Friends in Christ Message for May 10, 2003

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Friends in Christ Weekly Message
May 10, 2003

My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.
And friends, once that's taken care of and we're no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we're bold and free before God! We're able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we're doing what he said, doing what pleases him. Again, this is God's command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command. As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit he gave us.
1 John 3:18-24 (Message*)

The Gospel is not just about what we believe intellectually or what we say. It is primarily about how we live our lives.

We know that love is at the heart of Christ's message to us. John implores believers to actually "practice real love." This is the only way to truly live in God's reality.

Practicing the love of Christ stops us from condemning ourselves and frees us from worries. It enables us to receive God's promises, because we are doing what God tells us to do. And then we live in Him, and He lives in us.

My dear friends, may we each practice the love of Christ in our lives - with ourselves and with others. Through living a life of love, may we each come to live in Christ and have Christ come to live in us.

Bill Samuel