The Lord in Us

By Chad Tucker

This book is one that points out Jesus's command to love God the Father, our neighbors, and our enemies. It's based on many of Jesus's teachings and challenges the reader to follow what He says. The author's focus is to direct the reader to walk in love and Spirit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: New Harbor Press
• Release date: Oct 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386744689

Book preview

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The Lord

in Us

The Lord

in Us

If You Can Love an Enemy, You Can Love Anyone

Chad Tucker

NEW HARBOR PRESS

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO

Copyright © 2018 by Chad Tucker

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator, at the address below.

Tucker/New Harbor Press

13395 Voyager Pkwy, Ste 130

Colorado Springs, CO 80921

www.newharborpress.com

Ordering Information:

Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the Special Sales Department at the address above.

The Lord in Us/ Chad Tucker. -- 1st ed.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

1 John 4:16 NIV

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV

For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Romans 8:29 NIV

Contents

Introduction

CHAPTER ONE: My Testimony

CHAPTER TWO: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

CHAPTER THREE: The Fruit of the Spirit

CHAPTER FOUR: Water Baptism

CHAPTER FIVE: Holy Spirit and Fire Baptism

CHAPTER SIX: Being Born Again

CHAPTER SEVEN: Predestination

CHAPTER EIGHT: Our Unique Calling

CHAPTER NINE: Justification by Faith

CHAPTER TEN: Sufferings

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Glory (God’s and Ours)

CHAPTER TWELVE: Sanctification

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Loving God the Father

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Loving Our Neighbors

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Loving Our Enemies

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Loving Ourselves

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: The Second Coming and Heaven

Notes

About the Author

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank first and foremost God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit for everything I have been blessed with. I want to give a special thanks to my mother who has always been my greatest fan, and had it not been for her, the seed of faith in God may have never been planted in me during the years of my youth. I would like to thank my first pastor, Ray Bentley, from Maranatha Chapel in San Diego. He was always a great inspiration to me from the time I was eighteen years old, and I wish I had gone to church more often during my young adult years.

I also would like to thank my dad for doing his best to keep me out of trouble. I can now thank him for his strict discipline, and I know he was a better dad to me than my grandfather was to him. He was a good provider until I was eighteen and helped me very much with my education. I would like to thank my oldest brother who has always been very protective and my other brother for his help in changing my life when I was seventeen years old.

I would like to thank all of my friends from the past and now in the present; especially those who stayed friends with me even when I was at my worst. I would like to thank the Bibbs, Whittingtons, Nothwangs, and the Rineharts for welcoming me into their homes and treating me like family – I miss you all very much.

Last but not least, I am very grateful for Pastor Larry Johnson from The Training Center, Pastor Daryl Kyle Sr. from Calvary Chapel Perfect Love, Pastor William Marrs Jr., John Williams – my sobriety mentor, Kimberly – my dear friend and sister in the Lord, and all the fellow believers that are in my family circle now. You all know who you are and I wouldn’t be where I am today without all of your support.

Introduction

I want to start out by thanking anyone who may have an interest in this book. In my opinion, it is a book for anyone interested in the Lord and in the teachings of Jesus Christ. In this chaotic world there are many distractions from what I consider to be most important in life and that is God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Without these three in your life it is basically like living, as you may have heard, on sinking sand. If you are new to hearing about the gospel of Jesus Christ, I recommend you start reading the book of Matthew in the New Testament of the Holy Bible. If you have a little faith, you are well on your way to an eternal life.

I chose the title of this book to remind those who believe in Jesus Christ that, if we live in love, we live in God and God lives in us. I also chose this title because it has been my most personal favorite verse now for a long time (1 John 4:16).

When I first read this verse, it amazed me. At one point in my life, I questioned myself, If you could pick one word that would best describe the Holy Bible, what word would you choose? Some people could say Jesus, God, miracles, or heaven, but I always thought of the word, love. So, when I read this verse, I decided that this will be my lifelong favorite verse.

I still can’t memorize the complete verse off the top of my head, but I always remember the main part of it: God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in them. What an amazing truth! But how do we abide in love? Well first of all, love is defined in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 as noted at the beginning of this book, and we can learn more about how to love by the words of Jesus Christ in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the Holy Bible. If we are to learn anything about love, Jesus Christ is the perfect example.

I believe love is powerful. I believe it is also feared. I remember seeing an old friend from high school when I was in my twenties, and we were out in front of a bar, and he was so happy to see me that he wanted to give me a hug, but my pride wasn’t having it. I actually remember pushing him away. At that time in my life I was not one to give hugs to another man. I was very much filled with pride. I believe pride fights off any love offered. Giving love and receiving love requires vulnerability. It’s like going against the grain of human nature

I was brought up to be rough and tough as a way of protecting myself. The world teaches self-defense while Jesus says to turn the other cheek. The world says to be proud while Jesus says to be humble. The only way we are ever going to even come close to walking the talk of love is by the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

If you are a believer and you feel like you are struggling in your walk to follow Jesus, remember Romans 9:20, But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, Why did you make me like this? Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

We all fall short of the glory of God. In our weaknesses, God is strong.