Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you, love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [Prov 25:21, 22] |
Subject: Denounce militant Islam? |
Bible Note: It may seem preferable to have a command for every decision we face as Christians, but principles guided by accurate knowledge of God's will and purpose are clearly superior. "For all the things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction, that through our endurance and through the comfort from the Scriptures we might have hope." (Rom 15:4) The history of God's dealings with Israel and the example of Jesus and the early Christians speak volumes to the 21st century Christian. Of course, our own imperfection and Satan's deception, including false religion, may attempt to veil our vision. John 18:36-38 states: "Jesus answered: “My kingdom is no part of this world. If my kingdom were part of this world, my attendants would have fought that I should not be delivered up to the Jews. But, as it is, my kingdom is not from this source.” Therefore Pilate said to him: “Well, then, are you a king?” Jesus answered: “You yourself are saying that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone that is on the side of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him: “What is truth?” I'm sure not going to "fight" to elect any human rulers if the disciples never fought to elect Jesus. Satan offered all the kingdoms of the world to Jesus. Do you think he still has such control? Christians cannot be ignorant of how the Deceiver causes people to constitute themselves enemies of God. We must be careful that our affiliation with one of Satan's kingdoms doesn't approach worship by our excessive allegiance. The political process begins with voting, which doesn't seem excessive, but it will ultimately sidetrack our seeking first the Kingdom and His righteousness. 1 Cor 5:12,13 states: "For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Do you not judge those inside, while God judges those outside?" Let God judge the sins of unbelievers. We need to only concern ourselves with our own conduct and others that make up the Christian congregation. I just heard a minister say today on the radio that "abortion will only end when God intervenes." Do you agree? When will he intervene? I say at Armageddon, when the time for people to seek God and exercise their freewill to obey God comes to an end. God has allowed humans to practice lawlessness, not to see if we can stop it, but to prove that individuals will choose to serve him despite overwhelming pressures. Israel never elected their kings, although one of David's sons (Absalom) tried a little politicing to usurp his father. (2 Sam 15:5,6) Romans 13:1 says "there is no authority except by God." I don't believe this means He specificallly appoints rulers, but rather, He allows them to rule. However, I do believe that if God needs a change in order to accomplish his will, neither my vote, non-vote nor anyone else's will be able to stop Him. My vote would have cancelled your's anyway, so don't worry about my not voting. As history attests, you'll have enough frustration dealing with all the broken election promises. |