Devotion
Seek evil, find evil. Seek good, find good.
David Jacobs
No matter how far we may walk off the path of righteousness, God still keeps us near. My friend's son got involved with a very bad crowd. He was squatting in empty houses, doing and selling drugs, in and out of prison, and not working at all. In middle school, he was a sweet boy, great at sports and music, a good student, and beloved by parents. It was hard to even recognize who he had become, and it was hard to even reach out to help him because of how heartbroken it left us.
One pastor from the church was made aware of his situation and knew him like a brother, reaching out to him. He refused. The pastor asked again and was refused. And again. And so on and so on until finally the boy relented, came to the church, and wept as soon as he entered the sanctuary. His entire family and his friends had gathered there to support him, and the show of love took the evil spirit out of him and changed him that day.
One might think that the boy was walking with the devil, on the path to damnation, but that is not how I view it. Even if you choose to love evil and hate that is good, God is patiently waiting for you. God does not abandon his flock, he will never reject his people (Psalms 94:14).He is always there, no matter how far we may stray.
Another thing to take away from these verses is this: if you seek evil, you will find it.
Prayer
If you seek good, you will find it. God allows us to make the choice, but He is watching and waiting, for us to choose Him.
Night Prayer
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Inspiration
We despise the thought of a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. The outside is easy to clean; it's the caked-up residue on the inside that's so difficult to remove. Jesus compares the scribes and Pharisees with dishes that have been wiped clean on the outside while dirty inside. The Pharisees took exceptional care of their outward appearance and neglected their inward spirits. We are guilty of allowing our hearts to be left filthy as well. We look and act as we should while our souls are full of darkness. We must continue to converse with the Holy Spirit daily and trust His guidance to cleanse our sinful nature.
Prayer
Dear God, Please forgive our sinful nature. We yearn for cleansing from within, so we are genuine witnesses to Your name. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
