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Just how far have we come?


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#1 Charles Miles

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Posted 11 July 2016 - 12:08 PM

Our Lord only gave us one commandment, only one. "Love one another even as I have loved you". At the time of Christ`s earthly ministry there was a lot of "unlove" in the world, mostly pertaining to regional religious, and ethnic differences. But today I see a volume of hate that is beyond anything the Jews or Romans could envision. People today commit suicide just to kill others that they don`t even know, or really know anything about. Even within our Christian religion we have people hating other Christians just because their political views are not the same or their theological views are not identical Just look at the news over the past several weeks and see if you don`t see hate spewing out of all the various groups that scream, shout, and "act out" in the streets. How do we solve the almost insurmountable problem of hate in our world today? I do not have the solution to all the many smaller problems, but Jesus gave us the one commandment that would solve the overriding problem and all the smaller stuff would simply no longer be at issue. "Love one another even as I have loved you. Love one another." He even said that to love one another would be a sign to others that you are a follower of his.

I listened to a man( professed Christian) asking why, if God is in control of everything, why He doesn`t stop all the killing and hate in this world. Well, He does have control and He will stop all this mess...as soon as enough of His children get on their knees and ask Him to do so. In reading Daniel`s prayer, we can see how to pray for a nation and a people to be restored. Friends, I am convinced that this is the only way to press for a solution. I don`t care who is elected POTUS.

I will pray for forgiveness and restitution of our nation.

Charlie
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#2 Ginger

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Posted 12 July 2016 - 03:37 AM

Charlie, thank you so much for sharing from your heart.

 

I believe that I fail to pray as I ought and that I fail to love as I ought so confessing my fault and ask for forgiveness and for God to help me to pray and to love as I ought.

 

Wherever there is hatred let me sow love is in the prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi ... if I remember correctly. 

Just so very sad that we don't see love ... so maybe we can pray, love and share here and help one another, pray for one another and share from our hearts in liberty and with grace.

God bless you Charlie and thank you for posting and giving us something to think, pray and share about. 

I had to do a search to find verses when a small part of each came to mind... :-) so grateful to have e-Sword, with Bibles, commentaries, dictionaries and extras.


Matthew 22:37 KJV  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Luke 10:27 KJV  And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

John 13:35 KJV  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

 

God bless.

Love and Prayers,
Ginger
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Question: What does the Bible say about Christians in the last days "falling" from their faith and going back into the world?   http://www.biblefood.com/falling.html
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#3 reader

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Posted 12 July 2016 - 06:08 AM

   I pray our hearts would be like the Good Samaritan who stopped and helped the wounded.  We live in a world of wounded humanity who react often by striking back because the nominal church seems to be a church that  is not a church filled with the love of God.  

   Sin wounds, and the true church should have a heart to help whether it be in prayer or action . . .we need to show the true love of Jesus to those around us who suffer because of sin and living in a fallen world.  God's people have the answer through Jesus and we must take time to stop and help in whatever way the Lord would lead us.  


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#4 ADVRider

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Posted 12 July 2016 - 08:24 PM

It's definitely a tough time we are living in. Perhaps more than any time in recent history, especially in America, has there been such discord. Unfortunately, most of it has been sown intentionally, IMO. Making matters worse is the fact that there is so much information and disinformation going on each day that different groups have their own version of the story, causing and adding to conflict. I mentioned today that there are so many different world views people are holding to these days. There is very little social unity it appears. This, I believe, is no accident. There are people in places of power that want this state of confusion and division. But, I think your point Charlie is not how we got to this place, but that we are here. I agree with your conclusion about love being the answer. But I also am reminded that truth still needs to be part of the equation. The problem as I see it is Christians are no longer welcome to speak on social issues. Often when we do, we are accused of hate, even if it's the truth. Or especially if it's the truth. We are supposed to accept and practice now, a faith where love has been stripped of anything deemed offensive, otherwise it's hate. It's getting really tough to know what you can say in public. But that's the goal for the, fill in the blank, enemies of God. Silence the prophets. Sound familiar? Jesus Himself faced this and said we would too. Truth and hate are not synonymous, as we are being told. Nor is truth antithetical to love. As I say these things, it's just food for thought ramblings. I am not personally a shove it down your throat type; I guess I am responding to the word "hate" which has become code for any view that the collective deems unacceptable. And pointing out that true expressions of God's love can be despised and labeled, hate. Jesus said we'd be hated, even when expressing His message through a loving motive. We are going to be tested for our faith and our love. When we are hated because we are different, we will have to go the extra mile because we know the Truth giver. We cannot expect the lost to love us back, necessarily. Times have changed, tribalism is increasing and only the love of God is going to cut it, as you say. We are not to revel in disputes, but to display God's love. Sometimes though, we are going to be misunderstood, be falsely accused and labeled, a "hater."


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#5 Tony Davison

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Posted 13 July 2016 - 03:29 AM

As Christians we should be praying for our leaders even if we do not believe in their party or their believes' . Have we forgotten who is in control? Instead of fighting for our rights we should be on the streets witnessing the good news of Jesus Christ. What if some of the people got saved who are committing the crimes, do you think these saved people would blow themselves up, or kill innocent people. As Solomon said "there is a time for everything". The time is ripe to get off our butts and tell the world that Jesus Christ is Lord. I am talking to myself as well. 


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#6 Charles Miles

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Posted 13 July 2016 - 07:15 PM

These times we live in are certainly different from any in recent history, or for that matter, any time in history. I am not a "push-over" and I do think laws are to be obeyed or a penalty assessed when they are broken. Have we ever had a time when lawbreakers call enforcement of law hate? All this screaming, yelling, and disobedience is confusing to law abiding people. Now we do know the father of lies, instigator of lawlessness, and the maker of disobedience...yep, he is right in the middle of all this mess. There is plenty of blame to go around on all sides, so I won`t call anyone names or state what some think is right or wrong, but I will say that there IS a right and wrong, there is truth, and there are lies. Is a half-truth the truth? Do the ends justify the means?
I see so little evidence of brotherly love in all these confrontations. I see very little evidence that people are willing to sit down and discuss ways to heal our fractured society. My original question was meant to ask how far we have come in following the commandment Jesus gave us since he gave it 2000 years ago. It does not appear that we have come very far as a society, but the command was given to the followers who were in the room at the last supper, wasn`t it? It was given to the people who were supposed to know Jesus as Lord. That would be us who call ourselves Christians and who profess Him as our Lord. Yes, I know Christians are hated for who they are and many times our words are called hate speech, but that is not a reason to stop telling the truth in love. Even from the cross Jesus spoke love and forgiveness. Wrongly accused and wrongly condemned, his love for you and me took him to the cross and death for our sins. Yes, and it seems that even He was accused of "hate speech" by the leaders of that day.

May God heal hearts where needed and fill them with the love of which His Son spoke,

Charlie
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#7 Tony Davison

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Posted 14 July 2016 - 02:47 AM

This is from Oswald Chambers devotional "My Utmost For HIS Highest". Tony Suffering Afflictions and Going the Second Mile

 

 

I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. —Matthew 5:39

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This verse reveals the humiliation of being a Christian. In the natural realm, if a person does not hit back, it is because he is a coward. But in the spiritual realm, it is the very evidence of the Son of God in him if he does not hit back. When you are insulted, you must not only not resent it, but you must make it an opportunity to exhibit the Son of God in your life. And you cannot imitate the nature of Jesus— it is either in you or it is not. A personal insult becomes an opportunity for a saint to reveal the incredible sweetness of the Lord Jesus.

The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is not, “Do your duty,” but is, in effect, “Do what is not your duty.” It is not your duty to go the second mile, or to turn the other cheek, but Jesus said that if we are His disciples, we will always do these things. We will not say, “Oh well, I just can’t do any more, and I’ve been so misrepresented and misunderstood.” Every time I insist on having my own rights, I hurt the Son of God, while in fact I can prevent Jesus from being hurt if I will take the blow myself. That is the real meaning of filling “up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ…” (Colossians 1:24). A disciple realizes that it is his Lord’s honor that is at stake in his life, not his own honor.

Never look for righteousness in the other person, but never cease to be righteous yourself. We are always looking for justice, yet the essence of the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is— Never look for justice, but never cease to give it.

 
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