My downfall!

Romans 12

 ¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.^[c] Do not be conceited.

 ¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”^[d] says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary:

Sometimes these verses really hit me square between the eyes. I am not good at following through with these commands. I'm not good at living in harmony with those I think have mistreated me. I don't like to build relationships with those who create conflict in my life. I would much rather seek revenge than live at peace. At the very least I would prefer to just avoid them. Lord forgive me. 

I need to change. I'm hoping I am not the only one who has this problem. I can look back and see that most of the time I AM in control of living at peace with my enemies. But, I usually choose not to. It is not for us to avenge and repay. We/I am not to pay evil for evil. We are supposed to live at peace with EVERYONE, not just the people we like. 

Dear Lord, Forgive me for how I treat people. Help  me to love those that I do not love. Help me to be more like you Lord in how I treat my enemies. Help me to leave avenging wrong to you. Change me Lord! Amen!

Good vs Evil - 9/11

10 years ago today. America was attacked by evil. The result was the toppling of the Twin Towers, destruction of the Pentagon, and a plane full of true Americans crashing into the Pennsylvania countryside. It was a sad day. It was a day of awakening. It was a day where our nation came together to face adversity.

We lost many innocent lives on that day. We have lost many good young men fighting that evil over the past 10 years. It truly is about Good vs Evil. I know our country is far from perfect. We are the most Christian nation on Earth, but we have continued to turn our back on God. We have done wrong when we try to topple foreign governments or kill their leaders. We have been arrogant at times and our judgment is not always just. Even in all our sinfulness, we are still a compassionate nation like no other. We contribute money and resources throughout the world to fight aids, hunger, to support human rights, improve the environment, and help the cause of freedom. Those that are trying to kill us are evil.  We are not evil. Our nation is a good and caring nation. We try to help and in our efforts, sometimes we fail. Sometimes we make things worse. But, we must continue to fight evil. We must continue to have compassion for others. We must continue to try to make this world a better place, even at the risk of making mistakes. We can not let evil dictators kill their own people. We can not let women be treated as property. We can not standby when a nation dies of hunger while its military and leaders steal from the country. We can't let the color of someone's skin or their religious choosing determine wether they live or die.

We must fight for the freedoms of others throughout this planet. God has given us the ability to choose our own destiny. He does so even if we choose poorly. People need to be free to choose, even if they do so poorly. I will do everything I can to help them choose Christ and eternal life. I want the opportunity to be able to share that message. I don't want to force them. I just want the chance to tell them of the love of Christ. They will need to choose. But, without freedom, they won't even get the chance to choose. That's what evil wants. Evil doesn't want people to have the opportunity to choose because it knows the power of the message.

Today is a day to remember. It is a day to remember those that have lost their lives, but it is also a day to remember that we are in a battle. We are in a battle every single day we walk this earth. We are in a battle of Good vs Evil. The great news is Good will win because Jesus has already won us the victory on the cross. It's just a matter of time. The bad news is, many people don't know the victory in Jesus. The true Battle is being able to have the opportunity to tell them. We all need to join the army to fight that battle. That battle must be won! Good vs Evil. Life vs Death.