Love: Attitude vs. Action

We are all familiar with the commandment from Jesus to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength. And the second is this;  to love our neighbor as ourselves. Mark 12:30-31. The natural man thinks about love in two ways. One way is "eros". This type of love is a romantic love between a man and a woman. Another form of love is "phila", brotherly love. Brotherly love has many forms and extensions. These feelings are comprised of kindness, the deep desire for a well being of another, family, friends, and afar off. The highest form of God's love for humanity is "agape" love.  This love is selfless, sacrificial and unconditional. We are commanded to have this type of love for humanity.

How then do we attain this kind of "love" without any prior knowledge, prejudice or relationships? How can we adjust our attitudes toward our neighbors that we don't even know near or far? I would often run into this snare because when I hear the word love, I think of intimacy or promoting the highest form of good for another person within various scopes of my relationships. How can I solve the love problem because in my flesh my love has it's limitations.

There were times when I would cry out for the God's type of love. So many questions, condemnation and hearing the voice of the enemy not whispering in my ear but blaring words "YOU ARE NOT WALKING IN LOVE" because I didn't have any feelings attached. This included my love for the Lord. To sing songs and quote scriptures and hear other exuberantly express their love to the Lord. Then my questions came. Do you love the Lord? Here I was again looking for a feeling, but then I went back to scripture where the Lord said "if you love me, keep my commandments" John 14:15 As I read Romans 13: 8-11 it was made clear "for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet and if there be any other commandment in this saying; namely. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.. When we keep these commands the "agape" love of God is on display. As we walk in these commands our neighbors near or far will experience our expression of love as we keep His commandments. 

DOCE (Department of Church Efficiency)

As of late, the current administration in the White House created a new federal cabinet known as the DOGE (The Department of Government Efficiency). Any type of efficiency is meant to rate the quality of operation measured by a comparison of production that may cost energy, money and time. As I reflected on the pros and cons of this advent it has unequivocally affected thousands of Americans.  Simply put, the workforce has been audited. 

Every new church leader has a responsibility to rate church efficiency. He measures the quality of the operation of leading God's people by the original comparison (the leading of the Holy Spirit) measured by the Bible which is our constitution. It is an iron clad agreement between God and man through Christ Jesus. If you think about it, isn't that what Jesus came to do? He came in the likeness of man to show us the Father. His discourse among his Jewish brethren who has held down the religious quarters, created traditions and extensions. Through these measures, the benefit only served those who built and ruled the establishments. 

Far too long, has the institution of church life checks and balances has gone awry. Traditions of men (Mark 7:7), ministries and programs that has neglected, rejected and refusal to submit to God's authority has diminished the efficiency of God's church. Secular government has proposed a buyout. The Lord wants us to buy-in. I believe the Lord ministered a word to me saying, "I am dismantling old structures" and as their is an uproar in the natural, so there is in the Spirit. "The Kingdom of God suffers violence, and the violent take it by force" Matt 11:12. Therefore, church efficiency is concluded in this manner, " from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies according to the effective (efficient) working by which every part does it share, causes growth of the body for edifying itself in love" Ephesians 4:16 Welcome to the DOCE.

Bring It

As I sat listening to my morning devotional, I heard the speaker declare what we as Christians have heard since the beginning of our journey, "ye shall suffer persecution".  It is an election year in the U.S.  Internal political civil unrest and the tensions between nations are high and wars remain unresolved. Crime is at an all time high, more emboldened and brazen acts of violence across the nation and abroad. The attack on the Christian faith remains at an all time high globally.

As I listened to the dreary forecast, the word came out of my mouth "Bring It". This is one of many idioms, or cliche's often used to describe a feeling of readiness to respond at all cost. I experienced a Holy Spirit filled induced boldness at that moment to face and endure the persecution for the cause of Christ at whatever cost.  In that moment, I was ready for the battle. Jesus often spoke about losing our reputation, names and even our lives for the sake of the Gospel. He also said some of us will face death, but to endure to the end.

In this Laodicean age of Christianity, were living your best life is promoted instead of dying to self. Pleasures are fulfilled and doctrines of demons are on the rise without being challenged. Perversion  has tipped the scales and God's people love it so.  That expression that was vehemently purported from my mouth was the Holy Spirit. I felt like I was going to a fight in the natural (Bring It). 

As tensions remain high in the Spirit realm, as Christians we should remain on high alert, fighting the good fight of faith. I've often said "we profess that we'd die for Christ, but can't live for Him". An oxymoron at most. However, what remains is our resolve to "live as Christ and to die is gain" Phil 1:21. Should this be our fate? Stephen's stoning is only a precursor yet a preview to a grace that only God can provide to His elect during such a time. May these sufferings and challenges encourage us and give us faith to endure. Unlike Peter who stated " this shall not be unto thee" Matt 16:22. May we declare to the enemies of the cross "Bring It!"

That's the Way it Goes...Almost Doesn't Count

 

Some years ago a secular song popped in my mind. I had no intentions on dwelling on it, searching the content as I endeavored to renew my mind. meditating on thins that are true, noble, praiseworthy of a good report: Phil 4:6. After rehearsing the lyrics, for each stanza I could hear the heart of the Lord:

Songstress: Almost made you love me, Almost made you cry, Almost made you happy, didn't I.

The Lord: Would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart. "Psalm 44:21

Songstress: You almost had me thinking You were turned around But everybody knows Almost doesn't count

The Lord:  Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. "Matthew 24:12” Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Matthew 13: 3-9

Songstress: Almost heard you saying You were finally free What was always missing for you, You found it in me But you can't get to Heaven Half off the ground Everybody knows Almost doesn't count

The Lord: “No man that goes to war entangles himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier" 2 Tim. 2:4, And he that endures to the end shall be saved" Matthew 24:13

Songstress: I can't keep on loving you one foot outside the door, I hear a funny hesitation of a heart that's never really sure, Can't keep on trying If you're looking for more than all that I could give you than what you came here for.

The Lord: "Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do" James 1:8

Songstress: Gonna find me somebody Not afraid to let go Want a no-doubt-be-there kind of man, You came real close, But every time you built me up, You only let me down, But everybody knows  Almost doesn't count 

The Lord: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” Matthew 16:24

Songstress: Maybe you'll be sorry, Maybe you'll be cold, Maybe you'll come running back from the cruel, cruel world Almost convinced me You're gonna stick around But everybody knows (everybody knows) Almost doesn't count

The Lord: "And because sin will abound the love of many will wax cold" Matthew 24:12,  Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,  but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. Matthew 25

Songstress: That's the Way it Goes Almost Doesn't Count

The Lord: Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates "Rev: 22:14

Therefore, my beloved brethren. Make your calling and election sure  2 Peter 1:10. That’s the way it goes….ALMOST DOESN’T COUNT

"Love" the Litmus Test

As we know our Lord has declared from His time here and His instructions before leaving that as Christians we love one another. He started off by saying it was a new commandment. "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another" John 13:34-35.  To think about my spouse (his) love for me is one thing. That is a one to one relationship. I don't expect for my husband to love other's the way he loves me.  In essence, his love toward others has boundaries.

However, the Lord meant it quite the opposite.  No boundaries! Is that what he meant? I can't say that this is the degree where the love factor is extended among strangers. We have been grafted into the vine, adopted and accepted by Him who shed His blood to pay the ultimate price for our sins, and to create a new family. Through a series of circumstances I unfortunately ended up in foster care. At least 4 homes to my knowledge.. From my experiences the children came and went. There were other people in the household but we weren't close to them. We stayed  in our rooms most of the time and obeyed the new rules that these families had established. 

We never knew when we'd be uprooted. The families may have gotten tired of us or benefits may have run out. Jesus' family is the opposite. We have been accepted by Him into a heavenly family.  It is not without it's challenges. We have to get to know one another, be forgiving, suffer long with our brethren.  Easier said than done right? Yes. But this is the Litmus test "love".It's a work. It is a willingness to suffer long as we grow in holiness unto the Lord.  We were meant to be like the Sequoia tree, whose roots are entangled one with another.

Unfortunately, tradition and religion has created a plethora of reasons why we neglect to love one another by scripture. We have been taught only to love when things are going well  We are easily offended and many walk away with unresolved issues, even though the Lord has given us the prescription for ought and offenses.  Nonetheless, we walk away, put each other away as if we never knew each other.  I am concerned, how about you? We (the church) isn't defined by any other measures (i.e gifts, talents, miracles, signs and wonders)  other than love, that's the Litmus Test.

The bible says "in the last days, the love of many will wax cold".Matt 24:12. Let that not be said of us. Let's continue to run this race together, encouraging each other as we continue in fellowship. In Jesus name.

Sacrificial or Superficial

During a morning time routine in prayer, as I begin to cry out to the Lord and made my petitions known to Him, I paused.  I did this only to reflect on what I had just previously prayed.  During that time I wondered had I surrendered anything in my walk with the Lord as a sacrifice or had my prayers been superficial.

What do you mean by sacrificial?  When a sacrifice is made, it is with the intention that something will be developed, instilled, or resolved in the life of a person who has considered oneself dead although the process of mortification had not yet wielded itself but the person has yielded themselves to a cause regardless of the outcome.  The outcome is based upon the one who has required it.

What do you mean by superficial? To be superficial is to be on the surface only. It's not real, it carries no weight and is easily penetrated.  It can easily be detected by others who are authentically bearing witness to themselves one way or the other.  Jesus was able to resonate with the church of Ephesus "who left their first love" Rev:2, and the church of Sardis, who had a reputation of being alive but they were dead. Rev 3. 

Dear God, may our times spent with you out of delight turn into something tangible by revelation,  His presence, impartation of some spiritual gift, an anointing, and much more as the Spirit gives. May our walk be sacrificial, even as you sacrificed your life for us.  You carried the cross willingly for our sins.

Let our walk with you no longer be superficial. You said when you return our works will be tested, whether it'd be wood, hay or stubble.  We desire to be that sacrificial church without spot, wrinkle or any such blemish.  Ephesians 5:27. Today, we examine ourselves to see whether or not we be in the faith proving ourselves (sacrificial) how that Jesus Christ is in you, except you be reprobates (superficial)? 2 Cor. 13:5

Pencils Down

As a former student at many different levels of education I wasn't the most studious student. The thought of taking test were arduous and stressful at best.  The first time I ever heard of an open book test was the most exhilarating good news I've ever heard.  This would be easy, so I thought.  I didn't do as well as I thought because I was running out of time.  Well, one would say "how did you run out of time, it was an open book test"?  The answer is, I wasn't familiar with the text and didn't know where to go immediately for the answers. Therefore searching for the answers took up most of my time.

Oh Christian! This new life in Christ is an open book test. The Lord our God has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness. We are to be students of the Word. The Lord commands us to "study to show ourselves approved unto God, workmen being not ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth" 2Tim.2:15. 

Too many professing believers on average struggle to read and study the word of God.  The book which we are admonished to meditate on it day and night.  Jesus said "my people perish because of the lack of knowledge and they err not knowing the scriptures" We were told to hold fast to the word of truth. How do we hold fast if we have no interest in the person who has went to prepare a place for us?  Jesus told us to search the scriptures and in that we will find eternal life.  It reminds me of the the five wise and five foolish virgins. The five wise had oil in their lamps (the word of God) and the five foolish were empty.  Beware Christian of the snare and the sin of slothfulness.  It's subtle, yet popular among professing Christians today.  I heard of an old adage; the Bible is B-I-B-L-E.(Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth).  

O Christian, one thing is for sure one day the Lord will say "pencils down". Hebrews 9:27 declares "it is appointed unto man once to die and then the judgement.  Don't neglect so great a salvation saints.