“But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matthew 5:39, ESV)“And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.” (Matthew 5:40, ESV)“And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” (Matthew 5:41, ESV)“Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” (Matthew 5:42, ESV)“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”.. (Matthew 5:44, ESV)
“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5:46-48, ESV
Jesus has called us to stand out from the world. This includes the way we react.
Before the Holy Spirit taught us new ways from our prior, we thought certain reactions were acceptable.
Yet as you see, we are to be the bigger person. Though hard, we are to reflect the same love that God provides. This reflection shows the world whom we belong. For He explains that when we go against the normal and decide to use our actions supernaturally, we then even sharpen our own iron. Like Father, like son. Like Father, like daughter.
This world will never see what God intends for it to if we as Christians sit on the back burner, be hypocrites, and not apply what we are told in the Word to everyone we encounter.
We won’t become better versions of ourselves either if we continue to give ourselves excuses as well.
Our neighbors, our enemies, may not have the push they need for a heart change, if we aren’t moving in the perfectiveness of our faith.
Radical love teaches us to get out of our natural habits. To love beyond our natural capabilities. They are unnatural responses to unjust circumstances. Every heartache, set back, and discouragement, is an opportunity. Let us be like our Father, and use what the enemy means for harm, for good.
“And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” (Genesis 2:8-9, KJV)
Have you ever took the time to think about deception?
Maybe most of us have but we never think that we ourselves could be the ones who fall into the trap(s).
We live in a world where a lot of information is shown to us in such a speedily, vast, and in an ever-increasing obstacle.
Real source or Fake source can be of a common issue.
It can form a huge amount of confusion and restlessness.
Know that this is not of God.
“Ah! How foolish we are! How we repeat the folly of our first parent every day when we seek to hide sin from conscious, and then think it is hidden from God.” – Charles Spurgeon
The reason I am here writing to you today is because deception has run rapid and not enough people are noticing.
We have grown comfortable to the evil around us and grown cold to our Living God.
As the Body of Christ, are we living out our lives for the One who died for us?
Are we becoming conformed to this world that is not our home?
Please hear me out.
“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.” (Genesis 3:1, KJV)
We do not fight against flesh and blood.
If you read the verse above from Genesis 3:1 carefully, you will learn something about our biggest foe. He is the most subtil compared to any other beast. This means he is cunning, crafty, and deceitful. Just as he had tricked our ancestors in believing the forbidden fruit was desirable and innocent, he too is seen as such.
Just as that evil serpent did in the days of old, he continues to work against our good. He continues to work in ways people today are completely oblivious to. Why? Well because of that very thing, we are too blind to notice or to care.
We fight against one another instead of taking the time to seek the real cause.
We do the work of the enemy for him.
“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” (Proverbs 15:3, ESV)
Thus, because we have moved from the garden life style in the beginning, to the more modern approaches to living in the present, we have lost touch with the fact that maybe these things, these spiritual occurrences, could very well happen in todays world.
“But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3, ESV); You think to yourself, oh that will never happen to me! Do you remember the same thing happened to Peter? Peter denied Jesus 3 times! (See Luke 22:54-62). If you are not continually walking in the Spirit, if you are not continually abiding in the Lord, and sticking close to Him during these times, there could be a chance that it could happen to you too. Maybe not the same exact way it happened to Peter, but nonetheless we should be looking at our temporary world through our spiritual lenses.
I pray that this will give you a new spark. One that will maybe question your own doings and push you to seek the Lord for all things. The life of the Christian is never boring. Or at least it shouldn’t be. There is always something we could be working on in ourselves, or praying for even in others. If you haven’t in a while, take a look at the environment around you. We cannot avoid the evil around us even if we wanted to. God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). This post is not to ignite fear, but to hopefully empower you to realize the power within you to fight the good fight around us. (Please see Ephesians 1:13; John 16:13; & Romans 8:14)
“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
Love Never Fails 