Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Proverbs 6:16-19
Prov 6:16-19
There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.
Eph 4:1-4
I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
James 3:18
And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
There are those who seem to think that their righteousness and the validity of their religious teachings are determined by how much strife they can cause by their teaching. The more they are opposed by others, the more righteous they must be. The more trouble they can cause, the more they think their message is validated by God. This is not new; it was prevalent in Paul’s day.
When we become children of God, it is he who adds us to his church (the collective group of saved people). It is our job to make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We don’t make the unity. God has done that in Jesus Christ. This unity is not conformity of thinking. It is the oneness we share by all being in Jesus. It is an abomination for us to destroy God’s unity.
Peace begins with humility. We must be like Jesus and put the interests of others ahead of our own by not thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought. Peace is also maintained when we don’t care who gets credit for what is accomplished. The one with haughty eyes is the one who will devise wicked plans and who will demand their own way instead of working for the good of all. We are not speaking of compromising our convictions, we are talking about being willing to yield our personal likes, dislikes and preferences, to the glory of God.
O Lord God, give me a stronger desire to study your word and to know what you have revealed to us in it. Give me wisdom to understand it properly. Give me grace when I am wrong. Fill me with your Spirit so I will show grace to those with whom I differ, but not pass judgment on them. Help your people to all be one and learn to get along with each other, even when we differ. Remind me that I am wrong at times and my understanding is not perfect. Also, that all of your people are saved by your forgiveness by grace, including me. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
