Love your neighbors

 Hello everyone.  God is good all the time, all the time God is good. TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!!!   Please pray for the covid-19 victims.  We have several in our family, in our church family, and all across America and the world.  Just take a moment to ask God's blessings on them and healing.

  Okay, so Jesus was saying "woe" to those whose "gods" are the material things of the world.  Well, do we look down upon them?  Ostracize them?  Ban them from our social groups?   Let us read on of what Jesus says in verses 27-31.

  27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

   What??? How can I love that no-good scroungy person?  Jesus was not talking about having affection for the enemies; he was talking about an act of the will.  Loving our enemies means acting in their best interests.  We can pray for them, and we can offer or think of ways to help them.  

  28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.

  Okay, these verses are really hard to digest as we are human and so often retaliation is what we desire.  Following Jesus is not the high easy road so many "false" preachers proclaim.  To follow Jesus means sacrifice and following Jesus' lead.

  Remember, God loves us all, the haters, the cursers, the liars, cheaters, adulterers, murderers, and on and on.  God loves us all.  So often the problem is me (you) and my (your) heart.  We don't have to love as in affection that we have for family, but love from the Greek was several ways.  One - poimeō kalos -- do good to those who hate you; proseuchomai -- to pray for, to intercede for; eulogeō -- to speak well of; and agapaō -- love your enemies.

   Now, you do not see agape love which is really a different category of love that the world hadn't seen in action until Jesus came along and infected his followers with it.    Followers like you and me!!

    We definitely need to have the heart of Jesus to deal with all this. Look at verse 31:  Do to others as you would have them do to you.

 This is where the love of Jesus in our heart, led by the Holy Spirit, will show our true character.  Are you a mouthpiece for Jesus yet walk in the world; OR, are you a true follower of Jesus, not a "false" prophet or teacher? Do you "love your enemies"?  The choice is ours so what do we do?  Thank you for reading. Love you all.

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny