Love Your Enemies!

For Tuesday, August 11, 2026:

Luke 6:27-28 NLT, Jesus speaking: “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.”

Notice how Jesus begins: “To those who are willing to listen.” He already knows that this message may be unpopular. He’s teaching, “Love your enemies!” Seems counterintuitive. Don’t we hate our enemies?

That’s how the world works, but that’s not how Christians should operate. Jesus wants us to include enemies in our prayers. We can pray for a change in their evil ways. We can pray that they would see the light! We can pray that they would switch sides, come to know Jesus and become one of us! After all, that’s what Paul did!

Pray that our enemy would become our friend. Pray that we could let go and let God, and no longer hold a grudge. Pray that forgiveness would be our hallmark, because the Lord will forgive us as we forgive others. And as the Lord’s prayer says, “Lead us not into temptation.” Mankind so easily succumbs to temptation that we need to pray to stay far from it. We ask God to separate the sheep from the goats as he promised. If evil has crept too close to us, deliverance may be in order. Satan needs to be kept at bay, and Jesus said to pray, “Deliver us from evil.”

Every day God gives each one of us a yellow pad and a pen. At the top, write: Things To Do Today! Number down the left side. Now start filling in the lines. You get to decide your own agenda! Ideally, loving the Lord should be first. Loving your neighbors is next. Praying for your enemies should be somewhere on the list. After all, that’s what Jesus said to do!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

A House Divided...

For Sunday, May 18, 2025:

Luke 11:17 NLT: “Jesus knew their thoughts, so he said, ‘Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A family splintered by feuding will fall apart.’”

A house divided will not stand. When someone has reached the top, there always seems to be a challenger attempting to knock them off the pedestal. If that opponent is an enemy, they can be dealt with. We expect attacks from our enemies. A much bigger problem is division within, subversion and betrayal by our own teammates, people wearing our uniforms.

Unbelievers claimed Jesus received power from Satan. They were wrong. Jesus was clearly preaching in favor of God and God’s Kingdom. Jesus would put Satan down and separate good from evil, the sheep from the goats. He would preach repent and return, telling people that the Kingdom was at hand. Jesus was saying, “Get ready to meet the Lord!”

Satan tried tempting Jesus in the desert. He tried offering Jesus things that were already his. Jesus used the Bible as his defense. “Scripture says...” answered his battles with the Devil.

A created being can never win a battle against its creator! So let’s all join up with our Creator. Play for the winning team!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship