Thursday, September 9, 2010 40 Days of Prayer & Impact: 31 Days to Launch

Today, there are 31 DAYS before the Encounter Grand Opening on 10-10-10. We are asking you to join us in what God is doing and is going to do in these last 40 days.

Pray with us. Act with us. Imagine the impact we could have in Helena if each one of us is individually involved in making Helena a better place. Imagine the lives that could be touched. Imagine how the spiritual landscape of our community could be changed even BEFORE the grand opening.

Loving Your Enemies. Ouch!

Today, we are looking at Matthew 5:43-44 ...

"You have heard the law that says, 'Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!"

Without a doubt, one of the really hard sayings of Jesus is to love our enemies. It goes against what we feel and against what people around us tell us we should do. But Jesus explained, "If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that." His calling for us is radically different from the norm.

You may have been following the recent controversy of a Florida Pastor's plan to burn copies of the Muslim Quran on 9/11. Sometimes, even followers of Jesus get caught up in the way the world sees justice. But the truth of the matter is, as NewLifeChurch pastor Rick Bezet recently posted on Twitter, "If Jesus taught us to love our enemies then burning the quran can't be christlike." Well said.

Jesus calls us to be revolutionary, even dangerous to the status quo and the patterns of the culture — by loving others, especially our enemies.

TODAY'S PRAYER

There are many hard sayings of Jesus that we read and then go on our way as if they don't apply to us. It may be that we haven't even come to terms with an "enemy" of ours, and yet Jesus calls for us to love them — not with love that world understands, but with the unconditional love that only comes from God Himself.

Pray for an "enemy" today. Perhaps you've been wronged. Perhaps you've been wounded. Maybe it's just someone that you don't particularly like or get along with. Ask God to fill you with His love to be able to pray blessings for your "enemy."

TODAY'S IMPACT

Today's impact is to go one step further. Taking from Tuesday's impact, "Don't just stand there, do something." Make an intentional effort to bless your "enemy." Give them an honest compliment. Do something nice, like pick up a coffee for them. And more than anything, don't do it in your own strength, but ask God's Spirit to enable you to bless them from His strength.