What's love got to do with it?!

Welcome to the lifestyles of the anointed

¹³ Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

In my experience in the body of Christ, the question "What does love have to do with it?" is all too common. We achieve these great aspects in development in God and we grow in ministry and in personal character but the one thing that we forget is the one thing that is most important, LOVE! From my understanding, as we continue in this walk with Christ we are suppose to be following in His footsteps. In this next verse of scripture we even find the secret to Christ's ability to attract the people and help them see the light.

Jeremiah 31:3 says "³ Long ago the Lord said to Israel “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself." As the scripture says, it wasn't His flashiness, His power, His knowledge or any of that but it was His love.

As He has drawn us His people to Him through love we are to draw those who aren't saved and those who have not been witnessed to through love. The mistake we most often make is quoting scriptures, and attempting to know what these people need versus just loving them and allowing them to see Christ through our actions and thus making a way for anything else they may need through Christ

As most would agree we have to first define the subject matter before we are able to teach, preach and most importantly live it. One of the various biblical definitions of love can be found in...

1 Corinthians 13:4-8... "⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵ or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. ⁶ It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. ⁷ Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
⁸ Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages^[a] and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!"

Love done correctly personifies all these things and is more concerned with the person being loved and being effective than being selfish. Love sums up the character of God and shows us who we are to be by where we are to start...

This type of love actually spans farther than from God to man, and Man to unbeliever but from Christian to Christian...


Mark 12:31 "³¹ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[a] No other commandment is greater than these.” It is so important that we not only love in words but to love in deed. The scripture says to love as if they were yourself. If we as a body would love each other with the same intensity that we love ourselves we would be making a lot more progress and making greater moves for the kingdom. Love isn't just an emotion or a state of mind but love actually has power to it. The scriptures speak of what love is able to do and most of all what love has done for us...

⁸ Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.

Not to say love will cover us from being able to sin, or love will block out our sins but love has the ability to weaken sins control over us. If we as brothers and sisters loved each other as the scriptures have said then confessing to one another wouldn't be as hard and getting delivered from sin wouldn't be so hard because we would be able to be transparent and allow others to help us with in prayer and guidance.

In conclusion love has done something for us that nothing else in this world could award or afford us. Love has put us in position to receive a savior, to redeemed, and to have our relationship reconciled with God the Father... 

John 3:16 says ¹⁶ “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."

Please feel free to comment, ask questions and give respective opinions and perspectives...

And always in all things keep God first and contend for the faith!!! God Bless.

An Effective Witness

Welcome to the lifestyles of the anointed and nameless

Have you ever questioned what people are saying about you or what they think of who you are? Has it crossed your mind if the person you are trying to portray is actually being received?

Growing up I was always taught that outside of the walls of the home you are representing your parents and the family, whatever people see you do or how you act will reflect on home. This is something that directly reflects on what we call our "witness" as believers, followers and children of the living God.

How we act towards people, in all situations and in general reflects on our Father and subconsciously will shape peoples opinion on God and what we say we believe in...

As a budding leader in the body of Christ it is so important that not only the church members see you as the man or woman of God but that the world sees you as such. Once our lives have been given unto God we have become an ambassador to His kingdom. When people see us in our day to day lives, in and out of the church they ought to see a reflection of Christ versus seeing us in the natural.

^\16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

The people of this world both saved and unsaved are still people, as spiritual as some can be in various levels of faith, we started out as humans. Humans by nature believe mostly by seeing, followed by hearing and knowing. When we as believers profess that we follow Jesus Christ we now have all eyes on us. People look at us to see if what we are saying if more than just words but an actual lifestyle, solidified by faith. In all that we do, we ought to allow or portray the attributes of our Father so that the people will be drawn in and attracted to what it is that we're a part of.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,²³ Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

The fruit of the spirit are the characteristics of God, these are the standards by which our character should be defined. Often times we portray one or more qualities at a time but fall behind in the others. Not to say that this is an easy process, because honestly it requires work especially if they are not already active in your life. When interacting with people, these are what God has intended them to see through us, along with righteous living through the obedience of His word.

As up and coming leaders in the body, your witness unto others shapes how your ministry or ministry gift will be received, these gifts have been given by God out of His love for His people, how can one act in the gift without its fundamental loving nature?

The classic idiom says " It's easier to catch bees with honey than with vinegar", Matthew 5:13 says "You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.". Both of these allude to the metaphoric sense that we as Christians are the flavoring behind the attraction to God. Although the holy spirit is at work within those who come to Christ, we as ambassadors are the first ones they see, both walking around and in the church building. The sum of our responsibilites as Children of God and ambassadors to His kingdom in regards to our witness is found in the Great Commission:

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20)

According to this passage of scriptures we have been instructed to make disciples of all nations. Disciple by definition means "a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another; follower; any follower of Christ."

In conclusion, how do we accomplish our goals as described by the great commission? We as budding leaders in the body must live a life of a righteous witness, the people of God and those who are still unsaved need to be attracted not but us or the gifts we operate in but the Christ that lives within us, thus producing Galatians 5:22-23 and leading into Matthew 28:16-20. The point of an effective witness is to drawn in the people of this world to the love of God through our faith in Jesus Christ and the following of His example.

Please feel free to comment, ask questions and give respective opinions and perspectives...

And always in all things keep God first and contend for the faith!!! God Bless.

Christian in a crisis

Have you ever been in a situation where it seems near impossible to act as God would, where the only response you have is to act "out of character"? 

I don't know about some of you but at times it gets hard to portray what God would want us to do versus what our feelings and thoughts are telling us to do. This is what I identify as "A Christian in a crisis"...

The truth of the matter is, we are spirits having a natural experience, we are following the examples left behind by Christ. The word says in Hebrews 4:15, For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 

The things we face today are not uncommon to Christ...

The main thing we have to understand is how to remain a Christian in the midst of a crisis. How do I show the world God while under pressure?

Scripturally it sounds very easy but most of know that that isn't the case when we are in the situation but they key is application. When in a crisis apply what the scriptures have said. Keep in mind that the world is looking to the body of Christ as the example, even when it doesn't seem like it. 

Below we are going to go over two verses of scripture and interpretations 

Philippians 4:8... And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8, 9 NLT)

When going over this verse what we see being taught is to focus your mind on God like behaviors and thoughts. Keep away from allowing your mind to stray and put into practice everything that we have learned as Christians and in our local churches as a part of our development. 

You will keep  him  in perfect peace,  Whose  mind  is  stayed  on You,  Because he trusts in You. (Isaiah 26:3 NKJV)

Simply enough as you keep your mind stayed on Jesus and the things that He would have you to focus on such as godly character, repentance and salvation you will take on the mind of Christ. As we see in Philippians 2:5 the word says it like this " Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, (Philippians 2:5 NKJV)" 

When we as Christians are put into a situation where are backs are against the wall and we are required to show more God than we show ourselves... We rely on the scriptures to keep us, the power found in them to discipline us, and the example we show to increase the kingdom. We have taken the first step to succeeding as a Christians in a crisis... 

Please share, comment, spread and be on the look out for the next post. And as always be blessed...