Proverbs 6:16-19 There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.
“One that sows discord among brothers” is an abomination to God. It’s an amazing passage that is often overlooked when considering offenses which God hates.
The events presently taking place around the world are causing more discord among people than I’ve seen in my lifetime. Everyone I’ve spoken with from around the world seems to agree that this phenomenon is increasing. And while it’s understandable that people in the world are cracking and conflicted under pressure, it’s even more troubling that this fracturing and division seems to be affecting the body of Messiah as well.
A particularly sad example of this surrounds the recently opened television station (Shelanu TV) in Israel developed by believers in Yeshua for communicating the Gospel to a Hebrew speaking audience. Amazingly, what could well be seen as a breakthrough in freedom of speech and the expression of NT faith in a substantially unreached nation, has been bitterly attacked by some believers calling for the station’s removal.
Of course, everyone vehemently believes he’s on GOD’S side of the argument. It would seem to be crystal clear that, as the Apostle Paul states, the Gospel is “to the Jew first”. And how could anyone dispute that it was always the heart of God to reach the Jewish people with the Gospel. Paul even said he could wish himself to be accursed if only His people Jewish people might be saved. And we should absolutely share that passion with him.
But what counsel might we offer in a situation like this one? Apart from the details of the argument, and the passions on either side of it, I believe we need to follow Paul’s instruction to Timothy: “The servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents in gentleness … that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the enemy.”
It’s an attitude; not so much the “words”, but “the music”, the tone of the discussion, the way we “argue”. Because, while there will always be disagreements and controversies among us, discord, and those who sow it are walking in the flesh, the sinful nature, a self-righteous and belligerent attitude, which is an abomination to our Lord. As passionate as we may be over an issue, we ought to remember that it’s so easy to get in the flesh and sow discord among our brothers and sisters. But it’s one of the things God hates, so keep it in mind.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]God has always longed for intimacy with us. He formed us for Himself–to walk with Him, to know Him, to delight in His Presence. This is the very heartbeat of creation: relationship, not religion. Yet sin drove a wedge between us. A veil was drawn, shutting out the light of His face and placing distance where there was once communion.
A beachhead is the first critical objective in a military invasion–the spot where a force lands on enemy territory and secures a position for greater advancement. It’s the place of breakthrough. And it’s also the place of fiercest resistance.
David wrote Psalm 3 while running for his life — betrayed, heartbroken, and hunted by his own son, Absalom. The weight of rebellion wasn’t just political; it was personal. His household had turned against him. Friends became foes. Loyal hearts grew cold. The throne he once held was now surrounded by enemies, and the whispers grew louder: “There is no salvation for him in God.”
Psalm 2 is a divine announcement — a heavenly decree that demands the world’s attention. It begins with a question: “Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot in vain?” (Ps. 2:1). The nations rise up, not against injustice or tyranny, but against the rule of God’s Meshiach (Messiah). That Anointed is Yeshua — the Son whom the Father has set on His holy hill in Zion (Ps. 2:6). The psalm strips away all pretense and exposes the heart of human rebellion: it is a refusal to be ruled by His Messiah.
Psalm 1 opens with a sobering warning about the quiet, deadly slide into sin. The man without God doesn’t become a scorner overnight — he drifts there gradually. First, he walks in ungodly counsel, entertaining worldly thoughts. Then, he stands in the path of sinners, embracing their way of life. Finally, he sits in the seat of the scornful, hardened in heart and mocking what is sacred. This progression — from a man without God to scorner — reveals how small compromises grow into full rebellion, dulling the conscience and deadening the soul.
Last night marked the beginning of Shavuot–a feast that many Christians recognize as Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit was poured out in Acts 2. But the roots of Shavuot stretch back much further. Long before that upper room encounter–about 1,500 years earlier–Shavuot was the day God gave the law to Moses on Mount Sinai, writing His commandments on tablets of stone.
In a world trembling with uncertainty–political unrest, economic turmoil, natural disasters–God is speaking again. Not in whispers, but with the shaking that reorders lives, redefines kingdoms, and removes everything that cannot stand in the presence of His glory. He is preparing us for a kingdom that cannot be moved. But in the midst of the shaking, there is rest — a deep, unshakable rest reserved for the people of God. Not rest as the world gives — temporary relief or distraction — but the kind that anchors the soul in the storm, the kind that is rooted in Yeshua (Jesus), our rest.