Sunday, December 10, 2006
Word For The Week
Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.A brief word today about blessings and curses - is it for the Christian to curse a home that will not receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ? No, the Christian is not commanded (or allowed) to curse those who will not receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ, those who do not receive the Gospel are already cursed - the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Jesus commanded His disciples to kick the dirt from their feet as a symbolic act, demonstrating that the disciples would have no part in the coming judgment against those people and removing any association with those who consciously reject the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 10:11-16
We are, however, commanded to leave people with a blessing (our peace) if we find them to be deserving, and that requires a degree of discernment and judgement. Ultimately we are free to choose who we will pray for and who we will not, and this is the intent of Jesus' instruction in this passage, but Jesus also taught that we should love our enemies, bless them that curse us, do good to them that hate us, and pray for them which despitefully use us and persecute us.
At the end of the day there will be times where we have to leave a place and kick the dirt off of our feet, bidding them adieu as we understand judgement to be coming their way. We should still, nonetheless, pray that at some point between now and judgment they will come to know Jesus for themselves, freely confessing Him as Lord instead of meeting Him as Judge.
May the LORD bless you and keep you;
May the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
And may the LORD,
Who wants you to give an answer to anyone who asks,
May He turn His face toward you and give you peace.
May the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
And may the LORD,
Who wants you to give an answer to anyone who asks,
May He turn His face toward you and give you peace.
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