Agape the Love of God

Agape - The Love of God for mankind which is self-sacrificing, divine, unconditional, active and thoughtful love.

John 3:16 (KJV) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

 1 John 3:16

(NIV) This is how we know what love is: Jesus laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 

Which means that love has no color, is not discriminating, bias, misleading, confused, violent, assaultive or argumentative.

But love is kind, unconditional, always helpful, peaceful, joyous and can see beyond the facade of people and can get to the very heart of situations. Love can also cancel sins. 

Not just any love only Agape love can do that because it is the Love of God which is complete love.

Love of God is no-matter-what I love you in-spite of yourself. And the way to love God is to keep his commandments. This is how we express our love and give love back to Him. (John 14:15,21)

Agape is love from God.  

Show No Favoritism

James 2: 1, 8-10 

1 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.

8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 

9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 

10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. (NIV)

Read James 2

In our surroundings we have a favorite Preacher, Pastor, Teacher, relative, siblings and such and we like one over another but the word says not to show partiality. Love those as you would love yourself. I think it is simple there are no bells and whistles or a word that have to be drawn out to bring it home. If you show favoritism it is a sin.

Jesus died for the world and those who accept Him and live according to the scriptures written in the bible will be saved. Now you have repented, accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior live a righteous life in Christ and you will have an opportunity to be rewarded with Heaven.

But understand this you must endure until the very end of your life. What does that truly mean? Live a sanctified life, Holy life acceptable unto God and death is only the beginning to life when you will live with God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost in Heaven.

(Psalms 30:5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning. ESV)

Bless you all on this fine day. May the Lord continue to show His love and you continue to show him love as well.

Prayer: I pray that I may be a willing vessel of honor and to endure until your return in Jesus name I pray Amen!

Minister Merv

Ask God

James 4:2-4

2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

 Living throughout our lives we have asked for things and have lusted over them to gain without properly acquiring or preparing ourselves to receive our most desired object in life. We use channels like our parents, relatives, God, other means and our friends and even expect things from strangers that require non-effort. We use our eyes to shop and buy and want what someone else has because we think we should have it or least it be in our possession. Yet in still we use God as a last resort and when this is not fast enough we choose other avenues.

Simply put we bypass God to try to attain the desired object whether it may be love from someone, gifts of all sorts, to have someone recognize the job that has been done  etc… and the list could go on and on. Yet we still wouldn’t have what we truly want. What we want is gratitude, achievement and excellence which boils down to is some sort of glory that would make someone feel prideful and wanted. Thieves, murderers, liars, cheaters, adulterers (esses) etc… are coveters and want acknowledgement. We see what we want and devise a plan of deception to get it without really paying for it legally. Sounds like someone is laying traps like the lying wonder named Satan (read John 8:44 devil called the father of lies).

 There is more to life than having access to a lot of things which would keep our attention but for a moment until we see something else we truly want. Some of us (yes, us Christians) believe in tarot card reading, fortune telling, divination which by the way bypasses God in order to get our most prized possession. God’s word says not to practice or be in the habit of involving yourself in the circle of people who practice (tarot reading, fortune telling, divination etc…) for it is an abomination unto the Lord.  Which means leave it alone for it is not motivated by God or by good motives but is motivated by fleshly desires and truly in God’s eyes we don’t need it? Why? For there are things we ask God for and He hasn’t given unto us. Either we are not to have it because of the lack of interest later we would pay attention to your Savior or are not ready to receive it for lack of preparation or it’s not time yet.

 Deuteronomy 18:10-12

10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,

11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.

 It all comes down to lust, lust of the eyes, coveting, deception and lying. Rather we must be in right standing with the Lord, obeying his word, praying and seeking His face. In layman’s term stop sinning and practicing sin.

 If we the called-out-ones out of this world (Christians) would seek His face and humble our ways and turn from our sins God will in-turn hear us, answer our prayers and desires ( read 2 Chronicles 7:14). We must come to realize that there is nothing that God can’t do and all things are possible with God (read Matthew 19:26). We limit God for we think He is at our level. We are sadly mistaken to think this way when He is Alpha and Omega beginning and end.

 My dear friends and brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus our desire should be living our every moment waiting to see Him and daily waiting for Christ return and wanting to be with Jesus our brother in Heaven.

Ask with the right motives in your heart, live a God-fearing life and watch for the coming of Christ.

Today acquire a burning desire to live for God for the rest of your life from this moment on. 

God bless you all may the Lord continue to bless you.

Prayer:

Lord I desire to have more of you in my life and I repent for any wrong doing I may have caused and wash and purge me from my sins. In Jesus name Amen!

Minister Merv

Satan Does Not Rule Hell

Revelation 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Revelation 20:11 14-15 14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Romans 6:23 23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

     Some believe that Satan rules Hell and that is a lie. Hell was made for the devil and his demons. For in Revelation it clearly depicts who is in control read (Revelation 20:7-10). Satan is released from prison by the hands of God to wreak havoc upon the earth but in the end he is conquered by Jehovah our Mighty King to be thrown into the lake of fire.

     Some believe that Satan has more power than God Almighty he does not read (1 Corinthians 15:12-14). So we who are in Christ don't have to fear the devil or his demons for even the devil and the demons know who is in charge read (James 2:19). The devil and his demons know there is one God too. So what are we afraid of? The demons tremble at the name of Christ. So victory is already won we just have to walk in it. 

     Just mere words whispered into our ears from strange voices unknown (it is the devil and his demons who speaks unto us as if they know us with halved-truths, lies and deception in our ears who are in Christ Jesus and says) and gives visual illustration sometimes for us to react in an ungodly manner or fighting a habit that bounds us or our appetite hasn’t changed and we still crave all the things that are contrary to Christ; what are we going to do about it? Should we let sin control usand our family all because we are accustom to it and not the unknown ways of God Almighty? If not then have faith.

     Step out in faith in Christ and let Him redeem us back to God and be steadfast, unmovable and unshakable. Repent and let Christ be in charge of our lives and leave the ways of man, selfishness and devil oriented alone for the death of living how you want to will be real in Hell  with Satan and his demons and those who endure in Christ until the very end of their lives will live eternally with Him inHeaven.

     Christ died so we can live. He became the bearer of our sins to cancel its assignment over our lives to be born again in God. Once we accept Christ and repent of our sins to not do them again. For Christ death was for our benefit and His resurrection was to give us life once again not to be like the world but to have life eternally with God our Father in Heaven.  

     Today make a change and stop sinning and living for the now and fast pace lane of give-me-what-I-want-when-I-want and start living in Christ to achieve the full benefits of being a Godly son and joint-heirs with Christ.  

                                      Repent and allow Christ to come into your heart today.

                                                              Pray the Lord’s Prayer

Matthew 6:9-13

9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11Give us this day our daily bread.

12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Today may you have peace, deliverance and abundance in Christ Jesus my sisters and brothers in Christ!

Minister Merv

Narrow is the Way

If you haven't noticed lately that the narrow ways of Christ is getting smaller and the Broadway of this world is enlarging their borders rapidly. Some might say it don't take all of that to receive Jesus and I say yes it does and even more. God to me is not when I need Him He is everything I need! He is God Jehovah my all and all, my keeper, my way-maker, Jehovah-Tsidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness)!

I Stand

The more I know Christ the more I want to know Him and not compromise my salvation for any recognition of this world. There are ways to be lifted in Christ Jesus and some are through prayer, fasting, living a righteous life and through songs. Words don't much bother me so much anymore I look for Jesus in the life of a person. For Jesus is the one I am attracted to and the one whom I am in love with!

Desire Solid Food

Hebrews 5:12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God's word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.

Many Christians are still in the place of desiring the sincere milk of the word and yet should desire solid food of God’s word. We have been taken to the same places time and time again and Satan has us yet fooled again to thinking that we are serving God and we fall to temptation. We blame God from such attacks and wondering where is our protection? We pray, we call upon the Lord, we fast and do even what the word says until someone crosses us or say things we don’t like and become abusive for it is our protective mechanism (the world is still in us). We are yet in the same place as we started and refuse to move any further, why? We are afraid of the move of God in another aspect and direction in our lives. This is called trust.

(Trust)

1. Reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.

2. Confident expectation of something; hope.

We trust that when we work we get a reward and we receive payment for a job done for a certain amount of time. We trust that when a repairman comes to fix the boiler that he knows what he is doing for we have no knowledge of it. We trust when we dine out that the food isn’t poisoned and can be enjoyed without getting sick and yet we have a hard time trusting God. He is for us and not against us.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Have no fear God is still sitting on the throne and has all power in His hand. Just like starting something new like swimming or swimming lessons. We fear the water for our concentration is on drowning instead of having a good time swimming and playing in the water with friends. Our immediate thoughts are on remembering bad events first and when this person went swimming and died or almost drowned or something of this nature. This also happened when Moses help bring the Children of Israel out of Egypt so that God can give them the promised land; there were many complaints that were being hurled from the mouths of the Children of God for their trust was not in Him but on what they foreknew. It is easier to go backwards than to move into the unknown ahead of us.

Then how do we move forward? What examples do we have that show us that we can move forward in God and not be afraid? There are many examples in the bible that exists. Search the scriptures yourself and find them. Moses is one example. Jesus is a great example. What about Jeremiah the prophets who challenged false prophets or even Saul who later became Paul who persecuted the Christians later became a Christian himself. When we search for the scriptures in the bible we ask God for His insight to help unlock the passage of scripture we are reading. Pray and seek the Lord and He will direct your paths.

This is how we approach the new steps God wants us to take and that is to launch out into the deep (Luke 5:4). When we launch out into the deep and God speaks not only should we obey Him it is also for our benefit. That is exactly right we have benefits when we obey God. God is our benefactor and as long as we are under His protection He is liable for everything that happens to us under His care. Now we must be a Christian and living according to God’s word in the bible and have repented for our sins.

Nothing new exists under the sun and God has great things for us when we come to know Him more each day.  He has no thoughts of evil but of peace.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Desire today and the rest of your life solid food so you can teach others to also desire solid food and not milk the rest of their lives in Christ.

Well God bless you all and have a wonderful day in the Lord.

Prayer:

Lord we repent today and will not have the spirit of fear anymore but will trust in you and hear your words and be doers of them. In Christ Jesus we pray Amen!

Be encouraged today and live not for yourself but live for others to see God’s Glory in your life.

Until next time God Bless You

Minister Merv

Being Persecuted

Being Persecuted

2 Corinth 4:6-10 (Contemporary English Version)

6The Scriptures say, "God commanded light to shine in the dark." Now God is shining in our hearts to let you know that his glory is seen in Jesus Christ.

7We are like clay jars in which this treasure is stored. The real power comes from God and not from us.

8We often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don't know what to do, we never give up.

9In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we get up again.

10We face death every day because of Jesus.

All who are true worshipers in Christ Jesus must remember that all those who follow Christ will be persecuted for Gods’ sake. If you remember in the word of God that Jesus carried His own cross. When will we carry our own cross, follow Christ and not look to man, not look to fame to validate us or look to the world for recognition. Our lives are in Christ Jesus! Jesus death in God for the world, resurrection and His living were to claim us to be freed from sin, bondage. How did Jesus do this by dying? By dying for the world, and rose again with all power. Our first step is by accepting we are sinners and must repent of our sins and live for Christ by following His commandments and teachings written in the word of God. 

Yet those-who-are-called-out-of-bondage are still tied, hooked on the high of sin that it is apparent (readily seen; expose to sight) and became married to false teachings and drunkenness with demonic angels. For if you don’t follow Christ you are following the devil. We must examine the word of God and ask Him what these passages meant as to get God intent with full understanding.

In fact we forget that there are only two ways to live. We either serve Jesus or Satan. There are no in-betweens just these two options.

We are being led astray in some cases by doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1) which has adversely (acting or serving to oppose; being or acting in) opposition to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our ears have itched and our hearts fain (happily, glad and willingly) in disbelief that Gods’ word is true. Instead of using our faith we use tangible objects of desire and see no proof in our present life that God exists or can help. This is why we give up and become meat for the slaughter to die a death of uncertainty for our beliefs that went awry (askew, amiss, with a turn or twist to one side). All because we couldn’t make a sound decision as to what we believe in. 

Our eyes will not be open to the word of God unless you believe in Jesus. Then I ask are you following the teachings of Christ and have given up the worldly lifestyle? If not then we need to evaluate our living. Are we living according to the scriptures in Christ or are we just living life anyhow?

Before I go any further if you have not given your life in exchange to have life in Christ by repenting and doing the will of Christ you then will not see many results. Quickly you will try God and quickly you will turn to other false gods who are deaf, dumb, mute, and those who physically can’t move or those who move and have no understanding.

We are like Thomas who believed not Jesus (one of the apostles who followed Christ) until he inspected Jesus wounds that He resurrected from the grave. We call Thomas doubting Thomas and we doubt as well (John 20:27-28) frequently to ask God if He hears us.

We are supposed to be the light of the world and not become like the world. Once we are saved and repented for our sins we are supposed to change. Come on Christians who follow Christ let us be examples to the world live right to help others gain victory in their lives from sin.

2 Timothy 3:12-13 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived (English Standard Version).

If you are not persecuted for Christ and the Glory of God as a Christian then I would ask are you living a Godly life.

Be not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus who is a witness to all who loves Him by keeping Gods’ commandments like Jesus did. There is only one God and His name is Jehovah and One son Jesus and One Holy Spirit. 

One more thing if we don’t examine every aspect of our lives in Christ we can easily allow the devil to become part of our lives without even knowing it. From tradition, music, our up-bringing, our learnt philosophies and so on… we can let those evil things in our lives and without our permission could be fighting a battle we know not where it came from. 

Everything is not good and all things bad are not bad. When you search the scriptures and ask for understanding from the Most High God He will in-turn answer give interpretation and clarity that you seek?

God Bless You People of God!

Pray and seek the Lord and remember Christ was persecuted and so shall we be who desire Him.

Prayer: Lord I desire to live for you today and repent for my sins. I ask that you come into my life today and make me brand new. The old life is passed away and behold all things are new. I want to live for you for the rest of my days in Christ Jesus Amen!

Minister Merv

Christ the answer

Do not be derailed or listen to a voice you have not known. Let not your assignment be delayed or canceled. For the enemy Satan is coming against God's Chosen People and he desires to sift those in Christ like wheat. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord! Look not to your left or right keep your eyes upon Christ who is the answer!