Psalm 97 - Perfect Hatred

Psalm 97

You who love the Lord, hate evil! (verse 10)

Message: Perfect Hatred

What the Lord is Saying: I was going through my mom's papers recently. She kept a lot of papers and was devoted to God in an intense way that I am still discovering. Her time dwelling in God's presence is significant. A couple of weeks ago I sat at her desk. She had a chair in the living room that I often saw her at when I came up the stairs in the morning to get my breakfast and get ready for school. She was in that chair in the early morning hour, praying and studying. But in the den area now, where there was a pool table when I grew up, is another round table which scripture cards on it, a basket with a prayer book devotion and also another one of Mom's bibles. She had multiple Bible's and all had many markings in them. She had multiple devotions. There was a lot of variation. I guess I am the same way. But she had many different devotionals where I have been using the same one for years - Tabletalk - though inching my way through it. As of right now, I am still focused on the 2019 issues. 

The paper I came across this time was a page taken out of the devotional book, "Our Daily Bread." There are two sides or two entries to the paper, so I am not sure which devotional my mom had saved this piece of paper. Haddon Robinson wrote the devotional and I think wrote many of the devotions for Our Daily Bread. She had me listen to a sermon or teaching that he had done one time. I also don't know when this came out, but the entry says, "October 21, Friday." Prior to my mom's death that date occurred in 2016. 

I don't find this particular devotion online anywhere. The devotion ends with a prayer. My mom prayed a lot and she often had prayer books. She gave me one for my birthday on September 4, 1988 when I turned 21, that she did in calligraphy from some prayers by Tozer. In one of this books, each chapter ended with a prayer. Well, each of these entries ends with a prayer. 

I suppose I am trying here to better understand my mom. I admired her and she helped me know God. And in her I saw someone that I wanted to be like. I think I am like her. There are truths here that she saw and that made an impact on her. There are remnants of this throughout the house. She encourages me. And helps me to know God better. 

The prayer reads: 

Dear Father, help us to handle hatred with utmost care. Help us to direct our hatred only at the things you despise. Teach us what it means to hate the sin and love the sinner. Amen. 

Simple. Direct. 

On the drive in yesterday I was thinking about me and my struggle to pray. And I thought of my mom and wondered if she had the same struggle. And even at times the same struggle to read the Bible and depend on it. I think she might have because she had so many 'help's' in her life to get her knowing God and knowing His truth.  

The lesson from this devotional is in loving the Lord I am to hate evil. 

Looking at this text - Psalm 97 - I refer to one of my books by Phillips, "Exploring the Psalms." I also take a moment to look on BibleHub at the summary stated of this chapter. The chapter begins with "The Lord Reigns." 

Phillips says this Psalm looks forward to a time when the Righteous One, the Beloved will return to Reign on this earth. It is a Psalm of Prophecy, looking forward in the future to the Millennial reign. He sees the first 9 verses as speaking of Jesus the Reigning One and those verses describe him ruling nature and ruling nations. The earth and with the clouds and darkness about Him, rolled away, and there is fire, burning up His enemies, lightning enlightens the world and the hills melt in His presence. This earth responds to His reign and surrenders to Him. And then in verses 6-9 the peoples respond to Him. All those with idols will see them as worthless. Instead "Worship Him." Zion or the Jewish people have often persisted in unbelief of Jesus but they will see that God is exalted and the Lord is most high. And then in verse 10-12 the lives of the people will be seen because the Lord not only reigns but is Righteous. And it is here the people are told to hate evil. Evil is in society but we are on the side of hating it at every turn. And we are delivered from its hand. There is light and gladness and we give thanks for His holy name. 

BibleHub isn't specific in its summary of this being prophetic but it is prophetic in that it showcases God's sovereign and just rule over all of the earth and all people at any time - past, present, and future. There is opposition of the Lord at times such as idols and enemies but there will be a point when these are no more. And the people of God are always to be about hating evil. Because we are those who love the Lord. So maybe this text is speaking about a future time when these situations which right now are ideal but not true because there are opposing forces, but one day there will be a earth that is only about God. So that is the hope. Right now, we are to be a people that hates evil, but right now we are back and forth in that regard. We are selfish and self-serving and defensive and not always only about good. I am to hate evil at every turn, but right now I don't and let it in at times. 

So I return to the prayer of this passage which I am thinking for my mom is found in this passage and Haddon Robinson also mentions Amos 5:15, "hate evil, love good." 

Prayer: I read the prayer again God - Dear Father, help us to handle hatred with utmost care. Help us to direct our hatred only at the things you despise. Teach us what it means to hate the sin and love the sinner. Help me God to only be about You. Don't let my personal feelings impact what you hate. I pray that I can read Your word each day and understand it and not read into it. Let me accept it and read it for what it is. God, I want to be that person that hates evil. I don't want to go along with it simply because others do. I want to stand up and be strong. O God, help me to truly be that person. I am to hate what you hate, but I admit a struggle with this so often and knowing what it is. Truth is hard for me often to come by. 

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.

John 9:24-33 - Opening Blind Eyes

John 9:24-33

24 So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 So they said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?” 28 They reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.” 30 The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. 32 Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

Message: Opening Blind Eyes

Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)." 

What the Lord is Saying: Jesus was just walking by the temple and saw a man born blind and spoke to him, but the discourse we have throughout much of John 9 is Jesus answering the disciples and then the Jews interacting with the blind man following Jesus healing him. John here takes time to allow this former blind man to provide the defense of Jesus. In the previous lesson, the Pharisees spoke to him. These seem to be different Pharisees that don't have the same history as others about Jesus. In the previous passage, they have concerns about Jesus healing on the sabbath and the former blind man's response is he is a prophet. It seems that this blind man is going through a process of trying also to figure out who Jesus is as well and perhaps the Pharisees questioning him is helping him process. 

These Jews don't believe what the former blind man has said and so go to his parents for their testimony but they tell them to ask their son. And that is how the previous passage finishes and so today we have the Pharisee's going back to the former blind man and they speak to him with authority asking him to tell the truth (Give Glory to God; sort of like one placing a hand on the Bible in a court room). The Pharisee's have already made up their mind. This is common among people. Many people are not really out to figure Jesus out, but rather they are set to confirm their own suspicions. And the blind man responds that all that he knows is he can now see. His life is a living testimony. He is not a theologian, but he knows that he has been affected. 

This is a great testimony. We do not need to be theologians to talk to people or defend our Christianity. We can start by simply telling them how we have been affected. My friend and I were at the mall recently and after saying to a man that God loves you and him saying there is not a God, while surprised by his response, I never offered what He had done in my life. But the Pharisees continue to say that this former blind man is a disciple while they are a disciple of Moses. 

And then the man starts to educate the Pharisees. Jesus opened his eyes. There are references in scripture that seem to infer that God does not hear sinners (Psalm 66:18, Jeremiah 11:11). But we also know that those who do God's will and fear Him, God will listen (verse 31). This seems to be the former blind man's defense to the Jews asserting that Jesus is a sinner (v. 24). This is interesting. I still think this former blind man is still trying to understand who Jesus is and he is also trying to figure out his own theology. I wonder what this is about, as there is a contrast being mentioned. Is Jesus from God? Merely a prophet? Or a Sinner? Not sure what is meant by sinner. Could this mean he is merely a man? 

Again, looking back at verse 24, the Pharisees are calling Jesus a sinner. For healing on the Sabbath and that he is not a prophet. So the contrast to a prophet is a sinner. Could 'sinner' be speaking more that Jesus is merely human? I suppose I find it interested that the former blind men makes the statement that to be of God, to do God's will, one must fear him. I don't think there is anything in this text speaking of Jesus as God. I don't think the former blind man knows this yet or has to come to this conclusion. He is simply confessing that for the Man Jesus to have done what He has done, He must be from God. The Pharisees don't believe this as Moses is from God they know, but they still don't know about Jesus. Either way, this is more than believing Jesus was only a normal walking man. 

As Tabletalk records today, miracles were not uncommon with prophets. But the miracles that Jesus did set him apart from the prophets of the past (Moses, Elijah, Elisha). Jesus exorcised demons. Healing a blind man set him apart and is also a prophetic healing of the Messiah (Isaiah 42:1-9, verse 7). No one born blind had been healed previously, only those that received blindness later in life. The problem remains that people have prejudiced ideas about Jesus and nothing that is said about them will change their mind. 

Summary: The former blind man believes Jesus is from God and bears testimony of this that he can now see. The Pharisees don't believe. 

Promise: Share your testimony...though I was blind, now I see. 

Prayer: Lord, I hate it that sometimes it takes me so long to sit down, take the time to read Your Word and instead spend my time on just other things, other things that don't ground me in Your Word. And yet I know you have given me grace and just because I spend this time in Your word it does not make me any greater of a Christian or person than someone else, and yet this time enriches me. I enjoy the process of reading Your truth and discovering about You. And perhaps you are directing me and training me. I thank you always for my mom and her modeling this in my life. She trained me that reading Your word is the best way to start a day. The more I return to You the better I am. I thank You here for the testimony of this man born blind, but then healed from that blindness. In doing this miracle, you did something significant. In life people believe different things, contrary things. This is being presented and testifies of You. Keep providing me insight. 

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.