Tag Archives: god is love

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Holy Hatred

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John MacArthur

“Hate evil, you who love the Lord” (Ps. 97:10).

After spending this month exploring fifteen characteristics of godly love, it might seem odd to shift suddenly to the topic of hatred. Additionally, “holy hatred” will sound like a contradiction in terms to those who view all hatred as evil. But love and hate are inseparable. You can’t truly love something and be complacent about the things that oppose or threaten it.

If you love your spouse, you hate anything that would defile or injure him or her. If you love your children, you hate anything that would harm them. If you love good, you hate evil. If you love unity, you hate discord. If you love God, you hate Satan. That’s why Scripture says, “Hate evil, you who love the Lord” (Ps. 97:10) and, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way, and the perverted mouth, I [God personified] hate” (Prov. 8:13).

Unquestionably God is a God of love. First John 4 says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and every one who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. . . . Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. . . . And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (vv. 7-8, 11, 16).

How are we to respond to that love? The psalmist wrote, “From Thy precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. . . . I hate those who are double- minded, but I love Thy law. . . . I esteem right all Thy precepts concerning everything, I hate every false way. . . . I hate and despise falsehood, but I love Thy law” (Ps. 119:104, 113, 128, 163).

Is that your prayer? Do you hate the things that oppose God? Are you offended by what offends Him? Remember, holy hatred is as much a part of godly love as any of its other characteristics. If you love God, you must necessarily hate evil.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Ask God to increase your love for Him and your hatred for evil.

For Further Study:

Meditate on Psalm 119:101-104 and commit it to memory.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — What’s Love?

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Our Daily Bread

Psalm 103:1-14

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son. —1 John 4:10

When asked “What’s love?” children have some great answers. Noelle, age 7, said, “Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day.” Rebecca, who is 8, answered, “Since my grandmother got arthritis, she can’t bend over and polish her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even after his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.” Jessica, also 8, concluded, “You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.”

Sometimes we need reminding that God loves us. We focus on the difficulties of life and wonder, Where’s the love? But if we pause and consider all that God has done for us, we remember how much we are loved by God, who is love (1 John 4:8-10).

Psalm 103 lists the “benefits” God showers on us in love: He forgives our sin (v.3), satisfies us with good things (v.5), and executes righteousness and justice (v.6). He is slow to anger and abounds in mercy (v.8). He doesn’t deal with us as our sins deserve (v.10) and has removed our sin as far as the east is from the west (v.12). He has not forgotten us!

What’s love? God is love, and He’s pouring out that love on you and me. —Anne Cetas

Our God is God—

His truth, His love remains each day the same,

He’s faithful to His matchless name,

For God is God—He does not change. —D. DeHaan

The death of Christ is the measure of God’s love for you.

Bible in a year: Psalms 49-50; Romans 1

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Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – Love the Giver

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When the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land with their new leader Joshua, Moses gave a series of sermons reminding people to always obey God. He warns, “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’…And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish.” (Deuteronomy 8:17, 19)

He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the inheritance of the nations. Psalm 111:6

God is love and He gives His people good gifts. But there is a danger people fall into when they are blessed. They become so enamored with the gifts, they forget the giver. They get puffed up, congratulating themselves on their own success, forgetting that only God gives people power to prosper (Deuteronomy 8:18).

Be thankful for all the blessings you enjoy as an American – and pray for the United States, where many citizens, no doubt, have forgotten where their blessings come from. Pray for the people of this nation to repent of their pride and turn once again to the Lord, the giver of all good things.

Recommended Reading: James 1:17-25