Abounding in Love

 

For The Faith of The Gospel

“Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.” (Philippians 1:27-30 NASB1995)

This was the apostle Paul writing to the Christians in Philippi. But this message is for all who profess faith in Jesus Christ. As those who are followers of Christ, as his disciples, who have received him as our Lord and Savior, crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, we are to be those for whom sin is no longer our practice but righteousness and godly living and obedience to our Lord are what we now practice, by the grace of God, in the power of God.

For when Jesus gave his life up for us on that cross it was to put our sins to death with him so that, by God-persuaded faith in him, we would now die to sin and live to God and to his righteousness in walks of surrender to our Lord in obedience to his commands. Therefore, our conduct should now be in a manner worthy of (fitting to, suitable to, appropriate to) the gospel of Christ. And his gospel teaches us that by faith in him we are crucified in death to sin so that we might be raised with him to walk in newness of life in him.

So this means that we who believe in him should now be living holy lives, pleasing to God, in his service, walking in obedience to his commands and no longer as slaves to sin. This doesn’t make us absolutely perfect in every way, for we are still clay in the hands of the Potter (God) being perfected and being molded into the likeness of character of Jesus Christ, by God. And this work will not be finished until Jesus returns and he takes his faithful followers to be with him for eternity, when our salvation will be complete.

And if we are striving for the faith of the gospel, we are those who are teaching and sharing the gospel as Jesus taught it and as his New Testament apostles taught it, taught in the correct biblical context. For we have many charlatans today who are teaching an altered “gospel” message which does not teach death to sin and obedience to God and holy living as required of God as part of faith which saves. And they are leading many people to hell on the promise of heaven by teaching them lies which will not save.

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

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

So, we need to know the truth, believe the truth, and live the truth of the biblical gospel of Christ. And then we need to be sharing with others the gospel taught by Jesus and by his New Testament apostles, but in the correct biblical context, and not out of context. And if we do that, we will be opposed, criticized, rejected, falsely accused, cast aside, and unwanted because we teach the truth most do not want to hear. But we must persevere, knowing that the truth is what the people need to hear.

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

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 

Caution: This link may contain ads

For The Faith of The Gospel

An Original Work / September 30, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Whether By Life or By Death

“Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear…

“…Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:12-14,18-21 NASB1995)

The apostle Paul was called of God to share the message of the gospel of Christ with the people of the world, to both Jew and Gentile. And even though many people came to genuine biblical faith in the Lord Jesus during his years of ministry, he also faced much rejection, persecutions, beatings, stoning, sleepless nights, hunger, thirst, and all kinds of opposition from his opponents. But the more he was mistreated and even imprisoned for his testimony for the Lord Jesus, the greater the progress of the gospel.

Although I am no Paul, God called me 21 years ago to write down what he was teaching me each from his word and from my times spent with him in fellowship with him each day and to place these writings on the internet so that a herald could “run with it” (the name of my blog). And what led up to that was that I was being persecuted and rejected and cast aside as unwanted and as unnecessary in many of today’s institutional market-driven “churches” which are in an unholy union with the government of the USA.

But God used those circumstances in my life, and their rejection of me, to send me to the internet to share what he was teaching me, and to share with the people the gospel of Jesus Christ so that many would reject the lies being spread, and so they would believe the truth, and so they would, by God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in the Lord Jesus turn from their sins and now walk in obedience to the Lord and to his commands in holy living. For so many people are being lied to and deceived about the gospel.

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

And the gospel of Christ, and of our salvation, is going out to people all over the world in many different nations. And although I can’t see the fruit of it all in the lives of the people who view these writings, I know the writings are being viewed, and that people are hearing/reading the truth of the gospel taught by Jesus and by his New Testament apostles, and in that I rejoice. And yes, I still face opposition, some false accusations against my character, and some sharp disagreements with what I am sharing while the truth goes out to the people, and many people are hearing the truth and not the lies.

And what Paul was expressing here was how God can take circumstances in our lives which appear to not be for our good, and he can use them for good in our lives and in the lives of other people who are ministered to through our testimonies for the Lord Jesus Christ. And that brings me to another subject along the same lines. For I am, too, in that area where I pray that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now be exalted in my body, “whether by life or by death.”

For, a couple of weeks ago I began having very sharp chest pains, chest pressure, and shortness of breath. The hospital performed a CT scan of my lungs and it was discovered that a lung tumor, which had been there since 2014, had now nearly doubled in size, and it appears to be what is causing the pain in my chest and the chest pressure. So my doctor ordered a series of tests for this week and next to see what is going on inside my body, but not only impacting my lungs, but my head, my legs, and my thyroid, etc.

And my husband reminded me today that this could lead to my death, and so he had me write out my wishes for after I die just in case this is where this is all headed. And then I read this passage of Scripture and I prayed that prayer along with Paul, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Recording Via Gerry Peters, music producer and arranger

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.

http://youtu.be/_XQkomPFz4Y

Caution: This link may contain ads

Whether By Life or By Death

An Original Work / September 30, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

In View of Your Participation in The Gospel

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:3-6 NASB1995)

Paul wrote this letter (including Timothy) to “the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi.” And a saint is a holy one of God. And to be holy means to be different (unlike) the world because we are being conformed to the likeness of nature and character of Jesus Christ, the Lord, by God, as we cooperate and participate fully with God in his work of grace and transformation in our minds, hearts, attitudes, and behaviors. And this begins when, by faith in Jesus Christ, we die with Christ to sin and we now obey his commands.

For this is what it means for us to participate (fellowship, share in, in partnership with, in a contributary role) in the gospel, not that we add to or that we take away from it, but that we live it in practice, first and foremost, and then that we are sharing the truth of the gospel of Christ with the people of the world. But it has to be the gospel message taught by Jesus and by his New Testament apostles in its correct biblical context. It cannot be the altered and diluted “gospel” so many are sharing in today’s world.

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

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

Now our salvation from sin and the hope of eternal life with God are not anything that can be self-produced. We can do nothing in our flesh to earn or to deserve our own salvation. Only by the grace of God, and because of Jesus’ sacrifice on that cross, and because of his bodily resurrection, can any of us be saved from our sins and have eternal life with God. Even the faith to believe in Jesus is gifted to us by God and is not of our own doing. But faith is not lip service only, but it is dying to sin and it is obeying God, in practice.

For, even though the faith to believe in Jesus is not of our own doing, but it is from God, and it is gifted to us by God, still it means to be persuaded of God as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of the necessity that we deny self, die to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands. And it requires that we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as servants of Christ and of his righteousness.

So, yes, God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – is the one who began the good work in the lives of his saints (his holy ones), and he is the one working within our lives who will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus, but not without our cooperation with God in his work of grace in our lives. Our lives must be surrendered to the Lord to do his will, and we must be subject to our Lord’s rulership over our lives, and we must be following him in obedience to his commands, following him wherever he leads us.

The grace of God, 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 wait for Jesus’ return. For Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (See Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10)

And we learn in 1 John 1-3 that if we claim that we have fellowship with God, but yet we walk in darkness (sin), we are liars. If we claim that we know God, but we do not obey his commandments, in practice, we are liars. For it is not the one who claims he is “in Christ” who is “in Christ,” but it is the one who has denied self, died with Christ to sin, and who is now walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in practice, and no longer in sin. We have the hope and the promise of eternal life with God in heaven.

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

For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Recording Via Gerry Peters, music producer and arranger

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.

http://youtu.be/_XQkomPFz4Y

Caution: This link may contain ads

In View of Your Participation in The Gospel

An Original Work / September 30, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

They Believed in Jesus Christ

I am reading in John 4:1-30. It is a very long passage so I will summarize some of it and I will quote some of it. 

Jesus Christ, on his way to Galilee, had to pass through Samaria, but not just because of geographical reasons, but because he had a divine appointment with a woman at a well waiting for him there. Jesus, wearied from his journey, sat down at Jacob’s well. And there came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus asked her for a drink of water, and the two of them got into conversation. But since Jews did not typically associate with Samaritans, who were a mixed race, the woman was surprised at this.

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

What or who is the “gift of God”? Jesus Christ, his death on a cross, and his resurrection for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God are the gift of God. Our salvation (deliverance) from sin and obedience to God are gifted to us by God. Even our faith to believe in Jesus Christ is God’s gift to us. For none of this is of ourselves, but it comes from God, and it is gifted to us by God, but we must receive all this by faith, denying self, dying to sin, and via walking in obedience to our Lord, in his power, wisdom, and strength.

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

Now Jesus was speaking, not of physical water, but of spiritual water to satisfy our spiritual thirst for new life in Christ Jesus, our Lord, cleansed of our sins, forgiven, renewed of the Spirit, and born again to new life in Christ Jesus in dying with him to sin, and in obedience to his commands. For when we believe in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit of God comes to live within us, changing us to be more like Christ, counseling, helping and guiding us in how to live for God. And we are empowered of the Spirit to walk with God.

The woman asked Jesus for this water of which he spoke, but she was still thinking in physical terms, and not in spiritual terms. Then Jesus told her to go and call her husband and “come here.” The woman admitted she had no husband. Jesus knew that, and he acknowledged the correctness of her statement and that he knew that she had had five husbands and the one she had now was not her husband. And that led to a discussion of the proper physical place of worship of God, either in Jerusalem or another location.

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

Do you get what this is teaching us today? Worship of God has nothing to do with a physical location. For true worship of God has to do with us giving our lives to Jesus Christ, as living sacrifices to God, holy and pleasing to God, which is our spiritual worship of God. We are to no longer be conformed to the ways of this sinful world, but now we are to be transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God in death to sin and in obedience to our Lord’s commands, so that our lives testify to God’s grace (see Romans 12:1-2).

And to worship God in “spirit and in truth” has to do with our changed lives of the Spirit of God, and with our sincere faith which comes from God and not from human flesh. True worship of God is not in the raising of hands and in the singing of songs if our lives are not surrendered to the will of God in dying to sin and in walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands. And we don’t have to go to a building in order to worship God. For we should be in a continuous state of worship of God if we are of genuine faith in Christ Jesus.

Going back to the passage of Scripture..

At this point Jesus’ disciples arrived, so the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” They left the city, and were coming to Him. And from that city many of the Samaritans believed in Jesus Christ because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.” And many more believed because of the word of Jesus, not just because the woman’s testimony. Praise God!

May we all who believe in Jesus Christ give testimony to the biblical gospel of Christ (taught in the correct context), as to what Jesus did in dying on that cross that we might now die to sin and obey his commandments and live holy lives, pleasing to God, in his power, wisdom, and strength. Amen!

My Jesus, I Love Thee

Hymn lyrics by William R. Featherstone, 1864

Music by Adoniram J. Gordon, 1876

My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine;

For thee all the follies of sin I resign.

My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art thou;

If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

I love thee because thou hast first loved me,

And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;

I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow;

If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,

And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;

And say, when the death-dew lies cold on my brow,

If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight;

I'll ever adore thee in heaven so bright;

I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow;

If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHrF4_1r-qA 

Caution: This link may contain ads

They Believed in Jesus Christ

An Original Work / September 29, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Unless You Are Born Again

 

Believe, Receive, Obey

“He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:31-36 NASB1995)

In context, John the Baptist was speaking of Jesus Christ, first testifying about his own self, that he (John the Baptist) was not the Christ, but that he had been sent of God ahead of him. He was not “the bridegroom,” but he was “the friend of the bridegroom.” And he said about Jesus, who is the Christ, and who is the bridegroom, that “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (see John 3:25-30) So he was being humble in confessing of himself that he was definitely inferior in nature to the Christ of God.

So, we must read the above passage in that context. So when he referred to Jesus Christ as “He who comes from above is above all,” and by contrast referred to himself as “he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth,” this was not in the context of the righteous vs the unrighteous, or the godly vs the ungodly. For John the Baptist was a servant of the Lord, called of God from before he was born to prepare the way of the Lord and for his coming, and to make straight (righteous, holy) his path.

But John was letting the people know that he was not the Christ, not the Messiah who was to come and who had now come. He was a human being as we all are, born with a sin nature, but made righteous by faith in our Lord God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit. And he was being used of God to prepare the way for the Lord Jesus. But Jesus was born of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit to the virgin Mary, but not with a sin nature, because he was not born of man but of the Spirit of God. And while on the earth he was fully God and fully human (God incarnate – in the flesh).

And we, when we speak the words of God to the people, as called of God to his service, as servants of the Lord, should always have the same attitude as what John the Baptist had about himself, especially in relationship to Jesus Christ. We should never take credit or the glory for anything that God does in us and through us, as though we did this of our own nature and will. But we should always give the credit and the glory to God, provided that what we are doing and saying is, indeed, of God and not of our human flesh.

Next John the Baptist spoke of Christ as having come from heaven, and of him being above all, and of him giving testimony of what he had seen and heard, and yet no one (or few) received his testimony, i.e. the testimony of God, the Son of God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But whoever had received (accepted, believed) the testimony of Christ had set his seal to this, that God is true. Here John could have been speaking only of himself as the one who was testifying of Jesus Christ.

Now there are a lot of “he” did or said such and such in this passage, and it appears to go back and forth, to some extent, between Jesus Christ and John the Baptist as to who is speaking, so this can get a little bit confusing unless it is clear as to which “he” is being spoken of, such as Christ is the he who comes from heaven and is above all. That is clear. But both Jesus Christ and John the Baptist were sent of God and spoke the words (messages) of God, but only Jesus was/is God and thus truly speaks the words of God.

But if you don’t understand anything else from this passage of Scripture, please understand the meaning of verse 36. For it says, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” Did you catch that? Belief in Jesus Christ, which is of God, and which is genuine, will result in obedience to our Lord and in dying with him to sin (part of obedience) or we are not of biblical faith in Jesus Christ, and we do not have eternal life with God in heaven.

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

Your Servant  

An Original Work / September 21, 2011

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Lord, I love to have You near me

As I go throughout my day,

Walking daily in Your footsteps,

As I humbly pray.

List’ning to You, hear You teaching

Me to live and work for You,

Lord, I pray You lead and guide me

Daily in Your truth.

Lord, I want to be Your witness,

Telling others of Your grace;

Telling how they can be set free

Of their sins today;

Share with them the love of Jesus,

He died on a cruel tree,

So that we’d be forgiven 

For all eternity.

Lord, I want to serve You only,

As I bow on bended knee,

Making You my Lord and master,

And Your servant be.

Humbly walking in obedience,

Doing what You say to me,

Lord, may I be an example

Of one who’s set free. 

https://vimeo.com/126318100 

Believe, Receive, Obey

An Original Work / September 29, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

They Prefer the Darkness Over the Light

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” (John 3:16-21 NASB1995)

For as long as I can remember, and I am nearly 76 years old (in December), John 3:16 in combination with Romans 6:23 and a few other verses (such as Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 1:12; and John 14:6) have been used to present the gospel of Christ and of our salvation from sin, but out of context of their original contexts, and thus interpreted usually outside of the intended message, if taught in the correct context, which is not just the localized context but the context of the whole New Testament.

For they often use the word “believe” loosely without really defining what biblical faith in Jesus Christ looks like. But the faith to believe in Jesus is not of our own doing, and so we do not get to decide what it looks like. The word “believe,” which comes from God, means to be persuaded, in this case to be persuaded of God as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of God’s requirement that we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and that we walk (in conduct) in obedience to God’s commands.

But the gospel we were taught to share with the people early on in our lives did not mention that faith in Jesus Christ, which is of God, requires that we deny self, die to sin, and follow Jesus in obedience. It was just a list of disconnected Bible verses taught out of context and intended to give the message that all we have to do is to acknowledge that we have sinned, that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, and to “pray the prayer to receive Christ,” and now all our sins are forgiven and we are now saved by grace.

But now let’s look at John 3:16 in its correct biblical context. After it mentions belief versus non-belief, and judgment versus non-judgment, it speaks of “the Light” (Jesus Christ, obedience to God, the righteousness of God, holiness) versus “the darkness” (sin, wickedness, evil, disobedience). And then it tells us that, even though “the Light” had come into the world, that there were people who loved (preferred) the darkness (sin) rather than the light (Christ, moral purity, honesty, obedience), for their deeds were evil.

And then it goes on to tell us that everyone who does (practices) evil hates the Light (Christ Jesus, obedience to God, holiness, moral purity, etc.), and does not come into the Light (into genuine relationship with Christ Jesus) for fear their evil deeds will be exposed. They do not want to die to sin and now obey God in living holy lives, pleasing to God, but they want to continue living in their sinful practices, but while claiming Jesus Christ as Lord, and salvation from sin, and eternal life with God, in our present generation.

And then it goes on to say that those who come into the Light are those who make truth their practice and whose deeds are those which are manifested (demonstrated, displayed, revealed) as having been wrought (accomplished, achieved, realized) in God. And those deeds would not be those of human flesh, but which are only achieved in God, which would be obedience to God, self-denial, death to sin (continuous), and holy living, living morally pure, upright, and godly lives in the power of God, in obedience to our Lord.

So, now read John 3:16 in that context, and you will see that belief in Jesus, which is biblical, will result in us denying self, dying to sin, by the Spirit, and us walking in obedience to our Lord’s commands, in the power of God, or it is not biblical faith which is of God and which is persuaded of God and which is gifted to us by God. For if sin remains our practice, and not obedience to our Lord, then we do not have salvation from sin, we are not born of God, and we do not have eternal life with God, regardless of what we profess.

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

Seek the Lord  

Based off Isaiah 55

An Original Work / July 20, 2012

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Musical Instrumentation by Mark Bradley

“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.

Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,

And your soul will delight in richest of fare.

Give ear to Me, and you will live.

I have made an eternal covenant with you.

Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him. 

Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.

Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.

Freely, God pardons him.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,”

declares the Lord, our God.

“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.

It will not return to Me unfulfilled.

My word will accomplish all that I desire,

And achieve the goal I intend.

You will go in joy and be led forth in peace.

The mountains will burst into song… before you, 

And all of the trees clap their hands.”

https://vimeo.com/379408296

They Prefer the Darkness Over the Light

An Original Work / September 29, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

The Mark is Coming

The time is drawing nearer

The times could not be clearer

The mark of beast is coming

And many are succumbing

The mark, not merely physical

The mark, it is, yes, spiritual

It’s taking on the character

Of Satan, Christ’s competitor

It comes through compromises

And many sacrifices

Of truth and what is righteous

And this is now a crisis

The signs are all around us

It’s spreading like a virus

The symptoms are now obvious

For sin they are desirous

The beast, he is of Satan

To God has no relation

Has many on vacation

And under his persuasion

Repentance he requires not

And faith in Christ, in truth, is shot

Obeying God is not required

And charlatans are now for hire

Lip service only is the standard

Forget Christ’s teachings, be ye pampered

Throw out what’s godly out the window

And play your games and win the bingo

But if you listen to Satan’s lies

And on the truth you not now rely

You disobey our Lord God’s commands

Eternal life with God – you’ll be banned

 

An Original Work / September 28, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

We Speak God's Wisdom

“Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (1 Corinthians 2:6-8 NASB1995)

In context, the apostle Paul was contrasting the wisdom of the world with the wisdom which comes from God. He was not someone who taught worldly wisdom, but he taught the wisdom of God. He was not someone who tried to impress others with his superiority of speech, but he was a humble servant of the Lord who spoke the truth of God’s word to the people, even though many rejected it, and even though they rejected and persecuted him.

For Paul was more concerned with getting the truth of the Scriptures and the truth of the gospel of Christ to the people than he was concerned with how people would respond to him. And he did this consistently in the face of false accusations against his character and his teaching, which included false imprisonments, beatings, stonings, sleepless nights, hunger, and thirst. And he did this out of servitude to the Lord, and out of sincere love for people.

For what was of upmost concern to him was that the people hear and believe the truth of the gospel, regardless of how he was received and treated in return. Amen! I agree! It was important to him that they would be able to differentiate between the wisdom of man and the wisdom of God, too. And that is so critical to our world today for so many people are believing in the “wisdom” taught by humans while they’re rejecting the full wisdom of God.

We have so many charlatans and “wolves in sheep’s clothing” among us who are taking the Scriptures out of their biblical context, and who are twisting the Scriptures to say what they do not teach, if taught in context. And they are teaching a half-truth false gospel message to the people, absent of God’s requirements that by faith we die with him to sin and now walk with him in obedience to his commands, as part of what it means to believe in Christ.

And therefore we also have masses of people who are professing faith in Jesus Christ, but it is lip service only, not of God, but of the will of humans. And we purportedly have large gatherings of people supposedly “worshiping” God, which is shown by them moving their arms and their bodies to the music they are singing. But true worship of God involves our surrender to the Lord, us dying to sin, and us obeying our Lord and his commands.

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

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

So, please be people who are following what the Scriptures teach regarding our salvation. And please make certain that you are reading the Scriptures in their full and intended context. For your salvation and eternal life are dependent on you believing and living the truth of God’s word, in practice. For if sin is still what you practice, and not obedience to the Lord, according to God’s word, you will not inherit eternal life with God. Please believe this!

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

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 

Caution: This link may contain ads

We Speak God’s Wisdom

An Original Work / September 28, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

So That Your Faith

 

God Has Prepared for Those Who Love Him

“’Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,

And which have not entered the heart of man,

All that God has prepared for those who love Him.’

“For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” (1 Corinthians 2:9-14 NASB1995)

It is difficult for the natural (without the Spirit) human mind to comprehend who God is, what he is about, and why he does things the way that he does. For our God works in many ways which are beyond human understanding and realization. For what he sees as good, the human mind may not see as good at all. For even our trials and our tribulations are for our good, to bring us closer to our Lord, to teach us humility, to strengthen us in our walks of faith and endurance, and to make us more loving and compassionate, too.

And through our trials and tribulations the Lord may open new doors of ministry for us, and new opportunities to share the gospel of salvation with the people of the world. And he may take us through some very hard and troubling times, but they are in God’s divine purpose and will for our lives that we should go through these trials. Our natural instincts might be to just want it all to be over and done with so that we can go on with our normal lives, but sometimes God interrupts our lives to teach us and to use us.

So, we who believe in Jesus Christ with God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in the Lord Jesus should surrender our lives to the will and purpose of God for our lives. We should accept setbacks, pain, suffering, tribulations, and trials as God working his will and purpose in our lives for our good and for his glory. And we should submit to his sovereignty and to his Lordship over our lives and let him do his work of grace in our lives in molding and in making us into the likeness of character of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

But this isn’t just about trials & tribulations and the testing of our faith and our endurance, but this has to do with the truth of the gospel of salvation, too, and what it means to believe in Jesus and to be one of his followers. For the natural (of the flesh) person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, because they are spiritually appraised. So why is it that so many professers of faith in Jesus Christ are completely lacking in understanding of the gospel message that Jesus taught to us?

I believe it is because they did not receive the Spirit of God into their lives, but they received the spirit of the world, instead, because they believed the lies and not the truth. And they did not test what they were hearing against the Scriptures taught in the correct biblical context, but they just believed what someone told them was the truth. But in today’s world, at least here in the USA, the lies (half-truths) are what are multiplying and are gaining ground and are being accepted as truth by what seems to be the majority.

And if you are someone who is teaching “the whole counsel of God,” i.e. the truth of what God’s word teaches us, especially as it regards our salvation, in its correct biblical context, you are probably being faced with some rejection, opposition, persecution, false accusations, mistreatment, and snide and spiteful remarks. And your persecutors could be “the religious” within the “church gatherings” who believe the lies and who are living the lies and not the truth, and so they might turn on you and cast you off and far away.

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

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

What the Lord Says  

Based off Isaiah 43:1-44:5

An Original Work / February 24, 2014 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

This is what the Lord says to you:

Fear not, for I have chosen you.

I have summoned you by your name.

You are mine. I died, you to save.

When you go through your trials, so deep,

I will be with you; you will not sink.

You are so precious always to me.

Trust in your Lord, Savior and King.

This is what the Lord says to you:

He who gave salvation to you;

Who delivered you from your sin;

Takes your burdens now upon Him:

Forget the former things of your life.

Give of your heart not now up to strife.

See all the new things I have for you.

Walk in vict’ry. Trust in what’s true.

This is what the Lord says to you:

He who made you; who will help you:

Do not fear what humans may do.

Walk in freedom. Follow what’s true.

Drink of my Spirit given for you.

Trust in my mercy, for I love you.

I have a plan for all of your life.

Follow my ways. Do what is right. 

https://vimeo.com/87634334

God Has Prepared for Those Who Love Him

An Original Work / September 28, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Do Not Worry About Your Life

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 

“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-34 NASB1995)

I want to compare these words here a little bit to some of the situations in the life of the apostle Paul, because I believe this will give us a better perspective as to what this is teaching here, in reality. Paul was a man of God, a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, who obeyed the Lord in taking the true message of the gospel of Christ to the people of the world. But he did not have it easy, for he faced much opposition and trials along the way. 

He was beaten with rods, and he received many lashes. He was stoned and left for dead. He had many sleepless nights. He was hungry and thirsty, often without food, out in the cold with his body exposed to the elements. He faced imprisonment numerous times. He experienced weariness and pain often. He was in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, and danger from his own countrymen, etc. All this was in his service to the Lord Jesus Christ (see 2 Corinthians 11:23-29).

This passage of Scripture in Matthew 6 is not a promise from God that if we are his children that we will never go hungry, that we will never be lacking in what to wear, for Christians throughout all generations in multiple nations of the world have faced and are still facing the kinds of trials and tribulations as what Paul faced, and perhaps more. And I think about that every time I read this Matthew passage, and I wonder how they will receive Jesus’ words.

I am presently being faced with a perhaps very serious situation. A couple of weeks ago I was lying down in bed, attempting to fall asleep, when suddenly I felt this very sharp pain in my chest in the area where my heart is located. I felt chest pressure, a crushing feeling in my chest, and I had a cough and shortness of breath, and pressure in my ears. This was followed by a sharp pain underneath my left arm, fullness in my head, pain in my right ear, and pain in my back and side in the same general area as was the chest pain.

Eventually I made the decision to go to the hospital. They did a scan of my lungs and discovered that a tumor I’ve had there since 2014 had now grown, almost doubled in size. But in 2016 it had not grown, so we don’t know at what point it began growing. But it is pressing against my rib cage and my nerves and it is causing a lot of pain and discomfort, including chest pressure and labored breathing, etc. But it doesn’t end there. There are also concerns about my thyroid and the pain and fulness in my head, too.

So, they have ordered a bunch of tests for me to have to try to determine what is going on inside my body so that they know what steps need to be taken to help resolve the pain, especially the part that impacts my ability to breathe. Now I trust the Lord in all of this, and I don’t normally run to doctors or hospitals when I am in pain, but this time I believe the Lord has a purpose in all of this in my life, and perhaps in other people’s lives, but I know he is going to walk me through it all as I hold on to him, trusting him.

And I think that really is the message in this Matthew 6 passage. It isn’t that God is going to spare us from every trial and tribulation which comes into our lives to test our faith. It isn’t that we will never have times of hunger or thirst or to be in want of shelter and clothing. It is that when we face these trials that we do not worry about what we are having to suffer out of fear of having to go without out, or in fear of pain, suffering, and perhaps death. For God will meet our needs, but not necessarily what we want or desire.

And sometimes we need these trials and tribulations in our lives more than we need comfort and all our physical needs fulfilled. For God uses these difficulties in our lives to test our faith, to mature us, to make us holy, to purify our hearts, to draw us closer to him, to make us more steadfast and serious about our relationships with the Lord, and to humble us so that we will be more reliant on the Lord for all our needs. So we are not to be those who worry about what’s coming next, but we are to trust the Lord fully.

We need to keep our eyes, hearts, and minds focused on the Lord, trusting him with our trials and tribulations, trusting him to work them all out for what is truly best for us, for our ultimate spiritual good. And more than food and clothing or bodily health and comfort, we must seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, trust him in all circumstances, surrender our lives to him, follow him in obedience, and live holy lives pleasing to God, in the power of God and in his strength and wisdom, trusting him fully in all ways.  

What the Lord Says  

Based off Isaiah 43:1-44:5

An Original Work / February 24, 2014 

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

This is what the Lord says to you:

Fear not, for I have chosen you.

I have summoned you by your name.

You are mine. I died, you to save.

When you go through your trials, so deep,

I will be with you; you will not sink.

You are so precious always to me.

Trust in your Lord, Savior and King.

This is what the Lord says to you:

He who gave salvation to you;

Who delivered you from your sin;

Takes your burdens now upon Him:

Forget the former things of your life.

Give of your heart not now up to strife.

See all the new things I have for you.

Walk in vict’ry. Trust in what’s true.

This is what the Lord says to you:

He who made you; who will help you:

Do not fear what humans may do.

Walk in freedom. Follow what’s true.

Drink of my Spirit given for you.

Trust in my mercy, for I love you.

I have a plan for all of your life.

Follow my ways. Do what is right. 

https://vimeo.com/87634334

Do Not Worry About Your Life

An Original Work / September 28, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Meaningless Repetition

“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

“Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father who is in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]” (Matthew 6:7-13 NASB1995)

When this says here, “Pray, then, in this way,” the meaning is “like this, in this fashion, in this manner, along these lines.” Since the subject matter here is speaking against “meaningless repetition” in our prayers, surely the Lord is not then suggesting that we have to repeat over and over this same exact prayer, with these same exact words, or that would be contrary to what he just stated, would it not? But do you know that is what this has been turned into? A repetitious reciting of the same exact words over and again.

To me, considering the subject matter, it seems obvious that he did not intend that we should then just recite these same exact words repetitiously. This was meant, I believe, as a model, to teach us what kinds of things we should include in our prayers and the type of prayers we ought to have. So, when we talk with the Lord we should praise him for who he is and for what he has done for us, and we should thank him. And we should pray according to his will, and if we don’t know his will, “not my will but Thine be done.”

And for his kingdom to come upon the earth, this would engage the spreading of the true gospel of Christ, of our salvation, to the world around us, so that many will come to know him, in truth, and in righteousness, as by faith in him they die to sin and they now walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to his commands in holy living, by the grace of God, in the power of God. So we should pray for opportunities to share the gospel of Christ with the people of the world, and then we should be sharing the gospel.

And “Give us this day our daily bread” could be requesting of God that he meet our daily needs. Or, since Jesus referred to himself as the bread, this could be a request for the Lord to feed us from his word, and to teach us what he wants us to learn and to put that into practice in our daily lives. And if Jesus is that “daily bread,” this could be a prayer, too, for the Lord to give us more of himself, to show us more of who he is and what he desires for us who profess his name, and to fill us to overflowing with his love and grace.

Now, under the New Covenant, by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in the Lord Jesus, via us dying with him to sin and us walking (in conduct) in obedience to his commands, in his power and wisdom, we are forgiven our sins and we are given new lives in Christ Jesus to be lived for his glory. If we should sin at any time after that, our sins are still forgiven (1 John 2:1-2) unless we continue in deliberate and habitual sin against God, and we do not obey God in practice. But if we do sin, we should repent and obey God.

And we should also be those who make it our practice to forgive all who sin against us, no matter how many times they sin against us. Now this is not giving them permission to keep sinning against us, and if those habitually sinning against us are those professing faith in Jesus Christ, then we should speak the truth of God’s word to them, in love, about their sin, and share with them what God’s word teaches about those who continue in deliberate and habitual sin, that they will not inherit eternal life with God.

Now we learn in James 1 that God does not lead us into temptation, but each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. But I find in the Scriptures that Jesus was led up by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And the tempter did try to tempt Jesus to do wrong, but Jesus always responded with the Scriptures. And the devil will try to tempt us, as well, to disobey the Lord, or to give way to fear, but we must resist him. And in those cases the temptation was not because the ones targeted for temptation were being enticed by their own lust.

But we should definitely pray to be delivered from evil, for the devil is certainly out to try to take us down in any way that he can. And he will keep trying to do so, from time to time, sometimes trying different angles than he tried before, hoping to catch us off guard. And so it is critical that we remain in a close walk of faith in obedience to our Lord on a daily basis, putting on the armor of God daily with which to fight off Satan’s attacks against us. 

But let your prayers be real, honest, and sincere, and not repetitious religious exercises that end up meaning nothing but a religious exercise. For prayer is open communication between us and our Lord where he can speak to us and we can speak to him about whatever is on our hearts and minds. But let this prayer in Matthew 6 prompt you to remember to be thankful, to be repentant, to forgive others, to share the gospel, and to trust the Lord to meet your needs and to grow closer in your fellowship with Jesus Christ.

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

Caution: This link may contain ads

Meaningless Repetition

An Original Work / September 27, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Still Wandering in The Wilderness?

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1 NASB1995)

The Lord brought to mind this morning a secular song with religious overtones, written by Billy Joel, called, “The River of Dreams” (1993). What he described in the song lyrics was a person of religious heritage who knew the way of salvation, but who was wandering in the wilderness. He knew the right way, the way of truth, the way of God and of his righteousness and holiness, but something always held him back from crossing over to the other side, into “The Promised Land,” and into eternal life with God.

He was on a journey, with his sights set on “The Promised Land,” but he never quite got there. Something always stopped him, perhaps his addiction. He seemed to go back and forth from a place of hope to a place of despair, always struggling to find inner peace, for he continued to walk in the darkness and not in the light of truth and righteousness. He knew he needed to pass from the darkness to the other side, and he said that he tried, but doubt was standing in his way, keeping him from reaching his destination.

Billy Joel finally came to the conclusion that he was not sure about life after this life, and he acknowledged that God knew he was not a spiritual man. And sadly, that is where many people are today, in one way or another, who know the way of righteousness and holiness, who know that the answer they are looking for requires that they cross over to the other side, that by faith in Christ they die with Christ to sin, that they obey God and his commands, and that they cease with their wanderings, but something holds them back.

And I know this doesn’t seem to quite fit the passage of Scripture, but yet it does. Although I don’t believe that Billy Joel was practicing righteousness, or that he was putting on a performance to try to show that he was, still he seemed to be pursuing passing over to the other side, but he never could get there, and so he finally gave up. Why? Because his efforts were of the flesh and not of the Spirit of God, not from someone who’s life was being guided by the Spirit, but someone who’s life was controlled by the flesh.

And that, in truth, is the picture in this passage of Scripture, for it is someone performing or trying to be religious or to appear religious for human approval which means all their efforts were of the flesh and not of God and that is why they never truly became righteous, but only in appearance. In other words, if you are living in addiction to sin, but all your efforts to be free of your addiction and to “cross over to the other side” have been of the flesh, and not of God, you will never reach your destination.

There are, though, many people professing faith in Jesus Christ outwardly, who might even appear righteous on the outside, whether or not by willful performance, who are still wandering in the wilderness, still living immoral, wicked, rebellious, idolatrous, revelrous, deceptive, adulterous lives, in direct defiance and disobedience to our Lord and to his commandments, just like so many did who wandered in the wilderness and who died in the wilderness, and who did not enter into the Promised Land for lack of obedience to God.

And what they did is written down for us in the Scriptures as examples for us in what not to do and of the results we should expect if we follow their example (1 Corinthians 10:1-22). And this wasn’t just about physical death, for we will all die one day unless Jesus returns and he takes us to be with him while we are still alive on the earth. But this is a warning to all who make outward professions of Christ as Savior but who are still wandering in their sin. If you do not die to sin and obey God, you have no eternal reward from God, because your sin always keeps you from true faith which saves.

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

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

Caution: This link may contain ads

Still Wandering in The Wilderness?

An Original Work / September 27, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Do Not Be Surprised

“For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous. Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.” (1 John 3:11-13 NASB1995)

Cain and his brother Abel were the first sons of Adam and Eve. They each offered a sacrifice to God, but God had no regard for Cain’s offering, but he did for Abel’s offering, through which Abel obtained the testimony that he was righteous. So Cain became very angry, and even though God spoke with him about his anger, and what he needed to do about it, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and he killed him. And God told Cain that he was now cursed from the ground that received his brother’s blood from his hand.

For what reasons might we who are followers of Jesus Christ be hated today to the point of someone wanting to murder us or to destroy our lives in other ways? It could be jealousy, resentment, and/or bitterness related to God’s favor with us because our lives are committed to the Lord to following him in his ways, and because of our testimonies for Christ and for his gospel. It could be that our walks of obedience to the Lord, and to his word, is an offense to them because of their own walks of deliberate and habitual sin.

Those who are teaching and/or believing the lies of the enemy of our souls find some of us an offense to them because we are teaching the biblical gospel which requires that, by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, we die with Christ to sin and we walk (in conduct, with purpose) in obedience to his commands in daily living, by the grace of God, in the power of God, and not of our own flesh. And if we choose not to die to sin and obey God, we are not of true faith, and we will not inherit eternal life with God.

This just doesn’t bode well with today’s modernized and altered “gospel” that is spreading like wildfire among the people of the earth. For it appears that the majority are teaching and/or believing in this altered “gospel” which teaches that we can profess faith in Jesus Christ, have all our sins forgiven, and be guaranteed heaven when we die, but regardless of how we live from that moment forward. Some people are even teaching against repentance (death to sin) and walks of obedience to God, calling that “works salvation.”

As we learn in the book of 1 John, and in other New Testament books, God looks at us with favor who have, by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in Christ, died with Christ to sin, and who are walking in obedience to the Lord, in practice, and no longer in sin, in the power of God. But he looks with disfavor and disapproval on those who rebel against him, who go their own way, who continue in their deliberate and habitual sin, and who do not obey his commands, but while claiming Jesus as Savior and heaven as home.

And because of that, there may be those who desire to see us dead or our lives destroyed, because we are an offense to them and a reminder to them of their own sinful depravity and of their need to repent (turn from their sins) and to obey God. Or they may just want us out of their lives because we are teaching the truth which is contrary to the lies which so many of them are spreading, and so they will want us removed and out of the way so that we don’t expose their lies and lead others to the truth of the gospel.

So when this says that we are to love one another and not be like Cain, this is not speaking solely of human love based in our emotions and in our own personal preferences. This is speaking of agape love which, in this case, prefers what God prefers, and chooses his choices, and obeys them in his power. This is self-sacrificial love which puts the true needs of others above ourselves, which then results in us speaking the truth of the gospel to them, in love, and refuting the lies which will land them in hell if they believe them.

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

[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 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; 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 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2-3] 

Seek the Lord  

Based off Isaiah 55

An Original Work / July 20, 2012

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Musical Instrumentation by Mark Bradley

“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.

Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,

And your soul will delight in richest of fare.

Give ear to Me, and you will live.

I have made an eternal covenant with you.

Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him. 

Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.

Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.

Freely, God pardons him.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,”

declares the Lord, our God.

“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.

It will not return to Me unfulfilled.

My word will accomplish all that I desire,

And achieve the goal I intend.

You will go in joy and be led forth in peace.

The mountains will burst into song… before you, 

And all of the trees clap their hands.”

https://vimeo.com/379408296 

Do Not Be Surprised

An Original Work / September 26, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Make Sure No One Deceives You

“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. 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 3:4-10 NASB1995)

The primary gospel message being taught and accepted in the USA today, and perhaps throughout the world, is a diluted and altered “gospel” created in the minds of humans who remove Scriptures from their biblical context, and who twist them to teach what they do not say if taught in the correct biblical context, while they also ignore all the Scriptures that teach what they choose not to believe. And this is being done deliberately, from the top down, for the purpose to deceive and to lead people away from true faith.

Now, not everyone who believes the lies are those who are willfully trying to deceive people and to turn them away from genuine faith in the Lord Jesus, but many are. There are multitudes of people who are malicious, morally unclean, deceivers, manipulators, opportunists, liars, and the untrustworthy, who are egocentric, who fake their Christianity for the sole purpose to deceive the unsuspecting and the naïve with their half-truth lies. And they and their false gospel message are rapidly multiplying and deceiving.

So, what are the lies which they are spreading in the name of Jesus Christ, and in the name of the gospel of our salvation? The liars have reduced the message of the gospel to a mere profession (confession) of faith in Jesus Christ, but with no biblical requirements that we must put sin to death in our lives and that we must walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in lifestyle (in practice), for us to be of genuine faith which saves and which assures us of eternal life with God. For they call that “works salvation.”

But the gospel message taught by Jesus, and by his New Testament apostles, teach us that faith which saves puts sin to death, by the Spirit, and it obeys God and his commandments, in practice. For the faith to believe in Christ is not of our own doing, not of the will of the flesh, but it is gifted to us by God. And it is persuaded of God as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of God’s requirement that we deny self, die to sin (not just once, but daily), and that we walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to his commands in holy living, or we don’t have life with him.

For the whole purpose of Jesus’ death and resurrection was to put our sins to death with him, and to rise from the dead victorious over our sins, so that, by biblical God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ we will now die to sin and live for God in walks of surrender to his will, in submission to his Lordship, and in obedience to his commands in holy living. Our lives are no longer to be our own, for we were bought back for God (redeemed by the blood of Christ) so that we will now honor God with our lives in walks of obedience to our Lord.

Therefore, please be aware that if sin is what you practice, and not obedience to the Lord and to his commands, in holy living, that you do not know God, and you are not in a relationship with Jesus Christ, and you do not have salvation from sin nor the hope of eternal life with God. For it is the one who practices righteousness who is righteous in the eyes of the Lord. And the one who practices sin (deliberately and habitually) is of the devil, not a child of God. Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who deliberately sins against others, and does not love.

[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 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; 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 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2-3] 

Seek the Lord  

Based off Isaiah 55

An Original Work / July 20, 2012

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Musical Instrumentation by Mark Bradley

“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.

Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,

And your soul will delight in richest of fare.

Give ear to Me, and you will live.

I have made an eternal covenant with you.

Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him. 

Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.

Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.

Freely, God pardons him.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,”

declares the Lord, our God.

“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.

It will not return to Me unfulfilled.

My word will accomplish all that I desire,

And achieve the goal I intend.

You will go in joy and be led forth in peace.

The mountains will burst into song… before you, 

And all of the trees clap their hands.”

https://vimeo.com/379408296 

Make Sure No One Deceives You

An Original Work / September 26, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

The World Does Not Know Us

“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 NASB1995)

Let’s recap a little bit here (all quotations in the NASB1995): 

We read in 1 John 1:5-9 that “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

In summary, what this is teaching us is that if we say (claim) that we are in fellowship (relationship, partnership, participation, cooperation) with Jesus Christ, in his work of grace in our lives in saving us from our sins, and yet we walk (in conduct, in practice) in sin (spiritual darkness), we lie and we do not practice the truth. But if we walk (in conduct, in practice) in the Light (Jesus, truth, righteousness, the gospel of our salvation, death to sin, and obedience to God) then we are in fellowship with Christ and with other believers in Christ, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. 

Yet many people are taking verse 9 out of context and they are teaching that as long as we own up to the fact that we sinned, that God is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But a few verses before this we learned that if we claim that we are in relationship with Christ, but while we walk (in conduct, in lifestyle) in sin, that we are liars. And this word “confess” is not a mere verbal confession of sin, but this has to do with us agreeing with God about our sin, and aligning with him, which should result in us dying to sin and obeying our Lord.

We read in 1 John 2:3-6 that “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.”

In summary this is teaching us that to know God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – we must keep (obey) his commands, in practice. And so if we claim that we know God, via faith in Jesus Christ, but we do not obey our Lord and his New Covenant commandments, in practice, then we are liars, and the truth is not in us. But whoever keeps His word (obeys the Lord’s commandments, in practice (in lifestyle), in him the love of God has been perfected. And then we are to model our walks of faith after the way that Jesus lived when he walked this earth, for we are to be like him in character.

So, those who are called “children of God” are those who have died to sin and who are walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands as a matter of life practice, though not necessarily in absolute perfection (see 1 John 2:1-2), in the power of God, by the grace of God, via God-gifted and God-persuaded biblical faith in Jesus Christ. And this is the reason that the world does not know us, because it did not know him, and because we are becoming like Jesus in character, and in thought, word, and deed. But this is a process of a lifetime which will not be complete until Jesus returns for us.

And then please take careful note of this last sentence: “And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him, in practice. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

[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 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; 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 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2-3] 

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

Caution: This link may contain ads

The World Does Not Know Us

An Original Work / September 26, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

His Anointing Teaches You

“These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.

“Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.” (1 John 2:26-29 NASB1995)

When we believe in Jesus Christ with biblical God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him, we die with Christ to sin and we are 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. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

But that isn’t all that happens to us. By faith in Jesus Christ we enter into a spiritual marriage relationship with the Lord, with Christ as our husband, and with us as his bride. And we are to love him and to be faithful to him and to show him honor, as a wife would with her husband. And when we believe in Jesus, we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, who is our teacher, our counselor, our encourager, and our guide who leads us into all truth and who reminds us of the teachings of Christ, and of his New Testament apostles, too.

The anointing which we have received from God, by biblical faith in the Lord Jesus, is the Holy Spirit within us, and it is our salvation from our slavery (addiction) to sin, and it is the empowerment of God to now live holy lives, pleasing to God, in the power of God, by his Spirit, because of God’s grace. But when this says here that “you have no need for anyone to teach you,” I believe this is in reference to the fact that we no longer must receive God’s words to us through a prophet, now that we have the Holy Spirit within us.

But this doesn’t do away with all teaching, for within the body of Christ are those who are gifted with the gift of teaching, and John was obviously teaching (instructing) the Christians in the book of 1 John in how they ought to live and how they ought not to live, as God’s children. And we are taught in the Scriptures that we are to instruct, counsel, encourage, and exhort one another so that we are not led astray by those who are deceiving the people, and so we are not led into captivity to sin by the lies being spread.

And this section of Scripture (quoted above) is in the context concerning those who were trying to deceive the Christians to reject the truth of God and to follow after the lies. So in this context John was letting them know that they did not need to have these deceivers teaching them because they had the anointing of God and the Holy Spirit within them teaching them what they needed to learn. But still John saw the need to give them instructions, as well, to help them walk the right path and to not be led astray by the deceptive ones. And we still have need to exhort one another.

But we must not put our dependence in the teachings of humans, or assume that what they are teaching us is absolute truth, just because of who they are. And here the Scriptures tell us that we are to test the spirits to see which ones are of God, for many liars and deceivers abound these days. And so much is being faked and altered to make it look one way while it is the opposite of what they proclaim it is. So we must be spiritually discerning people who make sure that what we are hearing agrees with the Scriptures, but the Scriptures taught in their correct biblical context, not out of context.

If we are abiding in Christ, we are living in him, and him in us, and we are acting in accord with what the Scriptures teach us as to how we are to be living, as followers of Christ. And this means that we are in the practice of obeying our Lord, adhering to and conforming our lives to his commands, and putting sin to death in our lives daily, by the Spirit. And we are walking in holiness and righteousness, continuing in Christ and in his Word and in doing what he says we are to do until the very end, by God’s grace. But if sin is still our practice, and not obedience, we have not life eternal with God.

“If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.” (v. 29)

[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 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; 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 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2-3] 

Just a Closer Walk with Thee  

Hymn lyrics by Anonymous/Unknown

Music by American Melody

“For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you” (2 Co. 13:4 NASB).

I am weak, but Thou art strong;

Jesus, keep me from all wrong;

I’ll be satisfied as long

As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Through this world of toil and snares,

If I falter, Lord, who cares?

Who with me my burden shares?

None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

When my feeble life is o’er,

Time for me will be no more;

Guide me gently, safely o’er

To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.

Just a closer walk with Thee,

Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,

Daily walking close to Thee,

Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6Ks49apflE 

Caution: This link may contain ads

His Anointing Teaches You

An Original Work / September 26, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love