Good morning!
Welcome to your morning coffee! May our Heavenly Father allow us to feel the shadow of the fear that comes with doing what he hates. Father, make us sensitive not just to what pleases you, but also what displeases you. As the psalmist says Father, seek out any offensive thing in us, and lead us in your way everlasting. Lead us. We need your help to obey you and please you. In the name of Jesus, and by the power of the Spirit, reveal to us the ways in which may have strayed from the perfect joy of your will. And help us to repent and change!
Your Morning Song: "Don't Be Talkin' 'Bout Friends" by Acapella
Your Morning Scripture: Psalm 101:3-5
I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.
Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure.
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Keep an eye on how these verses build. The psalmist, led by the Spirit, begins with avoiding that which is worthless, rejecting the godless work of the godless. He works through this thought up into a more specific expression of rejecting the perverse heart and pledging to set apart their own heart from evil.
And here's the climax, the next level, the more specific expression of evil.
Gossip? Really?
And the response? I will destroy. I will not endure.
Have you ever given any thought to how God feels about gossip?
He hates it. He will not endure it.
Do we hate it? Do we endure it? Are we afraid to call it out? Are we afraid to tell people it is wrong? Or to remove ourselves from it?
How do we talk about others when they aren't there? Are careful and cautious are we to protect the dignity and reputation of others when we speak without their knowing? Do we excuse ourselves by explaining that we'd say it to their face so behind their back makes it okay?
We need to be careful. We need to be care-full. With our words. And with our love for each other. Let us build each other up. Especially if it is without their knowing.
God hates gossip. If we love God we will not do what he hates.
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