“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked “(Luke 6:35).

Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God. He quotes from Deuteronomy 6:5 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Jesus then goes on to quote from the royal law found in Leviticus 19:18 “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.” When Luke writes of this teaching by Jesus, he includes the Parable of the Good Samaritan as an example of how we should treat our neighbor, which seems to indicate anyone in proximity to us without regard for their religion, ethnicity, social status, etc. In other teachings and commandments, we are told to honor our parents and to care for the poor, orphans, widows, and aliens. That pretty much covers everyone except our enemies.

There are two typical reactions to enemies:

1. Confront, or 2. Avoid.

I fall into the latter category. Jesus; however, gives us a different command. He doesn’t tell us to confront or to avoid. And he doesn’t just tell us to be nice to our enemies, although that is implied. Rather, he tells us to love them, to do good to them, to lend without expecting repayment. This is just not humanly possible. This requires a heart change. This is radical!

But this also describes the Father’s love for us. This passage says that Jesus is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Ungrateful and wicked pretty much describes you and me, at least before our salvation. Without the saving grace of Jesus, we are enemies of God. “Whoever is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30). “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4). What an amazing act of grace for God to seek us when we ignore or reject Him.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

I remember the story of Joseph, a beloved son of Jacob. Because of Jacob’s favoritism, Joseph was hated by his brothers. They were enemies. When they saw Joseph coming, they first thought to kill him, then to abandon him in a pit, but then decided to sell him into slavery where he went to Egypt. Despite the mistreatment, when the tables turned and Joseph had an opportunity to exact his revenge, he instead offered them protection and protection. The brothers were understandably wary because they knew their own wicked hearts. “However, Joseph told them, ‘You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’ And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them” Genesis 50:20-21).

Joseph was reflecting God’s love, and his reward will surely be great. We can show the same kind of love for our enemies through the power of the Holy Spirit.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans5:8).

In Christ,

Judy

P.S.: If you would like to talk more about any of these devotions or matters that concern you, please stop by my office, or call or text me at 615-804-3453 to arrange a time, and I will be happy to speak with you.

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” (Matthew 4:19).

For believers, once we have accepted Christ we have an intense desire to be used by God. This is a desire that is placed in the heart of all believers by the Holy Spirit. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10). Even so, we often fear that we do not have what it takes.

The backstory to Matthew 4:19 is that Jesus has just begun his active ministry, having been baptized by John the Baptist and having completed his forty days in the wilderness. He had begun preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17). When he encountered Andrew and Peter, who were fishing, he called to them to follow him. Andrew, at least, was already a disciple of John the Baptist, we learn from John 1:37. When John the Baptist told him who Jesus was (“Look, the Lamb of God!”), Andrew was ready to follow Jesus.

Andrew become one of Jesus’ twelve disciples. He was not prominently mentioned during the Gospels. His claim to fame was extending the call to Peter, his brother. Based on Peter’s extensive accomplishments, that would have been useful enough. However, we do know from other writings that Andrew was a faithful evangelist after Jesus’ resurrection and was crucified for his ministry.

How can we be useful like Andrew and Peter and the other disciples? What did Andrew and Peter do when they were called? The very next verse tells us: “At once they left their nets and followed him” (Matthew 4:20). It is not that they did not have anything else to do. They were gainfully employed with families to support. From an extensive reading of the Scriptures, it seems that the key requirement is responding to the call. That is all. There are really no excuses:

1. Age is not an excuse (neither youth nor old age).
   1. Elizabeth (Luke 1:36)
   1. Joshua (Joshua 13:1)
   1. David (1 Samuel 16:1-13), (1 Samuel 17:42)
   1. Timothy (1 Timothy 4:12)
2. Lack of ability is not an excuse.
   1. Moses (Exodus 4:10)
   1. Paul (1 Corinthians 2:1)
3. Your past mistakes are not an excuse.
   1. Rahab (Joshua 2:1)
   1. David (2 Samuel 11)
   1. Saul/Paul (Acts 8:3)
4. Lack of education or social status is not an excuse.
   1. Peter, John, Andrew, James, et al (Acts 4:13)

I am very blessed to participate in a Bible study with our women who are experiencing homelessness. Several of the women expressed to me last week their desire to be used by God, even while living in a shelter. We had a good discussion. We talked about how often all we must do is look right around us to find ways we can share our faith, help where needed, offer an encouraging word, or just set an example of love and compassion.

It is a privilege to be used by God in the furtherance of the gospel. It is one not to take for granted. Like Andrew and Peter, when Jesus calls, let us immediately follow Him.

“How beautiful on the mountains
    are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
    who bring good tidings,
    who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
 “Your God reigns!”

(Isaiah 52:7).

In Christ,

Judy

“But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” (2 Thessalonians 3:3).

Some of us may be challenged to trust this promise; some of us may not feel very protected. In fact, some of us have been exposed to much evil. The culture we live in, crime, hatred, disease, and death; the experiences of the people we serve, the heartbreak we feel from broken and messed up lives. Many in the world live in war-torn, gang-ridden areas, in devastating poverty, in constant fear for their lives. It’s obvious that we live in a fallen world. So how are we to understand this promise, and come to trust in it?

To understand this promise, we must have an accurate perspective. We must see the “big picture.” In Luke 4:6, when Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness, Satan tempted Jesus by saying “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me.” By whom? God. John Piper explains, “In his sovereignty, God considered it wise, as part of his curse on the world after the fall of Adam and Eve, to give Satan a huge power in this world…. Nevertheless, Satan’s sway in this world is terrible and vast…. All of his acts of opposition to God and Gods people are part of God’s plan as he gives Satan permission to exercise tremendous power in this world.” “The whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19).

1. The good news is that it is not as bad as it could be. Satan’s real enemy is God, and Satan would do anything and everything to hurt the people God loves. However, Satan only has power by permission and authority from God, and in God’s mercy, Satan’s ultimate power is restrained. So, in an accurate perspective, it could be worse. God has already been protecting us from the evil one to a degree.
2. More good news is that Paul reminds us that even when we are tempted, God will provide.  God may allow Satan to go so far with his evil plans, but He promises that he will protect us from the evil one and bring us safely home to eternal life with him. For example, as Jesus told Simon Peter: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren’” (Luke 22:31-32). ^“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
3. And the really good news is that Jesus has already struck the death blow to Satan. As Jesus faces Satan in His final hours, Jesus tells him, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out!” (John 12:31). John Piper says, “Now in every battle with the devil, we can have total confidence of final victory. This is why Romans 8:38-39 says what it says: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). 

In Christ,

Judy

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) have come that they may have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

When God created the heavens and the earth, it was very good. God said so, Himself. Then He planted a Garden in which Adam and Eve had the best of everything. However, when Satan dropped by, he convinced them that they were lacking; that God had withheld something from them. Moreover, Satan convinced Eve (who then convinced Adam) that claiming that which they thought God had withheld would benefit them. So, they exchanged God’s truth for the lie of the enemy; and as a result, Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden to be on their own on a now-corrupted Earth. We call this The Fall, and it is not the season of the year. Instead, it is a death sentence. Instead of the Tree of Life, they now faced death. “…for dust you are and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:19). Now, Adam and Eve’s life was cursed. The very ground they walked on was cursed. God said, “Cursed is the ground because of you, through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.” (Genesis 3:17).

Yes, in the first Adam we must face the consequences of our sinful nature, but in Christ we have the promise of abundant life in Heaven and the New Earth once we have fulfilled our lives here on earth and Jesus fulfills his Second Coming. This abundant life will be even better than the Garden of Eden in which Adam and Eve lived.

Peter wrote, “In keeping with his promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13). He was probably reflecting on Isaiah’svision from God of our Future Heaven: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the Lord. (Isaiah 65:17-19, 21, 25).

Randy Alcorn, in his book Heaven, tells us that “There are things we love about our planet. The things we love are not merely the best this life has to offer—they are previews of the greater life to come.” Can you even imagine a world where “…nothing that is impure will enter the city, nor anyone who does shameful things or tells lies. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of the living will enter the city” (Revelation 21:27). In other words, Satan will not be dropping by as he did in the Garden of Eden because he will be banished to the lake of fire and eternal torment.

God has put this longing for a “better country” in our hearts. And he is gracious to provide The Way, through his Son Jesus, for us to enter that better country, where we can “have life and have it to the full.” This is our promise to claim.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” (1 Peter 1:3).

In Christ,

Judy