Does God Hate Us? - Love's Justice

The wicked are sentenced to suffer just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the adjacent towns - which likewise gave themselves over to impurity and indulged in unnatural vice and sensual perversity. They are laid out in plain sight as an exhibit of perpetual punishment to warn of everlasting fire. Nevertheless in like manner, today’s dreamers also corrupt the body, scorn and reject authority and government, and revile and libel and scoff at the glorious Heavenly angels. . . . Men scoff and sneer at anything they do not happen to be acquainted with and do not understand; and whatever they do understand by mere instinct - like irrational beasts - by these instincts, they corrupt and kill themselves. . . . they are:  

clouds without water, swept along by the winds; trees, without fruit at autumn gathering time--twice dead, lifeless and plucked up by the roots; wild waves of the sea, flinging up the foam of their own shame and disgrace; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of eternal darkness has been reserved forever. ... inveterate grumblers who complain of their lot in life, controlled only by their selfish passions and desires.

Their talk is boastful and arrogant, and they claim to admire and pay people flattering compliments only to gain advantage. . . . they are merely sensual creatures, worldly-minded people, devoid of the Holy Spirit and destitute of any higher spiritual life. - Jude 1:7-20

Do you not know that the unrighteous and the wrongdoers will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived or misled: neither the impure and immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who participate in homosexuality, nor cheats, swindlers, and thieves, nor greedy, nor drunkards, nor foulmouthed revilers and slanderers, nor extortioners and robbers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God. - 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

WOW . . . is this a reference to Justice, or what?  Does God Love us enough to warn us, or is He trying to "scare us into submission"?  Throughout our blogs "Does God Hate Us?" Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 examine Proverbs 6.  God hates the sinful character in man - especially sins committed against one another. He hates the sins and entities that separate us from Him.  We also learn that our separation is each physical, emotional, and spiritual.  We hear this familiar cliche, "God hates the sin, but loves the sinner," - HOWEVER, this is not stated anywhere in Scripture.  Rather God warns us how He hates that sinners make choices to sin, while knowing the adverse consequences of that choice - knowing the difference between good and evil.  The consequences are detachment from our Loving Creator and Heavenly Father, and separation from the abundant life He's purposed for us. 

For God's wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress and hinder the truth and make it inoperative.  For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God, Himself, has shown it to them.  For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made - His handiworks. So men are altogether without any defense or justification, because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks.

And so, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or approve of Him or consider Him worth the knowing, God gave them over to a base and condemned mind to do things not proper or decent but loathsome, until they were filled (permeated and saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, iniquity, grasping and covetous greed, and malice. They were full of envy and jealousy, murder, strife, deceit and treachery, ill will and cruel ways.  They were secret backbiters and gossipers, slanderers, hateful to and hating God, full of insolence, arrogance, and boasting; inventors of new forms of evil, disobedient and undutiful to parents.  They were without understanding, conscienceless and faithless, heartless and loveless and merciless.  Though they are fully aware of God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who practice them. - Romans 1

Here we learn God not only despises those that persist in sin; and for those that reject Him - and/or reject His instruction - He will leave alone "to their own devises," separated from Him, and given over to a mind that can only do loathsome things. From His instructions we learn that God is extremely Just, and perfectly evaluates the condition of our hearts - not just our actions. He knows our hearts better than we know our own. So is there anything we can do to establish Justice for our own heart? Is there anything or anyone we can pay off or make amends, to make up for our faults and separation from God? If the world is "the devil's playground" how can any human overcome the wickedness of this world or from within their own heart alone, separated from God?  How can one "beat the devil" when the only weapons and rules to use are from the devil's own playground?  No individual can overcome, change, or remove the darkness and destruction within their own hearts - none can redeem their own hopelessness.  Nothing we can do within our own devises - not any other person we go to for help - can reconcile our relationship to God, except God Himself. 

And God Loves us so much, that despite who we are or what we've done that He hates, His Love is Greater than Justice.  Rather than rewarding us with what we deserve, He has provided a means for us to receive absolute absolution - complete acquittal and pardon.  Forgiveness.  Not only do we receive Mercy, but in His Grace, He also promises to renew our hearts, making us new creatures in Him - reborn with a second chance at life, the past in the past.  He Loves us so much more than that.  He promises to give us benefits we never deserved - freedom, Power, peace, prosperity, Love, Joy, new life, abundant life, protection, healing, and on and on.  But why would a Just God not judge us accordingly, and see to it that we each get the punishment we deserve?

Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.  While we were yet in weakness [powerless to help ourselves], at the fitting time Christ died on behalf of the ungodly.  Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to give his life even for an upright man … But God shows and clearly proves His own Love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Therefore, since we are now acquitted, made righteous, and brought into right relationship with God by Christ's blood, how much more certain is it that we shall be saved by Him from the indignation and wrath of God.  For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more certain, now that we are reconciled, that we shall be daily delivered from sin's dominion through His resurrection life. – Romans 5

For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He even gave up His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, and relies on) Him shall not come to destruction, but have eternal (everlasting) life.  For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge, to condemn, or to pass sentence on the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe through Him.  He who believes in Him is not judged - he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation--he incurs no damnation.  But he who does not believe has already been convicted and has already received his sentence, because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. – John 3:16-18

So that's it?  All one has to do is believe that Jesus was God's Son and accept that He came as a sacrifice for my sin?  The key to my freedom from the addictions, this enslavement to sin and my heart's wickedness, comes from believing and trusting in that name?  Belief is going to get me into heaven, reunited with God, and life ever-after?  Well, not quite - belief is not enough ... and this is where many people professing to be Christians remain deceived.  Pay attention:

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; away from me, you evildoers!’ - Matthew 7:21-24

So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, if you abide in My Word, hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them, you are truly My disciples.  And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free . . . What do You mean by saying, You will be set free?  Jesus answered them, I assure you, and whoever commits and practices sin is the slave of sin.  Now a slave does not remain in a household forever; the son does remain forever.  So if the Son makes you free men, then you are really and unquestionably free. – John 8:31-36

I will judge each of you according to your own ways, . . . Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live! – Ezekiel 18:30-3

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord - Acts 3:19

[Jesus says] But unless you repent, you too will all perish - Luke 13:3

God requires not just belief or some acknowledgement that Jesus is God's plan of redemption for all of mankind.  Jesus told us we must repent, as well as be obedient to the will of the Father.  How does one know or understand, then, what God's will is for us, if our sins have separated us from God?  How do we know, then, what God wants us to obey if we do no have a genuine relationship with Him, with His Holy Spirit?  Only by His Spirit can our heart be purified, such that we truly know Him, hear Him, and are led to repent.  Repentance means to "turn around" or "change from."  Despite our depravity and enslavement to sin, somehow we must come to the acknowledgement that we have sinned and confess these things to Him.  We must make an honest evaluation of our heart condition and cry out to Him to change our heart when predisposed to continue evil, we need a heart conditioned for His Love.

It doesn't matter what we've done that God hates - this God promises to forgive everything if we are committed to follow Him.  It doesn't matter how ugly or wicked we are when we seek Him.  What matters is that we accept how much God Loves us, despite our rejection of Him and His teaching - regardless what He finds in our heart.  We must not be naive to what God hates, and regardless if we call ourselves Christian or not, our separation from God might yet be incurable - we never really knew Him because we did not Love Him enough to obey.  In exchange for His full pardon, He only asks that we love Him back, with all our hearts.  To Love Him, Christ says to obey:  be trusting Him, His Word, and repenting for our sins.  Yet only God can renew and change the human heart; only His Spirit can create for us a heart to know Him.  Only He can deliver us from the influences that separate us from Him.  Unless we fully surrender our hearts to Him and request Him to give us new life, there is nothing humanly possible to reconcile us to God and His promises.  And when calling out to Him, God promises to hear those calling for Him with a broken or "contrite" heart - those truly repentant.

Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.  Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.  The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry; but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth.  The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles.  The Lord is close to those who are of a broken heart and saves such as are crushed with sorrow for sin and are humbly and thoroughly repentant. - Psalm 34:12-18 

For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit - 1 Thessalonians 4:7-9

And this is His command, His injunction:  that we should believe in - put our faith and trust in and rely on - the name of His Son Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and that we should love one another, just as He has commanded us.  All who keep this commandment –all who obey His orders and follow His plan - live and continue to abide in Him, and He in them.  They let Christ be a home to them and they are the home of Christ.   So by this we know and understand and have the proof that He really lives and makes His home in us: by the Holy Spirit Whom He has given us. – 1 John 3

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have instructed you. – John 14:26

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.  Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. – Galatians 6:7-8

Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.  At one time we, too, were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.  - Titus 3

We pray you take the time to seriously consider your living and your relationship with our Heavenly Father - what's in your heart and how far that will get you in this life.  We are not alone in our suffering, and Christ is the only God that ever walked and talked among us, experiencing the human heart; then willingly gave it all up to die, so that we could be drawn back into God's presence and reconciled to Him.  We need His Loving Justice.

Does God Hate Us? - Part 3

The idea that God - who is Love - would hate anything is difficult to comprehend.  If God is Love, how could He hate?  The fact that hateful wickedness and evil do exist, causes doubts of the very existence of a God that Loves.  To many people, God is impersonal, indifferent to the sufferings of human society – much less concerned over us individually.  Humanists, denying the existence of God, have “rationalized” that evil doesn’t exist, either.  Should we really believe that a person’s actions and plans are never sinister?  

There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God - Romans 10

For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. As it is written:  “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands" - Romans 3

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. - Jeremiah 17

In this series of articles "Does God Hate Us," we are examining Proverbs 6 - a list of things God specifically states He hates.  In the first two blogs we reviewed, "haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, and feet that are quick to rush into evil."  If reading this list and thinking, "oh, I'm not like these;" then we ask you to review the full articles, Part 1 and Part 2.  Yes, folks - all of us have done something, or behave someway, that God has told us He hates.  We all have sin and are accountable, even if only bearing the heaviness of a guilty conscious during this life.  We can choose to live oppressed:    

Sin speaks to the wicked deep in his heart. -- Psalm 36

These actions that God hates are offenses against our human society, and not merely against God.  What we do that destroys human relationships and destabilizes social order, God hates "with a passion." They don't just bring temporary pain and conflict, but severely separate us from relationship with our Heavenly Creator.  Yet only He can accurately know our hearts.  These behaviors - chosen, or not - prevent us from having any knowledge of God, whatsoever; and can prevent us from ever experiencing Him and His Love. We can even hinder another person's ability to know God. Such spiritual separation, without justice and forgiveness, can be eternal.  

For the wages of sin is death – Romans 6

The wages of the righteous is life, but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death - Proverbs 10:16

 For some of you have NOT the knowledge of God [you are utterly and willfully and disgracefully ignorant, and continue to be so, lacking the sense of God's presence and all true knowledge of Him]. I say this to your shame. -- 1 Corinthians 15

 There are six things the LORD hates,

   seven that are detestable to him:
   (1) haughty eyes,
      (2) a lying tongue,
      (3) hands that shed innocent blood,
  (4) a heart that devises wicked schemes,
(5) feet that are quick to rush into evil,
  (6) a false witness who pours out lies
(7) and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. 

- Proverbs 6:16-19

 
It's interesting to note this list makes references to parts of the body:  eyes, tongue, hands, heart, and feet.  Of these that God hates, all would ordinarily characterize "a person who stirs up conflict in the community."  None can be more devestating, however, than (6) a false witness who pours out lies.  God hates this SO much, in fact, He included this in the old-school "Ten Commandments" - Deuteronomy 5:20 "Neither shall you witness falsely against your neighbor."  What we learn about false accusations, however, is how it devastation transcends the physical and impacts our mental and spiritual health. 

A false witness will not go unpunished, and whoever pours out lies will perish - Proverbs 19

Bearing false witness is the most prolific from this list of things God hates, and has become a normality in Western culture.  This is also a "learned behavior," and it's something we begin learning at an early age.  An attorney once told me that in all court cases, each party always tell lies about the other party, even do the attorneys. Curiously what is often true is how the innocent, the victim, or the plantiff will also offer false testimony or exaggerate their claim.  False witnesses are everywhere around us - not just in courts.  There's false advertisements on TV, politicians regularly shift-blame, and children repeatedly hear false accusations about their character from places like radio, the movies, and very often from classmates.  The deception from false accusation is unmeasurable, and utilizes techniques that are not just verbal assaults.


Blame-shifting is a psychological issue, where rather than being personally accountable and accepting guilt, a person tends to blame someone or something else.  False accusations often manipulate or control feelings through guilt.  Rebellious children blame their parents for their own immaturity, abuses, and addictions (which, unfortunately, often bears credibility).  Another mental "false witness" is when a person who has hurt someone else, subconsciously generates a hatred against their victim.  They hate the victim, rather than consciously acknowledging their guilt.  In marriage, the cheating partner will falsely blame their spouse for the same offense.  They pour out lies, creating a hatred that is falsely justified.  It's like the "oh no, I broke up with YOU" syndrome, where the accuser actually makes themselves hate the other person for no reason - something much more devastating than immature.

The most common form of persecution of the Christian in Western society, originates as false accusations, slander, and hateful rhetoric that comes from the world and the enemies of God.  This becomes spiritual oppression, because the chronic belittling, mocking, and accusations defeats the human spirit.  Emotional abuse becomes spiritual oppression, and we can self-inflict and deepen our wounds.  Whether originating as untrue verbal insults, or coming from false teachings about our God-given identity and purpose - God hates these fallacies, and the people that pour them out.  Regardless Christian or not, all of us are victims.  Some Words to consider: 

Bless those who persecute you, who are cruel in their attitude toward you; bless and do not curse them - Romans 12:14

When men revile us and wound us with an accursed sting, we bless them. When we are persecuted, we take it patiently and endure it.  When we are slandered and defamed, we try to answer softly and bring comfort - 1 Corinthians 4:12-13

A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is deceitful - Proverbs 14:24-26

A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow - Proverbs 25:18

The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite, then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party. You must purge the evil from among you - Deuteronomy 19:18-19

You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.  You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice - Exodus 23:1-2

A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he who breathes out lies shall not escape - Proverbs 19:5

To be continued:  "Does God Hate Us? - Love's Justice!"

Does God Hate Us? - Part 2

So does God hate us?  This is a provoking question that many Christians, non-Christians, agnostics, even atheists will impulsively and thoughtlessly respond with "of course not. God is Love."  However true that is, many people - self-professed Christians, even - continue to struggle with genuinely experiencing the "Love of God."  Some are at a point where they believe they are beyond help, that somehow God isn't involved or doesn't care enough.  In all seriousness, however, there are actions we take where the Love of God cannot be found.  In His Word to us, God has repeatedly described people and behaviors that are abhorrent to Him.  This article addresses only a few of the things God does hate - the second post examining Proverbs 6.  If you have not read Part 1, we encourage you; although it is not required for understanding this article.

There are six things the LORD hates,
   seven that are detestable to him:
   (1) haughty eyes,
      (2) a lying tongue,
      (3) hands that shed innocent blood,
  (4) a heart that devises wicked schemes,
(5) feet that are quick to rush into evil,
  (6) a false witness who pours out lies
(7) and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. 

- Proverbs 6:16-19

 Continuing from Part 1, what God hates:

"A heart that devises wicked schemes" - God hates not just wickedness (sin), but hates the very heart that has become so depraved and so corrupt that everything that comes from it is riddled with sin. We are warned that we get this way from denial - failing to acknowledge that evil is just plain evil.  So we persist in behaving in ways that are contrary to God's purpose for our lives.  We condition our hearts so we become enslaved by our sins, addicted; and will lie awake at night plotting, scheming how to continue in our sins the next day.  God hates this. 

Sin speaks to the wicked deep in his heart. There is no fear or dread of God before his eyes.  For he flatters and deceives himself in his own eyes that his sinful nature will not be found out and be hated.  The words of his mouth are wrong and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and to do good.  He plans wrongdoing on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject or despise evil. -- Psalm 36:1-4

God is Love.  He loves us so much that He prepared us a manual, His Word - to better understand Him, providing sketches of His plans for our lives.  They are guidelines for us - not just good advise or common sense.  These are expectations, instructions, and warnings, about what we must do to experience Gods Love.  His teaching promises us a healthy and abundant life for ourselves, our families, and our community - even the atheist cannot debate that God's guidelines are bad for us.

But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your mind and in your heart, so that you can do it.  See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil.  If you obey . . . , then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you.  But if your heart turn away and you will not hear, and are drawn away . . . , I declare to you today that you shall surely perish, and you shall not live long . . .
I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live and love the Lord your God, obey His voice, and cling to Him.  For He is your life. -- Deuteronomy 30  

"Feet that are quick to rush into evil"- This is just plain foolishness, especially when we know the difference between good and evil.  It's one thing to have a bad heart, but then another to spend the time and energy to carry out wicked schemes - whether by our own initiation or as an accomplice.  How quickly we once ran to those parties - smoking that dope, drunken, hitting that trim, and scamming others money.  It was so easy to join in with friends when trespassing and thieving, as if there were no need to think twice.  We are quick to beat down our challengers - physically and verbally - as if that were the best way to survive and maintain control.  Yes none of this was healthy, and we live with the physical, emotional, and spiritual curses as a consequence.  How easy to be sold out to Satan's lie that everything will will be alright in the end, "surely you will NOT die."  Many thousands of years later, we are faced with this blatant realization - we will all die !!!!  God even hates that, for He IS long-suffering for us, not willing that any should perish.

The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, without painful toil for it.  A fool finds pleasure in wicked schemes, but a person of understanding delights in wisdom.  Proverbs 10:22-24

 WOE TO those who devise iniquity and work out evil upon their beds! When the morning is light, they perform and practice it because it is in their power. . . .
Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, against this family I am planning a disaster from which you cannot remove your necks, nor will you be able to walk erect; for it will be an evil time. -- Micah 2

For the fool speaks folly and his mind plans iniquity: practicing profane ungodliness and speaking error concerning the Lord, . . . The instruments and methods of the fraudulent and greedy are evil; he devises wicked devices to ruin the poor and the lowly with lying words, even when the plea of the needy is just and right.
But the noble, openhearted, and generous man devises noble things; and he stands for what is noble, openhearted, and generous. -- Isaiah 32:6-8

 The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion. -- Psalm 11:5

Do not be so deceived and misled! Evil companionships corrupt and deprave good manners and morals and character.  Awake from your drunken stupor and return to sober sense and your right minds, and sin no more. For some of you have not the knowledge of God [you are utterly and willfully and disgracefully ignorant, and continue to be so, lacking the sense of God's presence and all true knowledge of Him]. I say this to your shame. -- 1 Corinthians 15:33-34

To be continued, Part 3 . . .

5. AGS- Miracle 1 by DaSouth.com

Does God Hate Us? - Part 1

While researching and preparing this recent article -  "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it" - I stumbled upon this passage that provoked some pretty deep sentiments.

There are six things the LORD hates,
   seven that are detestable to him:
   (1) haughty eyes,
      (2) a lying tongue,
      (3) hands that shed innocent blood,
  (4) a heart that devises wicked schemes,
(5) feet that are quick to rush into evil,
  (6) a false witness who pours out lies
(7) and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. 

- Proverbs 6:16-19

My first impression was 'how uncanny' that I have been victimized by all but one of these, having often felt persecuted.  Yet as I deliberated over each, I recognized how I have not just felt victimized, but that we all are.  The entirety of our society is plagued by these things that God hates, and all of us are perpetrators. The significance to these seven things God emphasizes in this passage, is that they are not just personal, selfish acts of immorality.  These dysfunctions severely impact all social relationships, and sever our relationship with God.

"Haughty eyes" - what are haughty eyes? They are pride and being "high in one's own estimation;" peering down on others as less significant, or less knowledgeable. In its severity, these act out by shunning and ignoring others, turning arrogance into indifference and self-exaltation. This brings to mind Jesus' Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Similarly, it is this pride that not only shuns our neighbors, but our Heavenly Father- refusing His Grace and provisions for us.

 . . . he who has a haughty look and a proud and arrogant heart I cannot and I will not tolerate. -- Psalm 101:5

A man's pride will bring him low, but he who is of a humble spirit will obtain honor. -- Proverbs 29:23

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. -- Proverbs 16:18

"A lying tongue" - very little can be added to this meaning. It causes pain, destroys trust, corrupts family and social order, and represents the antitheses of Love and Truth - two profound characteristics of God. Jesus states that Satan "is a liar [himself] and the father of lies and of all that is false" (John 8:44). It was because of a lie that sin - death and decay - came into human reality.  This sin infected every creation on earth - even initiating the destruction of the earth itself.  (ATTN:  Global warming buffs!)  Satan deceived Eve in Genesis with this lie.  "God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die.’"  A lie caused the fall of humanity, introduced death, and established a physical separation from God that only He can redeem for us.

Whoever says, ‘I know God,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his Word, love for God is truly made complete in them. -- 1 John 2

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. -- 1 John 1

"Hands that shed innocent blood" - for this I spent much time meditating.  Murder, as what's implied here, is understandably something to despise.  The death of the innocent is always grievous and incites vengeance - whether that death by malice, negligence, or accident.  After the Hebrew people made their exodus from Egypt, and while establishing themselves as a nation, elaborate laws were created to punish the "shedding of innocent blood."  Murderers were legally avenged by their own death; while accidental man-slayers were provided safe havens, or cities of refuge.  The laws regarding the cities of refuge were to protect the accidental murderer from being killed, where they could flee from an avenger.  These laws were literally dictated by God's instruction.

Today our culture has severely perverted God's intent to avenge the "shedding innocent blood."  Murder is legalized in the tolerance of abortion (of the innocent); yet the punishment of premeditated murder is no longer avenged by death.  As the nation of Israel grew in apostasy (falling away from the truth) and practiced pagan worship, the sacrifice of infants became common.  God venomously rebuked them, and justified His severe wrath against the nation of Israel for accepting that very practice of murdering the innocent.

Today our culture tolerates murder, yet will punish the "shedding of innocent blood" from negligence, somewhat to our credit.  Murders caused by drunk driving accidents, industrial accidents, or abuse are prosecuted.  So what can we learn from the Scriptures about murder by negligence?

"Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, 'When I bring the sword upon a land and the people of the land take a man from among them and make him their watchman,  if when he sees the sword coming upon the land, he blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. . . . But he who takes warning shall save his life.  But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, he is taken away for his perversity and iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.  . . . I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear the word at My mouth and give them warning from Me.  When I say to the wicked, O wicked man, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his perversity and iniquity, but his blood will I require at your hand.  But if you warn the wicked to turn from his evil way and he does not turn from his evil way, he shall die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life." -- Ezekiel 3

From this we perceive how God not only holds us accountable for our own sins, but even the death of others caused by our negligence - our double jeopardy.  Deaths caused by drunk driving, drug abuse, reckless violence, and even chronic emotional abuse (to name a few) are doubly avenged.  Yes, the drunkard, the needle pusher or pill pusher, the angry, and the arrogant all have their day "in court."  Those of us foolish enough to "not blow the trumpet" are also held accountable. Naivety is no excuse, for even a child knows that these ways are wicked, especially when they see what results in death.  Even our courts do not differentiate whether that death is prolonged, or an immediate accident; nor do they distinguish between intentions and consequence.

Now consider Jesus teaching in Matthew 5:

 "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not kill, and whoever kills shall be liable to and unable to escape the punishment imposed by the court.  But I say to you that everyone who continues to be angry with his brother or harbors malice (enmity of heart) against him shall be liable and unable to escape the punishment imposed by the court; and whoever speaks contemptuously and insultingly to his brother shall be liable and unable to escape the punishment, and whoever says, You cursed fool! [You empty-headed idiot!] shall be liable to and unable to escape the hell (Gehenna) of fire." -- Matthew 5:21-22

We are a culture being deceived.  For not only is murder a physical action, but taken from God's Word, emotional and spiritual assassination is murder.  Ironically, there is debate all around the World about hate crimes, but we ignore what God teaches us about every sin that leads to the "shedding of innocent blood."  Ultimately, God judges each of us by His standard, true to His character, and never according to the laws established by man.  Each of us need take these to heart:

A consistently righteous man hates lying and deceit, but a wicked man is loathsome, his very breath spreads pollution, and he surely comes to shame. -- Proverbs 13:5

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.  For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue mutters wickedness.  None sues or calls in righteousness, but only for the sake of doing injury to others--to take some undue advantage - no one goes to law and honestly pleads his case in truth; they trust in emptiness, worthlessness and futility, and speaking lies! -- Isaiah 59:2-4

The thoughts and purposes of the consistently righteous are honest and reliable, but the counsels and designs of the wicked are treacherous.  The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them and the innocent ones that are endangered. -- Proverbs 12:5-6

For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly and truly execute justice between every man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the transient and the alien, the fatherless, and the widow or shed innocent blood by oppression and by judicial murders - or go after other gods to your own hurt - then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers to dwell in forever.  -- Jeremiah 7:5-7

 . . . to be continued, Does God Hate Us? - Part 2

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

"Recently a friend described these disturbing actions and statements made by many of the people he has in his life. He detailed abhorrent emotional abuses in the manner of “power and control” manipulation, deception, chronic belittlement, and verbal degradation. The severity of these seemed so disturbing to me that I..."

• WHAT'S IN YOUR HEART AND WHERE'S THAT GOING TO TAKE YOU?

We've included this article, first, as it expounds greatly on a very important topic for all people with struggles in life.  The link follows.  We are proud that TastyFresh, a youthful site dedicated to Christian music and dance, has included the article for their followers.  Click the link bellow to follow this article:

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.