Good morning Beloved

Peace be unto you in the name of our Lord Jesus

Make your calling and election sure 4

1 Corinthians 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
13:7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

Beloved, to make your calling and election sure, there are things which you must add to your faith in Christ Jesus in addition to ones which I have earlier mentioned (diligence, virtue, knowledge, self control, patience and godliness), these are
- Brotherly Kindness and
- Love

---> Brotherly kindness is to be helpful and hospitable to your fellow man in all situations. This comes with great sacrifice. A typical example is between Jonathan and David.
2 Samuel 1:26 I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.
... giving (not only materially) but also advice (encouragement)
... being open (willing) to help
... care for those in need and finding means best possible to help address those needs where necessary.
... going extra miles just to help your fellow man but take note: it should be done in Christ i.e brotherly kindness is not an excuse for sin - don't go extra mile by sinning. In summary, brotherly kindness is doing all you can to help others without compromising Christ.

---> Love
GOD is love. The love you are to exhibit is the love of Christ to the Church and the world and this love is sacrificial. Until you love your fellow man than you the way you love yourself, you can not attain the love of Christ. Our Lord Jesus did not consider Himself; He loved us more than He loved Himself. You have to follow Christ example and love like He did.
Can you lay down your life for your fellow man?
Until you have the consciousness that I must love my fellow man better than I love myself that is when you can have the sacrificial love of Christ. Your expression of Love to your fellow man is unto the LORD also. So you can't claim to love GOD unless you love your fellow man like Christ loved the Church and world.

Please, I plead with you, meditate on the opening text; take your time, don't rush, take those characteristics one after the other, dissect them, feed (ingest) on them and make it a part of you (assimilation into your life) -live by them.

Beloved, have brotherly kindness and sacrificial love of Christ, hence you will be able to make your calling and election sure.

Finally, on a last note,
To make your calling and election sure,
- be diligent
- be good to all men (virtue)
- increase in the knowledge of GOD
- Have self control
- Be patient i.e keep persevering
- Live godly and blameless in this present world
- Have brotherly kindness and love
( 2 Peter 1:5-9)
In addition to the above, give great diligence to prayer, let the fire of prayer keep burning.

Beloved, the time is now. Go to work now!!!

May the Lord give you the grace to be obedient to His Words in Jesus name.

The grace of the Lord be with you.

GOD bless you.

Shalom.

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