From Philip, a disciple of Jesus Christ in the service of #LATeamGrace: To the elects of God in the #LAFamily. Grace and peace be unto you from God our Father and our Master, Jesus Christ. All the believers who are here with me join me in sending greetings to the members of the #TheLAFamily and as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in #LA130 with us. I thank my God for your fellowship (your relentless contributions, insights, blog posts and tweets) in advancing our ministry of learning and applying God’s Word from the very first day until now. Each time I think of you, the greatness of your destiny becomes more vivid, the glamour more graphic and the imminence more certain. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.
Now that we have come to the end of #LA130, I pray that you will walk in the light of all that you have learnt. Like the Holy Spirit taught us through the letter of Apostle Paul to the Galatians, be careful not to reject the grace of God. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died for nothing. The moment any one of you submits to religious sentiments or any other rule-keeping system, at that same moment Christ’s hard-won gift of freedom is squandered. Remember that Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.
As spiritual people, be conscious of the fact that carnal men will always try to box you in with their customs and beliefs about God, cloaked in the garb of piety. I can assure you that they are deeply devoted to God, but they are misguided. They don’t understand how to receive God’s approval by grace. So they try to set up their own way to get it, by creating a system of rules and regulations which they attempt to impose on you. They’ll prescribe specific “prayer postures”, enforce certain “moods of worship” and establish self-contrived “standards of propriety” that are in total opposition to the Spirit of Grace and Truth. When you don’t conform, they brand you as an infidel or at best, an unserious Christian – in their mind. But thank God, the Lord knows those that are His. Hallelujah!
Remember that the entire Law has been obeyed when you have kept the single precept, which says, “YOU ARE TO LOVE YOUR FELLOW MAN EQUALLY WITH YOURSELF.” So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God. As an elect of God, you must hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you – the standard of God’s unconditional love. Let the love of God dominate your thoughts, condition your responses and coordinate your actions. That way, you will be able to secure your destiny and enjoy your inheritance in God, for God is love.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.