1 Peter 4:8-10Notes from the Pastor's Desk #notesfromthepastorsdesk 📖1 Peter 4:8-10 (ESV) 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 📘Pastor's Note: This morning, as I read this epistle from Peter instructing the Church, I'm reminded of the immense love that genuine Christians should have for one another. Peter says, "keep loving one another earnestly." The Greek word for "keep" comes with the understanding of "possession, to have, to own." It's something that, as born-again believers in Christ, we should possess and retain hold of. It's like a garment that we are to continually wear. Love is to be a Christian's clothing. Without it, we're just a bunch of clanging cymbals. And it is to be poured upon each other "earnestly," meaning "continuously, without ceasing, without interruption." This is to be not only our mindset but who we are if we are truly in the faith. If the Lord has made us a new creature in Christ, if our old self has passed away and we are walking in the Spirit, our love is a demonstration to everyone of the miracle that we have been saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus. When we assess our walk in Christ, do they (the world, the unsaved) recognize us by our love for one another? Or do they see slander, gossip, division, backbiting, discord, or ungodliness? The latter demonstrates to the world that we're no different from them and they ask, "Why do I need that? I already have that!" Can it at times be a challenge to show love, even to a brother or sister who has sinned against you? Sure. Are we commanded to love them anyway, even in our rebuke of wrongful actions? Absolutely. We are not called to love only when it's easy. We are called to love regardless, even towards our enemies. Anyone can love those who love them back. But the sacrificial love Jesus calls us to is a dying to self, an unconditional love, especially toward other believers. How do we do at this? Do people know you're a Christian based on your love for one another? Do you use your giftedness to serve one another? I pray they do. 🙏I'm praying for you always. ❤️ Pastor Jamie Read the Chapter: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%204&version=ESV Learn more about us: www.mygpchurch.com/whoweare #notesfromthepastorsdesk #thegpchurch #Truth #seek #study #serve #mygpchurch  Ephesians 2:8-9Notes from the Pastor's Desk #notesfromthepastorsdesk 📖Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV) 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 📘Pastor's Note: Read the quote below by Martyn Lloyd-Jones: To make it quite practical I have a very simple test. After I have explained the way of Christ to somebody I say “Now, are you ready to say that you are a Christian?” And they hesitate. And then I say, “What’s the matter? Why are you hesitating?” And so often people say, “I don’t feel like I’m good enough yet. I don’t think I’m ready to say I’m a Christian now.” And at once I know that I have been wasting my breath. They are still thinking in terms of themselves. They have to do it. It sounds very modest to say, “Well, I don’t think I’m good enough,” but it’s a very denial of the faith. The very essence of the Christian faith is to say that He is good enough and I am in Him. As long as you go on thinking about yourself like that and saying, “I’m not good enough; Oh, I’m not good enough,” you are denying God – you are denying the gospel – you are denying the very essence of the faith and you will never be happy. You think you’re better at times and then again you will find you are not as good at other times than you thought you were. You will be up and down forever. How can I put it plainly? It doesn’t matter if you have almost entered into the depths of hell. It does not matter if you are guilty of murder as well as every other vile sin. It does not matter from the standpoint of being justified before God at all. You are no more hopeless than the most moral and respectable person in the world. Martyn Lloyd-Jones 🙏I'm praying for you always. ❤️ Pastor Jamie Read the Chapter: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%202&version=ESV Learn more about us: www.mygpchurch.com/whoweare #notesfromthepastorsdesk #thegpchurch #Truth #seek #study #serve #mygpchurch  1 Corinthians 6:20Notes from the Pastor's Desk #notesfromthepastorsdesk 📖1 Corinthians 6:20 (ESV) 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 📘Pastor's Note: Here is what we need to know about God and our relationship with Him: He is the Master. We are the servants. He is the Shepherd. We are the sheep. He is the Potter. We are the clay. This means that the day we believed in Jesus, we became His personal property to do with as He chooses. I know that sounds radical to some, but it is biblical. As Christians, we are now the "purchased property" of Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 6:20 reminds us, "For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body." We have been redeemed and reconciled to God through His Son Jesus. We are His personal, precious possession. But we must also know that this Master who owns us is also a friend who loves us. He is the Potter who molds us. He is the Father who adores us. He is our Rock and Shield. That makes it all the easier to be His servant. Being a bondslave, Paul would at times introduce himself as such in his epistles: "Paul, a bondslave of Jesus Christ." So, what did that mean? This refers to the ancient custom in which a freed slave could declare that he did not want to leave his master. A slave who had been set free but wanted to stay on and serve his master voluntarily was known as a "bondslave." This goes back to Paul's statement to the Lord on the Damascus road, "Lord, what will You have me do?" There was no quibbling or negotiating in this area. He just wanted to do his duty and please his Master. A genuine follower of Jesus wants to do His will, and as soon as he knows what it is, he gladly jumps in and does it! He does this because his desire and love are bent toward pleasing his Master. It's not for self-preservation or self-righteousness. He, and everything he is and does, is to honor and glorify his Master. The steward, the bondslave, the Christ-follower must one day give an account of his ministry, and Paul was ready for that day. Are we ready to give an account of our lives to God? I pray that we are. May you have a blessed day serving our wonderful Master and Savior. 🙏I'm praying for you always. ❤️ Pastor Jamie Read the Chapter: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%206&version=ESV Learn more about us: www.mygpchurch.com/whoweare #notesfromthepastorsdesk #thegpchurch #Truth #seek #study #serve #mygpchurch  Matthew 24:7–14 (ESV)Notes from the Pastor's Desk #notesfromthepastorsdesk 📖Matthew 24:7–14 (ESV) 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. 9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. 📘Pastor's Note: The beginning of birth pains. We are closer today to the end than we were yesterday. Reading these words from Jesus to His disciples and observing the gross sinfulness in the world, we can’t help but know that the time is nearer. Come, Lord Jesus, come. 🙏I'm praying for you always. ❤️ Pastor Jamie Read the Chapter: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2024&version=ESV Learn more about us: www.mygpchurch.com/whoweare #notesfromthepastorsdesk #thegpchurch #Truth #seek #study #serve #mygpchurch  |
AuthorPastor Jamie Payton 
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