Herod murders babies in Jerusalem, Pharoah orders the murder of all the male Hebrew children in Egypt. When God is about to send deliverers, Satan motivates worldly powers to destroy that generation. We are living in a time such as this when the shedding of innocent blood is considered a good thing, and corrupt rulers and perverted courts oppress the people. How should we respond? Praise God (Anyhow).
Our national motto, E Pluribus Unum, is a Latin phrase meaning: Out of Many (people), ONE (people). What calls us together from many people out of diverse backgrounds, nations, cultures, and yes, even races, is the dedication to a shared ideals stated in the Declaration of Independence: “That all men are created equal with certain unalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” There are forces right now trying to destroy our union and divide us into warring tribes with no shared goal or vision for the future; no shared ideals. They want to divide us along racial, economic, social and political lines.
Pastors indulge sin with false grace that confuses license with love, endorses sin as it was actually helping rather than bringing harm. It is a Spiritual War over the truthfulness of God’s Word.
Reconciliation sometimes requires confrontation. It can be an act of love to confront someone with their behavior, rather than ignore it, excuse it, or become indifferent to them. Confrontation can be an act of love.
Turning the other cheek? What it meant in its historical context. Most of Jesus’ counsel about not resisting evil had to to do with not resisting Roman authority. A Roman solider could legally require you to carry his pack 1 stadia; Jesus said then to carry it two.