May 07, 2023
Greetings and blessings to all of you. God loves us unconditionally. I believe He even loved Judas who He knew was going to betray him. God is Love. Love is not just a feeling. Love is an action. Therein lies the difficulty. We are not able to Love as Christ unless we deny ourselves or die to our flesh. A true Christian know about denying himself. Denying yourself is simply denying {the rights of comfort and attention} that you would normally reserve for yourself. The mature believer understands this and accepts this. Unlike the unbeliever who is deceived; not denying themselves nothing. Doing, saying, and acting like they want and daring anyone to stop them. The carnal man believes in being compassionate and loving to the point of loving what is evil and hating what is good so he could feel good within himself. That is why Socialism and other evils of this culture appeals to the carnal man. The carnal believer is just happy to be saved. His love is for himself. He has his life insurance policy (eternal life) and that is enough for him. He ignores the fact that God presents the whole Christian life as moving toward the goal of being transformed in the likeness of Christ himself. The carnal Christian (believer) is not ready to understand deeply that denying oneself cements that relationship that was formed when he was saved (born again). He does not desire to take in all the expression of God’s Love that is Knowing God; Meeting God; Hearing God; Talking to God. The carnal believer loves himself just the way he is. He may change a few bad behaviors just to please himself but God gets the crumbs of [his life]. The carnal believer is very self-centered; even his giving has to begin with ‘what’s in it for me’. The mature believer knows what it means to be a soldier, a farmer and an athlete. The mature believer desires to go deeper to discover the richer life Christ has for him even if it means participating not only in the power of the resurrection but also in the power of Christ suffering. (Phil. 3:10) The carnal believer has not accepted the meaning of verse (I Cor. 6:12) which says, “All things are lawful for me but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me but I will not be brought under the power of any” The carnal believer is so self-focused that when he does or don’t do an action it becomes a power over him that only a sincere act of repentance and faith can release the grip. God wants us to mature in Christ, serve Him and to love others.
With the Love of Christ
First Lady Vivian C. Currie
Pastor ALC