JANUARY 29, Malachi 3:16-18

The devotion yesterday was about people who fear God. Let us look at another aspect of people who fear God – they will hate sin. Why? A person who fears God is one who wants to obey God, one who is afraid of making God unhappy. And God is most displeased when we sin. Jim is a Christian boy who has been to church since he was in Primary Three. He has been taught lessons from the Bible but somehow, the lessons never stuck with him. One day, his school organised a trip to the zoo. Jim loved nature, so he was very excited. It was a nice sunny day and everyone had a good time. Walking by the different enclosures of the animals, he came across one that he had never seen before – the Malayan tapir. It was a medium-sized animal, with a grey-coloured ‘saddle’ which extends from its shoulders to its rump. The front of its ‘saddle’ was black, except for the tips of its ears which were rimmed with white. This pattern is for camouflage, so it could not be recognised easily.

Looking at the resting tapir, a naughty thought crossed his mind. How about throwing stones to wake the animal up? Making sure no one could see him, Jim threw a stone at the tapir, which stirred. Then, he threw a larger one which hurt the poor animal. As he was about to throw the third stone, his classmate suddenly appeared and asked Jim what he was trying to do. In that awkward moment, caught in the action, Jim lied that he was just looking at the stone as it has a nice texture and colour. Would a child who fears God behave in that manner? You see, dear reader, one sin leads to another. Jim was unkind in throwing the first stone. Then, he threw the second. And before he threw the third, God intervened by sending his classmate but Jim committed a third sin – lying.

Fearing the Lord means to NEVER do anything you know will make God sad.

Thought: Do I really fear the Lord?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to obey You always. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.