Love Your Enemies
Saturday's Devotion (6-28-08)
"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Matthew 5:43-45 (KJV)
These verses are one of the single best ways that people will know we are Christians. Do we love our enemies? It's very important that WE of all people follow these verses. We must show that we are of God, because God loves all even those who don't love Him. For when we were yet enemies of God, Christ died for us. It's easy to love those who love us, but how many of us can love those who hate us? How many of us would run to the aid of our worst enemy?
We need to pray for our enemies and those who do us wrong. When we pray for them it changes our heart towards them. I really believe that, not to mention prayer changes people. Pray for them and maybe they'll see the light. Some believers don't want their enemies to be saved, like Jonah didn't want his to be saved. What happened though? Jonah's enemies were saved, whether Jonah liked it or not. We are not God, it is not our decision who should be saved and who shouldn't... But we should seek that EVERYONE be saved, even our enemies. We may not think highly of our enemies, but that doesn't mean we can't do good towards them FOR Christ's sake!
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this message and for all things. Please forgive us of all our sins as we forgive all those who've sinned against us. Please help us to love our enemies and those who do us wrong. Let us shine your light in all that we do. In Jesus name. A-men!
God bless!