Dave’s Monday Blast – January 11, 2016
Psalms 86:12 says, “I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.” Isn’t this incredible…the God of the universe really LOVES us. I wonder though…what else does God love? There is this famous passage in Proverbs Chapter 6 detailing what God hates. Indeed, throughout the Bible God never shows reluctance to speak against behaviors he finds detestable. This should come as no surprise to us, being that He is holy and man has amassed a large amount of sinful tendencies since he first came into being. But what does He love?
Over the next two weeks I want to share with you some thoughts I have gleaned from crosswalk.com concerning seven things that our Heavenly Father loves. While avoiding the “bad” list, is there a “good” list and let’s see how it may impact the way we live. Men of Intention are always striving to discover how they can best bear His image. Let’s unpack Proverbs 6:16 to discern the things which God loves.
God hates “haughty eyes.” Therefore, God loves eyes which gaze with humility. Not a false or broken humility of despising oneself, but a genuine, Christ-like choice to serve others, not draw undue attention to oneself, and treat others with great honor and respect.
God hates a “lying tongue.” Therefore, God loves a tongue which speaks truth. Note that this does not say a brash tongue, or a loud tongue, or a tongue which speaks its opinion at any and every possible moment. Rather, he loves a tongue which, when it does speak, values honesty and artlessness.
God hates “hands that shed innocent blood.” Therefore, God loves hands which protect the innocent. Throughout Scripture, God’s compassion for the defenseless and the innocent is clear. He commends His children (in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Covenant) to protect the defenseless (Psalm 82:3 – 4), welcome the alien (Matthew 25:35), care for the widow (James 1:27), defend the orphan (Deuteronomy 24:17), and mourn with those who are mourning (Romans 12:15). We are to be peaceful citizens, not bloodthirsty citizens, and our hands should therefore strive to protect the innocent at all costs.
That’s good isn’t it! Next week we will consider the last four, but I would encourage you this week to INTENTIONALLY select one of these three things that God loves and work to implement more of it into your daily life.
