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Friday, October 23, 2015

Jesus Loves and Prays For His Enemies And Persecutors

"You will not murder...you will not hate in your heart" Matthew 5:21-22
"You will love God with all your heart, soul and strength" Luke 10:27/Matthew 22:37
"You will love others as I have loved you" John 13:34-35
"You will love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" Matthew 5:43-48 / Romans 12:14

Jesus is THE unique man. He was and is distinctly different, because he truly unites people in the truth no matter the race, nationality or creed. He proclaims one creed as true and eternal for all of mankind. One faith, one baptism. Consequently, there may be great wrestling in the soul of a person to accept that Jesus is really the Savior of the World... God's only begotten son....God in the flesh. The truth of God is so all encompassing that a person can only accept it or resist it. Love or hate it. 

We live in a time of great confusion, and the world will continue to kick and scream and resist when faced with the Gospel message of Christ. Incitement to murder Christians and Messianic Jews, putting them in jail, taking away their freedoms, believing the lies created against them, are all signs of a world who don't know or believe in God. Again, the fact the Jesus lived, died was buried and rose again for mankind is so all encompassing that a person cannot ignore it. You either embrace it personally or you reject it personally. It will follow people all the way to Judgement Day. Considering this and this attached video (https://www.facebook.com/oneforIsrael/videos/1094579527226672/), really think about Jesus' words when he said the following. Additionally, reason how it could be possible for people to not be ashamed at their own sinfulness and give their trust to Jesus when these are commands of Jesus and how he demonstrated his life perfectly: 

"You will not murder...you will not hate in your heart" Matthew 5:21-22
"You will love God with all your heart, soul and strength" Luke 10:27/Matthew 22:37
"You will love others as I have loved you" John 13:34-35
"You will love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" Matthew 5:43-48 / Romans 12:14

““If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’ “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” John 15:18-27 ESV

That's pretty serious speaking on the account of Jesus! It sounds like he's saying you're either with me or against me. You love me or you hate me. There's no middle ground of just "liking" or "tolerating" me, and so if they treated me this way so it will go with you if you are mine.  

What's at stake here is eternity and so it can't be ignored. People are too important and obviously to God they are worth dying for. Jesus dying on the cross  shows how far sinful man will go to have his own way, while at the same time it shows how far God will go to save us through love. Jesus is everyone's salvation! 

The Jewish Rabbi in the video calling to murder two Messianic Jewish Rabbis has not seen Jesus. Terrorists who do savage attacks on children, women and men have not seen Jesus. The religious people who say Jesus is not the Savior for all of mankind have not seen Jesus. Have you seen Jesus?

Those who have been hurt have been hurt by the sin choices of mankind not God. Those who are angry with God because of what man has done to them have put their faith in man not God. Those who call Christianity a hypocritical religion have not their eyes on Jesus. They are looking at man. Those who have their faith in God see Jesus. Contemplate these words from the Bible:

“To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”
Proverbs 21:3 ESV

“Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”
2 Corinthians 5:11-19 ESV

Do you know how many terrorists have come to Jesus because of the truth of this command: "You will love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" Matthew 5:43-48 / Romans 12:14. To hate God and people so much and then to experience the love of God while yet in that condition is powerful. Jesus loved us on the cross and said, " Forgive them Father, because they don't know what they are doing" in Luke 23:34.  The "them" is all of us. Not just some, but all of mankind past, present and future. Jesus is God's love and he is light and able to pierce our dark and hard hearts. 

“I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished. “As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.”
Acts 22:6-11

We must stop considering ourselves as so different from one another. We are all guilty of sin and their is no adequate answer within all man made religion for our problem. 

We must cry out to God to open our eyes and soften our hearts with his kindness. So we can see that Jesus is the universal answer. So we desire to repent from our sins and absolutely trust in Jesus.

Jesus' Way is so much better, it is not confusing, it is not narrow minded, it is freeing, and fulfilling. It is Salvation Forever. 

  





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