Saturday, July 9, 2011

What would you do???

Greetings!!

What would you do if someone who claims to be "a devout Christian", who barely knows you, suddenly goes on the attack and judges you for something they have no first hand knowledge or proof of??  What if this person, tried to publicly humiliate you with these false accusations?  What would you do if this person is openly trying to destroy a church and is dragging you into it by these false accusations?

Does this person even sound like a Christian to you?  What would you do if this person told the Pastor of the church he was a bad Pastor because he allowed you, a sinner in the church?

I think most of us would get pretty hurt and probably angry if that happened to them.  But what does the bible say?  What would Jesus do?  How did Jesus handle it when it happened to him?  Yes Jesus was misjudged and persecuted to the point of crucifixtion.  But did he fight back?  No!!  He used the scriptures to back himself up in His righteousness.  When Satan tempted Him and persecuted Him He always started His reply with, "It is written".  Jesus used the word of God as His sheild. 

First we must realize who or what we are up against.  It is written in Ephesians 6:12  "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."  That scripture is telling me that this human that is attacking is being led or perhaps possessed by Satan or his demons.  They are being controlled by evil forces.

Ok, so now that we understand that it is not actually the person who might be attacking us but the evil forces behind him or her what do we do about it?  First off we need to pray for that person that they will turn away from evil and get back on the right path in following Jesus.  Oh yeah, that can be a hard pill to swallow sometimes.  But you need to ask God for help.  You must not fight evil with evil.  (See Matthew 5:43-48)  43Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44But 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; 45That 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. 46For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

If you are like I was the first time I read this I was like, "what?  love even my enemy?  How on earth do you expect me to do that?  But actually you can do it and it can be easier each time you do it by focusing on what your rewards might be when you get to heaven.  And really, that is the most important thing.  Getting to heaven and finding the rewards that await you for being a faithful servant of the Lord!!

In Matthew 5: 10-12 it is written:  10Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 11Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
 12Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Rejoice!!!  Be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven!!  Wow, think about this a minute.  I told you there would be rewards in heaven and the scriptures tell you there will be great rewards in heaven.  Now does that make it a little easier to love your enemy?  To turn the other cheek?  To pray for your enemy?  It sure does me!!  Now that doesn't mean that I don't ever think about "wanting to get even" with someone who has wronged me.  But we must not act on those feelings.  And if we practice "turning the other cheek" and "not repaying evil with evil" eventually it will get even easier to not even think it when someone wrongs us.

Getting back to the person who said the Pastor was a bad Pastor for allowing sinners in church.  This was such a laughable statement in my mind at the time I heard it.  Do they not realize it is written, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23 and 1Timothy 1:15 says, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners"  and in Matthew 18:11   "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost."

Be careful what you say and the false accusations you make against others because 16And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
 17Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
 18But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
 19For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
 20These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. Matthew 15: 16-20  The words that come out of your mouth are what defile you.

Jesus was around sinners all the time.  That is who He sought.  Why then would he not want sinners in His church?  Remember we are ALL sinners.  We ALL need repentance and we ALL need to strive to walk His path, not our own.  You, yourself would not be allowed in church if there was to be NO sinners in church!!  The words you spoke to the Pastor that day defiled you.  You should seek forgiveness and repent of your sins.  Remove the log out of your own eye before you try to remove a sliver from another's eye.

Heavenly Father I pray that those who have ears will hear this message today and understand.  I pray for those who have appointed themselves gods and feel they have the right to judge others.  I pray Father that you open their hearts and their minds to you and your word.  I pray Father that you forgive them, for they know not what they do.  I pray Father that you give me the grace to forgive their sins against me.  In Jesus loving and precious name, Amen!!

Until next time,,,,,,,Blessings!!

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