There is a standard by which all things have been purposed and created. And it includes you and me—and a world filled with souls—being drawn toward those eternal purposes.
All things, purposed and positioned, to be where and when they should be, throughout every generation of time.
The standard is much like a measuring stick. You might think of it as some focal point, or the foundation on which God builds all things.
In old testament times, God gave the law to Moses, so that his followers might gain an understanding of how lives are measured and weighed—always by the standard of God’s own plans and purposes.
Otherwise, how could anything or anyone come out right?
Then, at just the right moment in time, Christ Jesus came down to His creation—not to do away with God’s standard of righteousness (the law)—but to fulfill it, and to become the Standard by which all men are measured.
But God’s grace given at the cross never changes that standard. It fulfills it, so that we may be nothing less than what God has so purposely planned for us to become.
And so the struggle begins.
Compromise. The word really doesn’t sound so bad. In fact, our modern society assures us that “compromise” is fundamentally necessary to conduct most business, achieve meaningful agreements in government, or even to maintain good, healthy relationships. It all sounds good.
But when you consider God’s eternal Kingdom, that word, “compromise,” absolutely does not apply. You won’t find it in scripture. Nor will you find the concept.
There is no “gray area” found between the light of God’s Kingdom of truth, and the darkness and deceptions of a world system bound by Sin. So Biblically speaking, that word, “compromise,” cannot exist.
So what does exist in its place? More and more confusion, and a failure to live out what we say we believe. And the illusion that Christians can somehow have one foot firmly planted in God’s kingdom, and the other foot wandering upon the sinking sands of world views and trends of this present age.
What is the answer, for those of us who are serious about belonging to and following Christ Jesus?
We need to have a love/hate relationship.
We must love the things that God loves. And hate the things that God says He hates.
Here is a short list, for starters.
-What God Loves-
God Loves the People of His World.
I know you may have found yourself feeling defeated or deflated. Maybe you have been taken advantage of, overlooked, overworked, under-appreciated and underpaid. Should I add to that, overwhelmed?
At some point, most of us will get our share of this stuff. It’s called “the world.”
It was here long before you or I ever came upon the scene. It is the fallen world of Sin.
But the world is more than just your surroundings. It is a mindset, and a condition of the heart. It is the fallen, failed nature of humankind—lost without God.
It gives only what it must. And it takes everything it can get.
“…The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.”
(Psalm 14:1-2)
It would be easy for any of us to take an opposing attitude towards an unbelieving, hostile world. And yet, this is the very same world that Christ Jesus so graciously died to save.
Loving God’s creation is possible, if we will allow Him to do what He does best—to love the unlovable through us.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
(John 3:16)
Such extravagant love God has for the people of His world. Christ died so that they might be saved.
You and I must find the courage to love what God so loves. We must purpose to see and feel what God sees and feels—not forgetting that the love God loves the world with, is the very same love that saved us from our own destructive path.
Lord Jesus, help me to love the people of my world.
God Loves Your Neighbor.
God loves our neighbors. Even “that one.” Maybe it’s time we felt the same way.
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it,
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
(Matthew 22:39)
Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, strength.
And Love your neighbor as yourself.
The two are inseparable.
You or I cannot truly or fully love God without also loving our neighbor. And we won’t find it possible to love our neighbor without first loving God.
In fact, loving God completely gives us the proper “self image” or worth, to be able to reach beyond ourselves to our “neighbor.”
Luke Chapter 10 depicts one student of Christ who asked, “And who is my neighbor?” He wanted to nail this neighbor thing down, so that he could justify himself.
Let’s turn that word—justify—a bit to bring ourselves to the answer: Who is my neighbor?
Anyone in trouble whom God has placed in my path—just-if-I were the one in trouble.
Lord God, help me to love my neighbor—especially “that one.” The one in trouble.
God Loves His Word.
The love barometer seems to connect our love for Christ with our obedience to his words.
“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
(John 14:15)
Jesus is our prime example, as He was completely obedient to his Father’s commands. So in God’s eyes, Love’s first lesson is to obey our Father’s will—not in word only, but in deed.
This obedience—to love the very purposes of God’s will, expressed through Christ Jesus—glorifies the Son, and greatly pleases our heavenly Father.
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue (stay) in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;”
(John 8:31, parenthesis mine)
If I’m longing to please my Father in Heaven, I must love His word—by purposing to understand what He’s telling me through His word, and keeping it within my heart.
Heavenly Father, help me to love—truly love—your word.
God Loves His Enemies.
God loves His enemies. He has no desire that anyone should perish, but that all should come to the saving knowledge of Christ Jesus.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
(Romans 5:8)
The truth is, you, I and every Christ follower were once the enemies of God—living in opposition to God’s truth, walking in darkness, and believing a lie.
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
(Matthew 5:43-44)
The enemies of His cross oppose God. And many enemies may oppose you, as well. You and I are unable to see what’s just beyond their opposition—the hurts and disappointments in their lives.
But God can—and He commands us to do what seems counter intuitive—to love our enemies. To pray for them. To share God’s truth with them. To take that risk, and step out of ourselves, to bless them in some way.
I have to tell you, I’m not always up for it. But I must constantly be moved by what moves the Master: to love my enemies.
Because He does.
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
(Romans 12:19-21)
I have to admit—heaping “coals of fire” on someone I don’t particularly like appeals to my flesh. But you and I both know that was not the intent of this scripture.
To love—with God’s unfailing love—”Enemies” are just not going to be expecting that from you.
Want to leave a lasting impression on people who otherwise wouldn’t have much to do with you? Love them.
Jesus, my Friend, help me to love my enemies.
God Loves Us to Love One Another.
God’s amazing, life changing love seems to come full circle, when the ones He loves turn to love one another.
“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.”
(John 15:12)
That deposit of God-given love, placed into each of us, now goes forth to make a complete connection.
As we ever learn to love what God loves—God’s body of believers—that extended love of Christ becomes a measure of our walk, and the strength of it as well.
“He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.”
(1 John 2:9-10)
John really tells it like it is in this verse. His message is clear. If I belong to Christ, I also have the light of God’s love present within me. His love won’t allow me to walk in the darkness of hatred toward a fellow believer. I may be in a disagreement with someone, but God’s love enables me to forgive, and to be forgiven.
In all circumstances, I must long to love my fellow servants, as Christ loves me—completely.
God of Love, help me to love your Church.
God Loves The Good.
Without a doubt, God is for the good, and loves the good. So why should you or I think differently?
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
(Philippians 4:8)
Thinking on the good things means meditating on them—immersing ourselves in God’s word, His values, and His priorities.
What pleases God should please us too. What brings Him joy should bring us joy. What breaks His heart should break ours.
Loving the good really means loving the very heart of God. That same heart of love that created you and me to be all that He hopes for.
Yes, God is love. So for Him to hate something or someone really expresses His abhorrence of evil, and its destructive abilities.
God, help me to love the good as much as you do.
-What God Hates-
God Hates Sin.
This should be a no-brainer, right? Of course, God hates Sin. But I feel the need to review this.
Christ Jesus—who referred to Himself as “the Way, the Truth, and the Life”—isn’t going to tolerate anything that brings darkness and death. And neither should we.
“Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.”
(Psalm 119:104)
To be sure, God hates (opposes) Sin and evil doing. If we can really understand this, we are able to oppose the evil of sinfulness without opposing the sinner.
Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
(Romans 12:9b)
If God were to give us a job description for this calling, it might be something like, “an opposer and exposer of darkness, deception, and death”. That’s a lengthy title for a very important calling—to be set apart as God’s emissary for truth.
Lies don’t like to be exposed. Death never wants to be seen for what it truly is. But if you’re up for the task, God’s looking for the vessel He can fill with His purposes.
Honestly, the more you and I learn to hate the Sin, the more we are able to fight for the sinner, who is suffering the effects of a fallen world.
“Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.
Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.”
(Amos 5:14-15)
Yes—loving the good is so important. But hating the evils of life is just as important. The prophet Amos explains that loving what God loves—and hating what God hates—establishes correct judgements in society, and enables God to be gracious to His people for their obedience.
Way, Truth and Life—help me to hate sin.
God Hates Vain Thoughts and Lying
It’s no wonder why God hates deception. It all originated from the “father of lies”—the devil himself.
A lie is like a big red stop sign placed at a busy intersection. But instead of saying, “stop,” the warning has been carefully covered up, and the sign now says; “Go right ahead. No danger here.” Obviously someone is going to suffer the consequences of such wrong information.
Liars are heartbreaking. They spend just as much time deceiving themselves as they do others.
“But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”
(2 Tim. 3:13)
Self-deception is an evil which perpetuates itself upon the many. The vain thoughts of our world are nothing more than denial and self-deceptions. Lies, bitterness, manipulations, and any number of other vanities are tied not to life, but death.
God hates them. We—who now live in Christ—should hate them too.
Lord of Life, help me to hate lies—all lies.
God Hates The False Pretenses of Religion
Christian, we don’t have a religious or spiritual life, and then a separate, secular life. We have one life—and whatever belief system we hold to, permeates everything that life is.
“No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
Luke 16:13
You may be wondering what this verse about “mammon” (money) has to do with your Christian walk. Not only does this apply to your walk, but it also applies to anyone else’s Christian walk, church affiliation, denomination, belief system or personal religious preference.
It’s about much more than money. As our Lord explains, no one can serve two “masters” simultaneously. That kind of double-mindedness ruins any righteous relationships.
Even the best attempts to please God—while also trying to please and appease this sinful world’s system—are corrupted. And God hates what it does to any of us.
“But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;
To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”
(Revelation 2:6)
God has hated the whole concept of what is termed the “Nicolaitans” throughout history. Basically, they are the false Church, posing as Christ’s followers. But they are deceivers, loving a form of godliness, but denying the power of God.
They love the pleasures of a fallen world, but find no real pleasure in God. They love to appear godly, to sound godly, and use the holy scriptures for their own devices.
Wait. This sounds really familiar…
“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”
(Matthew 6:5)
Note to self: Looking “religious” doesn’t make it righteous. Just because someone builds a beautiful building and slaps a cross on it, doesn’t guarantee there is any of God’s truth inside. (Even our local branch of Christian Science uses the word “Christian” and has a cross on its roof. Go figure.)
We see many religious organizations today bending over backwards to accommodate everyone—anyone who will hop on board the bandwagon of compromises, concessions, even cowardice.
How about your church? Ask God to help you see past the beautiful building, the awesome sound stage, or whatever else is being offered as life, when it is not. Hopefully, you will find consistent, full-strength Biblical truth there. If not, run.
“Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
Worship. That can be a controversial subject in these times we live in. Many are involved in some sort of compromised attempt to “worship” God as the world would have it—with a great stage show. Without true Godly reverence, worship is just reduced to entertainment, feelings and a lot of noise.
God will not share His glory with the world.
No one can have it both ways. Either we serve the Lord, or we serve religion.
God really hates religious deception. Should you or I hate these things any less?
God Almighty, help me to have no tolerance for empty religion.
Conclusion
Down through the ages of time, God has been calling out a people for Himself—who would prepare their own hearts, for the battles of their day.
Today, you must see yourself as one critically needed in what is playing out before you: the culmination of God’s own purposes in Heaven and Earth. Will you be set apart for His purposes? God has great plans for you, if you’ll accept them.
And how will God use you? Simply. And often. And for His ultimate glory.
Do you want those awesome plans of His to succeed through you?
Then love what God says He loves. And hate what God says He hates.
Let your daily walk reflect the very thoughts of His own heart. If you do, you won’t fail, and you won’t fall by the wayside. Not in a million years.
Let God fill you with the power and the presence of His own passions: To say what you mean, and to mean what you say. Without any compromise.
Because, God’s truth is always the truth. Truth to be loved much, and to be lived out. Let it fill your whole being.
Let HIM fill your whole being.
Catch the vision of Christ in you. Like Him, be the standard-bearer of God’s own desires and purposes, so a lost world may see and believe.