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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Hello, thank you for listening to your Daily

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Speaker 1: Bible Verse, the podcast that examines one verse each day

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Speaker 1: to learn more about God and his will for us.

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Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jessica Nrokel, and after this short word

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Speaker 1: from our sponsor, we'll dive into today's Bible verse Matthew

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Speaker 1: chapter five, verse forty four. Today's Bible Verses Matthew five,

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Speaker 1: verse forty four. But I tell you love your enemies

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Speaker 1: and pray for those who persecute you. I don't know

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Speaker 1: about you, but forgiving can feel downright impossible. Betrayal cuts deep,

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Speaker 1: gossip damages relationships, and anger inevitably follows. I knew I

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Speaker 1: needed to forgive someone. I knew I wanted to forgive,

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Speaker 1: but the anger was so controlling. So I decided to

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Speaker 1: follow Jesus's teaching and prayed for the person who hurt me.

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Speaker 1: It felt unreasonable and wrong, but I prayed for them

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Speaker 1: every time they invaded my thoughts. I prayed. Sometimes it

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Speaker 1: was several times a day, and sometimes it was a

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Speaker 1: couple times a week. But then I started praying for

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Speaker 1: them on purpose every day. Although I hoped for an apology,

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Speaker 1: what I experienced instead was an unexpected shift within my heart.

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Speaker 1: My chest felt lighter, and the mental loops ceased. Loving

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Speaker 1: my enemy didn't erase the past or minimize the hurt,

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Speaker 1: but it brought me peace, just as Jesus promises. In

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Speaker 1: Matthew chapter five, verse forty four. Jesus covered many topics

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Speaker 1: and his sermon on the Mount, including how we need

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Speaker 1: to treat those who oppose us or persecute us. He

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Speaker 1: knew we would face enemies, and he gave us the

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Speaker 1: best offensive tool, love and prayer. Throughout both the Old

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Speaker 1: and New Testament, God tells us to help an enemy

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Speaker 1: by doing a kindness, and he tells us not to

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Speaker 1: repay evil with evil, but to do good to them.

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Speaker 1: He commands us to bless those who curse us and

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Speaker 1: to overcome evil with good. Yet, despite these commands, when

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Speaker 1: we are hurt or betrayed, living this way can feel impossible.

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Speaker 1: Mosaic law commanded people to love their neighbor, but some

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Speaker 1: religious teachers in Jesus's day distorted the original command. These

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Speaker 1: teachers said to love your neighbor and hate your enemies.

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Speaker 1: In response to this, Jesus corrected their interpretation by teaching

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Speaker 1: that we are to love, bless, do good, and pray

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Speaker 1: for everyone, including our enemies who are also our neighbors.

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Speaker 1: Jesus understood we will have enemies, yet we are to

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Speaker 1: respond and love and trust God to protect our cause.

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Speaker 1: Human nature is keenly aware of who is on our

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Speaker 1: side and who is against us, But Jesus flips our

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Speaker 1: narrow understanding of who a neighbor is. When we love

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Speaker 1: our enemies, we show ourselves to be sons and daughters

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Speaker 1: of our father in heaven. We reveal in our words

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Speaker 1: and actions how living for Christ makes us new. This

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Speaker 1: kind of love, known as agape, seeks the best for

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Speaker 1: others without expecting anything in return. It's given freely, without

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Speaker 1: demand for reciprocity. Even when our enemies are unaware of

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Speaker 1: our prayers or kindness, God sees our hearts and actions.

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Speaker 1: Patience chooses not to react to irritants. Kindness means experiencing

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Speaker 1: trouble on behalf of someone you don't expect to get

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Speaker 1: a return favor from. Choosing to love and pray for

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Speaker 1: others does not feel natural, especially when we've been hurt.

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Speaker 1: But we are called to be in the world but

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Speaker 1: not of the world, and because of Christ's work in

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Speaker 1: our heart, we are able to love our enemies. When

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Speaker 1: we pray for our enemies, we can intercede on their

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Speaker 1: behalf and ask God to show them mercy. He is merciful,

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Speaker 1: He is loving, and we reflect this when we choose

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Speaker 1: mercy over revenge. Extending mercy rather than seeking to get

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Speaker 1: even frees us from hate and allows us to see

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Speaker 1: others as fellow travelers in need of grace. Our actions

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Speaker 1: to unkind people can cause them to maybe consider what

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Speaker 1: God is really like. When we are wronged, we have

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Speaker 1: this unique opportunity to display Christ's like character. When I've

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Speaker 1: prayed for my enemies, I start out because it's what

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Speaker 1: Jesus wants me to do. As I've prayed for those

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Speaker 1: who hurt me, I found my heart softening and my

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Speaker 1: desire for God's work in their lives grow. I encourage

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Speaker 1: you to do the same today. Think of someone you

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Speaker 1: struggle to forgive, and ask God to bless them and

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Speaker 1: to draw them closer to His heart. Let's pray together,

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Speaker 1: Heavenly Father. Sometimes it seems like the things that you're

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Speaker 1: asking us to do are impossible, and yet with you,

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Speaker 1: nothing is impossible. So Lord, not in our own strength

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Speaker 1: and not in our own desire. But in yours, In

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Speaker 1: an act of loving you, Lord, we say we forgive

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Speaker 1: the person that hurt us. Lord, we asked that you

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Speaker 1: would bless them, that you would draw them closer to you.

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Speaker 1: And God, we trust that you are our defender, that

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Speaker 1: you keep us near, that you protect us, and Lord,

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Speaker 1: that every situation we face, good or bad, is an

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Speaker 1: opportunity for us to point others to you. Lord, we

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Speaker 1: love you, and we give you glory and honor and

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Speaker 1: praise in Jesus' name. Amen,