Wonderous Love

I have not always lived for Jesus.  I was of two minds, wanting God’s favor but living to please myself.  I have been forgiven much, and so I love Him much.  If Jesus’ sacrifice is sufficient to provide “a wretch like me” with forgiveness and salvation, then it is sufficient for you, also.  That is why the following scripture is so powerful: 

One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table.  And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment,  and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.  Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”  And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” 

“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?”  Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”  Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet.  You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.  Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”  And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”  Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”  And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”  (Luke 7:36-50 ESV) 

What was the faith that was able to save the woman?  It was the faith to believe in Jesus. 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life ... (John 3:16 ESV) 

God saves us because he loves us: 

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  (1John 4:9-10 NIV) 

We are humbled.  We are grateful.  We love Him - just like the woman did at the home of Simon the Pharisee.  It leaves us in awe.  In the words of the old Southern folk hymn:

What Wonderous Love is This

What wondrous love is this,
O my soul! O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this,
That caused the Lord of bliss,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

When I was sinking down,
Sinking down, sinking down;
When I was sinking down, sinking down
When I was sinking down,
Beneath God's righteous frown,
Christ laid aside his crown
For my soul, for my soul!
Christ laid aside his crown for my soul!

To God and to the Lamb,
I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing.
To God and to the Lamb,
Who is the great I AM,
While millions join the theme,
I will sing, I will sing!
While millions join the theme, I will sing! [1]

Do you hear Jesus calling?  Come to Him.  Be saved.  He loves you, and He wants you to be with Him forever.

Acknowledgement:

All Bible verses were copied from https://biblehub.com/

[1] https://www.godsongs.net/2014/04/what-wondrous-love-is-this-oh-my-soul.html

Should President Biden be Impeached?

There is a lot of talk on the news about the possibility that President Joe Biden might be impeached.  Some members of the U.S. House of Representatives have, somewhat prematurely, called for articles of impeachment, and the House is actively investigating Mr. Biden’s conduct when he was vice president. 

President Biden is entitled to the presumption of innocence, and it is not our job to convict him here.  If they are able to gather sufficient evidence, the House can present articles of impeachment to the U.S. Senate.  It will then fall to the Senate to convict or acquit him. 

Although we should allow the duly constituted authorities to present charges and render judgement, as citizens we have the right to full disclosure of these proceedings.  It is our duty to inform ourselves, and we should critically examine the grounds for impeachment to try to understand what is in the best interests of our country.

When he was vice president, I always thought of Joe Biden as Barack Obama’s insurance policy against impeachment.  Although I also thought that the legislative branch might find it repulsive to go down in history for impeaching the nation’s first African American president, I genuinely believed that nobody … but nobody … would be dumb enough to want Joe Biden to become our chief executive if Mr. Obama were impeached.

Well, now I have the same reservations about impeaching President Biden.  LOOK WHO IS ON DECK TO TAKE HIS PLACE.  Do we really want Kamala Harris to become our next president – regardless of how short her term might be?  Heaven forbid.  We would have to look long and hard to find a worse president than Joe Biden.  Or, we need only to look at Vice President Harris. 

After President Andrew Johnson was impeached, and narrowly acquitted, in the spring of 1868, there were no further attempts at impeachment until President Bill Clinton was impeached in the winter of 1998.  Perhaps the need did not present itself.  I wonder, however, if it was because our elected leaders understood that the impeachment of a president is a destructive and divisive process that does the country more harm than good. 

As much as the known evidence seems to indicate that there is reasonable cause to believe that President Biden may have committed such crimes as Influence Pedaling, Accepting Bribes, or even Treason, I hope that the legislative branch will take into consideration the harm that will be done to our country by impeaching him.  I hope they will take a good, hard look at the dangers involved in making Vice President Kamala Harris our next president. 

We only have a year until the next presidential election.  Let’s hope the American voters have learned their lesson.  I pray that the voters will decide they have had enough of Joe Biden, but let's leave it to the voters to decide.

Idleness is Degrading

If we take away a person’s ability to be useful and productive, we rob them of their dignity.  To feel that they are a member of a family, group, or community, people need to be able to contribute to it.  If they cannot, they feel that they are excess baggage – a burden.  Is it any wonder that they become bitter and resentful? 

Carl Rogers said that people need to “self-actualize,” or as the U.S. Army used to put it … to “Be all that you can be.”  As a nation we diminish our fellow citizens when we give them “handouts,” rather than a “hand up.” 

We need to vote for candidates who will return high-paying, responsible jobs to the United States.  In their hearts, people want the opportunity to earn a decent living, rather than to be paid not to work.  Let’s give our friends and neighbors back their dignity, rather than to relegate them to living off government “chump change.” 

And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received from us.  For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you.  We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you.  We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow.  Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.” 

Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business.  We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living.  As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good. (2Thessalonians 3:6-13 NLT) * 

 

*  https://biblehub.com/nlt/2_thessalonians/3.htm

Can You Handle the Truth?

We say we want to find the truth.  We study, but when we find the truth, some of us reject it if it contradicts our preconceived notions or conflicts with our preferred style of living.  Then, we continue to search, but we never find the answers that satisfy … because we are looking in the wrong places for the wrong reasons, and listening to the wrong people.  Further, some of us may be seeking the truth with insincere hearts - not seeking the truth in good faith - because we know in our hearts what we want the truth to be, and we will not accept what it is. 

For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires,  and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.               (2Timothy 4:3-4 NAS) 

“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD,

“When I will send a famine on the land,

Not a famine of bread or a thirst for water,

But rather for hearing the words of the LORD.

“People will stagger from sea to sea

And from the north even to the east;

They will roam about to seek the word of the LORD,

But they will not find it. (Amos 8:11-12 NAS)

Some want to suppress the truth.  The “cancel culture” denies a voice to all it disagrees with.  These are deluded people who refuse to accept that there is a God who is greater than their own understanding and desires. 

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.  For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,  unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal,  haters of good,  treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,  holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these. (2Timothy 3:1-5 NAS) 

Many of us deny the existence of absolute truth.  They believe that truth is relative to the way it is perceived.  To paraphrase Star Wars’ Obi-Wan Kenobi, ‘You will find, Luke, that what we believe is true depends greatly on our point of view.’ 

Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this purpose I have been born, and for this I have come into the world: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.”  Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”                   (John 18:37-38 NAS) 

Jesus Christ is the embodiment of absolute truth.  He said:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6 NAS) 

If we truly seek the Truth with an open heart and trusting, childlike faith, the Holy Spirit will lead us to the Truth, which is Christ Jesus.  Jesus said: 

But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth …    (John 16:13 NAS) 

We cannot hold anything back.  We must turn away from our desires, wrongdoing, perceptions, points of view, pride of opinion, and other belief systems.  That is called repentance.  Then we must follow Jesus.  He said: 

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26 NAS) 

Jack Nicholson played Colonel Jessep in the movie, A Few Good Men.  Famously, Colonel Jessep shouts from the witness stand, “You can’t handle the truth!” 

Well, can you handle the Truth? 

When we come to know Jesus - absolute truth personified - then we will know the Truth that sets us free. (John 8:32)  Come to Jesus today.  Admit to Him that you have fallen short of God’s righteous standards.  Accept the forgiveness and salvation He has provided for you, and follow Him. 

 Acknowledgement: 

All Bible verses quoted here were copied from, https://biblehub.com 

The Book is Where to Look

It is common for people to experience times of self-doubt.  Things can go wrong.  “We all make mistakes.” 

At those times we may seek the counsel of others – friends, family members, or trained professionals.  When we are in doubt about the validity of our values or our point of view, we may come to question our perceptions of reality and the quality of our judgements. 

Unfortunately, sometimes there are problems with the quality of the guidance we get from others.  In short, not all of it may be good advice.  Unless we ask for them, the opinions of others may not be welcome.  Also, if we listen to their advice they expect us to follow it, and we may not want to. 

I appreciate the wisdom of others who offer their counsel when I need it.  We must recognize, however, that not everyone who offers advice does so for our benefit.  There are some who may want to manipulate us to their own advantage.  Or, they may want to hold us back so that they can keep us from achieving our full potential – possibly to control us or keep us from being competitive with them for leadership or position. Others, bless them, may with the best of intentions offer bad advice. 

I am not saying we should disregard the advice of others, but before we proceed to decision-making it is best to see what God has to say about it.  Most importantly, we should give God the final say-so. 

What to do, then?  In everything we must pray earnestly for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Then we have to look into the Holy Bible for the whole wisdom of God; whether it be about a single decision, or about the totality of who we are and why we exist.  We must not grab just one verse and run with it.  We should search the entire Word of God to learn everything God has given us.  I recommend getting a good Bible concordance.  It really helps.  I am sharing this with you in good faith, and it is supported by the following: 

 

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.  (Proverbs 3:5-8 ESV) 

 

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2Timothy 3:16-17 ESV)

 

And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.  For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2Peter 1:19-21 ESV) 

 

Jesus said:

 

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,  even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:15-17 ESV) 

 

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:26-27 ESV) 

 

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.  He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.  All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John16:12-15 ESV)

 

Acknowledgement: 

All of the Bible verses quoted were copied from https://biblehub.com/esv

International Business Ownership

We all know that business ownership and the places goods and services are produced has become international, but I wonder how many of us realize the extent.  I didn’t.  That is why when I found this article from streetinsider.com on my Microsoft Edge browser I was so surprised and shocked.  I guess maybe I’m just naïve. 

Please pay special attention to how many of these companies are linked to China by ownership, production, or as a source of parts and materials.

 

American Companies That Are No Longer American | Investing Magazine (streetinsider.com)

The Duty to Warn

THE BAD NEWS is that we are living in troubled times.  People are becoming more and more violent.  Human life is no longer valued the way it once was.  Evil leaders of stronger countries are trying to subjugate neighboring countries against their will.  The threat of nuclear war remains real and imminent.  The boundaries of moral sexual behavior are being torn down.  Credit cards and loan companies charge interest that amounts to usury.  Even the thieves are getting more resourceful.  Hackers diminish the benefits of the Internet and advanced communication technology by cyber theft, extortion, scamming, selling personal information, and fraud.  The times will become more and more evil as people rebel against God. (2Thessalonians 2:1-11; 2Timothy 3:1-5). 

The end-time events in the Bible include the Rapture when Jesus returns to take the saved out of the world to be with Him in the Heavenlies (1 Corinthians 15:50-53; 1Thessalonians 4:13-17; John 14:3).  Following the rapture there will be a seven-year period (Daniel Chapter 9) called the Tribulation when God will pour out His wrath upon the unbelieving who are left on earth (Revelation Chapters 6-18).  At the end of the Tribulation, Jesus will return to establish His kingdom on earth, which will last for 1,000 years (Revelation Chapters 19 and 20).  The final judgement will follow the 1,000 years, evil will be done away with forever, all creation will be burned with fire, and a new heaven and earth will be created (Revelation 20: 7-15; 2Peter 3:8-13).  All creation will be restored to perfect harmony with God for eternity. 

Scholars may debate about exactly when and how these things will occur.  The Bible is clear, however, that the appearing of the Anti-Christ will mark the beginning of the time of God’s wrath (Tribulation), and that there will be a “rebellion” before he appears.  People will turn their backs on God, and follow a false religion that teaches a way of salvation other than by faith in Jesus Christ. 

 

Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him.  Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us.  Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction.  He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 NLT) 

 

THE GOOD NEWS is that saved, born again Christians will not have to go through this time of wrath called the Tribulation. (Revelation 3:10; 1Thessalonians 1:10, 5:9)  Everyone has sinned, but Christ has saved those who believe in Him from the wrath of God that we deserve. (Romans 5:6-11) 

Christians are often resented because our testimony about God points out what is wrong in the lives of all of us (Romans 3:23; 1John 1:8-10).  We are called hypocrites, bigots, haters, racists, Holy Joes, holier-than-thou, and a lot of other things that are unprintable in this blog. 

Christ commanded us not to judge others (Matthew 7:1-5).  His commandment does not mean, however, that we are to suspend all spiritual discernment.  It is not the Christian’s job to condemn people or to diminish their humanity - their personhood.  Jesus gave us an example of this when He was asked to decide whether a woman caught in adultery should be stoned.  He did not condemn her, but He admonished her to stop sinning. (John 8:1-11). 

We are under Biblical instruction to warn others, believers and unbelievers alike, if what they are doing is forbidden by God in the Holy Bible, and about the consequences of disobeying God.  Chaos and wreckage in one’s life are the natural and logical result of living in disobedience to God.  If a person’s style of living is contrary to what God has told us to do in His Word they will be eternally condemned in the judgement that is to come, and it is our duty to warn them.  “It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31 NLT) 

It is loving, compassionate, caring, and responsible to warn someone if they are doing something dangerous, or if they are about to be injured or killed.  The cliches for such circumstances abound.  For instance, we would warn someone who is smoking a cigarette while filling their car with gasoline.  They might resent it and tell us to mind our own business.  They might even get away with it this time, and the next time, but their luck will run out sometime.  The Bible says we are irresponsible if we do not warn people that they are disobeying God. 

Several passages in the Holy Bible admonish the believer to warn people if they are doing something that will incur God’s wrath.  We are told that God will hold us responsible for their death if we fail to warn them. 

 

After seven days the LORD gave me a message. He said, “Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from me, warn people immediately.  If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths.  If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me. 

“If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths.  But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too.” (Ezekiel 3:16-21 NLT) 

 

In Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites and priests and clan leaders in Israel to serve as judges for cases involving the LORD’s regulations and for civil disputes.  These were his instructions to them: “You must always act in the fear of the LORD, with faithfulness and an undivided heart.  Whenever a case comes to you from fellow citizens in an outlying town, whether a murder case or some other violation of God’s laws, commands, decrees, or regulations, you must warn them not to sin against the LORD, so that he will not be angry with you and them. Do this and you will not be guilty. (2Chronicles 19:8-10 NLT) 

 

Once again a message came to me from the LORD:  “Son of man, give your people this message: ‘When I bring an army against a country, the people of that land choose one of their own to be a watchman.  When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people.  Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die.  They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives.  But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths.’ 

“Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me.  If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths.  But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself. (Ezekiel 33:1-9 NLT) 

 

The Bible says that people may not heed our warning.  In fact, they may resent it, or even hate us for it.

To whom can I give warning?

Who will listen when I speak?

Their ears are closed,

and they cannot hear.

They scorn the word of the LORD.

They don’t want to listen at all.

(Jeremiah 6:10 NLT)

It is the Holy Spirit living in us that causes us to testify about God and His perfect goodness. (John 15:26-27)  Sometimes, it causes people to have a guilty conscience.  They may resent being made to feel like that, and resent us because the Spirit is using us to testify about God.  Jesus said:

 

But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.  And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. (John 16:7-8 NLT)

 

The day will come, (and is already here), when Christians will be persecuted for advocating for Godly behavior.  Atheists and others have even started organizations like The Freedom from Religion Foundation to advocate for their desire to have all vestiges of religion (i.e. crosses or the Ten Commandments) removed from the public square.  Christian businesses and organizations have been singled out for persecution.  For example, Chic-fil-A was barred from Chicago.  The Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged, (a Catholic charity) had to fight the Obama Administration all the way to the US Supreme Court for their right not to participate in any aspect of the Affordable Health Care Act, due to their sincerely held religious objection to contraception.  Christian bakers and photographers have been driven into financial difficulty defending themselves against charges of discrimination for not providing their services at same-sex weddings.  However, Christians must not shirk our Biblical duty to warn. 

Believers must not neglect our own behavior, and we must warn each other to repent and ask God’s forgiveness when we go astray.

 

Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.  You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.  For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. (Hebrews 3:12-14 NLT) 

 

Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven!  When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. 

Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.  For our God is a devouring fire. (Hebrews 12:25-29 NLT) 

 

While the fear (reverence, awe) of God is prudent, we are not trying to scare anyone into getting saved.  God does not want anyone to perish, but rather He wants all to be saved (2Peter 3:9).  The basis for coming to Jesus is love – not fear.  He loved us enough to leave the glory He shared with God the Father, to come to live among us in a human body, and to die a horrible death in our place to pay the price for our sins.  All we have to do is to respond by believing in Him and then to love and follow Him. (Colossians 1:11-22; John 3:16; Romans 5:6-11) 

 

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.  This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.  No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. 

And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.  Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.  We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.  And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. 

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.  We love each other because he loved us first. (1John 4:9-19 NLT)

 

 When a Christian warns someone in truth and love, (not in a harsh, condemning manner), they are trying to bring that person into God’s loving family (1John 3:1-3).  After all, it really is a matter of life or death. 

Acknowledgement: 

All the passages of scripture shown here were copied from: https://biblehub.com