Christian Greatest Mark – 141

https://youtu.be/chURqqcW6lI

Welcome to Hank’s Place

We have been looking for identifying marks of a real Christian – not just externals like “Do they go to church?” The Antiochian believers were the first to be called Christians: little anointed ones. We can surmise their conversation and behavior focused upon THE Anointed One – Jesus!

And in Jerusalem those early Christians were hungry to learn all they could about Jesus, were in fellowship, prayer, shared communion, gathered in homes, and had awesomely generous spirits. Acts 2.

What else? 1 Cor 12. Those baby Christians at Corinth manifested the GRACE gifts of God – The Charismata – they were Charismatic! We’ll go there another time, for Paul, in the next chapter, reveals that the greatest – is love.

Which brings us to 1st John. It’s about God and love. They cannot be separated, because God IS love. Anyone claiming to live in God’s light yet hating a brother or sister is still in the dark, writes John. He adds, loving the world, wanting your own way, has nothing to do with the Father. But wanting God’s way is indicative of the Anointed One at home within you. You desire – to ‘do’ – His desires!

No one living deeply in Christ makes a practice of sin, John says, for God’s seed is within them. But the one who won’t practice righteous ways isn’t from God, nor the one who won’t love the brethren. A simple test. 1 Jn 3:10.

He adds that even as Christ gave His life for us, we no longer live just for ourselves but for our brothers and sisters. John explains that first we were loved, and now WE LOVE. Loving God includes loving people. 1 Jn 4:21.

MOST Christians don’t understand the GRACE of God. Don’t know they are fully accepted in the beloved, in Jesus, by the Father. Rather than freely receive the love of God, and from that, loving others; they are worn out, feeling like failures, trying to measure up to some performance standard. And trying to love others without having first received the amazing love of God. 

If that’s YOU my friend, STOP. SIT. Throw off that garment of performance. RECEIVE the love of God. Soon you’ll be loving others and people will remark — you are different! What’s happened? You have COME ALIVE!

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