THE MEANING OF LIFE

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."-(1 John 4:8)

This is not a test. What you are experiencing is the genuine event. This is neither an elaborate rehearsal for a future experience, nor is it a cruel joke. This is life. This is REAL. You are not in some alternate level of meditation, imagining that this is all unfolding before your imaginary eyes... You are not skimming some surrogate plane of actuality. YOU ARE INDEED HERE. Your spirit-man is inhabiting the molecular manifestation of what is, at its basest level, a divinely-designed spacesuit. The suit, when properly operated, maintained and stewarded over will produce excellent movement and effective results. However, when the protective shell and its fine elements are either abused or is used to project negative output, the gesticulation will be rated as destructive and the fruit will represent manifested impairment. The latter is a direct contradiction to the value and purpose established by the Manufacturer. For further explicit instruction and details, please consult the manufacturer or the instruction manual. I repeat- THIS IS NOT A TEST. Note- The mission objective of this operation is very simple: LOVE.

Why are we here? The Buddhist would say "Because". The Atheist would say "Accidental". The canine would say "squirrel". But the living God who is responsible for every neutron in existence tells us why very clearly in the only valid operational manual. The "Manufacturer" Himself, who created the earth and all that dwell therein (including Buddhists, Atheists and dogs) told us nearly two millennia ago: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”-(Matthew 22:36-40) LOVE. God IS Love. To love, therefore, is to be in God's perfect will. In actuality, the Creator of the heavens and the Earth fashioned us with the specific purpose of communion with Him, in love. He made us in His own image, the mirror of Love itself. We are, in essence therefore, built to yield the produce of God or love. Wow. In its absolute simplicity, that is unfathomably deep. That should end this article. The acknowledgement that "Love is everything" should be the finale of this exhortation of the obvious... Sadly, it is not.

With the fall of man came the viral infection of evil, fear, disease, doubt and the curse of sin and sting of death. With the first and most devastating act of disobedience, and thereby lack of love, came pain and heartbreak. The tears shed on that day were monumental. The entirety of mankind was placed onto a dark path to self-destruction. But we are still here. A planet-wide flood, several acts of extermination and devastation later... We are still here. How is that possible? The Architect of all life, loved us so much that He could not simply wipe the slate clean and start again. He made us from His own substance. Borne of the very heart of God Himself, He could not bear to part with us. It is not a matter of need. It is quite literally, a matter of the heart. Proverbs 4:23 tells us "Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.” If our heart is the wellspring of life, and we are made in the image of God, then He crafted us and granted us life, from His heart. He created us out of LOVE. When love is truly at the center of a matter, giving up is no longer an option. He did not discard us, He restored us back to Himself, out of His love.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."-(John 3:16) It was love that created us, and love that reconciled us back to the source of life. Without love, we are incomplete and thereby, unredeemed. As followers of the Way, the Truth and the Life, we are commanded to love one another. Jesus did not come to do away with the law or the prophets, but rather FULFILL them. He came to complete them, to restore that which was missing. His Love completed the process of redemption. "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."-(John 15;13) Before laying down His life to free us from the curse of the fall, He added to the commandments. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”-(John 13:34-35) So we must love one another. Why bother sharing such a basic principle? What is the necessity in repeating an age-old tenet of our faith to the multitudes? Because, even now, after 2000 years of truth-revealed and gospel-preached admonitions we still lack love. We still harbor resentment and hatred.

We proclaim the goodness and mercy of the God who freely offers His grace, and yet we despise one another. Not you? Consider your heart. Do you hate the sin or the sinner? Be honest. I know that it is painful, but the truth must surface for progress to be established. The honesty of our walk will determine what we refine and glean from this incredible journey. "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free."-(John 8:32) The antithesis of that scriptural revelation is "You shall live in the lie and the fiction will imprison you". When interacting with other "spacesuits" do you love unconditionally the spirit within? What about the homosexual? What about the heterosexual with promiscuity issues? Or perhaps the drug-addicted miscreant? What about the Muslim misguided by the deception of a subverted culture? What about the Gossip, the Glutton, the Unbeliever or the invariably hate-filled evil-doers of the world? Do you look at them through the eyes of the one whose love set us apart? Or do you equate the depth of the sin with the sinner bearing it? Do not be deceived here. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."-(Matthew 7:1-2) IT IS NOT IN OUR AUTHORITY OR MISSION PLAN TO JUDGE ANYONE. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"-(Romans 3:23) That means you and me. Still, we repeat the pattern of abhorrence within the walls of the church. We replicate the culture of enmity amongst the living stones of the Kingdom itself. Followers judge other followers. Believers curse other believers. "Christians" hate other "Christians". That is not love. That is conditional love, which is in truth JUDGEMENT.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’"-(Matthew 7:21-23) We can call ourselves by the name of the Creator all day long, but if we do not do the most basic, most important of all He commands us, we are not in undisputed relationship with Him. Jesus tells us that it is entirely possible to prophesy, exercise the demonic and even perform the miraculous in His name and yet be unknown to Him. It is our LOVE that gains us true entry. It is our LOVE that creates consanguinity with the Master, not merely our declaration. To proclaim your faith with your tongue and remain untransformed in your heart is double-minded. "For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."-(James 1:7-8) Let me tender this example- Let's suppose that you are a book. You may be a lovely, leather-bound edition with gold-leaf lettering that states without a doubt that you are "The Holy Bible" on the cover and the spine. Are you truly the word of God within? Or perhaps inside that gorgeous, classic outer sheathing you are filled with a conglomerate of literary stews... Your exterior states that you are the Word of God, but inside one would find "Mein Kaumpf", "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", a few issues of "The Enquirer" and "Hustler"? When getting checked back into the Divine Library, the Chief Librarian would discard you as false. I know, I am a strange bird and that metaphor rides the edge of absurdity... But think about it; How often do we profess that we are His children, but act like we are total strangers?

"If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."-(1 Corinthians 13:2) We are incomplete without the Love of God at the center of all of our activity and purpose. That is the veritable meaning of life itself. To Love, to be LOVE, because we are loved. We are to imitate our Heavenly Father and do what He does, just as Jesus the Messiah did in His ministry here on Earth, in His spacesuit. "We love because he first loved us."-(1 John 4:19)

Do you truly love? I am not speaking of liking what everyone is fond of, or approving the stylistic or cultural natures of others. I am certainly not professing that tolerating sin is equivalent to loving the sinner. I am simply asking you to examine your heart. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."-(Matthew 6:21) If you are in genuine relationship with God the Father, Jesus the Advocate Messiah and His Holy Spirit, then you will find your treasure trove in His courts. If you are in true relationship with the God who so loved the world that He gave, you will give. You will trust Him with your life, your love and your heart and you will GIVE it to Him. That is where to store up your treasure and your LOVE. When we give our lives to Jesus Christ, He can become one with us. When we enter into the most powerful relationship, the greatest love, we give our total trust to Him. We cannot say that we honestly trust Him if we cannot let go and love as he loved. Remember, even as the precious Lamb of God was being nailed to a tree with 9 inch spikes piercing His hands and feet, He cried out "Father, forgive them. They know not what they are doing."-(Luke 23:34) He proclaimed at that moment the nature of our love. To forgive, to minister to in spite of our outward circumstances; to never judge another's motives... To give our very lives to make this adventure and world a better place to learn and care for each other. The greatest love of all creation is to share that treasure with others. Remember the old adage that "people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care". Tell others that the love you have for them comes from the source of love itself. Show them the love that sets the world free and offer them what He offers to all of His children- HIS HEART. That is the meaning of life... TO LOVE.

LISTEN... Part 1

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. "-(Jeremiah 29:11)

I know that God has a purpose for our lives. He has designated a purpose in us all, individually and corporately. I wake every day to recall immediately with ardent passion, my purpose. I reflect and meditate upon the complexity and depth of that focal purpose, seeking to hear His direction. You see, just as I recognize that God has a purpose for us all, individually and corporately, I also know that God has a PLAN. KNOWING His plan will be the key ingredient in the manifestation and fulfillment of all of our purposes.

How do we hear His plan? We must bathe in His presence daily, growing in our relationship seeking His Will and receiving His maps and directions. In Isaiah, he prophetically speaks of the Holy Spirit saying "Whether your turn to the right or left, there will be a voice in your ears behind you saying 'This is the way, go in it'."-(Isaiah 32:21) We must listen for the HOLY SPIRIT. It is against my better judgement to go into the details involved in the cacophony of our over-stimulated environmental conditions, and how challenging it is to get to the quiet necessary to hear clearly. The answer to battling against the culture and pace of the world, is to get alone, however you must, with God and BE STILL. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."-John 10:27 Hearing the Master's Will is not something we will usually have success with when we are overwhelmed in the midst of distractions.

When we are operating in God's plans, we are in His Will. When we embrace His directions and dedicate our lives to serving Him and staying under His covering, God grants us an incredible gift. Under His Covering, walking in the direction and steps of His Plans, we receive the benefits of PROVISION, PROTECTION, PROMOTION, PROMISE and POWER. In following the anointed steps which the Comforter specifies, we are cared for, protected, promoted into new levels of responsibility and given greater promises for our future, all the while being provided for and given the power to overcome whatever obstacles stand in the way of God's Design.

Life is a collection of seasons. "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven."-(Ecclesiastes 3:1) When we falter and sometimes miss the direction briefing for the current season, we are missing the specific stratagem needed to remain under that covering of protection and blessing. I have found myself at times holding onto a previous season. When the glory of the Lord moved in those seasons, we must not attempt to make them last past their due time. In holding onto the last season and not actively seeking God's orchestration for the new season, we prolong the time between seasons. God cannot move with us, for us or through us without our obedient response to His specifications. When we are disobedient and fall from under His covering, we miss the providing, protecting, promoting, promising, powerful God who WANTS to see us reach our absolute potential and bear fruit for His Kingdom.

Conquering the Tragedy of Self-Mystification

When I was fairly young and impressionable, one of my peers told me "You have the Devil in you." At first I chuckled uncomfortably at what I was hoping was a jest, but he stoically repeated himself "You have the Devil in You." When I pressed him for further explanation, he explained to me that I was not going to be a very positive influence on the world, and would more than likely not be able to do anything about it. In lieu of the fact that this person was very important to me, and I looked to them for a great deal of influence and guidance, I was devastated. Instead of shrugging off what was a sick joke, I absorbed that prognostication of a dark and hell-bound future. I received it as one would a word of encouragement, but in absolute reverse. Years passed, development continued, and I found myself reflecting in some pivotal moments of my latter childhood gravitating to the thoughts of having "the Devil in me". In my teen years I made some terribly stupid, arrogant and rash decisions and although I knew in my unsaved soul that they were the fool's path to destruction, I recalled those words once again... And somehow allowed the mistakes and missteps to fall into a file marked: "Devil In Me". I carried that brand into my young adulthood where I continued on being a sinner, making more paramount mistakes and laying milestones of idiotic behavior all whilest I wore the brand as a badge of accepted identity. I actually believed as Huckleberry Finn said "If I'm goin' to Hell, I might as well go whole hog!". I used to tell people that "I have a parking spot reserved in Hell". While I didn't join a cult, or become a Satanist, neither did I believe that God had his hand on me. And I was angry about that.

My testimony is a full-fledged book, but this instance represents one of the typical tools that the adversary uses with all of us: Self-Condemnation rooted in Self-Mystification. The enemy uses rhetoric or "mystification" through words, delivered or even thought regarding our human condition in an attempt to destroy us using our perception as the poison. The use of mystification in the literary sense is the use of language to deceive others or to disguise the conditions of our social existence. "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."-(Proverbs 18:21) Did you know while God has a plan for your life, Satan also has a plan for your life? While God wants you to receive His grace, mercy and love through the saving blood of Jesus Christ, the enemy wants you to receive his condemnation, punishment and hatred through the grand deception of self-condemnation.

Jesus tells us in John 10:10 "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." What does Satan seek to destroy more than any other idea or posession? Our faith. Our power of belief. If he can destroy our hope, he has already sown the seed of self-destruction that will inevitably lead to our eternal demise. What is more, he has also undoubtably sown the contagion that will lead to the destruction of others on an exponential level. Don't believe me? Take a deep look at the people responsible for sowing words like the one I received as a child and I assure you that behind their intention or motive lies another person spreading the lies of the enemy through to them. It is a satanic cycle, and just as the enemy is a counterfeiter and perverter of all of God's glory and grace, he is also a counterfeiter and perverter of multiplication. It is like a disease. One word has the potential to kill or bring life. However, that word has no future, or power if we are equipped to break it.

Although my cycle of self-perpetuated destruction was driving a cliff's edge at a raging speed with almost no control, there was still the little boy clutching to grab the wheel saying "Wait!! I know there is more than that!! It can't be true!" And after a long, arduous and dangerous journey to find a glimmer of hope, I found Jesus. Moreover, He had been waiting for me to realize that He was there all the while, to break those words, to correct the wrong and destroy the enemy's hold on my life and purpose. He was waiting there to give me life... and life more abundant.
I learned that "His grace is sufficient." I broke through and God is now using that which the enemy meant for evil against him. I have even forgiven the peer whose words I perpetuated and watered. In spite of the past, I love them still and pray for their breakthrough daily.

But what can we, who know and believe do for those who struggle, oftentimes in silent invisibility, diagnosed with an "incurable disease of self-perpetuated destruction"? We can do what the Lord tells us to and build people up. Truly edify them. Let the Holy Spirit guide their growth and conditioning, while we LOVE ANOTHER. We truly do have the potent power of death and life in our words. I love Cervantes' legendary literary hero Don Quixote de la Mancha. I have been privileged to play the role on stage and learned a great deal about this very subject through that experience. In the book, Don Quixote is a "knight-errant" roaming the countryside seeking to right the wrongs of those that would cause harm and evil, and any who defile the name of his beloved "Dulcinea". Now, bearing in mind that the man is somewhat mad, and the age was not one of knights, wizards, giants or chivalry, he lived life "not as it is, but as it SHOULD be". The Lady Dulcinea was in reality a scullery maid of ill-repute who was a victim of self-mystification and condemnation. But he did not see her as, treat her as, or speak to her as such. He spoke life to her. And his words truly transformed her into "Dulcinea" healing her wounds and restoring her HOPE.

That is who we should be through the power of Christ and His blood. The way to break the mystification of the enemy is through the power of blessed, edifying positive confession. Speak LIFE. And if you find today that you have been struggling with this issue- Know that Jesus is waiting for you, to call you by your true name and His words will truly transform you into who you are meant to be, healing your wounds and restoring YOUR HOPE.

He Touched Me

"A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured."-(Mark 1:40-42)

My heart aches for the untouchable. Those whose state has cast them away from the compassion and loving embrace of others. What terrible distance and ostracism they are involuntarily moved to. What a desperate plight, to be rejected and forgotten. The only reaction that would be of warrant as you entered the presence of those you once reveled with is one of repulsion and disownment. Instead of even the most civil of greetings, you receive instead gasps of disgust and the spitting of curses warning you to keep your distance. They despise you. You are absolutely alone. You are driven only out of necessity to seek exile amongst those who also share your plight. Your new environs are a breeding ground for further decay and a waiting area for inevitable death. You never feel the warmth of another's touch, or a reassuring caress again. How dark the hopelessness must be. But in the presence of JESUS... The most incredible compassionate hands reach out, grasp and embrace those who are no longer received by the world. He does not care for the precepts and unspoken laws of man. His hands, His words and His LOVE heals a ll who receive them. What troubles me about this scenario is that WE are those hands, WE are the earthly carriers of His words and His Love. But, the same vessels who carry the power to heal here on earth, are usually amongst the same crowds who reject the leprous.

I recently encountered a situation where someone very dear to me in the faith called regarding a brother, a mutually close friend, who had fallen into a greatly distressing position whereby sin had taken root and was strangling his anointing and stifling his call in the Kingdom. The news was distressing, and frankly, shocking to say the least. But what troubled me most about this conversation was the immediacy of my dear friend to relinquish his ties with the afflicted. Now, I grant that the mutual friend was in a very ugly situation, and wisdom would suggest that it speaks of one's approval if we behave as though they were not responsible for their actions... But to almost surgically remove them seemed unconscionable. I agreed that professional attachment was not beneficial at this time, but as I listened to the depth of the distance that was being made, I had an ache rise up within me. I heard the Holy Spirit say "Do not run from the Leprous, RUN TO THEM." I did not hide what was shared with me, and I believe that in my disclosing those words, I urged them to hold on to the relationship by at least a thread for now. But after we finished speaking, my spirit-man rose up and I felt the urge to pray. As I prayed, I felt the need to call this mutual friend. Later that day, I did. I did not reach out to them to lambaste them for their idiocy, nor did I feel the call to admonish them to take responsibility for their actions and apologize to those who they were inadvertently hurting through their actions. I simply said- "We Love You".

In spite of the reflection it might have on our character to any misunderstanding spectators, we felt that Jesus wanted us to reach out and speak peace and love. Jesus did not put a priority on people's perception of Him when he was operating during His ministry. He cared more about those who needed help than those who murmured of His breaking the orthodoxy or traditions. We are equipped as believers with the power to bring healing to those who are afflicted. The challenge comes when either party is not willing to give or receive the healing. The argument on the side of sin is usually clouded by the guilt, delusion or pride that is borne of the flesh in seasons of sin. The argument on the side of those of us who are called to be vessels for His grace can be driven by insulated caution or religious misunderstanding. There will always be those who out of fear of moving outside of the socially accepted divides, or out of their creation of an idol which usurps the power of God... Our self-made FENCES. While it is not our responsibility to be the convicting agent in these situations, it IS our responsibility to be the LOVE of CHRIST.

The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin. Believers can be led down a very dangerous path when they take the judgment of others upon their shoulders. While I believe that we are to hold those who have the revelation of the truth to a higher level of expectation, I also believe that we must all watch our own footing. "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!"-(1 Corinthians 10:12) Yes, there but for the grace of God go I... It is no exaggeration to say that some of the Lord's most potent Generals have gone in moments from condemnation of a peer caught in an explicit sin, to they themselves being wrung over the coals when found in a compromising position. Remember, when God has put you on assignment, the enemy works with crafty intricacy to throw you off of the track and out of the hunt. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”-(1 Peter 5:8)

So much is released in the Spirit when we walk in obedience to His calling and at all times operating in LOVE. Precious Lord God, keep us from becoming insu lated, religious, traditionalist, orthodox, offended Christians. Help us to become more like the Master, Jesus. who, reaching out to the untouchables and touching with HEALING, made GLORY for Your name. Let us always remember and embrace the lovingkindness of the perfect Savior, who endured the temptations of the flesh, took on our sins that we would be FORGIVEN in the eyes of the Father. The greatest teacher and example of eternity, is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There is no way that we can embody His calling for our lives UNLESS WE WALK IN LOVE. Leave the ultimate judgement to the Father, and be consecrated to continue proclaiming the GOOD NEWS of the SON through the working POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT.

"Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."-(Matthew 6:12-13) It is no coincidence that asking for forgiveness for our missteps is paired with a plea for deliverance from the enemy? God wants us to be ALL He has designed us to be. Perfected through His Blood, and empowered by HIS LOVE. Forgive, Speak Jesus into one another's lives. Speak LOVE and be the LOVE of CHRIST to the unclean, the untouchable, the leprous and discarded souls who NEED JESUS and His healing touch. If that is you today, we encourage you to reach out to the loving and forgiving hand of the King of Kings, and He will make you whole. If you simply need Him to touch your heart right this very moment to give you MORE LOVE, than we agree with you IN THE NAME OF JESUS, that it would be done for you according to your faith and the POWER of His Spirit. Forgiveness is part of His ministry- "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."-(2 Corinthians 5:18-19) FORGIVE. LOVE. BUILD HIS KINGDOM.

Love God. Love People.

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."-(Matthew 22:36-40)

Love God. Love People. It IS really that simple. Jesus could very well have delivered a diatribe that unraveled the very mystery of faith and the engineering schematics for creation and God's plans, but He chose instead to encapsulate the heart of the Father with what is essentially the meaning of life. So poignant is this ideal, and so very much like the wonderfully simple ideal of grace, it is almost incomprehensible to our feeble, legalistic minds. We want so desperately to add to it, because "it cannot be that simple..." But the Lord Himself revealed the key to pleasing God and fulfilling your destiny here on Earth. Love Him with ALL of yourself, leaving no part insulated from Him, and love others as you love yourself.

Loving God comes easily for me. I have been forgiven of so much that is, in the natural, and in my own understanding, unforgiveable. But the Holy Spirit revealed to me long ago that I was very similar to the woman with the alabaster box at Simon the Pharisee's house. She was a terrible sinner, particularly in the eyes of the law, but the presence of the Lord, and the Master's forgiveness led her to give all of her love to Him "Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."-(Luke 7:47) Love for the Lord leads us into His covering. The very presence of the Holy Spirit IS LOVE. When you bask in His shadow, you are encompassed by the purest love in all creation. We love God because He first loved us. Even while we were ignorantly hurting, cursing, defiling and avoiding Him. He still loved us so much that He gave everything. How could we NOT love Him?

Loving our neighbors as we love ourselves is not immediately easy for most of us. I imagine that the enemy would like to keep us divided and reclusive due to the revelation of the power that unity creates. It would seem, at first glance, that loving others is an issue based entirely around the behavior, reciprocal treatment and the "lovability" of others. My Spirit-Man knows otherwise. We are so often used by the enemy to believe that it is "their fault" or "them" that has the issues that block our love. But I would pose this query to you: What if you do not truly love yourself? How is it possible to love others as we love ourselves, when we truthfully do not? Loving ourselves oftentimes DOES NOT come easily. When we receive the transformative power of salvation, we immediately cling to the Love of God, but it takes many of us a lengthy period of time to be delivered from the lies the adversary tells us about ourselves. Sometimes, it takes an entire lifetime. Sometimes, sadly, it never happens. I know dozens of "saved, blood-bought believers" who are absolutely loveless because they are constantly crippled by the whispers of inadequacy and inferiority from the enemy. I was one of those people. I listened to the lies. Even knowing the Word of God, I believed the fallacies that once plagued my quiet hours. "You are no good. You do not deserve any of this... No one loves you, they are all against you." But God got a hold of me one day long ago and revealed that without Him those statements were true. But WITH HIM, I was forgiven, delivered, renewed, recreated and most importantly LOVED. How do we love ourselves and others? We receive God's Love for us, and He LOVES THROUGH US.

We can do nothing without LOVE. God IS LOVE, and we can do nothing without GOD. Your gifts, talents and earthly tools will never give you entry into the Kingdom of God. Your best laid efforts to enter eterntity based on what you consider as service to the King will be crushed and unrecognized if you do not follow these commandments. The Apostle Paul said it flawlessly: "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 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 have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."-(1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

We are all in "full-time ministry". We are all required by God to minister to one another. Do not leave that up to the oracle ministries. Jesus tells us that the entirety of the Law and the Prophets hang upon loving God and loving people. He FULFILLED the Law and the Prophets and then gave one NEW COMMANDMENT reiterating the importance of our LOVE: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."-(John 13:34-35)

So the next time you find it challenging to LOVE someone who by the world's standard is unlovable, (perhaps even yourself) think on the Words of the Master. LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS HE LOVED US. LOVE GOD. LOVE PEOPLE.