LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

"Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless those that curse you, do good to those that hate you, and pray for those who speak evil about you, and persecute you;" (Matthew 5:43-44). This is one of the more difficult commands in the Bible for Christians to put into practice. How can we love our enemies? The answer is hinted at in the next verse, " that ye may be sons of your Father who is in the heavens," (Matthew 5:45a). Jesus himself set the example by reaching out in love to sinners. Sometimes he was criticized for it, but the criticism did not stop him, because his heart was filled with compassion for those who were like sheep without a shepherd (Mark 6:34). Look at the encounter of Jesus with a rich man in Mark, chapter 6. Mark says, "Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions (Mark 10:21-22). Jesus looked at a man who rejected him with love. What does this say about the heart of Jesus for sinners? It says that Jesus cares deeply for them and knows that their true happiness is not dependent on earthly things, but their relationship to him. Would Jesus ask us to do something that he himself did not do? Of course not. We are to love our enemies because Jesus chose to love his enemies. Christ’s love for the lost ultimately led him to the cross, where he offered up his life, so that those who come to him by faith, seeking his forgiveness would obtain it. "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:6-8). Human love could never be greater than Divine love. God loved the whole world, a world of ungodly sinners. The Father sent the Son into the world to save it, not condemn it. If God's love was limited, then Christ's command to us to love our enemies would be hypocritical. He would have been commanding us to do something that he himself did not do. But thanks be unto God who does love sinners such as I, and yes, he loves you too. This is good news for all men, the very center of the gospel of Christ. Go tell those who are lost, the good news. This is the greatest love you could show them, even those who oppose you.

“God bestows His blessings without discrimination. The followers of Jesus are children of God, and they should manifest the family likeness by doing good to all, even to those who deserve the opposite.” F.F. Bruce

Pastor Tom

SEPARATING A MOTHER FROM HER CHILD

Did you know that a baby in the womb has a detectable heart beat at three weeks and a day after fertilization? While it cannot be detected by a doctor’s stethoscope, it can be seen moving on a high quality ultrasound picture. So the saying is true, “every abortion stops a beating heart.” If I intentionally caused the heart of a one-day old baby to stop beating I would be charged with homicide in every state in the United States. However, more than half of Americans live in states where abortion is allowed right up to the 24th or 26th week of pregnancy. That means the baby's heart has been beating for nearly one-half of a year. Currently, many who support abortion are appalled at Federal Immigration Laws which under certain circumstances, separate a woman who has entered this country illegally from her child (or children) because she has committed a criminal act. The separation of mother and child is not intended to be permanent. But with an abortion, the separation of a mother from her child is permanent. The child is deliberately killed in the womb of the mother. Doesn’t it seem irrational that in the State of California, the killing of an unborn child (fetus) is murder and is covered under Penal Code Section 187. In April of 2004, President George Bush signed a Federal law (HR 1997) making it a crime to harm an embryo or fetus at any stage of pregnancy during an assault on a pregnant woman. It was called “The Unborn Victims Act”. One paragraph states, “If the person engaging in the conduct thereby intentionally kills or attempts to kill the unborn child, that person shall instead of being punished under subparagraph (A), be punished as provided under sections 1111, 1112, and 1113 of this title for intentionally killing or attempting to kill a human being.” Did you notice that the law defines the fetus as an unborn child and a human being?  But abortionists are exempt from this law. Why is that? Because the mother supposedly has the right to her own body with absolutely no regard for the body of the human being in her body. In fact, the abortionist is paid to kill the unborn child. Abortionists are in reality – mercenaries. The noun mercenary in Latin comes from mercenarius, meaning "hireling.” The abortion industry is a “for profit” big business. One pro-life organization put this into perspective when they wrote: “Think about this, as the law stands today, if a pregnant woman on her way to an abortion clinic (where her child will be legally killed), is assaulted in the street, causing the death of her unborn child, those who assaulted her would be guilty of manslaughter under the Unborn Victims Act. They would be guilty for bringing about the exact same result (the death of an unborn child) that the abortion doctor would have legally secured (and been paid for) just a few minutes later." This truly fits the definition of legal insanity. Welcome to the schizophrenic, hypocritical world of pro-abortion politicians like Nancy Pelosi and many others who proudly advocate women’s rights. They “shout out” for the rights of the mother to be with her child when she enters the United States illegally, but they also “shout out” for the rights of the mother to be separated from her child in the womb – with no regard for the rights of a child who is being victimized with death. Every abortionist, and every mother who has had an abortion needs to repent of their sin, which is a violation of the commandment given by God, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13). If they do repent and turn to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, seeking His forgiveness, He will forgive their sin and grant them eternal life. This would be the beginning of a new life and a new way of thinking about life, particularly, life in the womb.

THE SOURCE OF SPIRITUAL STRENGTH

And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. So, David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. Then David and the people that were with him lifted their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God (1 Samuel 30:1-6). The Hebrew word "encouraged" in verse 6 is often translated "strengthened" and on other occasions "hardened". In contemporary language we might call it "battle hardened". Life can make you hard in a bad sense of the word (insensitive or uncaring", but God can make you hard so that you can withstand whatever trial comes your way, Our only source of strength is in the Lord and so we are admonished in Scripture to, " Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually" (1 Chronicles 16:11). Life can wear you down, but God can lift you up! Call upon him now in the time of your need because he delights in showing himself strong in behalf of those who love him, "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him" (2 Chronicles 16:9). 

God bless, 

Pastor Tom

GOD ALONE!

Have you ever sunken down into the pit of despair? One man called it, “shadow-lands”.  In that dark place he sought comfort from a friend. His friend’s response went like this, ““My first matter of prayer for you is that you will see God in the shadow-lands; that even without good times, good feelings, and showers of blessings you will be satisfied with just Him, Himself ... for however long God purposes to be the sole encouragement you have”.[1]

Friends, there are times in life when God will be the only one you have. In those times there will be nothing good to feel good about, no blessings that you can ascertain, no counselors with the right words to encourage you, nothing to ease the pain or the loneliness, nothing to replace the loss – just God alone.  But you will find, if you are content with God alone, His grace will be sufficient, and in His time, the darkness will give way to light, the despair will give way to joy, the loneliness to the comfort of a friend who is closer than a brother, and you will again praise Him from whom all blessings flow. Weeping endures for the night, but joy comes in the morning, (Psalm 30:5). The “shadow lands” is the place where God grows his children up into the likeness of Christ. The “shadow-lands” is the crucible of a fiery suffering from which emerges the purest gold.  

- Pastor Tom

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[1] From the IFCA News Connection, March 2018, Vol. 10, No. 3

DAILY OPPORTUNITIES

... let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:9,10).

Each new day we have opportunities to do something for someone else. However, we often become so preoccupied with our own concerns that we fail to see the needs of others. Examine the life of Jesus in the gospels and take notice how often he saw things that others didn't see.  That is because he came to serve, not to be served (Mark 10:45). Don't let the opportunities to do good to others pass you buy. "Travel slowly" someone once said, and you will things you never saw before.

God bless,

Pastor Tom