Puzzle Pieces...Love Your Neighbor

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

— 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

First resurrection: The Remnant (elect) of the house of Israel. (Eze 9:4; Rev 7:4; 20:4-5)

And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved;

— Romans 9:27

• And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. — Hebrews 9:27-28

And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

— Matthew 24:22

And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
— Matthew 24:31

As many as the sand of the sea will see destruction, as shown above, only the remnant will be saved...

For though your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea,

Only a remnant within them will return;

A destructive end is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.

— Isaiah 10:22

And when the thousand years are finished, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.

— Revelation 20:7-8

Final resurrection:

And speak to them, ‘Thus says Lord Jehovah, “Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations and no longer be divided into two kingdoms. They also will no longer defile themselves with their idols or with their detestable things or with any of their transgressions; but I will save them from all their places of habitation in which they have sinned, and I will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God.

— Ezekiel 37:21-23

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sits upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. Then I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them, and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
— Revelation 20:11-15

Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

— James 1:27

God will give anyone a piece of the puzzle to get his message out. He will use an Atheist, Catholic, Jew, Jehovah's Witness, Muslim, Evangelical, Mormon, and so on. When you close yourself off to what someone has to say, you reveal FEAR and EXALTATION, in turn remaining blind to what GOD wants to share. He has taught me well in so many ways, one of those ways was to listen to what others had to say regardless of who they are, yes, even a satanist wouldn't be turned away, because I FEAR NO ONE. In turn, God has revealed to me many nuggets, taken from so many varying beliefs, religious and not.

• Why?

Because I wasn't partial, I was always open to new interpretations, new light, always going in the direction that God wanted to direct me. (Proverbs 3:5-6) It's taken time, but slowly God has taught me properly, showing me how to maintain love for all, revealing their sickness, especially in those who persecuted me, some harshly, others not as harsh, but persecution, nonetheless...eventually keeping their distance.

None wanting to hear and take the time to dig into scripture with me. None being open to something new, revealing FEAR, being convinced of their own truth, too PROUD to accept they could be wrong in their belief and being PARTIAL to those who believe like them. Convinced of themselves not God.

But if you show partiality, you are committing sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors.

— James 2:9

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because FEAR INVOLVES PUNISHMENT, and the one who fears is NOT perfected in love.

— 1 John 4:18

The ONLY WAY to retrieve God's truth is to not be PARTIAL and have GENUINE love of neighbor, regardless of who they are. As long as you remain partial to a religious sect, or take donations to sell God's word, you will NEVER fully get the pieces required. Surface love is not acceptable in God's eyes. 

It's not loving to segregate people by your church creeds and traditions, segregating yourself from others by your belief to then turn around and teach others to do the same. It's not loving to exalt yourself by your belief, to think you are above another BY YOUR BELIEF. It's not loving to use God to make money, then mislead countless to what you believe. It's not loving to make it all about yourself. 

Sadly, most just can't seem to see it in themselves. It's harder to discern among those who portray themselves in a humble manner, but eventually, ever so slightly, their true colors are revealed.

But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern both good and evil.

— Hebrews 5:14

• Who do you think the priest and Levite represent...religion/religious?

Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And a priest happened to be going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 
— Luke 10:30-32

• Who does the Samaritan represent...someone considered religiously (biblically) inferior?

But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him, and when he saw him, he felt compassion. And he came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them, and he put him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. —  And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”
— Luke 10:33-34, 37

• What point was Jesus is making here?

Most religious believe they show love to neighbor, but I'll speak for myself when I say...NO, YOU DON'T. You are the priest and the Levite who walks by. Claiming to love but proving otherwise. Interested in giving your time, but only if it's in your own interest. Religions boasting about how they help the needy, neglecting to see how it comes from the money of the needy, worse even, pampering their own lives by taking an income and being treated like royalty.

“Therefore, when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be glorified by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

— Matthew 6:2

My brothers, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in bright clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the bright clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

— James 2:1-4

They take money (bribe/donations) from the poor, call it non-profit, then claim they "give"... only what they give is out of what they received. Is that really giving?! It's shameful. Their love isn't free; it will cost you your life. These who teach, no matter how humble they think they are, will receive a stricter judgement. (James 3:1)

I fast twice a week; 👉 I pay tithes of all that I get.’
— Luke 18:12

Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
— Matthew 15:14

Their "love" comes from requirement, it's limited. For the exception of a handful, I lived a life of being an outcast by most believers in ALL SECTS that I've encountered, showing me surface love, it was never genuine. Keeping me close, ACTING out the role of love, if I'm in agreement, but keeping me at a distance, if I don't. 

That's not love.

• Who did Jesus hang out with?

Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples.
— Matthew 9:10

• Why?

But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.
— Matthew 9:12

His point was to show that all are sinners but that there are those who judge by their religious sects and creeds, revealing self-righteous behavior and thinking their belief and understanding is above another's...revealing their exaltation. Never understanding that they are the blind guiding the blind, blinded as to what scripture reveals. Reading what's on the surface and not seeing the deep layers. These believe they are healthy in their faith and don't see just how sick they are. You are a CULT, falling into Satan's demonic plan.

the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me affliction in my chains.
— Philippians 1:17

True worshippers keep to themselves, helping any they can, go where God sends them, not looking for glory, not needing to belong to any group or sect, not following man. 

One should always assume they can be wrong, you're not God. All are sick (sinners) and need God's help. When asking for the Father's guidance, one should always be open for interpretation, no matter WHO it comes from and how much it differs from what you believe. Searching the scriptures free of pride and self-preservation in one's own faith...something I find to be the biggest problem.

Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

— Acts 17:11

What you say is what you believe, it's from the heart. All stumble at some point because none are perfect. If you say you love your neighbor but then disregard your neighbor for what they believe, controlling what they can share, it reveals your lack of faith in God who can settle any matter, it reveals improper fear, it reveals your HYPOCRISY.

For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the entire body as well.
— James 3:2

With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God.
— James 3:9

It doesn't necessarily mean you have to always agree but be open, discuss in detail and meditate on it. Remembering that your MOTIVES, when asking, must be pure and NOT SELFISH. If your heart is not right, God will allow you to remain blind.

You ask and do not receive, because you ask with WRONG MOTIVES, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
— James 4:3

By having an open mind, you may find yourself slowly understanding what God's message is to you. But one must put in time and effort, always knocking and always open to learn something new, especially if it goes against what you believe.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
— Matthew 7:7-8

Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you, but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
— Luke 24:45-49

Here's a video that just came across my channel on YouTube. It doesn't matter to me who she is or whether she believes in the trinity, what matters is that God has used her to make excellent points...this going to my point on this article. In the end, most "believers" will claim they are true believers of God.

The REAL Reason Paul Wished He Could Go to Hell for Israel (Rom 9-11)

Excerpt:

God does not give his covenant promises to covenant-breaking people. There's a lot of confusion on that because he's giving his covenant promises and people are receiving it who are unfaithful to him. But the unfaithful are often being indirectly benefited by being among the faithful. So, God's faithfulness is never directed at the unfaithful, as we learn in Galatians 3:22, that God only gives his covenant promises, now that we are in the new covenant, to those who are in Christ.

Again, and again and again in Romans, Paul is making it clear that not all Israel will be saved. But yet, fast forward to Romans 11:26 and we see that all Israel will be saved. In Romans 9:6-8 Paul reveals that just like there are two Jews, there are also two Israel. ... Essentially, what he is saying is that God's word didn't fail because his promises proved true for the Israel that his promises were to. Paul reinforces the idea in verse 27 when he recounts Isaiah's prophecy ... only a remnant will be saved. It is the remnant that is the true Israel.

End excerpt.

Here's an example of one who benefits as mentioned in the bold print above...

And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and were pleading with Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.” But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and was bowing down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.

— Matthew 15:22-28

As I mentioned, many will believe it's them; but it doesn't mean it will be...

For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted. But the one who examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and make manifest the motives of hearts. And then each one’s praise will come to him from God.

— 1 Corinthians 4:4-5

God discerns hearts and God can use anyone he so chooses...

Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from PURE MOTIVES, thinking to cause me affliction in my chains. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my salvation through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.

— Philippians 1:15-20

Please see next post when link becomes available.

• Next blog post: In that Day, Week, Year...Seventh Day Rest 

~ Peace, Love and Joy ~