"Don't Be Afraid To Speak Up"

 

From the Gospel of Matthew, the tenth chapter, verses 32-33.

and Jesus said, "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But, whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

Thus far our text, let us pray. Merciful Father, we implore you on Christ's behalf, to strengthen our faith this night through your Word and through your Holy Spirit. Forgive us we pray for not speaking up for you and your Gospel when you have provided us opportunities to do so. We pray in Christ's name, Amen.

Picture yourself on a camping trip with some of your friends. One evening around the camp fire, while you are roasting marshmallows, the conversation turns to 'religion' and someone says, "It doesn't matter what you believe, as long as you are sincere." Others voice their agreement. What will you say?

Maybe you are a housewife getting acquainted with your next door neighbor, a woman about your age with three small children. In the course of the conversation she says to you, "We don't send our children to Sunday School or Church. We don't think its right to force religion on them. They can choose whatever religion they like when they're old enough to make their own decisions." What will you say?

Or perhaps, you are a young person and your friends say to you, "anybody who wants to get ahead in this world has got to look out for himself first, you know take care and do what’s best for Old Number One." What would you say?

One of the biggest fears that we have is the fear of what others may think about us. Do they think we're different, or odd, or weird. We fear that we might lose out on certain advantages if we speak up regarding our Christian faith and our commitment to Jesus Christ. Even Peter was so afraid at times of what others might do to him that he denied Christ three times, just as Christ had predicted.

Further more, In Exodus chapter 4, God sent Moses to Pharaoh to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. God promised to be with Moses in all that Moses would do. God even gave Moses signs that Moses would not be alone, but that God would indeed be with him and even bless him as he confronted Pharaoh.

However, Moses responded to God by saying, "O LORD, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue. Please send someone else to do it."  And the LORD said to Moses, " I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."  But Moses did not speak to Pharaoh, instead his brother Aaron did. Aaron acted as the mouth of Moses because Moses feared Pharaoh. Moses was afraid to speak up.

Yes there have been times even in our own lives when we have been afraid to speak up for the Gospel of Christ and our own Christian faith. We were afraid that our words would come out all jumbled up and that we would come off as being silly. But you know what, we are not silly, we are God's children, wholly and dearly loved. God too will help us to communicate the Gospel truth and message when opportunities afford themselves. God will and has indeed equipped us with all that we need to speak up for the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have the Holy Spirit who dwells in and with us, and He will certainly teach us what to say.

In our text for tonight, we learn that whoever acknowledges Christ before men, Christ will acknowledge them before His Father in heaven. We don't have to be afraid to speak up!

Now there is more than one way to speak up for Christ and His Word and even for the faith that God has given to us.

1. We speak up for Christ when we make it clear that our relationship with Him is of utmost importance in our everyday life.

I believe that faithful worship is an expression of our trust in Jesus Christ, our faithful Lord and Savior. No, we should not go to church for show and tell, but to be fed by the Lamb of God and His Word and Supper. There is no merit in our attending Church, it's more about God blessing us, giving us His Forgiveness, and strengthening us in our Christian faith. It's more about looking at God and seeing His power and glory in our lives. It's about worshipping Christ with all the other saints here on earth and those already in glory! It's about putting Christ first though it costs everything!

2. We speak up for Christ when we respond to statements like those of the campers, the woman next door, or the young people. We speak up for Christ by sharing our faith with others. Listen to these precious words given to us in 1 Peter 3:15:

'But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.'

Our hope is in Jesus. He indeed is our Hope. Christ is the everlasting hope that has brought you and I complete forgiveness of all our sins. We are indeed redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb. 

3. We speak up for Christ by talking about our Lord's faithfulness, his death on a cross, his resurrection three days later. We speak up for Christ when we share this wonderful message of hope, forgiveness, and eternal life. This is a message for all: our children our relatives, our neighbors, even for our enemies.  

4. We speak up for Christ when we confess our faith in the liturgy, in the Creeds, the Lord's Prayer, and even when we partake of the Lord's Supper. Loyalty to Christ cannot be separate from loyalty to His Word. They go hand in hand. I might mention here, that we citizens here in the U.S. seldom have any fears about being able to worship Christ in our churches on Sunday mornings, but that is not true for many people in our world. In some countries, Christianity is against the law, punishable by death.

5. Finally, we speak up for Christ by living in ways that honor him. We life our lives differently from what the world says. We live in ways that put Christ first. We live in ways that put other people and their needs first. We live as servants of the cross, humble and Christlike. We submit to Christ and His will as a result of our God-given faith. We live in and by God's grace, and thus true life is found only here.

In conclusion, dear friends of the cross, let us look to the cross for our strength. Christ is our defender, He is the

One who strengthens us and our faith. It is here that we make our confession, that Jesus is Lord of all! It is here that we acknowledge Christ before all others, and thus He will acknowledge us before his Father who is in heaven. It is here that if we find ourselves not acknowledging Christ before men, that we repent, confess our sin, and then receive the gracious forgiveness of Christ. In the end, it does matter, how we live our lives. In the end, it does matter what we teach our children. And besides, is there anything more important to parenting than raising our children in the training and instruction of the Lord? God's Word is the final authority on that. God gave these words to Moses and thus to us for our benefit:

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them upon your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up (Deut. 6:6-7). In the end, let us live for Christ and not be afraid to speak up. Let us leave this night knowing that we are loved indeed by Christ, forgiven in Him of all sins, and strengthened to do His will. In Jesus name, Amen.

 

Don't Be Afraid…To Be Accepted

 

Mid-Week Lenten 4
March 23, 2022
Luke 12:4-7

  It was a dreadful thing Judas did - betray his own Master. But he was sorry for it. He showed his remorse by returning the 30 pieces of silver. Yet he must have thought his deed was unforgivable. Despair overwhelmed him, and he destroyed himself.  The issue at hand was not Judas' acceptance of himself but rather God's acceptance of Judas.

The matter that concerns us tonight is not whether we have accepted ourselves, but whether God has accepted us.  The question, which begs to be asked tonight is this: "does God really accept me?"  Our text for this night affirms that He does!

If you and I can be confident of this fact, that God really accepts us, then, we'll have much less difficulty accepting others and ourselves. God's encouraging words for us on this night is this: Don't be afraid…to be accepted!

I'm sure that all of you are familiar with the great king Solomon of the Old Testament.  He wrote three books of the Bible. He wrote the Song of Solomon when he was young and in love. Proverbs when he was middle aged and finally the book of Ecclesiastes when he was an old, old man. This third book of his trilogy can be best summed up with the words, which occur throughout the book "Vanity of vanities all is vanity".

Now to some, that statement of wise King Solomon, that all is vanity, that's a bothersome statement, and yet, that is the voice of experience.  Solomon wrote his book toward the end of his life, as he reviewed his final years of life.

As he reviewed all of his life's existence he had to admit to himself that a vast majority of his time and energy was spent with many vain and selfish endeavors which he had hoped would have gotten him noticed.

Today, some 3,000 years later not too much has changed. In our time, as well, many people spend an exceptional amount of time and effort trying to become noticed. The motive is simple; if others notice me, I'll also become accepted, or at least, I'll have an easier time at being accepted!

True, every day we as human people are confronted with many a vein attempt at becoming noticed.  Folk may ask, "do people notice me?" "Are my clothes right?"  There is much that people do to fit in.  Some may act a certain way around other people, they engage in their conversations, do things that they do just for the satisfaction that others will stand up and take notice.

As the wise old yard reminds us "it's not always what you know but who you know that counts.  That's a common phrase that carries the understanding that if we associate with the right people, at the right time and at the right place, then those personal goals that we so desperately want to achieve will be accomplished.

For example, the student, that just so happens to have an uncle who is the president of the local bar association has a better chance of getting into his choice of Law schools then other candidates. We might cry out "foul!" and raise charges of nepotism and dishonesty but that's what how the world views acceptance on a grand scale.

While we can see all around us, many people exerting a great deal of energy, sometime by flattery, other times, through cunning; so that others will sit up and take notice, and thus becoming accepted. There are plenty more, who in possible more subtle ways, try to be noticed and accepted by God. 

In our pride, we Christians can be tempted to reason and think that by our church going, or by our involvement in the life of the perish we will somehow gain a greater acceptance; if not by others, possibly by God. Certainly He will see the sacrifice that we bear for the sake of the good of the gospel we might reason.  But the reality is that by our own actions and our own works, no matter how "good" they appear to be, they can not make us acceptable, not in the least before a just and holy God.

We have nothing to offer before God. We certainly can not flatter Him for we are each and the same declared to be sinners, for the greatest to the least of us each is declared to be a fallen sinner. There is not one person here this night that can claim that they have no sin. For there is not a single just man upon this earth, that does good and does not sin.  Each of us, have gone our own separate way. We have all like sheep gone astray from our Lord and His ways.

Tonight, let us remind ourselves of the eternal consequences for our sin. For the wages of our sin is death, and as Jesus reminds us in our text for this night, "Do not fear him that has the power to kill the body but rather fear Him who has the power to cast into hell."

Strong words these are. Yes, they come from the mouth of the Savior. What He is relating to us is the fact that he has the power over death and hell and those who fail to believe in Him will find themselves completely and totally cup off from Him if they refuse to believe.

But God in Christ has done something about our sin. He has fashioned a plan by which we can become accepted by God be becoming acceptable in His sight.

God has accepted us. He accepts us as Jesus Christ has lavished His mercy upon us.  

Jesus Christ became human on our behalf and endured the cross of Calvary for each of us. In His suffering and death he secured our acceptance and now regards us as friends.

Now, how can we be sure of this acceptance? How can we be assured that the Father welcomes us?  Consider the birds of the air, the Savior reminds us.  If He hasn't forgotten the sparrows He won't forget about us as we are of much higher value.  If He has numbered the very hairs on our heads then He certainly knows each and all of our needs. 

What this says to each of us is that nothing in our life, great or small, is beyond the realm of God's love and care. He knows how hare it is for us to accept some people, especially those who have hurt us. He is able to aid and comfort us and to heal and to strengthen us.

Our Lord, by accepting us, while we were unacceptable, while we were "yet sinners" enables us to extend His compassion, and His love to other people in our life.

How can we measure such love and acceptance?  There once was a little girl who had a ragged old Teddy bear, one, which the stuffing had come out over and over again.  The girl's mother had tried repeatedly to sew it up but it was no use. Finally, the Teddy Bear was put out in the garage in a box marked "Good Will" But the little girl would always manage to find that old Teddy bear and drag it back into the house. She loved it for what it was. He dolls and toys just weren't the same!

That's the type of love Christ has for people life you and me. We have all sinned again, and again, and again. The stuffing has come out of us repeatedly!  But God has sewn us up with His love, and healing tenderness. When we see all that God has done and continues to do for us, we can see that He cares for us.  Jesus has in fact accepted us. He loves us, and what's more…He likes us.  That's why we don't have to be afraid…to be accepted!

Don’t Be Afraid to Say I’m Sorry”

 

1^st John 1:8-9

Seminarian Alex Ogden 

Introduction: When little children make a mistake, they often are hesitant to admit that they have messed up. Often, especially with young boys, when something is broken, it seems as they plead the 5^th until the bitter end. No one ever seems to know how that ball broke the vase or pane of glass. The stain on the rug has always been there. No, I didn’t intentionally ruin my Sunday best so that I didn’t have to wear the uncomfortable collar. Nope, No, Nada, Nothing. No one knows who did it, so why own up? It is better to stay in the proverbial shadows, hopping that this situation gets swept under the rug. Right?

In this, it’s perhaps fitting that we think of children when they make mistakes, intentionally or otherwise. Whether it be your own children, grown or still small enough to hold, or if it be found in you remembering the days of your youth. This image of childhood is an affective one. In fact, St. John in his epistle consistently calls his readers “little children.” And children must have a father, right? As Believers, our Father is God. He is the good Father who we can repeatedly run to when we scrap our knees with sin.

God who is truth and love will forgive our sins. He is to be feared, but He is also to be loved.

It is when we have fallen, we run back to the Father, asking for His forgiveness.

As if we confess our sins, we know that God is faithful and just, and will forgive us, cleaning us up, and wipe away all tears and terrors, all sin and unrighteousness. Therefore, it is imperative that we do not lie to ourselves or the God of truth.

Rather, we are to always run back to God, crying out, “Abba, Father, forgive me and have mercy on me.”

RETURNING TO GOD REGULARLY, WE ASK FOR FORGIVENESS, TRUSTING IN HIS TENDER MERICES, WHICH ONLY A FATHER CAN GIVE TO HIS CHILDREN.

I.                    Without truth there is no forgiveness from the Father.

A.    When it comes to sin, there is no one that is without sin. 

1.      Scripture is extremely clear about this fact. Think of the woman caught in adultery from the John chapter 8. Not only has the woman sinned, but the scribes and Pharisees surround her, pointing fingers. They cannot wait to start throwing stones. But Jesus, writes in the dirt, and says “Let him who is without sin among you cast the first stone at her” (Jn. 8:7). This is exactly the point, and the scribes and Pharisees get it. They all leave. We are no different. Whether we want to throw the stones or are the one awaiting the verdict of our sins. One either side of the stone’s throw, we are sinners. 

2.      The Psalmist says this much as well. In Psalm 14, it is the foolish man who says there is no God. Likewise, this foolish man is corrupt, doing abominable deeds, and have turned aside, turned away from God. Thus, the Psalmist concludes this statement with this fact, “there is none who does good, not even one” (Ps 14:3). The foolish man, is one who lies to himself and to God. In denying God, you deny truth. In denying sins, you deny the ability for absolution. In denial you become worse than a fool, you become a liar, and you make God a liar. And God cannot lie. To do so would to break His very nature, His very essence. To make God a liar would to be strip Him of His divinity and make us little gods in His place. All you have to do is ask Job how well it goes to try and deny God of His sovereignty, you’ll get put in your place real quick. Therefore, we know that we cannot bend God to our wills or whims, it has to be us that are foolish, denying God.

3.      St. Paul picks up on this exact Psalm as well in the 3^rd chapter of Romans. There he says, “for all have fallen short of the glory of God” (Rm. 3:23). You catch that?  Everyone. Not one. All have fallen. This is pretty absolute. There’s no getting around this. Paul knows it, there is no distinction. We are all equal in our sinfulness. Aside from God’s intervention, we merely just wait punishment. You can’t do it on your own, its not gonna work. Not through the Law, or being a good person, or because once you bought a stranger coffee behind you in the drive through line. Or because once a year you volunteer for a few hours at soup kitchen. It’s not gonna cut it. Just like David, you too were “Brought forth in iniquity, and in sin [your] mother conceived [you].” Your sinful condition is your birthright, passed down from father to son, mother to daughter since the Fall. You can’t escape it, out run, it or free yourself from it by yourself. 

B.     Anyone with sin is accountable for them. 

1.      Again, Scripture is quite clear about this. You probably have already guessed what verse I’m going to quote. And you’re probably right. It’s Romans 6:23! St. Paul again. He informs us that “the wages of sin is death.” You reap what you sow. If you plant little acts of death in your life, if you live a life that is “dead” to God, that’s what you’ll end up with.

2.      You might as well embrace the life of Ecclesiastes’ Preacher, who tells us to “Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that [God] has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life” (Ecclesiastes 9:9). Likewise, our whole lives will be devoted to nothing else but “Our toil at which you toil under the sun. [As] whatever our hands find to do, [we are to] do it with [all] our might” (Ecc. 9:9-10). For apart from Christ “there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which we are going” (9:10).

3.      It is in our lying, our vain toils, and attempts to hid the truth of our ways from God that we become like the ancient Israelites who in the time of Hosea are called people who are “without mercy,” and “not His people” (Hosea 1:6,8). Apart from God, and without Christ’s death and resurrection we cannot rightfully be called Children of God. Rather, we are like the Prodigal Son before his return, feasting with swine, in a foreign land, wracked with hunger, poverty, strife, and sin. Without God, we are left to dwell in the tents of the wicked.

II.                 With God, however, there is truth, life, love, mercy, and forgiveness.

A.    We believe this, trust in God’s promises, and confess our sins to God. 

1.      The words of John’s epistle are our confession. These very words are found in the first two settings of the Divine Service, as our response and confession of sins. When we gather together in cooperate confession we speak these words together in unison, confessing before God and man that “we are by nature sinful and unclean.” We state that “we have sinned against [God] in thought, word, and deed, by [both] what we have done and what we have left undone.” We continue to confess that “we have not loved [God] with our whole heart; [likewise] we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.” Therefore, we acknowledge that “we justly deserve [God’s] present and eternal punishment.” 

2.      However, we plead to God, and “For the sake of [His Son, Jesus Christ, [to] have mercy on us. [To] forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in [His] will and walk in [His] way to the glory of His holy name.” In this confession, we admit our sinful ways, and “rub God’s ear with His promises” (Luther). And like Luther’s dying words that he penned just before entering into eternal glory, we know this one truth, “that we are beggars all.” We are to trust in God’s mercy and love all the days of our lives, until that final day when Christ returns or calls us home.

B.     With God as our Father we turn to Him to bestow all the gifts that only He can give His children 

1.      Like Christ’s words in Matthew chapter 7, “Which of one of you, if their son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for fish will give him a serpent?” (Matthew 7:9-10). And Jesus says this to make this point, “If you then, those of you who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to you when you ask!” (Mt 7:11). This is what we do when we pray the Lord’s Prayer. We, as a church, say together, “OUR FATHER.” This is a confession, a statement, a truth that we acknowledge every time that we say it. And, God as Father is inclined to give us good things. And just as the Lord’s Prayer says, we pray for our daily bread, to be forgiven of our sins, that we are not led into temptation but rather are delivered from evil, both temporal and eternal. 

2.      Because of God’s great mercy, we return to frequently, resting upon His grace alone. And we can do so because of the work of Christ Jesus. It is through the Father’s only begotten Son that we can call ourselves sons and daughters of the living God. We are like the Prodigal Son again, in that, while we are still far off, God sees us in the distance, and sprints to greet us, lavishing us with His divine love. We need not be afraid of asking for forgiveness, because it is only in doing so first that we can be forgiven. Unlike the child who is fearful of punishment upon confession of their crimes, God only gives freedom, forgiveness, and a place in His family to those who repent.

3.      So we are to turn to God for forgiveness, knowing that He is faithful and just. It is in the very act of confession that we may just be thinking on one sin that particularly troubles us, but God in our confession “will forgive it, and not only that one but all our sins” (Andreas, Catena). “For when a person repents and is baptized into the name of Jesus Christ, God forgives all his sins which has committed both against himself and against heaven” (Andreas, ibid). Thus, since we cannot by ourselves escape the reality of our situation and  “Since we cannot live in this world without sin, the first hope we have of salvation is through confession.” For our God is our Father, and He is love. He is perfect love, which knows no bounds. It is “in this love perfected within us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgement… [for] there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”

Conclusion: So, when you fall again, and scrape your knees with sin, return to the Father. Run to God. And He will meet you. He will bind up the wounds of His hurt children. Like the perfect Father that He is, He is faithful and just. He is slow to anger and quick to forgive. His love comforts us, and it is in the shade of the Cross that we rest. So like the little children that we are, let us go to the Father, time and time and again. For with Him, there is a divine, perfect, paternal love which knows no end, and gives us truth, forgiveness, and ever lasting life as members of His family.

In Jesus’ holy name,

Amen.

Don't Be Afraid...to love

 Ash Wednesday

[1]

02 March 2022
1 John 4:18-21
"Don't Be Afraid…To Love"

On this Ash Wednesday evening, we set our sights towards Jesus' trip to the cross. During these next 40 days, we will be looking at exactly what Jesus had done for us to redeem us.

For our mid-week Lenten services, we will turn to the theme "Don't Be Afraid."  What a fitting theme this is for us to consider for there are so many people in our world who are living their lives in fear. Some live in fear of what tomorrow will bring. Then, there are those who are afraid of losing a job due to downsizing or a losing family member or a friend due to serious injury or death. During these forty days of Lent, we will be looking squarely at our fears.

Tonight, we look at the fear of offering and obligating ourselves to love. Some are simply afraid to love because of what has happened to them in the past when they have opened themselves up to others and found themselves misunderstood, and in some cases rejected.

Our text for this evening tells us simply that we don't have to be afraid to love. The reason for this is that God in Christ was not afraid to love. If we look at the life of Jesus, we will quickly see that He showed love to all men. Christ showed His love to those who were considered to be "unlovable."

It is quite interesting to see that Jesus was criticized for loving those who were rejected and forgotten by others.  The Pharisees, who were always trying to fault Jesus, who, on more than one occasion, criticized Jesus for eating with and associating with tax collectors and sinners.

Yet Jesus' love was never selective, or circumstantial, as our love tends to be when we put limitations on our love saying, in essence, "I will love you if you do certain things for me "or" I will love you if you love me first".  Contrary to our often-circumstantial love Jesus showed love even to those who rejected Him and nailed Him to a cross.  

This is the first reason why we do not have to be afraid to love for we see that while even Jesus' disciples were often self-seeking and loveless Jesus loved them to the end. Jesus never once refused to love, even when His disciples forsook Him, turned their backs, and ran from the Garden. Jesus continued to love.

While we were yet sinners, separated by guilt and the shame of sin, Christ Jesus loved us.  Even before we loved Him, Christ was intent on expressing His love for us by going the way of the cross to suffer and die for us.  Even before we loved Him, Christ was intent on expressing His love for us by going the way of the cross to suffer and die for us.

Jesus loved you so much that He sacrificed Himself for you. He died in your place. Recall, once again, the words of our text for this night "We love because He first loved us". What that simply means is that Jesus is the one who initiates us to love. Because He moves and directs us, He enables us to love.  Jesus' pattern of love becomes our pattern to love. Because Jesus loved, we are able to love.

It is at this precise point where fear enters our minds and when we so often fall short.  There are some people in our lives that, frankly, just rub us the wrong way. Possibly, they have hurt us in the past.  There may be some that we have tried to love, but we could not get through. To those who have hurt us, to those who have ignored us, to those who seem indifferent, we simply say, “I am unable to love you!"

Then fear comes! We become afraid of opening ourselves to others and letting them know just how we really feel. Will they listen? Will they understand? Will they close themselves off when they see what I'm really like?

What do we do? Moved out of fear of not being loved we can quickly become phony and plastic where we paint a picture of ourselves that really isn't true because we're afraid we won't be loved.

We see this in relationships where people break and drift apart because one or both people were not completely honest with each other. How many times have we found ourselves disappointed because we were acting and playing a role in the hopes that the other person would accept us but the acceptance did not come, or, if it came, it did not last?

While all of us have been afraid to love, or have failed to love out of fear that we would not be loved in return wed can find reassurance and hope in our text on this Ash Wednesday night.

If God was not timid about opening His heart to us in love, then we do not have to be timid about showing love to others, for there is no fear in love.

What John is saying is that the more we love the less we will have to fear.  One of the purposes of God's love is to free us from the fear of the judgment that is to come.

That is why Jesus came, to suffer and die for us so that we could be freed from our fears and made able to love, as we ought. Jesus Christ came into this world to die on the cross. There, at the cross, He hailed all of our fears to the cross finally.

As we begin then to reflect on Christ's suffering and death, we remember that because of God's love for us we really have nothing to fear.  As Jesus Christ came and conquered all, you and I can remain confident in the love of God that we are free even in our relationship with others.

The love that we show to people is actually the love of God acting in us. It is Christ living in us that enables us to love, even those who we often find difficult to love.  What's more, the love of God in us enables us to love openly and freely and in a genuine way without any worry of our rights and privileges being taken for granted.

What this simply means is that the love of Christ dwelling in us will be able to stand and bear up to the criticisms of other people.  As Jesus Christ lives in us, each day of our lives, the love of God, which was demonstrated through the life and death of His Son, is being perfected in us.

What that means for you and me is that if God has shown His love toward us by sending us His Son, and if the love of God dwells in us, then what else can we do but love?

Sure, it will sometimes be difficult to love.  Love is not always nice or pleasant. Sometimes love has to be firm and tough.  Sometimes it is not easy to condemn that which is wrong in the sight of God.  Speaking in love might make us feel at times uneasy and sometimes some people become angry at that expression of love.  However, words that are spoken in love, and deeds that are performed out of love will always prevail.  St. Paul quite possibly put it best when he wrote to the Corinthian congregation: "These three will always remain…faith, hope, and love and the greatest of these is love" 

Don't be afraid to love!

Words-1,290
Passive Sentences – 1%
Readability – 78.1%
Reading Level – 7.0

 

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