Biblical Reflection: Loving Your Enemies – A Lesson in Forgiveness

14 Jun 2024 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 5:44.       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 (spitefully) use you, and persecute you;

Oh, it was indeed a glorious shout of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday’! when we awakened to a bright, beautiful, sunshiny and clean Friday. And my area should indeed be fresh and clean after the barrage of rain, wind, lightning and thunder it received just before midnight last evening. We finally received the rain we’d been promised all week, but which the constant high winds had been blowing away. Last night I had to get up and close my bedroom window because the rain was blowing in. And as I closed it, a sudden bolt of lightning flared up outside and I had to also close the blinds. 

Oh, there’s no finer feeling than lying in bed, late at night and hearing the rain fall, especially on a galvanized roof. (smile) It often acts like a lullaby and helps you to drift off to sleep. So, now that the weekend is upon us, I hope that our plans are to rest, relax, have a li’l fun and go to church on Sunday. Please don’t overdo it, so that come Monday, you’re too tired to get up and go about Jesus’ business. (smile) 

And today we’ll simply read and ponder some interesting scripture from the first Book of Samuel, where the Good Library opened a short while ago. It’s about the time when King Saul was chasing down Bruh David to kill him. The Bible says: ‘And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi. Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.’ (1 Sam. 24:1-2) 

Imagine that nuh, Saul was just come back from fighting his country’s greatest enemy, the Philistines, but he was so filled with hatred and jealousy, and so determined to kill Bruh David, that once he heard of his whereabouts, he got up and went to search him out. Let’s hope friends, that none of us are filled with such soul searing hatred. 

Then the Bible continues: ‘And he (Saul) came to the sheepcotes by the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went into cover his feet (attend to his needs): and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good to thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt (a corner of) Saul’s robe privily.’ (1 Sam. 24:3-4) 

Yuh see friends, how life can be somewhat traitorous. When we think we’re alone, we might just be in the midst of our enemies. Saul never thought that Bruh David would be in the same cave where he went to relieve himself, but in fact he was completely surrounded by his enemies. Let’s be careful and not forget that our enemy, the devil and his evil cronies are all around us, just waiting for an opportunity to pounce on us. 

Samuel then writes: ‘And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt (the corner of his robe). And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord. So David stayed (restrained) his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went his way.’ (1 Sam. 24:5-7)  

Contemplate that nuh! Bruh David refusing to harm the man who for years was hunting him down like a wild animal strictly because he was anointed to be the next king of Israel. Saul had no qualms whatsoever about killing the Lord’s anointed, but it seems Bruh David had enough for both of them. (smile) Yuh see the difference friends between the ones who hold sincerely to God’s word, and those who don’t, or only give lip service to it. Bruh David knew deep down that if he harmed Saul, he would be placing his own anointing in jeopardy. 

And the story continues thus: ‘David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself. And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had delivered thee today into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my Lord; for he is the Lord’s anointed. 

Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt (corner) of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt (corner) of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression (rebellion) in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul (life) to take it. The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of (on) thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.’ (1 Sam. 24:8-12) 

Oh my people, can we be so magnanimous against our proven enemies? I don’t know nuh, for it takes a man truly imbued with the Spirit of God to forgive, or even lay off one that has done him such a high level of wrong for no just cause. But that’s the way our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ expects us to behave. 

As He taught in Hie Sermon on the Mount: ‘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 (spitefully) use you, and persecute you; That ye may be 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.’ (Matt. 5:43-45) 

Those are not my words friends, but Jesus’, and if you intend to truly follow Him, then you will have to live by them, however distasteful they might seem to you. Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, for help to do tough things like what we’ve just read. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough…  because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. 

Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. 

Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

And to truly receive divine aid, we must begin by setting a good example, being true and faithful believers! Much LOVE!

…vengeance is mine…I will repay, saith the Lord… (Rom. 12:19)

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 January 2021 John 3:3.

09 Jan 2021 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

John 3:3.     ​Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Well here comes Saturday; that lazy, hazy day! And with the worldwide lockdown, there’s even more reason to have a lazy and hazy Saturday since you can’t go anywhere and do much of anything! (smile) But God is good, and He operates on both the good and bad days, so there’s nothing to fear if we have Him uppermost in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls. Yeh friends, if we want to make it through all in one piece in these treacherous and perilous times, then the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob definitely has to be our rock, our anchor, our place of safe refuge, our Good Shepherd. 

And as we always do on Saturdays, let’s look at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And thank God it seems like he’s stopped putting that unwieldy preface before each quote! (smile) 

And the first quote says: ‘Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.’ Now there is truth to that statement, although I don’t believe that intelligence is only the ability to adapt to change. It’s also a whole lot of other things. But you do need intelligence if you’re going to successfully adapt to change. You need to first be intelligent to know that you must adapt in some things and places, and then be intelligent enough to know which things and places to adapt to. If you don’t, the world will quickly leave you behind. 

But for heaven’s sake, don’t just adapt for adapting sake, or because everyone else is doing it. You just have to look at the state of social media nowadays and see how it’s sucking so many people into bad habits with its ever expanding tentacles and reach! You have to be intelligent enough to know how far to let it take you. 

And the next quote tells us that ‘Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.’ Now I think that’s somewhat contradictory. Granted, foolish people might never want to change, but a wise man, because he is wise, ought to know that change is sometimes very necessary, even though we may not want to make it. So personally, I think that part is wrong. And I can say that from personal experience. (smile) I’m not a great believer in change, especially just for change sake, but I do think I’m wise enough to know that at times I do need to change, although I may not want to. 

And that’s where I think wisdom becomes very necessary. Yeah, they used to tell me that I was living in the 18thcentury, but now I’ve moved up to halfway in the 20th. So you see, I was wise enough to recognize the need for some change, though they had to drag me screaming into it! (smile) And change is especially important if you want to be a true believer in Christ. A couple of scriptures will show us that. 

The first comes from Jesus Himself, when Nicodemus came to Him by night, afraid of the wrath of the Pharisees, and asked how to gain salvation.‘Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’(John 3:3) Yeh friends, that’s the first and wisest change we need to make if we want to follow Jesus! 

And it doesn’t mean entering into our mother’s wombs again, but ‘Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.’ (John 3:5-6) And once you’re born again of water and the Spirit, then you need to hear Bruh Paul’s words to the church at Corinth. ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’ (2 Cor. 5:17) 

Now that’s another time when change is oh so necessary! We have to put away the old, worldly things of our lives and pick up new spiritual practices that fall under Jesus’ guidelines. And I believe that this next quote addresses our problem with all that change very adequately. ‘If you have a purpose which is bigger than you, all your problems will become tiny.’ 

Oh,  all your problems definitely won’t become tiny, but with Jesus as your main man, with His divine help, they will become manageable. But we must have Jesus as our special purpose, a purpose bigger than us, if our problems are to become manageable. That’s just the way life is friends. And if you don’t believe me, then listen to Jesus as He talks about the vine and the branches. ‘I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5) And if that isn’t telling it like it is, then I don’t know what is nuh? 

Bruh Paul also corroborated Christ’s statement in his second letter to the Corinthians. ‘Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.’ (2 Cor. 3:5) And if you don’t make that change and start depending on God, then you’re not wise! (smile) 

And the last quote says: ‘The ones who can see the vision when no one else can, and work on it like there is no tomorrow, will succeed. The rest will follow.’ Oh friends, there is much truth in that statement, but the crux of it is the second part. Many of us see visions, know what we ought to do, what the Lord wants us to do, but for whatever reason we refuse or hem and haw until it’s too late to work on it. 

That’s the whole thing about being a Christian my brethren; we not only have a new and different way to live, but we also have to diligently work at it, since we are servants, workers, ambassadors of Christ on this evil earth! He is depending on us to bring about the necessary changes He desires. And truly working at being a Christian is no easy matter since the devil and his evil cronies delight in putting obstacles in our way. That’s why we need to read and know the word of God so that we can put it into use when the enemy comes against us, as he undoubtedly will. 

As Bruh Paul said to Timothy: ‘Fight the good fight of faith…’ (1 Tim. 6:12) As believers, we all have to daily fight the hardships and adversity that comes with the Christian life, show the true nature of our faith, as we daily grow and mature in it, until we can accomplish that balance between faith and works that James talks about. ‘Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.’ (James 2:17-18) 

Oh precious people, it’s great to have faith, but faith is useless if it isn’t put to work. Jesus didn’t come to earth to just have faith, He came to do works, and we are called to do likewise, in His name. So let’s get to it seriously nuh, the world is anxiously waiting for us to show it our true and lasting faith by our sincere works! Much LOVE!

…a believer must be responsive to change…but wisely…