do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also.
If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks you,
and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?
Even 'sinners' love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who are good to you,
what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that.
And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment,
what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,'
expecting to be repaid in full.
But love your enemies, do good to them,
and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.
Then your reward will be great,
and you will be sons of the Most High,
because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Luke 6:27:36
I was planning on sharing the conclusion to the story I shared yesterday about how the church in Mongolia began. I will share that tomorrow. But as I logged onto the internet this morning I saw this story on CBN: "Burn a Koran" Day.
In my personal opinion, this is wrong.
Jesus came in love when He came to this earth. He preached forgiveness of our enemies, to love our enemies, to do good to those who persecute us, to pray for those who abuse us (Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27, Luke 6:35).
Did Jesus ever burn the books of other religions? Did His disciples ever do the same? Did Paul go into Athens and desecrate their temples to their gods?
Has this type of behavior EVER won anyone to Christ? Did the Crusades win people to Christ?
This is not the way of the cross. It is through love and sacrifice that the Church is built, not through hatred and shows of power.
The Muslims are not to be feared but to be loved. What would have happened if the Christians who were taken prisoner by the Vikings had responded with hatred instead of love? Would the Vikings have ever been won to Jesus and stop their murderous ways? What if Patrick had responded to his Irish captives with hatred and murder? Would Ireland ever have become a powerful mission-sending country? What if the Pilgrims had shown fear, contempt and dislike toward Squanto when he first entered Plymouth? Would we be here today?
There are so many examples, throughout history, of the right way to share Christ and the wrong way. This Koran burning, led by a Christian pastor, is the wrong way!
Gen. David Petraeus, U.S. commander in Afghanistan, warned the event could cost American lives and endanger the entire effort in Afghanistan. "It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems," Petraeus said in a statement to the media. "Not just here, but everywhere in the world, we are engaged with the Islamic community."
But we should not just be worried about our US troops. We should also be concerned about the souls of billions of Muslims throughout the world. We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We are to show His love to a dying world so that by turning to Him, they might be saved.
Muslims will only take the incredibly brave step of turning from Islam to Christianity (I say brave because in many Islamic countries it is possible death if anyone turns from Islam to Christianity), if they see something different in Jesus.
If they see His love, His compassion, His forgiveness, His kindness in His followers, than they will see something different from Islam. BUT, if they see hatred, fear and desecration of religious books, then they will be seeing nothing different from what they see in Islam.
"As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live." Ezekiel 33:11
God wants to welcome all sinners into His Kingdom, including Muslims. They are His children, just as precious in His sight as we Christians are. Our primary motivation in life must be to witness for Christ is everything we do.
I wonder if Terry Jones, senior pastor of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., who is hosting this event on September 11, has seriously pondered the popular phrase, "What would Jesus do?"
Do you think Jesus would burn the Koran?
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