Everyone is different

Everyone is different. Some may consider one extreme and the other is not while another person is the opposite. We are not to persuade people to follow certain extremist views of doctrines because only God can take care of that based on each individual as the Holy Spirit convicts their hearts. Practicing charity (love) is a toughie depending on someone's view from where they are sitting/experiencing. That if we have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make our joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. (Philippians 2:1-2).

Christians are accountable to God because they will not understand their spiritual character deeply unless they subject themselves to the spiritual discipline of the Holy Spirit. The real issue that a Christian may have been learning recently is that the real hindrance to their spiritual progress is not fully submitting to the Holy Spirit. Nothing Holy and genuine will be done in their life until their will is surrendered in active obedience to the Holy Spirit. God wants us to grow according to HIS WILL, to know the whole truth and tell it in love--like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. Truth wounds through life's experiences as well as from the Word of God. When truth speaks, there is not burdens but rather "The truth shall make you free"; that is, free from the woes, the yokes, the burdens. To avoid causing others to stumble is itself strong incentive to walk by the Spirit. Biblically, Christians are no longer "in the flesh": "You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him" (Rom 8:9). "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." Galatians 5:25.

When we study the Bible... we are to live in God's word because in John 1:1-2 says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning." Our faith is in God, not in faith. In our relations with the world we seek to bring the truth of Christ to bear upon every issue facing our culture (Mt. 5:13-16). In our relations with one another, we seek to build friendships that make a difference (John 13:34). And in our relations at home, at work, and in the community, we strive to do all that we do for the glory of God and benefit of others (1 Cor. 10:31). In the Christian life, thinking is crucial, emotions are crucial and service is crucial. God is not honored by an unfeeling, joyless, loveless intellectualism, by unthinking, uncritical emotionalism, or by well-intentioned but fruitless claims to love. All three are needed-minds that are gripped by the truth of God acquired through the serious study of Scripture, our hearts that are on fire with intense emotions of love for God and His glory, and real commitments to make a difference for the Kingdom through our life and ministry. It is through the truth of Scripture that we become transformed people through the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). This truth comes through practicing the discipline of careful reading of the Bible, seeking to find the author's intended meaning (Ephesians 3:4) and its implications for the issues we are facing today. The role of the Holy Spirit is not to add anything to the text but to make the readers' heart humble so that we will welcome and embrace the truth and act upon it (1 Corinthians 2:14). Jesus touches our lives (inward) and enables us to touch others (outward). And since the Gospel so transforms us with the power of the Word, we can demonstrate God's grace power with the reality of our lives.

So, what is LOVE? In 1 Corinthians 13:5 says "Love does not act unbecomingly". Through the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of life and light and love. Act like Jesus toward brethren in compassion, toward saints in warm affection, toward others in love without conditions (or doctrines). Love should be in priority. Without Christ, we are nothing. Along with love and under the control of the Holy Spirit, the power of love and Holy Spirit flows through us. The only way the spiritual gifts are going to operate is love. Love is the key. God is love. He gave us two commandments. We are to love God and others. 1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. With love, the Holy Spirit will work with each person without our help. All God wants from us is "love".

One of my frustations in CF is the lack of love around here