Romans 1:18-23

1:18 For the wrath of hwhy is revealed from heaven against all uvr resha’ -ungodliness and ur raa -wickedness of ^Lmen who by ^Ltheir ur raa wickedness suppress the tma emet  truth. ¹⁹For what can be known about hwhy is plain to ^Lthem, because hwhy has shown it to ^Lthem. ²⁰Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So ^Lthey are without excuse; ²¹for although ^Lthey knew hwhy ^Lthey did not honor him as Elohim or give thanks to him, but they became futile in ^Ltheir thinking and ^Ltheir senseless minds were darkened. ²²Claiming to be wise, ^Lthey became fools, ²³and exchanged the glory of the immortal hwhy for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles.

Most of us know that YHVH (God) loves us so deeply that he gave his only begotten Son as a sacrifice to buy our freedom from the slavery of sin. I wonder if you might also know what YHVH hates.

In my Romans study (1:18-23), I learn that YHVH hates those who suppress truth. YHVH is truth (emet). Y'shua (Jesus), Ben YHVH, the only Son of God,  is truth in the flesh.

 How do mere men suppress truth? It starts with a very simple attitude of un-thankfulness to YHVH. Suppression of truth begins with not being thankful. That is all it takes to start your journey to life as a fool.

Everyone has an idea of what a fool is. We may sometimes feel "foolish" but we do not want to be fools. But what is a fool? A fool is not a stupid person but simply a person who says in their heart, "There is no God" (Psalms 14:1 and 53:1). Without acknowledgement of your loving creator, your thought life becomes dark, senseless, futile. A fool tends to believe that they know the path of wisdom, but wisdom begins with "the fear of YHVH" (Proverbs 1:7), they discover the end of their path is folly. Is there hope?

Thankfulness. In EVERYTHING give thanks (Ephesians 5:20) Thanksgiving is an action that recognizes YHVH's work in your life. Without a thankful heart there is a temptation to believe that enough money, youth, good looks, balance or whatever else seems valuable to you at this stage of your life is the key to success. Thanksgiving is the trail marker on the path of life. I plan to carve out time to be thankful on purpose. What about you?