Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,969
“From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.’” (Matthew 16:21-23 NASB1995)
We live in a day and age when many people are telling Christians (or those who give lip service to Jesus only) that nothing bad will happen to them, that they will not have to suffer, that they will not have to die for their faith in Jesus Christ. And they are telling all who make professions of faith in Jesus Christ that they don’t have to repent of (die to, denounce) their sins, and that they don’t have to obey God, but that they will still have salvation from sin and eternal life in heaven with God because they prayed the prayer.
For they are listening to the voice of Satan, instead of the voice of God. They have in mind the interests of human flesh, and not the interests of God. Their minds are set on earthly things and not on the things of God and of his will and his purpose for our lives. For it is God’s will that we should die with Christ to sin, and be raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as slaves to God and to his righteousness, in walks of surrender to God in obedience to his commands in holy living.
It is God’s will that we should suffer in these bodies of ours for the sake of the name of Jesus, and for the sake of his gospel message, and for the sake of our testimonies of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah of Israel. It is in God’s perfect will that we should be persecuted and hated as Jesus was persecuted and hated by his enemies, who mainly were the Jews. And all Jews today who do not believe in Jesus Christ are still considered by God to be the enemies of God, to be the antichrist, the Bible says.
But we should not be surprised if it is many of those who profess the name of Jesus who are our greatest persecutors. For so many who profess Jesus as their Lord and Savior are still walking (living, in conduct) as enemies of the cross of Christ. For they have not died to their sins, and they are not making obedience to the Lord and to his commands their practice. And if we are following the Lord in obedience, and living the life he has for us to live, then we may be rejected by professing Christians who are living worldly.
But the “cheap grace gospel” that so many are being taught today does not teach that we must die to sin and obey God and that we will have to suffer and perhaps die for our testimonies for Christ and for his gospel. It teaches a friendlier and more comfortable message of salvation that makes God a genie in the sky there to grant our every request and to make life comfortable and enjoyable and fun for us. And it teaches that God will rapture us out of this earth while the rest of the world has to suffer.
So we need to be students of the Scriptures who study them in their context and who see that the Scriptures indeed insist that to be followers of Christ, and heaven bound, that we must die to sin, deny self, and follow Jesus in obedience to his commands, in practice. And we must suffer for the name of Jesus and be hated and rejected and cast aside as unwanted because we stand on the truth of God’s word, and because we are sharing the true gospel with the people of the world. And Satan hates it when we do that!
Suffering Trials and Persecutions
[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-39; Matt 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-19; John 15:1-21; John 16:33; John 17:14; Acts 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Eph 6:10-20; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]
Judged by Our Works, Salvation and Eternal Life
[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
Caution: This link may contain ads
Minds Set on Human Interests
An Original Work / June 27, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
We live in a day and age when many people are telling Christians (or those who give lip service to Jesus only) that nothing bad will happen to them, that they will not have to suffer, that they will not have to die for their faith in Jesus Christ. And they are telling all who make professions of faith in Jesus Christ that they don’t have to repent of (die to, denounce) their sins, and that they don’t have to obey God, but that they will still have salvation from sin and eternal life in heaven with God because they prayed the prayer.
For they are listening to the voice of Satan, instead of the voice of God. They have in mind the interests of human flesh, and not the interests of God. Their minds are set on earthly things and not on the things of God and of his will and his purpose for our lives. For it is God’s will that we should die with Christ to sin, and be raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as slaves to God and to his righteousness, in walks of surrender to God in obedience to his commands in holy living.
It is God’s will that we should suffer in these bodies of ours for the sake of the name of Jesus, and for the sake of his gospel message, and for the sake of our testimonies of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah of Israel. It is in God’s perfect will that we should be persecuted and hated as Jesus was persecuted and hated by his enemies, who mainly were the Jews. And all Jews today who do not believe in Jesus Christ are still considered by God to be the enemies of God, to be the antichrist, the Bible says.
But we should not be surprised if it is many of those who profess the name of Jesus who are our greatest persecutors. For so many who profess Jesus as their Lord and Savior are still walking (living, in conduct) as enemies of the cross of Christ. For they have not died to their sins, and they are not making obedience to the Lord and to his commands their practice. And if we are following the Lord in obedience, and living the life he has for us to live, then we may be rejected by professing Christians who are living worldly.
But the “cheap grace gospel” that so many are being taught today does not teach that we must die to sin and obey God and that we will have to suffer and perhaps die for our testimonies for Christ and for his gospel. It teaches a friendlier and more comfortable message of salvation that makes God a genie in the sky there to grant our every request and to make life comfortable and enjoyable and fun for us. And it teaches that God will rapture us out of this earth while the rest of the world has to suffer.
So we need to be students of the Scriptures who study them in their context and who see that the Scriptures indeed insist that to be followers of Christ, and heaven bound, that we must die to sin, deny self, and follow Jesus in obedience to his commands, in practice. And we must suffer for the name of Jesus and be hated and rejected and cast aside as unwanted because we stand on the truth of God’s word, and because we are sharing the true gospel with the people of the world. And Satan hates it when we do that!
Suffering Trials and Persecutions
[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-39; Matt 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-19; John 15:1-21; John 16:33; John 17:14; Acts 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Eph 6:10-20; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]
Judged by Our Works, Salvation and Eternal Life
[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
Caution: This link may contain ads
Minds Set on Human Interests
An Original Work / June 27, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
