Run With It: July 2026

1 Timothy 3:14-16 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

“14Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these things 15in case I am delayed, so that you will know how each one must conduct himself in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

“16By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great:

He appeared in the flesh,

was vindicated by the Spirit,

was seen by angels,

was proclaimed among the nations,

was believed in throughout the world,

was taken up in glory.”

This was the apostle Paul writing to Timothy, but under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And today I am seeing this as Jesus Christ communicating to the church, saying that he will come to us soon (soon by his own definition). But while we wait for his return he has some instructions for us, and it is critical that we adhere to them. He wants us to understand that he has a spiritual standard by which he expects all of us to live, with regard to how we must conduct ourselves as those who claim him as our Lord and Savior.

The Church

But when Paul and God say “church” they do not mean these institutions of men being marketed to the people of the world which are patterning their gatherings after the world in order to attract the world to their gatherings. For the church is the collective body of believers in Jesus Christ who, by faith in Christ, have responded to Jesus’ invitation to die with him to sin, to deny self, and to take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow him in obedience to his commands, and in surrender to his will for our lives.

So, “The church” is not a building built by human hands. And it is not a business incorporated under the state, merged with and partnered with the government, with the ungodly, and with the world. And it is not a physical location we go to once or twice a week. The church is us, the people of God, not the buildings, not the organizations, not the corporations (businesses). It is us whose lives have been transformed and made new by the working of the Holy Spirit who are living to please God, who are no longer living in sin.

Our Conduct

And we are given many instructions all throughout the Old Testament and New Testament on what our lives should look like if we are those who are truly born of God and partakers in the promises of God to his people. Sin must no longer be what we practice, but we should be those who obey God and his New Covenant commands as a matter of life practice. This is not saying we must be absolutely perfect all the time in every respect, but that sin should not be our habit, and obedience to God is to be our practice.

For Jesus Christ left his throne in heaven, came to earth, and humbled himself by taking on the form of a man, born of woman, but conceived of the Holy Spirit, in order that one day he might serve as our sacrificial lamb in his death on a cross. And in that death he put our sins to death with him so that, by God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in him, which is not of our own doing, we might deny self, die to sin, and follow him in obedience wherever he leads us in doing all that he commands and calls us to do.

And he rose victorious over the grave that we might live in victory over sin by his grace while we wait for his return. For his 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 wait for his return. So all who profess faith in Jesus, but who deny him by how they live, in sinful habits, in immorality, in wickedness, and in walks of disobedience to his commands, will not have salvation from sin nor eternal life with God.

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

So, please take this to heart, for not all are in Christ, by faith in him, just because they claim him as their Lord. For if they hold on to addictive sin, and they do not obey God and his commands, as a matter of life practice, they are not saved, and they do not have eternal life with God. And this is not to say that we will be perfect, or that we will never sin, but the Scriptures are clear that if sin is our practice, and not obedience to our Lord, that we will not have eternal life with God, but we will die in our sins.

Nails Were Pounded

An Original Work / June 4, 2011

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Nails were pounded when He hung on a tree;

Suffered for us so we could be set free.

He died for our sins; rose up from the grave,

So we could be forgiven; by His grace we’re saved.

A spear pierced His side; His clothes they’d divide;

A crown on His head to mock Him instead

Of honoring Him as our Savior, King,

Who gave his life for the world to be free from sin.

Forsaken by friends, though He’d not offend.