I knew to accept. But as time has progressed, these things he was teaching me then have been coming to the forefront, and other people are beginning to see the same reality which is all related to these last days before the return of Christ and the things the Bible tells us are going to happen, but with the Lord guiding me through them in relation to what is going on specifically in my nation and with our leaders and things I previously had no clue of, but I do now.

 

But even through that learning and unlearning time earlier on in this ministry, the Lord was having me share the truth of the gospel of our salvation, but he was also growing me in my walk of faith and in my knowledge of the Scriptures, and I was unlearning some things that I had been taught wrong, and I was learning things that I just had not noticed before in the Scriptures, because I was now reading book by book, and chapter by chapter, and so I was now seeing the truth in the right context.

 

Eventually the writings became less like daily journals of my times with the Lord in his word and they became more like daily devotionals, but not the light and fluffy stuff that so many are passing off as truth these days, but going into the depths of the teachings of the Scriptures to learn what they are really teaching, so more like Bible studies. And then he added on songs, poems, video talk devotions, and memes (short devotions in one picture), and this became my full-time job (my assignment from the Lord).

 

But I was and am what is considered a “laywoman,” i.e. a Christian woman with no official credentials from any Bible college or seminary or church denomination. So, in many religious circles, what I do each day as my full-time job (assignment) from God is just considered my hobby, just something I am doing to take up time during my years of retirement. So I don’t get much respect from most people I know, and I am largely ignored, and sometimes I am criticized and fought against for teaching the truth.

 

I have not yet faced any physical beatings for what I do each day, but I have had plenty of verbal beatings over the past 21 years. And really, anytime in my life where I took God and his calling on my life fully seriously, and I was committed to following his leading in my life, I have been verbally abused and cast aside as unwanted and as unnecessary, and I have been treated as though I am a nothing and that what I do each day is not critical because it doesn’t fit in with the modern day approach to Christianity and its gospel.

 

So, I do identify with Paul a lot in what he went through. As the Lord’s servant I have also had to endure much, and face multiple afflictions, rejections, persecutions, hardships, distresses, banishments, sleeplessness, loneliness, false accusations, and the like, because I am following the leading of the Holy Spirit in my life in doing the will of God for my life, which is definitely not “vogue” in the times in which we now live. I speak the truth of God’s word at a time when so many are distorting the truth, instead.

 

But I do what I do each day, in love response to my Lord, and to his calling upon my life, because this is what God had planned for my life even before he formed me in the womb of my mother. This is why I am here, not to please myself, and not to entertain and to be entertained, and not to gain a huge following and to have everyone like me and accept me. I am here to speak the truth of God’s word at a time when truth is difficult to find, and when the lies are what are largely being adopted and accepted, instead.

 

So, I do not do what I do each day, in writing and posting on the internet what God gives me to write and to post, for my own glory, but for the glory of God, and for the salvation of human souls, and to help others to have their eyes opened to the truth and to reject the lies of Satan. I do what I do each day because I love you, the people of the world, and I love God, and I want to obey him and to do what pleases him. And I will keep doing this as long as God keeps that door open for me, in his power, and as long as I live.

 

And I will keep speaking the truth, and refuting the lies of the enemy, by the grace of God, in his power, even if all reject me and turn away from me and want nothing to do with me. I must! And I am well aware of what that has already cost me, and what it may well cost me even more as time progresses. But I am convinced that my Lord will give me the strength to endure whatever I must endure to keep speaking the truth and to keep calling out the lies, so that many will be delivered from bondage to sin.

 

For the lies tell you that a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ gets you “saved” and guaranteed heaven as your eternal destiny. But the truth teaches that faith in Jesus, which comes from God, and is genuine, will result in us denying self, dying daily to sin, by the Spirit, and us walking (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to our Lord and to his commandments, in the power of God. And if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what we profess.

 

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 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; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

 

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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As Servants of God

An Original Work / April 5, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Receive Not in Vain

 

The Eyes of Our Hearts Enlightened

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:18-23 NASB’95)

What do our eyes represent? They are the parts of our bodies which help us to physically see things. But “eye” is also a word used to mean judgment, insight, discernment, and perception. And our hearts are the core of who we are, representing the mind, soul, spirit, and emotion, i.e. the crux and the substance of who we are in character, which will be evident by our actions. So the eyes of our hearts being enlightened goes beyond just head knowledge, but it impacts who we become in character and in deed.

So if we are enlightened, and so now we see clearly the hope of his calling, what should we see? We should see Jesus crucified on that cross, taking upon himself our sins, putting our sins to death with him so that, by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him, we will now die with him to sin and walk with him in walks of obedience to his commands, in holy living, by the grace of God, and in the power of God, and not of our own doing. And we are those given the hope of deliverance from sin and eternal life with God.

All this comes from God and is not of the flesh of humans. Not one of us can do anything in ourselves to be acceptable to and to be approved by God and to share in his righteousness. We can only come to faith in Jesus Christ if God draws us to faith in him, i.e. only if he persuades us as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of God’s requirement that we die with him to sin and walk now in obedience to his commands, in his power, by his grace, and so we now die to sin and obey his commands.

For to believe in Jesus is not just words that we repeat after someone else in a pre-planned prayer, and it is not just a verbal confession of Jesus as Lord and Savior, and it is not just an acknowledgment of what he did to save us from our sins. The Scriptures teach us that faith, which is of God, and is persuaded by God, will result in the sinner dying with Christ to his sin and being raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as a slave to sin, but as a servant of righteousness, in obedience to our Lord.

Nonetheless, this is not what is popularly being taught as the gospel of our salvation here in America, at large. Many are teaching a very diluted and altered gospel, and an altered character of God/Christ, and of his church, because they are trying to appeal to the ungodly of this world in order to attract the world to their gatherings. And so they make Jesus and his gospel message more socially acceptable and far less offensive to the world and to human flesh. And in that way they can draw more people to their gatherings.

And so they are teaching that a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ will assure them forgiveness of all sins and heaven as their eternal destiny, but regardless of how they live. Some do still teach that we must repent of (die to) our sins and obey God, but they make it more optional, and not required of God for our faith to be genuine faith, of God, resulting in salvation from sin and eternal life with God. Others just state that we don’t have to repent, and we don’t have to obey God, for they call that “works salvation.”

Therefore, many people today professing faith in Jesus Christ are not of genuine God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in the Lord, for they have not put sin to death in their lives, by the Spirit, even if some of them may give a show of having done that, at times, but which never produces a change of heart, mind, or behavior. For they continue on in the same sinful patterns of behavior while claiming Jesus as Savior and heaven as their destiny, for they are convinced that God will not judge them for their sinful practices.

So we need to have the eyes of our hearts enlightened to the truth of the gospel which requires that, by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, we die with him to sin and we now walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to his commands, or we do not know God, we are not in fellowship with God, we are not born of God, and we will not inherit eternal life with God. For Jesus died that we might die to sin, and he lives that we might live in him in walks of obedience to his commands, in his power, strength, and wisdom.

For to truly know God, and to be born of God, and to be of genuine faith in Jesus Christ, which all comes from God, we must come under the authority of God, and he must now rule in our hearts and minds and behaviors. He must be the one in control over our lives, not self and not sin. And we must live in submission to his will and purpose for our lives. Same with all of us who together form his body, his church, of which he is to be the head, not human beings in their deceitful scheming with their false gospel messages.

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 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; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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The Eyes of Our Hearts Enlightened

An Original Work / April 5, 2025 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

God's Purpose for Our Lives

What is God’s purpose for our lives?

Why are we here? Just to survive?

God has a purpose in His mind

By His design, that we might find.

What is His purpose? What’s at stake?

Why are we here? Why He create?

That we might die with Him to sin,

Obey His word, and live for Him.

He put us here upon the earth

That one day He might give new birth

To all who will forsake their sins

And let the Spirit live within.

He has a task for all of us

Who trust His Word, believe He’s just,

To follow Him where’er He leads

And share His gospel, His sheep feed.

He’s gifted us in many ways,

That we might serve Him all our days

In loving others, with them share

All that’s of God, so they aware.

Our hope in Him, our life to find

In One who’s truth, in One who’s kind,

Who gave His life so we’d go free

From slaves to sin, with Him agree.

Walk with Him now, walk in His ways,

And do no longer from Him stray.

Obey Him now, do what He says,

Not enemies, now we’re His friends.

So, fellowshipping with our Lord,

We side with Him, in one accord,

We witness for Him, spread His Word,

And of His heaven we’re assured.

An Original Work / April 4, 2025 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Your Love for The Saints

“For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:15-19 NASB’95)

The apostle Paul wrote these words to the saints who were in Ephesus, who were the faithful in Christ Jesus. And a saint is one who is holy. And one who is holy is one who is separate (unlike, different) from the world because he is being conformed by God to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ, as he cooperates fully with God’s work of grace in his life, in surrender to the will of God for his life. And the faithful are all who are of God-persuaded faith in the Lord, who have died to sin, and who are walking in obedience to the Lord, in practice, and who are committed to serving God with their lives.

So, this (above) is the “faith” that Paul spoke of in reference to the Ephesian Christians. This was not “faith” by how so many people interpret it today, where they feel that they can just say they believe in Jesus, or they can just pray a prayer to “receive Christ,” or where they can just accept God’s grace and now they are saved and on their way to heaven, regardless of how they live, and with no requirements that they die with Christ to sin and walk with him in obedience to his commands, as evidence that they are of genuine faith, and that they are in genuine relationship with God Almighty.

And I must stress this because so many people today are being lied to, and they are being given a false hope of salvation from sin and eternal life with God based on lip service only, but absent of genuine repentance (turning from sin, death to sin) and walks of obedience to the Lord and to his commands, empowered by God. And so many people are anticipating that when they die that they are going to be with Jesus in heaven because they made a profession of faith in him. But if sin is what they practice, and not obedience to God, they will not inherit eternal life with God, sadly so.

Now, if our faith in Jesus Christ is genuine God-persuaded faith in him, not only should it result in us dying with Christ to sin, not just once, but in daily practice, and us walking in obedience to his commands, in his power, but it should be shown in how we treat other people. And the love for others that this is talking about is not human love, not love based on our feelings or on how others treat us, but love which shows kindness even to our enemies who mistreat us, and who lie about us, and who do evil against us. For love comes from God and it prefers all that is of God and that is righteous.

And if we love one another within the body of Christ with this love which comes from God, and which is based in all that is holy, righteous, morally pure, upright, godly, faithful, and obedient to God, then we are going to do for one another what is of God, that which gives glory to God, and that which encourages one another to be faithful to God in walks of obedience to his commands. So we will also not sin against them deliberately and habitually, and we will not lie to them, but we will speak the truth of God in love to them, for their good, and for their spiritual growth in the Lord.

Now, that may not make us well liked or appreciated among those who profess the name of Jesus, for so many people today who claim faith in the Lord are buying into a very cheapened form of God’s gospel message. And they are teaching people that lip service alone will get them into heaven. And so if we speak the truth of God’s word to the people, out of love for them, that may get us rejected, cast aside as unwanted and as unnecessary, mocked, made fun of, and generally just ignored. But speaking the truth to them that they need to hear is one of the greatest expressions of love.

But we are to do good to others in other ways, as well, in showing kindness and consideration to them in what they are going through, and helping them if needed, if we are able, or just checking in on them to see how they are doing and praying for them and for their needs. And if we have any particular gifts, talents, or ministries, we might share some of these with them as a means of encouraging them and giving them hope. But as the body of Christ, we are to be encouraging one another to walk faithful to the Lord and to not let ourselves be taken captive by sin and by lies and liars.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Lu 6:27-28; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Ac 1:8; Ac 2:14-18; Ac 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Gal 6:1; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:11-27; Eph 6:10-20; Php 2:1-8; Col 1:9; Col 3:12-16; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; Jas 5:19-20; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6; Jude 1:22-23]  

Lead Me Gently Home, Father

By Will L. Thompson, 1879

Lead me gently home, Father,

Lead me gently home;

When life’s toils are ended,

And parting days have come,

Sin no more shall tempt me,

Ne’er from Thee I’ll roam,

If Thou’ll only lead me, Father,

Lead me gently home.

Lead me gently home, Father,

Lead me gently home;

In life’s darkest hours, Father,

When life’s troubles come,

Keep my feet from wand’ring,

Lest from Thee I roam,

Lest I fall upon the wayside,

Lead me gently home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4Y9cb0f76A

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Your Love for The Saints

An Original Work / April 4, 2025 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

According to His Purpose

 

With Every Spiritual Blessing

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.” (Ephesians 1:3-8 NASB’95)

Who are the “us” being spoken of here? We are the saints of God who are faithful in Christ Jesus (v. 1). And who are the “saints”? We are those who have trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, who have been 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 servants of God and of his righteousness. Therefore we are no longer to let sin be our practice, for if sin is what we obey, its end is death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, that results in sanctification and eternal life with God.

We are God’s holy people. And to be holy is to be separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being conformed by God to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ, if indeed we are. For what does it mean to be faithful? Well faith itself means to be persuaded, in this case to be persuaded of God as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to repent of (turn away from, die to) our sins and to now follow Jesus in walks of obedience to his commands. And to be faithful means to be full of this faith and to be trustworthy, dependable, and committed to our Lord.

We are the blessed of God who God has blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So this is not for everyone who gives only a verbal confession of faith in Jesus Christ, or who “prayed the prayer to receive Christ into their hearts,” but who never became the faithful in Christ Jesus, and who never became God’s holy people because they never died with Christ to their sins, and so they were never raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. So they are still living in their sins.

And I am certainly not saying that such faith or faithfulness will mean that we will be absolutely perfect from that point forward, or that we will never sin again (1 John 2:1-2), but that there is a distinct difference between those who merely verbalize faith in Jesus Christ and those who actually walk in that faith, in obedience to the Lord, in practice, and in the putting of sin to death, in practice, by the Spirit. It is where God draws the line. If sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to God, then we don’t know God, we don’t love him, and we will not inherit eternal life with God.

Why? Because God chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we would be holy and blameless before him, but not in form or in status only, but in daily practice, which gives evidence that such genuine faith in Jesus exists in our lives. And to be holy is to be different from the world because we are being made to be like Jesus, if we are. And to be blameless is to be righteous, upright, godly, morally pure, honest, faithful and obedient to our Lord and to his commands, in practice, all because of God’s grace, and all because of Jesus’ sacrifice, that we might die to sin and live for him.

So, you cannot just make a verbal profession of faith in Jesus Christ and now claim all the blessings of God on yourself if you have not died with Christ to sin, but sin is still your practice, and if you are still obeying sin and not God, in practice. Heaven is not secured for you on the basis of lip service only. We must all deny self, die to sin daily (in practice), and follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands (in practice), by his grace, in his power, if we are going to have his blessings in our lives, and if we are to have the hope of salvation from our bondage to sin and eternal life with God in heaven.

For Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our slavery (addiction) to sin so that we will now serve the Lord Jesus with our lives in walks of obedience to his commands, in holy living, and in putting sin to death daily, by the Spirit. For forgiveness of sins is not carte blanche to continue living in sin without guilt. With forgiveness comes deliverance from slavery to sin so that we can live holy lives, pleasing to God, in surrender of our lives to God, in submission to him as Lord of our lives, in walks of obedience to the will of God for our lives, in his power.

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 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; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

Lead Me Gently Home, Father

By Will L. Thompson, 1879

Lead me gently home, Father,

Lead me gently home;

When life’s toils are ended,

And parting days have come,

Sin no more shall tempt me,

Ne’er from Thee I’ll roam,

If Thou’ll only lead me, Father,

Lead me gently home.

Lead me gently home, Father,

Lead me gently home;

In life’s darkest hours, Father,

When life’s troubles come,

Keep my feet from wand’ring,

Lest from Thee I roam,

Lest I fall upon the wayside,

Lead me gently home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4Y9cb0f76A

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With Every Spiritual Blessing

An Original Work / April 4, 2025 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Our God is a Consuming Fire

“See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.’ This expression, ‘Yet once more,’ denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:25-29 NASB’95)

This is coming! How soon? Not sure. But it appears by what we read in the news of what is going on in the USA alone, and in the rest of the world, that this could not be very far away. And perhaps it has already begun, to some extent. For as I think about recent events, just in my nation, there have been multiple destructive hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, floods, plane crashes, lightning and hailstorms, and the like, seemingly back to back, with must destruction of private properties and the taking of many human lives.

And then in other nations there are wars, some or all of them involving the USA in one way or another, which are also destroying much in the way of people’s homes and lands and public and private properties, and the taking of many human lives. And I do not get all the news from all these other countries, but I am assuming that they also are having storms and floods and other natural (or unnatural) disasters which are destroying land and homes and business, and which are killing people by the millions.

But it isn’t just all this physical destruction that is going on, and it isn’t just the physical wars which are taking place, but there is a lot of political warfare going on within my nation, and between nations, apparently, and there is a lot of confusion, and upheaval, and daily alterations to our way of life, with many threats of this or that, which are “all over the map,” so to speak. So it is difficult to know what is real and what is not real, but the reality is in all the confusion and upheaval that all of this is causing.

And I believe that is the plan, to cause all the upheaval and confusion and chaos that it all generates in order for the one world government to have to step in to “save the day” and to bring the world together in unity as one people of the same mind, heart, and actions. So if you are wishing for world peace, please know that it comes with a mighty cost. It will mean us having to give up our rights, our beliefs, our practices, our callings of God, etc. in order to unite with the world as one people under a totalitarian regime.

But the Scriptures give us many warnings of these things taking place, and of what that will mean for followers of Jesus Christ. And we must guard against getting sucked into the whole fiasco which is being created by skillful and devious and deceitful people who are plotting our demise. And we must follow the Lord, in walks of obedience to his commands, and we must never compromise our faith, our relationships with God/Christ, the gospel, or moral character in order to unite with the world as one people at (forced) peace.

But God is allowing all of this to take place, or it could not happen, and he warned us a very long time ago, through the prophets of old, and through the New Testament apostles, and through the teachings of Christ and of the Scriptures that these things must take place. Why? For the reasons mentioned in today’s passage of Scripture. God is shaking and will shake the earth, and the people of the earth, and the heavens, in order to remove what can be shaken, so that what cannot be shaken will remain.

Does this make sense to you? Basically, God will judge the people of this earth via a time of trials and tribulations on the earth unlike anything we have ever faced before, in that magnitude, in order that the message of the cross of Christ, which is the message of the gospel of our salvation, will not be totally destroyed, but will be persevered. He will bring his judgments on the earth, and on the people of the earth, to get some people to repent of their sinful ways and to follow the Lord in obedience before the end.

Basically, he has to destroy many or all earthly kingdoms in order to preserve his heavenly kingdom. And I may not be expressing this perfectly well, but the judgments of God will come upon the earth, and on the people of the earth, I believe, to bring many people to genuine walks of faith in the Lord Jesus, and/or to revive his idolatrous and adulterous church before the end of all things, so that many will be saved and will have eternity with God in heaven. For right now, the church in America is in very sad shape.

For right now so much of what is called “church” is not the biblical body of Christ, operating as the biblical body of Christ, in practice, under the headship of Christ Jesus, with all body parts doing their parts in ministering God’s love and grace and encouragement to one another. Multitudes of them are just businesses of human origin which are businesses incorporated (united with) under the state, marketing their gatherings to the people of the world, and thus diluting the truth of the gospel to not offend the flesh.

Few, it seems, are operating as the biblical body of Christ, with each part doing its work, with each working part exhorting and encouraging and instructing one another in the ways of the Lord, and in the ways of holiness and righteousness, and in walks of obedience to the Lord and to his commands, and in the forsaking of our sins. Few, it seems, are still teaching the gospel that Jesus taught, and that his New Testament apostles taught, IN CONTEXT, but so many have altered the gospel to conform it to the flesh.

So, in order for God to get his people back to where they need to be spiritually, under his headship, obeying his commands, and living holy lives pleasing to God, he has to shake things up to bring us all to that point to where we will have to choose God or the flesh, and God or worldly masters, with no more vacillating between the two on middle ground. And the worldly masters who are or will yet be in charge will bring us to that point of decision, too. And if we choose obeying God, it will mean death for us.

But death, resulting in life eternal with God is far better than death resulting in eternity in the fires of hell. And so many people are being given false promises of eternity with God because they gave lip service to the Lord at one time in their lives. But Jesus said that if we want to come after him that 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. But if we die to sin and obey God, in practice, we have life in him.

We need to take this seriously! Too many people today are expecting that when they die that they are going to be with Jesus for eternity. But Jesus said that not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the ones DOING (obeying) the will of God. And many will stand before him on the day of judgment, claiming him as their Lord, and claiming what they did for him, and he will say, “I never knew you! Depart from me you workers of lawlessness,” because they did not obey God’s commands.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 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 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

Sing to Me of Heaven

Songwriters: Ada Powell / Benjamin Burke Beall

Sing to me of Heaven, sing that song of peace

From the toils that bind me it will bring release

Burdens will be lifted that are pressing so

Showers of great blessing o'er my heart will flow

Sing to me of Heaven, as I walk alone

Dreaming of the comrades that so long have gone

In a fairer region 'mong the angel throng

They are happy as they sing that old, sweet song

Sing to me of Heaven, tenderly and low

Till the shadows o'er me rise and swiftly go

When my heart is weary, when the day is long

Sing to me of Heaven, sing that old, sweet song

Sing to me of Heaven, let me fondly dream

Of its golden glory, of its pearly gleam

Sing to me when shadows of the evening fall

Sing to me of heaven, sweetest song of all

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMeC-hZnhuo

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Our God is a Consuming Fire

An Original Work / April 4, 2025 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

With Christ Staying

Based off Hebrews 12:1-17

Hear ye, hear ye, Christians listen,

Hear the words of God and hasten

To obey Him, follow His ways,

Here and now and throughout your days.

Lay aside the sins which tangle,

Which, your faith, they surely strangle,

And then run with perseverance

The race God has set before us.

Fix your eyes on Jesus, Savior,

Of our faith, He is perfecter.

Follow Him where’re He leads you,

And now eat what Jesus feeds you.

With regard to sin’s temptations,

Don’t reject the Lord’s disciplines.

Discipline of God for our good.

Holiness of God understood.

Deeds of flesh and knees that feeble

Must be brought to Jesus’ table,

At His altar sacrifice them,

Put to death and not live in them.

Follow straight and narrow way to

Life with Jesus, surrender to

Follow Him in ways that are true,

Life with Jesus daily renew.

Sanctifying, not denying,

Holiness, not outright lying,

God obeying, not sin playing,

Life eternal with Christ staying.

An Original Work / April 3, 2025 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Make Straight Paths for Your Feet

“Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

“Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.” (Hebrews 12:12-17 NASB’95)

The subject matter is that of getting rid of any lingering and captivating sins in our lives so that we can walk the walk that God has for us to walk, as his followers, in walks of surrender to his will and in obedience to his commands in holy living, without which no one will see the Lord. For all throughout the New Testament writings the church is being warned against thinking that they can continue in their sins, and not in walks of obedience to God, and that heaven will still be their eternal destiny. It won’t. Believe it!

And whenever I read verses 12-13, I think of them somewhat in a symbolic sense in that our hands represent our deeds, our works, our actions. Our knees represent surrender of our lives to God, in submission to his will and purpose for our lives, in true humility and in genuine repentance (death to sin). And the straight paths for our feet represent the gospel which teaches faith in Jesus resulting in us dying with him to sin and walks of obedience to his commands. And our feet represent our walks (our conduct and patterns).

Therefore, the message that I get from this section of Scripture, in relation to the message spoken in Hebrews 12, as a whole, is that we need to have our deeds in line with God’s will and purpose, in living holy and godly lives, and no longer making sin our practice. And we do this by surrendering our lives to the Lord, dying with him to sin, and now walking in obedience to his commands, by the Spirit, in the power of God. Now our lives are to be committed to doing the will of God and no longer to sinful practices.

But now when this says that we are to pursue peace with all men (all people), this is not the kind of peace which makes compromises with truth and righteousness, and with the Scriptures, and with the gospel message, and with the character of God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – in order to be accepted by others so that they will like us, and so that we will not be persecuted by them. We only make peace with anyone as far as it depends on us not having to compromise holiness and righteousness.

And what follows next? We are to pursue sanctification (holiness) without which no one will see the Lord. For the Scriptures make it clear that faith in Jesus, which is of God, and which is persuaded of God, will result in us dying with Christ to sin and us walking in obedience to his commands, or it is not genuine faith which saves. If we give lip service only to the Lord, and then we continue in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord, and we do not make obedience to God our practice, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

For it is possible to profess faith in Jesus Christ, convinced that all your sins are forgiven, and that heaven is secured for you for when you die, but for you to come short of the grace of God. For God’s grace is what sent Jesus to the cross to put our sins to death with him so that, by God-persuaded faith in Jesus, we will no longer walk in sin, but we will now walk in obedience to our Lord. And God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await our Lord’s return (see Titus 2:11-14).

In other words, God’s grace is not a free ride to heaven based on making a verbal confession of faith in Jesus Christ alone. God’s grace is deliverance from our slavery (addiction) to sin and empowerment of the Spirit to walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. And this is not saying that we will never sin again (1 John 2:1-2), but that sin must no longer be our practice, but obedience to God should be our practice from now to eternity. Too many people are thinking they are going to heaven who are still living in sin and not in obedience to the Lord, sadly so.

For if we claim to believe in Jesus, and we claim that we are now saved from all sins, and that heaven is now our eternal destiny, but then we continue living in sin and in disobedience to God, it is the same as Esau selling his birthright for a single meal, who was not able to get it back, and who did not inherit the blessing, even though he sought it with tears. He came short of the grace of God for he sold out his inheritance to satisfy the cravings of his flesh. And sadly, this is what many professing “Christians” are doing today.

Many people today, who are professing faith in Jesus Christ, are still living immoral and godless lives in surrender to self and to sin. And one day they will stand before the Lord on the day of judgment, and they will call him, “Lord,” and they will proclaim all that they believed they did in his name, but they will hear him say, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness,” for they would not obey God, but they obeyed sin, instead. So don’t be like them. Repent of your sins and obey God now and forevermore.

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 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; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

Lead Me Gently Home, Father

By Will L. Thompson, 1879

Lead me gently home, Father,

Lead me gently home;

When life’s toils are ended,

And parting days have come,

Sin no more shall tempt me,

Ne’er from Thee I’ll roam,

If Thou’ll only lead me, Father,

Lead me gently home.

Lead me gently home, Father,

Lead me gently home;

In life’s darkest hours, Father,

When life’s troubles come,

Keep my feet from wand’ring,

Lest from Thee I roam,

Lest I fall upon the wayside,

Lead me gently home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4Y9cb0f76A

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Make Straight Paths for Your Feet

An Original Work / April 3, 2025 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

The Discipline of The Lord

“You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,

“’My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

Nor faint when you are reproved by Him;

For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines,

And He scourges every son whom He receives.’

“It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” (Hebrews 12:4-11 NASB’95)

This was addressed to believers in Jesus Christ, perhaps to those who were fairly new to the faith, I do not know, and they were strongly being encouraged to forsake all their sinful practices and not to hold on to any of them, but to resist the devil, to flee temptation, and to draw near to God in walks of obedience to him and to his commands. And they were to keep their focus on Jesus Christ and his example that he set before us in how to resist the devil, as he did to the point of shedding his blood on that cross.

And we are now to run the race (or walk the walk of faith), with endurance, that God has set before all of us to run. And that means daily denying self, putting sin to death, by the Spirit, and walking (in conduct, in practice) in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in the power of God and in his strength and wisdom, under his direction and guidance. And this means following his leading in our lives daily in where he would send us and in what he would have us to do and to say, all for the glory of God.

Now, since we still live in flesh bodies, and we still live on this earth, and Satan is still actively at work in trying to take us down, we are going to be tempted to sin at some time or another, in some way. Or we may be tempted to let our emotions get the best of us to where we easily get discouraged and we run away from situations we feel are too hard to have to endure. So, if we are of genuine faith in the Lord Jesus, he is going to bring difficulties into our lives to try our faith to make us strong in our faith.

So, when we go through hard times, like when we are rejected by others, and we are mistreated by them, this is God allowing these hardships in our lives to test us in order to make us strong in our faith so that we will persevere and not give up when things get much worse, which they will. So God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share his holiness, i.e. so that we will be holy as he is holy in all our conduct, which means to live lives which are different from the world because we are becoming like Jesus.

And he is letting us know in advance that when these times of discipline come upon us, not only are they for our good, but they will be painful. But for us who have been trained by such discipline as this, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. So God allows trials and tribulations and persecutions to come into our lives to strengthen us in our walks of faith, in obedience to him, so that we will serve him with our lives as he intended in ministering to others the love, grace, and righteousness and holiness of God.

But if you are someone who “prayed the prayer to receive Christ,” but then nothing changed, and you just went on living in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord, not willing to submit to him as Lord in walks of obedience to his commands, if you do not turn from your sins, and if obedience to God does not become your practice, then you will not inherit eternal life with God regardless of what profession of faith you made with your lips. This is what the Scriptures teach all throughout the New Testament writings.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 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 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

For Our Nation  

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

https://vimeo.com/379406352

The Discipline of The Lord

An Original Work / April 3, 2025 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Don't Lose Heart

 

The Sin Which So Easily Entraps

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2 NASB’95)

The “great cloud of witnesses,” I believe, is in reference to the preceding chapter, which many have come to call “The faith chapter of the Bible,” for it speaks of people of faith in biblical history and of the things that they did in either obedience to God and to his specific instructions, and/or that they did in love response to God in submission to his will and for the glory and praise of God. It is symbolic of the biblical truth that faith in God, which is genuine, will result in obedience to him and to his commands, or it is not of God.

Now faith in Jesus Christ, which is of God, and which is not of the flesh, will result in repentance (the forsaking of our sins, dying with Christ to sin) and walks of obedience to our Lord’s New Covenant commands, in practice, by the Spirit, or it is not biblical faith. “Faith” which results in the sinner continuing in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord, and not in walks of obedience to God and to his commands, and not in surrender to his will, is not biblical faith. The end result of that “faith” is not eternal life with God.

As those who have trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, we are to be his followers who walk in obedience to his commands, and no longer in deliberate and habitual sin. And so we have many instructions and cautions and warnings written to the church in the New Testament, teaching us that we must forsake all sins, which we may still be holding on to, and which easily entangle (deceive, lure, entrap, ensnare) us. And we must get rid of everything in our lives which has the potential to lead us into sin.

For many people continue in deliberate and habitual sin, because, in truth, they want to continue, but also because they do not get rid of those “doors” which typically and habitually lead them to committing the same sins over again. And smartphones, as useful as they can be sometimes, are a door wide open always to people who are undisciplined, who are self-indulgent, who are immature, who are selfish, and who are lazy, to keep going right back to the same sins over again without genuine change (repentance).

But if you are going to be followers of Christ, you must cut the ties with all that leads you into sin and with all those sins which captivate you and keep you in slavery to them. And depending upon how long you have been enslaved to the same sins, this may require some very serious cuts and things discarded. But.. and this is critical that we grasp this first. The Bible teaches that “out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander” (see Matthew 15:17-20).

So, first, all the evil that is stored up in the heart must come out for good so that good can come out of the heart and so that you will no longer habitually and deliberately keep returning to the same sins repeatedly, some people for the course of their entire lives, until death, some of them into their 80’s or 90’s, and still they do not repent and change their evil ways. For we act out what is stored up in our hearts. What we believe, in truth, is what will come out in our words, in our attitudes, in our actions, and how we treat others.

So, if there is hatred, unforgiveness, resentment, bitterness, prejudice, lust, greed, pride, selfishness, evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander, and the like, stored up in your heart, this is what is going to come out in your actions and attitudes and words towards other people, even those you profess to love, but don’t, in truth, because hate is what has taken over your heart, instead. So all these must be cleansed out of the heart, by the Spirit, if you are to be free from addiction.

Some people just try behavioral modification, but that doesn’t work if the heart does not change. They will make changes to their routines, or they will try to avoid certain things which remain in place to tempt them again, and again. But the heart still spews out the same stuff because the heart has not changed. It has not had a house cleaning of the Spirit of God, and so there is no room for the Holy Spirit to take up his dwelling there. So, even if they profess faith in Jesus, he is not their Lord, for obedience is not their practice.

So, the heart has to change. We must all die with Christ to sin and be reborn of the Spirit of God and be raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. But then we must no longer allow sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires, for if sin is what we obey, it leads to death (not life). But if obedience to God is what we obey, then we have the promise of salvation from sin and eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

So, we must die with Christ to sin and now walk with God in obedience to his commands, in daily practice, by the Spirit, and we must no longer give the devil a foothold in our lives. We must cut out of our lives all hindrances to our walks of faith, and then we can run with perseverance the race God has marked out for us to run, which is our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord in denying self and in dying daily to sin, by the Spirit, as we keep focused on Jesus and we choose to cooperate with God in his work of grace in our lives.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 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 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

How Long Till the Morning

Scripture: I Thessalonians 4:17

By C. E. Couchman

Consider the mornings of this mortal land, 

Each a new beginning from the Maker’s hand. 

While the storms may gather ‘gainst the evening sky, 

The day breaks cloudless in the morning.

Rise up to the battle, for the skies dawn clear. 

Let us gather courage while the foe draws near. 

Though the night falls weary, saints of God, march on! 

And He’ll raise our banner in the morning.

When the trumpet sounds to signal Heaven’s day, 

Resurrection Morning when the dead shall wake, 

What a glorious gath’ring when the Lord descends 

And we rise to meet him in the morning.

How long, my Lord? Till we see the morning? 

How long, O, my Lord, till we see your face? 

O my Lord, guide us through our troubles 

Till we rise above them in the morning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoelKw7M3aU

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The Sin Which So Easily Entraps

An Original Work / April 3, 2025 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Will You Tell Them the Truth?

Looking through the window glass,

What I’m seeing, need not ask.

People staring everywhere

Looking as if they don’t care.

World is going straight to hell,

For the most are under spell,

Hypnotized by what they see

On their teeny tiny screens.

World is lost in all their sins,

While the time is wearing thin.

Need to hear the gospel truth,

Not the lies that many spew.

Who will tell them? Be it you?

Will you tell them what is true?

Will you call for death to sin?

Let the Spirit rule within?

Will you say they must obey

Our Lord Savior, not delay?

Will you warn of sinful pride

Which takes people on a ride?

Will you say, if not obey,

Think that sinning is okay,

Will not promise life with Christ,

For they’ve taken truth by heist?

Or will you now shy away,

And continue games to play,

Watch your stories, sing your songs,

Not to Christ do you belong?

Jesus calls us, Him obey,

And the gospel not betray,

Share the gospel truth, do tell,

So the people know not hell.

An Original Work / April 2, 2025 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Don't Listen to The Crowds

As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They *said to Him, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.” Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him. (Matthew 20:29-34 NASB’95)

Whenever I read this passage of Scripture I am always moved by the persistence of these blind men and their refusal to be intimidated by the crowd who wanted to silence them. It brings me to tears, in fact. Why? My feelings of compassion for them, having been treated the same way many times in my life, people wanting to silence me because I am a woman, and because I speak the truth that many people do not want to hear. So I feel with them, I grieve with them, but I also rejoice with them in their victory.

And I am certainly not promoting rebellion nor disrespect nor riotous or irreverent behavior. But what I am promoting are the teachings of the Scriptures and the courage that they teach us to stand up for truth and for righteousness, and to not give in to the lies and to the pressures of society to conform to the ways of the world in diluting the gospel message to make it less offensive to the people of the world. “For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). Amen!

And this isn’t just about sharing the message of the gospel, but this is about not listening to the naysayers who will try to convince you that you did not hear from God, and that God did not call you to a specific ministry, and that God cannot use you in a particular way, either because you are female, or because you are too young, or too old, or because you don’t have a college or a seminary degree, or because you are not an “official worker” of a particular church denomination, but you are just a follower of Jesus Christ.

Now I will add a word of caution here because there are many people claiming to have heard from God who are getting messages which are contrary to the divine character and will of God, and which are contrary to the doctrinal teachings of the Scriptures. So all must be tested against the Scriptures to make certain that what we think we are hearing is truly from God and not from other voices. But God does speak to us individually or else we would not know to what ministry he has called us, and what we’re to do.

I can tell you one thing for certain. If I had listened to the crowds, and if I had allowed myself to be intimidated by their attempts to silence my voice, I would never have stepped out in faith nearly 21 years ago and accepted God’s call on my life to write down what he is teaching me from his word each day and to post these writings on the internet so that a herald could “run with it.” But this is my body part within the universal body of Christ, and this is my assignment from God (see 1 Corinthians 12:1-31).

I didn’t let the naysayers discourage and dishearten me, but I persevered in following the leading of the Lord in my life. And where did it take me? It took me to the internet and to multiple internet sites where I have been sharing with the people of the world my daily times with the Lord in his word, either expressed in devotions, like this one, or in Christian memes (short devotions), or in songs, or in poems, or in testimonies, or in video talk devotions – however he leads me. And these go to people all over the world.

So, what is my point in sharing this with you? Don’t let the opinions of other humans determine your destiny or your walk of faith in the Lord Jesus. Be respectful, but don’t give in to intimidation intended to silence your voices. Make sure you are being led of the Lord, and that what you are sharing is biblical and/or that it is not anti-biblical, that it is of God, and that it will bring honor and glory to God, and that it will mean the salvation of human lives. But don’t back down and run away because of the naysayers.

If these men let themselves be intimidated by the crowd they probably would never have been healed of their blindness. And Jesus is calling each of us to specific areas of ministry which involve the healing of other people’s spiritual blindness, their salvation from slavery to sin, and the empowerment of God to now live holy and godly lives, to the glory and praise of God, resulting in eternal life with God. If we keep our voices silent, then how will they hear the truth of the gospel of our salvation, and so be saved?

So, don’t give in to peer pressure. Don’t listen to what the majority are saying, because the majority are those who are on that broad (wide) road to hell (destruction). It is that small minority who are walking the narrow way, and they are few in number, who we should be listening to. But even there we must test everything we hear from other people against the teachings of the Scriptures, taught IN CONTEXT, to make certain that what we are hearing, and repeating, is the truth of the Scriptures, and not the lies.

So, be bold! Be brave! Be submissive, but never to the point of denying Christ and his Word and his calling on your life, and never to the point of accepting the lies and repeating the lies because the lies are more acceptable and less offensive to the people of the world. Don’t let the crowds determine your destiny. Speak to Jesus! Call out to him! And let him work his work in your hearts and minds in making you the people of God that he wants you to be, to be used of him to minister his love to other people.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Lu 6:27-28; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Ac 1:8; Ac 2:14-18; Ac 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Gal 6:1; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:11-27; Eph 6:10-20; Php 2:1-8; Col 1:9; Col 3:12-16; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; Jas 5:19-20; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6; Jude 1:22-23]  

Lead Me Gently Home, Father

By Will L. Thompson, 1879

Lead me gently home, Father,

Lead me gently home;

When life’s toils are ended,

And parting days have come,

Sin no more shall tempt me,

Ne’er from Thee I’ll roam,

If Thou’ll only lead me, Father,

Lead me gently home.

Lead me gently home, Father,

Lead me gently home, Father,

Lest I fall upon the wayside,

Lead me gently home.

Lead me gently home, Father,

Lead me gently home;

In life’s darkest hours, Father,

When life’s troubles come,

Keep my feet from wand’ring,

Lest from Thee I roam,

Lest I fall upon the wayside,

Lead me gently home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4Y9cb0f76A

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Don’t Listen to The Crowds

An Original Work / April 2, 2025 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love