Category: A Dish of Rhema

Jesus does not begin and end with salvation; rather, salvation begins and ends with Jesus!

People who are pro-life believe that all humans, including the unborn, have a right to life.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace who is “pro-” the lives of everyone.

It is uncharacteristic of Jesus’ broad pro-life stance when we limit our advocacy to pro-birth only while blatantly ignoring that Jesus was profoundly pro-life. Yes, all life mattered to Jesus! If we go back to The Ten Commandments that Moses received from God (Yahweh) at Mt. Sinai, “Thou shalt not kill” was stated fifth of the ten commandments.

Matthew 5:21-22 KJV

21Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca,* shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

The above scripture passage demonstrates how Jesus expanded the Thou shall not kill commandment. Jesus was not narrow minded, but instead mindful of all people and circumstances. We shall continue this topic as we delve deeper into The Real Pro-lifer, Jesus Christ.

*Raca means worthless; good-for-nothing

What better time to explore the rise and fall of King Saul than the current era?

As Samuel aged, the people of Israel no longer felt comfortable with Samuel’s sons leading them. They were dishonest and very unlawful.

1 Samuel 8^th   chapter of the New International Version (NIV) lays it out like this:

⁴ So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead^[b] us, such as all the other nations have.”

⁶ But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. ⁷ And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. ⁸ As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. ⁹ Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”

¹⁰ Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. ¹¹ He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. ¹² Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. ¹⁴ He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. ¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. ¹⁶ Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle^[c] and donkeys he will take for his own use. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. ¹⁸ When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

¹⁹ But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. ²⁰ Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

²¹ When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. ²² The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”