“Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one another By profaning the covenant of the fathers?” Malachi 2:10 “They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.” John 16:2-3 When you consider these words, you may think of atrocities that have taken place in history against the Jews, such as the holocaust. You may think of the Inquisition and persecution of so many believers throughout history. You may think of the terrorism of our current time. So many have killed in the name of God. There is not one time that is worse than another because for any person to be killed in the name of God when it is a sin to take a life is a shame. The bible tells us of many wars that God has fought on the behalf of His people. There were reasons for these wars. God chose Abraham and made promises about his descendants. These promises were kept in order that God may separate to Himself a people that He would teach His ways. When they disobeyed, they were punished through wars and dispersion. The relationship that He had with the Israelites has always been a testimony to His love, mercy and compassion. He fulfilled that love through the sacrifice of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. There will come a time that God will fight for His people. There will come a time when judgment will come upon us all. I know that when these times come, none of us will question that it is coming from God and His Son. With the Cross we have forgiveness and understanding of the law. With the Cross we have unity with each other through Jesus Christ. With the Cross there is no longer a need to fight one another especially in the name of God. Yet, the bible tells of wars and of men killing men, of families torn apart and nations ravaged. This is not how we should be living. This is a tragedy for our times that we must face and try to overcome. We need to pray more for peace. We need to be more peaceful in our lives. We need to be examples in this world of hate and bitterness, of resentment and power plays. We need to be of one mind in Christ Jesus. We need to be willing to change our lives and to show God that we want to be His people, we want to be His nation and we want to do His will. We are all of His creation. We are all united from our formation and no matter what we may have come to believe, there is hope for us all in trusting and believing in the word of God. We can have the hope of mercy and compassion. The bible is filled with stories of God moving on the behalf of His people. Remember, He is the only one that can claim us all. He would have us be obedient children, obeying the words of His Son and doing what we can to further the kingdom of heaven. Let any hate, anger, malice, bitterness, resentments, grudges and nastiness flee from your hearts. Become loving and caring people, doing all of this in the name of the Lord. For God is good all of the time and cares for you. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice and wants your lives to reflect your salvation. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35 Love That Cross, Pastor John Collins
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 13:23:26 +0000
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