The LORD says, "O Jerusalem, you suffering, helpless city, with no one to comfort you, I will rebuild your foundations with precious stones. I will build your towers with rubies, your gates with stones that glow like fire, and the wall around you with jewels."  Isaiah 54:11-12

kit and stacked papers: Spring Bouquet by Kristmess Designs

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody!  With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD! Psalm 98:4-6

kit and stacked papers: Spring Bouquet by Kristmess Designs

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others." Matthew 23:23

kit and stacked paper: Spring Bouquet by Kristmess Designs

You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:17-18

If you only read the New Testament, you are missing out on a lot. When we read the Old Testament, we receive reassurance that God is the same forever, just as He said. Above, we see that "loving your neighbor as yourself" does not mean tolerating their sin, but handling it in a way that pleases God. Today it's popular to say that since Jesus paid the penalty for the sin of the world, and since those who believe in Him need not fear condemnation, that God is no longer concerned about our behavior. They say that loving your neighbor as yourself means to treat them as you would like to be treated yourself. So "logically," they think this means that they should look the other way when others sin, the same as they hope that others will do when they sin. That is NOT the point of "not judging." The point is that we don't ever hate anyone for any reason, or nitpick each other to death, never getting around to dealing with the sin in our own lives.

In addition to removing the log from your eye before you try to help your brother, Jesus also said rebuke your brother when he sins and judge rightly, not by appearances. (Matt. 7:1-5, Matt. 18:15-17, John 7:24) If we actually love one another, we will have concern for one another's souls (James 5:19-20, 1Thes. 4:1-8, 1Cor. 5:5) and for the honor and glory of our Lord. He is honored when we all obey Him out of love and respect for Him because He IS our Lord. People who are not saved do not know Him as Lord. They are not concerned about obeying Him or about His honor - they don't love Him. (John 14:23-24)  But we know that this world is passing away and that if we love it, then we make ourselves enemies of God. (James 4:4)

We know through Paul and Peter what qualities He said He would like to see in His own, and these fruits are produced by His very own Spirit dwelling within born again believers. (Gal. 5:22-24, 2Pet. 1:5-12) These manifestations of the Spirit build upon one another (not a la carte) and are meant to help us mature in Christ. (Eph. 4:11-32) By practicing righteousness (like children of God) instead of evil (like children of the devil), we show the lost world what our great and glorious God is like so that they will want to know Him, too.  That's what we're here for!  Let's be about our Father's business if we do indeed call Him our Father. (1Pet. 1:14-19, 2Tim. 2:19)

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:9-21

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:36-40

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions. Mark 12:28-34

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” Luke 10:25-37

Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:7-10

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:13-26

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. James 2:8-9

stacked papers and kit: Spring Bouquet by Kristmess Designs

Are You not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, You have ordained them as a judgment, and You, O Rock, have established them for reproof.  You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do You idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he? Habakkuk 1:12-13

(The answer is in Psalm 37, Psalm 73, Romans 9:20-24)

stacked paper clusters: Congrads; papers: Artist in Training and Spring Bouquet by Kristmess Designs

I appeal therefore to you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, well-pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service. Romans 12:1

Also see Romans 6, Ephesians 5, Colossians 3, 1 Corinthians 6:9-20, 1 Peter 4.

Remember, our bodies (if we are born again believers) are temples of the Lord and we are grafted in to Israel and her irrevocable promises (Romans 9;4-5, 11). We are part of a royal priesthood to serve God in a way similar to the Levites. They were holy and set apart, as we are intended to be. (Ephesians 1, James 1:27, Revelation 3:4, 18:4-5) God wants pure offerings of devotion, not tainted with love of the world--our best, not leftovers. (1John 2:15-17, Haggai 2:10-14) Some of the leaven that has been allowed into the church and is thus tainting the spiritual sacrifices of the church is that God is no longer concerned about sin. If that is so, then why did Paul tell the Corinthians to judge those on the inside? (2Cor. 11:1-4, 1Cor. 5)

God is NOT glorified and honored when His children behave no better than unbelieving heathens or pagans. (1Pet. 2:11-12) If we are not expected to obey Him, then why are we told SO many times to do so? Would God tell unbelievers that if they obey Him then they are saved? No! We cannot save ourselves by our works. We are saved by grace through faith, which is a gift from Him. So then the exhortations to obey out of LOVE for Him are for us. This is common sense. This shouldn't need to be said repeatedly, because it is SO obvious. Anyone who argues about such a thing loves neither God nor His people. (John 14, John 15, John 8:42-47, 1John 1-5, 1Thess. 4, Eph. 5:6, 1Tim. 6) God at NO point EVER defined "love" as sinning, approving of sin, encouraging sin, tolerating sin, etc.

We were meant to deal with it in gentleness and if that does not work, then to remove the one who refuses to repent from our midst. (1Cor. 4:21, Galatians 6, Matt. 18:15-17, 1Cor. 5:5, 13) This is the loving thing to do because then the disease of sin doesn't spread through the congregation and the sinner can see the error of their ways and repent. In the case of the Corinthians, Paul urged them in 2Cor. 2:6-8 to welcome the man back referred to in the previous letter (since he had repented). We need to speak the TRUTH in love, not speak lies that are pleasing to the ear--that is what wolves in sheep's clothing and thieves that break in to steal the Shepherd's sheep do.

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 1 Peter 2:4-12

What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:16-18

Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:21-26

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you. 1 Peter 1:14-25

stacked paper clusters: Congrads; papers: Spring Bouquet and May Daze by Kristmess Designs

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

kit: Under the Dappled Shadows by Lorie Davison, chalkboard: Shabby Miss Jenn (recolored), paper: Night Butterflies by Starlight Designs

But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end.  And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; His kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him. Daniel 7:26-27

stacked paper and border: Fairytales by Kristmess Designs

"The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners to Me." Leviticus 25:23

kit and stacked papers: All the Fun of the Fair by Kristmess Designs

See also:

“You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt." Exodus 23:9

“And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 23:22

Therefore David blessed the LORD in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever.  Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.  Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.  And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.  “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.  For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding.  O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own.  I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you.  O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you. 1 Chronicles 29:10-18

The LORD sets the prisoners free;  the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.  The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. Psalm 146:7-9

“So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel.  You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. They shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.  In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord GOD.” Ezekiel 47:21-23

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.  Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 1 Peter 2:11-12

"And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." Matthew 6:7-8

kit and stacked papers: April Daze by Kristmess Designs