Repaying kindness – After a life of charity, she died without even money for a burial; now loved ones hope to raise enough for a service to pay respects – By MIKE TOLSON, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, Jan. 30, 2010, 7:21AM

If you have been in any Christian Churches, chances are you have heard the term “walking in love.” But what does it mean to walk in love? Where have we received the definition for it? And do we really know love? According to God’s Word, God IS love – 1 John 4:7-9 says:

See, the problem is that we have looked to the world and all that is in it for love that satisfies emotional and physical needs. We have watched movies and TV shows or read fictitious books that have tried to layout good love and romance scenes that definitely appeal to the emotions and flesh, but never seem to measure up in real life – why?

The truth about a real love walk – one that fits into a man and woman relationship or into walking in love toward other people – has no basis in emotion or flesh/physical. Real love starts when our hearts are changed and transformed by what God created love for – it’s why He is love! The great thing is that when you read about Sister Maggie’s life story, what jumps out is that she knew or at least must have know about this love walk that God has ordained for us because of the perfect example she set by her work. 1 Corinthians 13:3, says:

See, Sister Maggie could have done all the works that she did and gave all she had to take care of those less fortunate or needing whatever she had to give, but without love – the Love of God – I honestly do not believe we would have heard of her or seen this article. Why? Lack of love does not compel others to step forward and call to give a person like her a proper, respectful and paid in full burial. If she did all that she did and did not have love, no one would have done anything this respectful. The State or local government could have handled things and there would be no one there to pay respect to her – she would have been just another person that no one had anyway to contact family to let them know of her passing. But Sister Maggie was different! She had the Love of God! What does that look like? 1 Corinthians 13 goes on in vv. 4-8 to say:

Look at v.4 – it says, “Love suffers long and is kind….” The first step to walking in the Love of God is exactly where Sister Maggie would start – suffering long and being kind! Suffering many times is associated with dealing with the negative, but in God’s Word it means and comes from a root meaning to forbear or to have fortitude, being patiently enduring. What is the old saying…good things come to those that wait! And kind here really does not need defining, but God’s Word says that to be kind is to show oneself as useful in a manner or morals of goodness, gracious and being kind. The act of being patiently enduring and showing oneself as useful in a manner was exactly what was described here in Mike Tolson’s article. Its positive proof that Sister Maggie had the love walk working in her. And if she had this love walk working in her, then we know that it was God who was working in her. Why? Remember what 1 John 4 said? Well, if God is love, then it’s obvious that we could place God’s name everywhere in 1 Corinthians 13 that the word “love” appears – so it would read:

What wonderful Truth we receive when our hearts get full of this! When we realize that our loving, Heavenly Father is love and that He is all that 1 Corinthians 13 says He is, its hard NOT to walk in love toward anyone, especially if He lives in and through you, by the gift of our Lord and Savior Jesus, through the Holy Ghost! And look at the awesome, mighty promise, that we can ALWAYS lean on no matter what, in verse 8 – “GOD NEVER FAILS!” If He never fails and we have love in us, then He is in us! And that means we never fail! Sister Maggie never failed in her walk because she had love living in and through her. It was her calling and the calling of all those that are Christians!

We should be encouraged and take time to meditate on those things accomplished by God through Sister Maggie who was yielding and walking in the love of God. We do this by walking out and allowing God to perfect and deliver His love through us as detailed by 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. If you are a Christian, then just pray over yourself that the love of God, as designed by God and detailed in His Word, would work in and through you every day. As you do this the fruit of love will shine through in all that you are called to do. It all begins with the first step in your love walk.

And that is The Truth!
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Buffett says US in ‘economic Pearl Harbor’

Let me quote Timberly Ross’ article and more specifically Mr. Buffett’s comments:

This particular article really struck me as interesting and got my Spirit stirred up. Here is Warren Buffett – financial guru who is on top of everything and when asked about economic and financial decisions is quick to reply with his knowledge and understanding of what it takes to generate the numbers for businesses and money to make money. Yet, during this time of his interview, when questioned about this world’s economy, his response is in regards to a simple, yet life changing word – FEAR!

Now, any non Christian person will tell you that the life of fear is the last kind of life to live! People that live in fear are constantly looking over their shoulder. They worry, fret, and get concerned about the littlest things. They have no peace, no rest, and definitely cannot allow anything or anyone to handle any of their affairs for them. A person in fear is not their own and does nothing but live in the shadows of what COULD happen or what MIGHT happen. Nothing is ever positive and if anything ever positive drops in their laps, they never enjoy it for fear that it will turn negative.

So, as Mr. Buffett indicates, what happens to people living in fear is that they stop living in, doing things in, and acting on this life. They begin to breed fear. And if they do not have fear now, they begin to fear for lack of fear.

As Christians, we are to stop that madness and get our hands off of fear. Paul said in Romans 8:14-15

If we are Christians that truly believe that Jesus not only saved us and took away our sins but also freed us from all bondages, including the bondage of fear, are we to continue to live in the old way of bondage to sin and fear or are we to live free from that junk in Jesus’ finished work? We should have received a new life through the one Jesus Christ! When something is made new, restored, and redeemed, it means that the old things have all passed away and something new has been created and brought forth! Those old things are dead and gone and exist no more! Hence, as Paul says here, we did not receive fear as part of our newness of life from Jesus, so why are we accepting it and allowing it to have any place in our life? Why are we agreeing with the world and allowing fear in?

Faith and fear cannot operate together! When you are in fear you are not trust in Jesus and believing in The Truth of His Word! We must allow faith to remove fear from our lives. How do we do this – by walking in the command that Jesus gave us: that we walk in the love of Christ that has been shed abroad in our hearts!

Why is walking in love so important to our faith? Looks at 1 John 4:17-19 in the Amplified say:

Now, more than ever, love must be perfected in the hearts of Christians! Where there is His love, there is no fear! This is perfect love and that is why it casts out fear! You become perfect in love through receiving Christ’s love for you and then, in turn, giving His love to everyone and through everything you do! Look at what Jesus gave us – 2 Timothy 1:7:

So, what does love look like when it is manifest through us in what Jesus gave us? – 1 Corinthians 13:3-8:

Love has its perfect work when all of the “no-love-fruit” is gone! That means we must stop being impatient and unkind toward all. Jealousy and envy for others has no place in a person who gives love. Being selfish, prideful and rude must leave your attitude. Allow love to have its way in your life means that you are not provoking others to anger and you are not devising evil thoughts and plans. And love definitely does not have fun doing grossly immoral acts. Love is filled with joy in The Truth! And when this love is perfected, it never, ever fails, because Jesus IS LOVE!

Mr. Buffett is right to say that we are in a cycle of fear, if we define this current fear as one that has us blinded to The Truth of the love we were given through Jesus! We must take responsibility to deal with the fear – cast down all fear and take up faith and what God’s Word has to say – Hebrews 13:6(Amplified):

Pray, in Jesus name, this verse of Scripture (Hebrew 13:6) over you, your family, and any situation where fear tries to rise and believe that the perfect love of Jesus has cast out all fear. As you do, fear will have to release its grip on those areas and the peace and joy of the Lord will return!

And that is The Truth!
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