Greetings in the name of Jesus!
Thanks for looking into Prosperous Life Newsletter today. We've prayed that this article will edify you with the TRUTH of God's Word and cause your FAITH to grow stronger (Romans 10:17).
In this series we're discussing the challenge of developing a LIFESTYLE of LOVE where we routinely put God and other people ahead of ourselves. As you must already know, the Flesh really doesn't like that idea and will do whatever it can to resist something that refuses to put SELF first. The Flesh is all about SELF and LOVE is all about the Spirit. They're polar opposites and contend with each other for dominance in our lives. Will we LOVE or will we watch after our own self- interests? It's shaky ground and even when we have a good day and LOVE mostly prevails we have to start the next day and the one after that with a new effort to re-establish and continue a LOVING lifestyle. It's a day-by-day battle but we CAN prevail and we CAN walk in LOVE, otherwise Jesus wouldn't have given us two LOVE COMMANDMENTS.
A COMMAND is a hard word and Jesus only mentioned two main instructions that were given in the form of and specifically referred to as COMMANDMENTS. When the King tells you to do something, you're supposed to do it. And a GOOD King, a King of mercy and grace, wouldn't COMMAND you to do something if He didn't know already you have the ability to fulfill it. What kind of a King would Jesus be if He left behind some COMMANDMENTS we couldn't possibly carry out? Of course, this is something only born again Believers can do because they need some help from the Holy Spirit that wouldn't otherwise be available. But the point is it can be done; Christians CAN walk in love. They CAN develop a lifestyle of LOVE based on these two COMMANDMENTS of Christ:
1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
2. Love your neighbor as yourself. Stated from another scripture, love one another as He has loved you.
Now as we've already pointed out in previous Newsletters, Jesus also said about these COMMANDMENTS that the entire Law (of Moses) and everything the Prophets of the Old Testament had ever said were dependent on them. In other words nothing in the Kingdom of God works except by LOVE which includes the principles of finance that are scattered throughout the Bible in ALL of the various covenants between God and people. Even our FAITH won't work except by LOVE (1 Corinthians 13:2 and Galatians 5:6) and without FAITH it's impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). God has given His GRACE (favor, blessing and empowerment) because of His profound LOVE for His children. Without GRACE we wouldn't be able to achieve anything in life including overcoming our financial problems. God is our PROVIDER and without His LOVE working, there would be no provision. Also, there would be no mercy and without mercy there would be no forgiveness of sins. In short, under the New Covenant our success and victory in life is dependent FUNDAMENTALLY on the attribute of LOVE: spirit, soul and body.
How to Do It
To be sure, it doesn't say anywhere that it's easy to walk in the Spirit and manifest LOVE all the time. In fact, you probably won't ever be able to manifest it ALL the time like Jesus did and still does. But if you want to change enough to make the effort, to engage the enemy your flesh and your other enemy the devil in battle, if you'll sow your attention and effort into it, it's guaranteed that the harvest of LOVE WALKING will follow and your success, prosperity and victory in life will follow that by FAITH. Once the LOVE is in place and working like it should, then your FAITH will start working more effectively to receive the GRACE that Jesus has ALREADY provided for us to receive.
Here's a process you might consider to set things right and start on a new course for manifesting more LOVE in your life instead of the more Flesh most of us are having to deal with:
1. Ask God for help - The first step is to admit you're unable to obey the commandments of Christ in your own strength. Ask God to cause His Holy Spirit to help you and then purpose to open yourself to receive His ministry.
2. Spend time with the Lord and His Word - You'll never be able to enjoy the fullness of biblical prosperity from a position of ignorance or from disobedience of His Word. Accept that this is true and get busy increasing your knowledge.
3. Release your faith based on the promises in the Word - The Word of God says you can have what you ask for (Mark 11:23-24). Therefore, ask God for the ability to love Him and your fellow man and then believe that He'll grant what you ask for.
4. Confess your agreement with the Word - Those same scriptures tell us that we can have whatever we SAY. Therefore, confess with your mouth what the Word of God says (that you have received what you asked for) and it will be granted to you.
5. Rest in the belief that what you've requested is happening - Then rest in the assurance and confidence that this promise from His Word has been given to you. Don't worry about it; just believe and receive it. At first, you may not feel more loving but the truth is God will have already given you what you asked for. Wait in faith for what you say and believe to be manifested.
6. Practice being loving - Don't miss a day telling God how much you love Him and how much you appreciate your prayers being answered. Forgive someone. Stop arguing with your spouse. Be nice to telemarketers. Stop being impatient in traffic. Stop speaking badly about other people, all other people. Give love offerings to those in need. The more seriously you practice loving the more quickly love will flow in your life. And after a season, your loving will cease to be a special effort; it will become automatic, a part of who you are.
7. Be quick to repent to God when you mess up - In the past you might have ignored the occasions when you weren't very loving. Now you'll want to take notice of those occasions and ask God to forgive you for allowing your flesh to temporarily take over the controls.
It's not easy to walk in LOVE. The Truth is nothing is easy about becoming a successful Christian who bears much fruit and glorifies God. But if you'll faithfully seek the Lord for the purpose of obeying His LOVE COMMANDMENTS, it's certain you'll find Him (Jeremiah 29:11-12) and it's certain you'll be successful. He'll bless you just for trying; He'll reward you for your faithfulness with increasing victory in every area of life.
Thanks for dropping by today and we hope this article has blessed you in a special way. We'll be looking for you again in three weeks on April 8 and in the meantime we'll also be praying for your new success in love walking.
Sinners' Prayer
If you've never invited Jesus to be the Lord of your life, you need to and you can do it today just by saying out loud the following simple prayer:
Jesus I declare today with all my heart that I believe in you and that God raised you from the dead. I receive forgiveness for my sins and I ask you to come into my life today and be my Lord and Savior. Thank you for salvation and eternal life.
If you were sincere as you prayed this prayer, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation, a totally new species recreated in His image. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith-based, bible-teaching church where you can be equipped to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God.
Prayer Requests
If you have a Prayer Request, please connect to the Link below and follow the promptings. The PLN staff members pray over Prayer Requests every Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM eastern time. God bless you.
About Prosperous Life Newsletter
PLN is an outreach ministry of Make A Way Ministries located in Miami, Florida. It is in its 14th continuous year of publication and has been published faithfully every third Friday since January 1998. It's an e-publication primarily about finances in the Kingdom of God and is sent ONLY to our email list of members. If you're reading this and aren't yet on our growing email list, please let us know and we'll be so very happy to add you.
