House of Hope Online

January 4, 2026

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Happy New Year to you all!  I pray that in all things the Lord will prosper you in 2026 just as your soul prospers!

3^rd John 1:

 2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

As we enter 2026, I believe the word of the Lord today centers on the Righteousness of God and His determination to expose and punish the wicked.  The wicked are those who willingly come against the word of God and the people of God.  I believe we will see the hand of God come against unrighteousness in 2026 as the Lord intends to encourage more and more to turn away from wickedness in the Last Days before it is too late.  In many ways, I believe 2026 will be a precursor to, and a prophetic symbol of, the wrath to come when Jesus comes again at Armageddon.

God Abhors Wickedness

Psalms 7:

 11 God is a righteous judge, And a God who has indignation every day.

 12 If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready.

 13 He has also prepared for Himself deadly weapons; He makes His arrows fiery shafts.

 14 Behold, he travails with wickedness, And he conceives mischief, and brings forth falsehood.

 15 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out, And has fallen into the hole which he made.

 16 His mischief will return upon his own head, And his violence will descend upon his own pate.

We should not assume that Father God is in Heaven and He is being patient with all the evil that walks upon the earth.  He is not content with it.  He is a Righteous Judge, and He has indignation every day.  In the King James version of Psalms 7:11, the word for “indignation” means “to  be enraged with, and to abhor wickedness.”  The Hebrew word literally means to foam at the mouth with anger.  That is how God feels about wickedness.  He has no tolerance for it.

Verse 12 says God has His bow ready and is prepared to deploy His fiery arrows in deadly fashion against evil.  On the other hand, verses 14-16 tell us that he who works with wickedness, mischief, and falsehood has dug a pit and fallen into the trap he has made.  His violence against righteousness will descend upon his own head.

Proverbs 6:

 16 There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:

 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,

 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil,

 19 A false witness [who] utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.

There is a lot of that going around today!  There is a lot of arrogance against the word of God!  There are many lying tongues, and hands that shed innocent blood.  Hearts devise wicked plans, and feet run rapidly (tend toward) to evil.  There are false witnesses in today’s world and those who spread strife among brothers.

Malachi prophesied that God plans to distinguish between the righteous and the wicked.

Malachi 3:

 16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard [it,] and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name.

 17 “And they will be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts, “on the day that I prepare [My] own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.”

 18 So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.

Malachi 4:

 1 ¶ “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.”

 2 “But for you who fear My name the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.

 3 “And you will tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,” says the LORD of hosts.

Biblical Precedent

There is Biblical precedent for God taking action against those who persecute the Church.

Acts 12:

 1 ¶ Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church, in order to mistreat them.

 2 And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword.

 3 And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread.

 4 And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people.

 5 ¶ So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.

Note that prayer was being made fervently by the church on Peter’s behalf.  There is a message for us:  when we see the righteous being mistreated, instead of spending energy getting angry, we need to pray fervently and watch what God does next.

Acts 12:

6 And on the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains; and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison.

 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and roused him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And his chains fell off his hands.

 8 And the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he *said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”

 9 And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.

 10 And when they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street; and immediately the angel departed from him.

 11 And when Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”

 12 And when he realized [this,] he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.

I love the connection here between prayer and the release of angels on our behalf.  Notice that the chains “fell off” Peter’s hands and the jail’s iron gate opened “by itself.”  This is a miraculous move of God that manifested as the Church prayed fervently.

And not only was Peter set free, but those who came against the righteousness of God had a price to pay.

Acts 12:

 18 Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers [as to] what could have become of Peter.

 19 And when Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away [to execution.] And he went down from Judea to Caesarea and was spending time there.

 20 ¶ Now he was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; and with one accord they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king’s chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because their country was fed by the king’s country.

 21 And on an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and [began] delivering an address to them.

 22 And the people kept crying out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!”

 23 And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.

 24 But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.

Herod and the guards met their death due to their unjust persecution of Peter and the Gospel.  Note verse 24 says that the word of the Lord continued to grow and be multiplied.

Closing

In closing, God is a Righteous Judge who has indignation with wickedness every day.  We know that Jesus is coming soon to overcome all evil standing against the Word of God.  In the meantime, I believe we will see the fulfillment of Malachi 3.

Malachi 3:

18 So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.

Last week’s word urged us to separate from unbelief.  We are coming into a season where the Lord is prepared to expose the wicked in hopes that the word of the Lord will grow and be multiplied in advance of the day the Lord is preparing.

Let us pray.

Father God, You are a Righteous God who abhors wickedness and has His bow ready to strike those who perpetrate it.  We pray fervently against unjust persecution of the Church, and we trust Your army of angels is prepared to lead us as You did Peter.  Lord, may You turn evil for good in 2026, and cause the Gospel to grow and multiply before the end comes.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.