Free to Love and Serve

For dear brothers, you have been given freedom: not freedom to do wrong, but freedom to love and serve each other. – (Galatians 5:13, TLB)

It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do to destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love. – (Galatians 5:13, MSG)

Brothers and sisters, God has called you to freedom! Hear the call, and do not spoil the gift by using your liberty to engage in what your flesh desires; instead, use it to serve each other as Jesus taught through love. – (Galatians 5:13, VOICE)

 

We are no longer bound by Levitical law, but rather we have been set free by the sacrifice of Christ, to choose to follow Him. A life in Christ is not about living according to the letter of the laws of rituals, but instead it is all about opting to engage in a life of love. If our priority is choosing to love God and love people, we will use our freedom well and do what is pleasing before God. When we elect to engage in sin, we grieve the heart of God and abuse the freedom that was granted in love. May we ever seek to love the Lord and those He places in our path, and trust Him to help us lead a life that honors Him.

 

Brothers and sisters,

We each have been called;

To live in freedom,

By grace, not by law.

The freedom we have,

Is not meant for sin;

But rather to love,

And let others in.

In our gift to choose,

May we opt to serve;

Love as we are loved,

So hope can be heard.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the freedom we have in You. Thank You that it is not freedom to do wrong, but rather to make the choice to follow You and live a life of love because of the sacrifice that You made on our behalf. Forgive us for abusing our freedom and not allowing Your love to lead us in all that we say and do. Teach us to trust You more, so that we would depend on You to show us how to love in all things. Help us to love and serve one another as Jesus loved and served. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we choose to love and serve as You have shown us what it is to love and serve. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

For the Lord your God will bless you, …and your joy will be complete. – Deuteronomy 16:15

Love Fulfills the Law

Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law. – (Romans 13:10, NLT)

You can’t go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love. – (Romans 13:10, MSG)

Does love hurt anyone? Absolutely not. In fact, love achieves everything the law requires. – (Romans 13:10, VOICE)

 

When we choose to walk in love, we are opting for obedience to all that God asks of us. If we love God and love people, we are fulfilling all that the law requires. Just as God perfectly loves each of us, He equips and empowers us to go and do likewise to all whom we encounter. It is up to us to choose to share what He has granted, so that those around us might come to see and know the goodness and grace that is given through the Lord’s love. The love that God gives is patient and kind, it is not jealous or boastful, proud, rude or selfish. Love delights in the truth and does not remember wrongs. Love never gives up on people, as it never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) May we each go forth and love as we are loved by God, so that in doing so, we walk in obedience to all that the Lord requires.

 

Love does not choose hurt,

No matter what comes;

Instead it endures,

Like the rising sun.

All that is required,

Through the law of God;

Is truly fulfilled,

Despite all our flaws.

For God’s very heart,

Is clearly made known;

When we opt to love,

Just as we’ve been shown.

So let us go forth,

And love each other;

With goodness and grace,

One to another.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that when we choose to love as we are loved by You, we fulfill the requirements of all laws. Thank You that this is not something that we are expected to do on our own, but rather You equip and empower us to love by Your Spirit within us. Forgive us for the times that we neglect to love as we are called to do, and teach us to trust so that we might love like You. Show us how to love as we are loved, so that many might come to know the fullness of Your grace and the blessings of Your unending love. May many choose to follow You, all the days of their lives. Be glorified O God, as we choose to love others as we are loved by You. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. – Job 8:21

Cleanliness From the Inside Out

“Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean’.” – (Mark 7:15)

Our “cleanliness“, which is how we are seen through the eyes of our Savior, is not dependent on what we eat or drink, but rather on what we do and say. The words we speak and deeds that we do, determine whether we are in right standing with God. If we are walking with Him, our words will represent well, our Redeemer who dwells within us. However, if we are opting to be ruled by our own evil thoughts, then the ugliness that escapes, makes us unclean. May we choose to tend well to that which we feed to our hearts and minds, so that all that comes out of us is a clear reflection of our radiant Redeemer.

It’s not what we eat,

that makes us unclean;

but rather our words,

and unkind acts seen.

For the Lord calls us,

to represent well;

His Name as His kids,

our words and deeds tell.

Let us choose wisely,

what we do and say;

as our righteousness,

is shown in this way.

May we all tend well,

our hearts and our minds;

so that which escapes,

is righteous and kind.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that our righteousness is not determined by what we eat or drink, but rather by that which we say and do. Thank You that our words and deeds are not directed by us alone when we invest our hearts in relationship with You. Forgive us for allowing our own evil thoughts to rule our words or actions, and teach us to trust You more, so that we depend more fully on You to keep our hearts and minds free from the fuel that leads to ugliness. Lead us to love others as You so generously and completely love each of us. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be exalted O God, as we allow You to cleanse us from the inside out, so that all that comes out of us is a radiant reflection of You. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present.

But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ. – Ephesians 2:4-5

Love One Another

“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)

 

These words, spoken by Jesus to His disciples on the night on which He was betrayed, are words meant to lead and guide all that we say and do. If we choose to follow Christ, then we are choosing love. Not only are we opting to love God, but we are signing up to love all those whom we encounter. We are to love those who love us back, and those who are unkind to us. He calls us to love the unloveable, the lonely, the destitute and distraught, just as much as He calls us to love our family and our friends. When we truly love others, people see a difference in us and desire to have what we have. However, if we do not love, they are repelled by what we claim is ours. We bear a weighty responsibility through the choices that we make, yet the reward of watching another come to know that they too, can be the recipients of our Redeemer’s remarkable, unconditional, unending love, is worth the sacrifice of our own selfishness to give love away. May we rise up and choose to love anew, each day.

 

God has commanded,

that we choose to love;

all those around us,

as Christ has above.

For He has shown us,

what we are to do;

to love as He loves,

model what is true.

As we are willing,

to love anyway;

people will see Him,

through what we display.

Be His disciples,

follow His commands;

love without limits,

lift up with these hands.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You command us to love one another as You have loved us. Thank You that You showed us what that looks like through the gift of Your Son. Thank You that when we do as You ask, people will know that it is You in us, that provides the ability to love. Forgive us for being disobedient, or selective in whom we choose to love. Teach us to trust You more, so that we will walk in complete obedience to truly love ALL as You call us to love. Lead us and guide us – help us to hear You clearly, and then obey immediately, all the ways in which You ask us to love well, those who are around us. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified Lord God, as we love one another as You have loved us. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present.

May God Almighty grant you mercy. – Genesis 43:14