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Discussion Forum : Revivals And Church History : The Beauty of Christian Love

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dietolive
Member



Joined: 2007/6/29
Posts: 342


 The Beauty of Christian Love

Christian love in action… Read and be amazed at what the Holy Spirit of God can do in the hearts of faithful men and women. AMAZING! We need more of this beautiful Christianity today..., I need more of this.

Be encouraged Brothers and Sisters!
Doug

****

Around the year A.D. 125, a Christian named Aristides wrote a defense of the Faith and presented it to the pagan Roman emperor Hadrian. In it, he describes what Christians were like less than one hundred years after the resurrection of our Lord…

Extracts from

THE APOLOGY

OF

ARISTIDES

THE PHILOSOPHER

“Now the Christians, O king, by going about and seeking, have found the truth…”

THEY OBEYED THE LORD THEIR GOD

“…they do not commit adultery nor fornication, they do not bear false witness, they do not deny a deposit, nor covet what is not theirs: they honour father and mother; they do good to those who are their neighbours, and when they are judges they judge uprightly; and they do not worship idols in the form of man; and whatever they do not wish that others should do to them, they do not practice towards any one, and they do not eat of the meats of idol sacrifices, for they are undefiled…”

THEY LOVED THEIR ENEMIES

“…those who grieve them they comfort, and make them their friends; and they do good to their enemies…”

THEY WERE CHASTE AND PURE

“…their wives, O king, are pure as virgins, and their daughters modest: and their men abstain from all unlawful wedlock and from all impurity, in the hope of the recompense that is to come in another world… “

THEY WERE A TRUE BROTHERHOOD

“…as for their servants or handmaids, or their children if any of them have any, they persuade them to become Christians for the love that they have towards them; and when they have become so, they call them without distinction brethren: they do not worship strange gods: and they walk in all humility and kindness, and falsehood is not found among them, and they love one another…”

THEY PRACTICED "PURE RELIGION"

“…and from the widows they do not turn away their countenance: and they rescue the orphan from him who does him violence: and he who has gives to him who has not, without grudging; and when they see the stranger they bring him to their dwellings, and rejoice over him as over a true brother; for they do not call brothers those who are after the flesh, but those who are in the spirit and in God…”

“…when one of their poor passes away from the world, and any of them sees him, then he provides for his burial according to his ability; and if they hear that any of their number is imprisoned or oppressed for the name of their Messiah, all of them provide for his needs, and if it is possible that he may be delivered, they deliver him.”

THEY FASTED

“And if there is among them a man that is poor or needy, and they have not an abundance of necessaries, they fast two or three days that they may supply the needy with their necessary food.”

THEY WERE FULL OF THANKS TO GOD

“And they observe scrupulously the commandments of their Messiah: they live honestly and soberly, as the Lord their God commanded them: every morning and at all hours on account of the goodnesses of God toward them they praise and laud Him: and over their food and over their drink they render Him thanks…”

THEY REMEMBERED THE RIGHTEOUS

“…if any righteous person of their number passes away from the world they rejoice and give thanks to God, and they follow his body, as if he were moving from one place to another: and when a child is born to any one of them, they praise God, and if again it chance to die in its infancy, they praise God mightily, as for one who has passed through the world without sins.”

AND THE UNREPENTANT

“And if again they see that one of their number has died in his iniquity or in his sins, over this one they weep bitterly and sigh, as over one who is about to go to punishment: such is the ordinance of the law of the Christians, O king, and such their conduct.”

THEIR PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED

“As men who know God, they ask from Him petitions which are proper for Him to give and for them to receive: and thus they accomplish the course of their lives. And because they acknowledge the goodnesses of God towards them, lo! on account of them there flows forth the beauty that is in the world…”

THEY DID THEIR ALMS IN SECRET

“But the good deeds which they do, they do not proclaim in the ears of the multitude, and they take care that no one shall perceive them, and hide their gift, as he who has found a treasure and hides it.”

THEY “WORKED OUT” THEIR SALVATION

“And they labour to become righteous as those that expect to see their Messiah and receive from Him the promises made to them with great glory.”

HIS CONCLUSION:

“But their sayings and their ordinances, O king, and the glory of their service, and the expectation of their recompense of reward, according to the doing of each one of them, which they expect in another world, thou art able to know from their writings. It sufficeth for us that we have briefly made known to your majesty concerning the [manner of life] and the truth of the Christians. For truly great and wonderful is their teaching to him that is willing to examine and understand it. And truly this people is a new people, and there is something Divine mingled with it…”

THE VERY WORLD IS SPARED JUDGEMENT BECAUSE OF THE CHRISTIANS

“…And I have no doubt that the world stands by reason of the intercession of Christians…”

 2011/10/11 22:10Profile
dietolive
Member



Joined: 2007/6/29
Posts: 342


 Re: The Beauty of Christian Love

The part that brings tears to my eyes, is where it says that working Christians, who evidently were already so poor that they were just barely getting by day-to-day,

...would fast for two or three days at a time, just so that they could give their food to their poor and starving breathren instead... Such LOVE!

 2011/10/12 9:07Profile









 Re:

by dietolive on 2011/10/12 6:07:34

""The part that brings tears to my eyes, is where it says that working Christians, who evidently were already so poor that they were just barely getting by day-to-day,

...would fast for two or three days at a time, just so that they could give their food to their poor and starving breathren instead... Such LOVE!""




Amen. The First & Second Commandments are a pleasure Divine!

First things first - LOVE!



Thank you, Brother.

 2011/10/12 20:56
dietolive
Member



Joined: 2007/6/29
Posts: 342


 Re: Jesus-is-GOD

Yes, dear Sister.

Here is an appropriate Keith Daniel quote you may appreciate:

“I have often wondered why God put these two things together… as the vital evidence of whether I am a child of God or a child of the devil… Holiness and Love. And as the years went by, I came to understand… as I watched people’s lives… holiness without love is ugliness. It is ugliness. It’s rigid… separationalist… judmentary. But love makes holiness beautiful. Love makes holiness Christ-like-ness. A holy life governed by love is the mightiest weapon God could ever have at His disposal on this earth. A Holy life governed by love is a saved soul.”

- From the sermon “Examine Yourselves” by Keith Daniel.


Edit - 10/14:

I am so sorry dear Sister. It seems to me that "good times", combined with an independant spirit, create the perfect enviroment for this. Perhaps if we see times like our brothers and sisters saw above, we will open our hearts to receive more grace, and become more like them.

Be well and be encouraged in God. He, for one, has it all fingured out.
Doug

 2011/10/12 23:14Profile









 Re:

Bless The LORD GOD Almighty, both Holy and True ~

"A holy life governed by love is the mightiest weapon God could ever have at His disposal on this earth."


Amen!


This is the "Presence" that have dropped men onto their faces and their human bodies felt that they could barely survive the Glory of seeing GOD's 100% Perfect Love and Equally, His 100% Perfect Holiness at the same time. This is our Eternal Omnipotent GOD and Savior. Alleluia!

This that you quoted from Keith Daniel is what the world NEEDS to see from us. Only as we see less of ourselves - die to ourselves - "All of Him and nothing of us" - can we present HIM in all of this Spendor ... 100% Love and 100% Holy is our GOD.
If our balance is off --- if we get the Pure 'Equality' of these two wrong or off, we've missed it All and have misrepresented HIM to all of the world.





GOD Bless you, Brother Doug.




Edit 10/13 removed 2 "Amens" and 1 "Alleluia" in above post.
Not feeling as hopeful after much reading today.
As I sat at my kitchen table, crying over John 17 in 1985 asking Him, "When will we be one?"
His reply was - "When persecution comes!"
Asked His forgiveness just now for hoping for otherwise.

 2011/10/12 23:33
Koheleth
Member



Joined: 2005/11/10
Posts: 530
NC

 Re:

Doug said:
---
Edit 10/13 removed 2 "Amens" and 1 "Alleluia" in above post.
Not feeling as hopeful after much reading today.
As I sat at my kitchen table, crying over John 17 in 1985 asking Him, "When will we be one?"
His reply was - "When persecution comes!"
Asked His forgiveness just now for hoping for otherwise.
---

Amen! Amen! Alleluia! Yet I agree with you, brother. We should weep as Jesus weeps. However, although persecution is always unifying to the Body, Jesus did not place any special conditions for it. Any believer who is obedient and who loves Jesus and his people can be one with them and experience that unity today! Amen and Alleluia!

This is not theory or theology. We are experiencing some of that here. I believe it and I believe in Him!

 2011/10/21 0:00Profile









 Re:

That was a quote from my post, Brother Koheleth and I'm happy to inform you - that after posting that and praying together with brothers and sisters from SI for "unity" - I do believe GOD is showing His Mercy to us and answering our plea.

Amen to your words, Brother!!

 2011/10/21 11:07
dietolive
Member



Joined: 2007/6/29
Posts: 342


 Re: Koheleth

You wrote:
"Any believer who is obedient and who loves Jesus and his people can be one with them and experience that unity today! Amen and Alleluia!

This is not theory or theology. We are experiencing some of that here. I believe it and I believe in Him!"

AMEN!!!

Doug

 2011/10/21 11:18Profile
dietolive
Member



Joined: 2007/6/29
Posts: 342


 Re: Jesus-is-GOD

by Jesus-is-GOD on 2011/10/21 8:07:45

"That was a quote from my post, Brother Koheleth and I'm happy to inform you - that after posting that and praying together with brothers and sisters from SI for "unity" - I do believe GOD is showing His Mercy to us and answering our plea."

Praise God! dear Sister.

God bless you.
Doug

 2011/10/21 11:21Profile









 Re:

This week we prayed for love, but I don't believe GOD is going to answer in the way that most of us wished for.

While we haggle over everything under the sun - most in this world are yearning for the war that will bring about the unimaginable - "the little horn" and the opening of the Seals.

Maybe then we'll drop our differences and petty grievances against one another ... I would imagine - that if we, as a country ever were attacked by, let's just say Russia, maybe that would blow our hats off long enough to look up what His Commandments really are, as Richard Wurmbrand taught us.

Just some news of late:

Report: Britain stepping up plans for Iran strike

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4143247,00.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/02/uk-military-iran-attack-nuclear



Israel Considers Pre-Emptive Attack On Iran

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16101552



Prayerfully, when they inspect Iran's nuclear plants on 11/8, they'll find no reason to start this Daniel 8 type war, but we can't hold 'those days' back forever.





Joh 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

 2011/11/3 1:56





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