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Christsfreeservant · 2025-12-09T19:34:58-0600

“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:12-14 NASB).

There are three main components to our Lord’s commandment that I see here, and so I am going to look at each of the three parts individually, but then I’ll also look at how the three must all be a part of the same whole.

Love One Another

Now, for us who are English speaking people, we must understand that this word “love” is not of human flesh. It is not centered in our emotions nor in the ones we are loving. We love others regardless of whether or not others love us in return, or even if they hate and despise us, in return. For this is loving like God loves, like Jesus loves us. For Jesus didn’t give his life up for us on that cross because of how wonderful we are, but while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. So this love is self-sacrificial, and it is unselfish.

And this word translated in the English language as “love,” in the Greek interlinear it is the word “agapē,” which means “to prefer.” It is used in the Bible in the context of either preferring what is evil (this one very little) or preferring what God prefers (which is how it is used primarily). And what God prefers is all that is holy, righteous, godly, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord’s commands. So this love is morally pure, upright, honest, and faithful in its love for other people.

Lay Down Your Life

And, as already was mentioned, this love is self-sacrificial and unselfish, and it is willing to die to show the love of Christ for the people of this world. It is willing to be hated by other humans in order to love them with the love that Christ had and has for us. And in what ways did Jesus demonstrate this love? Well, he spoke the truth in love to the people, whether they wanted to hear it or not, and whether they liked him or hated him in return. He told them the truth they needed to hear even though, for him it meant his death.

So, when we love others like Jesus loved us, it is not about a popularity contest. It has nothing to do with whether people love us in return. It is all about what they need and us supplying them with what they truly need (not necessarily want), as we are able, and as we are led by the Spirit to do so, even if it costs us friends, family, church family, and other humans who might reject us and turn away from us, because we are just too weird for them. It is what it cost Jesus in order for him to show us his love for us.

Do What God Commands

If we are going to love God and our fellow humans with this kind of love, the way in which God loves us, we must be those who are walking (in conduct) in obedience to our Lord’s commands. This is not to say that we will always do this perfectly, or that we will never fail (1 John 2:1-2), but the Scriptures make it quite clear that if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to our Lord and to his commands (New Covenant), that we do not know God, we are not in fellowship with Christ, and we will not inherit eternal life with God.

So, obedience to our Lord’s commands is not something to be dismissed, nor is it just a recommendation which we are free to ignore. It is a requirement of God, not as a means of earning our salvation, but as a love response to God for saving us from our sins. Yet, it is not optional. In the Scriptures we learn that obedience to our Lord’s commands = faith, and that disobedience to his commands = unbelief, which results in separation from God and us not having the hope of salvation from sin and eternal life with God in heaven.

The Scriptures Teach

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

In Harmony

Based off Romans 12:9-21; 1 Peter 3:8-17
An Original Work / September 2, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Love each other truly.
Cling to what is good.
Hate all that is evil.
Never lack in zeal.
Serve the Lord with fervor.
Joyful in hope be;
Patient in affliction;
Praying faithfully.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.

Share with all God’s people
Who are found in need.
Do not be conceited.
Sympathetic be.
Love, and show compassion
In humility.
Keep your tongue from evil.
Peaceful you must be.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.

God sees who are righteous;
Listens to their prayers.
But He’s against evil –
Is His to avenge.
Do not fear what they fear.
Suffer patiently.
In your hearts, make Christ Lord.
Serve Him faithfully.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.

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All About Love
An Original Work / December 9, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

rjs330 · 2025-12-09T19:31:30-0600

iluvatar5150 said:
Which is a religious law that, contrary to your earlier claims, does not supercede civil law anywhere in the US. Again, the woman has every legal right to pursue a divorce in this country than any other woman would.

Its a religious law that supersedes civil law in practice. Because thesr women are forced into it and forced to abide by it. If it was not allowed then they wouldn't be trapped by it. And there arw clear movements to make it equal to civil law in all facets. Its hard enough for these poor women. For theae groups it absolutely supersedes civil law. Becauae if you try to access civil law you are in danger in a number of ways.

Mercy Shown · 2025-12-09T19:28:16-0600

BNR32FAN said:
What was the point of the statement? Get the beam out of your own eye then you will see clearly enough to take the speck from your brother’s eye.

I think it’s important to see what Jesus is actually addressing in Matthew 7:3–5. When He says, “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the plank in your own eye?” and “First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye,” He’s not talking about social justice or political activism.

The focus here is personal, not societal. Jesus is warning against hypocrisy and self-righteous judgment. He wants us to examine our own hearts and confront our own sins first, rather than assuming the role of the world’s moral arbiter. Social justice—while it may have good intentions—positions us as judge over what is “right” or “wrong” in society, which is exactly the danger Jesus is highlighting.

The goal of the Christian life is spiritual clarity and gospel-centered action, not being a social justice warrior. We are called to help others in humility and love, but always with our own hearts in the right place (Luke 10:33–37, 1 John 3:17–18). Our first mission is to point people to Christ, because eternal life—not temporal justice—is what truly saves souls (Mark 8:36, Matt. 28:19–20).

In short: Matthew 7:3–5 isn’t a call to political or social activism; it’s a call to deal with our own sin first, so that any help we offer to others is rooted in humility, grace, and the gospel.

rjs330 · 2025-12-09T19:23:39-0600

BCP1928 said:
It was a plank in Pat Robertson's platform when he ran for President in 1988. During the Civil War Christians were putting heavy pressure on to change "We the People" in the Constitution to "Jesus Christ." Lincoln fobbed them off by agreeing to put "In God we trust" on the coinage. The point is, Christians have been trying for official religious preference for decades and have largely failed. It's too soon to worry about Muslim immigrants.

And Robertson wasn't voted in. Christians have been a majority of this country for a very long time. We had the opportunities to do something and never have. In fact as Rob pointed out polling is clear that we are not in favor of it.

However a core tenet of Islam is religious/government control. There is no separation of church and state. And polls indicate what they want even in the West. Especially those who come from those countries. And we have seen what they have done in other places and in America. We have clear evidence of it actually occurring.

So to continue to ignore and deny is foolish.

Mercy Shown · 2025-12-09T19:22:03-0600

fhansen said:
Yes, and I think we might be over-complicating things a bit. Should we prefer to be socially unjust? And yet we necessarily live in societies, societies where injustices often occur due to the avarice and general selfishness of man. Social justice concepts at their best strive to identify and rectify those actions and systems that foster inequalities between our fellow man. With the onset of the industrial revolution, for example, labor was often woefully exploited, with low pay, poor and unsafe working conditions, sweatshops, etc. Some churches spoke out in support of unions and the right to strike. Were they being hypocritically judgmental against the poor industrialists? Similiarly the Geneva convention was a matter of setting forth social justice policies as they can be applied to the tragedy of war. Political involvement is sometimes morally demanded.

You make an important observation about the real injustices that occur in human societies. Scripture is not blind to oppression—God hears the cry of the afflicted (Exod. 22:23), condemns exploitation (Isa. 10:1–2), and calls His people to acts of mercy (Mic. 6:8). Whenever it is in our power to relieve suffering, the love of Christ compels us to do so (1 John 3:17–18). Compassion is not optional for the Christian.

But at the same time, we must remember what Christ actually commissioned His Church to do. Jesus did not send His disciples into the world to proclaim a program of social reform. He sent them to proclaim the gospel—the good news of repentance and forgiveness of sins in His name (Luke 24:47), and to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18–20). Social justice—however noble—is temporal. It may ease suffering for a season, but it cannot save a soul. Only the gospel “is the power of God for salvation” (Rom. 1:16).

There is also a spiritual danger in making social justice our primary mission. When we begin to define and enforce what we believe is “just,” we risk stepping into the very role Scripture warns us against. Jesus cautions us not to judge by our own standards (Matt. 7:1–5), and Paul reminds us that human wisdom is always limited (1 Cor. 1:20–25). Political activism can subtly shift our trust from Christ to our own sense of moral correctness. In trying to fix society, we may lose sight of the only One who can truly transform hearts.

Jesus Himself asked, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36). Even if we managed to create a perfectly just society—a world free of exploitation, inequality, and suffering—without the gospel, people would still die in their sins. Christ’s mission is eternal; earthly justice, at its very best, is temporary.

So yes, we should relieve suffering when we can. The Good Samaritan is our model for personal compassion (Luke 10:33–37). But we must not confuse compassion with commission. The Church’s calling is to lift up Christ, not to become the world’s political judge. If we lose our grip on the gospel in the name of justice, we risk giving people a better world—while they lose their souls.

essentialsaltes · 2025-12-09T19:20:00-0600

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro faces subpoena over private home security upgrades after firebombing

A GOP-led committee in the state legislature voted Tuesday to issue three subpoenas seeking records related to, among other things, roughly $1 million in security upgrades to his personal home in the suburbs of Philadelphia. The Intergovernmental Operations Committee is also seeking documents concerning "several charter flights arranged for the Governor's Office" in mid-January.

"The Pennsylvania State Police and independent security experts conducted thorough reviews to pinpoint security failures, review protocols, identify gaps, and make concrete recommendations for improvements to the Governor’s security. As a direct result of those recommendations, security improvements have been put in place to keep the Governor and his family safe," the spokesperson said. "The Shapiro Administration has repeatedly responded to lawmakers' inquiries on this matter and publicly released a substantial amount of information about the security improvements put in place by PSP without compromising those security protocols."

stevevw · 2025-12-09T19:19:22-0600

sjastro said:
For the millionth time you half wit

Sorry no. You disqualify yourself with this sort of stuff.

essentialsaltes · 2025-12-09T19:17:13-0600

Democrat Eileen Higgins has flipped the Miami mayor’s office, defeating Republican Emilio Gonzalez and marking the latest sign of the party’s momentum heading into next year’s midterms, according to Decision Desk HQ.

The win is the latest boost for Democrats, who are coming out of better-than-expected elections in November and a strong showing in this month’s special House election in Tennessee. The party hopes that an energized base and a focus on issues like affordability will help them flip the House and possibly even the Senate in next year’s midterms.

BPPLEE · 2025-12-09T19:16:21-0600

iluvatar5150 said:
Guess we'd better build them some schools, then, eh? Hey look, there's jobs in that, too - construction, teaching, etc.

Paid for by the government with the endless supply of money, even though there are more people dependent on government assistance. But I guess that’s the goal, create more people that are dependent on the government who will vote for the party that gives them the handouts.
My wife is a 4th grade teacher and her students tell her that they will not have to work because they can get a check

Landon Caeli · 2025-12-09T19:15:23-0600

European Union’s announcement Friday of a roughly $140 million fine against X for violating the bloc’s digital rules have fueled the fire, pushing transatlantic relations to their lowest point since Trump returned to the White House in January.

Elon Musk, the owner of X, is calling for abolishing the E.U., and Trump supporters are railing against the 27-nation bloc.

MSN

iluvatar5150 · 2025-12-09T19:12:07-0600

BPPLEE said:
More babies who will grow up to be dependent on welfare themselves

Guess we'd better build them some schools, then, eh? Hey look, there's jobs in that, too - construction, teaching, etc.

SavedByGrace3 · 2025-12-09T19:11:17-0600

For the solidarity of their faith, let them see that their status as a believer is maintained by the faithfulness of God. Establish the simplicity of the Gospel in their hearts and minds.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 KJV
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Establish that the Father and Jesus is on their side. Jesus and the Father want them to succeed.

Hebrews 13:5 KJV
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Romans 8:35-39 KJV
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Of course, there are many others. But at the beginning, I think, it is essential to reinforce these sorts of facts in the new believer.

iluvatar5150 · 2025-12-09T19:10:45-0600

rjs330 said:
And this is Sharia law.

Which is a religious law that, contrary to your earlier claims, does not supercede civil law anywhere in the US. Again, the woman has every legal right to pursue a divorce in this country than any other woman would.

BPPLEE · 2025-12-09T19:10:38-0600

Belk said:
A much as all the other refugees you are claiming without evidence.

I guess you didn’t follow the conversation

stevevw · 2025-12-09T19:05:01-0600

BCP1928 said:
A person who tries to "beat down God with science" can easily be shown to be wrong. Even atheist scientists like Hans have tried to show you that it can't be done.

If this is the case that atheist scientists or anyone using science to beat down the beliefs of Christians know that its impossible. Then every time they do ( and plenty of examples can be shown).

Then they are purposely attacking Christians knowing its impossible and this is blantant cruelty and bias against them. Its also a complete contradic tion to the sientific thinking they are using by insisting that it can. Making them hypocrites.

BCP1928 said:
As for Christian beliefs you rarely, if ever, present any, so I don't see what you are complaining about.

Lol and what has that got to do with anything. Are you saying I have none and therefore its ok to attack me on Christian beliefs. The very fact I am arguing for Christian belief is supporting Christian belief.

The problem is you want specific words. Everything is measured by the words. You miss all the language that may not specifically mention Christian belief but is supporting Christian belief.

BCP1928 said:
It's not our fault that you know so little of Christian theology that you think such a thing is even possible.

What that people are demanding Christians show evidence of God or otherwise they are fools and deluded. Do you want me to show you the evidence lol. Its in the language used.

BCP1928 said:
On the contrary, we're 1500 posts into a thread in which you are promoting pagan ideas about "transcendent knowlege" and "mind out of body" that we are trying to talk you out of. You should thank us.

Once again you make a false claim. Show me where I am promoting pagan beliefs or mind and body. Let alone trying to talk me out of it.

Don't mistake mentioning the fact that there are pagan beliefs and others (even science) who themselves work on the mind and body issue and have done for centuries. Don't mistake mentioning them as some sort of endorsement or belief that they are true in themselves.

I have mentioned these only to point out that it is quite natural for humans to be inclined to believe in such transcedent ideas. Not that they are all true in any particular belief. Only that there is such a transcedent realm and that all the different beliefs are attempts to express this.

If there is a God and belief and spirituality as Paul mentions and we all know God. Then it makes sense that this knowledge is expressed in all sorts of different ways when people replace God with their own versions. Its actually support for a God.

SavedByGrace3 · 2025-12-09T19:03:36-0600

Michie said:
A growing number of Britons who leave Christianity are turning to paganism or other forms of spiritualism instead of converting to other major religions, a new study has found.

The survey, released by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life, questioned 2,774 adults who self-identified as having "experienced a change in their religious belief," seeking to provide insight into "how, why, and in what direction Britons are moving between faiths, spiritualities, and non-belief."

The researchers conclude that "Britain is not secularising in a straightforward way" but rather "undergoing a re-composition of belief, a shift away from inherited institutional structures towards personalised, practice-based, and wellbeing-oriented forms of faith."

Forty-four percent of respondents said they left Christianity, while only 17% said they had newly become Christians. Meanwhile, 39% of respondents said they had become an atheist or agnostic.

Continued below.

Rising number of Brits leaving Christianity turning to paganism

A growing number of Britons who leave Christianity are turning to paganism or other forms of spiritualism instead of converting to other major religions, a new study has found

www.christianpost.com

This often happens when the church waters down it's postion on current cultural and church issues.
When people see there is no difference between their watered down religion and the world, they figure, why bother?

JohnB445 · 2025-12-09T19:00:54-0600

For new Christians what would you recommend?

Yarddog · 2025-12-09T19:00:46-0600

Ivan Hlavanda said:
I know there are Christians out there that do not hold the view the first 11 chapters of Genesis are literal history, Adam was not literal, God did not create everything in 6 days ets...because the science disproves this.

If you do not believe in literal Adam, you then cannot believe in literal 2nd Adam, Jesus Christ the Saviour. Because if Adam did not exist, then the fall did not happen and there is no need for a Saviour.

You cannot believe in a metaphorical Adam and then believe in literal resurrection of Christ, the second Adam who came to fix what the first Adam broke. You also have problem explaining Romans 5:12-21

P.S. I know the view of metaphorical Adam is held by very few, but it has been bothering me deeply that people believe this, and I am studying Romans 5 and this is on my heart.

I haven't heard of a metaphorical Adam but there is a deeper meaning of Adam than the literal. It's allegorical.

Shane R · 2025-12-09T18:59:33-0600

We did have 3 Aussies and 5 Canucks and a couple from South Africa on the tour. The other 32 folks were American.

Belk · 2025-12-09T18:57:55-0600

BPPLEE said:
Are they on government assistance?

A much as all the other refugees you are claiming without evidence.

Landon Caeli · 2025-12-09T18:57:25-0600

ThatRobGuy said:
That's what he claims...he also claims that he was approaching in (what appears to be an aggressive attack stance) to attempt to trade the knife for cigarettes.

View attachment 374221

If we're being honest, given the guy's previous criminal record of stabbing, and roughing up store clerks. In all likelihood, it was probably more of a "give me those smokes!" (holding the knife to imply "or else")

...but even if we operate on the assumption that the defendant's statements on that were 100% accurate, I would hope you're being facetious here. Someone yelling a slur from 20 feet away as a person is moving towards them with a brandished weapon wouldn't be justification for assaulting them with said weapon. (especially in an open-air environment in a state that establishes a duty to retreat)

I bet there's an uber-radical leftist somewhere saying, man, I'm glad he got that pack of smokes, and knifed that fascist nazi.

rjs330 · 2025-12-09T18:56:21-0600

iluvatar5150 said:
I didn't say I expected them to have that exact quote. I said I expected them to support your claim. They don't. They support a claim along the lines of "Islamism is dangerous and concerning." They don't support the claim you made, "Islamism is the biggest and most deadly threat in the world today."

Do you see the difference?

"They are dangerous" is not equivalent to "the biggest and most deadly threat in the world today."

Do you understand the difference?

I'm not ignoring anything. One of the problems here is that you're not being very precise with your words and you're not being very precise when reading mine. Maybe you don't intend to keep moving the goalposts and conflating different things, but that's effectively what you're doing every time you come back like this.

Did I say that Islamic communities don't harbor abuse? No, I didn't.

The comment of yours to which I was responding was this: "A man may get a divorce in a Sharia court and a woman has no legal option to representation and US courts will not intervene."

That's a comment about a woman's legal rights regarding a civil marriage. It's also incorrect. In my response, I made a distinction between her rights regarding the civil union (i.e. the one for which you have to get a marriage license) and her rights regarding the religious union (i.e. the one signed off on by the priest/rabbi/imam). Many religions have extra rules for marriages conducted within their purview; but at least in the US those rules are independent of any imposed by the state. A Muslim woman has the same rights as any other woman to pursue a civil divorce from her husband, which will then permit her to get married in a civil ceremony to whomever she wishes. It's only the religious side that the government stays out of - just like how the government won't force a Catholic annulment or a Baptist gay wedding, they also likely won't force a Muslim divorce, unless both parties have already agreed to that sort of arbitration.

I figured if you were going to level an accusation like that, you would've had at least one in the chamber, ready to go.

But if you don't, maybe you should stop making claims like that.

Not going to. Next time I do it I'll try to point it out as an example.

rjs330 · 2025-12-09T18:54:34-0600

iluvatar5150 said:
That's a comment about a woman's legal rights regarding a civil marriage.

And this is Sharia law. A law that the men in Islam use in order to control women. Because women don't have the same rights. Women in these places can't just say no. They are pressured into it and then suffer under it. When you fail to see the control kn that then you fail to see the dangers of it. Genital mutilation is occuring in the West as has been proven by another poster.

And this isnt about every Muslim. This is about certain Muslims who are coming from these places. And Muslims who do not want to assimilate and want to create separate communities, separate courts, separate education separate everything. And its not about just buying some land and building their own Muslim community. Its about taking over EXISTING communities. Its happening in the US. Remember all the brew ha ha over the group who wanted to build their own community with white people. And everyone went nuts? They wanted their own space, they were not moving enmass into other communities and taking over.

prodromos · 2025-12-09T18:53:39-0600

jonojim1337 said:
Imagine complaining about a continent not being visible when all of ancient history tells us we have a submerged continent.

You appear to be confusing history with mythology. Please present any ancient historical reference to a submerged continent.

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