1 John 2:7-11
When the word “hate” is used often it denotes a bad
connotation about another person.
It is rare thing to hate someone whom we do not know, but some have been
taught to hate people of a different race or color than themselves. Not many, but a few of the worlds
religions teach their followers to hate anyone who is different than them, the
Muslin religion teaches them to kill infidels, where as Jesus taught His
followers to love their enemies and to do good, not harm to those who persecute
them. Has the teaching of Jesus
Christ been lost in this generation?
I’m fearful that many of us have been blinded by fear, that many of us
who go by the name of Jesus are not keepers of His commandments and when put
under the microscope of our community, those we work with and come in contact
with do not see Jesus, but see us as religious; just religious.
You see many of us who go by the name of Christian, and I do
mean many read your e-mails, it’s Christians who are acting as if it is up to
them to save the world, not by what Jesus commanded, but by getting out the
vote. Before you hang me, please
be an informed voter, please vote, and please pray for the ones you sent to
congress. With that said, Matthew
24 is a clear declaration of the closing of this age that we call the Church
age, listen to what Jesus said. “They will deliver you up to
tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray
one another and hate one another.
And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be
increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:9-13) These things are happening on our
watch! Many of us are so taken
with this world and it’s system that we believe our action of stirring up the
masses of Christians can stop it or delay what Jesus spoke about in Matthew
24.
It will never happen till we repent of wanting our own
kingdom, and not His kingdom, but if we who are followers would humble
ourselves and pray and seek His face, we would cease from fear, we would love
our enemies and then many would see the light of Jesus living in us. That is the good news, and many would
be attracted to Jesus Christ and be saved out of this present darkness and God
would say well done, my good and faithful child. But I also believe that will not stop the haters of God from
fulfilling what Jesus said in Matthew 24, “They will
deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.”
But the New Commandment is much the same as the Old
Commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first
commandment. And a second is like
it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39) Now do not ask who is my neighbor, it’s
anyone you come in contact with, it’s the guy who is telling lies about you at
work hoping to get your job. So
the apostle John tells us the following: “But
whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and
does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” (1John 2:11) Christians, Jesus has commanded us to be children of the
light, have you been blinded by the darkness? This quote from George Mueller speaks
volumes: “The beginning of anxiety is the end
of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.”
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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