Dear Saints, Say it with me….Hello October! I’m glad you are finally here to bring us some cooler temperatures as well as those beautiful scenes of trees turning such beautiful colors as they shed their leaves. We hit this month running, with a lot happening at our Fathers house, please check the dates and come as many times as you can to enjoy His presence and to hang out with fellow believers.
Speaking of hanging out, I was watching a movie the other day with Maria. There was a scene in the movie where “the end” had come. The enemy was about to descend and wipe us out and they are forced to do the unthinkable. Two of the elite commanders head into a room that has two chairs just far enough from each other that neither occupant can reach the other while sitting. In front of them is a place for a key and a red button on the right side of the place where they are to insert the key. All along there are alarms bursting out through loud speakers, flashing red lights everywhere. The two look at each other with fear yet determination in their eyes as they both reach for the key hanging around their necks by a chain. One of them counts down 3…2…1. They both take a big gulp of air and at the same time insert the keys and turn. Now they both look at each other again and this time they know that after they both press the red buttons at the same time that will be it. There will be no turning back. The atomic missiles will be launched and as we use to say as kids, “That’s, all she wrote.” No chance of negotiations, no peace talks, and the action that they will have taken will wipe out their enemy. It seems to me that as I watched this scene there was something very familiar about it. It dawned to me that I have a similar room in my heart. I too have atomic missiles that I can use to destroy my enemies; they are called “words”. In the past before I gave my heart to Christ my special room to deliver these mass weapons of destruction only had one chair and one place to insert a key and only one button. I used it many times to destroy many people who hurt me. But when I gave my heart to Christ, unbeknownst to me that special room where I would go to destroy my enemies had been remodeled! Another chair had been added with its own place for a key as well as its own button. What is this? I thought to myself as I entered the room to again try to destroy another person who had done me wrong. As I sat down in my chair, I noticed the Holy Spirit sitting in the other chair next to me. Now I needed him to put his key in and press his button as well for me to deliver the package of destruction. Two keys pressing two buttons to drop the big bomb to destroy my enemy, the trouble is that the Holy Spirit is holding on to the other key. He never uses his key, no matter how much I thought the enemy had hurt me. He always reminded me the words of my Savior Jesus Christ, “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you”. I no longer go to that special room to destroy my enemies, but now I use it for a room to pray for my enemies, and my constant helper, the Holy Spirit simply leads me in the prayers.
May God continue to lead us in the paths of peace and reconciliation to those around us, even our enemies. Now unto Him be glory in the church!
Pastor Rick