Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,067
"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV)
A Prisoner for The Lord
This was Paul speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Paul, because he was a preacher of the faith, came under the same scrutiny as did Jesus Christ by the Jews who were opposed to Jesus and to his message. They hounded and harassed him in many of the same ways that they did to Jesus, and they had him beaten and falsely accused of wrongdoing and imprisoned on false charges, and for a very long time. Thus, much of his ministry came in the form of letters while he was serving time in prison for doing good.
But God works all things for good for those who love (obey) God, who are called according to his purposes. And through Paul’s writings and his imprisonment, even more people were reached with the gospel message. And his writings (many or most of them) were included in the Scriptures, and they continued throughout history to teach and to guide us in the ways of the Lord and in his truth and righteousness, and in godly living, for they came from the Lord, and thus they are God’s words to us, his people.
Now, I am no Paul, and my words, although I believe I am being led by the Lord in what to write, are not Scripture, unless I am quoting Scripture. But throughout my life I have experienced some of the same kinds of persecution as did Jesus, and as did Paul, and for being a servant of the Lord, doing his will, speaking his messages from the Scriptures. And as a result of all the persecutions and rejections I faced, the Lord took me out of those “institutional market-driven churches,” and he put me on the internet.
So, whereas I may have been able to share the gospel message and the teachings of the Scriptures in small groupings of people in more localized settings, to some extent, although limited, by the Lord putting me on the internet, and giving me a ministry of writing, the message of the gospel and of the Christian walk of faith has been able to, through me, his servant, reach way more people across the globe. So this is yet another example of how God works all things for good for those who love and obey him.
The Lord had me write about some of my experiences in a book called, “The Church Under Fire,” which can be read here: The Church Under Fire (edited)
drive.google.com
Walk in a Manner Worthy
One of the main thrusts of the ministry to which the Lord has called me is to urge those who profess the name of Jesus to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have all been called, if we are of genuine walks of faith in the Lord Jesus. And our walk is how we live our lives day in and day out. This has to do with our attitudes and our way of thinking and believing, which is then reflected in our actions (behaviors). For what we truly believe will be reflected in what we do, not just by what we speak with our lips.
So, if we are to walk (in conduct, in practice) in a manner worthy (fitting, suitable, appropriate to) the calling to which we have been called of God, what should that look like? Well, first of all, what is that calling? We are called to belong to Christ, as his possession. And we are called to holy living, which means to be separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being conformed to the likeness of the character of Jesus Christ, by the Spirit, if we cooperate fully with his work of grace in transforming us.
And we are called into fellowship (partnership, cooperativeness) with Jesus Christ whereby we no longer walk in sin, but now in righteousness and holiness, by the Spirit. We are called to freedom from addiction to sin and to obedience to our Lord and his commands. We are not called to impurity, but to holiness. We are called out of our bondage to sin to now follow Jesus wherever he leads us in doing his will. For this is what it means to believe in Jesus, to die with him to sin and now walk in obedience to his commands.
[Psalms 139:13-16; Romans 1:6-7; Romans 8:28-29; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; Galatians 5:13; Ephesians 1:3-4; 1 Thessalonians 4:7; 2 Timothy 1:8-9; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 Peter 2:9; 2 Peter 1:3; Acts 26:18]
And if this is how we perceive what it means to be a Christian, to be a follower of Jesus Christ, whose life is now surrendered to the Lord to do his will, and that our lives are no longer our own to be lived however we want, then this should be reflected in how we live our lives day in and day out, as a matter of practice. For this is what it means to walk worthy of the Lord, to obey him and to follow him in his footsteps in living holy and morally pure lives and no longer to live in sin. For now Jesus is our Lord and Master.
But we are to do this in all humility, not thinking too highly of ourselves, but to think of ourselves with sober and honest judgment, realizing that we are only able to serve the Lord and to do his will because of what Jesus did for us in putting our sins to death with him on that cross so that we can now die with him to sin and live for him and his righteousness, in his power. And I am totally aware of my own inadequacies of my own flesh to be pleasing to God, and that I am only able to do his will because of his grace to me.
And we are not to be harsh and unloving in how we treat others, although we are to speak the truth in love to them. Yet some of them may regard the truth as harsh, but it isn’t our truth, if it is God’s truth which we are relaying. But we are never to compromise the truth of God’s word to spare people’s feelings, but we should be loving and kind without compromise of truth. And unity has to be first unity with the mind of God before we can unify with each other. And that involves all of us submitting to his will for our lives.
Songs in the Night
An Original Work / December 18, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84
Lord, I praise You forevermore.
You, my Savior, I now adore.
Hope in heaven awaiting me,
Because You died at Calvary.
I have been forgiven,
And I’m bound for heaven.
Jesus set me free from
All my sin, I say.
I will praise Him always!
Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:
Overcame death, my vict’ry won!
Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!
I rejoice in His love for me.
I will walk in vict’ry!
My sin is but hist’ry!
I am free to please Him
With my life today.
I will love Him always!
Lord, I thank You for giving me
A new life bought at Calvary.
Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.
Tender mercies now flow within.
Lord, I am so thankful;
Through my Lord, I’m able
To sit at His table;
Fellowship with Him.
I will thank Him always!
I Urge You to Walk
An Original Work / January 30, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
A Prisoner for The Lord
This was Paul speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Paul, because he was a preacher of the faith, came under the same scrutiny as did Jesus Christ by the Jews who were opposed to Jesus and to his message. They hounded and harassed him in many of the same ways that they did to Jesus, and they had him beaten and falsely accused of wrongdoing and imprisoned on false charges, and for a very long time. Thus, much of his ministry came in the form of letters while he was serving time in prison for doing good.
But God works all things for good for those who love (obey) God, who are called according to his purposes. And through Paul’s writings and his imprisonment, even more people were reached with the gospel message. And his writings (many or most of them) were included in the Scriptures, and they continued throughout history to teach and to guide us in the ways of the Lord and in his truth and righteousness, and in godly living, for they came from the Lord, and thus they are God’s words to us, his people.
Now, I am no Paul, and my words, although I believe I am being led by the Lord in what to write, are not Scripture, unless I am quoting Scripture. But throughout my life I have experienced some of the same kinds of persecution as did Jesus, and as did Paul, and for being a servant of the Lord, doing his will, speaking his messages from the Scriptures. And as a result of all the persecutions and rejections I faced, the Lord took me out of those “institutional market-driven churches,” and he put me on the internet.
So, whereas I may have been able to share the gospel message and the teachings of the Scriptures in small groupings of people in more localized settings, to some extent, although limited, by the Lord putting me on the internet, and giving me a ministry of writing, the message of the gospel and of the Christian walk of faith has been able to, through me, his servant, reach way more people across the globe. So this is yet another example of how God works all things for good for those who love and obey him.
The Lord had me write about some of my experiences in a book called, “The Church Under Fire,” which can be read here: The Church Under Fire (edited)
The Church Under Fire Book (edited).pdf
drive.google.com
Walk in a Manner Worthy
One of the main thrusts of the ministry to which the Lord has called me is to urge those who profess the name of Jesus to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have all been called, if we are of genuine walks of faith in the Lord Jesus. And our walk is how we live our lives day in and day out. This has to do with our attitudes and our way of thinking and believing, which is then reflected in our actions (behaviors). For what we truly believe will be reflected in what we do, not just by what we speak with our lips.
So, if we are to walk (in conduct, in practice) in a manner worthy (fitting, suitable, appropriate to) the calling to which we have been called of God, what should that look like? Well, first of all, what is that calling? We are called to belong to Christ, as his possession. And we are called to holy living, which means to be separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being conformed to the likeness of the character of Jesus Christ, by the Spirit, if we cooperate fully with his work of grace in transforming us.
And we are called into fellowship (partnership, cooperativeness) with Jesus Christ whereby we no longer walk in sin, but now in righteousness and holiness, by the Spirit. We are called to freedom from addiction to sin and to obedience to our Lord and his commands. We are not called to impurity, but to holiness. We are called out of our bondage to sin to now follow Jesus wherever he leads us in doing his will. For this is what it means to believe in Jesus, to die with him to sin and now walk in obedience to his commands.
[Psalms 139:13-16; Romans 1:6-7; Romans 8:28-29; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; Galatians 5:13; Ephesians 1:3-4; 1 Thessalonians 4:7; 2 Timothy 1:8-9; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 Peter 2:9; 2 Peter 1:3; Acts 26:18]
And if this is how we perceive what it means to be a Christian, to be a follower of Jesus Christ, whose life is now surrendered to the Lord to do his will, and that our lives are no longer our own to be lived however we want, then this should be reflected in how we live our lives day in and day out, as a matter of practice. For this is what it means to walk worthy of the Lord, to obey him and to follow him in his footsteps in living holy and morally pure lives and no longer to live in sin. For now Jesus is our Lord and Master.
But we are to do this in all humility, not thinking too highly of ourselves, but to think of ourselves with sober and honest judgment, realizing that we are only able to serve the Lord and to do his will because of what Jesus did for us in putting our sins to death with him on that cross so that we can now die with him to sin and live for him and his righteousness, in his power. And I am totally aware of my own inadequacies of my own flesh to be pleasing to God, and that I am only able to do his will because of his grace to me.
And we are not to be harsh and unloving in how we treat others, although we are to speak the truth in love to them. Yet some of them may regard the truth as harsh, but it isn’t our truth, if it is God’s truth which we are relaying. But we are never to compromise the truth of God’s word to spare people’s feelings, but we should be loving and kind without compromise of truth. And unity has to be first unity with the mind of God before we can unify with each other. And that involves all of us submitting to his will for our lives.
Songs in the Night
An Original Work / December 18, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84
Lord, I praise You forevermore.
You, my Savior, I now adore.
Hope in heaven awaiting me,
Because You died at Calvary.
I have been forgiven,
And I’m bound for heaven.
Jesus set me free from
All my sin, I say.
I will praise Him always!
Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:
Overcame death, my vict’ry won!
Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!
I rejoice in His love for me.
I will walk in vict’ry!
My sin is but hist’ry!
I am free to please Him
With my life today.
I will love Him always!
Lord, I thank You for giving me
A new life bought at Calvary.
Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.
Tender mercies now flow within.
Lord, I am so thankful;
Through my Lord, I’m able
To sit at His table;
Fellowship with Him.
I will thank Him always!
I Urge You to Walk
An Original Work / January 30, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
