Love

-

 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”; and, “Love your neighbour as yourself.” (New Testament Community Bible Experience (2011) NIV p26)  In Luke it says a teacher asked how to get eternal life. The answer is put forth: Love God and Love others. Jesus says “do this and you will live”. John says elsewhere “whosoever believeth in Him shall have everlasting life.” So it seems trusting in Jesus and loving Him (and others) are joined to each other. You can’t love Him without true faith in Him and you can’t have true faith in Him without loving Him (and inevitably others and even yourself – all made in His image). Without faith you can’t see God and faith (as James says) without works is dead. If one has true faith there must be evidence. There will be fruit and that fruit is primarily love. We are not saved by works (writes Paul). It is all of Grace through faith but we are saved to do good and demonstrate our love for God. 1 John 4 speaks of the importance of love and how without loving others one can’t say they love God.  So not only is faith and love to God connected, but love to God and others is connected also. Love is so important to our faith, indeed  all the fruits of the spirit are important…. (Gal 5:22,23 NIV UK)  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” So let us draw nigh to God in faith and live life full of love!


Follower of Jesus, non-conformist, preacher, poet, blogger, graduate of Highland Theological College, Husband, Father, Son, Brother, Friend, Learning Assistant (ASN) Outdoors. Late diagnosed Autistic.

Comments

Post a Comment

What sayest thou?

This Weeks Top of the Posts

Suffering

-
Image
Who has all answers?  The faithful answer is that  I just don't know?  Free Will and The Light All pilgrims suffer daily Worship God anyway Not a twisted king   Absolute power hungry Micro managing  Free will is our choice Humans, angels, and demons Creatures and nature  Yes, troubles will come  Not all use free will for good   Lasting negatives World variables  There are good things and bad War: light and darkness Troubles since the Fall Freely, wilfully humans sin Treking east of Eden It's not all judgement Who sinned, man or parents? Born blind for His work Tool of redemption  Not suffering judgement  Jesus eye opener  Light of the world Miraculously heals a man.  Was blind, but now I see. Who has all answers?  The faithful answer is that  Only He surely does *** This poem is based on the following article that I wrote: I don't have all the answers. In fact, the truly faithful answer to some questions is "I just don't know," and that is the faithful answer.
Read more

The Divine Kiss

-
Image
"For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14 KJV) For such a time as this,  The divine kiss.  God gives us position, For the great commission. His cause,  The greatest there ever was. Unique character of our time,  Behold the shift in paradigm. Clothe yourself in His apparel, Neglect his voice at your peril. No to cowardly sins, Either way God wins! For such a time as this, The divine kiss. This piece won a prize at AllPoetry . 
Read more

Spectrum Colour Walk: Sponsors Welcome!

-
Image
I am fundraising for the National Autistic Society by taking part in my own Spectrum Colour Walk during World Autism Acceptance Week 2 - 8 April 2024. I will be in my homeland of The Isle of Skye and will do this flexibly around my other activities, with my trusty smart watch, no doubt, ranking up the step counts. As many reading this will know, I have had the privilege of working with Autistic people as a Personal Assistant, Support Worker and Learning Assistant over the years. I was also recently diagnosed with "type 1" Autism myself. So this cause is important to me for those reasons. Please feel free to sponsor/donate to this worthy cause. 💜 I am walking for autistic children to have a happy and fulfilled time at school.   💙 I am walking to ensure autistic people are given proper opportunities to work.    💚 I am walking for shorter diagnosis wait times.  💛 I am walking for autism acceptance. Anything you can donate is greatly appreciated and will be going towards cre
Read more

Rest and be thankful

-
Image
I had a lovely walk with my beautiful wee boy recently. He did very well, being carried and walking all the way. Next time, however, I will choose a different route or perhaps take a buggy. Duddingston is a beautiful old vintage village in Edinburgh. The architecture is very old world. Our first stop was Dr Neil's Gardens. Full of lovely stone paths and pretty flowers, set in the midst of a wildlife reserve. We didn't have enough cash so didn't manage to sample from the cafe, but will next time hopefully. We visited the old Kirk and picked up a couple of bookmarks made by Amos Christian Trust , who also made Ezra's dedication invites this year. After that we journeyed past the Sheep's Heid up a hill to the community gardens where there are apple trees and chickens. We came here when he was even smaller and just started to walk (picture below). We kept going up the hill stopping at a bench with a sign that fittingly said "Rest and be thankful" which is wha
Read more

A.C.T.S

-
Image
Adore You we do Heaven and nature sing clear Holy holy Lord! *** Confession of sin Unrighteous thought, word, deed, heart Forgive trespasses *** Thanksgiving to You Provider and Sustainer Love, Joy, Peace, Justice *** Supplication now Providences we request You Daily bread, grace, hope Amen *** Based on the prayer method of Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication A.C.T.S.
Read more

Spurgeon for Peace!

-
Image
"If there is anyone who should be opposed to strife and bloodshed it is the man that names the name of Christ. Spurgeon considered the spirit of war to be absolutely foreign to the spirit of Christianity…. Modern conservative, fundamentalist, and evangelical Christians, all of whom might claim him as one of their own, have much to learn from Spurgeon, not only for his example of an uncompromising and successful Christian minister, but also for his consistent opposition to war and Christian war fever." - Laurence M. Vance  “We are up to the hilt advocates for peace, and we earnestly war against war. I wish that Christian men would insist more and more on the unrighteousness of war, believing that Christianity means no sword, no cannon, no bloodshed, and that, if a nation is driven to fight in its own defence, Christianity stands by to weep and to intervene as soon as possible, and not to join in the cruel shouts which celebrate an enemy’s slaughter. . . . Today, then, my bret
Read more

Take Heart: A Catechism

-
Image
Take Heart A Catechism By David Holdsworth  FREE DOWNLOAD Authors Note: There are many good Catechisms available. But, somewhere along the line Christians in many parts of the church at large seem to have lost this age old practice of simple instruction in the format of questions and answers. In no way is this little contribution meant to take away from good Catechisms already written, but rather to be a compliment to them. This is a simple way for me to share the good news with others. It is my hope that you the reader or listener may find biblical help from the simplicity of the good news. I have included biblical proofs as standard so you may go and examine the scriptures (and indeed your heart) for yourself. Pax et Bonum. (1) Q. What comfort may be found for the believer? A. A heart that need not have trouble or fear. One that can rely on God in troubled times and that can glorify His name.  Proofs. John 14:27, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 50:15 (2) Q. What message does scriptures give to tho
Read more

Still Waters

-
Image
One of my favourite verses of recent years has been "Be Still and Know that I Am God." Although it doesn't specifically mention silence, I sense that it may be implied. How can we hear from God if we never close our mouths, if we never close out the noise of life, if we never even Sabbath for a few minutes?   We used to joke that lockdowns were a bit like a month of Sabbaths (more like years!). However, home life is not very silent in general, let alone when it was lockdowns. I would not change that for the world. I love my wee family, and they deserve a father or husband who gives them good attention. There is also now a demand for TV from our kids (which, as Wilkerson put, it can seem like a sewer running through your living room, I wonder what that makes smart phones for us adults!) Then my job as a support worker was hardly silent and certainly not that of calm solitude at times, equally so with my new job as an ASN Outdoor Learning Assistant. Care was an essential ro
Read more

International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness 5th March 2024 & Link Party

-
Image
"International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of striving towards a world free from the spectre of nuclear weapons and war. This day not only highlights the urgency of disarmament but also emphasises the importance of fostering a global culture of peace and security." -  Maunders In celebration and hope of a better world please share your favourite pro-peace links as we pray and petition for peace. You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter
Read more