You all know my struggles between heaven and earth - good vs evil. And I know what I am supposed to do. As a Christian, have I been noticed on here as a Christian? Can you tell any difference from someone who doesn't professes themselves as Christian? I didn't think so. But, for me, this is how I am going to survive what is about to come upon us with the Biden/Harris regime. And as hard as it is to say I must do something that is the most difficult thing I think I can say I must do, and honestly, haven't done: Pray for my enemies. There are many on here who sided with Biden. That puts you in the enemy camp for me. I can see the Hand of God coming off of America. Watch what happens to this nation soon. I confess I have been Christian by name only. So have the majority of folks who call themselves Christian. Here is a prime example of what I am talking about. It can be compared to what we see happening today.
Unhappy in Babylon
We can find some help from a story tucked away in Jeremiah 29. Here’s the background. The year was 597 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his mighty army had come once again to the gates of Jerusalem. They had come once before, in 605 B.C. That’s when they took Daniel and his friends into exile in Babylon. Now eight years later, they have come to Jerusalem to take another group of Jews into exile. It was a humiliating experience for the people of God. It was also a punishment from the Lord because of their rebellion. In a true sense, they got what was coming to them–70 years in captivity in a foreign land, ruled by pagans who did not worship God.
Pray for Babylon!
Not all the Jews were taken to Babylon. Jeremiah was one of those who were left behind. Chapter 29 records a letter he sent from Jerusalem to the exiles in Babylon in order to encourage them. God’s message is unexpected: “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (v. 7). God’s word is very simple: I put you in Babylon for a purpose. Although I know you are humiliated, discouraged, and angry, do not despair. Pray for the prosperity of Babylon.
Read that last phrase of verse 7 very carefully: “If it prospers, you too will prosper.” Here is a message from God for all of us. Many who read these words find themselves caught in a bad situation at work, or at school, or at home. Someone has hurt you deeply and it’s all you can do not to strike back. With all your energy, you barely hold back the bitterness. Some of it sloshes over the top now and then. You couldn’t pray for your enemies if your life depended on it. But God says to do it anyway. That’s the whole point of Jeremiah 29:7.
Shalom, the Hebrew word for peace, is used three times in this verse. Besides peace, it means blessing, wholeness, completeness, the absence of conflict, prosperity. Here is the shocking fact—at least it would have been shocking to the Jewish exiles. God ties their blessing to the blessing of the Babylonians. This seems counterintuitive since the exiles were God’s people and the Babylonians were pagans. He is really saying they were better off in Babylon, and Babylon is better off because they were there. Said another way, we can summarize this verse this way:
You need Babylon!
Babylon needs you!
Immediately one can imagine any number of objections the Jews might have raised:
“These people are pagans!”
“These people are pagans.”
“They invaded our land.”
“They destroyed our city.”
“They burned down the temple we built to worship God.”
“They’re vile people—killers and rapists.”
“Why would I want to pray for them? They don’t deserve it.”
It was all true. The Babylonians were not nice people. You really can’t be a nice barbaric killer. There is no such category. To spread their kingdom, the Babylonians acted ruthlessly against anyone who dared to oppose them. Life was cheap, death was easy, and torture a means of sending a message to future foes.
“They don’t deserve our prayers!”
God says to his discouraged people, “I know you don’t like it in Babylon, but that doesn’t matter. You’re going to be here for a while so settle down and make the best of it. Don’t treat the Babylonians as they treated you. Seek to bless and be a blessing. Pray for the Babylonians. They certainly need the prayers. And you, my people, need to pray. As you pray, I will bless them. And in blessing them, you too will be blessed.”
https://www.keepbelieving.com/sermon/how-to-love-your-enemies/
Unhappy in Babylon
We can find some help from a story tucked away in Jeremiah 29. Here’s the background. The year was 597 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his mighty army had come once again to the gates of Jerusalem. They had come once before, in 605 B.C. That’s when they took Daniel and his friends into exile in Babylon. Now eight years later, they have come to Jerusalem to take another group of Jews into exile. It was a humiliating experience for the people of God. It was also a punishment from the Lord because of their rebellion. In a true sense, they got what was coming to them–70 years in captivity in a foreign land, ruled by pagans who did not worship God.
Pray for Babylon!
Not all the Jews were taken to Babylon. Jeremiah was one of those who were left behind. Chapter 29 records a letter he sent from Jerusalem to the exiles in Babylon in order to encourage them. God’s message is unexpected: “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (v. 7). God’s word is very simple: I put you in Babylon for a purpose. Although I know you are humiliated, discouraged, and angry, do not despair. Pray for the prosperity of Babylon.
Read that last phrase of verse 7 very carefully: “If it prospers, you too will prosper.” Here is a message from God for all of us. Many who read these words find themselves caught in a bad situation at work, or at school, or at home. Someone has hurt you deeply and it’s all you can do not to strike back. With all your energy, you barely hold back the bitterness. Some of it sloshes over the top now and then. You couldn’t pray for your enemies if your life depended on it. But God says to do it anyway. That’s the whole point of Jeremiah 29:7.
Shalom, the Hebrew word for peace, is used three times in this verse. Besides peace, it means blessing, wholeness, completeness, the absence of conflict, prosperity. Here is the shocking fact—at least it would have been shocking to the Jewish exiles. God ties their blessing to the blessing of the Babylonians. This seems counterintuitive since the exiles were God’s people and the Babylonians were pagans. He is really saying they were better off in Babylon, and Babylon is better off because they were there. Said another way, we can summarize this verse this way:
You need Babylon!
Babylon needs you!
Immediately one can imagine any number of objections the Jews might have raised:
“These people are pagans!”
“These people are pagans.”
“They invaded our land.”
“They destroyed our city.”
“They burned down the temple we built to worship God.”
“They’re vile people—killers and rapists.”
“Why would I want to pray for them? They don’t deserve it.”
It was all true. The Babylonians were not nice people. You really can’t be a nice barbaric killer. There is no such category. To spread their kingdom, the Babylonians acted ruthlessly against anyone who dared to oppose them. Life was cheap, death was easy, and torture a means of sending a message to future foes.
“They don’t deserve our prayers!”
God says to his discouraged people, “I know you don’t like it in Babylon, but that doesn’t matter. You’re going to be here for a while so settle down and make the best of it. Don’t treat the Babylonians as they treated you. Seek to bless and be a blessing. Pray for the Babylonians. They certainly need the prayers. And you, my people, need to pray. As you pray, I will bless them. And in blessing them, you too will be blessed.”
https://www.keepbelieving.com/sermon/how-to-love-your-enemies/
