Jesus said in Matthew 5:44 to “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 who is 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.”

Intermittently, we will pray for those in the news and for those who need the love of Jesus in their hearts. If there is anyone you feel compelled to pray for in this blog, please email me at akersofracing@aol.com.

Today, especially, Matthew 5:44 applies to this crazy world. The death of Billy Graham today has brought with it mourning of the passing of perhaps the greatest Evangelist the world has ever seen (with all due apologies to the apostle Paul and then Reinhard Bonnke). But it is also a time to celebrate because we know God has an incredible place reserved for this wonderful man of God in Heaven!

What is troublesome, but not unexpected, is the host of people who are disparaging Graham on social media. The hatred in their hearts is apparent, including tweets like this. Note that I am not dropping names:

• “Billy Graham built a financial and cultural empire by offering corrupt politicians and corporate raiders, America’s most consistently toxic assets, a AAA moral credit rating.”
• “Billy Graham was a man who claimed to preach the word of God while espousing severely homophobic views that were cruel and ignorant. I will not miss his false prophet mentality and the cruelty he showed the #LGBT community.”
• “Billy Graham was not ‘a man of God” he was an anti Semitic homophobe. He was responsible for the rise of the televangelist, the money worshiping mega church celebrity pastor, the fake Christian culture that turned the selfless teachings of Jesus into self serving greed.”

Wow. Boggles the mind, doesn’t it? My flesh simply wants to rip into these people, but if I did, I would be hypocritical and disappoint my Lord and Savior, who gave me, a sinner, grace by dying for me. Therefore I will love our enemies and bless those who curse us, by praying:

“Dear Lord, I pray and beg your forgiveness for those who spout hate against your faithful servant, Billy Graham. When you were crucified, you asked your Heavenly Father to forgive those who mocked you and cursed at you, saying, “They know not what they do.” Whether these people in the modern day know what they are doing or not, I plead your blood over them and ask that they be forgiven, and that somehow, their hearts are transformed and that they see the real truth that you are a loving and forgiving God and not a vengeful one. We thank you and praise you for your goodness, your mercy and your grace, without which we could never be redeemed. We ask now that you redeem these people, who also are you children, and remove the hatred from their hearts. We curse you, Satan, and command you to release them and leave them alone in the Mighty Name of Jesus. Bless the Graham family and comfort them and help them continue the wonderful legacy you bestowed upon Billy, your servant and your child. Thank you for every life he touched through Your Word. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.”

“Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:28)

Please read this article by Dr. Michael Brown about why we should bless those who mistreat us. We would do well to follow his words.