The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 15:18-19,
"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me [Jesus] first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."
Listen to this quote taken from a column written by Michael Gryboski, a Christian Post reporter, titled "PCUSA Co-Moderator Claims the Church Is a Killer Like Orlando Shooter but 'Not as Efficient'":
"In a blog written within hours of the Orlando nightclub shooting in which Mateen killed 49 people, the Rev. Denise Anderson — a pastor from National Capital Presbytery who is serving alongside the Rev. Jan Edmiston, a presbytery executive from Chicago as a co-moderator for the PCUSA's annual assembly — argues that 'many in our own ranks aren't too idealistically different from this gunman.'"
Here is an example of what Jesus spoke of. Those of the world (just because someone may hold a title or is a functionary in some "denomination" is no indication whatsoever they are a child of God) despise - hate true believers. It is because Jesus has "chosen" us out of the world, while they have been left behind. Jesus made a decision that all who embrace him in faith will "cross over from death to life", John 5:24. The Lord removes believers from the status of being of the world, lost in darkness and places them into his family to live in the light. See 1 John 2:7-11. Resentment is the key here. If someone chooses to cling to their sin and reject Jesus Christ, they resent the others who have chosen differently.
Here is the motivation so many have in their attempts to find some kind of "moral equivalency" between radical Islamic terrorists and what the world views as "Christian Fundamentalists." Applying the "fundamentalist" moniker to both aids in their effort to find an equivalency that simply does not exist in any form.
In that terrorists are viewed with loathing by so many, there is a temptation for those who truly hate real Christians to lump the two together. Many of us may find this baffling, but when we understand what Jesus taught us in John 15:18-19, it becomes understandable why the attempt is made. It serves their hate very well, given the "low-information" nature of so many in our culture today.
This hate of believers by so many of those "of the world", (those who have not embraced Jesus Christ) has been around a long, long time. "Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death." 1 John 3:12-14.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me [Jesus] first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."
Listen to this quote taken from a column written by Michael Gryboski, a Christian Post reporter, titled "PCUSA Co-Moderator Claims the Church Is a Killer Like Orlando Shooter but 'Not as Efficient'":
"In a blog written within hours of the Orlando nightclub shooting in which Mateen killed 49 people, the Rev. Denise Anderson — a pastor from National Capital Presbytery who is serving alongside the Rev. Jan Edmiston, a presbytery executive from Chicago as a co-moderator for the PCUSA's annual assembly — argues that 'many in our own ranks aren't too idealistically different from this gunman.'"
Here is an example of what Jesus spoke of. Those of the world (just because someone may hold a title or is a functionary in some "denomination" is no indication whatsoever they are a child of God) despise - hate true believers. It is because Jesus has "chosen" us out of the world, while they have been left behind. Jesus made a decision that all who embrace him in faith will "cross over from death to life", John 5:24. The Lord removes believers from the status of being of the world, lost in darkness and places them into his family to live in the light. See 1 John 2:7-11. Resentment is the key here. If someone chooses to cling to their sin and reject Jesus Christ, they resent the others who have chosen differently.
Here is the motivation so many have in their attempts to find some kind of "moral equivalency" between radical Islamic terrorists and what the world views as "Christian Fundamentalists." Applying the "fundamentalist" moniker to both aids in their effort to find an equivalency that simply does not exist in any form.
In that terrorists are viewed with loathing by so many, there is a temptation for those who truly hate real Christians to lump the two together. Many of us may find this baffling, but when we understand what Jesus taught us in John 15:18-19, it becomes understandable why the attempt is made. It serves their hate very well, given the "low-information" nature of so many in our culture today.
This hate of believers by so many of those "of the world", (those who have not embraced Jesus Christ) has been around a long, long time. "Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death." 1 John 3:12-14.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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