Love Your Enemies

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KJB Daily DevotionFollowing Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Sunday, March 11, 2018
Chapters: Deuteronomy 1-2
Message: Love Your Enemies

Hello My Friend,

As I was reading the chapters for today something occurred to me, God really does give all an opportunity to accept Him, in fact, He will bless nations temporarily in an attempt to get them to accept Him. This reminded me of what Jesus said, Love our enemies. “But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” – Luke 6:35-36.

When Israel was finally free from Egypt they could have been in the promised land two years later, instead it took forty years. Why? They feared the people because of their strength and did not trust God. So, God made them wait one year for every day that the spies who put the fear in them were on the land. Now, the wait is over, Moses tells them it is time to go in and get what God promised them, reminding them of their journey.

And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the LORD had given him in commandment unto them; The LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount: Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates. Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.” – Deuteronomy 1:3,6-8.

Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount:” There comes a time when God says, “Okay, the wait is over, you have learned your lesson, you have suffered enough, now, it is time to take what I have to give you.” More often than we care to admit we spend a lot of time wandering because of fear of our enemies, if we just learned to trust God more, especially when He promises something to us, we would not have to go through so much. “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” – Matthew 10:29-31.

God has much more to bless us with, but we must first appreciate what He has given us already. Moses encourages them to be content with what God is giving them and warns them not to envy or interfere with what He has given to other nations.

And the LORD spake unto me, saying, Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward. And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore: Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession. Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink. For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing. And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Eziongaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab. And the LORD said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession.” – Deuteronomy 2:2-9.

thou hast lacked nothing.” God is in control of all things, whether we agree with Him blessing our enemies or not, that is His decision and we cannot interfere with His will. We do not deserve a lot of the things God blesses us with as well. As Christians, we may not have the best things in the world, but we always have the things we need. God knew what they needed, food, shelter, water, cattle for their offerings, He always provided them with what they needed, everything else they got was came from their hard work, after they followed Him by faith. “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:5-7,19.

If you remember, Moab, as wicked as they are are descendants of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. God promised Abraham that He would not destroy Lot when He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because he was a believer, so He did not destroy them. The same is true for Ammon, which we read about here.

And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the LORD sware unto them. For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed. So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people, That the LORD spake unto me, saying, Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day: And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession. This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.” – Deuteronomy 2:14-19,25.

This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nationsA nation that stands by God is feared by the rest of the world, it is powerful because it is God who leads and protects that nation, a nation that rejects God will always be in fear and will be defeated. You see, when we as a nation are protected by God, even though they are far from perfect, it prospers because He is watching over it. It is when nations reject Him that they begin to turn into something wicked and over time, will be judged by God and destroyed. There is only one nation that is able to endure and stand in this wicked world, and that is God’s nation, the one in which people from all nations will come together in unity by their faith and acceptance of Jesus Christ, their Shepherd. “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” – John 10:14-18.

Jesus Christ Magnified: “For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.” – Deuteronomy 2:7.

Today’s Prayer: God, You have so much to show and give us, but we often hinder You from doing it because of our fear and unbelief. When we are waiting for the things You promise we tend to get envious when we see our enemies getting them before us. Lord, help us to overcome these things by keeping our eyes on You, trusting You, listening to You, being bold to handle love our enemies, and being reminded that You are in control of all things, when the time is right, we will receive everything You promise us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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