WHO HATES WHO ANYWAY?

The word "hate" is being thrown around lots today in political circles and sometimes "religious" circles. If you speak out against something you do not believe in such as homosexuals getting married then you are classified by some as one who hates. If you speak out against the new healthcare law because of how it was rammed down our throats then some say you are hateful and do not care that all people should get medical care. If you think a business owner has the right to hire who he or she wants and yet a transgender or cross dressing individual applies for a job and are not hired them obviously you must hate them.

First of all HATE is a very strong word. People who hold a certain opinion and express it are not people who hate unless they say the word hate. Hate means hate. Webster's describes it as "intense hostility". A person of faith who holds the Bible to be the infallible word of God and simply expresses an opinion is not a hater. We disagree, that is all.

Hatred is often followed by acts of anger and rage. We as believers are on the defensive today all over the world. Some can openly express their religious beliefs and in the United States the First Amendment has guaranteed it. Right now that is not the case when lawmakers refuse to abide by it.

Christians need to stand up and be heard in the public square. There is a saying that "evil triumphs when good men do nothing."(Sir Edmund Burke) Deceptive spirits are causing people to believe lies. Scripture is being changed to suit the needs of the time. The Bible is not to be changed. Hebrews 13:8(NIV) says 'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, yes and forever."

1 Peter 5:8(ASV) says 'Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.' Whose voice are you listening to?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus help me be protected from deceptive spirits that try to get me to believe the lies of the enemy. Lord Jesus help me be diligent to show myself approved as a workmen that does not need to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth as it says in 2 Timothy 2:15(NIV). Lord help me to show your true love to all I meet. In Jesus' name. Amen.

LET'S THINK ABOUT LOVE A MOMENT

 

Love is not just reserved for Valentine's Day and anniversaries. It is more than a feeling. What is love? If you were to write an essay on love what would you say? What do you think God would say? It is much more than being "in love" with a soul mate.

Many are familiar with 1 Corinthians 13 which is often called "The Love Chapter" in the Bible. If you are having trouble understanding what true love is take a moment and go get your Bible and read this chapter.

If everyone would show true love to their family,friends, neighbors, co workers and strangers our world would have fewer problems. Why can't we? Because man was born with a selfish sin nature that's why. Until your heart is truly transformed with the love of Jesus it will be hard to unconditionally love others.

In Luke 6:31 it says 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you'. Are you doing this? Further in Luke 6:35 it says 'But love your enemies and do good to them and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.Then your reward will be great and you will be the sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.'

To truly be able to love like Jesus loved should be our ultimate goal as a child of God. We are not to hate. 1 John 4:20 says 'Whoever claims to love God but hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother or sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.'

John 13:35 is a good verse to conclude with and it says 'By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you have love one for another.'

PRAYER: Lord today I choose to love on purpose. Even when love is rejected, help me Lord to persevere. Thank you Lord that you love me unconditionally when I do not deserve it so help me to do the same with those around me each day. In Jesus' name.Amen.

PRAY FOR YOUR ENEMIES

 

"I can't stand so and so". Has it ever shocked you to hear someone say this that maybe was in Bible study with you or a prayer group? Maybe it was you who uttered those words. Well sure we are not perfect but if we say we love Jesus we are not to be "willy nilly" going around hating people. I admit it is hard when someone has done something intentionally to hurt you.

Do you have enemies or people you just don't like? Did you know if you claim to love Jesus you are to not hate people even if they have done wrong or hurt you? You are to pray for them. This includes impossible bosses and co workers too by the way. 1 John 4:20(NIV) says ''If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.' Pretty straightforward wouldn't you say?

If you are having trouble loving evil people or those who hurt you, just try to pray for them instead. Keep praying and pray some more. Proverbs 24:17-18(NIV) is a great verse for those of us upset with many of the US elected officials who do not listen to the people and it says 'Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or the LORD will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him.' What to do then? Pray, God will take care of those hurting us on His own time table. Live your life in an attitude of prayer.
Keep shining the love of Jesus down on all those around you and make believe Jesus is right there beside you, because He is. 

PRAYER: Lord I choose this day to love like you love and to love when I would rather show hate. It glorifies you when I show love to my enemies. Help me today to shine your light for the world to see. In Jesus' name. Amen.

CHRISTIANS...A HATE GROUP...SAY WHAT??

Who would have ever imagined our own government trying to classify those who love Jesus and love their country a threat or a hate group? It is absurd, but this is exactly what is occurring subtly here in these United States of America, and many people who are ill informed think I am crazy for even saying such a thing. We may not be in the very "last days " but we indeed are approaching at a much swifter pace. I have been asked to not write about "politics" but guess what? Politics are mentioned in the Bible not in the Democrat or Republican sense but in things like rulers, kings, laws, taxes, morals. It is all in there! The church-state thing is totally been taken out of context and reported over and over again til people believe a lie and distort the facts. The people are supposed to be free to worship without government intrusion not the other way around.
This is how the enemy works when trying to take out one of the most God fearing nations on Earth. He spreads his lies, deceit, and trickery. He can get people to "buy into" his schemes. That is his speciality. God's speciality is truth,love, and overcoming lies. Satan is referred to as the "father of lies" and indeed he truly is. (Read John 10:10).

In our modern day he can even get church goer's to jump on his bandwagon so to speak. We are definitely in a battle of good and evil and right versus wrong. Spiritual warfare is in full swing.
Even something as simple as getting angry is not something from God. Think about that awhile.

Disagreeing with someone on an "issue" does not equate to the very strong word "hate" but today that is what is happening when we as believers speak our religious convictions and are told we are hateful. On the contrary, we are convicted and believe the word of God and feel love for those souls being led astray by the tricks of the enemy. Satan's mission is total destruction and he does work overtime to accomplish what he sets out to do.

God is more powerful than Satan but sometimes it is easier or more "with it" to believe a lie. Many laugh or mock at the notion of Satan, but let me tell you that he is very real and he is out to take you and I down with whatever method he can. That is why it is so very crucial to know the word of God and do not just expect one hour on Sunday to make you okay because it can not. If you go to school and only listen to lectures but do not do the rest of the work at home you more than likely will fail. You see what I mean?

In Ephesians 6:10-20 it speaks of this battle of good and evil. It says 'Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.'

Be a light in this dark world around you. Matthew 5:11-12(NIV) says 'blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and say all manner of evil against you because of me.Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven. For in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.'

We know the times are tough and we know the enemy is out to tear us to shreds but we also know that God wins in the end.

PRAYER: Father I thank you for loving me and helping me know how to answer people if they should make fun of me on account of you. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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TRAGEDY, SADNESS, AND CHRISTMAS

Christmas time is happy and joyous for most or so we might think. Many people associate a family members death around this time of year and can not seem to get past it. Death may have occurred prematurely for a young person and when it is time for Christmas, the ache of that memory of that loss lingers on.

Yesterday the unspeakable tragedy occurred when a gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Connecticut with 20 young children among those killed. The families of these children will indeed have a horrible time at Christmas this year. Who would think of killing small innocent elementary school children? It is hard to comprehend why this would even happen. Who knows? Evil is out there and it works overtime to destroy our world.
The news media will be on the bandwagon now to ban all guns. It is a fact that this world has become ultra violent. People who are against guns always use times like this to try to take them away from law abiding citizens. It is not having a gun that is the problem, but it is what is in the heart of man. It is no wonder people do evil things especially since look at what is on television and in the movie theaters these days. Why on earth does everything have to be about killing and violence? Why is it necessary to make video games depicting crime and violence? Taking prayer out of our public schools in 1963 was certainly a huge factor in the downfall of our American society as well as removing the Ten Commandments.

Why are some so offended about the name of Jesus and the word of God? First of all Satan is alive and well and working his evil schemes in the heart of mankind. The Bible says in Proverbs 18:10(NIV) that ' the name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe.' It is only through Jesus that you have eternal life.
There is good and evil in our world and yesterday's shootings were definitely in the very evil category. We need to pray for the families of the victims, the family of the shooter, and the entire community. Also pray for First Responders who had to come upon this unimaginable scene. Pray also for clergy and counselors in the area to use words of faith and wisdom in their counseling for the many people affected by this tragedy. Also pray for our government to not overreact to try to abolish our Second Amendment rights.

Once again we do not know why bad things happen to good people and especially to little children. This is not the time to get angry at God although many people do. They say 'why didn't you stop this Lord?' God can bring goodness out of tragedy although it may not seem so at the time.

In attempting to comfort those in grief, it is not the time to give them a bunch of Bible verses. It is time to be a friend and comfort them and pray for them.
Jeremiah 17:9 (NIV) says 'The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?' Mark 7:21(NIV) says 'for from within, out of man's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder and adultery.' You can see from reading these two Bible verses how important it is to get your heart right with God. You keep it right by feeding it a steady diet of scripture. This is how you grow in love and learn to stop hating. For now we all need to simply keep all those involved in this senseless tragedy in our prayers.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus help us keep in the word of God and stay on the path of goodness and righteousness. We know Lord you too are hurting to see little children gunned down but we also pity this shooter who obviously had some problems. Father God we ask that you work something good out of all this tragedy. In Jesus' name. Amen.

DO YOU LOVE LIKE JESUS?

This is a loaded question. Do you love people you disagree with? Do you love those that hate you? Do you love those spreading lies? Do you love those people in public office who do not truly love this country? Do you love those who cheat and steal? Do you love when you do not feel up to it? Do you love when someone has mistreated you? Do you love when rumors have hurt you? Do you love when you get offended? Do you love those people behind prison walls? Do you love when you feel left out? Dp you love those who have more than you?

Love is a word that is thrown around so much. For those of you married it is good to read the "love chapter", 1 Corinthians 13, in the Bible perhaps once a month and do what it says. Love is not just a feeling. But for the purpose of this devotion today I am dealing with a broader perspective on love.

Sometimes we have to ask Jesus to give us love for someone. We may not "like" what a person is doing or has done but God will handle them. Our job is to pray and love. You can not get prayers answered when you hate. Harboring hate is sin and it says in Psalm 66:18(NIV) 'if I would have cherished sin in my heart the Lord would not have listened.' Is there anything you are "harboring" today? Any bitterness? Any hate? Any lack of forgiveness?

Sometimes you may feel so angry or hurt you do not think you can possibly love or even like a certain individual. Your job is simple. Lift them up to the Lord in prayer and if they are doing something wrong tell God to deal with them and change their heart. Ask God to give you a super natural ability to love them. Say 'Lord help me love this person with love only you can give me'. Also in Proverbs 24:17-18 (NIV) it says 'Do not gloat when your enemy falls, when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice. Or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn His wrath away from him.'

Your job, should you choose to accept it, and I hope you do, is to love God with all your heart and then ask Him to help you truly love others.

PRAYER: Father God I confess to you there have been times when I have a hard time loving someone especially if they are trying to hurt me and they are evil and do wrong. Father it is only through you I can show Christian love. Help me Lord. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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