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The Seven Things God hates and Three Things God loves

Here are the seven things God hates:

“There are six things the Lord hates,

seven that are detestable to him:

arrogant eyes,

a lying tongue,

hands that shed innocent blood,

a heart that devises wicked schemes,

feet that are quick to rush into evil,

a false witness who pours out lies

and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.”

Proverbs 6:16-19

God wants us to be humble, not arrogant or proud.

He wants us to trust in Him and recognize our need for His grace.

He wants us to be contrite, truthful, peaceful and nonviolent.

There are many things God expects of us, but if I had to zero in on three things that God wants the most I would say God wants LOVE, MERCY AND JUSTICE.

Let’s look to the Word of God to understand more.

LOVE

This first passage tells us that ‘God is LOVE’:

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” 1 John 4:16

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:8

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” 1 Corinthians 13: 4-6

When Jesus was asked ‘what is the greatest commandment’ He answered like this:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12: 30-31

Jesus said, “..Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

Love entails mercy and justice. A loving person is both merciful and just.

It’s easy to talk about love and it’s more difficult to put it into practice. Love is measured one choice at a time as we choose to do God’s will and show patience, kindness, generosity and forgiveness.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”  1 Corinhians 13:4-7

MERCY

Jesus is often called ‘Divine Mercy’. The name Jesus means ‘God saves’. Jesus entered the world to save the world from the ‘Divine Justice’ of God. The ‘Divine Justice’ of God causes a separation between God and man when man sins, but the ‘Divine Mercy’ of God, Jesus Christ, brings us back into communion with God through the forgiveness that comes from His Sacrifice on the Cross.  Jesus, the ‘Divine Mercy’ pays the price of ‘Divine Justice’ by dying for us.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” Romans 5: 8-10

Jesus tells us “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” Matthew 5:7

God wants to give us His mercy but to access this gift of compassion and forgiveness we must be willing to acknowledge our sins and strive not to repeat them.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

“My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” Psalm 51:17

God also want us to be merciful to one another. “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6: 14-15

Jesus calls us to forgive one another and so we pray: “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Our Lord’s Prayer.

I struggled for many, many years to forgive the people who had caused me pain in my childhood. The prescription for my healing involved meditating daily on the Passion of Christ. As I saw Jesus being crucified for my sins praying “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34 I realized I too needed to pray that same prayer. As I persevered in praying this prayer I received a special grace that enabled me to forgive without having received apologies or closure. This forgiveness gave me freedom. It was a freedom to stop being angry, to stop grieving the loss and to begin healing and living more fully.

JUSTICE

Again let’s open the Word of God and see what God tells us about justice and judgement.

“For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them.” Isaiah 61:8

“For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed; the offspring of the wicked will perish.” Psalm 37:28

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.” Psalm 89:14

“When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.” Proverbs 21:15

“Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” 1 Timothy 6:18

There is too much injustice in our world today, too much violence, terror, war and abuse of innocent people. Too often the world responds to injustice with more injustice. Violence causes more violence as people exercise vengeance but the Lord calls us to remember His Words:

“Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. Romans 12:19

Ultimately there will be judgement and that’s why it’s important to take refuge in the Divine Mercy of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus will forgive our sins, the injustice to God and man, if we are truly sorry (contrite).

CALLING ALL PEACEMAKERS

Jesus calls all Children of God to be peacemakers. Jesus says: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven…” Matthew 5: 44-45

Believe in the power of prayer for it changes the world as it changes the hearts of mankind. As we pray we call upon God to send us His grace to stop evil and to create justice and peace in our world.  God’s love is stronger than all the evil in our world!

I invite you to be a peacemaker and join a global Christian peace movement that is uniting the Body of Christ all over the world, every day, in a moment of true solidarity.

The movement is called The Mercy Movement.

We unite at the Time Jesus died for us, 3pm (in our local time zones) to remember the Passion of Christ that saved us from our sins. At this time we pray for God to send the Holy Spirit into the world in the form of a Second Pentecost to renew our souls and our world so we can love God and one another as Jesus desires.

Let us receive God’s blessing and forgive those who have hurt us and let’s repent and turn away from sin for sin separates us from Our Lord Jesus, but repentance paves the way for a new beginning.  Remember forgiveness is freedom.  Anger, resentment and vengeance fill the soul with angst but forgiveness fills the soul with peace.

Let us give God glory by remembering the great sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus each and every day. Allow the Passion of Christ to change your heart, your mind and your life. See your Holy Saviour Jesus each and every day dying on the Cross for you at the sacred time 3pm (in your local time zone). Three o’clock is the time Jesus died on the Cross for us.  Let us remember His great sacrifice for us each and every day. Join A Peaceful Revolution in the Name of Jesus Christ and pray for Jesus to save all souls and defeat the forces of evil in our world.  We so desperately need the mercy of God to change our world!  Believe in the power of our united prayer for God will answer us!

Learn more about The Mercy Movement