The Charleston church shooting (also known as the Charleston church massacre was a mass shooting that took place at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, United States, on the evening of June 17, 2015. During a prayer service, nine people were killed by a gunman, including the senior pastor, state senator Clementa C. Pinckney; a tenth victim survived. The morning after the attack, police arrested a suspect, later identified as 21-year-old Dylann Roof, in Shelby, North Carolina. Roof later confessed that he committed the shooting in hopes of igniting a race war.

Read the excerpt from newspaper quote.....

As you think about how you handle enemies, how the world handles enemies,

We find Jesus teaching on how to handle enemies in what is Luke's version of Matthew 5-7, commonly called the Sermon on the Mount, a section of Scripture describing principles for living in the Kingdom of God.........

hostile towards you - actively present as a foe, an adversary - the opposite of being a friend

hate you - those who dislike you and show it, detest you and say so, care nothing for you and act like it

curse you - pronounce upon you that bad things happen to you and even actively engage in activity that helps make that curse become a reality

mistreat you - deliberately hurt you, threaten to harm you, speak with malicious intent and actually follow through to insure you are indeed hurt

strike you -

literally - either a full on punch that is strong enough to break your jaw

symbolic slap across the face with the back of the hand designed to insult you publicly

steal - either by asking for a loan they have no intention of paying back, or simply taking your coat or the shirt off your back

God's love - the internal compulsion or need to act on someone else's behalf, often at great sacrifice to yourself

and keep on doing it.....

Say good things about those who are actively trashing your reputation and hope for good things to happen (and actually mean it)

and keep on doing it.....

Love is displayed, not just described by us, in our actions towards those who hate us......

vs. 27 - good - the opposite of evil,doing what is right, correct, good, accurate, important.....

vs. 35 the same admonition shows up in verse 35 - but another word for good that emphasizes not just being the opposite of evil, but actively doing things that help, encourage, strengthen those who hate you.....it is a quality word......agathos....

pray for - talk to God on behalf of those who talk about you with the hopes of something bad happening to you, you instead talk to God about those who mistreat you and ask for God's best to occur in their life.....

that their hearts would be changed

they would be spared the wrath of God's judgment

that they would be redeemed, saved, rescued.......

and keep doing it

I read more articles again this week about the hateful, violent nature of the muslim refugees that are coming to the US, and are stranded all across Europe.....and that in the midst of all the turmoil hundreds are finding faith in Jesus......

read excerpt from Open Doors

strike you -

literally - either a full on punch that is strong enough to break your jaw

symbolic slap across the face with the back of the hand designed to insult you publicly

Actually the word for wages, paycheck.....

lots of ways the Lord makes it worth our while to care respond to our enemies according to this passage

for example

You look like your heavenly father when you treat your enemies like this......

Romans 5:8 God commended his love towards us in that while we were still sinners Jesus died for us.....

Because He is.......a state of being, a description of his essential character.....

kind

gracious

loving

chooses the high road

kind to ....

those who are guilty, wicked, criminal, evil

So keep on being compassionate

having a heart of compassion, the word is an emphasis on our heart condition towards our enemies......

my heart goes out to.......

A heart of compassion towards our enemies is the best valentine you could share this weekend.......

March 5th.....going to the mosque in Dearborn - do you want to come along?