Continuing our series on loving God, Jesus says in John 13:34, A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

In the last several newsletters, we've been studying obedience and what it really means. We confirmed that there are three essential parts to obeying God. 1) Learning to love (agapao) God; 2) learning to renew our minds; and 3) learning to have unshakable faith in all circumstances.

Continuing our series on the fruit of longsuffering, we turned our attention last month to what it really means to obey the Lord. Since the word ''obedience'' is such a very broad term, we narrowed it down to meaning three essential things: 1) Obedience means learning to ''love'' (agapao) God; 2) Obedience means learning to moment-by-moment renew our minds; and 3) Obedience means learning to have unshakable faith in our difficult times.

Over the last several months we have been talking about what Gods will is for all believers. Romans 8:29 tells us that we are to be ''conformed into Christs image'' by the process of sanctification. In other words, God wants to reproduce His Life in us so that others might come to salvation.

Our subject over the last few months has been longsuffering and the ability to never give up - no matter what is occurring. Again, the mail I have received on account of these articles has been overwhelming. Truly, this is where many of us are living in these end times.

Over the last few months we've started a new series of articles called the ''fruit of longsuffering'' - the choice to hang on tighter, trust the Lord further and never give up. I am absolutely amazed because I have received more heartfelt responses from this series than any other I have written.

May the Lord bless you with His presence this Holiday Season. As the psalmist says: "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: Come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God: It is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Last month, we jump-started a new series of articles by asking the question: "Have you ever experienced a time where you became so confused, so discouraged and so disheartened in your Christian walk that you just wanted to let go, give in and give up?"

What do you do when your dreams, your plans and your hopes blow up in your face? Who do you blame when everything in the Bible gave you hope, but then, out of the blue, all was destroyed? How do you react when difficult and trying circumstances seem to go on and on and on?