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| Jonh 13:38 Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice. |
Every man, woman & child has a mother & a father. We are all precious to someone. Someone holds us dear--that is every human being on earth is (or was at some point) somehow precious to someone. Even the worst people you can think of: Adolph Hitler, had a mother, Joseph Mengele, Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Maximilien Robespierre, Kim Il Sung, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Emperor Hirohito, Nero, Attila the Hun,Genghis Khan, Joseph Stalin,Charles Manson. I could name many more people that have committed abominations before man & God. I actually deleted one man's name from the list because his actions were so evil they are literally too sickening. If you do not believe in God, the works of these men may convince you that Satan is real & if he is, God is so much more REAL!!! No one in their right mind would want to be the enemy/victim of any of these men. These men have souls, as all of us do. A soul that will spend eternity somewhere after the body dies. Christ teaches His followers to love their enemies. Those that truly believe Christ will have this divine nature. They will lay down their lives for their enemies as Christ did. If it was in the power of their hands to kill Hitler, they would not; if it was in the power of their hands to kill Charles Manson, they would not; If it was in the power of their hands to kill the man killing their beloved one, they would not. Christ says to bless our enemies & not to curse them. If a wicked man dies he no longer has an opportunity to repent. If a true Christ like Christian man dies, He is promised to have his tears wiped away and to be with the Lord which would be far greater than anything this world has to offer. As you see the wicked springing up as the grass in this world... if you want to be Christian (like Christ) prepare your heart to obey Christ & love your enemy-lay down your life for them. Be prepared to die for the person who would rob & beat you & your family, Christ did not die in vain & neither will we if we obey Christ & follow his example. The mind of Christ is: 2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
God is love & Christ taught us how to love.
My husband has often asked people this simple question ( question varies depending on the person ) "Are you married? Do you love your wife? Would you ever kill her?" or "Do you love your mother? Would you ever kill her?... "We know what love is, Christ told us to love our enemies."
A world that kills it's enemies is a world that does not know what love is. A person that kills their enemy does not know what love is. If you have done this or have thought to protect yourself & family with guns & tools of war & violence for Christ's sake repent. Turn from such fear driven ideas. Take courage & take up your cross the tool that defeated Satan & continues to defeat him. (2Corinthians 10:3-4) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) We can pull down the strong hold of fear in our life that makes us fear to die, or to see our loved ones die. "To Die is Gain"
Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
~P.F.
P.S. For those of you who struggle to embrace this truth:
- Honestly examine your reasoning, as to why it is more important for you to continue living in this world, rather than to die for sinners as Christ did, and live eternally with Christ.
- When faced with sinful & evil men we have a prime opportunity to save a sinner through our Christ-like fearless response of over coming evil with the good of blessing, rather than cursing.
- When we choose to take a sinners life we are no better than the sinner.
- A child is one that is like father & mother. If Christ is to be our Father we have need of being a likeness of Him. He did not defend Himself or save Himself. When one man ignorantly tried to defend Him He said,(Matthew 26:52) "Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." He also restored the ear that was cut off to defend Him. We are no longer ignorant of the mind of Christ in this matter as Peter was. He plainly spoke His will---Put up the weapons of defense & war or perish.
- Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Peter was ready to die in the battle for Christ. As many of us may also be. But,what he didn't realize was that Christ wanted him to die daily in the little things, and then willingly lay down his life before the hands of evil men; of which he ended up doing.
- As Christ told Pilot that he would have no power over Him unless God allowed it. The same it is with all those who would kill us & the ones we love. It is not God's desire for men to do evil, but He will allow it. He expects His followers to lay down their life as He did=follow Him.
- Do you really want to be like Christ?
- Do what He did.
One last thought; (1John 3:15) Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
If it is murder to hate a man how much more is it murder to save yourself by taking another man's life?
~ May God’s grace be upon all those who read this post. For further reading and faithful examples of the topic;
Read about the deaths of His first followers-
http://www.homecomers.org/mirror/martyrs012.htm
Boy slave 'crucified' by Sudanese Muslim
A Sudanese slave who was assigned to
watch his Muslim master’s camels was “crucified” when he was caught
sneaking out to attend a Christian church, according to reports from Voice of the Martyrs.
The aid organization that helps persecuted Christians worldwide said the reports come from witnesses in the Sudan who were in contact with the youth, now about 15.
Damare Garang was seven when the attack happened, officials said. He had been captured by Islamic soldiers when his Sudanese village was attacked, and then sold as a slave to a Muslim family in Tuobon, Bahr el Gazel.
His duties were to tend the master’s camels, but one day one fled.
“How could you do this? You will surely have to pay! You stupid slave, I should just kill you now,” he was told.
However, the child escaped any injuries at that point.
Then the following day Damare, who had been raised in a Christian family, sneaked away for a time to a small church service across the village.
His master was waiting when he returned.
“Where have you been?” he was asked, and partly from fear and partly from not having another answer, he said, “to church.”
“You have made two grave mistakes,” the slave master said. “Yesterday you lost one of my camels, and today you worship with infidels!”
The master went to a barn and returned with a large board, some rusty spikes and a hammer, the report said.
“Frozen in fear, Damare was dragged out to the edge of his master’s compound where he was forced to the ground with his legs over the board,” the VOM report said. “The savage brutality of the master was unleashed as he proceeded to drive the long nails through Damare’s knees and then nail his feet securely onto the board.”
While Damare was screaming in agony, the slave master simply walked away.
The boy’s help arrived in the form of a Good Samaritan who happened by, and saw the small boy. The man sneaked into the compound and carried the boy to a hospital where the board and nails were removed.
Damare later was released to the custody of his helper, with whom he lived for the next 18 months.
Once again, then, there was a militia attack on his village, and he was separated from his protector. When the Islamic army soldiers were driven off, a commander of village forces recognized Damare’s speech as being of the Dinka tribe, and took charge of him.
That commander eventually adopted Damare, who now lives in Mario Kong.
He remains disappointed he is unable to run quickly like other boys, but he says he’s forgiven his attacker, because Jesus was nailed to a cross to forgive all sins.
“Before leaving, we gave Damare a care package with mosquito netting, soap, new clothing, shoes, a hat, a new Bible, a soccer ball, and a fishing line and hooks,” said the VOM report by Tom Zurowski.
“Please tell the Christian children in America to remember to pray for the children of Sudan,” Damare told his visitors.
(testimony copied from http://www.wnd.com/2006/09/38117/)The aid organization that helps persecuted Christians worldwide said the reports come from witnesses in the Sudan who were in contact with the youth, now about 15.
Damare Garang was seven when the attack happened, officials said. He had been captured by Islamic soldiers when his Sudanese village was attacked, and then sold as a slave to a Muslim family in Tuobon, Bahr el Gazel.
His duties were to tend the master’s camels, but one day one fled.
“How could you do this? You will surely have to pay! You stupid slave, I should just kill you now,” he was told.
However, the child escaped any injuries at that point.
Then the following day Damare, who had been raised in a Christian family, sneaked away for a time to a small church service across the village.
His master was waiting when he returned.
“Where have you been?” he was asked, and partly from fear and partly from not having another answer, he said, “to church.”
“You have made two grave mistakes,” the slave master said. “Yesterday you lost one of my camels, and today you worship with infidels!”
The master went to a barn and returned with a large board, some rusty spikes and a hammer, the report said.
“Frozen in fear, Damare was dragged out to the edge of his master’s compound where he was forced to the ground with his legs over the board,” the VOM report said. “The savage brutality of the master was unleashed as he proceeded to drive the long nails through Damare’s knees and then nail his feet securely onto the board.”
While Damare was screaming in agony, the slave master simply walked away.
The boy’s help arrived in the form of a Good Samaritan who happened by, and saw the small boy. The man sneaked into the compound and carried the boy to a hospital where the board and nails were removed.
Damare later was released to the custody of his helper, with whom he lived for the next 18 months.
Once again, then, there was a militia attack on his village, and he was separated from his protector. When the Islamic army soldiers were driven off, a commander of village forces recognized Damare’s speech as being of the Dinka tribe, and took charge of him.
That commander eventually adopted Damare, who now lives in Mario Kong.
He remains disappointed he is unable to run quickly like other boys, but he says he’s forgiven his attacker, because Jesus was nailed to a cross to forgive all sins.
“Before leaving, we gave Damare a care package with mosquito netting, soap, new clothing, shoes, a hat, a new Bible, a soccer ball, and a fishing line and hooks,” said the VOM report by Tom Zurowski.
“Please tell the Christian children in America to remember to pray for the children of Sudan,” Damare told his visitors.
