Tag Archives: enemies

Let’s Put An End To War

Bible Study, , ,

LET’S PUT AN END TO WAR

“‘I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never — I promise — regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives towards us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind.

“‘Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticise their faults — unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back — given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.'” Luke 6:37-39 (The Message).

The world of nature has many lessons for us, if we are willing to learn them. Take the lesson of sowing and reaping, for example.

The same law that works in our gardens works in our lives. The kind of seed we put in the ground will determine the kind of fruit we reap, and not only in kind but in measure. We cannot plant one grain of wheat and expect to reap oats or a bumper crop from one seed.

It’s the same in life. We cannot sow stinginess and expect to reap generosity or meanness and expect to reap kindness. Bottom line; we reap what we sow. But it’s about much more than reaping what we sow. It’s about what happens inside of us when we live generously and graciously. The guilt, shame and unhappiness that we feel when we are stingy and unkind gives way to peace and joy which are enough rewards without the rest of the harvest that will come to us.

That’s the way God created us to be from the beginning; in His image and one with Him in the way He thinks and acts. That’s the way Jesus lived as a man among us. Tit-for-tat living brings no joy or fulfilment; it only perpetuates and escalates evil. Does revenge ever stop with the first wrong? Never!

Judging, criticising, retaliating, all betray a deep-seated attitude that Jesus hates — the “I’m better than you” disposition, looking down on other people, either trying to show them up through judging or criticising, or trying to get even with them by retaliation and revenge.

The problem with these attitudes is that they reveal more about us than about the person we are gunning for. Not only do they expose our own hearts, but they also reap far more trouble than we expected. We only need to watch children in the playground. One child offends another; the other retaliates and before long there is war. Other children are drawn in and injuries happen, black eyes, scratches, skinned knees and possibly even worse. Where do the violence and killing that happen in schools today originate?

Jesus said that, by cutting off evil at its source, you can stop the flow. Change the seed you sow and see what happens. But He didn’t only tell us what to do; He did it Himself. He showed us what happens when we absorb evil instead of perpetuating it, loving instead of hating, having a generous attitude instead of being harsh and judgmental, making allowances for people instead of being rigid and unforgiving.

It came to an end in Him; He took it to death and then came back; He proved He could overcome and then gave us the power to conquer our own unkind dispositions so that we can live like Him.

Religion offers nothing but the vain hope that people can do enough to satisfy the deity. No god has ever done anything for mankind but perpetuate wickedness. There is only one God, the Creator of the universe and perfect representative of the Father, Jesus who did it all for us. He took our place, paid our debt and then gave us the righteousness He earned through His obedience in the face of suffering.

Have you received Him?

On The Mat

Christian Life, , , ,

ON THE MAT!

“The news travelled fast and in no time the leaders and friends back in Jerusalem heard about it — heard that the non-Jewish “outsiders” were now “in”. When Peter got back to Jerusalem, some of his old associates, concerned about circumcision, called him on the carpet. ‘What do you think you’re doing, rubbing shoulders with that crowd, eating what is prohibited and ruining our good name?'”

“So Peter, starting from the beginning, laid it out before them, step by step:….” Acts 11:1-4 (The Message).

“Hearing it all laid out like that, they quieted down. And then, as it sank in, they started praising God. ‘It’s really happened! God has broken through to the other nations, opened them up to Life.'” Acts 11:18 (The Message).

Traditions and taboos — the worst enemies of the cross! These men had yet to learn that God’s grace is for everyone. They were still clutching the tattered rags of their racial pride, still believing, in spite of their pitiful history, that they were exclusively God’s people. Externals were their passport to God’s favour, so they thought; circumcision and food taboos, of all things, their hope!

Like Peter, they needed to be jolted out of their fool’s paradise. They needed a new revelation of the nature of this God who revealed Himself in Jesus. Not even the years they spent in His company were enough to erase the misconceptions their religion had bred into them.

What had they heard that piqued them? True to form, the grapevine had produced a twisted version. By the time it reached their ears, it was enough to make them turn on Peter. “That crowd…eating what is prohibited…ruining our good name…” Strange how gossip cancels out friendship and the loyalty of those who should know better!

It would have to be a good story for Peter to get himself out of this one and, fortunately, his story was convincing enough to show up their arrogance towards him. Once they had heard the correct version, their attitude changed, fortunately, and they were convinced that Peter’s little excursion into “enemy” territory, was actually a revelation of God’s plan.

The most dangerous enemies of the church are not the “outsiders” who attack out of ignorance but the “insiders” whose traditions cancel out the truth of God’s word. This was Jesus’ unresolved issue with the religious leaders who eventually had Him executed because they would not honestly consider the evidence.

Jesus warned that the entrance to life is small and the way narrow. “Truth is a knife edge and error a wide flat land” I once heard a preacher say. The work that Jesus did on the cross is sufficient for all people for all time. He does not need our petty little additions to complete what His death accomplished. He does not need any qualifications like “circumcision’, whatever the equivalent is, and eating “kosher” food to make us more acceptable to Him than we are now.

There is nothing we can do to influence His attitude of mercy towards us because it comes out of who He is, not because of who we are. God is not obliged to do anything for us but He does because He is God.

The people who are so stuck on their traditions that they believe them rather than the truth of God’s word are a stumbling block to “outsiders” who want to know God. Imagine what would have happened to Cornelius and his associates had Peter allowed his tradition to overshadow God’s instruction! He would have planted himself squarely in front of their entrance into eternal life

Jesus still says, “Follow me!” That’s all…..

Disrupt and Confront

Christian Life, , , ,

DISRUPT AND CONFRONT

“‘I’ve come to disrupt and confront! From now on, when you find five in a house, it will be – three against two, and two against three, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against bride and bride against mother-in-law.'” Luke 12:52, 53 (The Message).

Is it Jesus’ intention to cause trouble in families? Never! That would be contrary to His nature as God. God is one – ECHAD – unity in diversity expressed by His essence, love. It is God’s intention to restore everything that Adam’s disobedience destroyed, to its original oneness in Himself. “For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him (Jesus), and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood shed on the cross.” Colossians 1:19, 20 (NIV).

Jesus is not speaking about intention but about outcome. He is stating the fact that a relationship with Him is so deep and so radical that it cuts across even the closest family ties. There is a deep-rooted underlying problem in the human heart of which Paul speaks in Romans 5:10 – “…we were God’s enemies…” Enmity against God causes us to resist someone else’s faith in Him, even in the very closest of family members. Our belief system which is shaped by the deception sown in our minds by God’s enemy, the devil, causes us to resist the truth and to oppose those who believe and receive God’s word.

There is a second flaw in our fallen human nature that persistently causes trouble. Unlike God, we do not respect other people’s freedom and right to make their own choices. We try to force our own beliefs and opinions on others, even resorting to murder if the other person refuses to see things our way. What kind of a god would require us to kill our own flesh and blood if he or she chooses to believe in Jesus? And yet it happens across the world.

Is this what Jesus desires? Certainly not! Jesus is not a blood-thirsty murderer, taking pleasure in disrupting and dividing families. We do it to ourselves by stubbornly trying to manipulate the conscience of another.

Why would people behave in such a drastic way to enforce their will on others? Is this not evidence of the source of their beliefs? Jesus accurately diagnosed the problem. He said, “Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:43, 44 (NIV).

It amazes me how stubbornly people hang on to their lies even if it means destroying another’s life. There is nothing more tragic than deception and self-deception – believing and basing one’s whole life on what is not true. God created the world to be a place of righteousness and peace for all people as a reflection of Himself. He gave us the freedom to make our own choices and to take responsibility for the choices we make. Hating and killing to enforce our will on another can never be right because it defeats the very purpose for which we were created.

Therefore we must conclude that disruption and division in families and in society must have its source in God’s enemy, the devil. Satan has one agenda – to steal from God the human race He created in His image to worship Him and to enjoy the blessing of being His sons and daughters. We should be alerted to our future by the hell we taste on earth now and will experience forever if we choose to believe his lies.

How to Deal With Enemies – Part 2

Christian Life, , ,

HOW TO DEAL WITH ENEMIES (PART 2)

“Here is a simple rule of thumb for behaviour: Ask yourself what you want people to do for them; then grab the initiative and do it for them!” Luke 6:31 (The Message).

What on earth was Jesus saying? How did this fall on the ears of His hearers? He was demanding a complete transformation in their philosophy of life, a radical paradigm shift from, “What can you do for me?” to “What can I do for you?” It involved disregarding external differences and relating to all people from a new identity and a new disposition.

In the natural world people react or respond according to the attitude or behaviour of “the other person”. If people treat me well, I treat them well. If they misuse me, I misuse them. Jesus said, “No more of that. Live out of who my Father is because you are His sons and you have been given His nature.” To treat or respond according to the way people treat us is to mirror people who have never encountered and been transformed by the power of God.

But then He takes another jump forward. This is the tough part. “Take an active step towards those who hate you.” Our human nature requires a return for what we put into someone else, a sort of “tit-for-tat” philosophy. If I actively reach out to someone who dislikes me, I expect some sort of positive response – even if it’s only a “thank you”. Why do I do it? Do I want them to like me?

Jesus never courted the favour of His enemies but He reached out to them in mercy. If I recognise someone’s need, even if he doesn’t like me, and do something about it, just because it’s the right thing to do, that is righteousness. When I do that, something happens on the inside of me. I have a better understanding of my Father’s heart! I am getting to know God.

It is God’s passion that we put His splendour on display. What is that? His capacity to look beyond the flaws and failures of the people He created in His image, and to see their potential to become mirrors of His disposition and active participants in a life of generosity and kindness to everyone, regardless of their responses, because that’s the way He treats us.

This is revolutionary stuff! No other rabbi represented God like this. It was an “in your face” revelation they had to grapple with.
What about you?