Tag: wicked

Categories
Psalms Devotionals

The heart of the wicked

Psalms

So often, when we think of wicked people, we think merely of their actions. But what truly makes people wicked is their hearts. Even more than their actions, a person’s heart defines whether they are wicked or not.

What is the attitude of the wicked person?

1. They curse or despise the Lord in their hearts (Psalm 10:3). For some people they are openly hostile to God. For others, they simply don’t think he’s that important.

2. In their pride, they deny his existence. And even if some do acknowledge his existence, they refuse to seek him. (4)

3. They deny any accountablity to God. (11, 13)

All these are wicked attitudes in the sight of God. And he will judge people who hold them.

So often, we look at the people around us and think, “They are so nice. How could God possibly judge them?” And so we do not think it is necessary to share the gospel with them.

But how many of them hold these wicked attitudes in their heart? Let us not fool ourselves concerning their hearts and let us not allow them to deceive themselves either.

As Jeremiah said,

The heart is more deceitful than anything else,
and incurable—who can understand it?

I, the Lord, examine the mind,
I test the heart,
to give to each according to his way,
according to what his actions deserve. (Jeremiah 17:9-10)

Let’s share the gospel with them, that they may repent, be healed, and find true life in Jesus Christ.

Categories
Ezekiel Devotionals

Falsely promising life

Ezekiel

I don’t typically read the New Living Translation, but I have been listening to an audio Bible using that translation recently.

And today, this word struck me:

And you have encouraged the wicked by promising them life, even though they continue in their sins. (Ezekiel 13:22)

There is much turmoil in the church today, with a lot of people taking on standards, not of God, but of the world around us. (Ezekiel 11:12)

But throughout chapter 13, God condemns the “prophets” for whitewashing the sins of the people. For saying the people had peace with God, when in reality they had no peace at all.

Why didn’t these people have true peace with God? Because instead of repenting and turning from their sins, they continued in them.

We cannot do what these “prophets” did. We cannot encourage the wicked, promising them life when they have no life.

We cannot whitewash their sin, calling the evil they do “good.”

For if we do, God will not only judge them but will hold us responsible for those false promises we gave them.

So let us not falsely promise people life when they have no life.

Rather let us boldly proclaim the truth so that they might repent and find true life.

Categories
Psalms

Discouraged by the evil we see.

Psalms

It  can be discouraging at times to see all the evil that is in this world.  To see people who prosper despite having no fear of God at all.  People who only look out for themselves and don’t care who they hurt.

And when we see them prospering, it’s easy to start saying, “What’s the point of doing what’s right?  What’s the point of following God when I’m struggling, and those who don’t give a rip about God are doing well?”

That’s what Asaph struggled with and Psalm 73 describes his struggle with the evil he saw.

He starts the psalm with his conclusion.

Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.  (Psalm 73:1)

In other words, when all is said and done, God is good.  And those who follow him and keep pure hearts before him will see his goodness in their lives.

But then he talks about his struggle, saying,

But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.

For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.  (2-3)

And in the next few verses, he talks about how all the wicked people he saw seemed to have no struggles at all.  They were healthy and rich, with none of the burdens that most people have.

This despite how proud and violent they were. This despite all the evil that came out of their hearts and mouths, saying,

How would God know?  Does the Most High know anything?  (11)

So Asaph cried out,

Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence.

All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments.  (13-14)

But as he came into the presence of God, all of these thoughts melted away like the mist as he realized their final destiny.

Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin.

How suddenly are they destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!

They are like a dream when one awakes;
when you arise, Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.  (18-20)

In short, their time will come.  Their prosperity lasts only a moment compared to eternity, and then all will see just how temporal it all was.

When Asaph realized this, he felt so stupid for envying the wicked and questioning God.  But then he said,

Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.  (23-24)

The nice thing about God is his patience.  That though we sometimes question him and his goodness, he doesn’t give up on us.  He continues to stand by us and lead us until the day we see him face to face.

As Asaph realized all this, he sang in praise,

Whom have I in heaven but you?  And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

But as for me, it is good to be near God.  I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.  (25-28)

Lord, whom have I in heaven but you?  Lord, it’s so easy to be jealous of those who do evil, because their lives seem to be so good.  But Lord, it is good to be near to you. 

Let me never envy the wicked, no matter how good their lives may seem.  Instead, Lord, be my desire above all things.  Be my strength and portion forever.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Categories
Psalms

The evil of mankind

Psalms

As I write this, a major story in the American sports world is the arrest of an NFL star named Aaron Hernandez.  Hernandez is charged with murder.

It seems quite unreal to me.  I am by no means a New England Patriots fan (actually, I can’t stand them).

But it’s unbelievable to me that someone could have such a blatant disregard for life, that he would plot and carry out the murder of another person.

Hernandez, is of course innocent until proven guilty, but things don’t look good for him right now.  All the evidence that we know of points to he and two others murdering another man.

I couldn’t help but think of that as I read Psalm 36.  David wrote,

An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:  There is no fear of God before his eyes.

For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin.

The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and to do good.

Even on his bed he plots evil; he commits himself to a sinful course and does not reject what is wrong.  (Psalm 36:1-4)

Do all these things relate to Hernandez’s case?  That is yet to be seen.  But it shows the heart of so many who do evil.

Evil starts with a lack of fear in our hearts for God.  When we refuse to acknowledge God in our lives, then just about anything goes.  We are free to do almost anything.

The only thing that would restrain us would be a fear of punishment or our conscience.  And apart from God, our consciences inevitably become warped.

Some people’s consciences are warped to a lesser degree than others, but they are warped nonetheless.  And they become blinded to what is truly good and right.  As David wrote,

For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin.  (2)

How do we flatter ourselves?  We think of ourselves as better than we really are.  Or we think we are perfectly justified in all our actions.

The result?  We can’t even detect, no less hate the sin in our lives.  And in our sin, we cease to be wise and to do what is good.

If the prosecutors are right, Hernandez was so angry with the victim, that he murdered him.

Part of the reason it seems so unreal to me is that if this is true, not only did he destroy another man’s life, he destroyed his own.

He was rich and had everything he needed from a material standpoint.  He worked with a good organization.  He seemed set for life.

Yet he couldn’t forgive the grievance he had against the victim and that grievance became more important to him than anything else.

That includes his fiancée and his 7-month old daughter who will now be without a husband and father if he is found guilty.

But when we commit ourselves to a course of evil, that’s what happens.  When we fail to reject what we know is wrong, we destroy ourselves and end up hurting the ones we love.

How about you?  You probably haven’t murdered anyone.  But how about in your heart?

Do you hold anger and unforgiveness in your heart?  Jesus said that if you do, you have murdered that person in your heart.  (Matthew 5:21-22).

Aside from that, are you giving yourself to other destructive tendencies in your life?

Do you fail to fear God, saying, “Oh, he’ll forgive me.  It’s okay?”

Have you been justifying yourself for actions you know are wrong?  Are you committing yourself to a path you know is wrong?

Let us be wise.  Let us fear God and do what is right, not giving in to the evil that infects our world.