September 11, 2010

• Do not repay evil for evil

  I have been thinking all week about how this Pastor Jones in Florida is not acting how God commanded Christians to act. Today's devotional, while written well before Pastor Jones stepped forward, addresses just this topic. Of course, the author of the lesson knew today would bring many emotions forward, being the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

  Romans 12:14-21 says:

  ¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
  ¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. ¹⁹ Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”^[a] says the Lord. ²⁰ Therefore

        “ If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
        If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
        For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”^[b]

   ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

  As I was reading this myself, the first thoughts that came to my mind were about this hick pastor's threats to burn the Quran today, but then the spirit led this back to my own heart. My own soul struggles on a more personal level with someone whose "evil" deeds, while shielded as being saintly to some, breaks my heart. I've tried forgiving this person, even though they have not asked for forgiveness, and then they do something else to drive that knife back into my heart, or at least open the old wounds. It's much easier to forgive someone who repents. It's much more difficult when they don't even recognize or acknowledge their sins.

  Please pray for me as I continue to struggle with this. Please pray for the other people involved. I do not have to go into detail for you to pray about this. You can just pray to God that He knows the situation and His will be done. Please pray that this Pastor Jones and his congregation, and others like them, are moved by the Spirit to change their ways and show love instead of hatred. Please pray for the families of the victims of 9-11 as they very publicly are reminded every year of the tragedy that took their loved ones.

  Thank God that Jesus Christ died for my sins, and that He does not struggle with forgiving me whenever I fall into sin again.

  • 7:13 am
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