It's Long Past Time
“Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoever finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the LORD; but he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; all those who hate me love death." (Proverb 8:34-36)
I’ve read this Proverb MANY times, yet something in these three verses jumped out at me today.
God’s Word is like that…it’s living and powerful:
“…the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
What jumped out at me this morning was this phrase from verse 36:
“he who sins against me WRONGS HIS OWN SOUL; all those who hate me love death." (Proverb 8:34-36)
The word “wrongs” means to “to be violent, to maltreat (treat damagingly), to make bare, to violate, to do violence, to take away violently.”
Think about that for a bit.
Which malevolent spiritual being would tempt us to sin against God?
The devil would.
Sin ALWAYS harms the one sinning…and most often also hurts others as well.
Every time we sin we also sin against God. (Exodus 10:16, 2 Samuel 12:13, Psalm 44:4)
Satan constantly brings violence to human souls.
He tempts us to sin against ourselves, others and AGAINST GOD because he knows that when we sin against God we WRONG OUR OWN SOULS.
Think about that.
Satan wants US to do HIS work and wrong or be violent toward, maltreat (treat damagingly), make bare, violate, do violence against, take away violently from our own souls.
It’s long past time to stop letting the devil make fools of us like this.
Please join me in repenting from this.
Let’s proclaim that we know what the devil is up to here and set our minds BEING AWARE, CHOOSING to not sin and REFUSING to make satan’s work of hurting people (what God loves most) any easier.
Let’s ask the Lord to heal the damage we have helped the devil bring into our own souls. Let’s receive that healing.
Let’s resolve to give the devil a bad day today and ALL our remaining days.
Amen?
Pastor Mike McInerney
Mike McInerney Ministries, Inc.
Decatur, Texas
© July 8, 2012
(For use with permission)