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This is a non-WLC article. When using resources from outside authors, we only publish the content that is 100% in harmony with the Bible and WLC current biblical beliefs. So such articles can be treated as if coming directly from WLC. We have been greatly blessed by the ministry of many servants of Yahuwah. But we do not advise our members to explore other works by these authors. Such works, we have excluded from publications because they contain errors. Sadly, we have yet to find a ministry that is error-free. If you are shocked by some non-WLC published content [articles/episodes], keep in mind Proverbs 4:18. Our understanding of His truth is evolving, as more light is shed on our pathway. We cherish truth more than life, and seek it wherever it may be found. |
How often does Yahuwah put people across our path that we don’t like? Ever wonder why? It could be a boss, a co-worker, a former friend, a neighbor, a family member, a brother or sister in Christ, or anyone else we feel animosity toward. These people enter your life because Yahuwah is conforming you to be the image of Christ, teaching you to love even your enemies so that he can use you to be a vessel of compassion. Yahushua told us in (Matthew 5:44-47 NKJV) “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, {45} “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. {46} “For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? {47} “And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?
If we don’t love people who curse us, hate us, use us, and persecute us then we are no better than any non-Christian; if we hate or dislike anyone can we really claim to be children of Yahuwah? Yahuwah brings these people into our lives for our spiritual benefit and growth, and if we obey Yahuwah it will be for the benefit of our enemies also. Yahuwah tells us how to love our enemies we are to bless them, which is speaking good things to them, we are to do good to them, and most important we are to pray for them. Doing these things will turn our hate into love and then Yahuwah can send His compassion through us to them; touching them with the most powerful force in the universe, LOVE. Love always conquers hate as light conquers darkness. Our natural flesh response is to just get away from them, thinking then our life will be better well that is what Jonah thought.
The famous story of “Jonah and the Whale” told in the book of Jonah in the Bible tells of the Prophet Jonah’s ordeal when Yahuwah commanded him to go to Nineveh and preach the word from Yahuwah to repent or be destroyed. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, the Assyrians were a heartless, cruel, and evil people; they were great enemies of Israel. Jonah did not want them to repent, Jonah did not want Yahuwah to have mercy and compassion on such people so he fled in the opposite direction getting on board a ship to escape from doing Yahuwah’s will.
"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:44-47)
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Then Yahuwah sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. Jonah said to the ship’s crew, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea, and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried to the LORD, “O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased.” Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this, the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to Yahuwah and made vows to him.
But Yahuwah provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights. From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to Yahuwah his God. He said: “In my distress, I called to Yahuwah, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry. “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from Yahuwah.” And Yahuwah commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Then the word of Yahuwah came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” Jonah obeyed the word of Yahuwah and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a huge city–a visit required three days to go through the whole city. On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.”
The Ninevites believed Yahuwah’s warning. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the dust. Then he proclaimed Nineveh: “By the king's and his nobles' decree: Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on Yahuwah. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? Yahuwah may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” When Yahuwah saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring the destruction he had threatened upon them.
The Ninevites believed Yahuwah’s warning
Yahuwah wants us to be vessels of His compassion that He can use to reach a lost and hurting world.
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But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. He prayed to Yahuwah, “O Yahuwah, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O Yahuwah, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” But Yahuwah replied, “Have you any right to be angry?” Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade, and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then Yahuwah provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine.
But at dawn the next day, Yahuwah provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. When the sun rose, Yahuwah provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” But Yahuwah said to Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?” “I do,” he said. “I am angry enough to die.” But Yahuwah said, “You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?”
Through this experience, Yahuwah was not just working on the people of Nineveh He was also teaching Jonah a lesson about true love and compassion. Yahuwah wants us to be vessels of His compassion that He can use to reach a lost and hurting world. The people we don’t like are probably the people who are hurting the most on the inside. Who are we to judge that they don’t deserve the love of Yahuwah to touch their hearts? Who are we to withhold good and blessing and our prayers for them, thus keeping the knowledge of Yahuwah from them? The Christian life seems to be a series of lessons about how bad we can be and how great Yahuwah’s mercy and compassion is.
We must never forget that we are not in a war with people; we are in a war with Satan. The people we consider enemies are just prisoners of war taken captive by Satan. (Ephesians 6:12) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. The power of Yahuwah, which is the power of love, can turn an enemy into a best friend. Showing love to an enemy pleases Yahuwah and proves we have great spiritual maturity. (Proverbs 16:6-7) In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of Yahuwah one departs from evil. {7} When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12)
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We must never forget that we are ambassadors sent to represent the kingdom of Yahuwah, and our King, Yahushua Christ. Only by compassion and love can we represent the God of love, the God of compassion. We show love even to our enemies by doing good to them. By blessing them, which is saying good things to them, and saying good things about them behind their back, speaking blessings and not cursing. (Proverbs 18:21) Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. The most important way we show love is through prayer, where spiritual battles are fought and won. Doing all these things will cause the compassion of Yahuwah to flow through our hearts as a river of life. It will change our enemies’ life, and even if they are not affected, it will change our lives, which is Yahuwah’s plan anyway.
Don’t try to avoid Yahuwah’s will for your life. You will run into a storm. If it is your destiny to be conformed to the image of Yahushua, you will be conformed, whatever it takes. (Romans 8:28-29) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love Yahuwah, to those who are the called according to His purpose. {29} For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Sometimes as Christians, we develop a competition mentality with our brothers and sisters. So that we hold doing the good, blessing, and even praying for our brother or sister, thinking they have been blessed enough, or what if Yahuwah blesses them more than me? What about me? This shows spiritual immaturity because, in Yahuwah’s kingdom, the giver is always more blessed than the receiver. Maybe your blessing is getting held up because Yahuwah wants you to bless others so He can bless you. Also, the people that we think are on top and “have arrived” are the ones who need our prayers the most, these people are on the front lines of the battle, and we don’t know what all they are going through, but we are commanded to pray for one another. This causes us to become unified, and we know that we are a part of their success or failure by what we say and pray.
"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of Yahuwah." (Matthew 5:9)
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Remember Yahushua told us in (Matthew 5:44-47) “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, {45} “that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. {46} “For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? {47} “And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?
(Matthew 5:9) Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of Yahuwah.
This is a non-WLC article by Gary Robert Ballard.
We have taken out from the original article all pagan names and titles of the Father and Son, and have replaced them with the original given names. Furthermore, we have restored in the Scriptures quoted the names of the Father and Son, as they were originally written by the inspired authors of the Bible. -WLC Team
