You Who Love the Lord, Hate Evil

“The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;

    let the many coastlands be glad!

Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;

    righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

Fire goes before him

    and burns up his adversaries all around.

His lightnings light up the world;

    the earth sees and trembles.

The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,

    before the Lord of all the earth.” (Psalms 97:1-5 ESV)

Our God – Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit – is all powerful, all knowing, and ever present everywhere all at the same time. He is our creator God and he is fully sovereign and in control over all that he has created. And he reigns over all the earth. There is not anything which escapes his notice or that is beyond his power to act when he chooses to act. And righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

“The heavens proclaim his righteousness,

    and all the peoples see his glory.

All worshipers of images are put to shame,

    who make their boast in worthless idols;

    worship him, all you gods!” (Psalms 97:6-7 ESV)

So, what is righteousness? It is morality, justice, decency, uprightness, honesty, and blamelessness. It is the opposite of wickedness and evil. And it means divine approval, i.e. what meets God’s approval. It refers to what is deemed right by the Lord, what is approved in his eyes. So he is the only one who determines right from wrong and what is righteous and what is evil. And his word spells out for us what he approves and what he disapproves.

And idolatry is definitely one of the main things that God disapproves of all throughout the Scriptures. And images worshiped can be anything, including people, possessions, intellect, talent, entertainment, sports, music, movies, games, politicians, preachers, government heads, sports figures, entertainers, the news media, nations, people groups, products, and the like. It is anything we put above God in our lives, to which we are devoted.

But we are to give our worship (veneration, reverence, loyalty, devotion, honor, respect, and fidelity) to God above all others. He is to have first place in our hearts and minds. His word trumps the words of all human beings. He should have our time, our loyalties, and our affections above all else. And everyone and everything else in our lives should be tested against his word to see if they should even have part in our lives, and if so, how much.

“Zion hears and is glad,

    and the daughters of Judah rejoice,

    because of your judgments, O Lord.

For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;

    you are exalted far above all gods.

“O you who love the Lord, hate evil!

    He preserves the lives of his saints;

    he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Light is sown for the righteous,

    and joy for the upright in heart.

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,

    and give thanks to his holy name!” (Psalms 97:8-12 ESV)

Our God is a God of love, but he is also a God of justice who judges his people and the people of this earth and the nations. He makes just and righteous decisions about the deeds of mankind. And he separates the “sheep” from the “goats.” He knows who are his true sheep and who are not, for his true sheep pay attention to his words and they follow him in obedience to his commands in holy living (see John 10:27; Luke 9:23-26).

So, all of us who claim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, who claim to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, we are to be those who hate evil in all its various forms. And evil is anything that is opposed to God and to his moral laws and to his divine character and will for our lives. So we are to hate all immorality, dishonesty, trickery, faithlessness (to God, to spouse), and the worship of what is not God.

For his word teaches us that the grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, trains us to renounce (say “No” to) ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works (see Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:10).

For if sin is what we practice, and not the righteousness of God, and not obedience to his word and to his commands (New Covenant), then we are not in fellowship with God, we don’t know God, we are not born of God, but we are of the devil. And we will not inherit eternal life with God if this is the course we continue on, and if we do not turn from our sins to follow our Lord in obedience in steadfastness of spirit and practice until the very end.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

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