Who is on the Lord's side?

Bible Reading:  Exodus 32:25-35

Key Verse: Verse 26 - “Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD'S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.”

Key Words: Who is on the LORD’S side

I know “pride cometh before the fall,” but I’m so happy to be the pastor of the same church for almost 32 years; and thus far, we’ve never had a church fight.  Now, that doesn’t mean every member has always agreed on every issue, but it does mean that our people as a whole have placed God ahead of their personal feelings and desires.  My prayer is that, that will continue.

During the Civil War Abraham Lincoln met with a group of ministers for a prayer breakfast.  Lincoln was a man of deep, if at times unorthodox, faith.  At one point one of the ministers said, “Mr. President, let us pray that God is on our side.”  Lincoln’s response showed far greater insight, “No, gentlemen, let us pray that we are on God’s side.”

If all of us would just get on God’s side, there would have to be no fussing, fuming, and fighting because there would always be a house full of forgiveness.

Whatever issues you or your church are fighting over today, let me assure you that it grieves the Holy Spirit and quenches the revival fires of the church.  Is your issue more important than that?

                                                                                             Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

✞ Be on the winning side: that would be God’s side.

Wisdom

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 4:1-13

Key Verse: Verse 7 - “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”

Key Words: Wisdom is the principal thing

One of the reasons for some of the fussing, fuming, and fighting among believers is that matters are handled with little wisdom or no wisdom at all.  We demand to have our way…right now!

A new preacher at the local church walked into the auditorium of His new church. He thought it would be best to move the piano from the right side of the stage to the left side of the stage, so he moved it. Soon after he was fired for the disruption caused by the new placement of the piano. Five years later he returned to the same church to visit with the minister who stepped in when he was fired. They walked into the auditorium and there was the piano on the left side of the stage. The once fired preacher asked “How did you get the piano to the left side of the stage? They fired me for moving it.” The reply from the other minister was plain. “I came in every day and moved the piano to the left three inches.”

A little wisdom goes a long way in handling delicate  issues.

                                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom.

Fighting In The Barracks Again

Bible Reading:  Ephesians 6:10-20

Key Verse: Verse 11 – “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

Key Words: Put on the whole armour of God 

We read this portion of Scripture often, so often we don’t take the time to let it sink in.

We are soldiers of Christ and we surely need to put on the whole armor of God in order that we can stand and fight the good fight of faith; but often we end up fighting against one another.

I read the following recently (source is unknown).

Christians are often likened to an army: we sing “Onward Christian Soldiers” and read, “Put on the whole armor of God.” Imagine Christ reviewing the troops, who are supposed to be fresh and ready for battle. But some have fairly recent wounds, nicks in their armor, arms in slings, casts, etc. 

He asks, “What’s the matter here? Why are they wounded already?” 

“Oh, they’ve been fighting in the barracks again.”

As my captain in Viet Nam once said, “Men, the war is out there, not in here!!”

Dear believer, the war is out there, not in the house of God!

 

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞You’ll never win the war by fighting in the barracks.

Obedience

Bible Reading:  I Peter 1:1-16

Key Verse: Verse 14 - “As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:”

Key Words: As obedient children

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to obey?  Something about our pride doesn’t like to obey.  Wives battle with obeying their husbands, children battle with obeying their parents, employees battle with obeying their bosses.  We all battle obeying those who have the rule over us.  But I promise you this: we will all show up on Sunday morning and sing “To God Be the Glory” after we’ve fought all the week before with those whom we are supposed to obey.

Elisabeth Elliot, at Urbana 76, told of her brother Thomas Howard. Their mother let him play with paper bags she’d saved if he put them away afterwards. One day she walked into the kitchen to find them strewn all over the floor. Tom was out at the piano with his father singing hymns. When confronted, he protested, “But Mom, I want to sing.” His father stated, “It’s no good singing God’s praise if you’re disobedient.”

May God bless us as we all sing praise to God and obey those whom God has placed over us.

 

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Remember, it’s no good singing God’s praises if you’re not obedient.

Putting Up With People

Bible Reading:  James 1:1-8

Key Verse: Verse 4 -  “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

Key Words: But let patience have her perfect work

I guess you heard about the man who prayed, “Lord, please give me patience, and would You please hurry before I hurt someone?”

Putting up with people is not always easy; and it’s often our lack of patience with others that causes many conflicts, and can damage the cause of Christ.

According to a traditional Hebrew story, Abraham was sitting outside his tent one evening when he saw an old man, weary from age and journey, coming toward him. Abraham rushed out, greeted him, and then invited him into his tent. There he washed the old man's feet and gave him food and drink.

The old man immediately began eating without saying any prayer or blessing. So Abraham asked him, "Don't you worship God?" 

The old traveler replied, "I worship fire only and reverence no other god." 

When he heard this, Abraham became incensed, grabbed the old man by the shoulders, and threw him out of his tent into the cold night air.

When the old man had departed, God called to his friend Abraham and asked where the stranger was. Abraham replied, "I forced him out because he did not worship you." 

God answered, "I have suffered him these eighty years although he dishonors me. Could you not endure him one night?" 

There is a caution here for us all to put up with people; God does, you know!

 

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Shooting at the Saints

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 6:1-12

Key Verse: Verse 5 - “ I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?”

Key Words: I speak to your shame

In each chapter of the book of I Corinthians Paul is dealing with problems in the church at Corinth.

In Viet Nam there would be rare occasions where American soldiers would be accordingly killed by other American soldiers.  This was known as friendly fire.

In the book of I Corinthians what you have is saints shooting other saints.  I’m afraid this still happens in churches today.

It is said that when the British and French were fighting in Canada in the 1750s, Admiral Phipps, commander of the British fleet, was told to anchor outside Quebec. He was given orders to wait for the British land forces to arrive, then support them when they attacked the city. Phipps' navy arrived early. As the admiral waited, he became annoyed by the statues of the saints that adorned the towers of a nearby cathedral, so he commanded his men to shoot at them with the ships' cannons. No one knows how many rounds were fired or how many statues were knocked out, but when the land forces arrived and the signal was given to attack, the admiral was of no help. He had used up all his ammunition shooting at the "saints." 

What a shame!

 

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞A soldier killed by friendly fire is still a dead soldier.  Remember that!

Spiritual Pygmies

Bible Reading:  Acts 6

Key Verse: Verse 1 - “And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.”

Key Words: there arose a murmuring

The apostles were wise in how they handled the situation; but let’s face reality, the apostles are now with God in glory and leadership in some churches is lacking.  As a result, some churches are filled with fussing, fuming, and fighting.

In mythology we read about Cadmus who slew a dragon.  Then he took the dragon’s teeth and sowed them broadcast in a fertile field.  When he returned later, he found that each seed had sprung up into a giant.  He was afraid of what they might do to him so he decided to employ a clever ruse to cause the giants to fight each other.  He threw a stone and struck one of the giants on the ear.  This giant thought another giant had struck him, so a fight ensued.  Soon all the giants were fighting each other and before long all of them were killed while Cadmus looked on and laughed.

Our churches are full of potential spiritual giants, but Satan often sows discord among the members and they end up as spiritual pygmies, fighting one another…and that’s a disgrace to the cause of Christ.

 

                                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Remember, if you are fighting in the church, Satan is laughing.

Tuned In Or Tuned Out

Bible Reading:  Ecclesiastes 5:1-8

Key Verse: Verse 7 - “For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.”

Key Words: For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities

How do we get people to hear us?  Let me suggest four things required to keep people tuned in.

First, be clear with your communication.

Second, be as brief as possible.  State the facts, but don’t fumble around with a lot of side issues.

Third, always be kind, speaking the truth in love.

Fourth, believe in what you are saying.  People need to know you are sincere.

Bill stopped in at Abie’s little general store, looking for a bottle of mustard. The shelves were loaded with salt—bags and bags of salt. Abie said he had some mustard, but that he would have to go down to the cellar to find it. Bill went down with him, and there to his surprise were still more bags of salt. Everywhere he looked he could see salt. 

“Say,” said Bill, “you must sell a lot of salt in this store!”

“Nah,” said Abie sourly. “I can’t sell no salt. But that feller who sells me salt—boy, can he sell salt!”

 

                                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Be brief, my brother, be brief.  Remember, “He that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil.”  I Peter 3:10

The Greatest Persuasion

Bible Reading:  Daniel 3:8-17,30

Key Verse: Verse 17 - “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.”

Key Words: our God whom we serve is able to  deliver us

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednigo were great examples of how to reach the heart of the king.  They did not bellow, beg, nor did they fuss, fume, and fight.  They were a perfect picture of how to handle a great trial in their lives.

When Benjamin Franklin wished to interest the people of Philadelphia in street lighting, he didn’t try to persuade them by just talking about it. He hung a beautiful lantern on a long bracket in front of his home. He kept the glass highly polished. Every evening at the approach of dusk, he carefully lit the wick. People saw the light from a distance and when they walked in its light, found that it helped them to avoid sharp stones on the pavement. Others placed light at their homes, and soon Philadelphia recognized the need for street lighting. As others learn of the peace and joy you have in your life in Christ, they will recognize their need for Him. Your witness through personal testimony may be just what someone is waiting for!

It’s important that we let others see Jesus clearly in our lives.

 

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞ Persuade people through a Christian spirit.

A Time To Fight

Bible Reading:  Nehemiah 13:15-22

Key Verse: Verse 21 - “Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath.”

Key Words: I will lay hands on you

Much of what people fight over in church today is trivial and worthless and grieves the Holy Spirit.  But there are some things worth fighting over.  In our Bible reading for today, Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem from Babylon and he finds that many are no longer worshipping God.  They were defying God’s Word of “remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.”  Nehemiah found this sin of polluting the Sabbath worthy of fighting over, and said to those who defied God’s “holy day,” “Why lodge ye about the wall?  If ye do so again, I will lay hands on you.”  There are some things worth fighting over.

From the rule of St. Benedict, Sixth Century A.D.

If any pilgrim monk come from distant parts, with wish as a guest to dwell in the monastery, and will be content with the customs which he finds in the place, and do not perchance by his lavishness disturb the monastery, but is simply content with what he finds, he shall be received, for as long a time as he desires. If, indeed, he find fault with anything, or expose it, reasonably, and with the humility of charity, the Abbot shall discuss it prudently, lest perchance God has sent him for this very thing. But if he have been found gossipy and contumacious in the time of his sojourn as guest, not only ought he not to be joined to the body of the monastery, but also it shall be said to him, honestly, that he must depart. If he does not go, let two stout monks, in the name of God, explain the matter to him. 

But I caution you to pick and choose your fights carefully and prayerfully.  “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

 

                                                                                                       Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Make sure your fight is a worthy cause, not a personal attack.

Mistaken About Ourselves

Bible Reading:  Romans 12:1-8

Key Verse: Verse 4 - “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

Key Words: not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think

Often we find ourselves in disagreement with others because we can only see “us” as being right.  We see ourselves as being the “spiritual” ones.

A young lady went to her minister one day and confessed, “Pastor, I have to admit I’ve become vain in my thinking.  Why, just this morning I looked in the mirror and admired my beauty.”  The elderly minister paused and then said with a smile, “Be at peace, my dear.  To be mistaken is not to sin!”  

Sometimes we as Christians are a lot like that young woman.  We see ourselves through “rose-colored glasses” and fail to hold a proper view of our strengths and weaknesses.  As a result, we attempt what we are not cut out to do, or we try to exercise gifts we do not possess.  An inflated estimate of our capabilities hinders the Holy Spirit’s work in us and opens the door to embarrassment and failure.  We must remember that He gives us our talents and empowers us so that what we accomplish brings glory to God, not to ourselves.

In Romans 12, Paul tells us how to gain a right perspective.  He says that we should guard against having an inflated opinion of ourselves, but instead should see our lives in the context of the “mercies of God.”  Because we are forgiven sinners through faith in Christ, we can be content to do whatever He chooses.  Confident that He accepts us and wants to use us, we are then free to exercise the talents that are most natural to us.

So let’s not envy the achievements of others.  Let’s not try to be like someone else.  We can avoid being mistaken about our gifts by thinking soberly about ourselves as God gives us the measure of faith.

 

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse                           

What to do:

✞Think soberly.

Wronged

Bible Reading: Philemon

Key Verse: Verse 18  - “ If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;”

Key Words: If he hath wronged thee

When you are wronged by others, what is your response?  When one is wronged, it tells you three things.  First of all, it tells you about the one who inflicts the wrong.  Hurt people, hurt people.  Proud people also hurt people.  Secondly, it tells you about the character of the one wronged, by how they handle being hurt by others.  Those wronged tend to respond in one or more of the following ways.  First, the person of weak character will be highly offended and attempt to get even by threatening, by withholding love, attention, or possessions.  They may even withdraw, move on to another person or place.  The person with strong character will forgive and pray for those who have hurt them.

When Jesus was wronged and falsely accused by the leadership of the Pharisees, He answered them not a word, and while dying on the cross, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

If you have ever been wronged by others, here are some verses to remember.

• Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”
• Matthew 12:34b, “...for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”  (So what are your words saying about your heart?)
• Ecclesiastes 5:2c, “...therefore, let thy words be few.”
• Matthew 7:12, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”
• James 3:2b, “If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man.”
• Psalm 19:14, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” 
• I Peter 3:10, “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.”
• Psalm 119:165, “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.”

I close by giving you four thoughts. 1) Choose your words carefully.  2) Two wrongs never equal a right.  3) Remember, your talk talks, and your walk walks; but your walk talks louder than your talk talks.  4) I am seldom sorry for what I do not say.  But I am often sorry for what I do say.

 

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do: 

✞Apply the four closing thoughts.

Hurtful Words

Bible Reading: Luke 6:37-45

Key Verse: Verses 45 - “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”

Key Words: an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil

The truth is that it is so much easier to find the ills of man than the good, but I have discovered that good men find good and evil men find evil (Luke 6:45).  We know who is who by what they say.  It reminds me of a typical American family that was driving home from church. Dad was fussing about the sermon being too long and sort of boring. Mom said that she thought the organist played a little too loud during the second hymn we sang. Sis, who was a music major in college, said that the soloist sang about a half note off key during most of the song. Grandma said she couldn’t hear very well; they were sitting in a bad place. Little Willie listened to all of this and started to fuss about the woman with the big hat who sat in front of him. He couldn’t see around her. And then he nudged his dad and said, “But, Dad, you gotta admit, it was a pretty good show for a nickel.”

Now, there is some food for thought!

 

                                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Listen to yourself.  What are your words saying about your heart?

Revenge

Bible Reading:  Leviticus 19:11-18

Key Verse: Verse 18 - “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.”

Key Words: Thou shalt not avenge

Friedrich Nietzshe once said, “Revenge is the greatest instinct in the human race.”

Think of all the people who were revengeful: Cain, Absalom, King Saul, Ahab, Jezebel, the princes who lied about Daniel, and the list goes on and on.  We are a revengeful people.

There was a guy that could not get along with his wife and, on top of that, he couldn't get along with his mother-in-law.  In frustration one day, he finally took a long walk.  As he was about to return home, he got to the street corner and saw a hearse pull up to the stop sign.  It had a big dog in it.  Behind that was another hearse.  And then behind that second hearse, about fifty men were walking.  He was seized with curiosity and walked up to the first hearse, knocked on the glass and the guy inside rolled his window down, “Yes?” he asked.  “What is this?” asked the man.

“Well, in this casket is my wife.  And in that casket in the other hearse is my mother-in-law.  This big dog killed both of them.”

“Hmm.  Can I borrow that dog?”

And the guy inside said, “Get in line.”

Now, while we would never take the life of another person, it doesn’t seem to bother some to take revenge by slandering their good name.  So let’s each ask God to help us have victory over a revengeful spirit.  Amen!

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Ask God to help you never to be filled with revenge.

Dying To Self

Bible Reading:  Colossians 3:1-13

Key Verse: Verse 3 – “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”

Key Words: For ye are dead

A Sunday School teacher was teaching their Sunday School class to see if they understood the concept of getting to heaven.

He asked them, “If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into heaven?”

“NO!” the children answered.

“If I cleaned the church everyday, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into heaven?”

Again, the answer was, “NO!”  He was just bursting with pride for them.

“Well,” he continued, “then how can I get into heaven?”

A five-year-old boy shouted out, “YOU GOTTA BE DEAD.”

Not only do you have to be dead to go to heaven, you have to be dead to self to stop all the fussing, fuming, and fighting.

So many believers today have never died to self and their own self-will.  As a result, many churches are full of fussing, fuming, and fighting.

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse           

What to do: 

✞ As a believer, dying on earth results in going to heaven; dying to self on earth allows heaven to live in you today.

Mistreatment

Bible Reading:  Matthew 5:33-42

Key Verse: Verse 39 - “But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

Key Words: turn to him the other also

We often find ourselves fighting mad because of the mistreatment of ourselves or others.  Now, I will admit to you I hate to see people mistreated, but I’m at the age where I think I have a better understanding of the subject.

Jesus was mistreated and said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Jesus taught others in regard to being mistreated in the Sermon on the Mount.  He said such things as “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and perscute you.”

A nurse in a serviceman's hospital complained to the chaplain that she had been rudely treated by some of the patients.  He answered, “Thank God for that!” “What do you mean?” she inquired in astonishment.  “Well,” he explained, “if you are holding a glass and someone knocks against you, you can only spill out what is inside!  When people misjudge and persecute us, we soon reveal what is in our hearts.  If we are Christ-filled and governed by the Holy Spirit, we will manifest the gentleness and meekness of our Savior.  In fact, God often allows us to be pushed around and mistreated so that unsaved men may be astonished at His grace as we overflow with love and forbearance.”

 Quite a thought, isn’t it?

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Remember, you can only be as strong as your fruit of temperance.

My Own Enemy

Bible Reading:  II Samuel 12:1-13

Key Verse: Verse 7 - “ And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;”

Key Words: Thou art the man

 Have you ever noticed that the one thing we can’t stand about others is often our own weakness?  David became filled with anger when told by Nathan that the poor man’s lamb had been stolen by the man with many lambs, but David had just stolen Uriah’s wife.  Peter could not stand acts of cowardice, but when pressed on the night of Jesus’ arrest, he cowardly denied Christ three times.  Jacob battled with the deceitfulness of Laban, but it was he who deceived his own father, Isaac.

There is an old adage that states, “I have met the enemy, and it is I.”  Today is a day of self-centeredness.  It is easy to see the faults and weaknesses of others and still never see our own.  A lady, after one of our morning services very bluntly stated that the one thing that she could not stand in preachers was bluntness.

Solomon said in Proverbs 26:16, The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit, than seven men that can render a reason.  Most people never see their own weakness.  They justify them away with ten-cent excuses.  Today, would you begin to pray for God to reveal your character flaws to you, and when He does, will you be willing to correct them?

Don’t try to hide your weaknesses, everyone else already sees them.  To accept them is to accept second best for your life.

Note: When David saw David, he repented.  When Peter saw Peter, he repented.  When Jacob saw Jacob, he repented.  When I see me, what do I do?

 

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse                                        

What to do: 

✞Ask God to allow you to see yourself as He sees you.

Their Attitude

Bible Reading:  Psalm 103

Key Verse: Verse 14 - “For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.”

Key Words: he remembereth that we are dust

I, on occasion, will tell our teachers to handle each student as if their mother was standing there watching us because how we handle others will go a long way in reaching them for Christ.

Douglas Twitchell writes:  Last fall my friends Ben and Melissa added a little baby girl to their family. I was excited for the news, and waited impatiently for the day they would invite me to come see little Ziva. As we were sitting around chatting, and watching the baby doing baby-ish things (that is to say, not much of anything but make faces and noises), Ben said, "Do you want to hold her?"

I said, "Well, yeah!"

I have to admit, it had been a long time since I'd held a newborn in my arms; most of my friends have passed the age when they're adding children to the family, so opportunities to hold newborns are few and far between for me.

As I cradled Ziva in my arms, I thought, How different this is from the way I hold my nephew who is four years old! Little Ziva is so fragile compared to Elias!

And I remembered a word that crops up in the Bible from time to time: gentleness. Colossians 3:12 tells us to clothe ourselves with gentleness. Galatians 6:1 instructs us that when we confront someone caught in sin, we must do it gently.

And what does that tell us? It tells us that, like newborn babies, human beings are all fragile. Not, in most cases, physically fragile, but spiritually fragile and emotionally fragile. How we treat one another is a reflection of our understanding that, as Psalm 103:14 says, we are formed from the dust of the earth, and there is nothing more fragile than that. 

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; For He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.

Maybe remembering this will help some consider and even stop all their fussing, fuming, and fighting and be forgiving.

 

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞People can be fragile; handle them with care.

Hateful

Bible Reading:  Titus 3

Key Verse: Verse 3 - “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.”

Key Words:  hateful, and hating one another

Hateful just means that one is full of hate.  The word means to detest, to persecute, actions done with an attempt to harm one physically, emotionally, or even to harm their testimony.

Do you know of others that carry the venom of hatred with them, ready to strike out at those whom they hate?

One of my grandsons got what looked like a wadded up piece of foam, brought it to our house, and told us it was a fish.  It wasn’t like any fish I had ever seen…the instructions simply said “place in a container of water” which we did; and sure enough, after a few minutes that foam began to unwrap and take on the shape of a fish!  We took it from the bowl we had it in and placed it in a bathtub full of water and left it there.  After a few hours, that little piece of foam had swollen into a pretty good-sized fish.  As I stood and thought about that “fish” I began to think about those who let a little thing, a little word, a little act sit and soak in the heart and before long, it has grown from envy or jealousy to disrespect, and from disrespect to anger, and from anger to bitterness, and from bitterness to hatred.

Today, there will be dozens of people who will read this devotional who are letting this envy, jealousy, resentment, anger, and bitterness soak in their heart and before long, they will have a heart full of hatred.  What a shame!

 

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Ask God to give you victory over hatred.  Remember, your hatred may or may not destroy the ones you hate, but it will certainly destroy you.