Category Archives: Warnings
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” -Matthew 3:2
John’s primary message while baptizing people in the Jordan River was to repent.
Repent literally means “to change your mind.”
Stop thinking the way you do! Stop only thinking about what this world says, and think biblical thoughts, heavenly thoughts! Realize Jesus is Lord of all and Savior of the world!
You may think you are a good person, or that your good deeds will outweigh your bad deeds. But God says you do not understand how much help you need, how great a chasm separates us and Him.
The message of John and all of Jesus’ disciples is “Change your ways! Turn to God! Repent and believe!”
We cannot come to Christ unless we are willing to change.
Great God, thank You for leading us to Your Son. Continue to conform our minds to Your will as we bring others along.
1 Comment | tags: Advent, change, Christ, Christmas, Coming, Heaven, Jesus, John the Baptist, Kingdom, Mind, Repent, Second Coming, Think, Thinking, Warning, Warnings, Word of the Lord | posted in Warnings, Word of the Lord
Welcome to the second week of Advent!
Tradition holds that the second week of Advent is about preparing ourselves for the coming Messiah, with John the Baptizer being our model. This is when our focus turns from the promises to fulfillment of Messiah. Obviously, there is a connection between each week, as we begin by looking out our need for the promised Savior, and then we move to finding the truth of the living Savior.
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. -Isaiah 40:3, KJV (see Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4)
John was prophesied centuries before either he or his cousin, Jesus, lived. John is also the final of the Old Testament Prophets. He was the last to prophecy the coming Messiah before Jesus began His ministry.
He was an ascetic – someone who separates from society in many ways through denying comforts and desires, including diet and habits, for religious purposes. (See Numbers 6 to understand more of John’s asceticism, known as the Nazirite vow.) He seemed pretty crazy and weird, but he laid the groundwork for the Messiah.
What did this mean?
He called out sin, decried fame, and [literally] pointed to the Lamb of God, the Messiah.
As Christians – believers in the life, death, and resurrection of the Son of God, Jesus – we are likewise called to point to the Savior. We are to prepare the the way for His return and encroaching Kingdom.
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. -Matthew 28:18-20
How are you pointing others to Jesus?
Good Lord, give us a passion for sharing the Good News of Jesus – to call out sin, love people, and glorify Your Name.
1 Comment | tags: Advent, Baptist, Baptizer, Christ, Christmas, Coming, Jesus, John, Lord, Messiah, Path, preparation, Prepare, Second Coming, Sin, Warning, Warnings | posted in sin, Truth, Warnings, Word of the Lord
There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men. -Proverbs 30:11-14, KJV
These words may have been true throughout history, but they do seem especially true today.
Most of the world appears to be on the same page of seeking personal fulfillment, attaining personal gain, willfully ignoring or forgetting the past, assuming their own righteousness, and condemning anyone who disagrees with them.
When we disregard the lessons of the past, we curse our parents.
When we claim we have all the answers and vilify those with whom we disagree, we declare ourselves righteous as we commit the exact same sins (in different ways).
We become dreamers and idealogues who ignore the sinfulness of humanity and the need for God’s love, grace, and forgiveness.
And the solution? Either attempt to eradicate the lower class (poor and needy) or make everyone the lower class. (Or, worse, killing them off literally.)
The Real Solution
Paul warned us such days would come (2 Timothy 3). We have been moving boundaries, reinterpreting Scripture, disobeying authority through declaring it obsolete and even harmful, and throwing out Scripture as antiquated, uninspired, powerless, error-filled, and merely written by men.
But the way forward is to pursue godliness through repentance, faith in Christ, the reading of Scripture, fellowship with the saints, prayer, and allowing the Holy Spirit to conform us to the image of the Son to the glory of God the Father. (2 Timothy 3 and 4 expound on these, too!)
Leave a comment | tags: Believe, Book of Proverbs, Disobedient, Last Days, Read, Rebellious, Repent, Scripture, truth, Warnings | posted in Truth, Warnings
He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. –Proverbs 29:1, KJV
Do you know that person who is always right, has an excuse, and/or just ignores those who confront them?
(Is that you?)
Most of us do not like being around such people too long (sorry, if you are one.) Living this way can therefore lead to loneliness.
But it does get worse.
Consider the following:
- Pharoah was told enslaving the Hebrews was wrong, and he refused to let them leave Egypt. He ended up in the bottom of the Red Sea while in pursuit of them.
- The Israelites were told not to worship other gods, or they would be overrun by their enemies. They were.
- The Israel (Northern Kingdom) and Judah (Southern Kingdom) kings were told to repent and reform their countries or be taken into captivity. They were.
Ultimately, though, (you may already know where this is going) if we refuse to accept the gospel, repent of our sin, and allow the Holy Spirit to conform us to Christ’s image, we end up “without remedy” in the torment of the lake of fire.
Listen, then, to Peter: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38) and eternal life.
Leave a comment | tags: Book of Proverbs, Books of Kings, Israel, Judges, Pharoah, Repent, Sin, Warning, Warnings | posted in Warnings
Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law. -Proverbs 29:18, ESV
A prophet declares the word of the Lord. In that sense, pastors and evangelists are prophets!
But we tend to hear the word “prophetic” and think “telling the future.” There certainly is an element of this, but we must remember the the other part of prophecy: revealing what is hidden … not just the future, but in our lives.
Most importantly, prophecy reveals God’s expectations.
Therefore, a good pastor and evangelist remind people that God has set His expectation for how we are to live (summed up in the Ten Commandments, which are summed up as “Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself”), and that we will one day be judged by how we have done. More specifically, we will be judged by whether or not we followed God’s Son, Jesus.
The prophetic vision we have is that God has a standard, as modeled in Jssus, and He will be coming back to the earth in judgment.
If we neglect to teach and remind this world of this, people will throw off restraint and wantonly sin, either because they see no need for a Savior (“We’re basically good!”), or because they see grace giving them license (“We can do whatever we want, because God forgives!”)
We are either going to be judged guilty by how we rejected Christ or how we defiled Christ.
Only by believing in and emulating Christ’s sacrificial work – allowing His cleansing blood to cover us with forgiveness and grace to live a life of forgiveness, grace, and love – will we be ready for His imminent return.
Leave a comment | tags: Book of Proverbs, God's Word, Judge, judgement, judgment, justice, Knowledge, Law, paths of life, prophecy, Prophetic, Prophets, Second Coming, Ten Commandments, truth, Vision, Warning | posted in Justice, Knowledge, Paths of Life, Warnings
A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike. – Proverbs 27:15
One has to be very careful these days when he says anything – and I do mean anything – negative about any female.
I’m glad the Holy Spirit was able to inspire Solomon to record this proverb when He did.
On the other hand, how many thousands of years does it take for the statute of limitations to kick in? Senator Dianne Feinstein may have a copy of Proverbs stashed away in her office.
2 Comments | tags: #metoo, Book of Proverbs, Diane Feinstein, Politics, women | posted in Truth, Warnings, Wisdom
I’m not an Aristotelian philosopher…thankfully.
However, it doesn’t follow that the old guy didn’t have some decent ideas. Here’s one of most famous (i.e., it must be since even I’m aware of it):
“Virtue is in finding the mean.”
In other words—balance. Since I need things in fairly simple terms, I’m thinking of one of the mainstays of children’s playground equipment, the teeter-totter, (a.k.a., the see-saw). I believe one of the basic properties of physics (which I never took in high school) has to do with the placement of the fulcrum, or centerpiece for the plank on top—it must be in the center, or someone will have an unfair advantage at play.
A bully, for example, who wants to keep his poor playmate suspended helplessly in mid-air. Continue reading
Leave a comment | posted in conversation/speech, Knowledge, Love, Truth, Uncategorized, Warnings
Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. -Proverbs 26:5, KJV
This is a fairly easy verse to understand: tell someone when they are doing something wrong, otherwise they may think they have it all figured out and are doing nothing wrong.
I could stop there, but perhaps some examples could help.
Children need to be told what is right and wrong, or they grow up thinking everything they do is okay and even good, if they survive! (My parents told me not to run I to the street, for example.)
A gossip will continue spreading lies and mistruths unless they are confronted and corrected.
Most importantly, people are on their way to Hell, thinking they are okay or even right in their beliefs, unless the Gospel is shared with them.
There are times to know when to stop and “shake the dust off your feet,” as mentioned in the previous verse or by Jesus Himself (Matthew 10, Luke 9, Mark 6). That is for another post!
2 Comments | tags: advice, Answer, Book of Proverbs, Child, children, Conceit, discipline, folly, Fool, Gossip, Warning, Wisdom | posted in advice, discipline, Warnings
Yesterday, Anthony talked about the craziness of politics as of late.
Consider this a sequel! (Just like other sequels, a lot of people may be upset!)
My son, fear thou the Lord and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change: For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both? -Proverbs 24:21-22, KJV
What I mean is that we have been seeing a decade of change. Leaders throughout the Western world have been calling for change based on who has been in power.
This was most clearly seen with both Barack Obama and then Donald Trump. (Did you notice that both talked about making America respectable to some group, only in different ways?)
As Anthony demonstrated, the different sides have made a habit of vilifying each other, and whoever’s side is not in power looks for any reason to change that status, especially by removal of the the big leader (in our case, the president).
Scripture shows us, though, that we should strive to help our leaders be and do the best (within God’s moral decrees, of course.)
If all you do is cry out for change and rarely if ever actually do anything, you are not helping. This is similar to what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:1: you are like a clanging cymbal (like the neighbor who practices his drums at 3:00 AM.)
You can disagree with them. You can do things to help the situation.
But if all you do is complain about who is (or was) in power and cause further division, you are part of the problem and dishonoring God. (This a great time on the true meaning of using the Lord’s name in vain.)
Remember: Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. (Romans 13:1-2)
But we are also reminded to fear God. He is the unchanging One who has established what is right and true, and He is always in control.
2 Comments | tags: Book of Proverbs, change, Division, Fear, Fear the Lord, Leaders, Politics, President, Prime Minister | posted in Fear of the Lord, Warnings
I’m learning Swedish. Slowly. I have a working vocabulary of, I dunno, 70 words? Our second granddaughter is 50% Swedish (our son-in-law is 100%), and they live about an hour outside of Stockholm.
Now, when my son-in-law heard of my little project, he informed me that only 10 million people on the globe speak his language, as compared with the 1.5 billion that speak some form of English, his point being that it wasn’t necessarily practical to learn his native tongue.
Since when does a grandmother need to be practical?? Continue reading
1 Comment | tags: balance, diligence, duolingo, Family, God, Learning a foreign language, practice, priority setting, proverbs, relationships, Wisdom | posted in counsel, discipline, Uncategorized, Warnings, Wisdom
Caitlin Klem
Chris Jordan
Daniel M. Klem
dawnlizjones
David
Grady Davidson
Jason Sneed
M. Wiley Wilson
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Anthony Baker
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Proverbial Thought 