Words: They Kill or They Give Life

Words: They Kill or They Give Life      Kelly Durant   Re: 8-24-25

2.All day long we speak words. An amazing physiological ability really! I recall working with my deaf son as a child and every day for several thousand days it was hard work to get him and myself to learn just a few words each day! An average toddler by age 3 can speak and arrange into sentences over 1,000 words. With 1,000 words you could speak a second language! What is it per day that people speak, 7,000 words for men, and 20,000 for women? That’s 7,300,00 per year! 

Words help us express our needs and feelings but there is a serious factor involved with the words that everyone speaks. Our words are drastically affecting our bodies and spirits, and bringing about eternal consequences: either heaviness or joy, either blessings or a judgment. Matthew 12:37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

3. First, I would like for you to understand a certain precept, God holds us to our words like a seal on a contract. Our words determine our vocal acceptance of salvation or our vocal rejection of it. How many of you have confessed with your words Jesus as your Savior? You are privileged. Romans 10: 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  The words we speak forge our eternal destiny! Confessing Jesus gives anyone who believes salvation from eternal death! God abides by your own words!

4. Before we get into a case study on people who speak vile words, let’s first lift up the power of positive words! Do you want to always feel encouraged? Psa. 100:4 I will enter into his gates with thanksgiving in my heart, I will enter into his courts with praise! It really works that you will always feel good when you praise the Lord out loud and lift up Jesus! Words are like the air we breathe, like it or not, you must take them in and give them out in order to stay alive! The question is how healthy is your air? 

Why do people love to listen to music? It is because certain words inspire the hearers and makes one want to live, love and fight for the right! (Unless it is evil violent music, of course) Jesus himself said, John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. And what is the word of life but God’s energy in you? 

5. It is The Holy Spirit which comforts you with words in your mind to make you feel love, joy, and peace like you are in heaven! Don’t you feel you empowered and invincible when you take in God’s word? I do! You gain indescribable strength! But like breathing, you must take it in constantly! Like the song, ‘This is the air I breathe’! However, there are many other times that you or I feel inadequate and stupid. But I have always found comfort in this verse… Psalm 119:130 The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. God’s word and the Holy Spirit will illuminate you and me to make us smarter than what you or I actually are! Do you believe it? God’s word can flow through us if we are pure in tune instruments.

Here is another precept: The more you fill up yourself with God’s word, the more inspired and empowered you will be! When I first started serving the Lord I would memorize a new scripture everyday just to keep my mind on the Lord. Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee. I got up to about 500 verses memorized and I recall many of them to this day and I have them in my mind ready to quote when the situation fits. So one way to keep your mind on the Lord and be encouraged all day long is to memorize God’s word repeating it in the morning, noon, and night. 

6. Another thing I have learned by studying God’s word is to always filter the outside words one is hearing through the Bible’s precepts and wisdom found within the Word of God. Are the words someone is speaking to you of truth? Are they making you mad, sad, or glad? If so, determine if it is a manipulation of your emotions or a justifiable truth that requires an action from you or from someone else. Ask yourself, what purpose does the person talking have in sharing these words? Again, you have the responsibility to define in your mind how the words that you hear are affecting you, for good or for evil. It is amazing how words will either torture you or comfort you! Words always seem to play over and over in your mind. Words either inspire you and heal you, or depress you and make you sick! 

Here is a good standard to filter words by, Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. We are commanded to sift through words; to throw away the trash or worthless words and just keep the good ones in our minds that are pure and worthy of praise. If something is not in essence glorifying God, then we erase it out of your mind. Forget who said something bad too!

7. Some of you, I am sadly conscience of, are forced, by your family or work situation, to interact with carnal, selfish, unsaved unloving people that all day long produce nothing but depressing toxic words. Everything coming out of their mouths seems to be a curse word, a ridicule, a complaint, a sarcasm, or a tale with a plot for their benefit. Being around some people, listening to all their bitterness can cause you to feel sick or depressed!

Haven’t you and I observed how some people in this Corps literally get sick due to unkind words from people close to them? And what is our role? To heal them with Jesus words and pray for them and speak healing words to them! We share the joy we have. Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

8. Another thing, consider how words will condemn a person’s soul to destruction, for example, for people who curse God. Matthew 12:31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. The Holy Spirit is an internal voice of conscience and people who practice the occult, or people who oppose the the presence of God when He eternally speaks to them that Jesus really is real, rejecting conviction, these people live condemned by their own choice. 

I have always thought that the phrase, “Go to hell” was one of the most terrible curse phrases ever used. Because the person speaking it for one, is not God to make that judgment call (God will never be mocked), and two, the person saying it must be truly evil to wish the flames of eternal fire on someone! Matthew 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. The law of curses is that person will eventually reap what they have sewn. 

9. Words, by God’s design, affect our body’s chemicals producing moods of joy or moods of depression. I recall as a young adult I was disturbed by the words of the Bible! You might say to me, excuse me? Why? Because I was living in sin and the Word was convicting me to change to give my life to the Lord and I didn’t want to give up my life of sin at that time! Here is one passage that disturbed me a lot. Luke 9:26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. But later when I gave up and surrendered all, and I started living to serve Jesus, these same words brought me great peace, that Jesus would not be ashamed of me because I was not ashamed of Him! Consider this: Words affect you according to how your heart is with God! This might explain why some people love certain words, sermons, or messages and others don’t like them!

10. Here is another factor on words, we should seek words that bring us wisdom. Proverbs 10:19 In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise. Proverbs 4:5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. 

If you are not full of God’s life giving words having your goals on obeying God to gain rewards in heaven and saving others while here on earth, then you are as an open house vulnerable for anything stray to come in. Not being full of God’s words of wisdom means you will be occupied and taken over easily (deceived) by any ones words. People fall into traps because they seek to gratify their own selfish ambitions.  So how can you protect yourself from deceitful words then? 

11. Focus in on, pray over, and analyze the words that others speak to you. If a person sincerely says, “Oh, you look good today”, don’t you feel good inside? People reap what they sew. People who always say nice things to others also usually get nice things said back to them, have you noticed that? Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. Literally words can heal! This is what prayer is all about, you are proclaiming God’s words of promises for the healing of your (or someone else’s) body or spirit!

Do a research on positive words. You will find hundreds of books on the powerful effects of positive words. Many self-help books are just a basic guide to getting you to speak positively so you will be more successful, and it actually works! For example, a person that usually would say, “I am too old to learn anything”, would seem to live out just that, an inability to learn. But if the person says to their self, “I can learn anything I want because God will help me”, this person gets positive results! It is a law of nature to some degree that you pronounce your own success or fate! Of course your will has to line up with God’s will or it will not work.

12. However, be careful with the non-Biblical optimistic doctrines of speaking into existence your desires. You cannot just say, “I will be rich and I will be a millionaire”, and expect it to happen by magic. God’s will for your life may not be that you become rich but maybe He would prefer you to be rich in souls you would win for Jesus! God is interested in what will last for an eternity and that which is worth a lot more than our desires!

Here is the whole duty of a Christian concerning our words; the words of this verse affected my mind and changed my life. Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.  If you can pray this and practice it you will live blessed!

13. Proverbs 18:8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. Today we are shocked how many people speak lies and false stories. A few years ago it seemed that we could recognize foolish talk, slander, or bad words at our jobs, or with in our families. Let’s take a typical scenario. Maria is a hard worker and does her job well. But Maria, being one of the prettiest women on the job as the cashier seems to attract all the young men to go to her to register to place their order. What happens? The usual typical reaction is she is getting stories told about her behind her back by the other women workers. Mean things get said about her, things like, “Oh, she is such a flirt (or worse)”. In society, people a few years ago, folks would take this type of talk for granted that it was not true observing the comments were coming from a jealous person. 

However, what has changed today is that the people are not verifying the source of the spoken words they hear. They just hear, swallow and repeat. People today are dangerously vulnerable to being deceived since truth is less valued than something interesting like a scandal. Over 90 years ago when Hitler said to kill all the Jews because they were the reason for their economic depression and poverty, everyone believed him!? And they followed through doing just that, killing innocent people. Today we observe that a majority of people live without God’s wisdom, truth, and knowledge, so this is why they just accept any misinformation of words from anyone. So what can we do? Pray for discernment!

Time reveals the evil or truth of words. You and I must resist the temptation to speak on a matter until we know more about it. Ecclesiastes 5:2Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. Proverbs 21:23 Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.

14. In life each of us experience thousands of words every day and we are being constantly tried and tested and these words attribute to our blessings or to our condemnation. Each of us must choose our words, the ones we will hear, and the ones we will speak. Choose to hear the positive ones from God’s word! You will be happy and encouraged and powerful. 

Choose to always praise God and share kind words to others! Choose also to resist toxic words that will make you sick through people who insult God and others. Don’t forget words come to us by personal conversations, by phone, by radio, by TV, by computer, by and newsprint. We choose moment by moment what we will hear, and what we will repeat. Proverbs 13:3 He that keeps his mouth keeps his life: but he that opens wide his lips shall have destruction.

Concerning words: measure them by God’s word! Investigate the source, filter the content, and discern the motives behind them. You cannot control the words of others but you can control your words! Pray to gain wisdom! Repeat that which builds God’s kingdom of love, peace, and joy! Words in the end are power, for good or for evil! How many words do you use a day to pray and to bring about healing and good? 

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Broken-ness: It’s Inevitable, But It Brings Us Closer to God

Broken-ness: It’s Inevitable, But It Brings Us Closer to God              Kelly Durant 

Psalm 119: 66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments. 67 Before I was afflicted, I went astray: but now have I kept thy word. Matthew 5: 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

2. One thing that has always bothered me about life was since I was a kid I noticed that when something breaks, it becomes worthless and trash, and that special thing is lost, if not able to be repaired, and it is gone from your hands into oblivion! When I was about 6, I recall I got an electric train for Christmas, and I was so excited. I watched it go in circles for hours, but that only lasted for one day! The instructions were to unplug the transformer when not in use and we forgot to do that, so it burnt up! The smell of the burnt wires, and the dead, once alive train, was gone. I was devastated!

All things break overtime, right? It is nice when you get a new toy, tool, some new shoes, but despite how much you like your new acquisition, it is bound and condemned to get old, wear out, and become trash, and be gone forever except for existing in your memory.

Because broken-ness and losses of all kinds hurts, few of us want to dwell on this subject. It really hurts when we lose a friend who dies. Notice that our own God created our psyche to be designed to make us forget our pain and bad moments over time. Our losses and humiliations of never having something forever gets buried deep inside; but those memories are there, like a scar that few ever get to see. 

3. There are many ways we as ordinary people respond to our pain. Often a loss, a breaking event, or a trauma totally reshapes our being and causes us to become someone very different from whom we once were.  We meet and observe all different kinds of people every day, all choosing to live in reaction to their past experiences of both good and bad.

When a person is overly aggressive, overly shy, or extreme in some way, we often conclude they are that way because something happened to them to make them become that way. Some people have gotten so broken in life that they just give up, they no longer care how they look, no longer dream to accomplish something inspiring, and it is as if they have died and are still walking around like a confused zombie. How sad, right?

But broken hearts, dulled brains, and sad indifferent cold personalities, mad at the world, are not in God’s plan for humanity! The plan to see us broken, suffering in pain, sick, and confused is what Satan wants for us! This is why Satan hates Jesus so much, because Jesus brings healing, restoration, and a new life out of the brokenness. He takes us like a dried-up dead looking seed, not good for anything, and waters with His wonderful Words of life and makes us spring back into life to produce good fruit! 

4. What we must learn through our brokenness, like it or not, is humility. People that have had losses, or been broken, intimidated, abused, and deeply hurt can respond in 2 ways, either they forgive, and God heals them, or they decide they want to be the abuser, not the abused, so that they have the dominion but then they repeat the painful sins done on them! 

What a sick evil abuse it is when a person who knows personally about a deep pain, that instead of wanting that for no one ever, they, in response, repeat the evil that they experienced on another. That is Satan’s demons getting passed from one victim to another! 

Just living life’s breaking realities will push you and me towards God for comfort, or these pains will leave us permanently wounded in a world where no love or sympathy is our daily bread, and prideful selfishness takes over.  Over time you and I either start getting more full of Jesus, or more full of ourselves, and people full of themselves, prideful like Satan is, are very destructive dangerous personalities! Their boastful stories are boring, and they do not see how others see them as they are blind to their sin, shamefulness, and pitifulness.

5. Here are some verses that spoke to me when I was lost in the world, surrounded by other lost souls. When I read Scripture, it spoke to me…It penetrated deep!

James 1: 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Like personalities in the movies, and by what I observed in people around me, I thought I needed to display myself with a tough façade, I needed to show myself to the world as strong, in need of no one, and arrogant so no one messes with me. But these verses convicted me to change! I was broken inside already, like most everyone when young, but to read I needed to be broken even more, that I should weep and be humble, well, I concluded the sooner I do this the better it will be for me!  I did shed tears when I prayed and sought God! True repentance is emotional, when God touches you!

6. Think of this, God’s heart is very broken over all the horrific sins in this world, and over our lack of love for Him, our creator, and the lack of love for each other. He needs us to be remade in His image, humble as Jesus taught us, desperate to share His salvation to this dying world that Satan is manipulating. Getting to know God’s heart will break yours!

There is a huge difference between humbling yourself, in giving your brokenness to God, and in getting humbled, intimidated, or broken by another. We must choose to let go of the past, to let the Lord do a new thing in our lives. God is in the business of taking broken lives and giving them a rebirth, but we must choose to escape the ways of the world and reset.

Jesus said we must deny ourselves, in other words leave behind all the pain, brokenness and baggage of who you think you are, and to take up the cross and follow Him. 

Luke 9 23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. 25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? 26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.

7. The way of Satan’s world is totally opposite of Jesus way! Broken people without Jesus usually seek positions of power; power is an obsession as it brings them pride and the feeling that they are in control despite their weakness. But it is for nothing! Once their sins are exposed, no one respects them anymore, they become hated and despised! Like Satan, they want adoration and worship, but they are not worthy of it lacking holiness and love! 

Satan knows how to break and hurt a person beyond repair. Jesus can heal but the fight to convert over to God’s side is real as demons do not leave quietly! In the secret societies they perform humiliation rituals on their unsuspecting initiates. The elites and ‘principalities’ of this world cruelly manipulate, by Satan’s design, their recruits by abusive power plays. Broken people become vulnerable for demons to take over.

It has been exposed of late that all high-level politicians, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs, and Satanic cult members get a humiliation ritual done to them. Their handlers make them participate in shameful acts such as making porn, consuming drugs, performing blood rituals, and worse! This creates a trauma from which it is very difficult to recover from! People become mentally insane puppets in their hands. Imagine the stupidity of agreeing to sell your soul to the devil for fame and fortune! How tragic! It leads to severe trauma, demon possession and those who want to escape it either go crazy or die (killed) young!

8. In conclusion, each one of us may have a good reason to justifiably be angry over being broken, over being abused, over being disillusioned of what one expected in life, but it did not happen. I have discovered in my years that almost every family is divided, almost every person hides their pain, and most every person will confess they feel lonely, rejected, and unloved! There are always hidden chapters no one wants anyone to know about!

Jesus came to love and heal us; He understands us as He Himself was broken! Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

If we have lost possessions, or family, been rejected and are full of pain and sorrow, those things are just temporary anyway, so we must learn to give them up for The Lord. Doing God’s work is what brings togetherness and undoes brokenness. Matthew 19:29 And everyone that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

9. By age 20 I saw through the world, how Satan has all the people here crazy insane over not being loved, over being rejected and broken. Most people have no one to turn to when they have an accident, surgery, or suffer a loss, like the loss of a loved one. That’s why as Christians we must be different from the people programed by the lies of the non-values of this world.

John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. In the end, He is the Potter, and we are the clay!

Are you broken? Do you need healing? Most of us are wounded healers by God’s grace! Do your family and friends let you down? Gain a new family in Christ by being a brother or sister to the hurting! Jesus was broken, everyone is, so let His love fill all the holes in your life!

Encourgement: A Study in the Book of Acts

Encourgement: A Study in the Book of Acts   by Major Kelly Durant                                         

1-Acts 4:36, Acts 9:31, Acts 11:23-24, Acts 15:32 Acts 16: Acts 18:27, Acts 20:2, and Acts 28:15.

2-How many of you have heard a quote, ‘It is better a hand on the shoulder, than a (hand) swat on the rear?’ It’s so true! We all need encouragement often! Do you not agree? In life everyone needs correction and instruction, but my favorite is way to give it is through encouragement! Encouragement is a need for each of us all the time! It is an act of divine love!

Some of you have a difficult life from abusive people around you. Some people are more easily depressed than others. Some people are living in very difficult situations. The reality is we all need someone to lift us up from time to time!

In life the average person will suffer discouragement over and over. People live with family problems, broken relationships, health issues, financial worries, corruption in their communities, and just random chaos upsetting our daily lives!  

3-But we have the promises of God from the Holy Scriptures that we are always going to come out alright!  As in Psalm 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.   And Jesus said, in John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

These are a few causes of sadness and discouragement.  I personally think what brings about one of the worst discouragements in our lives a feeling of being unloved and unwanted. Sometimes this is due to circumstances out of our control. 

Sometimes our feelings are not real but distorted imaginations.  Often our minds often deceive us, and Satan, our enemy, plants horrible thoughts in our heads. 

Mother Teresa stated, “The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved”.  I think everyone would confirm that our most important job in life is to love God and others and to encourage others in word and with effective deeds of kindness!

4-And then some people provoke upon their selves their own discouragement.  Sad but true, some people are not very loved because they themselves do not give love. Everyone reaps what they sew, or do not sew, in this life and eternally.

No matter what your situation is, it is important to refresh our minds at how to obtain encouragement. Repeatedly in the book of Acts we read that the disciples got encouragement. God wants Christians to be full of faith, hope, and love and these all bring encouragement!  

Do you like to encourage others? Do you sew it so you can reap it?

5-Consider this, how would you like to have as your name, Encourager? Acts 4:36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”, in modern English),(Other version: Son of consolation).

Imagine, if someone were to say, the son of encouragement will come to my house to visit, do you want to meet him?  Barnabas was true to his name to console others.  He was one of the first Jewish disciples that was considered to be a saint by the old church.

His name was Joses (Joseph), but he was led to change his name to Barnabas. Recall as well Saul became Paul, and many Christians changed their names to signify their mission in life! Maybe we should change the names of some of you here! I have known a few ladies with the name Dolores (which means “pains”) that I wish I could be renamed Joy!

If Barnabas had the job of encouraging, and he was one of the most important figures travelling with Paul, then I deduct the message we should learn here is that we must develop more encouragers amongst ourselves!

Where does our encouragement from God come from? Through the Holy Spirit!

6-Acts 9:31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

Here in our city, we have observed ourselves in this phase as they were, in a time of strength.  We have enjoyed a growth phase in the past, but this blessing is only effective if each person here is being sensitive living a pure obedient Christian life which attracts the Holy Spirit! It also attracts others from the world to join us to get relief from their suffering. Jesus stated clearly that the Holy Spirit is the Comforter. 

John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

When you share comfort and encouragement you are being a channel for the Holy Spirit to work in you!

7-Acts 11: 22 Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. 23 Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. 24 For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.

So now consider this, Barnabas encouraged others with the Holy Spirit, and many people believed on the Lord due to his way of being, by his loving spirit, and for his concern for others. His influence was like a fire that spread and warmed many hearts to do the same! Let’s keep this fire burning!

This brings each of us to a challenge, ask yourself: How many people have you encouraged in your lifetime to be closer to the Lord? Can you name the person that has encouraged you in your past as well?

The word says in Matthew 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

8-Let’s continue on in Acts 15:32 Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers.

Here we have an example of 2 more brothers who were very good at encouraging others. And a prophet, or one representing God, is one who encourages through prayer and study of the word, and the results bring strength and power in the spirit!

How encouraging are you? How loving are you? How full of the Holy Spirit are you? When people think of you, do they think you are full of comfort, consolation, and encouragement? Or are others indifferent to you because you are indifferent?

9-Acts 16:40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.

What is the message here? Whenever you have a testimony you must share it to encourage others! Paul and Silas had a big testimony, that God opened the prison doors for them!

These brothers went to a house for a visit, but what about those that are too far away to visit? What can we do?

All of us can encourage friends that are far away by writing to them sharing  uplifting words to continue to do good for the Lord! In today’s world be can call them as well! We find more visitation in the next verse, first a letter, then a visit.

10-Acts 18:27 When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.

Paul, Barnabas and many like Apollos seemed to get around a lot to encourage others. 

Acts 20:2 He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece,

Even when you are in a hard situation you can still be uplifting. Paul was shipwrecked and in a survival situation but he was always positive.  Look in:

11-Acts 27: 34 Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you.35 And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat. 36 Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat.

Notice how Paul encouraged them that nothing bad would happen to them because God was with them in their journey on the ship. Do you do that? Do you tell others things will come out good because God is with you? The people were made very happy by these words! And his encouragement was not a long exhortation but a short one. Encouragement doesn’t have to be a long speech; it can be just a few words as well.

12-Acts 28:15The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged.

What we learn from this verse is when a Christian brother or sister is close by we should get excited and encouraged we should go visit them as it will bring us up in spirits. If they come near, we should also go to see them.

Soon we will get a visit from our leaders, and we will all travel and it will encourage us in the spirit! Encouragement comes from hearing the word through someone who is mature in the spirit. Leaders must travel to inspire others!

13-What has the Book of Acts taught us about encouragement today?

1-Encouragement comes from people who take up the challenge. Ask yourself, am I willing to be a Barnabas to have the ministry of encouragement?

2-Encouragement comes from the Holy Spirit and all we have to do is ask for it. Ask yourself, do I regularly ask for the Holy Spirit to be close to me?

3-The influence of one encourager spreads and causes many others to become encouragers as well.  Ask yourself how many people have I influenced in my life?

4-We must share testimonies and positive words of God’s works to bring encouragement to others. Ask yourself, when have I shared a testimony?

5-Visitation from others brings encouragement. Ask yourself, when was the last time I traveled to get encouragement from someone mature in the faith? Or to give it?

Remember love is encouragement and it is like a cologne, or perfume, and you cannot put some on someone else without getting some on yourself!

Be encouraged and encourage others from this day forward! Prayer…

The Increasing Poverty, What to Do?

The Increasing Poverty, What to Do?                                          By Kelly Durant 

Proverbs 19:1 Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.Matthew 26:11 “For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always”.

 

2. I believe I have already told you this story about a rich man that decided to help a homeless man. He thought if he cleaned him up, fed him and gave him a chance for a job so his life would turn around. He brought him home, chose some fine clothes for him and said, “Go ahead, take a shower and then come to dinner.” The man came to dinner and ate a big steak and during the meal the rich man noticed that there was still that smell of rank body odor. He asked the man, “You did enjoy the shower, right?” He replied, “Yes.” Then he asked the homeless man, “What did you do with your old clothes?” He then replied, “Oh thank you for the new suit but I thought it would be a pity to throw away my old clothes so I put them on under this new suit!” 

 

Well, this is a perfect illustration of how hard it is to bring about a mental change in the lives of those that are accustomed to living poor! Selfishness and possessiveness is the same with the rich or the poor, of not letting go when needed! I have been reading many articles on poverty lately as it has always concerned me how to help people live a life more in peace, blessed and not so stressed about money and the things in life. Currently there is a 49% or more group of people in the U.S. that get financial aid. For every one person working, one is paying higher taxes to cover for the poverty or welfare of the other one not working! Take note that when 70% of the population went to church in the 70’s, there was a lot fewer people in poverty (less than 12%), so the decline in the material wealth is connected with the decline of the spiritual and mental. I think all of us as Christians want to help others to live more blessed in life, and Christians in general usually ascend to a higher wealth class than others just from living right and helping! 

 

The dynamic of too many poor has created a dangerous resentment in our society, and making it worse poverty is politicized to make people believe that their poverty is a product of a certain political party, or due to racism, sexism, and whatever “ism” you want to label. The blame of poverty seems to never fall back on the person themselves being responsible for their own actions, so what is to blame? According to most research groups the individual carries the largest part of the blame for their own rich or poor condition but it is a hard fact that the governing laws and community conditions do create the stifling box within which the person has to function.  Many laws and taxes are designed to keep the populus poor.  

 

3. So people wonder about Jesus words; what did He mean by this statement… Matthew 26:11 “For ye have the poor always with you; (but me ye have not always)”. Does this imply there will never be a cure the poverty problem?  The poor we still have with us, about 5 billion! But Jesus was not cruelly putting it within a context of a loving God loving to see people in suffering and poverty, but rather He was emphasizing the reign of evil systems and that of personal responsibility. It is a human provoked condition that due to the sin in this world is not going away fast enough. God loves the poor and they have a place in heaven; Jesus described beggar Lazarus having had dogs lick his sores as going on to rest with Father Abraham whereas the rich man who gave him crumbs to eat on earth went on to hell. Luke 16:19-26.

 

The situation has always been this: people, not God, create poverty! Always when we explore issues we must include all other examples, and where do we find another example of Jesus referring to someone destitute and poor? With the prodigal son! What provoked his poverty? He was rich so what caused him to lose it all? One simple answer, sin! All the partying, all the rebellion, all the wastefulness drove him to eating the same food as the pigs! His fault, right? 

 

Some poverty is unavoidable though being provoked by outside conditions and it is not always a result of the direct action of the person: these other impoverishing disasters may include war, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, a terminal sickness, or a corrupt anti-god government or mafia rule exploiting the local people, etc.  

 

4, So, what’s your attitude towards the poor? Do you judge all the poor as guilty sinners unworthy of your attention because they should be responsible and pay for their own sins? Hatred is described in Proverbs 14:20 “The poor is hated even of his own neighbor: but the rich hath many friends”. Many people I have met will never help the poor not because of their race but rather because of their own personal issues of pride. People that grew up around poverty often avoid the poor because the poor remind them of their past of which they are embarrassed! Many people avoid their families when they have money! We all see that!

 

Prosperous arrogant indifferent people will pay a big price for being uncompassionate!  Warn others of this verse… Proverbs 21:13 “Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.” All Christians have the mission to help others in their need despite their sins or what opinion exists of the person. We really will never know the whole story of their life and only God is the judge! An unforeseen event could happen to you or to anyone of us one day! So ‘judge not, so you be not judged’, calamity could happen to you.

 

So here are some of the factors identified that are producing poverty covered so far: 

 

A. We are born in a broken world with broken mentalities so poverty continues, 

B. it is brought on by individuals who live in sinful wasteful lifestyles, 

C. It continues not sufficiently alleviated due to the uncompassionate and judgmental people, 

D. It is brought on by major disasters or crisis, 

E. Plus it may be the product of the greed or political agendas of the governing authorities.  

 

5. These are a few of the many factors that could explain why the ever increasing poverty is all around us in every city. So how are we as loving compassionate Christians going to deal with the issues involving poverty?  What can you do as an individual to help another individual who is hurting? Well, first start with our own self and attitude and actions. Proverbs 11:24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. Generous people always seem to have friends as we reap what we sew.

 

Are you sufficiently empathetic to those suffering around you? How do we keep the commandment above all commandments?   Luke 10:27 And he answering said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” If all people started caring for those around them with a love like this then there would be a revolution and it would solve all the world’s problems, financially and spiritually! It is always more blessed to give than to receive! 

 

6. Let’s deal with each issue one by one. The first issue is the one of a mentality stuck in the rut of poverty, an enslaving attitude of defeat and discouragement that one will never escape out of the underclass. But faith in God is the solution to everything! Jesus brings a change of heart, then a renovation of the mind and attitude. We count on the washing and regeneration of the Holy Spirit to bring about all the needed changes! It is a process to learn to prosper in all ways!

 

People who claim God’s promises get answers! Here is a good one…Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Good success and prosperity comes from obeying God! The mental hurdle to overcome is to believe that God wants you living blessed!

 

7. The next issue, how can we deal with people who become poor due to their lifestyle of sin? What are the consequences provoked by personal irresponsibility? Laziness can sure provoke a lack of funds! Poverty comes to those involved in a life of addiction to drugs or alcohol or gambling. Poverty comes from credit abuse with an addiction to materialism buying what one cannot afford. Sin always involves selfishness which produces wastefulness by not applying the money where it should go. I have known of cases where a person gets an expensive tattoo spending the rent money thinking someone else should pay for it, and some people get plastic surgery just for pride and vanity while disregarding the impending needs of the home and kids! A lot of poverty exists because people have uncontrollable selfish appetites for a sin that consumes away most all of their personal resources leaving nothing for basic needs. 

 

Another sin preventing God’s blessings could be that of living in a lifestyle of a perverted sin that offends God. People may try to justify that their sin that it is legal by man’s law but that does not make it right with God! Also, people who verbally and physically abuse their mates and children invite a curse on their own selves as well.  Living cursed without God’s blessing brings on the consequences of poverty and a punishment. The solution is to reverse everything about one’s life in repentance with a total change to a blessed life by clean living and a holy lifestyle!

 

When thinking of those disobedient and degrading into poverty we are reminded of the Israelites in Egypt. First, Abraham and his family of 11 escaped famine and poverty to the land of prosperity, Egypt. Take note of this interesting factor; to escape poverty from a disaster you may be forced to relocate! Joseph, Abraham’s son thought to be dead, had become a prince and he saved the family and provided for them and they started out rich again. But over time, over several hundreds of years their descendants became poor due to their sin and slavery under the Egyptians until God called Moses to lead them to the rich Promised Land. Rich to poor and back again is the cycle of families and people depending on how they are obeying or disobeying God!  

 

8. Now let’s explore compassion for the poor. Historically around the world, what has been the means of support for a poor, blind, or disabled person? Begging! In most all societies beggars are often able to survive, even though they live poor, by the coins that compassionate people throw in their cups. The more developed Western Christian societies however took it a step further and they created foundations and non-profits to provide a better life for those less fortunate. Proverbs 11:25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. The USA’s people, historically, have been an example of generosity. 

 

The United States has produced the most generous, compassionate, giving people on earth! According to the NCCS Table Wizard, there are currently over 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the United States! That is 335 billion dollars helping others every year! (The sad contrast is our government wastes an estimated 600 billion dollars per year!) Other countries with a population of far fewer compassionate Christians respectively have far fewer organizations serving those suffering. In all South America the orphanages, the blind schools, The Salvation Army, and most charities depend on money from the U.S. or abroad to subsidize their operations! I have been to 100 hundred of these places and I know what they need!

 

So basically compassionate people, being mostly prosperous Christians in the United States, have been the ones to sustain a bulk of all of the help to the poor in the world! But still in the USA there are evil cities that have a record of not being very compassionate in their giving and you can google that and notice that they are the cities with the worst sin issues. Sadly, in general more and more people are becoming less giving and less compassionate as faith declines. Some people think it is the government’s job to provide for the poor but if up to 90% of the money is getting wasted in administration fees, not the cause, why continue? Doesn’t the Government pay billions of dollars in bonuses to their own of their own political party in these jobs in the name of helping the poor? Has any government lately proven to be effective being clean from corruption? No! The tax payers should voice that the non-profits should run all the social services since government waste is at an all-time high! It’s in the $ trillions!  

 

9. Instant poverty takes over after a disaster or any kind! I have seen this dozens of times and served near thousands of homes reduced to rubble after a tornado, flood, or some type of disaster. Imagine your whole life’s work being lost in only 10 minutes or in just a few hours! Then the distressed person has to find a shelter to live in a few weeks and start all over! Also, earthquakes, fires, a theft, and civil unrest will cause all things to be lost. People always wonder about why God let’s things happen in certain places to certain people and we will not know why until we are in heaven. There is always a purpose, but in the meantime shouldn’t we all serve in the Salvation Army (or with somebody) to alleviate the suffering when it happens? 

 

What many of us may forget to factor in are life changing crisis such as a divorce, a death, or a terrible illness as these can also provoke a personal disaster that reduces one to poverty.  The loss of a house mortgage or a job loss always brings about further problems. Many people have gone through personal disasters and these can provoke a lethargic depression and more complications taking one away from normal productive duties reducing income.

 

So in the end, everyone seems to go through some type of trial in life similar to that of Job in the Bible. Trails in this fallen, broken world full of sin are inevitable! God wants us to strengthen our faith and look to Him.  1 Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:  In the end God wants us healthy, wealthy, and wise! For the righteous, like Job, God does restore what gets lost after the passing of the test!

 

10. And on the last point, this world is filled with devils and many empires of evil oppressing all people in every land! Ecclesiastes 5:8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they. God will one day judge all the oppressors of the poor, who have made their selves powerful and rich from exploiting them!  

 

The systems of today are set up for the rich to get richer and the poor poorer no matter the name of the system “-ism”. This has been happening even more over the past century in all countries. Excessive taxation, fines, extortions, bribes, unfair wages, and oppressions of all kinds plague all government systems! How sad for the ones who get rich as they lose it all when they die!  Luke 18:24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God”! Instead of helping the poor as Jesus wanted this rich young ruler to do, he selfishly hoarded it only to lose it and heaven in the end!

 

There is no point in mentioning all the evil systems in this country as everyone is aware of them, the drug trade, sex trade, the exploitation of labor, pornography, gambling, mafia extortions, and on and on. The government is involved in evil trades as well such as arms sales, targeted taxations, etc, and all of these added together is money equal to trillions! God knows Christians denounce all of these evil practices which shift money away from the poor inducing more poverty and this is why they get persecuted and silenced! Christians are hated for being honest, moral, and bold to speak up! Corrupt unrepentant sinners hate truth and light because it slows or stops their evil agendas!

 

11. So how are we to live in this world? Happiness is an attitude! Just for the fact we are together here means you have connections and a Christian family that love you and will help you when in need! Some poor precious people I have known in Bolivia and elsewhere seem to laugh more and be more happy than the people here in the USA with more money! Many people here have riches by illusion as they don’t really own anything because they owe it all on their credit! These next verses can guide us, to understand we are not poor…

 

Proverbs 11:28 He that trusteth in his riches shall fall; but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.

Proverbs 13:7 There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches

Proverbs 22:4 By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.

Proverbs 30:8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:

 

We must face the fact that with all the sin in the world, there will always be poverty! No government or charity money will ever fix it or make wealthier the lifestyle of someone that participates in evil things never getting satisfied!  We all should always be willing to help others in their need! Remember how Jesus touched Zacchaeus? Luke 19:8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. What a revolution that would cause if all rich people did what he did! The 1 %rs who are the politicians and company owners could redistribute trillions to the billions if they got touched by Jesus! Some companies actually do pay fair wages while others are just evil exploiters. However, I know not many rich share in this type of utopian dream so the systems of the rich vs the poor will still reign until Jesus returns!  We have a big job to keep on serving those in poverty and in need in the meantime! The poor we will have with us always!   

 

The last thought, we should never judge any person when they are in a poor condition because that could be one of us one day! God expects all Christians to live holy honest lives being prudent, frugal, and generous to help God’s work and others in need! We are spiritually guided that wealth is so much more than money!  God’s blessings and riches are on the faithful and holy forever in heaven! Claim his promises!  1 Chronicles 29:12 Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.  Trust God for his supply and no matter if you are in the fat cows era or in the thin cows era, you will always be alright and protected by Him! Ask Jesus in your heart if you haven’t yet, and if something spoke to you, let it change you so you live more blessed!

In The World of No Love: Love!!

In The World of No Love: Love!!                                                Kelly Durant

I Corinthians13:4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;

2. How many of you recall in your growing years falling down playing basketball, soccer, or having some accident and you got really hurt but no one was compassionate enough to come to your rescue? The others yelled at you, “Hey, get up crybaby and keep going!”, but what do you do when the pain is so sever you actually are paralyzed? We are reminded in many ways we live in an unloving, uncaring world full of indifferent people every day! 

After you catch your breath you sit it out for a while and think about how you felt abandoned for a moment, how the game just kept on going without you, of how you really were of no concern to anyone as the game in the midst of the war battle was more important than you or your life and your pain. How do you respond to the “no one cares for me” reality as you experience pain in your life’s events? Humanity exalts ‘the systems’ of their inventions above life, while God loves His living creatures above all and not even a sparrow falls without him knowing! Matt10:29 He even knows how many hairs you have! 

The good news is Jesus cares and you can feel the Holy Spirit inside you when you ask for it! The good thing as well is, our bodies usually do heal and they hurt a week or a few months but then get mended. You put ice on the bruised leg, but what can you put on the heart when it gets hurt? Who around you will take time with you to listen to you to love you authentically giving you hope to heal? 

3. Many pains and cuts leave a scar and you and I are reminded of the pain until death what happened. But what about the scars on the mind and soul? What do minds and hearts look like with scar tissue? We know. We see the behavior of the wounded everywhere! Now focus on yourself, can you identify your past or present pains, disappointments, and moments of abandonment with no love? Many people are blind to them! When was your wake-up call that you live in a world with no love? The worst pain of all in life is the one of realizing that you are not really being loved by someone you counted on! There is the what was done to you factor, but what are you doing?  How much love do you give anyway? You know how reaping works, to get love, you must sew and give love. 

So when was the first time you felt unloved? I bet many of you who are Christian cannot even recall that well because God has healed you of that pain! But I can tell you this by experience, I am sure many of you felt deep hurt after you had loved, sacrificed, and given your max to someone close and then you woke up one day to see that this person(s) did not appreciate and love you back in return. Jesus said, Matthew 10:36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ That is the pain God feels: He gave His Son to die for us and a vast majority of his created humanity are prideful, unthankful, and unresponsive to His great love!

To appreciate love, God made it so that you and I have to experience this unloving world full of no love! God’s love is an oasis in this world’s horrid desert! It was not God’s original plan to have to allow people to learn this painful lesson of being rejected and unloved (as Jesus was), but this is the predicament our past forefathers put us in, and we cannot change the people of the world’s past sinful destructive practices. Only with the love of Jesus can we change our present! What we can change in the world is those around us and our own heart and mind with the Holy Spirit and with Jesus reshaping our thoughts, character, and actions as He heals our pains with love.

4. In the past after a week in Bolivia I was reminded by my sister-in-law something I said when I left back in 1981. I told her after 3 and a half years there I was done with the unreceptive people of Bolivia! But I actually went back to stay another 3 and half more but in La Paz! I was angry and disappointed then that few people would convert to become true Christians instead of being Christians in name only. The only real disciple converts I got from Bolivia was my wife (and kids!)  But there also was my sweet sister-in-law who still brings tears to my eyes when I remember how she tried her best to grow and read the Bible. She did grow spiritually and progressed materially as well but now she tells me she has a broken heart like mine, sad that very few convert to authentically love and serve God. There are a few others in my wife’s family on fire for God though, and I got filled with hope from them! God’s love is alive around the world despite the selfish survival mode people live contributing to this world with ‘no love’.

I identified then, and still do now, to Jesus words, Matthew 11:16 “But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, 17 and saying: ‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament.” As a missionary I used to give out gospel tracks in the markets, I use to play guitar and sing songs to the market venders and to people in the jails, hospitals, and orphanages. I loved the smiles on the children’s faces and that was a special time in my life. But deep inside I was heart-broken and frustrated that little love for God was returned, few chose to serve Him, but only a little repentance took place. What stubbornness!  I have often felt like Jerimiah who preached for many years and no one repented!

Many people I met were content to excuse their sinful life of excessive partying, adulterous affairs, binge drinking, coca use, extreme greed and arrogance, and the continual excuse that they did not need to know God any deeper because they believed in their own way or went to church (which was usually only once a year!) So where was the all so powerful dominating church in correcting the unloving destructive ways of these resistant people? Imagine Bolivia: it is as most of the world. It has high poverty, crime, and families divided and destroyed, and no one seems to care?! Where is the love? Where is the disappearing love in this country too? No love means no respect or values, ‘no love’ means hell on earth! 

5. The message I had for Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and have for everywhere I go, is what works, 4: “Love suffers long and is kind,” I can tell you now I have meet too many people who are not kind to their neighbors and their own family members, and this lack of love has created deep scars and pain! It is a global epidemic!

But because I love God, I make myself be kind anyway! I have suffered greatly by the indifference and rudeness of others and only because I love God, pray and read every day, have I been able to remain kind through it all! For one, everyone has to at some point forgive offenses. Jesus taught us to pray that in the Lord’s prayer: to forgive offenses! I can’t say to anyone anymore as I did before serving God, “Hey, You go to hell!” With God’s love I humble myself and control my anger and say, “Hey, how would you like to go to heaven? Do you know Jesus?”

How tragic in life that many people usually do not see their own unkindness and sin: that they are not reaping love and kindness from others in this moment in time because they have not sewn love and kindness in the past. Basically the ignorance of not knowing and loving God and being kind is killing their ability to ever obtain love and have peace! 

6. Have you noticed that politicians gain power from the people claiming that the financial divide of rich and poor is over race and the privilege of some (which they will fix of course.. yeah right, they haven’t yet!) These deceptive words are nothing but propaganda to feed the monster of the inner demons of envy and hate. Carnality and anger are opposite the spectrum of love’s values. 

Vs.4:”Love envies not”, who is mature enough to not have envy? The anger between the haves and have nots is very real everywhere. Friends and families divide over who makes more money and who does not. Envy is manifested in political choices with the hope of gaining more from the haves. Some gain for a while, some lose due to poor choices, and this is just life. But to live with envy will kill you! Satan uses human weaknesses to achieve more control and destruction!   

Often when kindness, generosity, and love is shown to a person who is contaminated by this unloving world full of greed and envy one finds that they interpret the gift as indebtedness and dumbness on your part. The factor is, what have you done with your life in the way of being wise, prudent, and blessed by God? Some people refuse to accept that another has gained more than them by merit with God! Envious people are continuous complainers that have not learned the value of loving, of even loving your enemies. How sad and bitter are many. 

7. “Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;”. This part refers to remaining humble even though you may be a loving, blessed by God person. This unloving world is made up of pride and most of the time people parade their good deeds only for shallow praise from others. Self-praise is arrogance, that ‘I am’ so good. 

Love given to a person who does not have a heart like Christ’s can become an ego-centric thing.  Haven’t you always hated it when someone you know met a famous singer or actor and they were treated indifferently and rudely by them when they said, “Hi”? Be careful who you love! Even though many people may love a certain famous singer, politician, or person, this does not mean that they will get love back from them, or that this vain one will give love to anyone!

Also love, 5 “does not behave rudely,” The world is becoming more and more rude, have you noticed? Matt. 24:12 “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold”. It is up to us to keep on showing love despite the increasing lack of love and rudeness everywhere. Fight rudeness with kindness!

8. And finally we have 3 commands, 5,”does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;” Those who love with God’s love should never do anything with self-interest, that is to seek their own gain in something. Love just loves no matter what may come back or what may not come back.

Love ‘is not provoked’ implies that you do not make a big deal out of how offended you are over stupid words or unkind actions. If you have love, you will just let it go, but in some cases you may need to stand up to defend a Godly cause. It basically means you are not a sensitive crybaby making a mountain out a mole hill but have enough maturity to not let your angry emotions take over your actions. There are too many in this world who immediately allow their emotions to govern their actions!  Be controlled by God’s spirit of love instead!

‘Thinking no evil’ implies not seeking revenge on those who have wronged you or not loved you as you expected. We should never desire evil to happen to anyone! To the contrary, however, do not allow yourself to be abused over and over by someone! You must love yourself too, and if someone is harming you so much you are thinking evil like in dreaming of killing them, then you have to repent, give it all to God, and get as far away as possible from that person with ‘no love’!

9. Today I am challenging you to mature in love! When a person gets authentically full of God’s love they will become so loving, so dedicated to others, so kind and forgiving, and so selfless that the only thing they can see their self doing in this life is serving God! 

I feel so sorry for so many people I meet in life! I can tell by their words and by their faces that they have never felt the intense amazing love of God deep inside! The fact is few people repent and give up their sins! Each person decides to accept God’s transforming love or not. God’s love in one’s spirit is best described (my opinion) as a person crazy in love or high on drugs! Remember how the town’s people thought God’s people were a bit too happy and crazy as in Acts 2: 15 “For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.” It was the Holy Spirit giving them the power of love to preach the Good News to all the different races and people.

The first disciples filled the ancient cities that had a ‘no love’ religion, with love. Millions of Salvationist Soldiers and Christians worldwide keep spreading this same overwhelming emotional amazing love throughout the world! You and I have the task of filling the world void of love with love! Love is supernatural and will cause you to live by the I Corinthians 13 values we covered today. Do you feel called to love God more, even to the point to serve Him full time? Love heals scars and pains! Come now and pray!