Daily Devotional For Thursday, May 28, 2026
Good morning and good day Southside! As we follow the readings for the One Year Chronological Bible, we are going to look at Proverbs 6:16-17:
“There are six things the LORD hates—no, seven things he detests: (17) haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, (18) a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, (19) a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family” (NLT).
Why do you come to church to worship? Yes, I am serious in asking this question. The real reason we should come is so that we learn as much about God as He will reveal to us and in doing so, to learn as much about ourselves from what He reveals about Himself. We should seek His extreme grace for an extreme spiritual makeover.
The truth is most people do not want to take personal responsibility for their own lives. What is sad, everyone wants to blame others for their unhappiness without considering their own role in it. For example, if you knew a certain investor was untrustworthy and had been discredited, would you still give that person your money to invest? No. As you read the passage above, the 7th thing explains the first six. How? Jesus says in Matthew 5 that whatever we think in our heart, we have done the action (ex. Uncontrolled anger is murder; lust is adultery and fornication).
This is why Proverbs 6:12 says this, “A worthless person, a wicked man, Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth” (NASB). The Hebrew word translated as “worthless” is the word [בְּ֭לִיַּעַל, beliyaal]. It means “without benefit, profit, useless.” Paul takes this same Hebrew word and brings it over into the New Testament to refer to the devil in 2 Corinthians 6:15, “Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?” (NASB). I have no problem having doubters and skeptics in the church today. They keep us on our toes. But sadly, we have people in leadership roles in the church who are not on Christ’s side at all.
Everyone sins intentionally and stupidly at times, but some people in the church intentionally sin aggressively. That is the point Proverbs 6:12-15 makes. God looks at a sneaky, disruptive person and calls them “disruptive, demonic.” The problem with “haughty eyes” is they are eyes of arrogance and pride. Such eyes sow seeds of discord because they are always looking down on others as if they are better and/or know it all. Such eyes were seen in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve arrogantly looked at the forbidden truth and took it and ate it. There are many reasons God hates a lying tongue but the main is it resembles the lies the serpent (devil) fed to Adam and Eve.
They bought it as truth and everything God had created as perfection, came crashing down like a house in an 8.5 earthquake. Those that shed innocent blood remind the reader of how Cain killed his innocent brother Abel. In Genesis 4:10, God said this to Cain, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground” (NASB). A “heart that plots evil” reminds us how Cain plotted to kill his brother Abel in Genesis 4. You can trace all of these all the way back to the Garden of Eden and soon after sin entered the world. It didn’t take long for the perfect world God created to go south. By the time we get to Genesis 6-7 God is ready to destroy the very world He created and start over.
When it comes to the church, God desires unity in it. David wrote about unity between God’s people when he wrote this in Psalms 133:1, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is, For brothers to dwell together in unity!” (NASB). For one believer to sit in church smirking at another believer or for one believer in the church to put down another believer in the body, irritates the Lord. Christ dwells in our unity. What is His unity? When His cross becomes real in our sinful hearts so that we intentionally demote ourselves, exalt Him and encourage one another.
Jesus said this in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. (35) By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (NASB). Notice the measuring stick Jesus gives for the world to know we are His – our loving one another unconditionally. This means we say “No” to the idols of power, prestige, and position in the church. We are not there for ourselves. We are not serving in positions to boost our selfish egos. We are not seeking power but willingly giving it up to serve others as the Lord would.
Reflection Assignment: Why do you really come to church? Do you get up on Sundays with the intention to hear from the Lord, for Him to reveal things in your life that need to change, and then during the Invitation period, confess that and repent? Or, do you come for other reasons: the fellowship, the Bible study in a class or community group or because you love serving in some area or you simply have nothing else to do? Is God and His will for your life your top priority when you come?
Scripture To Meditate On: Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. (24) Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, please search my heart, reveal to me where I am out of Your will. Convict me to confess it and to repent from it. Lord, I want people when they see me, they see You. Lord, I do not want to have any of these 7 deadly sins mentioned above in my life. I pledge my life to You for You to use me as You desire. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly