Trending
I went to church faithfully as a boy -- because my mother dragged me there. I didn't find it particularly appealing, but it was a family thing. There were people I saw only once a week. There were clothes I wore only once a week. We moved several times, and we changed churches several times in several states.
Of course, "when I was a child, I spoke like a child and I understood as a child" (1 Corinthians 13:11 KJV). (It's obvious to me now that Mom knew the Lord, and I did not.)
I had seen and read various verses in the Bible, but I had never really "read" the Bible. The Methodist Church gave me a Bible at age 12, but I never read it. It collected dust on a shelf. At age 18, my older brother gave me a "study Bible" for Christmas. It also collected dust.
Then it came to pass on a certain day, that I opened the box and took the Bible out to page through it. It was a large book with gilded pages. I read the dedication that my brother wrote and decided to try to look something up. As I thumbed through the index and subject concordance, I came upon the word "abomination." I did not know what it meant, but it sounded bloody, gory and appealing.
I distinctly remember trying to look up the verse reference. I was irritated that it took so much effort. I could feel my face tighten up, my eyebrows furrow, and my mouth twist into an annoyed arrogant frown.
It was then I found it: Proverbs 6:16-19.
"These six [things] doth the LORD hate: yea, seven [are] an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness [that] speaks lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren."
It was then I understood that an "abomination" is something God hates. I had no idea that God "hated" anything. But He does. As I read the list of seven things, the first one hit me like a brick: a proud look. Here I was, staring at this list with a proud look on my face. I was convicted of sin and didn't even know what I was experiencing. I immediately wiped the cocky look off my face.
It was only after reading the list several times that I realized the truth: All seven of these things described my life. I was guilty of all of them. God hated the way I was living. I was stunned. I had no idea before I read the Book of God. I very gently put the Bible back into the nice box and put it back on the shelf. After I wiped the proud look off my face, I decided not to do several other things that I was planning -- things that were in that list.
God hated what I was doing. I was convicted of sin, and no one had said a word to me. I did not want to do things that God hated, but that was what I was doing. I had just experienced the power of the Bible to change a human heart. I didn't say it was pleasant, but it was powerful.
The Bible declares "God is love" (1 John 4:18). This is His very nature. He loves us enough to tell us the truth about our nature and save us from ourselves. Read the list. See what you think.
Pastor John C. Butler, Wings of Love Community Church