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If you love your enemies, you are like your father in heaven. If you do not, you are demonic ...
The flesh is demonic and you are dead ... But the spirit is alive ... If you are desiring revenge in spite ... Then you are demonic.
Do You forgive ... ? Then the spirit of Christ is within you.
Agreed 110%.
The fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.
The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous.
As you well-said in a post to me regarding deception, by their fruits you will know if you are in the Truth.
Agreed 110%.
The fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.
The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous.
As you well-said in a post to me regarding deception, by their fruits you will know if you are in the Truth.
Blessings!
brian
High Brian ...
Thanks for tuning in and answering this thread ... I actually did not intend anyone to answer ... It was more a statement then a topic for discussion. Though i believe the OP is fertile for consideration and discussion.
I don't think that many people realize what it is to act under demonic influence to begin with. In Holly wood demons inspire extravagant murder and such ... But in reality they inspire small things like impatience, greed, doubt, fear, loneliness, anger, self pity, depression, hate, spite, etc, false pride,. ... Literally those fruits which oppose the fruits of the spirit. They are the fruits of poisonous tares, of hay and stubble, and not the fruits of wheat, of precious stones.
To many Christians concentrate on believing, and do not consider their own fruit. The spirit of God influences more than just those who say with their mouth that Jesus is lord. I believe there are those who are Christs in this world who are not necessarily believers in the Christian faith. As it is written ... There will be many who say lord, lord, to whom Christ will reply go away from me ... And many who did not know him, to whom he will say enter into my rest. The truth is not a rational decision, it is a heart felt response, and a deep desire. Without love there is no truth ... No righteousness ... Not holiness ... You cannot have righteousness and holiness without the truth of love. They are not mutually exclusive.You cannot have the one without the other.
Peace ...
Last edited by Ironmaw1776; 08-28-2010 at 09:26 AM..
I think this is an excellent topic and I think that everyone that calls themselves a Christian should never underestimate LOVE. Love for our Father and Love for each other.
I believe that you can dissect the Word of God to try and fully comprehend it.....but if you minimize the most important commandment Jesus gave to us - you are thus living out of harmony with God. Kind of like a “lost” soul.
Do not let the worries of life keep you from loving and believing that God wants you to become one with him in Love and Grace. He is not only waiting for you to let his Love flow into your heart, but he is anxiously knocking at the door of your heart, that you may open and let him enter.
If you love your enemies, you are like your father in heaven. If you do not, you are demonic ...
The flesh is demonic and you are dead ... But the spirit is alive ... If you are desiring revenge in spite ... Then you are demonic.
Do You forgive ... ? Then the spirit of Christ is within you.
The definition of Love in God's Holy Word has many applications, requirements, and desires.
But Love is only one of the characteristics of the Fruit Of the Spirit
that all of the Children Of God are known by ... not just LOVE.
Mt:7:16: Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17: Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit;but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Notice that the fruit is ( singular not plural )
which also has 9 different characteristics ,
and all of them together, make up one fruit.
Gal:5:22: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23: Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24: And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25: If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26: Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Also The works of a fleshly world are these:
Gal:5:19: Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20: Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21: Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
The only thing that counts is faith, expressing itself through love; a redemptive feature.
Faith, hope and love.
And the greatest of these is: love.
1 Cor. 13.
I was often told by the church that faith is the most important thing, too. But Paul makes it clear that faith comes after love. You can have love without faith, but not faith without love.
It does seem like love is a 4-letter word - a swear word - some people don't want to say it. It seems its much more popular to talk about judgment, justice, holiness, wrath, etc. but without LOVE, you cannot understand these other qualities.
This week I've been thinking and I'm at the point where I really need help progressing in understanding just what we are supposed to be doing here. I know we are supposed to love our enemies, love our neighbors, love God, but how do we do this?
For me it has been an exercise in patience. Patience is a big part of LOVE. I so want to share the good news with people. I see hurt and fear - but no one wants to listen. When you talk to yet another person who says you are going to hell for believing the wrong thing, and also 99% of people are also going to be there, it gets tiresome. It wears you down. It is not a fruit of the spirit, that is for sure.
This is what I look at and pray God is working in me.
2 Peter 1: Making One's Calling and Election Sure
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;
6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;
7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall,
11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
This is what we must become. Only God can do it. LOVE. Endurance. Patience. Kindness. Perseverance. I don't always persevere right now. I'm not always patient. By the very nature of those qualities this is a hard journey and sometimes I just want it to be over RIGHT NOW! But of course that is not being patient.
1 Cor 13
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Without love we are just a clanging cymbal. Pray that we all learn how to LOVE!
Love is the most important thing. Love is the whole point. God is Love. For the life of me I can't understand why more people don't see this. This physical life is just tiring me out.
It does seem like love is a 4-letter word - a swear word - some people don't want to say it. It seems its much more popular to talk about judgment, justice, holiness, wrath, etc. but without LOVE, you cannot understand these other qualities.
This week I've been thinking and I'm at the point where I really need help progressing in understanding just what we are supposed to be doing here. I know we are supposed to love our enemies, love our neighbors, love God, but how do we do this?
For me it has been an exercise in patience. Patience is a big part of LOVE. I so want to share the good news with people. I see hurt and fear - but no one wants to listen. When you talk to yet another person who says you are going to hell for believing the wrong thing, and also 99% of people are also going to be there, it gets tiresome. It wears you down. It is not a fruit of the spirit, that is for sure.
This is what I look at and pray God is working in me.
2 Peter 1: Making One's Calling and Election Sure
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;
6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;
7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall,
11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
This is what we must become. Only God can do it. LOVE. Endurance. Patience. Kindness. Perseverance. I don't always persevere right now. I'm not always patient. By the very nature of those qualities this is a hard journey and sometimes I just want it to be over RIGHT NOW! But of course that is not being patient.
1 Cor 13
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Without love we are just a clanging cymbal. Pray that we all learn how to LOVE!
Love is the most important thing. Love is the whole point. God is Love. For the life of me I can't understand why more people don't see this. This physical life is just tiring me out.
I loved this post, Legoman!
How very ironic.. I am also very impatient, and yet I know that patience is a fruit of the Spirit!!
In fact, a thought came to me the other day: God made man with 2 hands. Why 2? Who knows.. but a thought came to mind: one to show love, and the other to hold to patience!
These 2: love and patience, seem to truly go hand-in-hand. There are times when we feel His Love moving in us. And it's soooo wonderful!
Then there are moments where it seems to "lift" away.... and THAT's where the patience needs to come in! Until the next "gust of wind!"
Just a thought I've had recently, wanted to share it..
Blessings!
brian
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