Love; so much has been written about it.  Think of all the love songs and also the songs that have been written to tell us about love.  All we need is love.  What the world needs now is love, sweet love.  And the many romance novels seem to sell very well, plus the many books written to teach us about love. 

Here are two facts about love.  God is Love.  Love is Righteousness.

The 10 Commandments can be summed up in one word: LOVE.  Real love never violates any of the 10 Commandments or any other patterns or ordinances of God.  No one can love without God loving through them.  That is, no one can be righteous without God doing His works through them.  Anything else is merely self-rightousness.  God's righteousness works this way: God leads and gives the vision of hope, we hear and receive God's faith, which gives us access to God's grace.  God's grace does God's work through us as we yield ourselves to Him.  Nothing else is righteousness ever. 

You may know some people who suppose that they are righteous.  For their sakes, let's raise the bar to where God sets it.  Scripture tells us, "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin."  Did you know that whatever thought that you think that did not originate with God is sin?  Every word that is spoken that didn't come from God is sin.  Every act that is done that was not the leading of God and that was not done fully under the power of the Holy Spirit is sin.  Every man-made order in the church is an abomination to God, just as much as falling short of the 10 Commandments.  Did you ever look at the order of government in the Church that is God's pattern?  "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin."  Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word (which is literally utterance in the Greek) of God.  God speaks.  Without that, no one can have faith.  The faith is God's faith--not human make-believe faith.  Faith gives access to grace.  Grace does the work.  Nothing else is righteousness ever.  Any human effort or control of this process defiles it.  Any spiritual pride or desire for recognition, even patting ourselves on our own backs, ruins God's work.  Our place is to simply submit to God's leading.  God is love/rightousness and He leads into love/righteousness.

(some caveats about hearing God's Voice)

People are hungry for love.  They want to get beyond the surface and have the genuine true love.  Since they seem somewhat frustrated in finding satisfaction, they turn to all types of substitutes for the genuine and real love.  This is the cause for addictions, the search for satisfaction in substitutes that cannot satisfy.  Many people go against everything they believe and hold dear just to be accepted and loved, and, in the end, they somehow miss the mark of what they were hoping for.  Some will try to put money, fame, fortune, success, power, prestige, possessions, or personal appearance in the place that was meant for love, and they find that this leads them to an empty and hollow existence.  Some people just shut down and stop trying. True love is vitally important to fulfillment.

Even though love is so important, how many people really understand that true love is spiritual and not emotional?  Oh, it may affect our emotions, but everything that is genuine will affect our emotions, and a lot of things that are not real will also affect our emotions.  You have to decide whether you want what is real and lasting or you want what is deceptive and temporary.  If you desire the genuine and forever kind of love, then you need to find out from God what love is and how love is related to such other powerful spiritual things as faith, hope, righteousness, and holiness.  You need to find out about the different kinds of love and what they are all about.

Before you can understand anything about true love, you must realize that all true, genuine, love comes from God.  The sad thing is that there are many definitions of love, and it is harder than ever to tell the difference between true love and the many things that are falsely called love.    

It seems as if not only love but all the important words have been re-defined.  Faith has been re-defined into something that is just plain silly.  Hope has been re-defined into, "I hope so" or "high hopes" rather than the hope that comes from God.  Love has also been re-defined into emotion, feelings, friendships, socialism, and many other things.  Misconceptions like these can stand in the way when we want to understand and partake of God's love.     

The many common misconceptions of the culture can keep us from entering into that deep, spiritual love, which affects our spiritual health.  A 2009 Barna poll shows that 81% of self-identified Christians endorse the notion that spiritual health means "trying hard to follow the rules described in the Bible."  This in spite of the fact that Paul told the Galatian church that, if they are trying to finish the work that God started by trying hard to follow the rules, then they are making the grace of God of no effect, Galatians 2:21.  Self-generated "love," like the kind of "love" that is generated by trying really hard to follow a set of rules, just frustrates God's free gift of love.  We may try to have both the supernatural love, agape love, that comes from God alone and also the kinds of love that we try to generate by self-effort.  So, we can have self-generated love or we can supernatural love, but the two are not compatible. Only one is true and authentic.    

All true, authentic, love comes from God.  Counterfeit love, on the other hand, can be had without God. 

The counterfeit love we hear most about is the kind of love that people "fall" into.  Misunderstanding this type of love is the cause of an awful lot of misery.  A man and woman "fall in love."  They experience what is basically an electro-chemical reaction, which lasts anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of years.  The feeling is euphoric and temporary.  For those who lack understanding, they say, "The feeling is gone."  Then they move on to their next relationship--or marriage--in hopes that this new relationship will last.  It will not.  The feeling is temporary. Lasting "feelings of love" must be cultivated.

The second most promoted form of counterfeit love is the kind of love that says, "Smile on your brother.  Everybody get together, and try to love one another right now," and "Put a little love in your heart."  This is the self-generated--without God--type of love.  Those who are deceived by this are proclaiming a commandment, which is the commandment that actually does come from God.  The trouble is that they are trying to have love without the God who is love.  They are trying to do what is impossible, have love without God.  This form of love often turns into a kind of love that is used to promote politicians and entertainers so they can get more money and power.  They want to be sincere, but they are being fooled by a deceptive lie.  Even some churches are promoting this lie in the form of a social gospel and often a political gospel--a gospel with human-generated righteousness and human-generated love.    

Four types of love are mentioned in the Bible.

All love comes from God.  There is no other source of true love.  Someone may ask, "Then what about unbelievers who love their spouses or love their children or love their friends?"  Four types of love are mentioned in the Bible. 

There is a Greek word, phileo, that means brotherly love.  This is the kind of love that is based on common interests, common goals, or personalities that just seem to get along well. 

Then, there is another Greek word, eros, for self-gratifying "love." Eros is focused on one's self and what it can get, often in terms of pleasure.  It cares nothing for others because it is too busy using others and taking advantage of them--although it may impersonate affection to get what it wants.  It often may even fool the person displaying eros into thinking that the eros is actually true love.  This type of "love" gives many people a very warped view of sex. 

The Greek word, storge, refers to the kind of love that occurs naturally between family members, which is a good gift from God.  It is that powerful love that sweeps over a mother when she gives birth.  It is the love between brothers and sisters.  God built natural affection into every person just as He put a conscience in every person.  The word, storge, is never used in the Bible, but astorgos, without natural affection, is mentioned twice.  Some are so evil that they even lack natural affection for members of their own family, their parents, spouse, siblings, or children.  This is not how they were created, however. 

The type of love that we are most concerned with is the supernatural love.  This is the love that God is.  This love goes beyond natural affection.  You were created to literally flow with this kind of love in mighty, flowing streams as you tap into the all-powerful Source of this love.  This love is available only through Christ who reconciles us to the almighty God who created all things.  The Greek word for the supernatural kind of love is agape.

Looking to God to understand love and centering on 1 Corinthians 13, we find that love is patient, kind, humble, polite, serving others, self-controlled, forgiving, good, and truth-loving.  Love is not envious, boastful nor desiring recognition nor proud, rude, self-seeking nor wanting to be served, quick-tempered, unforgiving, entertained by evil, nor does love seek out a lie.  This is the agape love, the love that is only available as it flows from the throne of God.  And this love is related to faith, true faith.    

Since love is so closely related to faith, the fact that faith has been re-defined will have a devastating effect on receiving the love that is of God.  Sometimes we use the word, faith, and we really mean a rationalized belief.  Sometimes we may refer to a religious organization and call it a faith.  Sometimes the word, faith, is used to refer to a doctrine.  Real, genuine, faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen, Hebrews 11:1.  Whatever is not of faith is sin, Romans 14:23.  Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word (literally, utterance) of God, Romans 10:17.  Looking into  1 Corinthians 13 in the fourth verse, it says, "charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up."  That is to say, love is humble; it doesn't brag; it has no pride.  Understanding just who you are in reality has a lot to do with understanding the exact function of faith, hope, grace, and love.  By the way, humility does not imply that you must beat yourself up and think of yourself as something less than God thinks of you.    

We are not to think of ourselves as less than we are either.

Since the world, the culture, has conditioned us to a kind of unbalanced concept of self-esteem, there is an apparent  a conflict between what we have been taught by the world, and what the Bible is saying.  From many sources, there has been tremendous emphasis on loving ourselves and having self-esteem.  We are told that we need to learn to love ourselves, but then the Bible says, in 2 Timothy 3:2, that in the last days there will be those who are lovers of themselves, and it is obvious from the context that this is not a good thing.  So how should we think of ourselves?  Brother Art Wagar said that we are not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought, Romans 12:3.  Then he went on to say that we are not to think of ourselves as less than we are either.  He explained that we are to think of ourselves according to the ministry that is in us, and he showed us that Romans 12:6 says that we have gifts differing according to the grace (free gift) of God.  We are to think of ourselves according to the grace that is in us, Christ in us the hope of glory.  Every Christian has and is a ministry, which is Christ in you.  We are to think of ourselves according to the gifts and ministry that was prophesied over us.  In other words, we are to think of ourselves according to reality.

We are not to know any person according to the flesh, 2 Corinthians 5:16.  We know each other after the ministry that is in each one.  And that is also how we need to know ourselves.  We know that we have flesh, but we are not that flesh.  That flesh is the old Adam and it must die.    

When we are born again, we become two people.  We were just the old, sinful man, but now, we also become the spiritual man, Christ in us, Colossians 1:27-29.  Christ dwells in us, Ephesians 3:17.  It would be impossible that Jesus would sin, 1 John 3:9.  Of course, we have a will that we can turn toward the seed of Christ who has been born within us or turn toward the sinful nature, the old man.  We not only have sin in our sinful nature, but we do sin, 1 John 1:10.  If we sin, we have an advocate, Jesus, who says, "I died for that sin--the price is paid."  So we are two people, the flesh and the spiritual man, Christ.  Christ and the flesh cannot be reconciled, and we must identify with one or the other.  We identify with Christ.

We have two natures that cannot coexist, and we must choose one that we will identify with.  We choose the Christ nature.  So much is this true that the apostle Paul said that, when he sins, it is not he who does it, but sin that dwells in him, Romans 7:16-20.  That almost sounds like a cop out, but the reality is that if we identify with our fleshly nature, we will then do the works of the fleshly nature.  Rather, we make no provision for the flesh, Romans 13:14.  We are to identify with the Christ who is in us.  The ministry that is within us is Christ.  He is the only one capable of doing good works, Galatians 2:20, 1 Corinthians 15:10.  This is how we ought to think of ourselves.  We are not the fleshly nature, Romans 7:17.  We are not the self.  We are ministries, the Christ in us, the called out people, the light of God, Ephesians 5:8.  We are born sons of God who still have sin dwelling in us.  We are not fleshly people who have Christ dwelling in us.

When we identify with Christ, we see Him as He is, and so we become like Him, 1 John 3:2.  God is love, 1 John 4:8 & 16.  When we see Him in our brother and sister, this actually opens the door for us to minister by the Spirit, 2 Corinthians 5:16.  When we see our brother and sister after the flesh, we tend to also see ourselves after the flesh.  We need the veil removed from our eyes.  As we all, with the veil removed from our eyes, see the glory of the Lord as if in a mirror, we are transfigured into that same image from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord, 2 Corinthians 3:18.

We are totally dependent on God to have love or to do any good work. 

Love is the fulfillment of the law, Romans 13:8-10.  Sin is breaking the law, 1 John 3:4.  Love is what righteousness is and has many facets as 1 Corinthians 13 says.  God is love.  We cannot have righteousness without having God.  Righteousness is by grace through faith.  We cannot have love without having God.  In fact, righteousness is a free gift from God, Romans 5:17.  The children of Israel made the mistake of trying to establish their own righteousness and so they missed out on this free gift of God's righteousness, which God was willing to give them at no cost, Romans 10:3.  Trying to put a little love in our hearts or to live by a set of rules is futile.

If we try to live by laws and rules, we will either live in self-condemnation or we will live in self-righteousness.  If we recognize the fullness of God's law, and we try to obey it by our own power or our own righteousness, then we will condemn ourselves because we will fall short.  Far more often, we see people who modify God's law into a set of rules that they can fulfill.  They lower the bar until they can fulfill their rules.  That always brings self-righteousness and pride.  God's law is clear.  Human beings cannot fulfill it without the process described in the Bible.  This is the righteousness, the love,  that is a free gift.  This is the righteousness that is by grace and through faith.  God does His works through us, and it is by the free gift, grace, and that grace is only available through faith.  What actually happens is that God loves through us.

We need to ask God to help us to let Him love through us.  For the person that I'm having trouble loving at home, at work, at church, Lord, help me to let You love this person through me.  We can do the works of God if we will believe in Him to the point that we let Him work through us.  When we try to generate our own love, it is like trying to generate our own good works.  In fact it is exactly the same thing.  

The reason that we must let God love through us has to do with the way righteousness and love operate, Romans 10:17.  God speaks to us.  We respond.  faith is born in us by the power of God.  Faith is the door to grace, Romans 5:2.  Grace flows in and does God's works through us, Romans 6:13.  Whatever is not of faith is sin, Romans 14:23.  In other words, anything that we do that God did not lead us into and anything in which God did not do the work through us is sin.  That narrow way is very narrow indeed, Matthew 7:13-14.     
So it is plain that we are totally dependent on God to have love or to do any good work. 

It is all about a relationship with God.

The only way to have more love is to have a closer relationship with God who is love.  The only way to have more faith is to walk more closely with God and to listen to Him, obey Him, when He speaks.  Jesus wants that close relationship and He communicates with us through the Bible, through our conscience, through His creation, through a word of knowledge, through another Christian, and in many other ways.  He is concerned about every part of our lives.  Our minds were never created to be disconnected from God, but we were designed to flow in communion with Him at all times.  When he speaks, faith comes.  Faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by a word, literally an utterance, of God, Romans 10:17.  Faith gives us access to grace, Romans 5:2.  Hebrews 12:27-29 tells us that it is through Grace that we are able to serve God.  Romans 5:18-21 tells us that grace reigns through righteousness.  This righteousness is a free gift from God.  That's what grace means, free gift.  It is a free gift, and if we will yield our hands, feet, ears, eyes, and mind to this righteousness of God, then God will do His work through us, Romans 6:13.  God will love through us.  So, when someone is unlovable, we can pray that God would help us to allow Him to love that unlovable person through us.

When I allow Christ to love through me... 

When I love and seek the Lord Jesus... 

When I listen to Him and yield myself to Him so that He can think, speak, and act through me... 

Then I can do all things through Christ who is my only strength.  

Without Him, I can do nothing.

Topic: By Grace Through Faith

1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. God drops faith into our hearts. We receive it or not. God lets us know His will. We obey or not. There are no gray...

1 John 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. What is the implication? Someone is going to try to deceive you. Has anyone told you that righteousness doesn\'t affect what you do? That would be deceptive. Whoever does righteousness is righteous. In no way does this mean that you earn your salvation. You do not earn your salvation. Salvation is...

Doing right things right by the right Spirit--this is what the Bible calls righteousness. Earthly wisdom sends you to the wrong source, but God\'s wisdom contains within it the necessary righteousness. Righteousness is by grace through faith. Here is how it works: God speaks His hope. We hear. We receive God\'s word and believe Him. Faith comes by hearing the word (utterance) of God. Faith gives us access to grace, that...

Down to earth righteousness is real and it has to do with the will of the person through whom the righteousness is done..  It is righteousness the flows from the Holy Spirit.  It is the flow of God\'s Own Love through the follower of Christ.  It is the fruit of the Spirit.  God speaks, leads.  The Christ follower hears and directs his or her will to follow.  God\'s Own Faith...

The only way to have more love is to have a closer relationship with God who is love. The only way to have more faith is to walk more closely with God and to listen to Him, obey Him, when He speaks. FREE on-line BOOK (a classic): The Real Faith, by Charles S. Price FREE on-line BOOK (a classic): The Meaning Of Faith, by Charles S. Price When God speaks, He doesn\'t...

God speaks and a spiritual substance of things hoped for comes, to which we can respond by yielding, making faith alive, or resisting, making faith dead. When we yield, the power of grace is able to do the works of God in us. Anything that doesn\'t happen in this way falls short of the glory of God. Righteousness is by grace through faith. (some caveats about hearing God\'s Voice) FREE on-line BOOK...

Some people think that they can make up anything they like and then call it faith--then they think that God has to honor that.  There is a saying about this: \"If you can conceive it and believe it, you can achieve it.\"  This is a lie.  Jesus is the author and finisher of any real faith, and faith comes by hearing, but only one type of hearing, hearing the word,...

Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed [Apokalupto: removal of a veil] from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. FREE on-line BOOK (a classic): The Real Faith, by Charles S. Price FREE on-line BOOK (a classic): The Meaning Of Faith, by Charles S. Price Note that the righteousness of God is unveiled. The veil is the flesh. God\'s righteousness is a free gift...

Romans 5:21 as sin hath reigned to death, even so might grace reign through righteousness to eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.  Righteousness is by grace through faith. Sin did reign and it did bring death.  There would be no reason for death if it were not for sin.  We would not see death if sin didn\'t exist.  If we allow sin to reign, then we have made grace of...

The Process Righteousness consists of God leading us and us following. The problem is that we have no capacity within ourselves to follow God. So God has a way to give us the free gift of righteousness. God\'s method is \"by grace through faith,\" and this is the process. God speaks. God has already prepared our heart to receive and hear. (some caveats about hearing God\'s Voice) When we hear, God\'s faith comes. God\'s faith gives...

Love is the fulfillment of the law, Romans 13:8-10.  Sin is breaking the law, 1  John 3:4.  Love is what righteousness is and has many facets as 1  Corinthians 13 says.  God is love.  We cannot have righteousness  without having God.  We cannot have love without having God.  In fact,  righteousness is a free gift from God, Romans 5:17.  Righteousness is by grace through faith.  The children of Israel made ...

We know only what God has told us about the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the tree of life, and the Garden of Eden. I don\'t think that we have any revelation on what happened to the tree itself. We do know that, ever since partaking of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, mankind has been plagued with an over-active sense of what is right and...

No.  All ways do not lead to God.  God has made one way by which mankind may approach to Him. Acts 4:12 says, \"Neither is there salvation in any other [speaking of Jesus]: for there\'s none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.\" Satan is offering every other way in hopes that foolish people will obey him once again and, so, come into greater...

Definition of Grace:   Grace, which is accessed only by faith, is the power of God by which He does righteousness through anyone who will yield to Him. Grace is perhaps one of the most misunderstood words, along with faith, in the entire Bible. And it is one of the most important. Some people define grace as forgiveness. Some people define grace as good manners. Some people define grace as mercy. None...

In Romans, we see an ongoing process beginning with being born again and continuing with a moment-by-moment relationship of God leading and faith coming (10:17), grace flowing (5:2), and God working (5:16-21 & 6:3).  That is the sequence of the relationship with Christ.  Our part is to yield to Him, not in theory but in reality.   FREE on-line BOOK (a classic): The Real Faith, by Charles S. Price FREE on-line...

Topic: Love

God loves you because that is His nature.  God is love.  1 John 4:16-20 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.  There...

Before you can understand anything about true love, you must realize that all true, genuine, love comes from God. The sad thing is that there are many definitions of love, and it is harder than ever to tell the difference between true love and the many things that are falsely called love. It seems as if not only love but all the important words have been re-defined. Satan has redefined...

The Way Is Very Narrow And The Gate Is Very Strait  Key Scripture:   whatever is not of supernatural belief and trust is sin. Romans 14:23b   Whoever does miss the mark (sin) also does lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness. * 1 John 3:4   Owe no one anything, but to love one another: for whoever loves another has fulfilled the law.  For this: You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal,...

All love comes from God. There is no other source of true love.  God is love.  Love fulfills the 10 Commandments and every other pattern and ordinance of God.  Fake love is not righteousness, but real love is righteousness.  Love always starts with God\'s leading followed by God\'s faith (supernatural belief) coming, which gives access to God\'s grace.  God\'s grace then flows in, thinking God\'s thoughts, speaking God\'s words, and...

The only way to have more love is to have a closer relationship with God who is love. The only way to have more faith is to walk more closely with God and to listen to Him, obey Him, when He speaks. FREE on-line BOOK (a classic): The Real Faith, by Charles S. Price FREE on-line BOOK (a classic): The Meaning Of Faith, by Charles S. Price When God speaks, He doesn\'t...

Love is the fulfillment of the law, Romans 13:8-10.  Sin is breaking the law, 1  John 3:4.  Love is what righteousness is and has many facets as 1  Corinthians 13 says.  God is love.  We cannot have righteousness  without having God.  We cannot have love without having God.  In fact,  righteousness is a free gift from God, Romans 5:17.  Righteousness is by grace through faith.  The children of Israel made ...

Real Love: God is Love.  Love is God.  Love is fulfillment of the Law.  Love is righteousness. Without God, there is no True love. Without True love, you do not know God. You must find True Love, the God Who is True  Love. True love, of course, does not conform to the false love or the gods of Hollywood.  You must find The True Love, Who is the creator of the universe....

Topic: Growing in Christ

God\'s process is that He leads and we submit to that leading. The Holy Spirit flows and we yield to that flowing. God\'s process is tied to God\'s pattern and leads us into God\'s pattern. God\'s process and pattern lead us into the life of the coming age. The processes of this present evil age lead into death, destruction, and misery. \"I would much rather say that every time you make...

Don\'t Miss The first step The Church can come into fullness. Fulfillment will happen God\'s way. Whoever will may come. There are no guarantees for the unfaithful, those not walking in the Spirit by grace through faith. God\'s pattern is more than a pattern. It is the very method of bringing us to salvation.   God restored all the following: Spiritual rebirth by grace through faith: (read article) Freedom from worldly constraints, forms, rituals, rules,...

Isn\'t it time to take ground and then hold ground? And what about finally taking the total victory? We are talking about doing right things right leading to ever-increasing stability of mind and action, and to final complete fulfillment. That is the promise of the Bible, and all of this is possible through Jesus Christ. There is no hope of fulfillment by any other way. Some Christians seem to be content with...

Doing right things right by the right Spirit--this is what the Bible calls righteousness. Earthly wisdom sends you to the wrong source, but God\'s wisdom contains within it the necessary righteousness. Righteousness is by grace through faith. Here is how it works: God speaks His hope. We hear. We receive God\'s word and believe Him. Faith comes by hearing the word (utterance) of God. Faith gives us access to grace, that...

It is human nature to desire to be significant and relevant. In a world where the church and religion have largely lost their relevance, we ask, \"Why?\" What happened that took away the relevance of the church? Actually, two things happened. First, Secularism, a virulent religion, has been on a campaign to marginalize the church for centuries, and they have been very successful in misrepresenting and marketing lies to Christians...

In our souls, if we hear and understand God\'s will and yield ourselves to do it, we are fighting a battle, taking ground away from Satan, the enemy of our souls. This is the fruit of the Spirit; it is righteousness, and it is a free gift from God. Spiritual maturity is holding ground, which is the same thing as faithfulness, stability, and holiness. Holding ground requires a surge of...

God uses an analogy of a garden in Scripture.  Jesus set us free from Satan's chains of slavery, but our minds are still full of impurities that are like roots of bitterness in the gardens of our souls.  These roots of bitterness can spring up like weeds to trouble us.  We all know that this is true.  Satan and worldly counselors are constantly trying to plant weed seeds into our...

No one can come to God except through Jesus Christ (John 3:14), and no one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws them (John 6:44-47).  The Father draws us, so we seek God.  Everyone who seeks God does find Him (Luke 11:9).  God speaks (Romans 10:17), and so does the enemy of our souls (John 8:44).  God speaks His hope into our heart.  God\'s hope sure.  It is the...

I used to think that salvation had nothing to do with works. I didn\'t realize that Jesus has really set us free from sin so we can do good works. We were unable to do good works, but, through Christ, we can now do good works. I didn\'t realize that Jesus gives us the free gift of righteousness, and the righteousness that Jesus gives is real. Then, I realized that...

If you allow the Spirit to lead you to Spiritual music, teaching, reading, meditation, and action, then you will find that the soil of your heart becomes increasingly open to God\'s good seed. The weeds will slowly die out. The fruit of the Spirit will spring up. God will create a clean heart in you. God gives good counsel. God has given wonderful counsel in the church. He speaks to us...

I heard a Christian say that she is trying to practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty. I realized that God isn\'t random or senseless. He doesn\'t need our ideas. He is full of ideas. He doesn\'t want us to use our imaginations to come up with a vision out of our own hearts. He wants us to see a heavenly vision that starts and ends with Him. With these...

There are two areas where God seems to particularly emphasize yielding our members to Him, these are the eyes and the tongues.  When we yield our eyes to God, we see things as they really are.  We begin to see Him as He really is.  If we look at what the original Greek means, 1 John 3:2 says that now, we are the immature children of God, and what we shall be...

When we think seriously of our individual relationship with Jesus, it might seem like this is such an individual walk that there is no need for the church.  That is not the case in any way.  The church is a vital part of the walk.  We quickly come to the point where the Holy Spirit puts the church on our hearts.  We can see the mighty opposition of all Satan's...

You could look at the Kingdom of God and say that it does cost you everything.  If that is how you view it, you must remember that everything that you have is worth nothing.   Everyone in heaven will have joy.  That will cost you your lack of joy.   Everyone in heaven will have peace.  That will cost you your lack of peace.   Everyone in heaven will have...

I would like to encourage you to move forward and follow God. There is much more available to you than you can imagine. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand--that means you can reach out and take hold of it. I\'m not saying that you should try to run ahead of God. I\'m saying that we all need to live according to the promises of Scripture, not according to the...

1 Corinthians 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made to us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: KJV 1 Corinthians 1:30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. NIV Some translations render this as a list of four distinct and equal items:...

Down to earth righteousness is real and it has to do with the will of the person through whom the righteousness is done..  It is righteousness the flows from the Holy Spirit.  It is the flow of God\'s Own Love through the follower of Christ.  It is the fruit of the Spirit.  God speaks, leads.  The Christ follower hears and directs his or her will to follow.  God\'s Own Faith...

What is real faith? What a question! The answer is simple, but it may be different from what you thought that faith was. Real faith is a supernatural belief and trust that comes from God. It is not human faith. Human faith is fake--not real. Human faith is a rationalized faith. It is a self-generated faith. Real faith is the faith of God and it must come from God. FREE on-line BOOK...

There is a tremendous volume of fakery that the world has to offer. On the other hand, the Kingdom of Heaven IS reality. This may seem to be an amazing statement, but it is true. This simple statement, \"The Kingdom of Heaven IS reality,\" can help you to have a deeper understanding of many things. As opposed to the Kingdom of Heaven, the political messages, movies, and much of...

The Holy Spirit The baptism of the Holy Spirit is real and available to you today. Speaking in tongues is Biblical. Scripture speaks of two distinct types of tongues. Liberalism rejects the power of the Holy Spirit Before you are born again, the Holy Spirit convicts you so that you know that you need salvation. When you are born again, your Spirit is cleansed to a great degree and the Holy...

Prayer works. Almost all atheists pray.  Why?  They don\'t want to miss out on the blessing.  Why would a Christian miss out on the benefits of praying? No man - I don\'t care how colossal his intellect - No man is greater than his prayer life.\" ~ Leonard Ravenhill James 4:2 \"You desire [or, lust for], and you do not have. You murder and are jealous and are not able to obtain....

God defines wisdom as something that comes from God Himself.  Wisdom is a gift of God to those who ask for it. (James 1:5-8) 1 Corinthians 1:30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. NIV   Wisdom:moving from taking ground to holding ground and finally moving on to total victory. Wisdom: going from doing right things right...

So what is the meaning of life? You were designed and made for better than what you have been experiencing. You probably know intuitively that we are living far below what God has planned for us. You were designed and made for glory, to have the power of the Spirit of God flowing through you. Your spirit was made to be joined to the Spirit of God. Your mind, your...

If God requires total holiness, how can a Christian live total holiness? Is it even possible? Yes, It is possible to live in total holiness, but watch out for this. Do not modify holiness to be something that you can do. Do not think that holiness is something that you can do. Holiness is something that God causes you to become. You just receive it or reject it. There is a...

Have you considered that your life has a purpose and God knows it and wants to reveal your purpose to you? Do you know your purpose in life?  Are you happy, fully satisfied and completely fulfilled... or do you want something more?  If you continue to think as you have always thought, then you will continue to get what you have always got.  Is it enough?  You can find out...

Topic: The Strait and Narrow Way

Sin: Acknowledging lies rather than Truth, so you step or slip off the narrow and restricted Way that leads to the genuine and absolute fullness of Life. Jesus: The Way, the Truth, and the Life.    Key Scripture: whatever is not of supernatural belief and trust is sin. Romans 14:23b Whoever does miss the mark (sin) also does lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness. * 1 John 3:4 Owe no one anything, but to love one another:...

Romans 14:23 tells us simply that anything that is not of faith is sin. Faith comes from God. (James 1:17) Faith comes by hearing the word of God. (Romans 10:17) It is possible to read the Bible and not hear the word of God. (2 Corinthians 3:14) We must remain connected to Christ. (John 15:5) We can become disconnected. (Colossians 2:19) FREE on-line BOOK (a classic): The Real Faith, by Charles...

Love is the fulfillment of the law, Romans 13:8-10.  Sin is breaking the law, 1  John 3:4.  Love is what righteousness is and has many facets as 1  Corinthians 13 says.  God is love.  We cannot have righteousness  without having God.  We cannot have love without having God.  In fact,  righteousness is a free gift from God, Romans 5:17.  Righteousness is by grace through faith.  The children of Israel made ...

The human mind: The human mind was never created to function outside of the anointing of God. God created the human mind to literally flow with the holy anointing oil of the Holy Spirit. The book of Proverbs tells us that all knowledge, wisdom, and understanding come from God. Given that reality, who would want to be unplugged? The Scripture is clear that we are three part beings. We have a spirit,...

We may have never realized just how very strait (constricted) (Luke 13:24) and narrow (Matthew 7:14) that way of righteousness is. It is very narrow and constricted. If God didn\'t tell us to think it, say it or do it, then it is sin. It is missing the mark. If God did tell us to do it and we get our flesh involved at all, to the extent that we...

The Way Is Very Narrow And The Gate Is Very Strait  Key Scripture:   whatever is not of supernatural belief and trust is sin. Romans 14:23b   Whoever does miss the mark (sin) also does lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness. * 1 John 3:4   Owe no one anything, but to love one another: for whoever loves another has fulfilled the law.  For this: You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal,...

This particular response happens more often in those who have been born again than it does in those who have not been born again. The seed, the gospel of the Kingdom of the Heavens, lands on the trampled path of the heart in a Christian. How did that path get trampled and hardened? Isn\'t a Christian\'s heart supposed to be soft toward God? The heart becomes hardened by repeatedly missing...

The narrow way is very narrow indeed.  In every moment, God directs, and we either yield to Him or resist Him. Matthew 7:13 & 14 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth to life, and few there...

Jesus said, \"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to me.\" John 12:32  This came to pass in North Carolina at the Camp.  Glory to God! We were drawn to Him in a miraculous way.  In First Corinthians Chapter one verse 10, we are admonished by the Apostle Paul to all speak the same thing, to have no divisions among us, and that...

Luke 13:24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say to you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.   Real righteousness is by grace through faith.  ...

Question: I have been a member of a denominational church for about 19 years. How can I introduce foundational truth about the Five Fold Gifting to the house and still be submitted to my Pastor? I am sold out for God and I do not want Him to say to that I did not do as he has commanded me to do. Now I know that my commission is great. I...