Love Your Enemies

Loving your enemies: Introduction

http://www.dougbrittonbooks.com/onlinebiblestudies-irritationandangermanagement/loveyourenemy-lovingallyourenemies.php

This Bible study on loving your enemies and self-test is part of a series of free online studies on anger. They are adapted from Victory Over Grumpiness, Irritation and Anger. Feel free to print them out, and use them to evaluate yourself.

Reasons to love your enemies

God commands us to love.

Here are some key Scriptures (Bible verses) on loving your enemies:

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another (John 13:34).

But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you (Luke 6:27-28).

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse (Romans 12:14).

We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it (1 Corinthians 4:12).

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:17-21).

Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing (1 Peter 3:9).

Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble (1 John 2:9-10).

Our highest calling is to spread the Gospel and help others grow in Christ.
We should be passionately concerned about introducing people to Jesus. Along the same lines, we should be passionately concerned about other believers' spiritual welfare.
Study "dissensions" in Galatians 5:19-21 and Romans 13:13.

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:35).

But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice (Philippians 1:18).

Jesus loved his enemies. Make him your example.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! (Luke 13:34).

Hints to help you love your enemies
Realize that you may have misinterpreted the other person's words.
He or she may be distracted.
He or she may be busy.
He or she may be going through a personal crisis.
He or she may be sick or exhausted.
Realize that you may be right: The other person may be your enemy.
However, if someone insults you or dislikes you, respond in a Christ-like manner. Don't take things personally or give in to hurt feelings and let your emotions control you. Instead, see the other person as someone with a problem who needs God's help and your prayers.

Determine what part you played in the problem.
You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye (Matthew 7:5).

See problems as opportunities to grow in Christ.
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope (Romans 5:3-4).
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds (James 1:2).
That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).
Forgive . . . even if your enemy does not apologize.
Follow Jesus' example: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34).
Follow Stephen's example: Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep (Acts 7:60).

Pray for your enemies.
When you feel irritated about someone:
Pray for the other person's needs.
Pray that God will help you forgive.
Pray that God will help you love him or her.
Evaluate your love for your enemies
How well do you practice the following verses?
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

Verses warning us about anger

http://www.dougbrittonbooks.com/onlinebiblestudies-irritationandangermanagement/whatgodsaysinthebibleaboutanger.php

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret-it leads only to evil (Psalm 37:8).

A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult (Proverbs 12:16).

Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing (Proverbs 12:18).

A wise man fears the Lord and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and reckless (Proverbs 14:16).

A quick-tempered man does foolish things, and a crafty man is hated (Proverbs 14:17).

A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly (Proverbs 14:29).

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger (Proverbs 15:1).

A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel (Proverbs 15:18).

Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city (Proverbs 16:32).

A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered (Proverbs 17:27).

It is to a man's honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel (Proverbs 20:3).

Do not say, "I'll pay you back for this wrong!" Wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you (Proverbs 20:22).

Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control (Proverbs 25:28).

Mockers stir up a city, but wise men turn away anger (Proverbs 29:8).

A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control (Proverbs 29:11).

An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins (Proverbs 29:22).

You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, "Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment." But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment ... first go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift (Matthew 5:21-24).

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21).

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:4-5).

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions (Galatians 5:19-20).

"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:26-7).

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Ephesians 4:29-32).

Let your gentleness be evident to all (Philippians 4:5).

But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips (Colossians 3:8).

And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful (2 Timothy 2:24).

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires (James 1:19-20).

Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing (1 Peter 3:9).

What I've Learned In The Past 10 Years

Tomorrow, Emily turns 10. Where has the time gone? She and I have learned alot together and have grown together. I remember bringing her home when she was born, and not knowing anything about babies. Jeff and I didn't even know that you were supposed to burp a baby, we sure learned that lesson fast!! I've also learned that even as your children grow, the lessons never stop.

These are God's children, and it's our responsibility to raise them the way He sees fit,while He helps and guides us. Each day, I see God at work, and am thankful that He's entrusted Jeff and me with the care and responsibility of raising these 2 wonderful girls. And lately, it seems the girls are teaching us many lessons. We also think that Emily is pretty close to accepting Jesus in her heart.

God Bless!

So far, we're doing good. Mainly, we're just thankful. I googled other car accidents involving gas station pumps and it just makes me more thankful. It could have ended so much worse.

Most likely, the car will be totaled. There's a $6000 threshold so if the repairs go over that, it's going to be totaled. We still owe over $10,000 on it, and paid $8000 already, so don't know how that will work. I have to wait for the police report to be ready before I can file the claim with the other driver's insurance. Everything was so chaotic and by the time the other driver and I were about to exchange info, that's when the police and emergency personnel arrived and I had to answer their questions and give a statement. In the meantime, we filed the claim with our insurance to get things started so that we could get a rental for Jeff to get to work in.

I know the adjuster looked at our car today and he was going to call us back, but we haven't heard anything. Having been a secretary in auto claims when I worked at State Farm, I know how slow they are to make contact.

We're keeping our eyes on the girls, both emotionally and physically. We talked tonight and I told them how it's normal to be scared about riding in a car again, but that they will overcome it. I'm also preparing for any nightmares that may occur, and I told them that no matter what time of night, they can wake me if they're having one.

I'm trying to make a joke of it, because we were on our way to their doctor for their checkup. They haven't been to the doctor for a year and a half. After things calmed down afterwards, I said to them "I guess that'll teach me to take you for your checkups!" They don't like going because of shots, so it helped ease the stress.

What made me angry about this whole event, besides the fact that I went off on the other driver right away, before I had the sense to calm down and apologize to her, but what really irked me was that with all these people standing around watching, not one person offered to help and only 1 person asked if we were okay. It was definitely a valuable lesson to me and hopefully the girls to always help others when they're in trouble and need assistance or even a little bit of comfort.

I woke up with a slightly stiff neck, but other than that, I feel okay. I'll be waking the girls up for school in a few minutes. I pray that they don't have any stiffness or delayed pain. I know it can sometimes take a few days for injuries to make themselves known.

It's sinking in now, and I pray that this accident will not affect the girls emotionally or mentally. We got a rental from Enterprise. They didn't have any cars available, all they had was a Silverado. That that is huge!! When they get a car in, they'll switch us out over to the car. In the meantime, hubby will drive me if I need to go anywhere. That truck is too huge for me to drive. Mainly, we just needed the vehicle so he can get to work.

We went to Walmart after church last night, and both the girls and I were nervous about being in the vehicle. Each time it looked like a car might cut us off or get too close, we panicked.
I've been in a couple of accidents before, but nothing this bad, and this is the first accident involving the girls. I keep thinking now of the terror that they felt while this accident was occuring.

I also have some regrets...not hugging my girls right away as soon as we got out of the car, letting my Jersey Girl attitude show and yelling at the other driver. I did apologize to her moments later, and she accepted and said she understood. But I still regret that.

I also have disappointment...disappointment that there were a bunch of people standing around, gawking at the car and at us, and besides the other driver, only one person asked if we were okay. No one offered to help. A bunch of them were workers for a landscape company who had stopped at the gas station to fill up their equipment and get their morning drinks and breakfast. There were no Good Samaritans to be found yesterday morning.

Thank God that my husband was able to borrow our neighbor's vehicle and get down there. I felt so alone and scared, and felt much better after he got there. He took about 40 pictures of the car for insurance purposes, and I have them posted on my facebook. Considering what happened, and looking at the pictures now, the car doesn't look as bad as I originally thought. Most of the damage is in the front right quarter panel.

Most important, though, we are alive. If my car had been going faster and hit that pump harder, it could have been a catastrophe. God was truly with us, Amen!!!!!

My daughters and I were in a car accident yesterday. We were on our way to the pediatrician for the girls' checkups. A woman hit us and it sent us barreling into a gas pump at the gas station. Very scary! Miraculously, we walked away, virtually unscathed. The girls are okay. They were mostly shaken up, so we kept them home from school the rest of the day.
I have a little bruising on my arm from the airbag deploying, but I can deal with that. It's way better than being dead.

I praise the Lord that He was with us.

Today's Bible Verse

September 15, 2009:

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

John 3:19

I Saw Jesus Today!

Good Sunday morning!!
I was just sitting out in my backyard. I stayed home from church today since I have a bad cold, feeling miserable. I was outside, thinking about other things going on.
I happened to look up, and saw 1 lonely cloud. What amazed me about this cloud was that it didn't look like any ordinary cloud. To me, this cloud was in the shape of Jesus, similar to the statue of Jesus in Rio de Janeiro....see below.

Then, right before my eyes, the shape of the cloud changed from looking like the statue of Jesus in Rio de Janeiro, to a face, possibly what Jesus looked like? Then the cloud just started fading, rather quickly, until there wasn't any trace of the cloud left. This all happened within a matter of seconds, and I was very fortunate to be outside at just the right time, feeling down and sorry for myself, and just looking up at the right moment.

How fortunate I am that God gave me the gift of this moment, and showed to me that He is with me, at all times.

If you ever despair, please let this be a reminder that God is always with you, and simple every day matters are nothing when you know that God will take care of you and be with you always!!

This moment greatly humbled me.

God Bless to all of you!!

I Was Lost and Now I'm Found

This was my response to an email that was sent to me by a friend, asking about my salvation. I hope that somehow, my words in this post will inspire those who are lost, who feel that there is no hope, who feel alone. I know that no one is ever alone, that God is always with you.

I hope that this post inspires others to invite Jesus into their hearts.



It took my husband losing his job last January to see that Jesus is always with us. Jeff was laid off right after New Year's, and strangely enough, we weren't too worried. We put our worries and faith in the Lord, and just 3 weeks later, Jeff was rehired at his previous job. Both of us also began to turn to the Bible more often to help us with decisions. I began to understand some of the scriptures. Just to let you know, I was baptized as a baby and raised a Catholic, and we always had a Bible in our home, but I don't remember my parents ever opening it up to read it or to teach me from it.



When Jeff used to go to church with an elderly friend of ours, I attended a couple of times, but I was always of the thinking that you didn't need to attend church to believe in God. Now I think differently!I started attending again in April, and then, after a couple of Sundays staying home because our older daughter was sick, I attended with the family on May 17. When Pastor Jim was preaching his sermon, he stated that he hoped that anyone needing salvation would come up. I kept hearing the word "she" and I felt that he was talking directly to me. Jeff and the girls didn't hear it, so I truly think it was the Lord pushing me to get up there.



Jeff had decided to go up and rededicate his life to Jesus, and when he started walking up, I found myself following him and Pastor Jim rushed right over to me and prayed with me. Right then and there, I accepted Jesus as my Savior.It was a glorious day!! I realized that God has always watched over me and the family.


God Bless!!

We Are Living In The Exciting Biblical End Times!!

The Lord is approaching!!

Get busy preaching!!

A Bittersweet 1st Day of School

I just saw the girls off from the bus stop. Why is it that the 1st day of school is always a bittersweet day? You want to see them succeed and become independent and you're always proud of their achievements, but yet, on the 1st day, deep down they're still your babies and some part of you wants them to stay your babies and not have to face this big cruel world.

Walking home from the bus stop, I felt, for a second, the familiar feeling of wanting to cry. Of course, it will never be as bittersweet as the day my girls each started kindergarten. With my older daughter, I spent the whole morning crying, even while I was at work. With my younger daughter, I adjusted a little better, but it was still hard to send my baby off.

I know that our daughters are technically "loaned to us" from God, and it's our responsibility to raise them to be God-fearing, God-loving Christians who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, but deep down, they're still our babies.

I pray that their first day of school goes well and will be a great start for the rest of the school year.

1st Day Of School....Pay Attention

Today's the 1st day of school in our area. CHILDREN walking or riding bikes to school, and taking the bus. DRIVE RESPONSIBLY!! No YAKKING or TEXTING on your CELL PHONE while DRIVING!! Pay attention driving thru SCHOOL ZONES!! Don't think that you're the exception to the rule. PAY ATTENTION!!!

Driving and talking/texting on a cell phone are major pet peeves of mine. When I worked at State Farm, I saw quite a few accident claims involving talking on cell phones and not paying attention.

And I don't know how many times I've seen people swerving just in my own neighborhood, because they're talking on a cell phone.

I know that I'm one of those people who can't talk on a phone and drive at the same time. I've tried in the past, when my hubby would call me, and I totally got distracted. I couldn't remember driving certain routes while I was on the phone with him. He still will call me while I'm out running errands, but he knows that if I'm driving, I will NOT answer that phone. I'll just call him back after I reach my destination.

Our Church Mascot~~A symbol of Peace

Hello to my brothers and sisters!! It's been quite a while since I posted. I do want to post about my baptism and will do so later. But for now, I wanted to post this picture. This is a mourning dove that built her nest right outside our pastor's office door at our church. We took this picture yesterday after Wednesday evening Bible study. I don't know if anyone has named this dove, but I have personally named her Faith, after the name of our church, and to remind others to have faith in our Lord Savior Jesus Christ. Remember that when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, a dove appeared.

The following text is taken from the website: http://birdsofthebible.wordpress.com/2008/05/16/birds-of-the-bible-%E2%80%93-dove-and-turtle-dove/

There are at least twenty references to doves in the Word of God:

The first mention of the Dove is in Genesis 8:8-13 when Noah released her from the ark. She was released three times, but came back two times because she “found no rest for the sole of her foot.” They do not eat carrion as the raven does. Most are ground feeders and she had nowhere to feed that was dry. The second time she came back with an olive leaf, and then never returned the last time.

(Genesis 15:9, Leviticus 5:7 and 12:6-8, Luke 2:22-24) all refer the Dove and Turtle dove being used for sacrifices.

David was distressed and wrote “…Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. (Psalms 55:6 KJV)

Isaiah 38:14 says, “I did mourn as a dove…”

We have a Mourning Dove.The Lord used the dove when he told His Apostles, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” (Matt.10:16)

The dove became a symbol of The Holy Spirit at Jesus’ Baptism (Mat 3:16; Luk 3:22; John 1:32).

Enjoy!!!

Have a Blessed Day in Jesus' name!!

Bizzy

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Please remember to honor our most important Father of all of us......God.

He Was Ignorant!

ignorant


Main Entry:
ig·no·rant
Pronunciation:
\ˈig-n(ə-)rənt\
Function:
adjective
Date:
14th century
1 a: destitute of knowledge or education ; also : lacking knowledge or comprehension of the thing specified b: resulting from or showing lack of knowledge or intelligence 2: unaware, uninformed



My husband, Jeff, is a welder. This morning, he told me that last night, he was talking to a co-worker. This co-worker does not believe in God whatsoever. My husband stated to him that at one time, he was also ignorant about Jesus. Afterwards, he felt kind of bad because he wondered if he was too harsh with this co-worker by calling him ignorant. He didn't mean it in a negative way, but wondered if the co-worker would take it as an insult to him.

This morning, he found this verse:

"For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." ~Romans 10:3


Upon reading the above verse, my husband felt relieved. He was only trying to express to his co-worker the same feelings that he himself felt before he accepted Jesus. Growing up, my husband was not exposed to Jesus, or the Bible, or anything of that nature. He was never taken to church, and as he grew older, he never had the desire to go to church or read the Bible, because he wasn't aware. He wasn't around people who could influence him to turn to Jesus. He was ignorant. It wasn't until about 12 years ago, when he was a welder in New Jersey, that he met someone who had recently been hired at my husband's job.

This man told my husband that he needed Jesus. That was the turning point for my husband. Jeff started a relationship with Jesus, started reading the Bible, and accepted Jesus Christ and was baptized in April 2004. He was no longer ignorant.

Sadly, after we moved to West Virginia, Jeff lost contact with this man who introduced him to Jesus. We've tried looking for him, without any luck. Hopefully, some day, we'll find him.

Stay close to Jesus!

~Kathy~

Bible Verses

I suscribe to an application on my Facebook profile called Daily Bible Verses. From time to time, I plan on posting inspiring Bible verses.

Here is one of them:


For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

~John 1:17

First Post!! How Exciting!!

Hi!! Thank you for reading my blog!!

My name is Kathy and I live in West Virginia. I moved here from New Jersey in 1998 and haven't looked back. I basically grew up in New Jersey and thought I would live there for the rest of my life, but after I met my future husband, and he brought me to WV for a few weekends at his mom's house, I fell in love with the state and knew that I didn't want to live in NJ anymore. So I packed up what I owned and moved to his mom's house, where I lived alone for 2 months before my future hubby moved down. His mom lived in New York at the time and told me that I could stay at her home in WV. So, I lived out in the middle of nowhere all by myself. To this day, I'm amazed that I was able to do it.

And now, here I am, 11 years later. We got married and we now have 2 daughters, who make us laugh every single day. They are 9 and 8 years old, and there is never a dull moment with them around.

My husband became saved in 2004 and rededicated his life to Jesus on May 17, 2009. I became saved on May 17, 2009 and am preparing to be baptized. We have been meeting with our pastor for lessons. Pastor Jim is a wonderful pastor. He is totally committed in his faith.

We go to a Baptist Church. I grew up as a Catholic, and for the past 15 years or so, I didn't go to church. My husband never went to church as a boy or young adult.

Together, and separately, we are growing in our faith. In my future blog posts, I hope to explain more about myself and how I was, and how it led me to be where I'm at today. I also would like to tell about my journey in being led to Jesus and becoming saved.

I hope that in telling about my experiences and my salvation, I can lead someone else to Jesus.

Until next time,

Stay close to Jesus!!

~Kathy~