Wickedness

Wickedness

Proverbs 10:7

New King James version reads - The memory of the righteous is blessed, But the name of the wicked will rot.

The Message says - A good and honest life is a blessed memorial; a wicked life leaves a rotten stench.

We all have them. Good and bad memories. After reading this verse, I instantly thought of my testimony. Could I have brought up everything good I remember in my life? Would it have had the same impact as the bad memories? Not only that, but I started to think of all the times that I have created bad memories myself. When I read this verse a few more times, I begin to let it sink in that it is talking about a good and honest life. One without question, one without hidden secrets. When I think of a wicked life, I think of Hitler, Murderers, and suicide bombers. I think of those who are apart from God. That's what it is. Those who's lives were more important to them than the moral convictions that we all have. It is a battle that is fought 24/7. God and his legions of Angels protect us from an evil and wicked life. A life that Satan would prefer us to have. So when I read this verse, I realize that there are times in my life when I have had to endure wickedness of others and there are times when I myself have been wicked. But then I am overwhelmed with the thought that God wanted me, in my stuff, my yuck, and he called me out of my wicked life into a life of goodness and honesty. A life white as snow. Sure, the snow sometimes gets a dirt clod mixed into it, or even begins to melt and mix into a muddy puddle, but God knows just the right time to draw me close to Him again. He wants us to be in a relationship with him, to live a good and honest life. He wants us to turn from our wickedness.


Wickedness - a principle of evil or power of evildoers; working contrary to law and wreaking havoc in the world.

The Message - Isaiah 55:5
Seek God while he's here to be found,
pray to him while he's close at hand.
Let the wicked abandon their way of life
and the evil their way of thinking.
Let them come back to God, who is merciful,
come back to our God, who is lavish with forgiveness.

The Message - Romans 1:28-32Since they didn't bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping, vicious backstabbing. They made life hell on earth with their envy, wanton killing, bickering, and cheating. Look at them: mean-spirited, venomous, fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies, swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep inventing new ways of wrecking lives. They ditch their parents when they get in the way. Stupid, slimy, cruel, cold-blooded. And it's not as if they don't know better. They know perfectly well they're spitting in God's face. And they don't care—worse, they hand out prizes to those who do the worst things best!

The Message - Luke 37-41When he finished that talk, a Pharisee asked him to dinner. He entered his house and sat right down at the table. The Pharisee was shocked and somewhat offended when he saw that Jesus didn't wash up before the meal. But the Master said to him, "I know you Pharisees burnish the surface of your cups and plates so they sparkle in the sun, but I also know your insides are maggoty with greed and secret evil. Stupid Pharisees! Didn't the One who made the outside also make the inside? Turn both your pockets and your hearts inside out and give generously to the poor; then your lives will be clean, not just your dishes and your hands.

Dear Lord,
I pray that we know you personally today. That our lives would be clean on the inside and the outside. That we will not do or think wicked things. Lord, I pray that our hearts will be good and honest. I pray that we will walk with you, learn from you and reflect you in our lives. The lives we share with others and our inner most personal lives. May you be glorified in ALL that we do, at ALL times. Amen.