Tag: fathers

18.o. “But I chose you and appointed you”

John 15:16  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit.

 Acts 22:14     And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth;

 Romans 9:11-16     though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—  she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”  As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”  What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!  For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”  So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

 Ephesians 2:10    For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

“We are in Christ, not because we hold Him, but because He holds us.” (Meyer)

Ye have not chosen me – The word here translated “chosen” is that from which is derived the word “elect,” and means the same thing. It is frequently thus translated, Mark 13:20; Matthew 24:22, Matthew 24:24, Matthew 24:31; Colossians 3:12. It refers here, doubtless, to his choosing or electing them to be apostles. He says that it was not because they had chosen him to be their teacher and guide, but because he had designated them to be his apostles. See John 6:70; also Matthew 4:18-22. He thus shows them that his love for them was pure and disinterested; that it commenced when they had no affection for him; that it was not a matter of obligation on his part, and that therefore it placed them under more tender and sacred obligations to be entirely devoted to his service. The same may be said of all who are endowed with talents of any kind, or raised to any office in the church or the state. It is not that they have originated these talents, or laid God under obligation. What they have they owe to his sovereign goodness, and they are bound to devote all to his service. Equally true is this of all Christians. It was not that by nature they were more inclined than others to seek God, or that they had any native goodness to recommend them to him, but it was because he graciously inclined them by his Holy Spirit to seek him; because, “The grace of Christ moved and directed them;” that is, went before them, commenced the work of their personal salvation, and thus God in sovereign mercy chose them as His own. Whatever Christians, then, possess, they owe to God, and by the most tender and sacred ties they are bound to be his followers. (Barnes)

14.e.  “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

Malachi 3:7  From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’

Deuteronomy 9:7-21     Remember and do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD.  Even at Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, and the LORD was so angry with you that he was ready to destroy you.

Deuteronomy 31:20    For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise me and break my covenant.

Deuteronomy 31:27-29     For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the LORD. How much more after my death!  Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears and call heaven and earth to witness against them.  For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And in the days to come evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands.”

Nehemiah 9:16-17    “But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments.

Acts 7:51-52     “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.

Psalms 78:8-10    and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

Ecclesiastes 11:9    Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

Romans 10:3     For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

Isaiah 65:2    I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices;

James 4:8     Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Jeremiah 3:12-14   Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, “‘Return, faithless Israel, declares the LORD. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the LORD; I will not be angry forever.  Only acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against the LORD your God and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree, and that you have not obeyed my voice, declares the LORD.

Romans 10:21   “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

When I think about COVID and all the fear that has been instilled by continual over-reporting and misreporting from virtually every national news outlets and how the nation, states, cities, businesses, and people have reacted, I wonder if this is all it takes to turn reason and logic into fear, anger, worry, panic, stress, tension, unrest, suspicion, nervousness, etc….  Continually spreading and broadcasting pessimistic, gloomy, alarmist, hopeless, and despairing news appears to be all it takes to move nations, states, cities, businesses, and to get people to think un-rational and illogical.  At some point, individuals begin to believe it so much that anyone who thinks differently than this narrative is censored, ostracized, ignored, banished, shut out, and rejected.

So I sit here this morning and wonder what it would be like if the Word of God was broadcasted, reported, declared, distributed, transmitted, and spread in the same way and manner?  Would people’s hearts, minds, and souls be moved and turned toward God?  Would people believe in Jesus Christ?  Would people repent? Would people fear God?  Would they lose interest in things of this world and have their hope and trust in Jesus Christ and eternity?  Would truth, justice, mercy, grace, and love become a way of life and the “New Normal”?  If nations, states, cities, businesses, and people can be led by lies, half-truths, and fear would they just as easily be led by truth?

People want the truth so bad that they will believe lies to think they have it.  It is as if they will believe lies and half-truths easier and much faster than truth.  In fact, it appears as if they choose lies over truth.  And such it is with mankind where there is an intentional choice to deny, defy, neglect, and reject the truth.  Some of this denial, defiance, and rejection come from and out of a want for truth but rather than listening to the truth they turn away from it and choose to believe lies.  However, the real reason there is denial, defiance, and rejection of the things of God is within the heart of man.  I think this is why there are so many warnings in the bible to seek Jesus Christ first.  When He is first everything else can be viewed within the context of worldly and heavenly, present and future, right and wrong, truth and lies.  There should be no fear, worry, helplessness, pessimistic thoughts, panic, anger, panic, and unrest in the hearts of those who trust in Jesus Christ.  Do not let things of this world blind your hearts, minds, and souls from the truth that is eternal life-giving.  Seek Jesus, for today is the day of salvation, hope, joy, peace, power, and courage.

9.b. “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them”

Joel 1:2   Hear this, you elders; give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers? Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation.

Exodus 10:1-2   Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them,  and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.”

Deuteronomy 6:7     You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Psalms 44:1   O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old:

Psalms 78:3-8    things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us.  We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

Psalms 145:4    One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.

Isaiah 38:19   The living, the living, he thanks you, as I do this day; the father makes known to the children your faithfulness.

We are instructed to speak of God to our families about His faithfulness and what He has done in our lives.  There are moments in our lives where God has shut the mouths of lions, split the Red Sea, healed, and most importantly softened our heart so that our ear might hear and our mind understand His holiness, our sinfulness, and redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ.  Our salvation and other grace and mercy acts of God should ever be told in those God moments with our children and their children.  God’s acts of grace, mercy, love, power, and might do happen in the lives of those who continue to grow in their faith. If you are in a dry spell is it because of your lack of faith?  Or is it a time of testing to grow your faith?  Or is it a time of trials to draw you back to faith in Jesus Christ and the power and might in the palm of His hands?  We know from Scripture that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” We also know Scripture says “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?”

How are we to have faith stories about how Jesus Christ delivered, moved, encouraged, and gave refuge and power in our lives if we are neglectful and complacent in time in God’s Word?  The truth is we will not.  Our days will run on and on being the same day after day in our self-reliant and self-centered ways.  No stories of how Jesus Christ worked in our life.  No acts of power.  No acts of wonder.  No acts of ……  We will see the hand of Jesus Christ in our lives and be able to tell wonderful and glorious stories of His acts of grace, mercy, wonder, and love when we desire and seek to be in His Word and then intentionally choose to humbly serve, honor, glorify, follow, trust, and obey.  Start your journey with Christ anew.  Spend time in His word, grow in faith, and watch, see, and proclaim the great acts of His power in your life.

9.a. Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it

Joel 1:2   Hear this, you elders; give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers? Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation.

Psalms 49:1    Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

Isaiah 34:1    Draw near, O nations, to hear, and give attention, O peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that fills it; the world, and all that comes from it.

Jeremiah 5:21    “Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not.

Micah 1:2    Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.

Matthew 13:9    He who has ears, let him hear.”

Psalms 50:1    The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Isaiah 1:2    Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.

Have you ever tried to make a point to someone who did not want to listen to what you were telling them?  You start by reasoning and logically speak about what you know is to be true.  However, no matter what you say they have determined what you are telling them does not apply to them or they are different or it is foolishness.  Their mind is made up and you might as well be speaking to a rock.  Such it is with the very Word of God to those who harden their hearts against it.  God’s Word can bring hope, faith, courage, rest, refuge, power, joy, purpose, focus, and love if the hearer would be open to hear it speak into their heart, mind, and soul.  God calls out through His prophets and His Word, “Listen”, “Hear This”, “Give Attention”, “Pay Attention”, and “Give Ear”.  To what is God asking His creation to give ear too?  This can be summed up in John 3:16-21  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.  But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

He calls out to each person “Come onto me” “Cast your cares upon Me” “Receive redemption and salvation through My Son and spend eternity with me” and yet deaf ears are turned toward His invitation.  God warns each person that rejection of His Son will result in eternal torment for eternity and yet deaf ears are turned toward Him.

How many times do we go through our day with deaf ears turned on?  How many times do we listen more to what the world has to say and offer rather than seeking and desiring God’s Word speaking into our life for each moment of every day?

5.f. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;

Job 10:14  If I sin, you watch me and do not acquit me of my iniquity. If I am guilty, woe to me! If I am in the right, I cannot lift up my head, for I am filled with disgrace and look on my affliction.

Psalms 139:1    O LORD, you have searched me and known me!

Psalms 130:3    If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

  Exodus 34:7    keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Ecclesiastes 7:20   Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.

Isaiah 53:6    All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;

Romans 3:23-24     for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Throughout scripture, we see men of God who speak of the sin of man.  We read of it from Genesis through Revelation.  We see the history of man’s sin in light of God’s Holiness.  We catch a glimpse of man’s choice to honor and reverence his Creator or not.  We see men and women who have intentionally chosen to seek after and live to honor God.  We also see those who have intentionally chosen to reject God and only seek to live to please and honor themselves.  We read of both God’s steadfast love toward His creation and those who seek to honor, glorify, and worship Him and His anger and wrath towards those who reject Him and live for self-interests, self-gain, self-satisfying, and self-centered reasons.

We live in an age where technological advances have far outstripped our ethics; we have a lot of “power,” but no clear moral benchmarks to aid us in the use of such power. One reason we lack the moral foundation is that we have left the doctrinal foundation of creation and who we are before a Holy and Wise Creator. We seem to lack the desire to search our heart, mind, and soul for that which is not pleasing to Him (sin).  We intentionally choose to neglect His word and seek the Holy Spirit to lead us in sin awareness.  For the record, neglecting His word and not being aware of sin does not mean we are guiltless.  It just means we have turned our back and hardened our hearts to the true things that honor and glorify Jesus Christ.

When we choose to be in His word and seek and desire to do that which is God-honoring and glorifying we will see more and more of our sinful nature and His grace and mercy.  We will see more clearly that which honors Him.  We will continue to grow and mature in this understanding and knowledge.  We will begin to understand love and hope that is found in trusting, obeying, relying on, clinging to, and living for Jesus Christ.

34. Be sure your sin will find you out.

Numbers 32:23  But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.

Deuteronomy 28:15-68     “But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.  Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field.  Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.  Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock.  Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.  “The LORD will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do,…  The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind,  and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness…. and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually,  so that you are driven mad by the sights that your eyes see….“All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God,… They shall be a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever.  Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things,… And as the LORD took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the LORD will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you…. Your life shall hang in doubt before you. Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life.

Leviticus 26:14-46    “But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments,  if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant,  then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic,…And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again sevenfold for your sins,  and I will break the pride of your power,…“Then if you walk contrary to me and will not listen to me, I will continue striking you, sevenfold for your sins….“But if in spite of this you will not listen to me, but walk contrary to me,  then I will walk contrary to you in fury, and I myself will discipline you sevenfold for your sins….their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me,

Of all the ways, says Dr. South, to be taken for the prevention of that great plague of mankind, Sin, there is none so rational and efficacious as to confute and baffle those motives by which men are induced to embrace it; and among all such motives, the heart of man seems to be chiefly overpowered and prevailed upon by two, viz. secrecy in committing sin, and impunity with respect to its consequences. God assures us, that how covertly and secretly we move into sin our sin would infallibly find us out. Though the subject and occasion of these words are indeed particular during the proclamation of the law, yet the design of them is universal in application. Isaiah 3:11   Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him. Isaiah 59:1-2     Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;  but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. 1 Corinthians 4:5  who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

Sin, obedience, and serving God with a humble heart and mind are not spoken of much anymore.  What is being spoken of are Grace, Mercy, and Love of God and neatly tied with a little red bow of prosperity, blessing, and problem free life.  God has not changed and just because we are living in a time where it appears His wrath is being restrained does not mean we are guiltless.  If we are not approaching each new day with our deepest heart and mind’s desire to humbly honor, glorify, seek, serve, follow, and obey Him, we are being very neglectful and complacent with our walk with Him.  How do you know if you are sinning against God if your eyes are blind and your ears are dull or deaf to His word?  How can you have wisdom and knowledge of His holiness and your sinfulness if His word is not seen as a means to gain wisdom, knowledge, and understanding?  How can He be a light in your life if you choose to live in darkness caused by a complacent approach to serving Him?

The truth is you cannot.  Living in complacent neglect allows the heart and mind to be influenced by culture, society, and human nature – “doing what seems right in your own eyes”

There are consequences – God assures us, that how covertly and secretly we move into sin our sin will find us out.   Choose to walk each day in the light of His word for the single purpose of humbly serving and honoring Him.

25. We must not put Christ to the test

Numbers 14:20   Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it.

Malachi 3:15    And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”

Matthew 4:7    Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

1 Corinthians 10:9     We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents,

Hebrews 3:17-18    And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?  And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?

Deuteronomy 1:31-35    and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.’  Yet in spite of this word you did not believe the LORD your God,  who went before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go.  “And the LORD heard your words and was angered, and he swore,  ‘Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers,

I saw a quote yesterday that said: “You may think you can live fine without Christ, but you can not afford to die without Him.”  Tozer had some thoughts on how we become what we love at the expense of following God.  “We are all becoming something.  We have moved from what we were to what we are, and are now moving to what we will be.  Our character is not solid but fluid and always moving toward what we are becoming.  The perturbing thought is not that we are becoming, but what we are becoming; not that we are moving but what we are moving toward.  We are never moving horizontal, we are either moving ascending or descending.  We are either moving toward the worse or the better.  Not only are we all in the process of becoming, but we are also becoming what we love, the sum of this love changes, molds, shapes, and transforms us. This Love is prophetic of our future.  It tells us what we shall be and predicts accurately our eternal destiny.”

God’s promises mean very little if they are not believed.  God’s word will never be active in our life if it is not loved.  God’s warnings of complacency and neglect will not lead to repentance if the heart and soul are walking in a different direction away from God and headlong into the way of the world.

Be mindful of your path and direction of your love.

24. According to the riches of his grace

Numbers 14:17   And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”

Exodus 34:6-7     The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,  keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Psalms 103:8   The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Micah 7:18     Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.

Nahum 1:2-3    The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and wrathful; the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies.  The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

Romans 3:24-26     and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,  whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.  It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Ephesians 1:7-8     In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,  which he lavished upon us

It is hard to explain forgiveness of sin to those who do not believe in God, Sin, Judgment, Anger, Wrath, Redemption, and Salvation.  As a believer we have had our heart and mind opened up to know God and the need of salvation.  I wonder if we limit our understanding of what this means.  God reached out, He called us, He demonstrated His love for us, He opened our understanding, knowledge, and wisdom, He showed us the need for redemption, He provided a sacrifice for our sin, He sent Jesus Christ His only son to die for us, He forgave us, He gave us new birth, He promised to never leave us or forsake us, He promised eternity with Him, He gives us peace, rest, joy, faith, hope, and love, He filled us with His Holy Spirit, He leads us, and He has plans and purposes for us.

We should never become complacent and neglectful of time with Him and His word.  Commit to reading it everyday.

16. It depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

Exodus 33:19     And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

Romans 9:15-18     For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”  So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

Psalms 65:4     Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!

Romans 2:4    Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

Numbers 14:18    ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’

To understand God’s grace requires the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom into God’s love, mercy, compassion, patience, kindness, and goodness.  How do we know of all of these attributes of God?  By spending time in His word.  In His word, we find wisdom and understanding of God’s great love for us.  We see His promises of blessings and judgments.  We see His power, might, and strength.  We see His anger toward sin, unbelief, and complacency.  We know of peace in times of uncertainty.  We know of His rest when burdens weigh us down.  We know of His great wonders.  We know His compassion for the lost. A million lifetimes in His word and we will still just scratch the surface of getting to know the depth and width of His love for us.

He chose us to be His children and joint heirs with Christ.  He chose us for more than a big moment decision once upon a time.  He chose us to live every small moment in the light of the big moment of belief.  We are never to become complacent or neglectful of His word.  The big moment decision is not the end.  It is the beginning of a lifetime of always seeking to honor, glorify, serve, hear, follow and obey.

10. They turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers

Exodus 32:7 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.

Genesis 6:11-12  Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.  And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

Judges 2:19  But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.

Hosea 9:9  They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah: he will remember their iniquity; he will punish their sins.

Isaiah 24:5  The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.

Isaiah 31:6  Turn to him from whom people have deeply revolted

Psalms 78:8  and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

The natural intent of our heart is rebellion, stubborn, unfaithful, corrupt, easily turned aside, stiff-necked, and not steadfast in serving God.  How are we to recognize the intent of the heart when the society/culture has put its stamp of approval on the very things that oppose God?  This makes it very hard to see it for what it is when there is nothing to counter their truth.

Think about it. Mainstream media is calling bi-sexual, homosexual, transgender lifestyles as being “Progressive”.  They call pornography “Adult Entertainment”.  They call abortion “Choice”.  They call God-fearing people as “Weak and Uninformed”.  They call creation “The Big Bang”.  They call faith “Wishing Upon A Star”.  They call God a “Myth”.  They call Jesus Christ a “Good Man”.  They call God, if He exists, “Unloving”.  They call hell a “Stick to get followers”.  They deny a “Final Judgement”.  They say the Bible is  “Man Made Stories”.  They say, because God does not exist, “Sin is not real”.  They say, if a god exists,  “All Religions Point to Him”.

It is very hard to recognize our sinful behavior if we do not believe, desire, seek, serve, follow, and obey God.  It is hard to obey God when there is no input of His word into our lives.  It is hard to confess sin when neglect and complacency replace daily time in His word.

Do you want to please God?  Commit to humbly serving Him.  Be intentional in daily time in His word.  Seek thoughts, words, and actions that which honors and glorifies Him.