Tag: vain

11.p. “No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD.”

Nahum 1:9   What do you plot against the Lord? He will make a complete end; trouble will not rise up a second time. For they are like entangled thorns, like drunkards as they drink; they are consumed like stubble fully dried. From you came one who plotted evil against the Lord, a worthless counselor. Thus says the Lord, “Though they are at full strength and many, they will be cut down and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more. And now I will break his yoke from off you and will burst your bonds apart.”

Psalms 2:1-4   Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,  “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”  He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.

Ezekiel 38:10-11    “Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme

Isaiah 8:9-10    Be broken, you peoples, and be shattered; give ear, all you far countries; strap on your armor and be shattered; strap on your armor and be shattered.  Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.

Proverbs 21:30    No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD.

Who knows the hearts of man, but God?  Who knows the intents of actions taken by man, but God? Who speaks with worldly wisdom and knowledge to give counsel to a man that leads them astray?  Why is it that man chooses to listen to and follow these worldly leaders giving false promises?  Each person chooses to listen and follow after that which fills their heart.  The sad part of this is most choose to deny God and willfully will not follow after Him.  Proclaiming God does not exist does not free anyone from the consequences of denying to honor, follow, trust, obey and rely on Him.  Proclaiming and believing God is love and all mankind will go to heaven upon death will lead many straight into hell.  Wide is the doorway to hell and the path is lined with everything to falsely satisfy the earthly soul, totally apart and separated from God.  When there is no conviction of sin in the heart of man, there will be no need for a savior, redeemer, and forgiver.  When there is no preaching of sin and the need for repentance there will be neglect, complacency, and lukewarm following after and trusting in Jesus Christ.  There will be no humble thanksgiving for the atonement and forgiveness of sin.  When there is no hunger and thanksgiving for God’s Word and to know and understand the grace, mercy, and love of Jesus Christ more and more, people will become shallow in their belief, understanding, and application of God’s Word in their lives.  Hearts and minds that choose to walk in blind, limp, and shallow commitment to Jesus Christ will easily be taken in by those who distort the truth or deny the active power of Jesus Christ in the world today.  We do not have to look very hard at the things that are happening in the world today to know the return of Jesus Christ will come and the end is fast approaching.   Denying we are in the end times does not make it so, just like denying sin and the need for Jesus Christ does not make it so, just like denying each man will be judged by God does not make it so.  If you listen to news media for any short period of time you will seldom or never hear the need for God.  You will not hear of living to humbly serve Him.  What you will hear is worldly counsel, plots of man, fear, division, confusion, and utter lack of the fear of God.   I wonder what our lives would be like if we spent as much tie in God’s Word as we do listening to the meaningless drivel on local and national news.  Would our lives be changed?  Yes, they would.

1.u. Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD!  

2 Chronicles 7:11  Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished. Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.’

“But if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.’”

Leviticus 26:40-41    “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me,  so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity,

Ezekiel 33:11     Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live;

Deuteronomy 4:29-30   But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.  When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice.

Lamentations 3:40-41    Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD!  Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:

Isaiah 45:19    I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right.

After Solomon completed the temple and offered prayer and dedication of it to God, they sacrificed offerings to the Lord for 7 days and the people went back to their homes joyful and glad of heart because of their prosperity. Can you remember times of overwhelming joy and gladness?  Can you remember the times of when you were so aware of God’s provision and you were moved to a sincere deep thankfulness?

In times of prosperity don’t we tend to lose sight of God and walk more closely with the world?  The weird thing about this is that we come to a time and place in our life when we surrender to God because of circumstances/troubles/ trials and our faith is turned fully to God and our belief and only hope is placed into His hands.  We wait expectantly and then by the grace and mercy of God we see His deliverance, either through giving us strength and courage to get through it or by a work of His hand blessing us.  We come out the other side closer to God, joyful, thankful, and gladness filling our heart.   But…… Then…..

It seems we are enticed away from the very presence of God that brought this joy, thankfulness, and gladness.  In our blessing and prosperity, our eyes turn toward the worldly and shinny things, everything but God. Do we think His presence is no longer needed?  Do we think we can last, walking life paths without Him?  Do we think we can stand against the attacks, temptations, and deceptions of Satan and our sinful nature?  Do we think God is not worthy of all of our heart, mind, and soul, all of the time?

If we give thought to these questions we certainly will arrive at the answer “NO”.  The problem is we don’t think about these questions.  We allow ourselves to skip a day where He is not our first thought, praise, hope, and strength.  This day so easily turns into weeks, months, years, and then we find ourselves lost and not knowing how to find our way back into His presence.  “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin”

60. I did not speak in secret

Deuteronomy 30:11   “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

Isaiah 45:19    I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right.

Romans 16:25-26     Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages  but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—

Colossians 1:26-27     the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.  To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Can His word be so close to our heart and so familiar to our soul that it can not be understood or not be put into practice?  NO!  I wonder how it is possible to spend day after day, and week after week, and possibly month after month without more than a glance at His word when we know of the blessings and curses that come from either obedience or neglect.  Have we watered down His word so much that following it only requires a showing up in Church a few times per month and speaking to God is dialed back to only when something troubling is happening.   

His word would tell us that we can comprehend it, we can understand it, it is revealed to us, it is not far off, and it is brought to the very door of our heart, mind, and soul.   However, it does no good in the heart, soul, and mind of anyone who does not cherish it or read it, or seek it, or desire it, or want to obey it.  Neglects and complacency are not excuses, they are a choice.

1. ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’

Exodus 22:28  “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.

Ecclesiastes 10:20     Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter.

Acts 23:5     And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”

Romans 13:2-7     Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.  For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,  for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.  Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.  For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.  Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Titus 3:1-2     Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,  to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people

1 Peter 2:17     Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

It surely takes godly wisdom to apply these verses.  How do you honor a leader you do not respect or trust?  How do you not speak evil of one who is authorizing the murder of innocent men, women, and children?  How do you not speak out against the Leader who is taking people into unrighteous paths for their life?  How do you follow a leader who rejects Christ?

These are human questions but are not the right way to approach the situation of a bad leader.  God wants and expects us to come to Him alone for the resolution of a bad ruler, authority, leader.  We are to go to Him confessing the sin of what we see and ask His intervention.  We are to seek Him for our refuge.  We are to rely on Him alone.  We are to find peace in the midst of trials and troubles in Him.  We are to find strength in God to face the injustice.  He is our refuge, hope, rock, fortress, and calm in the storm.

We are to pray for our leaders not complain about them.  We are to seek God not speak evil.  We are to be submissive and obedient.  There are times when we don’t like or approve of our leadership.  However we must respect and honor the position.

There may be time when you have to take a stand when asked/told to do something that is against what God teaches us.  We accept the consequence gladly as serving God is our goal.  We do not speak evil. We speak the truth.

Daniel 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

His ears are open to their prayer.

Deuteronomy 32:39  “‘See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.

Deuteronomy 30:19     I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,

Proverbs 4:22    For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.

Isaiah 45:19    I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right.

Matthew 6:33    But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

1 Timothy 6:6-8     But godliness with contentment is great gain,  for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

1 Peter 3:10-12     For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;  let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.  For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.”

Choice is something we have.  It is an act within our heart and mind that turns into action.  Seeking God for forgiveness, salvation, healing, strength, rest, peace, love, doing His purpose and plan, serving Him, and willing to be led by Him are humble life changing choices that will bless our soul.

On the other hand seeking self interest, wants, desires, putting ourselves before all others, and denying God’s call in our lives to humble serve, honor, worship, praise, follow and obey Him is a choice that will curse our soul.

Stop regarding man

Psalms 108:12  Oh grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man!  With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.

Psalms 20:1-9   May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!  May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion!  May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah  May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans!  May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions!  Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand.  Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.  They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.

 Psalms 146:3-5    Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.  When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.  Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,

 Isaiah 2:22     Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?

 Jeremiah 17:5-8    Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD.  He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.  “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.  He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Note the words of encouragement and the words of warning;

“Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,” ““Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD,” “we trust in the name of the LORD our God.,” “With God we shall do valiantly.”

“Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.  When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish” “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD.” ” Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he” “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, They collapse and fall”

God has placed free will in man to choose to humbly serve, honor, trust, rely on, cling to, follow and obey  Him.  This free will choice allows us to reject, dishonor, neglect, turn away from, and not listen to, God.  Blessings of peace, joy, comfort, hope, and love come to those whose heart desire is in God.

Almost Stumbled

“but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.  Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Psalms 73:1   Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped.  For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.  For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek.  They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.  Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment.  Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.  They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.  They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.  Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning.  If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed the generation of your children.  But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.

Jeremiah 12:1  Righteous are you, O LORD, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?

Psalms 37:1   Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers

Proverbs 3:31    Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways,

Proverbs 24:1     Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them,

Hosea 7:2     But they do not consider that I remember all their evil. Now their deeds surround them; they are before my face.

Zephaniah 1:12   At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.

I copied this from a commentary on this chapter of 73 Psalms.  “We have in these verses a good man’s temptation. In every age God’s people have asked whether God can possibly know all that is taking place on the earth, and if He does know, why He allows evil to prosper. The dark spirit who is ever at our elbow whispers that we should have done as well, and better”  It surely rings true if not for the questions of “does He know” and “why does He allow” surely for listening to the whispers of Satan into our ears and becoming envious.  We must recognize these whispers and fight them with the word of truth.  Paul in his letters once wrote “I have learned to be content in having little and having much.”  We do well to be content knowing and humbly serving God.  We have so many distractions pulling at our heart and soul it is only those who desire and commit to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey who will find true peace and rest this side of eternity.

They Scoffed

“They said to God, ‘Depart from us,’ and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’”

“For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should take delight in God.’”

Malachi 3:14  You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”

Job 21:14  They say to God, ‘Depart from us! We do not desire the knowledge of your ways.  What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’

Psalms 73:8  They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.  They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.  Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them.  And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”  Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.

Zephaniah 1:12    At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.’

Daniel 5:20  But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him.

How hard is it to act like the God we serve is alive and in control when there is so much scoffing.  So many have made a choice to reject Him and proclaim it foolishness to believe in Him.  Yet to those who have believed in Him, who cling to Him, who rely on Him, and who trust in Him, they find power, strength, rest, peace, hope and love.  They are not defeated by those scoffing but rather set their heart and mind more so on God.  Who knows what will happen even tomorrow.  How many people have left their home only to never return do to an untimely end of life.  How many who have said in their heart tomorrow I will start trusting in God only to find tomorrow never came.  They are standing before God and hear “depart from me for I never knew you”.  These are those who are cast into hell and torment forever.  Today is the day of salvation and the day to make a choice to serve Him with all your heart mind and soul.  Do not wait  a moment longer to start humbly serving, honoring, following and obeying Him.  Be a light unto the scoffers and a ray of hope to those lost.

Cheating God

“Thus says the LORD concerning this people: “They have loved to wander thus; they have not restrained their feet; therefore the LORD does not accept them; now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.”

Malachi 1:8   When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the LORD of hosts. And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the LORD of hosts. Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.  But you profane it when you say that the Lord’s table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised. But you say, ‘What a weariness this is,’ and you snort at it, says the LORD of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the LORD. Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great King, says the LORD of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations.

Hosea 8:13    As for my sacrificial offerings, they sacrifice meat and eat it, but the LORD does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins;

Romans 2:11   For God shows no partiality.

1 Peter 1:17    And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear.

What does it mean to give our all to God?  Would this not include our time, our thoughts, our actions, what we say, what we are in possession of?  Our definition of our “ALL” is diluted by many things.  The first and biggest deception and lie affecting us is that we think we can make it on our own and only come to God when things get sideways.  Another lie we believe is that we can know and understand God without being in His word.  Another lie we hang on to is that what is in our possession is ours and we can do with it as we please.  Another lie tied to this is our giving to God is from what we have left over and not from the commitment of right off the top.  I recently was talking with a young man who looked after his grandfather and grandmother’s estate when they passed away.  There was little the family had wanted.  An estate sale was conducted to clear their possessions from the house.  All of what his grandparents had kept and cherished was now being sold for pennies on the dollar.  In less than a couple of weeks all was gone.  Such is life we come into it with nothing and we certainly leave with nothing yet we hang on to it as though it was coming with us.  In reality we are only stewards of what God has allowed.  It is all His.  Shouldn’t we be seeking what His will is for this and be willing to give the best of what we have when His quiet small voice calls to us.  Being ready and willing to give the best of our time and possessions to God is a heart that pleases Him.

Unless the Lord builds

“He is wise in heart and mighty in strength —who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?”

“Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it?”

Malachi 1:2  “I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the LORD of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the LORD is angry forever.’” Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the LORD beyond the border of Israel!”

Isaiah 9:9  and all the people will know, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart:  “The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.”

James 4:13  Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—  yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.  Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”  As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

Job 12:14    If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open.

Job 34:29   When he is quiet, who can condemn? When he hides his face, who can behold him, whether it be a nation or a man?—

Psalms 127:1  

Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

Proverbs 21:30  No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD.

Matthew 12:30   Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Revelation 3:15  “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!  So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

Joshua 24:15  And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Pride, arrogance, strength and riches have been the fall of many.  They stand out and are easy to see.  They boast in what they have and what they have accomplished.  What is hard to see are those who are luke warm in humbly serving, complacent in giving their whole heart, mind and soul, , and negligent in following and obeying.  These are people who we see everyday and they pass through life on false hope, no joy, and little substance of faith.  Their mouth speaks of believing but their actions and maturity in God’s word reveal no depth, understanding, wisdom or discernment.  Those who boast with pride and arrogance absolutely know they have chosen live without God and reject Him in their life.  Those who are lukewarm deceive themselves into thinking their life is secure.  Satan has deceived them into thinking they can go through life with lukewarm commitment, being good or at least better than others, and spending no time in God’s word seeking understanding, wisdom, and discernment.  They actually feel safer living apart from full commitment to God.  This lie brings these who fall into it’s trap thinking they can pretend everything is ok or perform works that will make them right before God.  Commitment to God wether seen by others or not is most definitely seen and known by God.  Though others may be fooled He is not. Commit fully to Humbly serve, honor, follow and obey.  Spend time in His word and seek His guidance, leading and perfect plan for your life.