I Hate You

"If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also." 1 John 4:20-21

How sad to see family members that hate each other. How tragic it is to witness such hatred displayed from people that proclaim to be Christians and love God. The truth is, we cannot claim that we love God and go through life hating members of our own family and despising them (even if they have done you wrong). That is a fact straight from God's own Word. If we say we love God yet we hate our brother (this includes sister, mother, father, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, cousin, and even people outside of your own family) then God says we are liars.  The Bible says that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ one day and then all will be revealed.

When you look at life from the grand scheme of things and try to put into perspective what is really important and what isn't, it makes you feel really silly when you realize how much time you have wasted dwelling on things that are not important. So someone cheated you out of some money...the Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil. So someone said something negative about you or even lied about you... the Lord Jesus was condemned to death over lies and negative things that were said about Him, yet he bore the cross, the pain, the suffering and still loved those liars. Are you saying you are better than Jesus? That you are so important that you are unable to forgive someone? Wow, how highly you must think of yourself!

Perhaps you are reading this blog post today and you have been living with hatred in your heart toward a member of your own family. That hatred is eating you up inside. It is an ugly black cancer that spreads. It not only affects you but it affects everyone around you; your husband, your wife, your children, your friends, and yes, even your Church family. Whether you realize it or not everyone can see this hatred in you. It is very revealing and it is very ugly. But, there is a remedy! Thank God there is a remedy! It is found in one simple word, one simple deed, and it is called... FORGIVENESS.

"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Matthew 6:14-15

The Bible also says this:

"If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." 1 John 1:6-10

So, what about you? Can you stand before God with a clean heart, understanding that he knows your every thought, he knows the recesses of your heart? If you can't, you need to repent and ask the Lord to forgive you and help you with your hatred. How about praying a simple prayer such as this: "Heavenly Father, you know the struggles that I am going through with __________. Please forgive me for my hatred of them. Lord forgive me for sinning against you. Make within me a clean heart and a forgiving spirit. Guide my life. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 

Would You Watch That If the Lord Jesus Was Beside You?

As I was preparing my sermon last week about Christian Separation, I was  wondering about some popular television shows that some of my Christian friends seem to enjoy so much, so I did a little investigating.

One show in particular is called "Game of Thrones." This is an HBO show which is one of the most popular shows on cable television. It was just nominated for 19 Emmy Awards. I was absolutely shocked and sickened when I read the Parental Rating information on IMDB.com: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0944947/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg

Another one is a show called "True Blood." This is apparently a show about Vampires which should immediately throw up red flags to any true Christian as we are not to have anything to do with things like that. However, as I mentioned, some of my Christian friends talk about this show like it is the best thing on television. Again, reading the Parental Ratings on this show will turn one's stomach: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0844441/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg

Quite frankly I am saddened and burdened that some of my friends seem to be okay with allowing this into their homes and lives. You can get mad at me all you want for saying this but our Christian liberty does not make it okay to watch such filth. We can't allow our eyes to see such things and ears to hear such things and minds to absorb such things and still be in fellowship with the Lord. "...what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? ~2 Corinthians 6:14b"

As I said in my sermon on Sunday, if you are ever in doubt to whether or not you should watch something, simply imagine that the Lord Jesus was sitting beside you on the couch or in the movie theater while you are watching it. If you could not sit there with the Lord and watch it then you have no business watching it at all. Living under Grace and not the law does not relieve us from our moral consciousness. The Apostle Paul writes this in Romans 6:15: "What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid."

Perhaps you have fallen into the trap of thinking it is okay to allow sinful things into your life? If you have, you need to understand that you are living in sin and you need to repent and seek forgiveness from the Lord. To repent from such a thing means that you never intend to do it again. You have had a change of mind and heart and are turning from that and to the Lord. Would you please consider what I have written and be honest with yourself and the Lord today?

If you would like to listen to the message that I preached on Christian Separation, please click on the sermon link below for the sermon titled: Operation Separation.