Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,522
“Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight— we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:6-10 NASB1995)
While we live on this earth, we live in flesh bodies. And our human bodies are subject to pain and suffering, to sickness, to injury, to sin. We are at risk for suffering all kinds of storms, tragedies, the loss of loved ones, loss of jobs, and loss of income. And if our lives are surrendered to Jesus Christ, to following in his ways, we are also subject to being hated, persecuted, cast aside as unwanted, mocked, rejected, and misunderstood. The closer we get in our walks of faith the more likely that we will be rejected and unwanted.
And the older that we get the harder that these things become, when our bodies begin to give out on us, and they don’t work as well as they did when we were much younger. Our minds are not as sharp as they once were, and they are not as fast as they were, either. Many tasks now take much longer than they did before, and sometimes our minds go blank, and the words won’t come when we need them to. And there are days when we are perfectly okay if that would be the time that Jesus would come get us.
But we are not to let these things take us out and dishearten us or cause us to withdraw from service to our Lord just because things got harder than they were before. These should be the times when we draw much closer to the Lord, for our dependency upon him and his grace is greater than ever before. For like Paul said, “for when I am weak, then I am strong.” For, although he was being harassed by his enemy, Satan, God’s grace was sufficient for him to give him the strength he needed (2 Corinthians 12).
So, no matter what we are going through, and I am fully aware that many people in this world have it way harder than I have it, we can be of good courage if our faith is in the Lord Jesus, and if we are walking in his ways and in his truth, and if our desire is for him and not for the things this world has to offer us. For we walk by faith and not according to our circumstances.
For example, for the past several days, maybe close to a week now, I have been feeling this pressure against my body and my head, kind of like I experience when a storm is coming or when we go up into the mountains and the air pressure changes, or if someone close by is using what they call 5g for internet (I am not very knowledgeable in this area). So my head feels kind of like it is in a cloud, and thinking is difficult, which makes writing difficult, but I keep going in the strength of the Lord, despite how I feel.
Why do I keep going? Because to this I was called of God 21 years ago to write down what he is teaching me each day from my times with him in his word, and to post these writings on the internet. I know this is my calling from God, my body part within the universal body of Christ. So I am committed to obeying the Lord. And I know the enemy is using all kinds of means to try to discourage me because he wants to stop me. And so I persevere, not in my own strength, but in the strength of the Lord.
And why else? Because I love my Lord, my desire is for him, and I want to please him with my life. Now I am not perfect in every way. I don’t always feel joy in my suffering. I don’t always leap for joy at the thought of sitting down and writing when my head is hurting or it is in a cloud or when I have not had much sleep. But I have stayed the course, by the grace of God, in sickness and in health, with being persecuted and rejected, and without much encouragement from others, for I know what I do is of God, not me.
So, no matter what we are going through, if we are followers of Jesus Christ, we need to stay the course, trusting God to see us through every trial and to help us to endure and to keep going no matter what is going against us. For Satan is going to try to stop us from serving the Lord with our lives. So we can’t give in to him. We must keep following the leading of the Lord in doing what is pleasing to our Lord, trusting that God is going to work out everything for good. We just have to believe he will see us through.
And why is it important that we make it our ambition to live lives which are pleasing to the Lord? We should do so because we love God and we want to please him. But it is also critical that our lives are surrendered to the Lord to walking in his ways, and to putting sin to death, by the Spirit, because we are all going to appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed (rewarded) for our deeds in the body, according to what we have done, whether good or bad (cf. Romans 2:6-8).
So, just know that God did not put us on this earth to please ourselves and to just have a good time and to entertain and to be entertained. And he did not die on that cross, and rise on the third day, just so we can be forgiven our sins so that heaven will be our eternal destiny. He died so we will die with him to sin. And he lives so we might live in him in walks of obedience to his commands. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess.
[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
How Long Till the Morning
Scripture: I Thessalonians 4:17
By C. E. Couchman
Consider the mornings of this mortal land,
Each a new beginning from the Maker’s hand.
While the storms may gather ‘gainst the evening sky,
The day breaks cloudless in the morning.
Rise up to the battle, for the skies dawn clear.
Let us gather courage while the foe draws near.
Though the night falls weary, saints of God, march on!
And He’ll raise our banner in the morning.
When the trumpet sounds to signal Heaven’s day,
Resurrection Morning when the dead shall wake,
What a glorious gath’ring when the Lord descends
And we rise to meet him in the morning.
How long, my Lord? Till we see the morning?
How long, O, my Lord, till we see your face?
O my Lord, guide us through our troubles
Till we rise above them in the morning.
Caution: This link may contain ads
Being of Good Courage Always
An Original Work / April 20, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
While we live on this earth, we live in flesh bodies. And our human bodies are subject to pain and suffering, to sickness, to injury, to sin. We are at risk for suffering all kinds of storms, tragedies, the loss of loved ones, loss of jobs, and loss of income. And if our lives are surrendered to Jesus Christ, to following in his ways, we are also subject to being hated, persecuted, cast aside as unwanted, mocked, rejected, and misunderstood. The closer we get in our walks of faith the more likely that we will be rejected and unwanted.
And the older that we get the harder that these things become, when our bodies begin to give out on us, and they don’t work as well as they did when we were much younger. Our minds are not as sharp as they once were, and they are not as fast as they were, either. Many tasks now take much longer than they did before, and sometimes our minds go blank, and the words won’t come when we need them to. And there are days when we are perfectly okay if that would be the time that Jesus would come get us.
But we are not to let these things take us out and dishearten us or cause us to withdraw from service to our Lord just because things got harder than they were before. These should be the times when we draw much closer to the Lord, for our dependency upon him and his grace is greater than ever before. For like Paul said, “for when I am weak, then I am strong.” For, although he was being harassed by his enemy, Satan, God’s grace was sufficient for him to give him the strength he needed (2 Corinthians 12).
So, no matter what we are going through, and I am fully aware that many people in this world have it way harder than I have it, we can be of good courage if our faith is in the Lord Jesus, and if we are walking in his ways and in his truth, and if our desire is for him and not for the things this world has to offer us. For we walk by faith and not according to our circumstances.
For example, for the past several days, maybe close to a week now, I have been feeling this pressure against my body and my head, kind of like I experience when a storm is coming or when we go up into the mountains and the air pressure changes, or if someone close by is using what they call 5g for internet (I am not very knowledgeable in this area). So my head feels kind of like it is in a cloud, and thinking is difficult, which makes writing difficult, but I keep going in the strength of the Lord, despite how I feel.
Why do I keep going? Because to this I was called of God 21 years ago to write down what he is teaching me each day from my times with him in his word, and to post these writings on the internet. I know this is my calling from God, my body part within the universal body of Christ. So I am committed to obeying the Lord. And I know the enemy is using all kinds of means to try to discourage me because he wants to stop me. And so I persevere, not in my own strength, but in the strength of the Lord.
And why else? Because I love my Lord, my desire is for him, and I want to please him with my life. Now I am not perfect in every way. I don’t always feel joy in my suffering. I don’t always leap for joy at the thought of sitting down and writing when my head is hurting or it is in a cloud or when I have not had much sleep. But I have stayed the course, by the grace of God, in sickness and in health, with being persecuted and rejected, and without much encouragement from others, for I know what I do is of God, not me.
So, no matter what we are going through, if we are followers of Jesus Christ, we need to stay the course, trusting God to see us through every trial and to help us to endure and to keep going no matter what is going against us. For Satan is going to try to stop us from serving the Lord with our lives. So we can’t give in to him. We must keep following the leading of the Lord in doing what is pleasing to our Lord, trusting that God is going to work out everything for good. We just have to believe he will see us through.
And why is it important that we make it our ambition to live lives which are pleasing to the Lord? We should do so because we love God and we want to please him. But it is also critical that our lives are surrendered to the Lord to walking in his ways, and to putting sin to death, by the Spirit, because we are all going to appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed (rewarded) for our deeds in the body, according to what we have done, whether good or bad (cf. Romans 2:6-8).
So, just know that God did not put us on this earth to please ourselves and to just have a good time and to entertain and to be entertained. And he did not die on that cross, and rise on the third day, just so we can be forgiven our sins so that heaven will be our eternal destiny. He died so we will die with him to sin. And he lives so we might live in him in walks of obedience to his commands. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess.
[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
How Long Till the Morning
Scripture: I Thessalonians 4:17
By C. E. Couchman
Consider the mornings of this mortal land,
Each a new beginning from the Maker’s hand.
While the storms may gather ‘gainst the evening sky,
The day breaks cloudless in the morning.
Rise up to the battle, for the skies dawn clear.
Let us gather courage while the foe draws near.
Though the night falls weary, saints of God, march on!
And He’ll raise our banner in the morning.
When the trumpet sounds to signal Heaven’s day,
Resurrection Morning when the dead shall wake,
What a glorious gath’ring when the Lord descends
And we rise to meet him in the morning.
How long, my Lord? Till we see the morning?
How long, O, my Lord, till we see your face?
O my Lord, guide us through our troubles
Till we rise above them in the morning.
Caution: This link may contain ads
Being of Good Courage Always
An Original Work / April 20, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
