“A good man obtains favor from the LORD, but a man of evil devices he condemns.” – Proverbs 12:2
Scripture reading: Psalm 119:73-80
Who is the good man? The good man is one who has been made aware of his sinfulness, and need for cleansing by the blood of Jesus. A Christian is constantly aware of and meditates on this. This humbles him. Such a person receives favor and blessings from the LORD—he is adopted by the LORD. The Spirit of the LORD lives in him, restraining his sin. This restraint is urgently necessary. The whole book of Proverbs is written for believers, read by those instructed in the LORD, so that they will be warned, prepared to renounce sin, hate it, and return to God.
A man (or woman) of evil devices does not recognize thought patterns that are destructive and displeasing to God and instead, indulges in them. A human heart, where even a small foothold is yielded to sin, will lead to the establishment of headquarters where sin becomes a virus factory, sending infection into the thoughts and actions of that person’s life. Sin blinds the sinner to its motives, its self-aggrandizing, and its hardening effects. These streams of infection lead to rebellion against the ways of God.
Have you ever met a germophobe? You hand him a cookie, but he’ll refuse to eat it because you didn’t wash your hands before you picked it up. He is so disgusted by uncleanness, that he sanitizes a doorknob before handling it. Dear fellow believer, are you a sin-o-phobe? That is what is pictured here. Sin, even the thought of acting sinfully, ought to elicit from you a gut-level revulsion.
Suggestions for prayer
Does your own sin cause you gut-level revulsion? If not, pray that the Spirit of God will give you great sensitivity to the wretchedness of sin. If so, pray that you will help others to know their sin and know the greater mercy and compassion of God extended to them in Christ.
Rev. Richard T. Vander Vaart and his wife Carolyn are now in their seventh year living in Moncton, NB. with Redemption Prison Ministry as a pastor in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church of Canada. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com