Author: ShapedByTruth

Rev 9:20-21 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: 21 neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

As the torment of the hordes of devils begins (9:13-19), the lost will have opportunity to fall on their knees and to beg God for relief and salvation.  But even with a third of mankind slain before their eyes (v. 15), they will harden their hearts, refusing to repent of their sins.  They will refuse to stop worshiping devils and idols (v. 20), and they will not repent of their murders, acts of sorcery, immorality, and thievery (v. 21).  (All references from Revelation)

Surely the Lord God will do nothing,
but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

Amos 3:7 KJB

Proverbs 6:16-19
These six [things] doth the LORD hate: yea, seven [are] an abomination unto him:

A proud look,
a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations,
feet that be swift in running to mischief,
A false witness [that] speaketh lies,
and he that soweth discord among brethren.

wastefulness demonstrates a lack of appreciation for what God has given us…

1 Timothy 5:8 – But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

1 Peter 4:3 – For the time past of [our] life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries

Proverbs 18:9 – He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.

Ezekiel 16:49 – Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

Romans 1:21 – Because that, when they knew God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

John 6:12
When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.”

Luke 15:13
And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.

We should never boast of ourselves, and it is not wise to compare ourselves amongst ourselves.

God has given each of us a measure of gifts, abilities, talents, and opportunities.

Success is measured not how we show off our talents, but by whether or not we make use of what God has given us in His service.

Proverbs 25:14; 27:1
Acts 5:36
Romans 1:30
2 Corinthians 10:12

when life guards are rescuing someone, they are trained to spend no more than 5 seconds talking to them to calm them down.  if they don’t respond to that, they knock them out.  why?

you can’t save somebody who is trying to save themselves…

Most people believe if something is  “positive”, then it is of God.

However, God has revealed in scripture that He does not work that way.

But God has revealed those things to us by His Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the deep things of God. 1Cor 2:10

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17

Whatever is not of faith is sin Romans 14:23

Without faith, it is impossible to please God Heb 11:6

And Nadab and Abihu died, when they offered strange fire before the Lord. Numbers 26:61

We can’t just willy nilly do whatever feels good to us and call it “from God” or “God honoring”.  God has revealed His nature to us as well as the pattern of how He goes about things, so that we can recognized His “fingerprint” and know if something is from Him.

We also know what is definitely NOT from God based on how God defines sin and what God says that He hates.  God is not wishy washy, nor is He an emotional wreck.  He is consistent and does not contradict Himself in any way.

He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Heb 13:8

For I am the Lord, I change not Malachi 3:6

If He says He is pleased by something then we can trust that, if He says He is displeased by something, then we can trust that as well.

But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

Mt 12:39 KJB

A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

Mt 16:4 KJB

And the Lord God said unto the serpent, “Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field. Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.”  Genesis 3:14-15

And the angels who kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great Day (Rev 9:1-21; Rev 20) — even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, in like manner giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also, these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.  Jude 1:6-8

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.  And the Lord said unto Satan, “From whence comest thou?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down upon it.”  Job 1:6-7

And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were fair; and they took for themselves wives of all whom they chose.  And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for he also is flesh; yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.”

There were giants on the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagining of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord repented that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him in His heart.  And the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the creeping thing and the fowls of the air, for I repent that I have made them.”

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

And God said unto Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.  Genesis 6:1-13

as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be
Matthew 24:37 / Luke 17:26

I’ve been drinking diet mountain dew and diet dr. pepper for so long, I don’t notice the difference in taste of the artificial sweetener from real sugar any more.  Sometimes when I order at a restaurant, I wonder if they messed up and gave me the “real thing” instead of the diet version.  The only way I can tell the difference is to taste the sugary version and immediately taste the artificial version.  Only then do I notice the slight “off” taste.

Similarly, the contrary doctrines of devils and traditions of men often feel very good and can be very close to the “real thing”.  If they were too different, it would alert people to that difference and they would abandon the false teachings.  The enemy often comes in the guise of an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14) tickling our ears with things we want to hear (2 Tim 4:3).

Even a little “off” should trigger alarms.  All it takes is a little leaven to leaven the whole lump (1 Cor 5:6).

We are advised to “prove all things, and hold fast to that which is true” (1 Thess 5:21). We cannot base our “sense” of the truth on feelings. The only way we can prove something is to have something to measure against as a basis for comparison.

Scripture is that basis, and is our measure for all truth (2 Tim 3:16).  The only way we can spot the falsehood is to be well grounded in that truth.  Test all doctrines (teachings) and beliefs against the standard God has given us in the Bible.