A person walking in the ways of the Lord is a person who is committed to and is diligently walking the Love-Walk developing the Fruit of the Spirit in every area of their lives. They are habitually others centered. The fruit of Goodness is a habitual lifestyle for this person.
Psalm 145: 8 – 9The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and abounding in mercy and loving-kindness. (9) The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works [the entirety of things created].(AMP C)
Psalm 100: 5 For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. (NKJV) – also Psalm 106: 1; Psalm 107: 1; 1st Chronicles 16: 34
The Lord Is the same yesterday, today, and forever, so His Goodness, Loving-Kindness, and Mercy are everlasting to all generations.
Hebrews 13: 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (NKJV)
Because God IS Love and He Is the same yesterday, today, and forever, in His Goodness, by Grace, He poured out His abundant everlasting Love and Mercy toward all Mankind.
Ephesians 2: 4 – 6 But God–so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, (5) Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation). (6) And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One). (AMP C)
A person walking in the ways of the Lord is a person who is committed to and is diligently walking the Love-Walk developing the Fruit of the Spirit in every area of their lives. They are habitually others centered. The fruit of Goodness is a habitual lifestyle for this person.
Walking in the Fruit of the Spirit is a normal natural way for a Born-Again person to live. It should be habitual. Any other way of life is abnormal for the Born-Again person.
The Bible calls this person a Good Man.
Proverbs 12: 2A good man obtains favor from the LORD, But a man of wicked intentions He will condemn. (NKJV)
Psalm 37: 23The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way. (NKJV)
Matthew 12: 35The good man from his inner good treasure flings forth good things, and the evil man out of his inner evil storehouse flings forth evil things. (AMP C)
“God is good all the time,” and …. “All the time God is good.” There never is a time when God is not good.
People frequently accuse God of doing many things that are not good. Whether from misunderstanding, misplaced blame, or an instinctual response to suffering, humanity tends to miss God’s goodness and see only the brokenness and pain they think he ignores or causes.
God IS Love therefore God IS Good! God is never your problem.
1st John 4: 7 – 8Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. (8) He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.(NKJV)
Recognizing God’s essential goodness is foundational to an accurate understanding of God’s nature, God’s work in the world, and God’s plans for humanity.
Recognizing or not recognizing the Goodness of God will affect your Faith, your very life, and your Eternity.
Because God is good, God will always act in alignment with his character. That means, God will always act with goodness in ways that make us better, strengthen us, heals us and restore us.
The Bible repeatedly proclaims that God is good. God’s goodness is abundant.
Psalm 145: 8 – 9The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and abounding in mercy and loving-kindness. (9) The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works [the entirety of things created].(AMP C)
2 Peter 1:3-11 “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. He that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give (ALL) diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (KJV)
This is one of my favorite scriptures. I like to use it in Bible studies I teach. It tells us what we have. It tells us what is available, and it tells us what it will do for us. It also tells us what will happen if we don’t give ALL diligence to it. That’s the point that I stress whenever I’m dealing with people, especially new converts. It takes time for us to build ourselves up in our most holy faith (Jude 25) and to get our minds renewed like St. Paul tells us to do in Romans 12.
The most significant thing all Christians have to deal with is our past. We know from 2 Corinthians 17 that when we get born again, “old things are passed away.” Passed away. That is a nice way of saying someone is dead. Yes, our old pre-born-again life is washed away by the Blood of Jesus. So why does it keep coming back and tormenting us?
The key is verse 9 in Second Peter. It says that a person that does NOT give ALL diligence to developing the qualities in the list does not have the vision of the big picture. On top of that, he forgets that he was purged, or freed from his old sins. This scripture is St. Peter’s list of qualities and efforts that help us become successful Christians. It also tells us what it takes to do that, “ALL diligence.”
ALL. I think that is Saints Peter’s and Paul’s favorite word. ALL. We have to give ALL diligence. Not some, not a little, not just when we feel like it or remember it. ALL. All the time. Day in and day out. Never a day off or a vacation. Oh. Well, then, just what have I gotten myself into in this Christian life?
It says that in Christ Jesus, God has given us ALL things pertaining to life and godliness. It also says we have exceedingly great and precious promises. ALL these things help us to be partakers in the divine nature, the nature of God Himself. What is His nature? Love. Verse one of that scripture says that we have obtained like precious faith with them through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. To the foundation of this “like precious faith” we are supposed to add virtue, and to virtue, knowledge.
The list continues with temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and finally, charity. In the KJV, charity is the word used for the Greek word agape. Agape is the word for God’s unconditional love, and that is the divine nature. If we give ALL diligence, we can get there, but not without working through the virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, and brotherly kindness. And we will have a hard time getting there if we only give some or a little diligence. We have to decide how dedicated and devoted we are going to be. It doesn’t happen overnight, or even in the first season. This is a life-long process, and a process is exactly what it is.
Do we see other Christians that seem to have it all together? Do we ever hope to be that way? ALL. It’s kind of a scary word. ALL means that we have the strength to actually do this thing. Thank God for His grace! He’s not holding out on us, nor giving us an impossible task. ALL things are possible with God. And Jesus said in Mark 9:23, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” (KJV)
ALL seems to be a word that is sort of progressive. ALL for a new Christian is different from the ALL of a mature believer. Time and experience help our ALL increase. From my own time and experience I can tell you past sins keep coming back, but at least now I have the tools to move on. I go through the repentance and forgiveness process as frequently as I need to, and get right back on to the diligence train.
Thank You, O most gracious God, for ALL Your great and precious promises and everything I need for life and godliness, so that I CAN give ALL diligence to my life-long renewal process. Thank You for the greatest promise of all, that if these things be in me, and abound, they make me that I shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Kindness, as well as all of the Fruits of the Spirit, are desperately needed in the dark world of today.
The lifestyle of the Fruit of the Spirit in the life of the believer is a light to a dark world.
Every believer should be and is responsible for bearing the Fruit of the Spirit as a lifestyle. This hurting world must see this fruit in operation in the lives of the believers.
1st Thessalonians 5: 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. (NKJV)
Matthew 5: 14 – 16“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. (15) Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. (16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (NKJV)
Ephesians 5: 8 – 10For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (9) (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), (10) finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. (NKJV)
Philippians 2: 12b …work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; (13) for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. (14) Do all things without complaining and disputing, (15) that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, (NKJV)
Ephesians 4: 17 – 18This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, (18) having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; (NKJV)
The Loving-Kindness and Tender Mercy of God is calling out to a dark and hurting World. His Heart cry to this dark World Is:
Matthew 11: 28 – 30Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.](29) Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. (30) For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good–not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne. (AMP C)
John 6: 37All whom My Father gives (entrusts) to Me will come to Me; and the one who comes to Me I will most certainly not cast out [I will never, no never, reject one of them who comes to Me]. (AMP C)
Loving-Kindness flows from a heart of Love. The kindness is done solely from a heart of Love and not because of what the other person has or has not done. Loving-Kindness expects nothing in return. It is others centered. This is the Fruit of Kindness listed in Galatians 5: 22
People are desperate for kindness. Even people who are normally very hard to get along with or just downright mean they are all desperate for kindness.
The whole world is searching for love, kindness, and peace. They are searching for a Savior, but they don’t know where to look. Literally they are looking in all the wrong places.
There is no real lasting peace outside of God.
Ephesians 2: 12 – 14A remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. (13) But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (14A) For he himself is our peace… (NKJV)
Everything that God does comes from a heart of Mercy and Loving-Kindness for He IS Love Himself.
Ephesians 2: 4 – 10 But God–so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, (5) Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation). (6) And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One). (7) He did this that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free grace (His unmerited favor) in [His] kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus. (8) For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God; (9) Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.] (10)For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]. (AMP C)
We’ve talked about love. We’ve talked about unity. We’ve even talked about the deep things of God. Now we have to talk about what makes all those things possible: forgiveness.Colossians 1:12-14 “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:” (KJV) In Hebrews chapter 9, it says there is no forgiveness, or remission, of sins without the shedding of blood. It was talking about the Old Testament sacrifices, applying them in the New Testament through Jesus’ own death on the cross.
How great a salvation has Jesus purchased for us! He didn’t pass a law. He didn’t write a paper. He died! Not only did He die, He paid the full price for all the curse that came on the earth through Adam and Eve, and then He rose from the dead! He paid that awful, unfathomable price by shedding every drop of blood in His body. Even after He died, a soldier stabbed Him in the heart, and the final few drops of blood and water in His body gushed out. What a terrific price!
From that very cross, enduring wave after wave of pain and torture, He was actually able to ask His Father to forgive the ones who had lied about Him, unlawfully condemned Him, beaten Him without mercy, crammed biting thorns down on His head, driven Him up that hill, tore off His clothes, hammered nails into His hands and feet, and raised up that cross; He asked His Father to forgive them. He said they did not know what they were doing. Not know?! Deliberately causing Him as much horrible pain and anguish as they could think of!
What was it that they did not know? None of them from Judas on had any idea that they were fulfilling scripture, right down to casting lots for His clothes. Fulfilling scriptures, doing God’s will! The longer we meditate on it, the bigger it gets. Like St. Paul said in I Corinthians 2:7-8, “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (KJV)
And in the face of all this, we get salvation! We get the forgiveness of our sins! In both I Corinthians 6:20 and I Corinthians 7:23 St. Paul says we are bought with a price. That terrific price! That is what makes us His own. We are not our own. We belong to Him, spirit, soul, and body. In every aspect of our lives, we can’t ever forget that. It is through His divine ownership that we can claim our salvation. Not just me, myself and I. Every born-again human being on the face of the earth is my brother and sister.
How could we ever understand these truths without the revelations God gave to St. Paul? It takes the revelation from the throne of God Himself by His Holy Spirit to explain such a deep subject as forgiveness of sin. Every day in every way we continue to learn more about this colossal subject. It is vital to our spiritual growth and understanding that we study these truths about our salvation and grace. Not just individually for myself. I am in a family now! I have to really learn about love, laying down my life. Serving others. Being other-centered, not self-centered.
And, on top of everything else, forgiveness! Ephesians 4:32 says, “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” (KJV) So this is the family I now find myself in.
O my Lord, if I need help with anything, this is it! Thank You for salvation, and thank You for Your precious Holy Spirit Who is my only hope of ever learning and growing in these truths! Amen.
A person walking in the ways of the Lord is a person who is committed to and is diligently walking the Love-Walk. They are others centered, developing the fruit of Kindness in every area of their lives.
Galatians 5: 22 – 23But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness,goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (NKJV)
Kindness and Goodness are connected. They are both Fruits of the Spirit relying on each other and flow together but are not the same. That is why they are listed separately in the Fruit of the Spirit listed inGalatians 5: 22 – 23.
In today’s world we are in desperate need of kindness.
With the Fruit of the Spirit present and operating in our lives, we do not have to live like the World lives.
Kindness should never be confused with weakness. Kindness is power under perfect control.
When we allow the Fruit of Spirit to have dominion in our lives, we live a higher life than the carnal natural life. We will be Spiritually Minded, which is life and peace.
Romans 8: 5 – 6 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. (6) For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (AMP C)
Being Spiritually Minded is by far a much higher life than living a carnal fleshly life allowing our emotions to govern us.
As we walk the Love-Walk developing the Fruit of the Spirit, the Fruit of the Spirit flowing from our Spiritual Man gives us the control. When we are not walking the Love-Walk, we are out of control allowing our fleshly carnal man to be governed by our emotions.
Loving-Kindness flows from a heart of Love. The kindness is done solely from a heart of Love and not because of what the other person has or has not done. Loving-Kindness expects nothing in return. It is others centered. This is the Fruit of Kindness listed in Galatians 5: 22
As God’s Children we should be walking a habitual life of kindness.
Psalm 145: 8 – 9The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger andabounding in mercy and loving-kindness.(9) The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works [the entirety of things created]. (AMP C)
Colossians 3: 12 – 14Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; (13) bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. (14) But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. (NKJV)
Define deep. As it says in Colossians 2:1-3, “For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”(KJV)
If anything is deep, it’s got to be all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge that are hidden in Christ Jesus. In Second Corinthians 12:3-4, St. Paul tells us of his trip to heaven where he learned things so deep that he couldn’t even put them into words:“And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” (KJV) He actually had that experience three times.
What did God tell him? Is it possible to find out? Even though he never specifically stated what he learned personally from the Lord, I believe we can get a clue from his letters. In many of them he speaks of what he is writing as a “mystery, hidden in God.” He uses the word “mystery” seventeen times: twice in Romans, twice in First Corinthians, six times in Ephesians, four times in Colossians, once in Second Thessalonians and twice in his first letter to Timothy. It is enough to tell us that he has revelation knowledge from God that we could never find out for ourselves.
The definition of the word “mystery” means “information known only to the initiated.” That means that yes, we can find out what each of these mysteries actually are, the “deep things of God.” We are the initiated. We are born again, baptized in water and the spirit, and belong to the Body of Christ. Mysteries are not things that we cannot know or learn. They are our personal information that the Lord, through St. Paul, is teaching us. In each of these seventeen instances, he explains completely what these mysteries are.
Of course, they can’t be known by the world. Like he says in First Corinthians 2:6-16:“Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”(KJV) (All emphasis mine.)
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, . . . but we have the mind of Christ.” (KJV) Wow! Thank You, Holy Spirit of God, for teaching us the wisdom that only comes from You Yourself. Amen.
A person walking in the ways of the Lord is a person who is developing the fruit of Patience and Longsuffering in every area of their lives. They are diligent to let Patience have it’s perfect work so that they can be perfect and entire wanting nothing.
James 1: 4 But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing. (AMP C)
Patience is always required on the path or process to manifestation. No patience no manifestation.
If you are a Born-Again child of God, you do not have to pray for or beg God for patience. You already have it. You must exercise it for it to be developed.
Patience is a must have. It must be exercised continuously to be developed.
Faith and Patience applied to the Word brings forth manifestation or the fruit.
Luke 8: 15But as for that [seed] in the good soil, these are [the people] who, hearing the Word,hold it fast in a just (noble, virtuous) and worthy heart, and steadily bring forth fruit with patience.(AMP C)
James 5: 7 – 12Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. (8) You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. (9) Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! (10) My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. (11) Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. (NKJV)
Hebrews 12: 1 – 2THEREFORE THEN, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us, (2) Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.(AMP C)
A lifestyle of patience is absolutely necessary for a Christian to live a successful Christian life.
A person walking in the ways of the Lord is a person who is developing the fruit of Patience and Longsuffering in every area of their lives. They are diligent to let Patience have it’s perfect work so that they can be perfect and entire wanting nothing.
James 1: 4 But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing. (AMP C)
Patience just doesn’t happen on its own. It must be exercised in order to be developed.
In order to walk successfully in today’s dark world and the world of the future we must develop a lifestyle of patience.
Romans 5: 1 – 5THEREFORE, SINCE we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us [grasp the fact that we] have [the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). (2) Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God’s favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God. (3) Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance. (4) And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation. (5) Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us. (AMP C)
2nd Peter 1: 5 – 6For this very reason, adding your diligence [to the divine promises], employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy), and in [exercising] virtue [develop] knowledge (intelligence), (6) And in [exercising] knowledge [develop] self-control, and in [exercising] self-control [develop] steadfastness (patience, endurance), and in [exercising] steadfastness [develop] godliness (piety), (7) And in [exercising] godliness [develop] brotherly affection, and in [exercising] brotherly affection [develop] Christian love. (8) For as these qualities are yours and increasingly abound in you, they will keep [you] from being idle or unfruitful unto the [full personal] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). (9) For whoever lacks these qualities is blind, [spiritually] shortsighted, seeing only what is near to him, and has become oblivious [to the fact] that he was cleansed from his old sins. (AMP C)
Galatians 6: 9And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint. (AMP C)
Hebrews 10: 36 – 39For you have need of steadfast patience and endurance, so that you may perform and fully accomplish the will of God, and thus receive and carry away [and enjoy to the full] what is promised. (AMP C)
A person walking in the ways of the Lord is a person who is walking in the Joy of the Lord. This person exercises the Fruit of Joy in every area of their life. The Joy of the Lord is their strength.
Nehemiah 8: 10b… Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (NKJV)
Proverbs 17: 22A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones. (NKJV)
If we are truly Born-Again, joy is already present in us by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Joy is one of the Fruit of The Spirit listed inGalatians 5: 22 – 23.
Galatians 5: 22 – 23But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23)gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (NKJV)
(Amplified Classic)But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes]
Joy is a major Spiritual force.
We must choose Joy and activate it, otherwise it will remain present but in-active.
Joy, like all the Fruit of the Spirit, must be activated by our Faith and exercised regularly in order for the fruits to develop. We must always be Fruit of the Spirit minded.
When we, by Faith in the Living Word, walk the Love Walk it activates and develops the fruit of Joy and all the related fruit of the Spirit.
When we apply our faith to the promises in God’s Living Word, rejoicing in the Lord will bring us to a place of rest in our Faith.
Real Faith is at rest in the Word.
Romans 15: 13May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope. (Amp. C)
Hebrews 4: 1 – 3 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. (2)For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. (3)For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “SO I SWORE IN MY WRATH, ‘THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST,’ ” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.(NKJV)
We must Rejoice always in every circumstance of life.
I did not say that it would be comfortable or easy, but we can do it. The more we exercise the fruit of Joy by Rejoicing in the Lord the easier it becomes. It will become a lifestyle.
When we read, study, confess, and meditate on the Living Word we must do it believing that it is The Absolute Truth.
What does absolute mean?
Dictionary:Absolute:
1.complete; perfect2.free from limitations, restrictions, or exceptions; unqualified.
3.having unlimited authority.4.undoubted; certain: the absolute truth.
5.not dependent on, conditioned by, or relative to anything else; independent
6.pure; unmixed.
God Himself Is Love – Absolute Love,
God Is Absolute Life,
God Is Absolute Light,
God Is Absolute Truth,
God Is Absolute Integrity,
God Is Absolutely Steadfast.
God and His Living Word are Absolute Truth! God and His Word are One.
John 1: 1IN THE beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.(Amp. C)
God IS Love! The Being Love. Absolute Love.
1st John 4: 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.(NKJV)
1st John 4: 16And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.(NKJV)
Because God IS Love, The Being, and God and His Word are One, then God’s Word IS Love.
Because God Is Absolute Life and God and His Word are One then God’s Word Is Alive, absolute Life.
John 1: 4 – 5In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men. (5)And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it]. (Amp. C)
Hebrews 4: 12For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.(NKJV)
Because God and His Living Word are One and God cannot lie God’s Living Word Is Absolute Truth.
Titus 1: 2in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,(NKJV)
John 17: 17 Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth. (Amp. C)
God’s Living Word Is Absolute Truth. His Word is His bond.
God’s Word is Absolute Integrity and Absolutely Steadfast.
Just as God never changes God’s Nature or His Ways do not change; neither does His Word.
Hebrews 13: 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (NKJV)
Ephesians 1: 3 – 5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, (4)just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, (5) having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, (NKJV)
Colossians 1: 21 – 22 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled (22)in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— (NKJV)
1st Thessalonians 3: 12 – 13 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, (13)sothat He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. (NKJV)
A person walking in the ways of the Lord will be a person walking a Holy Life having an established heartor being Spiritually Minded.
The person who is walking in the Ways of the Lord has a life joined to the Heart of God and is pleasing to Him. That person will be Spiritually Minded not Carnally Minded.
Walking a Holy life is walking the Love Walk.
Walking the Love Walk will develop and perfect a Holy Life
Walking a Holy Life or Holiness can only be done in a now moment as we walk the Love Walk.
The Love Walk will separate us from a sinful life.
Ephesians 4: 22 – 24 Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusion; (23)And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude], (24)And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness.(Amp. C)
God’s Living Word is Absolute Truth. As we walk the Love Walk in obedience to God’s Living Word the Truth of His Word abiding in us will Sanctify us causing us to walk a Holy life unto The Lord.
John 17: 17 Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth. (Amp. C)
GOD IS LOVE! WHEN YOU KNOW GOD, YOU KNOW LOVE HIMSELF THE PERSON.
LOVE IS NOT ONLY AN ACTION WORD REQUIRING ACTION BUT IT IS A PERSON.
ALL GENUINE LOVE IN ACTION FLOWS FROM THE PERSON LOVE GOD HIMSELF.
1st John 4: 7 – 8 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is (springs) from God; and he who loves [his fellowmen] is begotten (born) of God and is coming [progressively] to know and understand God [to perceive and recognize and get a better and clearer knowledge of Him]. (8) He who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. (Amp. C)
When we know God IS LOVE we know His ways. To Know His Ways is to Love Him.
All of God’s Ways are Love.
Matthew 22: 35 – 40And one of their number, a lawyer, asked Him a question to test Him. (36)Teacher, which kind of commandment is great and important (the principal kind) in the Law? [Some commandments are light–which are heavy?] (37)And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect). (38)This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment. (39)And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. (40) These two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets.(Amp. C)
Romans 13: 8 – 10 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. (9)For the commandments, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,” “YOU SHALL NOT MURDER,” “YOU SHALL NOT STEAL,” “YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS,” “YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” (10)Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (NKJV)
A person walking in the Ways of the Lord will be a person guided by the Holy Spirit.
This person being guided by the Holy Spirit will be a person who habitually exercises and develops the Fruit of the Spirit.
All of the Fruit of the Spirit flows from and are founded in Love.
Galatians 5: 22 – 23 But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness,(23)Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge]. (Amp. C)
Because of the presence of the Holy Spirit within every Born-Again person they already have the ability to walk in the Ways of the Lord present within them. Even though the Fruit of the Spirit is already present in the Born-Again person that fruit must be developed.
The Holy Spirit will always guide this person in the way of Love, The Love Walk.
1st Corinthians 13: 4 – 8a(Amplified Classic)
A person walking in the ways of the Lord:
Will Endure Long
Will Be Patient and Kind
Will not be envious or boil over with jealousy.
Will not be boastful or vain glorious.
Will not display themselves haughtily.
Will not be conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride
Will not be rude (unmannerly) and will not act unbecomingly.
Will not insist on their own rights or their own way for it is not self-seeking.
Will not be touchy or fretful or resentful.
Will not take account of the evil done to them [they pay no attention to a suffered wrong
Will not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth
prevail.
Will bear up under anything and everything that comes.
Will be ever ready to believe the best of every person.
Their hopes are fadeless under all circumstances.
They endure everything without weakening.
Their Love will never fail, never fade out, or becomes obsolete, or comes to an end.
Psalm 37is a chapter which details the way of the person who is walking in the Ways of the Lord having an established heart being Spiritually Minded vs the person who is carnally minded and not walking in the ways of the Lord.
Psalm 37: 1 – 40FRET NOT yourself because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness (that which is not upright or in right standing with God).
(2)For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
(3)Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed.
(4)Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.
(5) Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.
(6)And He will make your uprightness and right standing with God go forth as the light, and your justice and right as [the shining sun of] the noonday.
(7)Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.
(8)Cease from anger and forsake wrath; fret not yourself–it tends only to evildoing.
(9)For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait and hope and look for the Lord [in the end] shall inherit the earth.
(10)For yet a little while, and the evildoers will be no more; though you look with care where they used to be, they will not be found.
(11)But the meek [in the end] shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace…. (Amp. C)
Psalm 112: 1 – 10 Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who delights greatly in His commandments. (Amp. Classic*fears – reveres and worships) (2)His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed. (3)Wealth and riches will be in his house, And his righteousness endures forever. (4)Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. (5)A good man deals graciously and lends; He will guide his affairs with discretion.(6)Surely he will never be shaken; The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. (7)He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. (8)His heart is established; He will not be afraid, Until he sees his desire upon his enemies. (9)He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted with honor. (10)The wicked will see it and be grieved; He will gnash his teeth and melt away; The desire of the wicked shall perish. (NKJV)
Psalm 1: 1 – 5 BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather. (2) But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night. (3)And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity]. (4)Not so the wicked [those disobedient and living without God are not so]. But they are like the chaff [worthless, dead, without substance] which the wind drives away. (5) Therefore the wicked [those disobedient and living without God] shall not stand [justified] in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous [those who are upright and in right standing with God]. (6)For the Lord knows and is fully acquainted with the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly [those living outside God’s will] shall perish (end in ruin and come to nought). (Amp. C)
A person walking in the ways of the Lord having an established heartor who is Spiritually minded is a person who will love his enemies.
Luke 6: 27 – 36But I say to you who are listening now to Me: [in order to heed, make it a practice to] love your enemies, treat well (do good to, act nobly toward) those who detest you and pursue you with hatred, (28) Invoke blessings upon and pray for the happiness of those who curse you, implore God’s blessing (favor) upon those who abuse you [who revile, reproach, disparage, and high-handedly misuse you]. (29)To the one who strikes you on the jaw or cheek, offer the other jaw or cheek also; and from him who takes away your outer garment, do not withhold your undergarment as well. (30)Give away to everyone who begs of you [who is in want of necessities], and of him who takes away from you your goods, do not demand or require them back again. (31)And as you would like and desire that men would do to you, do exactly so to them. (32)If you [merely] love those who love you, what quality of credit and thanks is that to you? For even the [very] sinners love their lovers (those who love them). (33)And if you are kind and good and do favors to and benefit those who are kind and good and do favors to and benefit you, what quality of credit and thanks is that to you? For even the preeminently sinful do the same. (34)And if you lend money at interest to those from whom you hope to receive, what quality of credit and thanks is that to you? Even notorious sinners lend money at interest to sinners, so as to recover as much again. (35) But love your enemies and be kind and do good [doing favors so that someone derives benefit from them] and lend, expecting and hoping for nothing in return but considering nothing as lost and despairing of no one; and then your recompense (your reward) will be great (rich, strong, intense, and abundant), and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind and charitable and good to the ungrateful and the selfish and wicked. (36)So be merciful (sympathetic, tender, responsive, and compassionate) even as your Father is [all these]. (Amp. C)
There are only two mindsets. Everything that we do is either Carnally minded or Spiritually minded. One or the other. There is no middle ground.
A person walking in the ways of the Lord having an established heart is Spiritually minded, and God’s Word ruled. God and His Living Word is first place in this person’s life. They are not ruled by their senses, emotions, or feelings.
Romans 8: 1 – 2 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.(2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (NKJV)
Romans 8: 5 – 6 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. (6) For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (NKJV)
A person walking in the ways of the Lord having an established heartor being Spiritually Mindedis a person who has put themselves in a place to know His Ways and what our ways are supposed to be.
1st John 4: 15 – 16Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. (16)And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. (17)Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.(NKJV)
A person walking in the ways of the Lord having an established heartor being Spiritually Minded has put themselves in a place where they can be led by the Holy Spirit in every area of their lives.
Psalm 25: 1 – 2a UNTO YOU, O Lord, do I bring my life. (2a)O my God, I trust, lean on, rely on, and am confident in You… (Amp. C)
Psalm 25: 4 – 5aShow me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. (5a)Guide me in Your truth and faithfulness and teach me,…(Amp. C)
God Himself has an eye on our path of life and He Himself will teach us how to choose.
Psalm 32: 7 – 8 You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah (8) I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. (NKJV)
Verse 7 = what David said to God.
Verse 8 = what God said in response to what David said.
There are two laws govern life, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, which is Love, and the law of sin and death, which is selfishness – the foundation of all sin.
Romans 8: 1 – 2 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (NKJV)
Romans 8: 5 – 6 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. (6) For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (NKJV)
In the way that God is Love, Satan is Fear and selfishness.
When selfishness is the foundation of your life, what you were once protected from when you walked in love, can then happen to you.
1st John 5: 18 We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. (NKJV)
We must choose to live in the Law of Life in Christ Jesus. If we do not choose The Law of Life in Christ Jesus, then the Law of Sin and Death is in operation. One or the other.
Deuteronomy 30: 19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, thatI have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; (NKJV)
In order to become Spiritually minded and have a renewed mind we must be Born Again. Once Born Again if we are to grow and develop our Spiritual man, we must become Spiritually minded. If we do not develop our Spiritual man, becoming Spiritually minded, we will still be carnally minded and walk in the flesh as the rest of the world even though we are Born Again.
Romans 12: 2 (NKJV)And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 8:5 – 6 (NKJV) For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. (6) For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
We, not God, determine whether we are Spiritually minded or Carnally minded.
Deuteronomy 30: 19 (Amplified Bible Classic)I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life
Our Loving Heavenly Father has already set life before us but He will not make us choose life. He paid the entire price for all mankind but He will not make us choose life. It is totally up to the individual as to what he will choose, spiritually minded and life or carnally minded and death.
Restoration Ministries 