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.”

1.__________________________________________________________________

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!”

L

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.”

..

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:

_

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