Let us stay totally focused and understand our warfare is spiritual and not a life of waiting and coping with things with in our physical environment. Jesus told us that in life we will have troubles however with Christ's power at work; we will be able to overcome the troubles of the world that come against us to steal, kill and destroy. As born again children of God our faces and place of habitation is posted on the devil's hit list and every day he is out with his henchmen trying to influence and destroy God‘s purposes at work with in us. Don't be mislead this is no game of playing church and living some kind of man made religious sanctimonious ritual.

Paul tells us in Eph. 6:1o-12 this; "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

Have you discovered that there is a life in the spirit world that takes on a very real life of it's own as you are being reared to be a king and priest in God your Father's service. The body of Christ is in a terrible condition to recognize and needs discipling as to the kingdom that they were born into the day they became God's child. If a child of God doesn't understand their fight of faith; they stay in a mind funk of trying to be patient with long lines in the check out lines, waiting at red lights to change at intersection and all the other things we have to put up with in our every day life time of trial and errors.

Let's get this forever settled as I said earlier; with out faith at work in our life; we can not please God because; we harm our self by not living in our privileged place as God's children. It is the trials of life that teaches us how to cast our care on God with child like anticipation and Godly patience that we learn to rest in knowing that no weapon formed against us can prosper. We must know that our fight of learning patience is in knowing what we must focus our patience fight on.

We know come to what empowers and motivates our hunger to not get side tracked into the spirit of the world and its fleshly enticements that we all have to deal with. As Jesus was tempted by the devil in His wilderness walk when he went about doing His heavenly Father's will in his dispensation of time on the earth; so will we have to deal with the same. It is only our deeply cemented relationship with the love God has for us and us participating in it that will keep us safe from worldly entanglements.

Love is defined by Webster as having a tender feeling and affection for somebody such as a close relative or friend, or for something such as a place, an ideal, or an animal. It also can be having romantic feelings and a sexual desire and longing for somebody. It can also represent something eliciting enthusiasm with a deep interest in somebody having a Christian God's love for humanity. In Christianity it represents mercy, grace, and charity shown by God to humanity through their worship of God that if it is real and growing; it causes a person to better love them self as God loves them and it gives a person not only the ability to love the brethren but also their enemies.

Over these last twenty years my understanding of God's love for me has been growing and with that knowing it has made me aware of the demonic changes being made in the world and being able to be more aware of the devil's devices and how badly the body of Christ needs to stand up in their arena of life and proclaim the gospel.

The Greek word for God's love is the word agape: it is a love that is wholly selfless and spiritual and a love that comes alive and is felt by Christians for them self and their fellow human beings.

John the Apostle makes it very clear when he lays this foundation and says this in 1 John 4:10-19. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the one to be sacrificed and pay the debt for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us so much; we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

We can have a spiritual witness with in us that; we live in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him, and he in God.

God is love; and he that lives in love lives in God and God in him. This is how our love is made perfect, which will cause us to have boldness in the Day of Judgment because; as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear because; fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love. We love him, because; He first loved us.

Paul in Philippians 2:5-11 said this and this is what our example should be at all times if we are to allow God to be our security in all of our life pursuits. " Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Here we have the perfect example of what God's love is all about. Think about this for a moment. The God of the universe stepped out of his eminent domain to become a servant to deliver His Father's creation from the clutches and bondage that Adam caused when he disobeyed God and put a curse on mankind that we were all born with which was having a sinful nature. Our interaction with the Holy Ghost when we became born again by accepting Christ Jesus sacrifice is what made us get connected to God's love spiritually and wholly. God's love is alive and we can experience it minute by minute if; we do not get distracted and put our priorities in other places and not make God's love our first priority.

So we must totally understand that; God made the first move to restore us from a life of an eternity in hell and as His children to be knighted by Him as a co- ruler of the times to come and all eternity. God can not knight His children who are still in their dippers and are not maturing in their righteous position in Christ Jesus. Again righteousness is the key living word that we must focus on at all times. It is the only way the Holy Ghost can communicate His truth to our heart and mind and the way he matures God's kids.

Now this scripture tells us that this love from God will be perfectly working in our maturing process if; we truly believe that; as he is, so are we in this world. My natural mind has a hard time believing that. All of the different kinds of love in the world other then God's agape love don't believe that. We have phileo love which is love between friends and all other kinds of erotic loves etc.

For me I have had to go through a persuasion process daily that; the true evidence of a person maturing is in being convinced that; we are the same as Jesus already even though; we are constantly being bombarded with a judgmental right and wrong spirit getting stronger day by day. What really grieves me as I have already said; we have many born again pulpits teaching condemnation and behavioral modification techniques rather then the love of God which shows and keeps us in the perfect way.

We also see here that; we have a choice of living in fear or us allowing God to protect us with His love. God is the lover of our soul where Satan is the fear herder of God's sheep. Where God love causes us to follow Him into green pastures of plenty; the devil drives us to fear which causes us to live with moral conflicts and agitating passions. Unless the born again believer truly recognizes his conflicts of life and how these two entities are vying for their soul; life becomes a wandering experience that causes them to search for love in all the wrong places. I pray you are hearing the Holy Ghost in me.

So the last verse tells us that; we love him, because; He first loved us. The ball has always been in God's court but only a few of the born again church truly understand that. God knew mankind was incapable of saving him self. Get that one precept forever settled in your thinking. This understanding will give you the desire to surrender to Him and let him take control of your life. I have learned and am continuing to learn to let go of my fears and let God's love keep me at peace and at rest in all these chaotic times that we are living in.

You must have an inner hunger in being a God seeker for this to happen. There are people who I have talked to for years and shared the love of God and my personal testimony of the grace relationship I have with Him and in spite of all that; they are still running around in the world getting caught up with a life of meaningless endeavors like the people who do not know Christ Jesus. When there is no true hunger for God; there is nothing left but a person abusing them self why? They don't love them self as God loves them and their self worth is with a sin and unworthy countenance. I could write endless revelations of God's love as God Him self is love not a person who works at loving.

We will know go on to the last characteristic underlined meekness which is the highest quality of having a mild and kind nature or manner. Only us maturing in all these other characteristics brings us to have this quality at work in our life because; we have learned and am continuing to learn that; it isn't in any thing we do but in what Jesus did for us.

A person who is meek has learned how to rest in His accepted state in Christ Jesus and has nothing to prove. I for years as a young Christian thought I had to walk through walls for Christ and prove myself to all the people around me. That obligated regimental life style drove me to the depth of despair and I ran for my life for three years kind of away from God and God came and found me as a shepherd leaves the ninety nine and seeks the one who is lost. God found me in the pit of despondency and raised me up and became a loving Father to me. I will be forever thankful. A person who is growing in meekness does not behave toward other people in a way that shows them considering them self socially or intellectually superior to them.

Paul told the 1 Corinthian church in 1Cor. 2:1-9 "When I came to you, I did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

However, we do not speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written;

"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

There is a process of dying to self that causes a person to become meek and at times it can become a struggle to surrender to God and let Christ live again through us. The Holy Ghost puts a deep hunger with in God's kids that a person must respond to if they sincerely want to be used by Him and at times our carnal flesh will rebel because; it is a living entity that does not want to die and lives on the food of wanting some credit and recognition. The only medicine for us to have the strength to die to self in our maturing process is by hanging out with the Holy Ghost as a constant companion both day and night. We must walk in God's shadow and follow His lead which causes us to grow with a deep trust to His way of thinking and doing.

If we will decide to become a God seeker; the Holy Ghost will not only give us the desire to seek Him but; He will give us the power we need to fight the good fight of faith and full fill our mission and destiny that God put us on the earth in our arena of life in the first place. In part 6 we will talk about some advice Paul gave the Philippian church on how to grow in Christ Jesus. Cont in p. 6