Help Us To Love

Reading from Leviticus 18:1-3; 19:9-18 KJV Love and help your neighbor.

Love Your Neighbors

Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord. (Lev 19:18 KJV)

Love your neighbor as yourself. According to Jesus this is the greatest commandment following love the Lord with all your heart. 

"Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." 

                                                                                     (Matt 22:35-40)

Just because we feel slighted does not necessarily mean that our neighbor meant to offend us. Feeling offended does not mean we get to offend our neighbor by causing them undue harm. There are systems of justice both in this world and in the spiritual realms. If the rulers of this world cannot take care of the injustice; God, surely will. That justice may not always be to our liking. But, be assured it will taken care of according to God's will. He knows exactly what needs to be done for the good of all people.

There would be a whole lot less injustice in the world if we could only remember to love the Lord with all of our hearts and with all our souls and with all of our minds. If we did that we would also love our neighbors as ourselves and not take vengeance into our own hands for they too are the children of God, created in his image. His will is that we love one another and not  do harm to those who might make us feel uncomfortable.

Love the Lord and all of His creation that we might live in peace.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Avoid Vengeance

“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord." (Lev 19:18 NIV)

Revenge is a waste of both time and energy. Avoid any thoughts of it. There is not enough time in this world to waste it on someone who is so negative that they would hurt you at any opportunity. Step away if you must. Do not give them room to hurt you. Keep your conscience clear so that you might go about enjoying the life that God has given you. Do not fill your heart or mind with those things that will rob you of your peace. Revenge only creates more drama. If you want to live in peace let the Lord who is Almighty handle your enemies. Vengeance is His. We must focus on living life in Christ.

"'Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.'" Rom 12:17-19

May God give you the wisdom and courage to let go and let God take care of your enemies so that you might live in peace.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Choose Ye This Day

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

Anyone who has listened to me preach on a regular basis has heard this verse from Joshua from my lips on more than one occasion. The false gods of alcohol, money, sex, expensive homes, expensive cars, expensive toys, leisure, celebrities, self, and the list goes on... have taken a predominant place in the American household and that includes a enormous number of Christian households. Ultimately, we worship ourselves as we put our worldly desires before the Kingdom of God. We worship false gods and then wonder why our lives are a mess.

I woke up this morning thinking about how those who worshipped false gods sacrificed their children in hopes of being blessed themselves. In Leviticus (20:2-3) the Lord instructs Moses to: “Say to the Israelites: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing in Israel who sacrifices any of his children to Molek is to be put to death. The members of the community are to stone him."

Those who sacrificed their children to Molek did so that they, themselves, would benefit. They put their own desires before their children's lives. As much as what I am going to say may upset you, I am going to say it anyway. Abortion (all the way through the third trimester) is often committed for the same reasons as these pagan sacrifices were. It is all too often done in order that the mother and in some cases both parents may live a more prosperous life without the burden of raising a child. In this country a mother has been given rights. But, is it right to sacrifice a child on the altar of a false god, in the hope that your life will be more blessed without the child?

The only one who can truly bless anyone is the Lord our God who was willing to sacrifice His own Son, that our children and we, ourselves, will not die; but, have eternal life. The sacrifice of our own children will get us nowhere. The only sacrifice that benefits us is the sacrifice of the perfect lamb of God who gave himself for us.

Choose ye this day...

God's Peace - Pr. J