"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." Rom 12:19 (KJV)

That "giving place to wrath", means to give it time to clear itself. It's never a good policy to react - trying to immediately avenge ourselves at the doings of others who have wronged us. In fact, Paul speaks to the "foolishness of men" who enter into revenge at all, let alone doing so with unbridled passion.

But the enemy "then" and the enemy "now" has taken on quite a different role over the years. I mean, in the world of terrorism in which we live, the worry that your enemy could very well be living next to you - puts a strain on everyone to always be "en garde" so to speak. But in reality, if Jesus were walking the earth today, I don't believe that He would be focusing "just" on The Islamic faith as so many have done, but He would make the distinction, as did James His brother, that "whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." (ref., James 4:4)

If we read that whole verse there in James 4:4 we see that he was speaking about adultery and a prevailing desire to partake of the evil things of this world. He was talking about those who "delight in the company and conversation of the men of the world, conforming to it's standards and practices". The Bible tells us that it is those people who are the enemies of God and are at war with Him: terrorized by
the lusts of their mind and their flesh. In that state, they are at enmity with God (Ref., Rom 8:7)

In light of the text for today, and in consequence of the need for the Church to be a Church of Love in these latter days . . . we, as the "body of Christ" can ill-afford to make some of the stands we are making in a blanket pass of rebuke to all Islamic and to all gays and others whom we feel are not "in-sync" with the heartbeat of the Lord. 

Do we join them then? No, or "God Forbid!" . . . to take a quote from the Apostle Paul. In fact, we, as the Church are in the world, but we are not of the world, and when we rebuke, we must be careful to not rebuke the person, but the sin that causes them to error against God.

"Oh brother Wayne!" "You've turned soft on us and we need that good strong voice against the evils of this world ESPECIALLY in these end-times."

No Way! No backing off or turning soft here! I would never be silenced with the message that God has given me to preach. He's given me this one, and I know that there will be those who will not like it, but it is Bible; and His message to you and I today is to, "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;"

In the past three months I have seen so much hatred and so much strife and ALL OUT "FEAR" RAGING over those of the Islamic faith. Ministries of the "Christian Faith" are calling for Islamic extinction before they get us. Some are using words like KILL and Anihilate! That's not anything that is "like Christ" whatsoever.

Remember Peter in the Garden taking out his dagger and cutting off the ear of one of the soldiers that came to take Jesus away? What did Jesus tell him to do with His dagger? He told him to put it away, and then he reached down and healed the soldier by reattaching his ear.

If "we" saw those who persecute us and treat us wrongly as Christ did . . . we would be praying, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do".

That's the truth you know; they don't know any better because that's what they've been taught. One can only imagine how many missionaries were murdered by head-hunters and wild tribesmen because the missionary was trying to educate them and teach them about God's love.

Yes, we must remain vigilant at all times and prepare ourselves for everything: God would expect that! But for those of us who Name the Name of Christ, we need to quit poisoning our witness with threats of "violence and hatred". This is the beginning of the true understanding of why Jesus came. Remember, we will overcome, the Word says so.

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." Rev 12:11 (KJV)

Jesus was our supreme example and he said,

"But I say unto you, 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;" Mat 5:44 (KJV)