Today I would like to share THIS from Kenneth and Gloria Copeland's "Faith To Faith" devotional.
Protected by Love
Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate
you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye
may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:44-45
Love your enemies...turn the other cheek...to most people that sounds
like a pretty weak way to handle someone who's causing them trouble. But,
the truth is, it's the most powerful way there is. It's the way Jesus did
it—and His way never fails.
Do you remember when Jesus went back to Nazareth and the religious
folks were angry with Him and wanted to push Him off a cliff? What happened? He
just walked right past them, and no one could lay a finger on Him. Another time
they decided to stone Him, and He didn't retaliate that time either. He just
walked off. No one could touch Him.
When Jesus walked through that crowd, He wasn't afraid. He knew they
couldn't hurt Him because He was walking in the love of God.
When Jesus said to turn the other cheek, He didn't mean for you to
stand there and have your brains beaten out. He meant for you to stand there in
love and in faith believing that the protecting power of God that accompanies
that love would keep you safe. He meant for a man to swing at you and not be
able to hit you!
The story of Nicky Cruz as recorded in David Wilkerson's book, The
Cross and the Switchblade, is a perfect example of that. Nicky was reputed to
be the most ruthless gang leader of his time. Yet, when David Wilkerson stood
in front of him, telling him about Jesus, Nicky was totally unable to hurt him.
He thrust his knife at David several times. But every time he did, David just
said, "Nicky, you can cut me into a thousand pieces and every piece will
still say, 'I love you and God loves you.'" Because of love, Nicky couldn't
get his knife close enough to David to hurt him. A supernatural force always
stopped it short.
"But I don't have that kind of love!"
Yes, you do. Romans 5:5 tells us that the love of God is shed abroad in
your heart by the Holy Spirit. All you have to do is make the decision to be
motivated by that love rather than your own human feelings.
My friend, love never fails! You don't have to be afraid of failure
anymore. In fact, you don't have to be afraid of anything. If you're walking in
the love of God, you're living the most powerful kind of life there is.
Walking in love is the key to walking in the fullness of the LIFE of God that is inside of us! We know that our faith will only work when we walk in love! (Galatians 5:6) It is this love that empowers our faith and give US staying power, so that we can stand strong and ever give up! We also know that love covers sin (1 Peter 4:8), so CHOOSE to walk in love with everyone you come in contact with! Remember, love NEVER fails (1 Corinthians 13:8)! Here is Hillsong with "Greatest of These":Shalom in Him!
