God Bless You, My Enemy.

As we continue our reflections on the sermon, let's spend today considering one of the comments Pastor Benji made: the idea of "what matters most".

For Rahab, what mattered most was that she and her family be saved from the impending destruction of their hometown. You know, I wonder if she might have had some relatives that didn't visit her home because of her profession. I wonder if they were able to put aside their differences because there was a greater issue at stake: survival.

To bring Pastor Benji's comment into our personal lives, we might need to ask a question that he asked some time ago: are we content in our own salvation and uninterested in the salvation of others? Are you okay with the idea of going to heaven and your mother's not there, your father's not there, your brother's not there? What do you think?

Listen, these people are adults and they can do as they choose...
Well, if we don't say anything God will send someone else to speak life to them...

But shouldn't we at least try to say something?

Some years ago I met a prophetess in a church (not Bronx Bethany, you don't know her, don't try to guess) who shared with me her testimony of leading her ex-husband to the Lord. What a story of triumph! God had healed her of hurt and animosity, and she was able to share the gospel out of a heart of love, and the Holy Spirit opened the eyes of her ex-husband, and he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Did the couple remarry? No. But God did make a way for emotional healing and salvation.

Perhaps some of you have the same testimony. Or perhaps some of you would like to have that testimony, but you're still reeling from hurts of the past and you don't want to risk re-opening old wounds. If you'll be super-honest, some of you might even say that you don't care if some people end up in hell.

I don't know your story. I don't know your pain. But I do know that, while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. Jesus didn't wait for us to "come around", He made the ultimate sacrifice knowing that we would ignore Him and malign Him. He loved us, and loves us, knowing that we sin and fall and make Him sad with our lies and our double-mindedness. He pours out graces upon us and speaks tenderly to us. Friends, we didn't earn it. He gave... and He gives.

And here we are, we claim the name "Christian"- "Christ-like". I dare you to really be like Him. Love those who hate you and use you. Pray for their salvation and deliverance. Tell them the good news of Jesus Christ. Who knows? Perhaps the Lord will shower mercy on them as He has for you.

I Spy For The Most High.

This past Sunday, we heard another installment of Pastor Benji's sermon series. As we spend a few days reflecting on the importance of salvation for the entire household, we'll take a look at the story of Rahab and the two spies (Joshua 2).

Joshua was familiar with the idea of sending out spies prior to engaging a whole army or a whole community in the process of transfer, conquest, and change. After all, it was he and Caleb who, with ten other men, served as spies under the leadership of Moses. And it was Joshua and Caleb who stood as the only surviving members of the original group of Israelites that had left Egypt.

So, two young men were sent by Joshua to investigate the city. Presumably they would have sought out information that would be helpful in a military sense: the layout of the city, the main roads, the sources of water or food, the level of security inside the city gates, and so forth.

We are not told the specific answers regarding any of the spies' investigations in the Rahab story, but we do know that there was some sort of counter-spy network already existing in the city of Jericho. How do we know? Because the king was aware of the last known location of the young spies from Israel, and the king took the information seriously. Essentially, in today's terms, he sent officers who showed up at Rahab's house with a verbal arrest warrant: "Bring out the two men..." (Joshua 2:3).

I wonder if we, in this twenty-first century, would be "caught" if someone were scoping this city on the lookout for the people of God. Would an arrest warrant be put out for us, or have we so blended into mainstream society that no one would point us out as being Christians?