Advocate for Christ

The best life is a God First life

Category: Love (Page 10 of 10)

If you love me, you will keep my commandments ~ Jesus

The gift we can give God that God Wants

The gift we can give God that God wants?

February 24, 2021 / / 1 Comment

God gave mankind a unique opportunity. He created us in His image and gave us the ability to give to Him the one thing He really wants from his Creation. “Our Love by Our choice” I can think of nothing else we can offer God that He simply could not create for himself. In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus points out that all the law of the prophets is dependent on Loving God with every ounce of our being and loving our neighbors as ourselves. In John 14:15, Jesus tells us, If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And in John 13:34-35, A New commandment to love others as Christ loved us.

How can we know God’s commandments if we don’t study? Someone said to me, “it does not matter what we believe; we are all headed to the same place.” Why would God document thousands of years of interactions between Himself and mankind, that we may know him and provided us a pathway through the sacrifice of His Son on the Cross if it doesn’t matter what we believe?

We have been given the opportunity to accept God’s Grace through our loving obedience, which we strive earnestly to give because we love God. It’s that love that creates in us the desire to do God’s Will, according to God. While it might be comforting to say, it doesn’t matter what we believe, teach and practice, it’s not what we find in the words, examples, and precepts of Scripture.

The Bible is the most available book on the planet, and according to God’s word, all scripture is “God-breathed.” (2nd Timothy 3:16). I never want to hear Jesus say to me the words He mentions in Matthew 7:21–23. According to Scripture, it matters to God what we believe, what we teach, and the example we set.

I never want to take God’s love for granted; Instead, I want to give God, The one gift he values from you and me. “Our Love” We can do this by studying and sharing the message of Christ, keeping his commandment, pursuing righteousness. Doing all that we can to follow the commands, examples, and precepts of God according to God’s Word, not ours.

God First!

sunset, man, thinking

Focus on the good

February 21, 2021 / / 0 Comments

With so much evil in this world to distract our hearts and minds, let us NOT lose focus of all the good that surrounds us (often in humble quietness).

 Let us work to keep our hearts and minds open and focus on the good; let us think and practice the words we find in Philippians.

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” ~ Philippians 4:8

Let us be a light to others and recognize the shining lights in our lives; let us give thanks and say Thank-you today to those whose quest to live righteously inspires us to do the same.

  • Matthew 5:16 (let your light shine)
  • Galatians 6:9 (Never give up on doing good)

God First!

Sunday Highlighted Caladar

Why every week?

February 9, 2021 / / 0 Comments
The first day of the week comes every week, and it’s called Sunday. On this day, because we love God and are grateful for the love we have received, we set aside time to communion with fellow Christians and Christ. (Matthew 18:20)
 
We partake of unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine as a remembrance of Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection, His body, and His blood, which was shed that we might have eternal life in heaven.
 
We do so because of the example we find in Acts 20:7, here we see his disciples gathered on the first day of the week to remember Jesus’s sacrifice the way Jesus instituted it. 
 
Before His death and resurrection, Jesus taught the concept of eternal life through His body and blood in John 6:22-71. Jesus also set forth this remembrance in the accounts we find in: Matthew 26:26-30 and Luke 22:14-21
 
After Jesus’s resurrection, Paul addresses the Church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 11: 17-34  They were guilty of abusing this time of communion.
 
It’s fair to surmise from Scripture that this should be a solemn time when we seriously examine ourselves, judge ourselves, and reflect on the cross. A time when we reflect on the love and sacrifice Jesus extended to us. Making it possible for us to have eternal life in Heaven.  1 Corinthians 11:26-29
 
 
 
God First!

Rooted in Scripture

Foundations of love

February 6, 2021 / / 0 Comments
When our foundation is genuinely rooted in God’s Holy Word, Our roots will weave in and out of every word absorbing living water that never ends. Our lives will glorify God by our every action. The closer we draw to God, the closer he draws to us, and if God is with us, who can be against us?

”But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  

(Matthew 6:33)
  • John 4:13-15 (living water)
  • James 4:8 (God draws closer)
  • Romans 8:31(God with us)
  • Matthew 16:13-20(upon this rock)
  • 1 Peter 2:1-10

God First!

The Sacrifice of Christ

Loving God

January 31, 2021 / / 0 Comments

No wonder Jesus was sweating blood; I would imagine, to Jesus, the separation from His Father may have been worse than the betrayal, beatings, and torture He knew was coming His way; after all, He was with God from the beginning of time as we understand it. (John 1)

In preparation, Jesus prayed, “Not mine, but your will, be done!”

At every moment, Christ had the power to say: Enough! Nope, not doing this, but instead, Christ adhered to His Father’s plan.

Obviously, God’s plan was the only way all people could be saved. Only through Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection could we be graced with the opportunity to follow Jesus, keep His commands, and receive the promise of eternal life with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Jesus’s sacrifice revealed His immeasurable love for God, for God’s will, and His love for us.

I can’t phantom the emptiness, loneliness, and pain Christ must’ve felt when He cried out, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani,” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

A Hymn says: “I gave, I gave My life for thee, what hast thou giv’n for Me?”

Rhetorically, What do we give of ourselves to God?

Do we set aside time daily for prayer, thanking God for all the continuous blessings seen and unseen? How about the hardships that help us learn to be better disciples of Christ?

Do we respect God’s love enough to do as Christ commanded and remember Him on the first day of every week by reflecting on the Cross, partaking in the bread and fruit of the vine, which represents the body and blood of Christ that was shed for us?

Do we look forward to gathering and worshiping with fellow believers as often as possible, to being with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and being lifted up by their presence as we study and grow together in our understanding of God’s will and plan for us?

Scripture tells us that baptized believers are those who are “In Christ,” and when we are “In Christ,” God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit work in and through us.

Christ told us if we love Him, we will keep His commandments, and He gives us a New Commandment. ‘That we love others as He loved us.’

I love the love that surrounds us all in the Lord.

God First!

Related Scriptures:

Galatians 3:23-29, Philippians 2:13, John 13:34–35, John 17:23, 2nd Corinthians 13:5, Romans 8:10-11, Galatians 5:22-26, Acts 2:38, John 1:1, Matthew 27:46, Acts 20:7, Luke 22:17-20

Stop Cheating yourself

God draws closer as we draw closer

January 24, 2021 / / 0 Comments

If you want to become close to someone, do you reach out by ignoring them?

Many people say they believe in Jesus. Some will shout it from the rooftops, yet few take time to get to know Him.

I’m not talking about feelings like when you listen to music and become emotional. No, I’m talking about getting to know Jesus through His Father, His life, His words, His example, and His message.

It’s when we study God’s Holy Word that we truly get to know and understand Jesus. Because when we study, we draw closer to God, closer to our creator.

The creator of the world and everything in it. In John 1:1-2 we find: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, He was in the beginning with God.”

What an opportunity we have!

We cheat ourselves immensely when we don’t spend time in God’s Word, when we don’t spend time getting to know our Heavenly Father or make an effort to draw closer to God so that God will draw closer to us.

If we are in God’s Word daily, it’s only natural that God will be part of our daily conversations. Is He?

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you…” James 4:8

  • John 1:1-17
  • 2 Timothy 2:15

God First!

Old Covered Wagon

Choosing Change

January 21, 2021 / / 0 Comments

In biblical studies, I’ve noticed many names have unique meanings that identify personality traits and paths of individuals. Some were even given new names that identified new paths.

I’ve always been a little disappointed when I read (as a child) that the meaning of my name, “Wayne,” meant: “Old Covered Wagon.”

I’ve joked about this ever since.

In the last 12 years or so, this “old covered wagon” and his wife embarked on a new journey in life as we began trying to grow closer to God by pursuing a fuller understanding of God’s will, the message of Christ, and how to be disciples of Christ. So far, our journey has been exciting, challenging, and sobering; I repented and returned to the Church, and my wife was later baptized for the forgiveness of her sins and was added to the Church. (Acts 2:38-41) These changes have made the last few years much more meaningful than those before.

Following Christ introduced us to a new level of peace, contentment, and joy, even amidst growing health concerns. In fact, I can’t imagine facing any of the hardships we’ve had to face without our faith and trust in Jesus.

With a mutual love of God, open minds, open hearts, and a desire to do God’s Will, according to God, we all have what we need to build and strengthen our understanding of God’s will, our roles as disciples of Christ, and build friendships in Christ.

I want to encourage you to follow and comment on the posts you find on Advocate for Christ.

God First!

Newer posts »

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

ADVOCATE FOR CHRIST

Sign up now

We hope you will find our post uplifting and possibly challenging in your pursuit to live a God First life!

We don’t spam!

Contact us:

Contact us: wa***@***************st.com

© 2026 Advocate for Christ

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑