19^th July 2011

SEEDS FOR HARVESTING 6/26

Proverbs 8:13
"All who fear the Lord will hate evil."

We must not be afraid of the "fear of the Lord."
In a Biblical sense this word means awe of
and reverence for,
and belief in God.

My mother taught me as a little boy
"Bobby you must not hate anybody.
It does more harm to you than to them."

Yet in my senior years I know that this Word is true.
Above all things we must turn away from evil.
Above all we must make a definite decision to reject evil.
Angry words in response to hurt feelings
that grow in our minds can result in hatred.

But God has equipped us with a sure defence against such things.
He equips us with His loving presence and also the power of prayer.

I believe that if Judas had truly loved Jesus
he would not have betrayed Him.
The most insidious hatred is towards our loved ones.

Love does conquer hatred if we fill our lives with God's love for ourselves and our loved ones, then there is no room for evil.

The power of prayer to heal personal relationships
rests not only in the words we speak, but how we feel about them.

If awe and reverence for God is a living experience
in our lives and hearts, then this is the surest defence against evil.

Bob Imms 17.7.11