Bless Your Enemies, Part 3: Practical Ways to Bless Them and Live

Matthew 5:43-48

43 Ye have hear that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 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 use you, and persecute you; 45 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. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

When people hurt us, we have a choice to make. We can either stay bogged down in the pain they’ve caused us or we can give them to God and move on.

That sounds simple. But I know from personal experience it’s anything but.

There is good news, though. If you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you have Him on your side. He will help you do things you can’t do. I don’t know about you, but I’m glad God offers us His grace and mercy. It means we can forgive people who hurt us and move on.

God says we can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth us (see Philippians 4:13).

With that in mind, what are some things we can do to bless our enemies, heal from the pain they’ve caused us, and become who God wants us to be?

1). Pray

Our first response when someone hurts us should be to pray, both for ourselves and for them. Prayer is the only way to talk to God, and we need to talk to Him on a daily basis, not only when crises arise, but also during the good times in our lives. It’s especially important to pray when someone hurts us because it helps us keep things in perspective. When we’re hurting, it’s easy to fly off the handle, and say and do all sorts of things we might later regret. Prayer is the only way to receive the help we need from God in order to do the things He wants us to do. Our obedience in prayer opens up the door for Him to heal us and to work in our situation. He might heal our relationship with the person who has hurt us or He’ll give us the grace to move on from them. Praying for the other person opens up the door for Him to work in their lives, too, and to bring about any changes in them that need to be made. We can’t heal or have any peace unless we pray for God’s supernatural strength to infuse us and help us. If we sincerely ask for His help, He will help us.

2). Read, study, and meditate on God’s Word.

The only way to know God’s will about any given subject is to know His Word. He clearly reveals His mind and heart in the Bible, and it’s our responsibility to know the Bible as much as possible.

I realize it can be difficult at times to know exactly what God is trying to say to us through His Word. There’s much I don’t know about the Bible and I don’t believe any of us will fully understand it while we’re on this side of Heaven. But an honest effort and a sincere willingness to learn will reap great dividends in our lives.

God says in Isaiah 26:3, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

This means if we do our best to keep God first in our lives, we’ll be able to live in much greater peace than if we never gave a thought to Him. Trusting Him with our lives and keeping our minds centered on Him is a prerequisite to us having the peace we desire.

When people hurt us, we need to do our best to keep our minds on Him and on His good plan for us, not on the things people do to us. As hard as it may be, we need to trust Him with our lives and remember the pain we’re going through is part of His plan for us, to bring about the good He has in mind for us (see Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 8:28). I personally believe the only way we can do this successfully is to fill our minds with the Word of God on a daily basis.

We should read some portion of the Bible everyday, even if it’s only a small one. Reading some portion of the Bible is better than not reading any of it at all. We should also have a regular plan for studying and meditating on it. Going beyond our daily Bible reading to include study and meditation unearths the riches in it we might miss if we simply read it and do nothing more. Again, we don’t have to study or meditate on huge portions of it at a time. In fact, it’s better to start out small and grow in our plan of study than to start out with a lot and not follow through with it. Consistency is more important than volume, quality more than quantity.

If we eat our meals fast and don’t take the time to properly chew our food, we won’t get the nutritional value from it we’re suppose to. It’s the same thing concerning Bible reading and study. We will enjoy it much more and get more out of it if we work at our own pace and really give ourselves to what we’re doing.

Another great thing to do is memorize portions of the Bible, particularly those verses that speak to our situation. If we hide God’s Word in our hearts, we’ll be able to know the peace He promises us.

We must renew our minds according to the truth of God’s Word, so we can think how He wants us to think and do what He wants us to do (see Romans 12:2). There’s no way we’ll ever walk in victory in our lives if we don’t keep our minds centered on God and His Word. Many people want victory in their lives, but they don’t want to do anything to help bring it to pass. There’s some things in life only God can do and there’s other things only we can do. God will help us do the things we need to do, but we have to do our part in the process. If we never lend ourselves to the reading and study of His Word, we’ll never  learn it or have what He wants us to have.

If we don’t know the Bible, we won’t know what He wants us to do in life, especially during times of trial. We’ll rely upon our own understanding of things and He says that’s never a good idea (see Proverbs 3:5-7). We need Him and the light of His Word to guide us in all situations, especially during the storms of life. The time to begin learning it is when things are smooth sailing, so when the going gets rough, we’ll know what to do.

God’s Word gives us something positive to think about when we’re hurting and keeps us in close fellowship with Him. The devil loves to attack us when we’re hurting, telling us all sorts of lies so we lose our hope and think God’s abandoned us. If we know God’s Word, we’ll be able to resist the devil at his onset and prevent him from getting a foothold in our minds (see 1 Peter 5:8-9 and James 4:7).

When Jesus was attacked by the devil, He quoted the Bible out loud back to him (see Luke 4:1-13). He didn’t just passively sit and let the devil have his way with Him. He was aggressive and He used the Word of God to fight back at him. Maybe we should do the same thing. If we know the Bible and really apply it to our way of thinking, we’ll have a much easier time keeping our minds on God and on His good plan for us. Then when bad things happen and the devil comes to deceive us, we’ll be able to resist him. If we stay close to God and resist the devil, we’ll be able to heal and walk in victory. The victory God desires for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bless Your Enemies, Part 2: The Blessings of Obedience

Matthew 5:43-48

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 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 use you, and persecute you; 45 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. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Sometimes God’s commands are difficult to understand. Maybe you’ve had the experience of reading along in your Bible, feeling great about God’s love for you, how He’s saved you, and how much He’s blessed you. You feel on top of the mountain. But then comes along something in your reading that hits you straight between the eyes. God convicts you of something in your life that needs to change. You instantly feel yourself slipping into the valley as the conflict between your flesh and His Spirit emerges.

I’ve had that experience before. I still do on a regular basis.

The above Scripture passage is one many believers have difficulty obeying. I know I do at times. But God has shown me at least three benefits that come from obeying His Word, particularly the hard passages we’d rather forget.

1.) Obedience Brings Blessing.

God promises in His Word if we obey Him, He’ll bless us.

Perhaps nowhere in Scripture does He make this point more clear than in Deuteronomy 28.

In Deuteronomy 28, God spoke to the Israelites concerning their obedience to Him. He set before them a number of principles for them to follow and He expected them to obey Him. If they did, they and all they had would be blessed. If they didn’t, they would be cursed.

The same principle still applies to us today.

How many times has God told you to do something and you didn’t do it? I know I’ve done it many times. Each time I disobeyed Him, things went wrong in my life, and I had to rely on Him to help me get back on the right path again. The way was often long and tedious, and could’ve been completely avoided if I’d made the right decision and obeyed Him in the first place.

The opposite is also true. I was greatly blessed when I obeyed Him.

Many people miss out on the blessings God wants to give them because they simply don’t want to trust Him and obey Him.

Jesus said in Luke 11:28, “Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”

God has our best interests at heart. Our job is to trust Him and do what He wants us to do.

2.) Obedience Brings Health 

The Book of Proverbs was written for our edification, for us to have the opportunity to get wisdom and understanding, so we may live the good life God wants us to live (see Proverbs 1:2-6).

Any Christian who wants to grow in their faith would be wise to read the Book of Proverbs regularly, for doing so will produce the healthy, good life God wants you to have. Proverbs lends itself easily to monthly reading, for the Book has 31 chapters. By reading one chapter per day and doubling up on the months that have less than 31 days, the Book can easily be read once per month. That kind of daily Bible reading, especially of Proverbs, will produce the healthy, growing relationship with God everyone needs. I recommend reading it once per month for at least a year. You’ll be amazed how much your faith will grow.

God promises in Proverbs 3:8 that obeying Him “shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.” He also says in Proverbs 3:2 that “length of days, and long life, and peace” shall his commandments “add to thee.” In other words, health, peace, and long life result from obeying God and His Word.

Many people don’t realize they’d be much happier and would feel much better if they would simply read God’s Word on a daily basis and do their best to obey it.

3.) Obedience Brings Life

There’s a popular saying among some Christians that says, “Do what ministers life to you, not death to you.” I’m not sure where that phrase originated from, but there’s much truth in it as long as it’s based on the principles of God’s Word.

God’s Word brings life. Not only does it bring eternal life, but it brings life in the here and now. God made the world and each one of us. He made everything in it. Without His Word, none of us would be here and nothing that exists would be here, either.

Jesus said in John 10:10, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

He wasn’t just speaking of eternal life. He was also speaking about the good life He wants us to have while we’re here on the earth.

Obeying God’s Word brings life to us because it is life. God authored it. It is God-breathed.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

Since God’s Word is based on Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life, and since it’s authored by God, who is the giver of all life, we can know for sure that doing what it says will bring life to us also. Not just eternal life, but also a good life in the here and now. The good life God wants for us.

When we run into a hard passage in the Bible, it can be easy to throw up our hands and say, “I can’t do that. It’s just too hard.” Or, “What in the world is God thinking? He can’t possibly want me to do that.” It’s during those times we need to remember God loves us and wants His best for us. He’ll never tell us to do anything that isn’t for our benefit.

Do you need to forgive anyone? Has someone hurt you beyond what you can bare? Has anger, bitterness, or resentment gotten the best of you? If so, please know it’s possible to forgive. It’s possible to bless your enemies, instead of destroying them or yourself.

God doesn’t want you to drown in the poison of unforgiveness. He wants you to give your enemies to Him and let Him pay them back. He wants you to have a life of peace, blessing, and health, not a life of hatred, turmoil, and death. Bless your enemies and yourself by obeying God and trusting Him to take care of you.

Remember, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).

Bless Your Enemies, Part 1: Give Them to God

Matthew 5:43-48

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 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 use you, and persecute you; 45 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. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Most of us have encountered people throughout the course of our lives who don’t like us. We may try all we can to fit in with them, but it seems no matter what we do, they just don’t accept us.

Some of us have also encountered people who make it their personal mission in life to destroy us and all we care about.

During times like that, it can be hard to think anything good about our enemies. It can be a real test of our faith to be nice to them and wish good things upon them.

But Jesus can help us do the things we can’t.

Jesus said in John 15:5, “without me ye can do nothing.”

I don’t know about you, but this is one area of my life where I struggle at times. Human nature wants to exact pay back on the people who’ve hurt us. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t struggled with this issue at one time or another. Maybe you’ve experienced something similar.

In my daily Bible reading, I recently came upon a passage of Scripture that really helped me realize the importance of giving my enemies to God and letting Him handle the situation.

Romans 12:17-21 says, “Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”

When people hurt us, it’s easy to pay them back, to say and do all sorts of foolish things to avenge ourselves. But God has a better way. He wants us to take a step back from the situation, take a deep breath, and give our enemies to Him. He wants to be our avenger. He doesn’t want us to take care of the situation ourselves, using our own strength. He wants us to rest in Him and in the power of His might.

Many times we want to see justice payed for the wrongs that have been done to us, but God can’t grant it to us because we’re in the way. We’re in His way, trying to do His work for Him. But we need to remember God knows people and situations a lot better than we do. Only He knows how to pay back the people who’ve hurt us. Only He knows how to give us total justice. He can do a lot better job avenging us than we could ever hope to achieve.

 

No Room for the Past

And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. -Luke 9:62

“There’s no room in your future for the past.” It’s a popular phrase most of us have heard before. While it’s easy to think or say, it can be hard to actually believe and act upon.

When Jesus ministered to people during His life on Earth, he encountered many types of people, each with their own life plans, circumstances, and ideas of how things should be. Some of them were eager to follow Him, some were disinterested in Him, and still others wanted to follow Him, but they didn’t want to give up what they had to in order to do so.

In Luke 9:59-60, we find Jesus asking a man to follow Him. But the man replied, “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.” Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.”

Sounds harsh, doesn’t it? The man most likely had family responsibilities and was probably grieving the loss of his father. But Jesus had something greater planned for him. To preach the kingdom of God.

In verses 61-62, we find another person telling Jesus, “Lord, I will follow thee.” But there was one condition. “But let me first go bid them farewell, which are at my house.” Jesus replied, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Jesus could’ve permitted these people to fulfill their responsibilities and then follow Him. But He wanted their devotion to Him to be first in their lives.

Where are you on that scale? Do you eagerly follow after God? Are you not interested in  Him at all? Or are you somewhere in the middle, not sure if you want to follow Him for fear of what will happen or what you will have to give up in order to do so?

Many people are afraid they’ll have to give up something they enjoy or lose their freedom if they accept Christ and follow Him. But it’s an unfounded fear.

God says in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

God promises us in that verse that He has a good future planned for us. We can trust Him with our lives and with all that concerns us. He’s got it. We don’t have to worry, strive, or cling desperately to our own plans and desires. God may have something planned for us that’s way better than anything we ever thought of or considered.

Is Jesus asking you to follow Him? Is He asking you to do something you don’t want to do or are afraid to do?

Many times He will ask you to do things like that, to follow Him even when you can’t see the way ahead or the end result.

He may even also ask you to leave behind something or someone He doesn’t want in your life anymore.

I recall a time when He asked me to do that in my own life. It was very difficult for me to do, and I agonized over doing it for months. Finally, I got to the point where I could no longer deny or ignore what He wanted me to do. I had to do the thing He was asking of me.

When I finally obeyed Him, I felt peace like I’d never experienced before. He blessed me beyond measure for doing what He wanted me to do. There was no more heaviness, confusion, or torment in my life, like there’d been for years before I obeyed Him. I have clarity of thinking and a new lease on life. I feel good about myself and my life again.

My friend, God has your best interests at heart. He has a wonderful future planned for you. It doesn’t matter what happened in the past. It doesn’t matter who or what you have to give up in order to step into your new life with Jesus and experience His best for you.

It was the hardest thing I ever had to do to obey God. But I had to let go of what was behind in order to embrace the new life He has for me in Christ.

Don’t hold back from following God. Don’t hesitate to obey His Voice. If you do, you’ll miss His best for you. There truly is no room in your future for the past. Shake it off and move forward. Move toward God. Move into the new life of blessing, peace, and prosperity He has for you. Don’t let another day go by. Do it today.

 

 

 

God Loves You

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. -John 3:16

Do you know God loves you? I mean, do you really know it? We often hear the term used by well-meaning ministry leaders and other Christians. Sometimes we even hear it used by non-believers. It’s become so popular it’s almost become a cliché. It’s become so commonplace it’s easy to forget how much God truly cares about us.

In the crazy, mixed-up world we live in, it’s all too easy to forget God. As we go about our daily routine, the truth of His Word often gets drowned in the sea of other voices and ideas competing for our attention, most of which contradict the Bible. As well-meaning as many of us Christians are, we oftentimes don’t read or study the Bible as we should. Our prayer life becomes weak, and sometimes, non-existent.

Our failures, sins, and imperfections are always before us. The devil and the world team up to keep us focused on all we’ve done wrong, on how far we have to go, and on what’s happened in our past. If we listen to that garbage long enough, we can come to believe we’re worthless and that God doesn’t love us.

I know this because I’ve been there.

I used to believe God didn’t love me. I used to believe I had to be perfect in order to earn His acceptance and love. After enduring many years of abuse, I came to believe God had the same viewpoint of me my abusers had. Every time I made a mistake, I was always rejected and treated badly. Consequently, I walked around for many years with a miserable, wilderness mentality, always fearing God’s wrath and rejection. In the process, I even came to believe I had failed at things in my relationship with Him I’d never failed at. I frantically spun around on the hamster wheel I called my life, desperately trying to earn His favor by doing good works. By doing everything perfectly. But since none of us is perfect, I always failed.

I simply had no concept of God’s love. I didn’t realize His love is unconditional, not based on the opinion or behavior of others. Not based on anything I’ve done or not done. Not dependent upon perfection.

The devil will tell you you’re no good, that God has forgotten you, that it’s too late, that God couldn’t possibly love or forgive you. He’ll tell you everything wrong in your life or everything bad that’s ever happened to you is somehow your fault or God’s. He’ll lead you straight into the pit of hell believing his lies if you let him.

Today, why not take a stand and tell him no more? Why not replace his lies with the truth of God’s Word? God’s Word stands forever. It stands no matter how you feel, no matter what you’ve done wrong, no matter what other people think of you or have done to you  in the past, no matter what happens in your life today or what will happen in the future. No matter what happens, God’s Word still stands.

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever (Isaiah 40:8).

So do you know God loves you? Do you really know it? If you’ll base your life on Him and the truth of His Word, you’ll never doubt again.