www.ILOVEYOUGOD.com
By Steven Merten
Dear Friend,
We want you to know that we have been thinking of you often and praying for you always. When we watch the news we can see the intensity of the situation you and all our troops are in.
I have heard that you have spiritual questions and uncertainties as you fulfill your tour of duty in Iraq. I have dealt with these same issues you are presently dealing with. In fact, I have spent tens of thousands of hours in deep prayer, contemplation and scriptural study for the purpose of seeking out Jesus' and the Father's will on when to kill for the protection of the innocent.
When I was seven, my cousin Johnny died in the UN Vietnam War. At his funeral, I looked up at my mother and asked, “If an army-man kills someone, does he go to hell”. My mother told me that a soldier dying for his country went to heaven. This releived my mind at the time. As I grew up in the anti-war civil conflict of the sixties, I became extremely anxious and confused as to what God willed me to do when I became of draft age. I fully desired to do my duty as you are now doing and as my cousin, uncles and father have done in Vietnam, WWII and Korea. Still, I serve God first and it is His will that I must do foremost. In no way did I want to disobey my God in regard to killing in war.
When I was sixteen the Vietnam War had just ended and the draft was over. However, I was still in spiritual distress. At that time who would have known that the draft would not be reinstalled. After so many years of spiritual conflict in my heart over the issue, I went to my priest to as him about Jesus and the Father' will when killing in war. He made me out as a coward. He told me I must serve my country and that when I came back from a war the Church would help me deal with all the evil I had done. I ran out of the confessional and fell to my knees. With tears steaming down my face I looked up to heaven and prayed, “Heavenly Father, if it is Your Will, I will stand by idle with my weapon at my side while my own mother is raped, beaten and her body torn to pieces. Or Father, if it is Your Will, I will travel thousands of miles from home and fight to my death to protect a stranger’s mother from persecution. But please Father, I beg of You, I can no longer bear the heavy weight of not knowing Your will on when to kill to protect the innocent.”
My God hath not abandoned me. Through scriptures, I went to King David to ask him about war. King David was a soldier and then Commander and Chief. King David killed tens of thousands of enemy soldiers in battle. When King David slew Goliath he was just a young boy of maybe twelve to fourteen. Yet David had faith in God that God would deliver him victoriously in his battle with Goliath. Goliath was a huge giant, armed to the teeth, with years of experience, and he was the most ferocious warrior of his time. Yet David puts faith in God and he is victorious. David slew Goliath through his faith in God. Not only did God not oppose David killing in war. God worked through David to slay Goliath.
King David converts to evil. David sees Bathsheba bathing on a roof top next door. David commits adultery with her. Bathsheba becomes pregnant. David, as King, sends a message to the genneral on the battle field to go into battle and then fall back abandoning Uriah, Bathsheba's husband to be killed in battle by the enemies sword. Uriah is killed and David marries Bathsheba. It is only now, not when David was killing tens of thousands on the battlefield, that God sends His prophet Nathan to confront David as to his sin. David does not tell Nathan, "I have killed tens of thousands on the battle field. Yet only now does the prophet of God ask me why I have killed? It was the enemy who killed Uriah, not me." No. Instead David throws his crown on the ground and admits his sin of murder against God's commandment, "Thou Shalt Not Kill". The killings of David perfectly explain the difference between breaking God's commandment Thou Shalt not Kill and killing in war which is not murder.
David led me to Moses. It is Moses, not Jesus, who first gave us God’s command to love our neighbor as our self, love God, take no revenge and “Thou Shalt Not Kill”. Moses walked down Mt. Sinai with the Ten Commandments which include all these concepts on love. When Moses got to the bottom of the mountain, he found the Israelites having orgies and worshiping a golden calf. Moses could not get control of the Israelites. So Moses went to the Levites and gave the order to arm themselves for battle. That day, the same day Moses brought down God’s commandment, ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’, Moses lead Levite troops into battle and killed three thousand of his defiant countrymen. Like King David, God was with Moses in battle.
After the battle, Moses walked back up Mt. Sinai and intervenes between God and those Israelites who hate him. Moses says to God, "If you would only forgive their sin! If you will not, then strike me out of the book that you have written.”. "The book" meaning the book of those who inherit eternal life. Moses puts his eternal soul on the line in order to persuade God to forgive his enemies sins. Moses is second only to Jesus Christ when it comes to turning the other cheek and loving those who have hated him. Though Moses kills three thousand of his countrymen he bears no hatred or vengeance for them. It is Moses, not Jesus, who first gives God's command to take no revenge and love our neighbor. Moses loves his enemies, some whom he kills in battle, and negotiates for thier lives directly with God, offering up his own eternal salvation for thier lives.
"You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart. Though you may have to reprove your fellow man, do not incur sin because of him. Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD."
Moses, in leading troops into battle at Mt. Sini, was a peacemaker between God and man. God was going to destroy the Israelites who were at war with Him through their sins but Moses, as a warrior, brought peace between God and the Israelites. Jesus, who died for our sins, is the ultimate peacemaker between man and God. Over a thousand times the bible talks of this peace between God and sining man. Most Christians do not realize that biblical peace, including Christ's peace is refering to spritual peace with God rather than physical peace on earth. Both Moses at mount Sinia and Jesus in his gospel show us the difference between God's peace and physical world peace.
Jesus says, “...it would be better for anyone who leads astray one of these little ones who believes in me, to be drown by a millstone around his neck in the depths of the sea" and "And the man without a sword must sell his coat and buy one." Does Jesus really want us to sell our coat to buy a sword if we are too poor to buy a sword? No. What Jesus is doing is using this wording to emphasize the importance of His Apostles, and all mankind, of possessing the capability of lethal force to protect themselves and the innocent.
Jesus is speaking.
"...And the man without a sword must sell his coat and buy one."
"Whoever welcomes one such child for my sake welcomes me. On the other hand, it would be better for anyone who leads astray one of these little ones who believes in me, to be drown by a millstone around his neck, in the depths of the sea. >
Jesus did not speak against Ceasar's wars or methods of capital punishment. Nor did He talk to Herod, the government, who wanted to meet with him. Jesus focused not on physical world peace but on individual's making spiritual peace with God. Jesus knew that if even one person turns from sin to make peace with God, that person's eternal soul will out live the combined years of physical life lost in all the wars in human history. For Jesus or His Church leaders of today to get themselves killed by a Herod, Hitler, Stalin, Sadam or Bin Laden, for speaking out against their evil, is infinitely unimportant compared with teaching individual followers of Jesus Christ on how to love God and make peace with God and stay faithful and obedient to Jesus Christ. Especially when loving, faithful-to-Jesus men fight and kill on the battle field to protect the innocent. Moving Mountains
The reason there is a need for troops to fight, kill and die to protect the innocent is because God allows man freedom from the control of His will. God allows free will in order that His Church can show her love for God through obedience to His Will. In order to make human love for God possible, God must allow free will. Because of free will man can also choose to hate God and fellow man. It is man's free willed option to hate, which God has to allow in order for free willed love to be possible, through which evil men murder and commit attrocities on the innocent. Thus we have the need for loving, faithful to Jesus Christians to fight and kill to protect the innocent. I hope that you will read my I Love You, God . In it you will see how free will, through which murder and attrocities on the innocent flows, is needed to produce what God desires with all His heart and that is love to God from man.
To anyone in anguish over the decision to take life in the pursuit of justice and protection of the innocent, "Throwing Stones" and "Combat Angel" are my gifts to you. Since the time I was seven I have sought out Jesus and the Father's will on when to kill. Since the time I was sixteen I have spent tens of thousands of hours in deep prayer, contemplation and scriptural study on biblical kills and biblical love for God. Combat Angel Takes a look at Christ's soldier who will be wielding the big gun, Christ's weapon, at the Apocalypse at the end of time. Throwing Stones takes a look at the weapon the great soldier will be using to fight the forces of Satan on earth. Why will the battle take place? To protect and defend Christ's Bride, the Church, on earth. The weapon is already here on earth and has been for 2000 years. Jesus left it with the Church before He assended into heaven. It is stored at the Vatican. Now we, the Church, are waiting to see Jesus' great warrior pickup the great weapon and protect Christ's Bride, the Church, and the world, by wielding Christ's great weapon upon the foe, as Jesus commanded.
I have seen on the news the killing camps of Saddam Hussein. It is estimated a half million Iraqis were murdered at one camp alone. This is an atrocity nearly equal to Hitler’s persecution of the Jews. The only thing standing between Iraqie radicals who are trying to take up with the atrocities where Saddom left off, is you our American and Alliance troops. Without you the Iraqie people are lost. America bombed France into oblivion in WWII. Many civilians were killed. Yet when the tanks rolled into town the people cheered. What I am saying is, as hard as America tries, you are going to have civilian losses in war. America cannot just let wicked dictators take over the world. What you are doing is a gift to Americans and a gift to the whole world. Like King David, pray that God will deliver you safely to victory as you slay the enemy.
My family and I send our deepest compassion, prayers and love to you and all our troops in Iraq. May God be with you all.
To those soidiers who have fallen in Iraq, we are deeply saddened. As with our troops who have fallen in previous conflicts, we send our greatest grattitude. You have paid the ultimate price in striving to make the world a safer and better place to live for all people. We recognize that there is no greater gift.
Jesus is speaking.
"There is no greater love than this: to lay down ones life for one's friends."
To all veterans, troops, police officers and firefighters throughout the world who stand, stood or have fallen in the pursuit of justice and the protection of the innocent, I give you my greatest thanks. Your gifts of love for God and neighbor are greatly appreciated.
"I Love You, God" studies all the hundreds of biblical verses which teach love to find God's definition of love. Her mission is to search out, engage and destroy man-made, false-god definitions of "love". Then "I Love You, God" replants the seeds of true peace and true love for God.
God bless the physical world peace peacemakers.
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