Hate to Love
 
Mat 5:43 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 despitefully use you and persecute you, This is a hard scripture to read, isn’t it? It is so natural to not like certain people; God knows I’m as guilty as the next person. So I am a bit reserved to write this, because I couldn’t pick up any stones to through at anybody. As much as I try to put Gods love in my life, still there is a bit of hatred that tries to rear its ugly head. I look at this scripture and ask, why? Why did Jesus have to say this? In verse 45 he answers us. “so that you may become sons of your Father in Heaven.” Jesus then goes on to explain this to us a little more thoroughly. Mat 5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax-collectors do so? Jesus uses tax-collectors as a reference; because that is who was hated back then, so put whom ever you hate or dislike in that place and try to read it again. It is even harder to hear; I hate being put at the same level as my enemies. In Luke 6:27-38 it says the same thing, “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who despitefully use you. And to him, who strikes you on the one cheek, also offer the other. And to him, who takes away your garment, do not forbid your tunic also. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from him, who takes away your goods, do not ask them again. And as you desire that men should do to you, you do also to them likewise. For if you love those who love you, what thanks do you have? For sinners also love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks do you have? For sinners also do the same. And if you lend to those of whom you hope to receive, what thanks do you have? For sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return. And your reward shall be great, and you shall be the sons of the Highest. For He is kind to the unthankful and to the evil. Therefore be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven. Give, and it shall be given to you, good measure pressed down and shaken together and running over, they shall give into your bosom. For with the same measure that you measure, it shall be measured to you again”. When Jesus spoke these things it turned many away, heck I would probably be one of them; remember the Holy Spirit wasn’t here yet to give you help with this kind of teaching. I have troubles with it now and I have the Holy Spirit in me, so picture yourself back then and Jesus is telling you to love your enemies whom at that time was the Romans. The Jews despised the Romans because they oppressed Gods people. They oppressed more than any of us can imagine in our lives now on a bad day. This kind of love takes a conscious effort; you can’t just automatically have it when you get saved. God knows this about us, he knows where we are at in our walks and will feed his word to us at our levels; just like we know what level a baby, child, teenager and adult can handle. What happens is when you are a baby, everything is done for you; it just happens and you don’t care why. As a child we want to learn with the abilities we have and that is by example of others. At the level of a teenager, we experiment and search our boundaries and learn from our mistakes, and as adults we have to choose to learn and seek it with perseverance in a mature way. No matter how old we are when we get saved, we start as babies and move up and God knows this and he will speak to us, we just have to stop and listen. Hate is a harsh word and a lot of times we don’t want to admit we have those feelings. Just as an addict has to admit he is an addict; that is our first step to recovery from the addiction. How do we know if we have hate in our hearts? Here is a little exercise! Think of all the people you dislike or hate, and think of what they did or continue to do, and then ask yourself, “If they didn’t do what they, did would I still dislike them”? A lot of people will say they don’t hate the sinner, just the sin. Is that true? . Proverbs 10:18. He who hides hatred with lying lips, and he who speaks a slander, is a fool. Think of the person that did you the most hurt, and honestly say to yourself, “if they got saved could I love this person”? If you can’t; well then you have hate in your heart. I am as guilty as the rest of you. What does God say about that; look at Proverbs 4:20 If anyone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar. For if he does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? ouch! How do we get to the level of love God wants us to be? Only by Gods word and the Holy Spirit! In Titus chapter 2 and 3 Gods word tells us how to live in the Church and in society. Before we got saved all what I am writing was just foolishness; no way to comprehend this kind of teaching. Now that I am saved, I hear these words and want to do them so I can be like my Savior and have that love for others including my enemies, and get hatred out of my life. To get the hatred out you, you have to die to your flesh and corrupt nature, because hatred is a spirit of the flesh; it says so through out the Bible. So many things will happen when trying to do the right thing and will throw you off course; your Spirit will fight against your corrupt nature all the time; you will come up with justification on you actions and you will blame others; I know I’m in this fight all the time, Paul even recognized that in Gal 5:7-25 You were doing so well. Who stopped you from being influenced by the truth? The arguments of the person who is influencing you do not come from the one who is calling you. A little yeast spreads through the whole batch of dough. The Lord gives me confidence that you will not disagree with this. However, the one who is confusing you will suffer God's judgment regardless of who he is. When I seem to be doing well in my walk and something happens unexpectedly to hinder my walk, I look for the reason and who is to fault, when really the only person to blame is my self. When you are in the Word and focusing on God, you don’t notice the problems as much; they’re just things in your proverbial site. Paul goes on to say, Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching that circumcision is necessary, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the cross wouldn't be offensive anymore. I wish those troublemakers would castrate themselves. You were indeed called to be free, brothers and sisters. Don't turn this freedom into an excuse for your corrupt nature to express itself. Rather, serve each other through love. All of Moses' Teachings are summarized in a single statement, "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." But if you criticize and attack each other, be careful that you don't destroy each other. Let me explain further. Live your life as your spiritual nature directs you. Then you will never follow through on what your corrupt nature wants. What your corrupt nature wants is contrary to what your spiritual nature wants, and what your spiritual nature wants is contrary to what your corrupt nature wants. They are opposed to each other. As a result, you don't always do what you intend to do. If your spiritual nature is your guide, you are not subject to Moses' laws. Now, the effects of the corrupt nature are obvious: illicit sex, perversion, promiscuity, idolatry, drug use, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, angry outbursts, selfish ambition, conflict, factions, envy, drunkenness, wild partying, and similar things. I've told you in the past and I'm telling you again that people who do these kinds of things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the spiritual nature produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There are no laws against things like that. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their corrupt nature along with its passions and desires. If we live by our spiritual nature, then our lives need to conform to our spiritual nature. Wow that is pretty powerful stuff right there! We are always battling in our minds and hearts to what is right and wrong, but if we just look at the Bible, it tells it pretty clear what kind of people we should be reflecting and what kind of actions we should be showing. It is so hard to be that witness God wants us to be in these modern times; at lease that’s what we say, but is it? At lease we are not being killed for our faith; at lease not in this country. I would like to leave this on a good note. Of course we are sinners and we will not be perfect, but God gave the ultimate sacrifice; His Son Jesus Christ. He has paid the price for us to inherit the kingdom of God. When we feel so insignificant because of our fleshly desires and thoughts; we have the hope and peace that our God in Heaven will forgive us when we ask for it, because of the sacrifice of His Son. He will also give us the knowledge and strength when we truly ask to get through the battles we are sure to face.

Rod Reasner

The most common thought about healings, is that the healing is the miracle. In a sense, it’s not. What I mean is that I’m sure for the person being healed, it’s a miracle, but the real miracle is what happens afterwards. In the book of Acts 9:32-35 Peter found a certain man named Aeneas. He had been sick for 8 years with palsy. Peter with all confidence and power said to him, “Jesus Christ made you whole: arise, and make your bed.” Did he hesitate? No, he immediately got up. That was a miracle, but in verse 35 it says, “all that dwelt in Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord.” To me, this is the most awesome miracle. Although I don’t know the total amount of people, all will now have eternal life. In the same chapter, right after the healing of Aeneas in verse 36-42, there was a certain disciple named Tabitha: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds. I know there are some who believe if you are sick you must not have enough faith; that’s not true! The scripture says that this was a well-liked woman who had done a lot for the Lord or she wouldn’t have been labeled a disciple. Did she have a lack of faith? Did God make her sick? I don’t think so! I believe He allowed it so we could see the results that happen after she was raised from the dead. The results? In verse 42 it says many were saved. I could go on and on with the results of conversions that took place after one has been healed. I personally believe this is the whole reason for the healings. I’m sure the person who has been sick for along time will be so grateful, and think it is awesome to be healed; however, their own conversion, as well as people who witness it, is the great miracle. You could say that God is going to heal you no matter what, if it’s His will, but if you’re laying in your death bed and no one knows it, how will the Lord get the glory when you’re healed. There has to be an acknowledgement of the sickness in order to see the healing. I’m sure that is why there is a lot of doubt in the modern healing ministries. As for me, what I think about these glamorous healing ministries is that when I see someone go up to be healed, I have no idea if they are really sick. Therefore, I don’t think God gets the glory, I think the man does. I know for a fact there are a lot of good healing ministries out there! I have seen them. We should all walk like Paul and Peter, with power and authority. Paul had many trials and injuries. Even though Paul was going through such trials and wrote about them, he walked upright with power and authority. Peter, being a man with his foot in his mouth a lot of times, had this same power and used it as well. When he spoke to Aeneas, he didn’t say, “Oh Lord, if it’s Your will, let this man be healed” He said, with authority, “The Lord made you well, pick up your bed and walk!” We all have this same power in the Lord! In order to use it, it takes faith. Come on people! Let’s stop walking around like wounded sheep and be obedient to the Lord. Let’s have faith and use the power He has given us. You will never know unless you try. You may never see a miracle, but maybe the miracle is you trusting in the Lord that He will do whatever it is you ask. Think of it, you use it, someone is healed, people witness it, and they get saved and now they have everlasting life. If you show you will be faithful with the little things, the Lord will give you the big things, including seeing miracles.

In Christ, Rod Reasner