Reminders

Psalms 66:18 “If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,  my Lord would not have listened.”

Proverbs 28:9 “God detests the prayers of a person who ignores the law.”

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1.Idolatry

Deuteronomy 6:11-19 “When you have eaten your fill in this land, be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.  You must fear the Lord your God and serve him. When you take an oath, you must use only his name.  “You must not worship any of the gods of neighbouring nations, for the Lord your God, who lives among you, is a jealous God. His anger will flare up against you, and he will wipe you from the face of the earth.  You must not test the Lord your God as you did when you complained at Massah.  You must diligently obey the commands of the Lord your God—all the laws and decrees he has given you.  Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so all will go well with you. Then you will enter and occupy the good land that the Lord swore to give your ancestors.  You will drive out all the enemies living in the land, just as the Lord said you would.”

Deuteronomy 7:25-26 ”You must burn their idols in fire, and you must not covet the silver or gold that covers them. You must not take it or it will become a trap to you, for it is detestable to the Lord your God.  Do not bring any detestable objects into your home, for then you will be destroyed, just like them. You must utterly detest such things, for they are set apart for destruction.”

Ezekiel 14:3-8 “Son of man, these leaders have set up idols in their hearts. They have embraced things that will make them fall into sin. Why should I listen to their requests?  Tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The people of Israel have set up idols in their hearts and fallen into sin, and then they go to a prophet asking for a message. So I, the Lord, will give them the kind of answer their great idolatry deserves.  I will do this to capture the minds and hearts of all my people who have turned from me to worship their detestable idols.’  “Therefore, tell the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent and turn away from your idols, and stop all your detestable sins. I, the Lord, will answer all those, both Israelites and foreigners, who reject me and set up idols in their hearts and so fall into sin, and who then come to a prophet asking for my advice.  I will turn against such people and make a terrible example of them, eliminating them from among my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

Hosea 4:11-12 “to worship other gods. “Wine has robbed my people of their understanding. They ask a piece of wood for advice!  They think a stick can tell them the future! Longing after idols has made them foolish. They have played the prostitute, serving other gods and deserting their God.”

Hosea 5:5-15 ““The arrogance of Israel testifies against her;  Israel and Ephraim will stumble under their load of guilt. Judah, too, will fall with them. When they come with their flocks and herds to offer sacrifices to the Lord, they will not find him, because he has withdrawn from them. They have betrayed the honour of the Lord, bearing children that are not his. Now their false religion will devour them along with their wealth. “Sound the alarm in Gibeah! Blow the trumpet in Ramah! Raise the battle cry in Beth-aven! Lead on into battle, O warriors of Benjamin! One thing is certain, Israel: On your day of punishment, you will become a heap of rubble. “The leaders of Judah have become like thieves. So I will pour my anger on them like a waterfall. The people of Israel will be crushed and broken by my judgment because they are determined to worship idols. I will destroy Israel as a moth consumes wool. I will make Judah as weak as rotten wood.  “When Israel and Judah saw how sick they were, Israel turned to Assyria— to the great king there— but he could neither help nor cure them. I will be like a lion to Israel, like a strong young lion to Judah.  I will tear them to pieces! I will carry them off, and no one will be left to rescue them. Then I will return to my place until they admit their guilt and turn to me.  For as soon as trouble comes, they will earnestly search for me.”

Hosea 7:8-10 ““The people of Israel mingle with godless foreigners, making themselves as worthless as a half-baked cake!  Worshiping foreign gods has sapped their strength, but they don’t even know it.  Their hair is gray, but they don’t realize they’re old and weak. Their arrogance testifies against them, yet they don’t return to the Lord their God or even try to find him.”

Judges 10:11-14“The Lord replied, “Did I not rescue you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines,  the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites? When they oppressed you, you cried out to me for help, and I rescued you.  Yet you have abandoned me and served other gods. So I will not rescue you anymore.  Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen! Let them rescue you in your hour of distress!”

1 Peter 2:1 “So get rid of all evil behaviour. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.”

2.Unbelief

Mark 6:5-7 “And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.”

Romans 11:22-23 “Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off.  And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree.”

3.Pride

Psalm 138:6 “Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud.”

4.Envy, jealousy

Acts 8:20-24 “But Peter replied, “May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought!  You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God.  Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts,  for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin.”

James 3:16 “For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind”

Proverbs 14:30 “A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.”

Proverbs 23:17-18” Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the Lord.   You will be rewarded for this;   your hope will not be disappointed.”

Proverbs 27:4 “Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood, but jealousy is even more dangerous.”

1 Peter 2:1 “So get rid of all evil behaviour. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.”

5. Clinging to the Things of this World and Not turning to God

Hebrews 12:16 “Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal.”

Hosea 13:13 “Pain has come to the people like the pain of childbirth, but they are like a child who resists being born. The moment of birth has arrived,  but they stay in the womb!”

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Jeremiah 2:11 “Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones, even though they are not gods at all? Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols!”

2 Chronicles 16:12-13 “In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease. Yet even with the severity of his disease, he did not seek the Lord’s help but turned only to his physicians.  So he died in the forty-first year of his reign.”

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6. Sin can prevent healing

Hosea 7:1 “I want to heal Israel, but its sins are too great.  Samaria is filled with liars. Thieves are on the inside and bandits on the outside!”

Other Topics I wil explore in separate posts:

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Eyes to See and Ears to Hear and the Ability to understand

Verses about the circumcision of the flesh (ears, heart )

Galatians 5:19-22

What causes spiritual blindness

Traditions of man

Fear of man

Believing the witness of our physical senses over the Word of God

Take Home Suggestions:

• Meditate on and read Psalm 139 or Ephesians 3:17-19 often

Daniel 7:13-14 “As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.”

Deuteronomy 32:39” Look now; I myself am he! There is no other god but me! I am the one who kills and gives life;  I am the one who wounds and heals; no one can be rescued from my powerful hand!”

Genesis 50:19-20 “But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you?  You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.”

Job 1:10-11 “You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is!  But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!”

What God has protected Satan cannot touch

Lamentations 3:37-42 + 55-57“Who can command things to happen without the Lord’s permission? Does not the Most High send both calamity and good? Then why should we, mere humans, complain when we are punished for our sins? Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord. Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven and say, “We have sinned and rebelled, and you have not forgiven us.” “But I called on your name, Lord, from deep within the pit. You heard me when I cried, “Listen to my pleading! Hear my cry for help!” Yes, you came when I called; you told me, “Do not fear.”

Psalm 33:4-7 “For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does. He loves whatever is just and good;  the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.  The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created.  He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. He assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs.”

Psalm 89:7-8 “The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God.  He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne. O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies! Where is there anyone as mighty as you, O Lord?  You are entirely faithful.”

Psalm 89:11 “The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours; everything in the world is yours—you created it all.”

Psalm 104:13-14 “O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!  In wisdom you have made them all.  The earth is full of your creatures. Here is the ocean, vast and wide,  teeming with life of every kind,  both large and small. See the ships sailing along,  and Leviathan, which you made to play in the sea.  They all depend on you to give them food as they need it.  When you supply it, they gather it.  You open your hand to feed them,  and they are richly satisfied. But if you turn away from them, they panic.  When you take away their breath,  they die and turn again to dust.”

Psalm 105:37 “The Lord brought his people out of Egypt, loaded with silver and gold; and not one among the tribes of Israel even stumbled.”

1 Corinthians1:22-25

The Message“While Jews clamour for miraculous demonstrations and Greeks go in for philosophical wisdom, we go right on proclaiming Christ, the Crucified. Jews treat this like an anti-miracle—and Greeks pass it off as absurd. But to us who are personally called by God himself—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is God’s ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one. Human wisdom is so tiny, so impotent, next to the seeming absurdity of God. Human strength can’t begin to compete with God’s “weakness.”

NLT  “It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.  But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.  This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.”

The Father’s Love Letter

https://www.fathersloveletter.com/

Deuteronomy 30:19  “Today I have given you the choice between life and death,between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!”

Hebrews 8:8-12  “But when God found fault with the people, he said:  “The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says the Lord. But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already. And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”

Hebrews 12:18-24 “You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai.  For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking.  They staggered back under God’s command: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death. ”Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, “I am terrified and trembling.” No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering.  You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect.  You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.”

Ezekiel 18:30-32 ““Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign Lord. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel?  I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live!”

Ezekiel 33:10-11 “Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: You are saying, ‘Our sins are heavy upon us; we are wasting away! How can we survive?’  As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?”

Hebrews 12:5-12 “And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said,    “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”[ As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?  If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all.  Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness.  No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.  So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees.”

Isaiah 25:7-8 “There he will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth.  He will swallow up death forever!  The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against his land and people. The Lord has spoken!”

Jeremiah 26:2-3 “This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard in front of the Temple of the Lord, and make an announcement to the people who have come there to worship from all over Judah. Give them my entire message; include every word.  Perhaps they will listen and turn from their evil ways. Then I will change my mind about the disaster I am ready to pour out on them because of their sins.”

Jeremiah 31:20  “Is not Israel still my son, my darling child?” says the Lord. “I often have to punish him, but I still love him. That’s why I long for him and surely will have mercy on him.

Jeremiah 46:28 “Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, for I am with you,” says the Lord. “I will completely destroy the nations to which I have exiled you, but I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you, but with justice; I cannot let you go unpunished.”

Jeremiah 42:10-12”‘Stay here in this land. If you do, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you. For I am sorry about all the punishment I have had to bring upon you.  Do not fear the king of Babylon anymore,’ says the Lord. ‘For I am with you and will save you and rescue you from his power.  I will be merciful to you by making him kind, so he will let you stay here in your land.’”

Jeremiah 44:13 “I will punish** them in Egypt just as I punished them in Jerusalem, by war, famine, and disease.”

**Concordance H6485 paqad paw-kad’ a primitive root; to visit (with friendly or hostile intent); by analogy, to oversee, muster, charge, care for, miss, deposit, etc.:–appoint, X at all, avenge, bestow, (appoint to have the, give a) charge, commit, count, deliver to keep, be empty, enjoin, go see, hurt, do judgment, lack, lay up, look, make, X by any means, miss, number, officer, (make) overseer, have (the) oversight, punish, reckon, (call to) remember(-brance), set (over), sum, X surely, visit, want.

Joel 2:11-13 “That is why the Lord says,“Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts.  Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.”  Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.”

Lamentations 3:31-33 “For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love. For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.”

Psalm 116:15 “The Lord cares deeply when his loved ones die.”

Romans 10:21 “But regarding Israel, God said,  “All day long I opened my arms to them, but they were disobedient and rebellious.”

2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

Daniel 4:37 “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honour the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud.”

Deuteronomy 10:17 ““For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed.”

Deuteronomy 32:4 “He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect.  Everything he does is just and fair.  He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!”

Psalm 96:10 “Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!” The world stands firm and cannot be shaken. He will judge all peoples fairly.”

1Peter 2:23 “He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered.  He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.”

Ephesians 1:5 “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. “

Ephesians 3:8 “Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.”

Galatians 3:29 “And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.”

Genesis 17:7 ““I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you.”

Galatians 4:7 “Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.”