It’s Monday, and time to continue this great study from Don at My Heart Is For Israel. Blessings and enjoy!
Sitting at the Feet of Yeshua
We continue our quest to explore what I have been calling the Eternal Torah. We’ve looked at Yeshua’s teaching on murder, adultery, divorce, taking of oaths, retaliation & giving. In this post, will finish looking at what Yeshua himself says about the last of six important topics contained in the Torah ~ love your enemy.
LOVE YOUR ENEMIES
“You have heard that our fathers were told, ‘Love your neighbor – and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! Then you will become children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun shine on good and bad people alike, and he sends rain to the righteous and the unrighteous alike. What reward do you get if you love only those who love you? Why, even tax-collectors do that! And if you are friendly only to your friends, are you doing anything out of the ordinary? Even the Goyim do that! Therefore, be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)
There is no other passage of the Brit Hadashah that contains such a concentrated expression of Messiah-like ethics for personal relations.
The Tanakh taught that we should love our neighbor, but nowhere does it say to hate your enemies. Passages such as Sh’mot 23:4-5 indicate just the opposite! Unfortunately, hating your enemies was a man-made regulation. Yeshua defined our enemies as those who curse us, hate us, and exploit us selfishly. Since love is an act of the will, and not simply an emotion, He has the right to command us to love our enemies. After all, He loved us when we were His enemies (see Romans 5:10).
We may show this love by blessing those who curse us, doing good to them, and praying for them. When we pray for our enemies, we find it easier to love them. It takes the “poison” out of our heart attitudes.
When we study this passage we must first try to find out what Yeshua was really saying, and what he was demanding of His followers. If we are to try to live this out, we must obviously first of all be quite clear as to what it is asking. What does Yeshua mean by loving our enemies?……read the rest of the post here: The Eternal Torah ~ Part 8
Truth in Palmyra 
July 5, 2016 at 06:29
Tipler post was deleted. See my post on it. The for asking over at james’
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July 5, 2016 at 06:34
I didn’t write such a post, Mike
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July 5, 2016 at 06:35
No, James did. It’s why I commented on his blog to him about it
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July 5, 2016 at 06:37
“Happy to see you deleted that Tipler post”
That comment was on MY post, totally unrelated to the post you commented on. Nor is it related to this one.
Do me a favor, take your beef with somebody else to them, not me. You have created the idea that I deleted a post I never even wrote.
Peace
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July 5, 2016 at 06:39
I have explained, James wrote the post. Never said you did. My thanks was originally on his blog, you responded I answered. No confusion.
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July 5, 2016 at 06:43
Yes, Mike, confusion. You made that comment on MY post regarding a study of the Book of James.
Again, I’d appreciate you not bringing all that to my posts. Thanks much
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July 5, 2016 at 06:49
Fair enough. Would you like to comment over on my post regarding the dishonesty your buddy has shown?
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July 5, 2016 at 06:51
No, Mike, but thanks. Now, that is the last time you are going to use my unrelated post to fling garbage at my friends, OK? No more, thanks.
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