Sincerely Me

With all of the recent terror activity happening, I just wanted to remind everyone, but especially christians that Saul (who was later renamed Paul) was a religious terrorist. He persecuted the church, he was a leader in his religious community, and he was present and in approval of the stoning of the first recorded christian martyr, Stephen. Saul not only locked up the ‘ringleaders’ of the church, he also went on to arrest women as well. His mission was to destroy Christianity and either lock up or probably eventually kill christians. Let me say it again:

Saul was a violent, radical, religious extremist and terrorist who persecuted Christians. 

But as you all know, Saul’s story didn’t end there. The man who was named Saul met Jesus. In an incredible encounter, Jesus stopped Saul in the road, temporarily blinded him, and told Saul to stop persecuting Him. Jesus changed Saul’s name to Paul, and Paul went on to write many of the New Testament books under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Paul was one of the greatest missionaries of all time. He went from vehemently hating christians to becoming one, he went from no doubt despising Jesus to falling in love and committing his life to Him. 

Jesus can completely transform anyone, even terrorists. Jesus told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us for a reason. Jesus loves the terrorists too, even though their actions are atrocious and evil. It is entirely possible to hate evil and cling to what is good, and love our neighbors. 

So let’s commit to praying for the members of ISIS and all other terrorist organizations around the world. Pray that they meet Jesus, are transformed as Paul was, that they come to know the love of Christ. 

Pray for the victims of the attacks as well, that God would use this horrible tragedy for good, that more people would come to know Him. Pray that the victims would be comforted and be given peace and joy that comes only from God. (Philippians 4:7).

It isn’t easy to love our enemies, but it is exactly what we are commanded to do. Remember that we were all once enemies of God, sinners who rejected our Creator and King. Yet Jesus showed us such amazing grace and love that he died for us, though we were still enemies of God. (Romans 5:8).