Today from the book of Proverbs, I will be showing you a list of things God hates, and the things children of God shouldn’t get involved in.
I want you to read with rapt attention, and take note of all I will be teaching you today.
See what the Bible says here:
Here are six things God hates, and one more that he loathes with a passion: eyes that are arrogant, a tongue that lies, hands that murder the innocent, a heart that hatches evil plots, feet that race down a wicked track, a mouth that lies under oath, a troublemaker in the family. –Proverbs 6:16-19 (MSG)
1. Eyes That Are Arrogant
The first thing here is pride and arrogance. God doesn’t like these two things; in fact, the bible says he hates them. God doesn’t want you to see yourself above others, or treat other people like you are better than they are; he wants you to love everyone just like Jesus loves us all.
2. Tongue That Lies
This is another thing God hates, God doesn’t want you to lie as his child. He wants you to tell the truth at all times, regardless of whether it will get you in trouble or not. Always stand for the truth at all time, let your YES be YES, and your NO be NO at all times.
Hands That Murder The Innocent
Murder means to kill someone, not just to kill, but a killing that is premeditated. You know it’s wrong to kill; it’s against the commandment of God and the laws of men too. Murder is a crime everywhere in the world.
To be continued.
PRAYER: Father in the name of Jesus, I help me to do your will always. Amen
ACTION PLAN: Write what you have learnt today in points and paste it on a wall in your room
DECLARATION: I am the beloved of God, and I think as God thinks
Hi dear, yesterday I told you how that God watches you. God keeps watch over us his children and his angels are constantly watching over you and I.
The fact that God watches over us also means that he sees all that we do, and that means everything we engage in whether good or bad, the things we do in secret, and the ones that are open to everyone.
Take for instance, your parents might not know if you disobey them, or when you make faces at them when they correct you, but God sees you, and that is because he doesn’t turn his face away from you for a second.
For a man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths, the evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly. –Proverbs 5:21-23 (NIV)
I want you to pay close attention to today’s devotional as I will be shedding more light on our focus verse.
Asides that God sees you when you do good things, and of course bad things, another reason you shouldn’t get yourself involved in bad things is that, they will get you in trouble.
There is never an escape route after choosing to do something wrong, the truth will always be exposed and you will get in trouble. It’s even worse when you are caught in the act or you are found out.
See what the bible says;
the evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast.
If you continue disobeying what you are told to do, your actions will get you in trouble.
The only way out, and the solution to not getting in trouble is following instructions, and if you follow instructions, it shows that you are disciplined.
Choose to be a disciplined child at all times, obey your parents, do what is right at the right time, and you will be glad you did.
PRAYER: Father in Jesus name, I receive grace to do the right thing all the time; Amen
ACTION PLAN: Choose to be deliberate about what you say
DECLARATION: I am a good child, I am wise, and obedient.
One of the things I want you to know is that God watches over us dutifully. Not only does God know our every step, there are angels that God has assigned to watch you every second, and their gaze doesn’t shift from us.
This is how you know that evil cannot come near you, because God watches over you all the time and there are angels at work for you as well little children.
Asides the fact that God keeps watch over our lives, what we do daily is also open to him; the time you wake up every day, when take your bath, God sees your breakfast time, when you get on a bus to go to school.
Let me make this more interesting. God sees you when you tell a lie. God sees you when you make faces at your teachers or tutors in school. God sees you when you gossip about someone to another person. He sees everything you do.
Let me show you what the bible says;
For a man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths, the evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly. – Proverbs 5:21-23 (NIV)
So you see, God doesn’t just see everything you do, he also examines them. Do you know what it means to examine something?
To examine means to inspect or study thoroughly to determine the nature or condition of something.
To God your actions are well examined, showing if it be good or otherwise. This is why you have to be mindful and intentional about what you do, and don’t do.
PRAYER: Father in Jesus name, I receive grace to do the right thing all the time; Amen
ACTION PLAN: Choose to be deliberate about what you say
DECLARATION: I am a good child. I am wise and obedient.
Do you know you can be specific in the place of prayers? Yes, you can. Let’s take a look at the story of Ade. Ade mentioned his prayers to his mum as they drove home from school.
‘God should help me in my coming school examinations,’ Ade said.
‘That’s an empty prayer request,’ she said. ‘Be specific about what grades you want in each subject’
Ade wondered why he should. God said His plans for us are good. God should know what grades to give him.
‘It is good to be specific in your prayer requests to God,’ she said further.
Mum is right. Imagine if the blind man in yesterday’s story (Luke 18:40-41) asked for blessings?
The question is, what exact blessing did he need right then? What was the most important thing he needed? To see. And how did Jesus reply? Jesus said, “Jesus said to him, Then see! You are healed because you believed.”
Being specific aids your expectations regarding your wants. You have a view of the expected results in your mind and expect nothing less.
So, stop saying vague prayers and tell God exactly what you want. The blind man got what he wanted.
At once the man was able to see,… – Luke 18:43 (ICB)
One of the greatest assets you have as a child is your heart and that equals your mind. So, you must learn how to guard your heart. Your heart is where your imaginations come from, that’s where all the creative things you think about come from. That’s even where your will to do good or bad is.
As God’s child, it is important that you pay very close attention to your heart. I have taught you here that staying away from people that make you disobey the word of God and your parents is very important if you want to continue being a good girl/ boy.
Today I want to show you more of what God says about keeping your heart from the book of Proverbs.
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. Proverbs 4:23-27 (NIV)
The bible says you should guard your heart because it is the wellspring of life. Everything you do in life begins from your heart. This is why God is concerned about your heart, God wants you to be a good child, he wants your mom and dad to be proud of you, God wants your friends to be able to actually call you a good friend, God wants all these good things, and more for you.
I like this verse because it doesn’t just stop by telling us what to do, it goes further to tell us how we can actually guard our hearts.
1. It teaches us that one of the ways to guard our heart is by watching what we say, don’t tell a lie, and do not speak badly about another person, keep corrupt sayings/slang away from our mouths.
2. Also, this verse talks about our eyes, keeping our gaze on godly things, reading your bible daily, do not join your schoolmates or neighbours in watching things that are not godly.
3. The last thing mentioned here is, to watch where you go and the things you do. Be careful of the activities you get involved in, be sure to tell mom and Dad before going anywhere or trying something new.
That’s all for today!
PRAYER: Father in Jesus name, I receive the help of the Holy Spirit to guard my heart in Jesus name; Amen
ACTION POINT: Ask God for Wisdom
DECLARATION: I will not speak corrupt things, my mouth only declares good and godly things, and I walk in the right path all the time
