September 13, 2025 • 10 mins
What's the secret to loving someone who actively hates you? Not just tolerate them—genuinely love them with Christ's love? This question lies at the heart of today's exploration into one of Christianity's most challenging commands.
Our cultural landscape resembles the Nile turned to blood—what once gave life now reeks of death. Social media feeds overflow with anger, accusations fly across political divides, and hearts grow increasingly cold. Against this backdrop, we examine the radical transformation of Saul—Christianity's first notorious persecutor—into Paul, the apostle who wrote most of the New Testament. This powerful redemption story challenges us to see our enemies differently: what if that person hurling insults at you today is tomorrow's powerful voice for the gospel?
Get ready to transform how you view those who oppose you. Listen now and discover how loving your enemies might be the most powerful spiritual warfare strategy you're neglecting. Then share this episode with someone—because cold hearts, not hostile people, are the real danger to the church today.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome, friends, to Preach it Girl podcast, where we
aren't just sitting aroundwaiting for Jesus to return and
Skinny Pop to make us skinny.
I mean, those things are boundto happen.
But while we wait, join me,auntie Lala, for a jaunt through
the scriptures so lively you'llthink they were written just
yesterday, not thousands ofyears ago.
(00:25):
Now put on your listening earsfor a somewhat sassy retelling
of stories from the Bible Y'all.
I really hope this will be anepisode that is encouraging to
everyone who hears it, and if itis, please share it with
somebody.
It is a call to beware thestrategy of the enemy to turn
(00:47):
your hearts into a glacier ofice.
Let's not confuse setting ourfaces like flints with having a
cold heart.
God said if we have not loved,all the ministry, all the
service to God, every gift inuse without love is nothing.
I'm not talking about justloving your neighbor, I'm
(01:10):
talking about loving your enemy.
And Auntie Lala is not justtalking to you, she is talking
to herself.
It is easy to see in today'stimes, with ugliness flashing
across screens in such greatnumbers, it's like a sea of
hatred.
Can you imagine, though, backin the day, what the Nile must
(01:34):
have looked like when it turnedto blood what was once a life
source for the Egyptians, withone powerful command, boiled
with the stench of death by thepower of God.
And yet we are called to lovethe very ones who spew insults,
hurl threats and accusations,those who hate us.
(01:57):
So why did God turn the Nile toblood?
Basically, he took the lifesource that they depended on for
all their needs and showed themhow worthless it was, how much
they depended on something thatwas not God and how quickly it
could be taken away.
(02:18):
So we've got to lay our liveson Jesus, and the good news is
God said, the gates of hell willnever prevail over the body of
Christ, no matter how angry, howfraught with hatred it becomes,
no matter how many times theykill us.
(02:40):
We are but seeds planted in thesoil of Christ that will bear
much fruit.
God's already won the battle,he already secured the ultimate
victory, and God told us, if theworld hated him, the world
would hate us.
So how do we love those whohate us?
It helped me to remember thatthe apostle Paul, who was once
(03:03):
Saul, lived to torment, haul, tojail and murder the early
Christian believer.
With ravenous delight heplotted to decimate the church.
And yet God had a plan, apurpose for Saul's life, a
purpose for Stephen's death thatPaul gleefully celebrated.
(03:23):
That kind of paints everyinsult differently, because that
very person who is insultingyou, spewing hatred towards you,
could be a Saul who will turninto Paul if you love them
enough to pray for them.
Are you willing to pray foryour enemies Y'all?
(03:44):
It ain't easy, because it's notlike we just got a bubbling up
love coming up out of us, right.
But you know what?
Neither did the fella that Godasked to go and meet Saul and to
pray for him.
He was like, oh God, didn't youhear, didn't you hear about him
, what he's been doing to thechurch?
God said, yeah, and I've gotsomething planned, something
(04:06):
good.
Trusting God had a redemptiveplan.
He obeyed the Lord, he went forthe one who hated him and God
changed everything.
This man wrote most of the NewTestament With prayer and
intercession.
On our knees before God.
We must pray for the lost.
(04:27):
Oh, just when you think aboutit, it's kind of like oh, am I
going to be joyful about this?
Am I going to be obedient?
Come on, think of what thisworld would be like if we were
praying for our enemies, likefervently persevering in prayer
(04:47):
for those who hate us, I mean.
The other thing we must do isremind ourselves our enemy is
not flesh and blood, despite howmany people openly behave like
our enemies.
Our fight is in the heavenlyrealm.
And how do we fight it?
With heavenly power, in thespirit, walking in the spirit,
(05:10):
harnessing the spiritual giftsgiven to us for this moment, for
this life, for the battle, inbold words of faith.
We aren't to shrink back fromproclaiming the gospel openly.
We overcome the enemy by theblood of Christ and the word of
our testimony.
I think sometimes we make it alittle complicated.
(05:32):
I think sometimes we make it alittle complicated.
I know I do thinking I've gotto share from Moses to Jesus,
when really all we have to do isreach out in love to those
people within our sphere ofinfluence and share what Jesus
has done for us.
Pray for the opportunity toshare your faith.
I heard this guy in aninterview share that he had
(05:53):
shared his faith every day foryears, every day.
I might share my faith once aquarter, okay, the podcast, but
in a fervent attempt to share,praying daily.
Give me opportunity, lord, toshare my testimony.
Give me opportunity to givewhat's been given to me.
(06:15):
If we desire God's kingdom tocome, more than we love our
comfort and ego, we would be onepowerful church.
If not, if we don't do it,we're no better than
non-believers.
We're actually worse, becauseof course, they live for
themselves.
Who else are they going to livefor?
(06:35):
But we know what God's done forus.
He lifted us up out of the pit,cleaned us up and gave us new
life, not so we can sip sodaswith Jesus in our cozy lives,
but that we would share whatwe've been given with others.
Pray for opportunities to sharewhat you've been given.
Pray for those people who whatyou've been given.
Pray for those people whoconsider you an enemy.
(06:56):
They're attacking you, they'repersecuting you, they're hurling
insults and accusations at you,they're calling you bad.
Right.
I already said this, but I amtalking to myself as much as I'm
talking to you.
We have to love the lost, gosh.
We have to love the lost, andthat just doesn't come natural.
(07:17):
The angry hater of the churchDang it.
We aren't going to share withthose.
We can't stand.
We have to share Christ's loveby having love in our heart, and
the only way to get that isfrom Jesus.
So I'm wondering if keepingChrist's love alive and well in
our hearts isn't what that oilin the parable of the virgins
(07:40):
that have to keep their oil litfor Christ coming back, because
God said in the end times, asevil increases, hearts will wax
cold and many will fall away.
Well, without that love in ourheart, that's what happens.
That love in our heart, that'swhat happens when we hate others
(08:01):
back or despise them or thinkless of them.
Just don't let that be you thatfalls away.
Don't let our hearts wax cold.
And it isn't overnight y'all,it's like a steady decay, a
steady drift to the land youdon't want to be in, to the land
of cold hearts that have fallenaway.
So may we who are called by hisname fall on our knees and
(08:24):
repent of hardheartedness, ofjudgmentalness, superiority,
complex, our comfortablecomplacency.
If we get on our knees and laythat at Jesus's feet, ask him to
remind you of the pit that youwere in.
Remind us where we once sloshedaround before he saved us,
before he rescued us.
(08:45):
Help us to see people as yousee them lost lambs thrashing
around hopeless, hurt and angry.
Help us to reach out with yournail-scarred hands, even if they
slap it away over and overagain.
We cannot take back theterritory the enemy has stolen
(09:05):
until we take back the territoryof our own hearts.
They must be softened in tearsof repentance, softened by the
blood of God's extravagant mercyand grace for us, and then
turned in love to others.
In our world today, when we areall just a little heavy, aghast,
(09:28):
at the celebration of death,god, I pray that you would show
up when we hit our knees, repentof our cold hearts, requesting
that you renew them, make themsoft with your mercy and grace,
and help us to love our enemiesbecause of your great love for
(09:50):
us.
Help us to give away whatyou've so freely given us.
Okay, I love y'all and I can'twait to get together next time.
On Preachy Girl.
Welcome, friends, to Preach it Girl podcast, where we
aren't just sitting aroundwaiting for Jesus to return and
Skinny Pop to make us skinny.
I mean, those things are boundto happen.
But while we wait, join me,auntie Lala, for a jaunt through
the scriptures so lively you'llthink they were written just
yesterday, not thousands ofyears ago.
(00:25):
Now put on your listening earsfor a somewhat sassy retelling
of stories from the Bible Y'all.
I really hope this will be anepisode that is encouraging to
everyone who hears it, and if itis, please share it with
somebody.
It is a call to beware thestrategy of the enemy to turn
(00:47):
your hearts into a glacier ofice.
Let's not confuse setting ourfaces like flints with having a
cold heart.
God said if we have not loved,all the ministry, all the
service to God, every gift inuse without love is nothing.
I'm not talking about justloving your neighbor, I'm
(01:10):
talking about loving your enemy.
And Auntie Lala is not justtalking to you, she is talking
to herself.
It is easy to see in today'stimes, with ugliness flashing
across screens in such greatnumbers, it's like a sea of
hatred.
Can you imagine, though, backin the day, what the Nile must
(01:34):
have looked like when it turnedto blood what was once a life
source for the Egyptians, withone powerful command, boiled
with the stench of death by thepower of God.
And yet we are called to lovethe very ones who spew insults,
hurl threats and accusations,those who hate us.
(01:57):
So why did God turn the Nile toblood?
Basically, he took the lifesource that they depended on for
all their needs and showed themhow worthless it was, how much
they depended on something thatwas not God and how quickly it
could be taken away.
(02:18):
So we've got to lay our liveson Jesus, and the good news is
God said, the gates of hell willnever prevail over the body of
Christ, no matter how angry, howfraught with hatred it becomes,
no matter how many times theykill us.
(02:40):
We are but seeds planted in thesoil of Christ that will bear
much fruit.
God's already won the battle,he already secured the ultimate
victory, and God told us, if theworld hated him, the world
would hate us.
So how do we love those whohate us?
It helped me to remember thatthe apostle Paul, who was once
(03:03):
Saul, lived to torment, haul, tojail and murder the early
Christian believer.
With ravenous delight heplotted to decimate the church.
And yet God had a plan, apurpose for Saul's life, a
purpose for Stephen's death thatPaul gleefully celebrated.
(03:23):
That kind of paints everyinsult differently, because that
very person who is insultingyou, spewing hatred towards you,
could be a Saul who will turninto Paul if you love them
enough to pray for them.
Are you willing to pray foryour enemies Y'all?
(03:44):
It ain't easy, because it's notlike we just got a bubbling up
love coming up out of us, right.
But you know what?
Neither did the fella that Godasked to go and meet Saul and to
pray for him.
He was like, oh God, didn't youhear, didn't you hear about him
, what he's been doing to thechurch?
God said, yeah, and I've gotsomething planned, something
(04:06):
good.
Trusting God had a redemptiveplan.
He obeyed the Lord, he went forthe one who hated him and God
changed everything.
This man wrote most of the NewTestament With prayer and
intercession.
On our knees before God.
We must pray for the lost.
(04:27):
Oh, just when you think aboutit, it's kind of like oh, am I
going to be joyful about this?
Am I going to be obedient?
Come on, think of what thisworld would be like if we were
praying for our enemies, likefervently persevering in prayer
(04:47):
for those who hate us, I mean.
The other thing we must do isremind ourselves our enemy is
not flesh and blood, despite howmany people openly behave like
our enemies.
Our fight is in the heavenlyrealm.
And how do we fight it?
With heavenly power, in thespirit, walking in the spirit,
(05:10):
harnessing the spiritual giftsgiven to us for this moment, for
this life, for the battle, inbold words of faith.
We aren't to shrink back fromproclaiming the gospel openly.
We overcome the enemy by theblood of Christ and the word of
our testimony.
I think sometimes we make it alittle complicated.
(05:32):
I think sometimes we make it alittle complicated.
I know I do thinking I've gotto share from Moses to Jesus,
when really all we have to do isreach out in love to those
people within our sphere ofinfluence and share what Jesus
has done for us.
Pray for the opportunity toshare your faith.
I heard this guy in aninterview share that he had
(05:53):
shared his faith every day foryears, every day.
I might share my faith once aquarter, okay, the podcast, but
in a fervent attempt to share,praying daily.
Give me opportunity, lord, toshare my testimony.
Give me opportunity to givewhat's been given to me.
(06:15):
If we desire God's kingdom tocome, more than we love our
comfort and ego, we would be onepowerful church.
If not, if we don't do it,we're no better than
non-believers.
We're actually worse, becauseof course, they live for
themselves.
Who else are they going to livefor?
(06:35):
But we know what God's done forus.
He lifted us up out of the pit,cleaned us up and gave us new
life, not so we can sip sodaswith Jesus in our cozy lives,
but that we would share whatwe've been given with others.
Pray for opportunities to sharewhat you've been given.
Pray for those people who whatyou've been given.
Pray for those people whoconsider you an enemy.
(06:56):
They're attacking you, they'repersecuting you, they're hurling
insults and accusations at you,they're calling you bad.
Right.
I already said this, but I amtalking to myself as much as I'm
talking to you.
We have to love the lost, gosh.
We have to love the lost, andthat just doesn't come natural.
(07:17):
The angry hater of the churchDang it.
We aren't going to share withthose.
We can't stand.
We have to share Christ's loveby having love in our heart, and
the only way to get that isfrom Jesus.
So I'm wondering if keepingChrist's love alive and well in
our hearts isn't what that oilin the parable of the virgins
(07:40):
that have to keep their oil litfor Christ coming back, because
God said in the end times, asevil increases, hearts will wax
cold and many will fall away.
Well, without that love in ourheart, that's what happens.
That love in our heart, that'swhat happens when we hate others
(08:01):
back or despise them or thinkless of them.
Just don't let that be you thatfalls away.
Don't let our hearts wax cold.
And it isn't overnight y'all,it's like a steady decay, a
steady drift to the land youdon't want to be in, to the land
of cold hearts that have fallenaway.
So may we who are called by hisname fall on our knees and
(08:24):
repent of hardheartedness, ofjudgmentalness, superiority,
complex, our comfortablecomplacency.
If we get on our knees and laythat at Jesus's feet, ask him to
remind you of the pit that youwere in.
Remind us where we once sloshedaround before he saved us,
before he rescued us.
(08:45):
Help us to see people as yousee them lost lambs thrashing
around hopeless, hurt and angry.
Help us to reach out with yournail-scarred hands, even if they
slap it away over and overagain.
We cannot take back theterritory the enemy has stolen
(09:05):
until we take back the territoryof our own hearts.
They must be softened in tearsof repentance, softened by the
blood of God's extravagant mercyand grace for us, and then
turned in love to others.
In our world today, when we areall just a little heavy, aghast,
(09:28):
at the celebration of death,god, I pray that you would show
up when we hit our knees, repentof our cold hearts, requesting
that you renew them, make themsoft with your mercy and grace,
and help us to love our enemiesbecause of your great love for
(09:50):
us.
Help us to give away whatyou've so freely given us.
Okay, I love y'all and I can'twait to get together next time.
On Preachy Girl.
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