LOVE

13 If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If 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 do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 CORINTHIANS 13

     And, so it is...and, so love is the foundation of the Bible, of our holy Father's reason for creating mankind, of his decision to come to live upon this earth in human form and go through an agonizing death upon that cross, of all our blessed Father's actions now and forever.  Keep this in your heart, but share it every minute of every hour of every day.  Is not love the reason, the power, the gift of our almighty and most loving Father.  There has never been created before, now, nor in the future a person he has not loved.  Yes, he loves Hitler...yes, he loves Judas...yes, he loves us all without condition.  It is where we direct our love, the importance we put on worldly riches, and the hate of others and self pride we exhibit that he does not love, saddening him deeply.  

     Yes,  my brothers and sisters, you can make a difference simply and powerfully by your love of our Father and his son, our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, also, each and every person he has so lovingly created.  Love, unconditionally, just as you are loved unconditionally.  Show that love, compassion, forgiveness that his holy spirit fills you with.

Faith in Action

11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ² This is what the ancients were commended for.

³ By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

⁴ By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

⁵ By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”^[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

⁷ By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. ⁹ By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. ¹¹ And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she^[b] considered him faithful who had made the promise. ¹² And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. ¹⁴ People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸ even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”^{[c] 19} Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

²⁰ By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

²² By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.

²³ By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

²⁴ By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. ²⁵ He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶ He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. ²⁷ By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

²⁹ By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

³⁰ By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.

³¹ By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.^[d]

³² And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were put to death by stoning;^[e] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised,⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Hebrews 11:1-40

     This is such a beautiful passage on faith that brings so many of the different acts of faith together from the Bible; faith; what it does, what it means, and why.  Though we may not totally understand nor reap the fruit, in this life, of our actions in doing our Lord's will, it is the overall plan made before the beginning by our loving Father, God, that is important.  Do you think we shall not be rewarded for such actions?  Did he not send his only son, our Lord Jesus, to tell us in his name and to die on the cross so that we may have eternal life?  Have faith.  You see the results of men who had faith over the centuries.  Let us do likewise...love, trust in God, bear all that comes before you for, when you do the work of our Father, he is strongly about and within you.  His will shall be done.  Pray that he use us as his divine instrument to attain that end.  

     Walk before mankind with humility, love, compassion, all for our Father's glory for he has already promised us glory for such and who can stand against our mighty Father's will and love.  Love when none is due.  Show compassion when none is due.  Show forgiveness when none is due.  Stand for our Father when all around threaten death for such; for in death is our reward of eternal life with him our loving God.  Is that not what our Lord Jesus himself did.

     You and I, in this world, are not kings and queens.  Yet, when we have faith and work for our Lord to spread the Good News of his Kingdom, we are worthy and we shall act as kings and queens, in reality, should.  Stand up, have faith, love, show compassion, forgive...for what greater power in creation is there than love of, by, and for our Father. 

     There are times within each person's times when one must stop and simply laugh at the events worrying us.  What power do we have to control these?  None, by ourselves, but, with faith in God,  we know that he is in control and will never leave us to face this alone.  Put it in his hands...that is what he desires of us.  Put your faith and reliance on him.  As I say and remind myself many times, he is God, and who can stand against him and who can he not protect and love.  Time and again, he comes galloping in, seemingly, at the last minute and rescues me.  Never does our Father scold nor berate us, only a smile and a wink.  As our Lord intimates, would you let one of your children go unprotected?  How much more will our divine Father protect us if we but have faith.  How weak I am...how strong he is.  

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6 

 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Matthew 6:26 

LOVE

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.

1 John 4:9

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.

1 John 4:16

Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.

1 John 4:20

     So, my brothers and sisters, you must understand how important and powerful love is.  You must understand that our God, our Father, our Creator is love pure and divine that transcends this physical world which he has built to teach and teach out of love for us.  Return that love by loving others...all others as his creation, for he creates nothing but out of his divine and perfect love.  Love shall change and transfigure this world, not hate and war.  Have faith, have love.  It is a lesson which we learn together.  We shall overcome the hate of this world for our Father has ordained it to be so. He is coming, and we are preparing the way.  Be of great joy.  Spread the Good News...the Kingdom of God is at hand.
     A man that I respect very much is Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr, the American civil rights leader.  I grew up listening to him speak...how powerful, how motivating, how full of faith in our Father, our Lord Jesus.  Keep this within your spirit. Reverend King said, "A man who believes in nothing worth dying for, is a life not worth living."  He believed in spreading God's love through non-violence.  Believe you me, it was tough so often.  God made saints and servants of so many people at this period in time in this country.  They inspired others to do the same, to question their hate. We must be saints and servants of our Father to spread the Good News of his Kingdom and his Love.  May you always be aware of the  love of our Father and his Son, our Lord Jesus, and the presence of the holy spirit always be present within and without you.

FAITH

"You don't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible."

Matthew 17:20

For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed--a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

Romans 1:17

But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from
faith ; and everything that does not come from faith is sin. ...  

Romans 14:23

..... So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. ...

Galatians 3:9

By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. ...
Faith in Jesus' name has healed him before your very eyes. ... 

Acts 3:16 

     I only need to add one word to this...Amen 

He gave us the Holy Spirt for a reason

    

17But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

20But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

22Be merciful to those who doubt; 23save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.^f

^{Jude 1:17-23} 

     ^{Do no let those among you that breed dissent by their natural instincts to follow ungodly desires discourage you or influence you.  In other words, as Christians, you have the holy spirit to guide you.  Listen and reflect upon what our Lord has told us through scripture.  Pray for guidance and the wisdom of His Word.  He shall not let you down.  Always err on the side of love and compassion.  Always be firm and show the self that the holy spirit brings out in you.}  

     ^{I, for one, am not perfect in this, but our Lord knows this and loves us the more for turning to him for guidance and His wisdom.  Never think you are the first or only saint that falls short in deed, and never cease in your attempts to put on your new self to further the most holy and loving kingdom of our Father.  Remember, all journeys begin with the first step.  If you do not take this first step, you will never begin the journey to salvation and eternal life.  Accept the fact that missteps will occur...as you realize this, strive to correct them through faith and prayer.  You will never be disappointed. We are humans attempting to follow in the ways of the most holy, most divine Lord, son of God, Jesus Christ.  When we stumble, He will be there to pick us up and dust us off.} 

      ^{Have courage, faith, resolve, love, and listen to the holy spirit letting it move you. Always, in our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ's name, pray...in private, seek solitude with our Father each day to discuss and ask for his guidance.  Let us work at becoming another His Rocks.}

July 4th

      As we in the United States prepare for our July 4th, Independence day, celebrations, let us remember that this country and it's freedoms are not by our glory, but the glory of our most divine Father.  He set aside this land for his persecuted and poor children from all lands.  Our doors should be open to all peoples or we are not honoring and carrying out our Father's will.  Strengthen your faith daily for we have much work to do.  2 of our Christian Pastors from India are visiting us and giving us an overview of the tremendous amount of work to be done in just that country.  We learned the majority of the people are very poor, subsisting on less than a dollar a day, and very superstitious. The Pastors told us there are something close to one million different deities worshiped there.  But...they said that is a situation ripe and ready for the picking of new saints hungry and open for the Good News.  Our church sponsors mission work in India, and our Sunday School Class sponsors two children.  We need to do much more...all of us.  The time is right for the Good News of our Father's love through his son, our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.      
     Remember, keep our eyes on the prize and the mind on the wonderful work to be done.  This and all countries may pass away, but our most holy Father's word shall never change nor be destroyed.  How and why can someone fight love?  Peace and the Lord's love and contentment be with all my brothers and sisters in all areas of the world.