Tag: Iniquity

20.c. “The Lord knows those who are his”

Romans 8:29   For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

 Psalms 1:6   for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

 Jeremiah 1:5   “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you;

 2 Timothy 2:19   But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

 Revelation 13:8    and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

 Ephesians 1:5   he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

 Ephesians 1:11   In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,

Predestination can be easy or hard to understand.  I think it is easier when you become saved, born again, and made new.  It is hard as concrete to understand apart from believing in God, Jesus Christ, and the work that was done on the cross for our redemption, salvation, and forgiveness.  It is hard to fully understand God’s omnipresence, omnipotent, and omniscience.  All-knowing, all-powerful, all presence, Creator, alpha and omega, beginning and end, all truth, righteous, Holy, is our God.  If possible to say, eternal past and eternal future.  Before the foundation of creation, He predestines to call us and for us to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.  Satan will put doubts into our hearts and minds.  He will lead us to believe God can’t or won’t or just plain doesn’t have any idea what He is doing, or that if He does, He certainly won’t do it for the likes of us.  But, He did and certainly does.  He already knows who will, or won’t, surrender to His calling of repentance and belief, trust, and hope in Jesus Christ.  He knows who will harden their hearts and those who will humbly surrender to His plan and purpose of redemption.  He has prepared a place for both.  To those who harden their hearts, He has prepared eternal Hell and forever separated from Him.  To those who humbly surrendered He has prepared eternal heaven and forever present with Him.  

If you find predestination hard to understand, yield to Him first, then allow His word to begin to give you a glimpse of His will, purposes, and plans.  Certainly, we will only see glimpses of this but what we see will over-shadow all doubts and fill our hearts, minds, and souls with peace and assurance.

19.l. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners”

Romans 5:6  For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Isaiah 53:6   All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

 1 John 4:9-10   In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.  In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

While we were helpless and with no hope and at the right time God sent His Son to die (redeem) the ungodly.  This does not mean God universally saved all of mankind, but that His Son, Jesus Christ, universally paid the price that universally saves all who would believe.  There has to be a connection between what Jesus did and each individual person.  This connection is belief first.  Without belief in God, His Son, and the need for His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for you, then there is no need for Him.  Some may say that they believe in God but they have never come to the place where they realize the need for Jesus Christ.  They may even say they get more and more convinced about God the older they get and still they do not come to the place where they know they need Jesus Christ.  Still, others, as they get older, get bolder and bolder in their denial and rejection of God.  What good is the death of Jesus if you do not see a personal need?  If all you see is a universal general payment for the sin of mankind then the point of His death is still missed.  The death of Jesus, for your personal sin, must be a known heart-deep certainty.  If it is not personal then His death has no benefit for you other than to judge you unwilling to believe your need and for His death a full once and for all payment (redemption and forgiveness) for your sin.   Once you come to the point where you know the need, then by faith you trust in, cling to, and rely solely on Him.  There is nothing you can do to earn it.  It is a free gift of grace, mercy, and love.  There is no work you can do to become worthy of it.  Belief and faith are the work God has established for redemption, salvation, and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.  You can’t vow your way there.  You can’t do enough good to get there.  

While we were helpless, lost, disobedient, rebellious, selfish, self-centered, self-righteous, self-worthy, and self-reliant, God, out of grace, mercy, and love, sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for the redemption, salvation, and forgiveness.  While we were yet sinners.  We had nothing to do with why God purposed this act of overwhelming love toward us.  It is only out of His grace, mercy, and love.  There is no earning this.  If we did not earn it, then it was not due us, and if it was not due us then it is a gift from God.  This gift is offered to each and every person, but they are never required to take it.  Eternal life in heaven awaits those who accept this gift of redemption through Jesus Christ.  The very hand of God is offering this gift of eternal life and how sad is it that the gift from the God of the universe is so easily cast aside and deemed unworthy of our self-centered lives?

14. “If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name”

Malachi  2:1 “And now, O priests, this command is for you. If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it. So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts. My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts, and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but show partiality in your instruction.”

Their (sin) humble service and obedience to God turned into a hollow formality, false piety, and honor lacking worship of Him. It was a service of outward pretending and saying the right things but never from their heart. I recently read this about what it means to be a humble and obedient servant of Jesus Christ. Fear and reverent before His name, speaking the truth, walking in peace and justice, knowing God’s Word, and proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. Being steadfast in these commitments comes from the heart, mind, and soul.  It comes from and through the living water spring of Holy Spirit dwelling within the hearts, minds, and souls of those who are intentional in their commitment, walk, service, reverence, obedience, and worship of Jesus Christ. There is peace, joy, hope, power, refuge, and many more blessings given to those whose heart, mind and soul seeks and desires to honor, follow, trust, and obey.  How can a person become nothing more than a robot in their service to God?  It is when they take their eyes off of Jesus Christ, neglect His Word, and allow things of this world to capture their heart.  What can be so important in this world the creator of it is cast aside for the things created? To know God’s Word is more than just reading it.  It must be something cherished.  It must be something desired more than the things of this world.  It is the promises of God.  It reveals the love and power of God.  In it we find peace, joy, hope, power, courage, and refuge.  Too many times it appears people just want enough of it to get the blessings of eternity in heaven and they forget the purpose of knowing God through His Word is to be ever-increasing in humble service, knowledge, understanding, honor, worship, obedience, and reliance in Jesus Christ for taking away our sin.  There is no room in the heart for commitment and service to two masters.  We will either serve one or the other.  Begin today with a new commitment and intentional choice to give all your heart, mind, and soul to the honor and glory of Jesus Christ.  Repent if you have been pretending and performing.  Turn away from that which will rob your soul of knowing and honoring Jesus Christ.  Do not be hollow in your commitment and service to Him.

12.v. ” I have paid attention and listened, but they have not spoken rightly; no man relents”

Zephaniah 3:6  “I have destroyed nations; their strongholds are demolished. I have left their streets deserted, with no one passing through. Their cities are laid waste; they are deserted and empty. Of Jerusalem I thought, ‘Surely you will fear me and accept correction!’ Then her place of refuge would not be destroyed, nor all my punishments come upon her. But they were still eager to act corruptly in all they did. Therefore wait for me,” declares the Lord, “for the day I will stand up to testify. I have decided to assemble the nations, to gather the kingdoms and to pour out my wrath on them— all my fierce anger. The whole world will be consumed by the fire of my jealous anger.

Isaiah 5:4     What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?

Jeremiah 8:6    I have paid attention and listened, but they have not spoken rightly; no man relents of his evil, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turns to his own course,

Jeremiah 36:3    It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, so that every one may turn from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”

Luke 19:42-44    saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side  and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

2 Peter 3:9    The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

God brought His justice to the nations around Judah, and it should have warned Judah what would happen if they rejected God. Instead of learning from the surrounding nations, they dedicated themselves to ungodliness all the more.  Being blind to things of God comes as a consequence of an intentional choice to neglect Him and His Word.  Hearts are somehow easily turned away from God.  Some blatantly, some casually, but they both defy and deny God.  One says surely there is no God and because of this I can do what I want without consequences.  The other says I am a good enough person and does not give any more thought to the consequences.  God shows His hand over nations, toppling them down and people are blind to the fact that it was at His hand they fell.  Rulers, Dictators, and Presidents have been removed from their lofty positions of wealth and power and yet people are still blind to the hand of God directing the course of nations and the paths of man.  When eyes are blinded to things of God, both the promises of blessings and judgments are lost from their vision.  When God is denied and defied eyes and ears are blind and deaf to Him, and yet there is still hope.  Perhaps their heart will soften and their eyes will open and their ears will hear of the Good News of Jesus Christ.  It happened for each of us who were once lost but now are found.  It is not as though we can claim any part of this as our effort other than to say somehow the Word of God pierced my heart and I fell on my knees and surrendered to Jesus Christ.  The scales were taken off the eyes to my heart and mind and I saw a glimpse of the Holiness of Jesus Christ and my sinfulness.  There was no personal effort in this as it was all of Jesus Christ and our believing, yielding, surrendering, repenting, turning away, and trusting.   Somehow there is given to man the free will choice to choose to surrender/yield to God or to defy and deny Him and His grace, mercy, and love.  We get to intentionally choose whom we serve, honor, glorify, follow, obey, and trust.  Sad to say but millions upon millions choose to serve self, honor self, glorify self, obey self, and trust in self.  This is an intentional choice.  Every single moment of every day we are given this choice to make – honor Jesus Christ or self,  glorify Jesus Christ or self, follow Jesus Christ or self, obey Jesus Christ or self, trust Jesus Christ or self, or rely on Jesus Christ or self.  We do well to ask God to show us each day to whom we have surrendered our lives, actions, and thoughts to, Jesus Christ or themself.

12.n. “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”

Zephaniah 1:1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah: Judgment on the Whole Earth in the Day of the Lord “I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord. “I will sweep away both man and beast; I will sweep away the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea— and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.” “When I destroy all mankind on the face of the earth,” declares the Lord, “I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place, the very names of the idolatrous priests— those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the Lord and who also swear by Molek, those who turn back from following the Lord and neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him.”

Psalms 10:4    In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

Isaiah 1:4     Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.

Jeremiah 2:17     Have you not brought this upon yourself by forsaking the LORD your God, when he led you in the way?

Jeremiah 15:6     You have rejected me, declares the LORD; you keep going backward, so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you— I am weary of relenting.

Hebrews 10:38-39    but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”  But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

2 Peter 2:21-22   For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.  What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

 Zephaniah was almost certainly born during the long, wicked reign of Manasseh, whose reign began 55 years before the start of Josiah’s reign. Josiah was a godly, young king who brought great revival and reform to Judah but Josiah reigned for 10 years before he led his great revival. Zephaniah was likely written in the years before the revival, and God used this prophecy to bring and further revival.  Zephaniah didn’t waste any time getting to the point. Delivering the message of the LORD, he warned of harsh and complete judgment that would consume everything before the LORD. God addresses the royalty of Judah in a way they aren’t used to hearing. He tells them to “shut up” and listen to His pronouncement of judgment – a sacrifice of judgment made against a wicked nation. Our ability to proclaim our innocence when we are deep in sin is pretty amazing, but through it all God tells us to be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD.  This warning came to a godly king during a time of reform. God warns Josiah and the whole royal community what will happen if they don’t follow through on their turning to God. (Enduring Word)

The bible is clear in its warnings of judgment and the reason for it.  Why do we insist on our innocence and act as though we are not guilty?  Why do we shun the true words of warning and cling to lies of self-assurance?  Be silent and listen!  We are born again, a new creation, adopted children of God.  Our new birth requires food and water for growth.  The food and water of this new birth is the bread of life and the living water of Jesus Christ.  How often do we come to the table of Jesus Christ and eat and drink of Him and with Him?  How is there growth without this bread of life and living water?  There isn’t.  There is only stagnation, withering, drying up, and weakness.  Zephaniah, David, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Paul, Habakkuk, Solomon, Peter, James, John, and nearly all of the writers of the Word of God give the warning to neglect, complacency, being lukewarm, trueing away from fully committed to following, obeying, honoring, glorifying, worshiping, and trusting Jesus Christ.  Our ability to proclaim innocence when we are clinging to and dancing with sin is a direct result of the intentional choice to live this way.  Renew your commitment to Jesus Christ.  The warnings are clear.  Judgment is certain.  It is close at hand.

12.m. “For behold, the LORD is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity”

Habakkuk 3:16 I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.

Daniel 10:8    So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength.

Isaiah 26:20-21    Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by.  For behold, the LORD is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it, and will no more cover its slain.

2 Thessalonians 1:6-9    since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you,  and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels  in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,

A time is coming when God will carry out His wrath and anger upon all who defy Him.  Prophets saw what was to happen in the future to all of those who, in their defiance, hatred, pride, self-power, self-assurance, and wickedness, reject God and His Holiness.  The scriptures reveal God’s use of defiant men and nations to carry out judgment on His children for neglecting His way.  It reveals time and time again how He uses wayward men and nations to carry out judgment and draw His people back.  Do you ever wonder how far a person or nation needs to wander away from God before He will unleash His anger and wrath?  It is not good to play games with our Christian walk.  It appears many Christians want to see how close they can get to the world and its lures of fleshly temptations.  It appears as though they want a taste of it and thinks this one taste will not contaminate or affect them.  God wants all of our hearts, minds, souls, and strength.  He will not share the hearts, minds, and souls with those who choose worldly and fleshly living.  How many times in scripture do we hear of how the people of God day after day would dilute their walk with Him to a point where they no longer honored, served, followed, obeyed, or saw any need to trust and rely on Him.  They did this without giving a single thought of God’s Holy judgment, anger, or wrath.  In these times, God would warn and call out to His people through prophets.  He would warn them of His pending judgment and what was going to happen to them.  Time and time again they neglected these prophetic warnings.  We do well to desire that God will show us what is in our hearts and minds.  We do well to want to hear the Holy Spirit speak into our lives.  We do well to humbly seek these so that we live in humble surrender to His will, living in such a way that He is honored, glorified, praised, and worshiped. Oh that God would show us how far we have wandered away from what it means to live for Him.

12.k. “Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.”

Habakkuk 3:2  Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.

Psalms 119:120     My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments.

Jeremiah 36:1  In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: “Take a scroll and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah and all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, so that every one may turn from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.” Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD that he had spoken to him. And Jeremiah ordered Baruch, saying, “I am banned from going to the house of the LORD,so you are to go, and on a day of fasting in the hearing of all the people in the LORD’s house you shall read the words of the LORD from the scroll that you have written at my dictation. You shall read them also in the hearing of all the men of Judah who come out of their cities. It may be that their plea for mercy will come before the LORD, and that every one will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that the LORD has pronounced against this people.” And Baruch the son of Neriah did all that Jeremiah the prophet ordered him about reading from the scroll the words of the LORD in the LORD’s house.  In the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the LORD. Then, in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll, in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper court, at the entry of the New Gate of the LORD’s house.  When Micaiah the son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD from the scroll, he went down to the king’s house, into the secretary’s chamber, and all the officials were sitting there: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the officials.And Micaiah told them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the scroll in the hearing of the people. Then all the officials sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Take in your hand the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them. And they said to him, “Sit down and read it.” So Baruch read it to them. When they heard all the words, they turned one to another in fear. And they said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, please, how did you write all these words? Was it at his dictation?” Baruch answered them, “He dictated all these words to me, while I wrote them with ink on the scroll.” Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are.” So they went into the court to the king, having put the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the secretary, and they reported all the words to the king. Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary. And Jehudi read it to the king and all the officials who stood beside the king.  It was the ninth month, and the king was sitting in the winter house, and there was a fire burning in the fire pot before him. As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fire pot. Yet neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid, nor did they tear their garments. Even when Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.

And so it is with man.  Intentional choices are made to acknowledge or defy God and His awesome wonders, powers, warnings, and promises. We can respond; “His word speaks to me and shows me His glory. His creation reveals His majesty.  His grace, mercy, and love give me the reason for faith, hope, and steadfast obedience. His Son gives me redemption, forgiveness, and salvation. His Holy Spirit gives me strength. His promises give me hope, joy, and refuge.”  Or, we can respond with pride, self-reliance, self-assurance, defiance, rejection, and no fear/respect for God and what His Holy Word proclaims.  Every individual makes an intentional choice in regard to God.  Some to eternal life and most to eternal damnation.  Habakkuk and David and Jehoiakim, in the scriptures above, reveal their hearts and intentional choice.  What choice are you making today?

11.z. “He has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.”

Habakkuk 1:2  O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.

Psalms 13:1-2    How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?  How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Revelation 6:10     They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

Psalms 94:3    O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?

Psalms 74:10     How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever?

Psa 22:24  For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.

Habakkuk prophesied and cried out “how long shall I cry for Help?”  He saw iniquity and asked, “why do you make me see this and then sit idly by?”  David cried out “how long?”, “Will you forget me forever? Those who were martyred for faith in Jesus Christ during the Tribulation period cried out “how long before you judge and avenge our blood?”  David cried out “how long will the wicked be exalted?”  If you are a believer and God has opened your eyes and ears to the wicked things of our society that are called and believed to be alright to do, Pornography – (which the thesaurus uses words like improper, indelicate, crude, vulgar, dirty, filthy, corrupting and immoral) for which our society calls “Adult Entertainment”, Abortion – (which is child murder, assassination, homicide, depraved execution, fetal homicide) for which society calls “Women Rights”, Petaphilia – which is called alternative sexual preference, LGBTQ – which is called progressive lifestyle.  These are just a tip of the iceberg of what lost souls are being temped with and are buying into it.  How long oh Lord?  We can see it and be appalled by it but we seem powerless in of ourselves to do anything about it.  Remember this “Jesus Christ died for sinners!!!!”  He died for each of these with the same amount of grace, mercy, and love He has given to us.  Were it not for the Holy Spirit softening our hardened hearts with the Good News of Jesus Christ, we too would be as guilty as any of these.  Are they so far lost that they cannot be saved – No they are not.   I think we would do much better praying for them and proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ rather than calling on God to judge and avenge.  That time will certainly come but for now let us remember “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” and keep our focus on advancing the body of Christ by living and proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Who knows what the Holy Spirit will do.  A heart and soul may be softened and the person repents, seeks forgiveness, and trusts in the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse them from all unrighteousness.

11.v. ”  If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name”

Nahum 3:5  Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and will lift up your skirts over your face; and I will make nations look at your nakedness and kingdoms at your shame. I will throw filth at you and treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle. And all who look at you will shrink from you and say, “Wasted is Nineveh; who will grieve for her?” Where shall I seek comforters for you?

Ezekiel 23:25  And I will direct my jealousy against you, that they may deal with you in fury. They shall cut off your nose and your ears, and your survivors shall fall by the sword. They shall seize your sons and your daughters, and your survivors shall be devoured by fire.

Jeremiah 13:22    And if you say in your heart, ‘Why have these things come upon me?’ it is for the greatness of your iniquity that your skirts are lifted up and you suffer violence.

Habakkuk 2:16     You will have your fill of shame instead of glory. Drink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision! The cup in the LORD’s right hand will come around to you, and utter shame will come upon your glory!

Malachi 2:2     If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.

Malachi 2:9     and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but show partiality in your instruction.”

Isaiah 14:16-19   Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,  who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?’  All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb;  but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot.

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap.” Do you ever wonder what is keeping God from just displaying the full force of His wrath and anger?  It is His promise of redemption, not wishing any should perish but that all would come to the knowledge of salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life through Jesus Christ.  His grace, mercy, and love are what keeps His wrath and anger at bay.  It will not be like this forever.  There is coming a time when He will call His children home to be with him forevermore.  Then there will be a time of unleashing His wrath and anger and judgment.  We see where He has felt with individuals, cities, and nations but a time is coming when it will be on all of those who have defied Him and His offer of salvation and forgiveness.  A time is coming and when it comes it will not be compared to any other time in the history of mankind.  Believing that it will not happen in your lifetime does not make it so.  Believing you will, at some time in the future, make things right with God means you are choosing to deny Him right now.  This choice has eternal consequences.  Open your heart to the Good News message of Jesus Christ.  You will find peace for your soul that you never thought possible, and a life with purpose, meaning, and eternal life with Jesus Christ.