Monday, November 28, 2016

1 Peter 1:22

Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good. TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!  Jesu Jevu!
    22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: (KJV)
  (NIV)  22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.
    Okay, you have 'purified' - cleansed, made pure, a cleaning of yourself of the old - now being morally clean.  And how did you do this?
   By obeying the truth - so, what is the truth?  The truth, in my opinion, is not what I think; nor what I think should be done or reacted to in different cases, but the truth is the word of God, led by the Holy Spirit.  By having the word of God truly in me; studying and living the word something else comes out of this. - - - -
    UNFEIGNED LOVE!  What is unfeigned love?  This is a sincere, true from the heart LOVE.  Meaning a true God-like love for our brethren.  Not as we water love down today - I love my car; love my house; love my ............etc.  This is a materialistic love of something that cannot love back the way God loves.
  The true love of God comes out of us with sincerity and true meaning. Our brethren are our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We should love them with all our hearts.
   Okay, not gushy type of love, but true love.  Jesus truly loved his disciples, however, if they did wrong, he corrected them as needed, but with love.  He did not respond with: "you idiot, why don't you understand, are you stupid" - but he replied with sincere love, yet many times it made the other person uncomfortable.
  Jesus did refer to many in different ways to promote understanding. He called the Pharisees the “offspring of serpents,” Herod “a fox,” false teachers “wolves,” and unregenerate Gentiles “dogs.”  Yet he still had love for them.
   When we love others, truly love them, we can be honest.  This honesty may be uncomfortable, it may sting, and the person receiving it may respond with bitterness or denial; but as children of God, speaking to our brothers and sisters in Christ, it is important to be honest, albeit this may be uncomfortable for one or both parties involved. When Jesus told the disciples of his death and resurrection, Peter said no, this won't happen and Jesus'  said unto Peter, "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."
  Telling someone they need to give up drugs, alcohol, lose weight, talk without cursing, etc., may not be an easy conversation for either party, but, through the love of Jesus, and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, all will end up well. When? God knows.
   Thank you for taking this trip with me today. Love you all.
Soli Deo Gloria
Johnny

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