Responding to Our Enemies

Today our society has become tolerant to all religions and that is disconcerting to me.  Jesus is clear in Matthew 12:30 where He says to the Pharisees, “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.”   Now I am not talking about different churches, we all have a worship style that meets our needs.  A church that professes Jesus Christ as Lord, has not added to the scriptures, and does not lead people astray is great.  There have been cults that have drawn people in and deceived them, TV preachers who have done the same.  We always need to be cautious and aware of the scriptures so we do not get drawn in to false ways.  The Holy Spirit will guide and direct us in the right way as we seek out scriptures and ask for His guidance.  What I am talking about today are those religions that are totally against the Lord.  The Bible is full of examples of this where they worshipped Baal and other gods.  In Deuteronomy 12:2 the instructions to the Israelites as they entered their promised land was “Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains and on the hills and under every spreading tree where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods.  Break down the altars, smash their sacred stones and burn the Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places.  God makes it clear that there is only one true God to worship and all others will be destroyed.  That is why it is so disconcerting to me when I see all religions, those who worship God to those who worship gods meeting together and praying together.

As I did a little research  on the Muslim Brotherhood I went to the Jewish Virtual Library where I found the motto for the Muslim Brotherhood “Allah is our objective.  The Prophet is our leader.  Qur’an is our law.  Jihad is our way.  Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.”  Does that sound like they are for God?  Do you hear anything about Jesus who says in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me..” ? Yet we can hold prayer meetings with a group that wants to destroy any Western influences.  I hope you will continue reading as now it is time to talk about how we should react to our enemies.

If you read Lamentations 3 we find the way that we generally respond to our enemies.  We want the Lord to take care of them and we want to see it happen “now” rather than “later” but how does Christ instruct us to treat our enemies.  Matthew 5:44 - 45a “But I tell  you:  Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”  Love does not mean that we accept their ways which often times I believe our society is doing.  It means that we love them so much that we want their eyes to be opened to the one true God.  We do not want them to suffer eternally.  “Pray for them” does not mean that we meet together with them as they pray to their god and we pray to our God.  It means that we pray that the Holy Spirit will convict them and their eyes will be opened.

Lamentations 3:25 - 26  The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks him; (26) it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.  As you seek Him and find Him pray for those who are your enemies, those who do not know the Lord.

Worship The One True God as you listen to this song by Mark Harris, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJtPKRMmttU

Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila