The Gospel of Love...

I am writing these words because of what is happening all across America and even the world since our election of 2016.

Acts 1:8  "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth."

Jesus Christ, the ambassador of peace, the one who preached LOVE in His Gospel, commanded His Disciples to first, "...receive power, after the Holy Ghost is come upon you..." and second, "...ye shall be witnesses...unto the t uttermost parts of the earth."  His was truly a Gospel of Love.

The Disciples (Apostles) carried out their mission, and the world repaid them with death, and Paul was imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos.  The world, for the most part, was not ready to receive this Gospel.  Today, we send emissaries (missionaries) of Christ to all the world, and still some are not ready to hear.

For more than 2,000 years, the Gospel of Love has been taught in nearly every corner of the world, and still there are those who choose hate over love.  Why?  Not because they are influenced by others (though there are those who also preach the Gopel of Hate), but by that power who made it his mission to thwart the mission of Jesus Christ.  His name was Lucifer in the Heavens, before the world was, and he has taken upon himself the name of Satan to rule in this world.

It is a battle that began in Heaven and will continue until that great and powerful Day of the Lord when Jesus Christ returns to usher in a New Millennium.  Most will cry, "At last!"  But still some will cry, "No-o-o-o!"

Though we are not officially called upon to preach to the world Christ's Gospel of Love, we can certainly be examples to others.  But be prepared for opposition, "for there must needs be opposition in all things."  Receive it graciously, with Love, and with compassion.

I belong to a Church that believes in supporting our elected officials, whether it be Local, State or Federal.  We recently held an extremely controversial election, with heated discussions coming from both sides of the aisle.  We believe in the rights of the citizens to have their opinions and beliefs, but we do not encourage Hate speech or demonstrations.

Our Twelfth Article of Faith states: "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law."  In other words, we believe in accepting the peoples choices, even though we disagree.  We believe in praying before an election (my own belief, anyway) and accepting the outcome as God's will for the people.  He is the only one who is all-knowing, all-seeing, and all-powerful.  We will learn from this election process, just as we have learned from ALL of the selected Authorities in the past.

I agree that there is corruption in the "Kingdom," from the top ,trickling all the way down to the bottom.  This is Satan's work and we must be vigilant in crying, "fight him!"  History is full of examples of wicked "Kingdoms" and the people have always managed to figure out how to rid themselves of their oppression.  From the Bible to European history to American to the history of any country on the face of the earth, the cycle has repeated itself over and over again.  But, what have we learned?  Nothing, except that there is a cycle...perhaps this time, we can handle it differently.  I don't think we will.

We can try.  Paul tried, Noah tried, Moses tried, Jesus tried, George Washington tried.  Do you know why "Jesus wept? " It wasn't for Himself, but for His people.  He knew there would be millions, perhaps billions of people who would not get His Gospel of Love.

Today's world is proof that there are those who oppose the message, but there are more who accept it.  Whose side are you on?