Love like you've never been hurt' are the words that I have tried to live by for the past eight years. I owe my Lord and Savior my life and he has given me the grace and the fruit of the spirit to see through people's emotions and attitude, to see their hurt, to forgive them for what they never intended to do or say; to love with an 'agape' godly love.
Sometimes we just have raw emotion and don't know how to deal with what's going on or how to sort it out in our thoughts and get a grasp on it emotionally. It is at these times that I see how unconditional love and patience and understanding helps people to break down strongholds and to develop the skills that they need to gain self control of themselves, their thoughts, their emotions and their words before they speak them.
I have been through that. The fruit of the spirit is something that is developed over time and treating people with a godly, unconditional love helps them not only to see how much God loves them and how great he is but also how much they're loved just the way they are. And practicing it, learning how to love others the way we love ourselves, helps us to grow stronger spiritually and to bear more favorably the fruit of the spirit for our good and benefit. It is a learning process.
Breaking down strongholds is just the beginning to a whole brand new life and brand new identity. Just like everyone else I once was lost in sin and like the song goes Jesus took me in. People say there is no manual to life but there is. God used holy men of God to write the God breathed word, the Holy Bible. These words, these books, chapters and verses hold the keys to so many secrets to life. Secrets that unfold as you learn and grow just like when you go to college for a degree and take courses that build on one another to build your understanding and knowledge, truths will be unfolded to you as you study the word of God.
What started with love ends in love. God doesn't care what you've done or where you've been or where you plan on going out of revenge or anger or spite or hurt or grudges or blindly because you have lost touch with your heart and who you are underneath all the pain. God loves you just like you are, where you are and he loves you unconditionally and completely. He wants you to come home and to sit at his table and for you to let him feed you the words of life that feed your soul and develop inside of you into fruit that gives you true from God love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.
Give God a chance. Let him come into your heart and change you. He will be true to cover you with the grace you need to be a better person. He will forgive you of all your sins just because you believe in him and what he did out of love for you. He will freely give you an eternal life of happiness and health, a perfect life in a perfect world after we you through this one. And he will give you the strength to get through this one. He will lift you up. He will begin in you a new work. He will show you who you are in Christ and call you beloved, friend, daughter and son. Who better to give your life to than the creator of all instead of vengeance, pride and emptiness.
God loves you and he is waiting for you to ask him to come into your heart and into your life so he can fill you with his holy spirit and lead you and guide you to a whole new peace and joy filled satisfying life until this one is over. Mind you the powers of hell will try to deter you, steal from you the joy that God gives you and kill the spirit of hope in you and destroy that part of you that will live forever your soul.
Study the holy Bible every day. Find a church body of like minded believers that you can worship and praise God with and pray with and learn God's word with. Pray often throughout every day. Include God in every thought. Let him change you and your life and give you life and joy and peace that is beyond all understanding. Let him fill you with his holy spirit and love you and strengthen you the way he wants to.
God bless all my brothers and sisters in Christ. I can say I love you because if you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you have been born again of God's Spirit into his family and are now seated at his table.
Love honestly and whole hearted and remember that none of us is perfect. That part of us that's made in God's image is perfect. But these human bodies and emotions and thoughts that we have have to be gotten under control so we can bear the fruit of the spirit. Love one another. Help one another. Uplift one another. After all, just like we can't choose our earthly family we can't choose our family in Christ. We're none perfect and the powers of darkness are trying to rob all of us from the fruit of the spirit.
God's peace and joy to you all. I love you because God first loved me. And he first loved you, before you ever knew him. Love yourself enough to give your heart and life to God. Let him inspire you to have a new life that he can change and empower. God gives us strength, love, joy and peace in a world of hate, chaoes and loss, and hateful pride.
God's peace to you all.
Written By: Lisa Clewis
April 7, 2018
