“Our Daily Bread”   

http://odb.org/2012/09/05/the-hidden-door/

The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie                                  

http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.ht

Matthew 5:43-44… “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,”  (NKJV)

The opening scripture was spoken by Jesus, at the beginning of His public ministry… Jesus was trying to lay the ground rules, so to speak…for a whole new way of living…  I would have to believe that Jesus was speaking to mostly un-believers who had not yet heard any of His teaching…  I’m not sure what scripture Jesus was referring to when He stated… “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ”…  It is possible that the following scripture written way back in Exodus, was what Jesus was referring to, in…Exodus 21:24… eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,  (NKJV)

I have to tell you that loving even your enemies, was impossible for me; when I was living a Christian life without being filled with the Holy Spirit… It was only by giving back FULL  control of my life to the Lord…that all the blessings God wants to give His obedient children came back into my life…  I often state that God is only going to fully bless the Spirit filled Christian…  If we are living in sin, this doesn’t mean that God’s blessings are going to stop all together… We see this with what Jesus was teaching in the scripture that follows the opening scripture…

Matthew 5:45… that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  (NKJV) 

Some theologians call this “common grace”, which God gives to all mankind…  But if someone absolutely hates their enemies; and tries to retaliate by paying evil for evil…they can in no way be filled with the Holy Spirit… If they are Christians…they are acting just like those still living in the world, with Satan as their father…John 8:44…

What will it take for the Christian to be able to love their enemy ??  I believe it can not be done under our own strength… It is only by being totally controlled by the Holy Spirit, that His strength would be able to overcome many of the temptations that we as mere mortals would find impossible to turn away from…

Start walking with the Lord…if you are a Christian and you aren’t doing so…  Turn from any of the sins that you know you shouldn’t be participating in… Confess all of yours sins and turn back to the Lord, as I so often suggest… 1 John 1:9…   God promises to forgive you, bringing you back into sweet fellowship again with Himself…

If you are a Christian in God’s eyes, and sincere in your prayers…God will again deem you righteous in His sight…  For me, the greatest blessing is the supernatural peace and the joy in my heart that only being filled with the Holy Spirit will bring… Philippians 4:6-7…  But being able to love even your enemies…is really a pretty good fringe benefit !!

Heavenly Father, I pray everyone will see the benefits that living for You will bring into their lives… I pray Lord, that You would help all of us to do a self analysis of our lives; in order to figure out how best to conform to Your will and Your ways… I pray for this convicting urge from You for all of us…in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…

written by bruce r mills