Verse of the Day: 1 John 4:20-21 New King James Version
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
Memory of the Month: 2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Today's reading: GENESIS 33-35 MATTHEW 10:1-20
Ex·e·cra·ble
That word is to get your attention. It means the same as 'repugnant'(or 'make a stink'), a word used in the translation of Genesis 34:30.
Genesis 34-Jacob was returning to the land of his father with all his children and livestock. His daughter, Dinah, was shamed by one of the locals. This was a horrible thing to her entire family so two of her brothers, Simeon and Levi, took revenge killing all the men around the perpetrator.
Jacob said, “You have brought trouble on me by making me stink(repugnant, execrable) to the inhabitants of the land...".(verse 30)
Jacob's son's had 'made a stink'.
Revenge stinks. Revenge is not our business.
But what brings revenge? Hate..., unforgiving heart...(...forgive us as we forgive...Matthew 6:12)
The revenge brought by the sons of Jacob was horrible, yes, but it was brought by the same seed of hate that lives today. What happens in our hearts when someone does something that shames us or makes us really mad?
Do we take the thought captive, 2 Corinthians 10:5, or do we relish it for even just a little while?
Ephesians 4:26English Standard Version (ESV)
26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
Romans 12:19
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.
How ever long we entertain a thought against another human being, we create a stink. One writer from years past calls negative thought 'stinkin thinkin'.
We must not think about it much. I mean, all the money the free world spends on soap, deodorant and 'smell-goods'. We don't want to physically stink so why do we stink up our minds with hate and negatives even if the world around us can't smell it?
Jacob knew that the whole area knew what his sons had done. It was right out there in front of everyone.
Well---so is our behavior. A few can hide hate but it takes an enormous amount of emotional energy. The majority of us cannot hide what hate does to us. It may not be immediate but, in time, hate manifests itself in bitterness and, many times, illness.(So, the world does 'smell' it?)
Hate creates a stink in our lives. Love is always a pleasing aroma. No-brainer?
Then let it go. Whatever it is, haven't you hung on to it long enough?
...or do you like to stink?
...because He loves us...
Father in Heaven,
I am sorry for hanging on to hate. Forgive me as I forgive...give me strength to let it all go and rest in Your freedom.
The power is Yours-the glory is yours, the kingdom is Yours-all forever and ever.
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