Is this who you are? Is it who you will be?
Be on guard. To give protection; keep watch; be watchful. To take precautions.
For what? From what? Be on our guard against...? Everything. I believe there's a reason this first sentence is so broad and general. Be on your guard. Period. Sounds exhausting. It's not easy, but it's the only way to survive. Guard everything you possess and everything you are. If you can name it, you must guard it. Guard your heart. Your mind. Your soul. Your innocence. Your ears. Your eyes. Your tongue. Your actions. Your thoughts. Be on guard. Don't let the wall down ever for a second. Because that's when the attack will strike. It's tough. And you'll want to quit. Don't. Always be on guard.
Stand firm in the faith. Belief and trust in the unseen. Confidence in truth not based on facts.
Truth. Unseen. Do not be swayed. Know what you believe in and preach it with every fiber in your being! Live in faith, walk in faith. Lead. By. Faith. That's where you meet God. You are not alone and you don't need to be afraid of what's coming next. You may not know that next step, but faith in the Lord will give you peace about your future. You will be confident that He has you in his arms. You will, without a doubt, make it through whatever this life and the evils of this world throw at you if you simply have faith that God loves you. Stand firm in that faith.
Be courageous. Without fear. To act in accordance with one's beliefs, especially in spite of criticism.
It's our job to run into the fire. Face our fears. Stand up for what we believe in and essentially ignore the people who try to tear us down. What are we afraid of anyway? What can this world do to us that our God can't save us from? What even is there to be afraid of when we think like that? Are we afraid of rejection? So what. If we aren't willing to be ridiculed for our faith, then we're not willing to lead people to Jesus. Afraid of dying? Why? All that will happen in that case is a good thing. Afraid to stand out? Afraid to go against the grain? Afraid we won't fit in? Selfish. My pastor recently said that we are born with two fears. The fear of falling, and the fear of loud noises. Have you gotten over those yet? Good. Now go out, share the word, and have courage.
Be strong. Power of resisting force, strain, or wear. Unwavering.
This is not talking about physical strength. No human can defeat the devil alone, no matter how physically strong he or she is. Our bodies are temporary. Only the strength from God can keep us alive after our bodies have gone. So be strong. Know the Lord. Keep Him in your pocket everywhere you go. Use Him in everything you do. He is your only weapon, your only hope. The power God has is infinite and He wants to share it with you! It would be extremely unwise to think we can do it on our own. How could we have so much faith in ourselves? We are nothing without the strength of God. So use it. Be strong.
And do everything with love.
No definition necessary. The world has a skewed view on love. We often confuse it with lust. We dismiss it as a feeling or affection towards another person. We portray it in a negative light by 'falling' in love.We discredit love by mixing it with our fear of loneliness. We use it to often and too loosely. I love your hair. I'm in love with this actor. We were sooo in love but then we broke up a week later. Do you not see a pattern here? It's clear to me that our world needs a refresher course in love. I promise it would be the shortest class in History. It would consist of one sentence, and one mental image. God is Love and Love is Jesus on the Cross. Do everything with love. Unselfish. Without limit. 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance (1Corinth. 13).
This is why we are called to a higher purpose than simply existing. This world is nothing without Love. Nothing without God. We can ignore it and we can pretend we don't need it anymore. We can convince even ourselves that we've found something better. Something easier. We'll replace love with passion and desire; with lust. We will wave it off as something only found in fairy tales. But what we need to understand is that when we know God, we're in that fairy tale! It exists and it's the most wonderful knowledge no one can take away from you when you feel God's love! There's no getting around it.
Because love will last forever. And if God is love? Then God will last forever. With all of this in mind, is this who you are?
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