Love Christ, Love like Christ!

[Integrityrespec]

My pastor always closes every Sunday's sermon with these words. "Love Christ, Love like Christ!". I'm like many and often I let my emotions get the better of me. The past week particularly so. His weekly newsletter included the following this past week. It refreshed my mind, my heart and my soul so I thought I'd share it. Hope it means something to someone here.

Speak the Truth in Love: Here’s the context from that verse in Ephesians 4 that I mentioned earlier (vv.13-15):

“This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.”

What did Paul mean here? To be mature in our faith as Christians means to speak the truth in love. Paul says by speaking the truth in love we will grow in every way more and more like Christ. I desperately want to grow in every way more and more like Christ, and I want that for each of you. So, let’s do it! A word of caution, though: It’s more difficult than it first appears. It’s easy and probably natural to gravitate to one of these two phrases or the other, but it’s not so easy to hold both in tension. For example, to speak the truth without love is a weapon. As one of my favorite pastors and theologians Rev. John Stott said in his commentary on Ephesians, “Thank God there are those in the contemporary church who are determined at all costs to defend and uphold God’s revealed truth. But sometimes they are conspicuously lacking in love. When they think they smell heresy, their nose begins to twitch, their muscles ripple, and the light of battle enters their eye. They seem to enjoy nothing more than a fight.” On the other side, to love without speaking the truth is a deception. More from Stott: “They (Those who speak love without the truth) are determined at all costs to maintain and exhibit love for their brothers and sisters, but in order to do so are prepared even to sacrifice the central truths of revelation. Both are unbalanced and unbiblical. Truth becomes hard if it is not softened by love; love becomes hard if it is not strengthened by truth.” People need to hear that in this broken, fallen world, there is healing possible, there is salvation possible, there is wholeness possible through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Don’t be afraid to speak up, don’t be afraid to speak the truth, but make sure you’re speaking it in love!

Pray: We all need to set aside time in the coming days for prayer. 2 Chronicles 7:14 tells us, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.” We need God to heal our land and we need God to heal our hearts. Lord, may it be so!

Act: Finally, (and yes, I know this is longer than my normal articles, hope you’re still with me!) don’t let this moment pass you by. If you feel the Holy Spirit nudging you to get involved in local politics, do it – Lord knows we need more Christians in the political landscape! If you have been thoughtless or callous toward someone, go make it right. If you feel led to start a Bible Study at your workplace, go for it – this is a great time to offer some Biblical perspective on how to navigate this landscape. As we just read in our study of 1 Samuel, let’s have the posture of a young Samuel who said, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”

 

[noonereal]

I really never hear what the priest says at mass. My attention span does not allow for it.
I like the choir and soloists, organ.

We are all different.

 

[Integrityrespec]

I really never hear what the priest says at mass. My attention span does not allow for it.
I like the choir and soloists, organ.

We are all different.

I'm always thankful for the cappuccino machine and plenty of donuts. LOL>

 

[Grand Mal]

My pastor always closes every Sunday's sermon with these words. "Love Christ, Love like Christ!". I'm like many and often I let my emotions get the better of me. The past week particularly so. His weekly newsletter included the following this past week. It refreshed my mind, my heart and my soul so I thought I'd share it. Hope it means something to someone here.

Speak the Truth in Love: Here’s the context from that verse in Ephesians 4 that I mentioned earlier (vv.13-15):

“This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.”

What did Paul mean here? To be mature in our faith as Christians means to speak the truth in love. Paul says by speaking the truth in love we will grow in every way more and more like Christ. I desperately want to grow in every way more and more like Christ, and I want that for each of you. So, let’s do it! A word of caution, though: It’s more difficult than it first appears. It’s easy and probably natural to gravitate to one of these two phrases or the other, but it’s not so easy to hold both in tension. For example, to speak the truth without love is a weapon. As one of my favorite pastors and theologians Rev. John Stott said in his commentary on Ephesians, “Thank God there are those in the contemporary church who are determined at all costs to defend and uphold God’s revealed truth. But sometimes they are conspicuously lacking in love. When they think they smell heresy, their nose begins to twitch, their muscles ripple, and the light of battle enters their eye. They seem to enjoy nothing more than a fight.” On the other side, to love without speaking the truth is a deception. More from Stott: “They (Those who speak love without the truth) are determined at all costs to maintain and exhibit love for their brothers and sisters, but in order to do so are prepared even to sacrifice the central truths of revelation. Both are unbalanced and unbiblical. Truth becomes hard if it is not softened by love; love becomes hard if it is not strengthened by truth.” People need to hear that in this broken, fallen world, there is healing possible, there is salvation possible, there is wholeness possible through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Don’t be afraid to speak up, don’t be afraid to speak the truth, but make sure you’re speaking it in love!

Pray: We all need to set aside time in the coming days for prayer. 2 Chronicles 7:14 tells us, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.” We need God to heal our land and we need God to heal our hearts. Lord, may it be so!

Act: Finally, (and yes, I know this is longer than my normal articles, hope you’re still with me!) don’t let this moment pass you by. If you feel the Holy Spirit nudging you to get involved in local politics, do it – Lord knows we need more Christians in the political landscape! If you have been thoughtless or callous toward someone, go make it right. If you feel led to start a Bible Study at your workplace, go for it – this is a great time to offer some Biblical perspective on how to navigate this landscape. As we just read in our study of 1 Samuel, let’s have the posture of a young Samuel who said, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”

Yeah, this belongs in Partisan Politics.
Jesus being a political activist 'n all.
Don't you think that, maybe, grinding a political point out of the Bible might be contrary to what the Bible is about?

 

[Loulit01]

The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose!
An evil soul producing holy witness
Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,
A goodly apple rotten at the heart.
O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!
—William Shakespeare.

 

[dseag2]

While I fully acknowledge that you believe what you are saying, my years in the Southern Baptist church make your comments aggravate my PTSD due to all the bad experiences I had during that time. In any case, good for you for following what you believe in. Maybe show us that love rather than your hatred in some of your posts? Just sayin'.

I

Post in thread 'The difference between the present USA government and the Russian government'

Sep 17, 2025

If you say something negative about the people in charge in Russia, your days are limited you will either be poisoned, thrown out a window, or put ina gulag where your life will be vert short. With the present government in this country, if you say something negative about someone on the right, the government will put financial pressure on your employer and you will be fired. Two recent examples are Colbert and Kimmel. With the government talking about taking their license’s away if they do not “cooperate “ it is hard for the gutless companies to say no. So now, free speech is no...

• Integrityrespec

• 

 

[Jason Warfield]

My pastor always closes every Sunday's sermon with these words. "Love Christ, Love like Christ!". I'm like many and often I let my emotions get the better of me. The past week particularly so. His weekly newsletter included the following this past week. It refreshed my mind, my heart and my soul so I thought I'd share it. Hope it means something to someone here.

Speak the Truth in Love: Here’s the context from that verse in Ephesians 4 that I mentioned earlier (vv.13-15):

“This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.”

What did Paul mean here? To be mature in our faith as Christians means to speak the truth in love. Paul says by speaking the truth in love we will grow in every way more and more like Christ. I desperately want to grow in every way more and more like Christ, and I want that for each of you. So, let’s do it! A word of caution, though: It’s more difficult than it first appears. It’s easy and probably natural to gravitate to one of these two phrases or the other, but it’s not so easy to hold both in tension. For example, to speak the truth without love is a weapon. As one of my favorite pastors and theologians Rev. John Stott said in his commentary on Ephesians, “Thank God there are those in the contemporary church who are determined at all costs to defend and uphold God’s revealed truth. But sometimes they are conspicuously lacking in love. When they think they smell heresy, their nose begins to twitch, their muscles ripple, and the light of battle enters their eye. They seem to enjoy nothing more than a fight.” On the other side, to love without speaking the truth is a deception. More from Stott: “They (Those who speak love without the truth) are determined at all costs to maintain and exhibit love for their brothers and sisters, but in order to do so are prepared even to sacrifice the central truths of revelation. Both are unbalanced and unbiblical. Truth becomes hard if it is not softened by love; love becomes hard if it is not strengthened by truth.” People need to hear that in this broken, fallen world, there is healing possible, there is salvation possible, there is wholeness possible through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Don’t be afraid to speak up, don’t be afraid to speak the truth, but make sure you’re speaking it in love!

Pray: We all need to set aside time in the coming days for prayer. 2 Chronicles 7:14 tells us, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.” We need God to heal our land and we need God to heal our hearts. Lord, may it be so!

Act: Finally, (and yes, I know this is longer than my normal articles, hope you’re still with me!) don’t let this moment pass you by. If you feel the Holy Spirit nudging you to get involved in local politics, do it – Lord knows we need more Christians in the political landscape! If you have been thoughtless or callous toward someone, go make it right. If you feel led to start a Bible Study at your workplace, go for it – this is a great time to offer some Biblical perspective on how to navigate this landscape. As we just read in our study of 1 Samuel, let’s have the posture of a young Samuel who said, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”

As the saying goes, "Nobody hates like a loving Christian."

We've seen your posts, not very Christian despite the claims.

I believe, I'm not an atheist or agnostic, but I am not blind to how weaponized MAGA has made of Christianity. How willing you folks are willing to turn a blind eye, to make excuses for folks like Trump.

Look, I do honestly believe that one can be conservative and be a true Christian. But if you support Trump, then you aren't a true Christian. You are a CINO, if you will. You want us to believe that you serve God and His Son? Repudiate Trump.

 

[SNOWFLAKE]

Love like Christ?

Has anyone here ever read the comments made by the religious types on here? You can just feel the love. /s

 

[StillBallin75]

What would Christ think about your absolute hatred for immigrants based on an arbitrary government-drawn imaginary line?

 

[Integrityrespec]

Yeah, this belongs in Partisan Politics.
Jesus being a political activist 'n all.
Don't you think that, maybe, grinding a political point out of the Bible might be contrary to what the Bible is about?

I think it's exactly what the Bible is about. Our political discourse is in ruins, or close to it. Our public behavior is shameful and our disregard for others is abhorred.
I ask this question. If everyone began to praise and mock the murder of MLK, would that be wrong? If all non black persons began to use the N word with everyday regularity, would that be wrong. It is wrong to praise the killing of babies?
If those are wrong then isn't doing these same things in reference to Charlie Kirk or any other human being wrong.
If those are not wrong, then what does that say to us as human beings about who and even what we are? If we cannot find a way to respectfully disagree, to sit and openly debate, discuss our differences, our goals, our future, then how do we fix what most of us see as wrong?
If Christ doesn't belong in Partisan Politics, not as a divider but as a united rallying point, then what happened to us? If your hate is so strong that you feel attacking these things is proper and decent then I ask, where do we go from here.

 

[Integrityrespec]

The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose!
An evil soul producing holy witness
Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,
A goodly apple rotten at the heart.
O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!
—William Shakespeare.

Shakespeare's personal religious beliefs are not definitively known, but he was a conforming member of the established Church of England, baptized and buried in an Anglican church, and his works are filled with biblical themes and religious imagery that reflect the pervasive religious culture of his time.
According to AI.

 

[Loulit01]

Shakespeare's personal religious beliefs are not definitively known, but he was a conforming member of the established Church of England, baptized and buried in an Anglican church, and his works are filled with biblical themes and religious imagery that reflect the pervasive religious culture of his time.

According to AI.

Then he would know.

 

[Airyaman]

I love better than Christ. I actually participate in conversations with my loved ones.

 

[Integrityrespec]

Love like Christ?

Has anyone here ever read the comments made by the religious types on here? You can just feel the love. /s

"We all have sinned and fallen short" comes from the Bible's Book of Romans, chapter 3, verse 23, stating that all people have fallen short of God's perfect standard of righteousness. This universal sinfulness, according to Christian teaching, establishes the need for a savior, which is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
I don't know any Christians who don't recognize this. The goal is to strive to be a better Christian, a better person. To be more Christ like. Isn't that a worthy goal?
For numerous individuals, the Bible's teachings on compassion, forgiveness, and justice can offer guidance for living a rich and purposeful life, even without divine intervention. The moral principles promoted by Jesus, for example, are admired by certain atheists for their deep emphasis on love and inclusivity.
Some people who do not believe in God still acknowledge the importance of the Bible's teachings, viewing it as a product of human creativity rather than a holy text. They might appreciate its ethical and moral insights while dismissing its claims of the supernatural or theological nature.

 

[Integrityrespec]

I love better than Christ. I actually participate in conversations with my loved ones.

May God Bless and Keep you.

 

[Integrityrespec]

While I fully acknowledge that you believe what you are saying, my years in the Southern Baptist church make your comments aggravate my PTSD due to all the bad experiences I had during that time. In any case, good for you for following what you believe in. Maybe show us that love rather than your hatred in some of your posts? Just sayin'.

I

Post in thread 'The difference between the present USA government and the Russian government'

Sep 17, 2025

If you say something negative about the people in charge in Russia, your days are limited you will either be poisoned, thrown out a window, or put ina gulag where your life will be vert short. With the present government in this country, if you say something negative about someone on the right, the government will put financial pressure on your employer and you will be fired. Two recent examples are Colbert and Kimmel. With the government talking about taking their license’s away if they do not “cooperate “ it is hard for the gutless companies to say no. So now, free speech is no...

• Integrityrespec

• 

Hatred, or frustration? As I said earlier all have fallen short, I'm no different. None of us are.
Sorry you blame the church for your problems. I've already mentioned all of those on DP in my morning prayer. God keep you and bless you all.

 

[Integrityrespec]

Yeah, this belongs in Partisan Politics.
Jesus being a political activist 'n all.
Don't you think that, maybe, grinding a political point out of the Bible might be contrary to what the Bible is about?

Actually, numerous sources portray Jesus as a radical social activist because of his clashes with corrupt religious and political leaders, his defiance of unjust societal norms by embracing outcasts, and his teachings about a kingdom that challenged the existing Roman empire and economic systems. Although his primary emphasis was on spiritual transformation and the establishment of God's kingdom, his actions—such as overturning the temple, sharing meals with tax collectors, and confronting hypocrisy—reflect traits associated with contemporary activism and social justice efforts. (Gospels from Bible, Jewish and Roman historians)

 

[j brown's body]

Actually, numerous sources portray Jesus as a radical social activist because of his clashes with corrupt religious and political leaders, his defiance of unjust societal norms by embracing outcasts, and his teachings about a kingdom that challenged the existing Roman empire and economic systems. Although his primary emphasis was on spiritual transformation and the establishment of God's kingdom, his actions—such as overturning the temple, sharing meals with tax collectors, and confronting hypocrisy—reflect traits associated with contemporary activism and social justice efforts. (Gospels from Bible, Jewish and Roman historians)

Not to mention his claim that rich people won't get to heaven.

 

[Lovebug]

Stop worshipping Trump and care more about those he asks you to hate and round up. Brown people are God's children too. They live in His world, not ours.

 

[Cameron]

"We all have sinned and fallen short" comes from the Bible's Book of Romans, chapter 3, verse 23, stating that all people have fallen short of God's perfect standard of righteousness. This universal sinfulness, according to Christian teaching, establishes the need for a savior, which is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
I don't know any Christians who don't recognize this. The goal is to strive to be a better Christian, a better person. To be more Christ like. Isn't that a worthy goal?
For numerous individuals, the Bible's teachings on compassion, forgiveness, and justice can offer guidance for living a rich and purposeful life, even without divine intervention. The moral principles promoted by Jesus, for example, are admired by certain atheists for their deep emphasis on love and inclusivity.
Some people who do not believe in God still acknowledge the importance of the Bible's teachings, viewing it as a product of human creativity rather than a holy text. They might appreciate its ethical and moral insights while dismissing its claims of the supernatural or theological nature.

It must be nice to believe that all of your sins will be forgiven if you just ask for it, and that everyone else is morally obligated to forgive you too. I subscribe more to the "actions speak louder than words" philosophy.

 

[bongsaway]

My pastor always closes every Sunday's sermon with these words. "Love Christ, Love like Christ!". I'm like many and often I let my emotions get the better of me. The past week particularly so. His weekly newsletter included the following this past week. It refreshed my mind, my heart and my soul so I thought I'd share it. Hope it means something to someone here.

Speak the Truth in Love: Here’s the context from that verse in Ephesians 4 that I mentioned earlier (vv.13-15):

“This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.”

What did Paul mean here? To be mature in our faith as Christians means to speak the truth in love. Paul says by speaking the truth in love we will grow in every way more and more like Christ. I desperately want to grow in every way more and more like Christ, and I want that for each of you. So, let’s do it! A word of caution, though: It’s more difficult than it first appears. It’s easy and probably natural to gravitate to one of these two phrases or the other, but it’s not so easy to hold both in tension. For example, to speak the truth without love is a weapon. As one of my favorite pastors and theologians Rev. John Stott said in his commentary on Ephesians, “Thank God there are those in the contemporary church who are determined at all costs to defend and uphold God’s revealed truth. But sometimes they are conspicuously lacking in love. When they think they smell heresy, their nose begins to twitch, their muscles ripple, and the light of battle enters their eye. They seem to enjoy nothing more than a fight.” On the other side, to love without speaking the truth is a deception. More from Stott: “They (Those who speak love without the truth) are determined at all costs to maintain and exhibit love for their brothers and sisters, but in order to do so are prepared even to sacrifice the central truths of revelation. Both are unbalanced and unbiblical. Truth becomes hard if it is not softened by love; love becomes hard if it is not strengthened by truth.” People need to hear that in this broken, fallen world, there is healing possible, there is salvation possible, there is wholeness possible through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Don’t be afraid to speak up, don’t be afraid to speak the truth, but make sure you’re speaking it in love!

Pray: We all need to set aside time in the coming days for prayer. 2 Chronicles 7:14 tells us, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.” We need God to heal our land and we need God to heal our hearts. Lord, may it be so!

Act: Finally, (and yes, I know this is longer than my normal articles, hope you’re still with me!) don’t let this moment pass you by. If you feel the Holy Spirit nudging you to get involved in local politics, do it – Lord knows we need more Christians in the political landscape! If you have been thoughtless or callous toward someone, go make it right. If you feel led to start a Bible Study at your workplace, go for it – this is a great time to offer some Biblical perspective on how to navigate this landscape. As we just read in our study of 1 Samuel, let’s have the posture of a young Samuel who said, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”

We are a Christian nation and if you look around America, that should explain why I stay as far away from Christians as possible. After seventy years on this planet, I have never seen or heard so much hatred from the american people and some want to claim we are a Christian nation? We are a nation of haters. Thanks to the gop.

 

[bongsaway]

"We all have sinned and fallen short" comes from the Bible's Book of Romans, chapter 3, verse 23, stating that all people have fallen short of God's perfect standard of righteousness. This universal sinfulness, according to Christian teaching, establishes the need for a savior, which is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
I don't know any Christians who don't recognize this. The goal is to strive to be a better Christian, a better person. To be more Christ like. Isn't that a worthy goal?
For numerous individuals, the Bible's teachings on compassion, forgiveness, and justice can offer guidance for living a rich and purposeful life, even without divine intervention. The moral principles promoted by Jesus, for example, are admired by certain atheists for their deep emphasis on love and inclusivity.
Some people who do not believe in God still acknowledge the importance of the Bible's teachings, viewing it as a product of human creativity rather than a holy text. They might appreciate its ethical and moral insights while dismissing its claims of the supernatural or theological nature.

It's all bullshit. There are no gods, we made this Jesus person into a god, we did it.
Who doesn't want to be like the invisible all powerful entity that everyone is supposed to worship?
Do you know anyone who has seen god, talked with God and got responses? Does god have tea with people or do we have to imagine all the good things this invisible entity has done?

 

[Integrityrespec]

As the saying goes, "Nobody hates like a loving Christian."

We've seen your posts, not very Christian despite the claims.

I believe, I'm not an atheist or agnostic, but I am not blind to how weaponized MAGA has made of Christianity. How willing you folks are willing to turn a blind eye, to make excuses for folks like Trump.

Look, I do honestly believe that one can be conservative and be a true Christian. But if you support Trump, then you aren't a true Christian. You are a CINO, if you will. You want us to believe that you serve God and His Son? Repudiate Trump.

If you are a christian as you indicate, unless I interpret the above wrongly, then you know that it's not yours to judge my faith nor my salvation. I am indeed a Christian and like all sometimes fall short. Just as you seem to have done in your post questioning and even condemning my faith and salvation. You seem to think your version of salvation is the correct one. If you believe you know what you just posted is wrong. If you don't believe, may God find you.
God Bless.

 

[Integrityrespec]

We are a Christian nation and if you look around America, that should explain why I stay as far away from Christians as possible. After seventy years on this planet, I have never seen or heard so much hatred from the american people and some want to claim we are a Christian nation? We are a nation of haters. Thanks to the gop.

Currently 62% of adults in the U.S. profess to be Christians among the many different denominations. We all fall short as the Bible tells us. You blame the gop for hate? Hate existed long before the GOP. Those who are happy about Charlie Kirks murder, and many have made statements to that end are certainly haters. Not very many of those are Christian republicans.

 

[Integrityrespec]

I'd love to continue this discourse on politics and religion but I have a 4 1/2 hour drive to make. God bless and keep you all, christians or not. Anyone who feels the urge, I accept prayers for my safe travel from all.
Have a great day, God Bless.