HEAVENLY INCLINED...: TO LOVE THE LORD AS HE HAS LOVED...

Thanksgiving for the LORD's Favor

Psalms 138 (A Psalm of David)
1/ I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
2/ I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving-kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
3/ In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.
4/ All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth.
5/ Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD.
6/ Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
7/ Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
8/ The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me:
thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands... AMEN!!!

One CANNOT earn GRACE, it is HIS own ESSENCE; a gift, still, IF one claims to be IN HIS GRACE, we ARE to, or, OUGHT to, be reflections of that GRACE! 2 CORINTHIANS 6:1, tells us not to take HIS GRACE in vain! This means, living in LOVE, morality, ethics, virtue, righteousness, and, spiritual improvement, TOWARDS, spiritual maturity, WHILE, visibly BEING as LIGHTS, beaming OF *GOD*, beckoning the world, TO THE LIGHT! Righteousness MEANS, conduct in conformity with *GOD'S* WILL, and, "Be HOLY because I AM HOLY!", therefore, indicating that knowledge, wisdom, and, effort, DO, apply TO the righteous!!! NEVER forget, we were grafted in, and, if we do not bear fruit, as a dead branch, we will be pruned out, just as were, the natural branches!!!

We are not saved by works, instead, works PROVE HIM in us: they identify HIS own...

IF I claim ONENESS with *GOD*, through CHRIST JESUS, I am DEAD TO THE WORLD, THUS, LIVING as HIM, which is, hopefully, witnessed IN, and, THROUGH, my every thought, action, and, reaction; MEANING, I am, THROUGH CONSCIOUS application OF THE WORD, HIS COMMANDS, HIS WILL, REFLECTING righteousness, not, merely, FAITH! I become, the TRULY FRUITFUL branch, of THE VINE, the TRUE member of THE BODY/THE CHURCH, CHRIST JESUS, and, TESTIFY, then, GLORIFY, BOLDLY, BY my thoughts, actions, and, reactions, HIS name, because, HE IS WORTHY, and, IN HIS LOVE, has SHOWN me, how I OUGHT to exist, to which, I eagerly, adapt, and, comply!!!

MATTHEW 5:48...
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect

1 PETER 1:14-16...
14/ Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance
15/ but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct,
16/ for it is written, "Be holy because I (am) holy."

ROMANS 12:2...
Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

Conduct, in conformity to *GOD'S* WILL, marks the righteous; it is NOT because of guilt, or, ancient Laws, but, because of LOVE; LOVE for *GOD*, self, then, others! CHRIST JESUS gave us Commandments to live by, of which, the first is to LOVE *GOD*, with all of your mind, heart, and, soul; the second is, to LOVE one another!

LOVE COMPELS us to LIVE IN HIM, through conduct which conforms to *GOD*; in other words, morality, ethics, doing good, and, being good, and, ever striving to improve the spirit! It is about REFLECTING THE TRUTH, for ALL to bear witness to, FOR, and, TO HIS GLORY, RADIANTLY SHINING OF HIS POWER, GRACE, and, MERCIES!!!

It IS ALL ABOUT LOVE, baby, all about LOVE!!!

MATTHEW 4: 17...From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

JOHN 14:15..."If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

NOTE: I do not intend to preach, rather to reach; to stir up, awaken, to inspire, and, bring forth, in discussion, that which is, perhaps, dormantly existing in the heart of hearts, thus, little, or, no, sugar coatings, just THE WORD of *GOD*, the TRUTH, along with some of my thoughts. And truth is, I am reminding myself always, as I practice these reminders, in the best of my abilities, and capacities, while RELYING on THE LORD to lead me on that narrow PATH---> MATTHEW 7: 14: "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it... TO *GOD* BE ALL GLORY...

TO LOVE THE LORD AS HE HAS LOVED...

SEEK THE LORD, LOVE THE LORD with ALL you are, and HONOUR HIM with ALL you have! Seek HIM hourly, LOVE HIM unreservedly, in ALL ways, and BLESS HIM BY being what HE has COMMANDED!!!

Some say they LOVE HIM, but their actions do NOT reiterate their LOVE! This is that loose worldly LOVE which doesn't carry enough power to withstand no matter what! TRUE LOVE HONOURS, and BLESSES, even when it hurts! TRUE LOVE increases in expression, tangibly, or intangibly! TRUE LOVE progresses, and bonds more hour by hour, day by day! TRUE LOVE SPEAKS for itself IN, and THROUGH the one who LOVES, and it ALWAYS benefits the recipient(s)!!!

We are raised in LOVE which is faulty, fickle, and inconsistent, and so, we imagine that this is how we should LOVE our LORD *GOD* as well! HE, of ALL, deserves the absolute best of our LOVE, full of manifested expressions of that LOVE, from our thoughts, actions, and reactions, in which case, LOVING one another as HE HAS LOVED us, is a fine point to begin with! Sadly, it is such a fine point, we are bewildered, and confused about HOW to fulfill this one definite COMMAND of HIS, especially since we haven't spent much time LEARNING to LOVE as does HE!!!

We find it difficult to appreciate the value of VOWS, PROMISES, and PLEDGES, let alone HONOUR them, yet THE LORD HONOURS ALL HE has VOWED, PROMISED, and PLEDGED! It is SO one-sided, and SO wrong, but HIS LOVE, HIS GRACE understands our humanness, while HE so patiently HOPES for us to come closer to HIM, via knowledge, understanding, and ACTUAL allegiance to HIM!!!

We CAN'T LOVE *GOD* in the present way we LOVE one another, it just ISN'T enough, because it DOESN'T fulfill LOVE! We can BEGIN to LOVE HIM in what we are used to, but I, for one, will testify that it GROWS beyond anything we ever imagined, as we step into what HE bids of us!!!

When we LOVE *GOD* as HE LOVES, we change; our selfish nature begins to lessen, and things don't entice us as much! IT IS A PROCESS, and a LONG one at that, yet, it should be that EVERY day we are stepping into LOVE, more, more, and more! LOVING *GOD* as HE LOVES IS THE MOST BENEFICIAL, and CORRECT action we can take in this time, and surely, adds to our PROMISED LIFE eternal!!!

Some who are now gone, made great public speeches about how much they LOVED THE LORD, yet, they NEVER tried to overcome their LOVE of drugs, of alcohol, of sex, of money, and other contradictions of their professed LOVE of HIM, which humanly we can reason away, but DOESN'T HONOUR LOVE!!!

When you LOVE, you want to GIVE the BEST of yourself, and you want the recipient of your LOVE to flourish FROM your LOVE! In our humanness we make mistakes, this is how it is, HOWEVER, IN LOVE we STRIVE TO CORRECT those mistakes, and grow PAST them, because we DON'T want whom we LOVE to suffer because of us! LOVE SEEKS to PLEASE, and to INSPIRE more of the same! Looking at this world, at the Divorce rate, at the discouragement because of the LACK of understanding of LOVE, we see that our LOVE is NOT what it COULD be, or SHOULD be! IF we LIVED in the kind of LOVE that *GOD* bids us to, what a whole different world it would be, and oh, there would be SO much more happiness, well-being, and security! SINCERE, deeply rooted, and evident LOVE IS IMPORTANT TO *GOD*, and why not?, HE, after all, IS LOVE ITSELF, which HE gives, and gives, and gives, freely, and endlessly!!!

What is the difference between partial LOVE, and no LOVE? NOT MUCH, because partial LOVE does NOT have enough gumption to survive in the face of challenge, and so, LIKE FAITH, LOVE HAS TO BE HONED to as much perfection as is humanly possible, with the aid of THE HOLY SPIRIT, in order to FULFILL it's benevolent POSITIVITY, FOR HIS GLORY, and for the good of ALL!!!

REV. LWINSOR © 2014