Tag: repent

Part 9: Turn From Evil and Do Good (Christian But Not series)

On By LindaIn Christian But Not SeriesLeave a comment
Photo by mododeolhar on Pexels.com

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD; though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool. (Isaiah 1:16-18)

For “whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” (1 Peter 3:10-12, quoting from Psalm 34:12-16) 

This is a crucial time in the U.S. for everyone, but especially Christians. I believe God has been sending us warnings for many years that He’s going to pour out His wrath on our country for our sins. As a country, we have turned our back on Him in favor of the ideology of the American popular culture. We have compromised, turn our eyes, remained silent, or even totally sold out to ways that are not God’s ways. And God’s not happy with that.

There are many individual Christians within the church body that have not sold out, nor hidden. Their lights are shining bright. But there’s so few of them, comparatively speaking, that they seem to be swallowed up by the rest of the country, just like those few campfires in the analogy in my last post. The rest of us have banked our fires or let them go out altogether. God is saying no more. No more sleep. No more compromise. No more hiding. It’s time to choose which side of this spiritual war over our country we want to be on. The fence is shaking and we will fall on the enemy’s side if we don’t jump to God’s side first.

So how do we do that? How do we choose His side? How do we stoke our fire? Is it a matter of words? Do we just say “God, I’m on your side,” and go about out life as usual? Many Christians will no doubt find this adequate. After all, they accepted Jesus and have eternal life. But disciples – the Christians But Nots – those who are…

– Christian But Not satisfied with the minimal requirements of salvation

– Christian But Not satisfied with living a self-centered life

– Christian But Not willing to compromise with evil anymore

– Christian But Not lukewarm in their love and commitment to Jesus

… back up their words with action. They search their hearts and lives, and ask God to show them anything that is not pleasing to Him. And when areas are revealed, they turn from them. They don’t make excuses. They don’t try to justify. They don’t pretend they hadn’t heard. They don’t compromise. They don’t try to interpret them in the light of their American world view. They humble themselves by acknowledging them, asking forgiveness, and turning away from them.

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chron 7:14)

and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. (Jer 18:8)

Does God want us to pray for Him to relent from the wrath He has warned us about and to save our country so that we can go back to our comfortable lifestyles? No. He wants His Name glorified. He wants to draw as many people as possible to Himself, to save them from the evil one and to live with Him forever. He wants our fires to burn brightly 24/7. He wants that fence permanently gone and our fires to penetrate the enemy camp. That is what Jesus called us to from the beginning.

The war is intensifying. The enemy is on the move and it’s time for the rest of us to join the battle. It’s time to repent and to rekindle our fire and let it burn brightly along with the faithful ones already burning. The future of our country depends on it.

Turning From Evil

What is the evil we need to turn from? Some of it is easy to detect, but most of it has crept into our lives and hearts in deceptively subtle ways.

The sins of some men are obvious, going ahead of them to judgment, but the sins of others do not surface until later. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even the ones that are inconspicuous cannot remain hidden. (1 Tim 5:24-25)

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today”, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (Heb 3:12-13)

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)

Let’s look at what God considers evil based on a few more passages of Scripture.

They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.(Rom 1:29-31)

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. (Col 3:5-10)

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. (Eph 4:30-32)

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Cor 6:9-10)

Those lists are quite detailed. The funny thing is, if we just knew how to love each other the way Jesus loves us, we wouldn’t need lists like these. But we don’t, and so we do. How many of the sins listed by Paul to these four churches do we engage in but dismiss because we are “under grace”? Paul addressed this in Romans 5 and 6. Just because we are under grace doesn’t give us permission to live a sinful life. There are other numerous reasons we excuse our sins.

How often do we laugh them away, such as saying, “I know I’m not supposed to gossip but…”?

How often do we compromise in order to fit in with our colleagues, such as obscene jokes, boasting, or sexual immorality?

How often do we do them secretly, such as adultery, having a haughty attitude towards others, or entertaining impure thoughts?

How often do we do them for power or to be noticed, such as slander, swindling, or being ruthless?

How often do we use the excuse “everybody does it”, such as obscene talk, dishonesty (deceit), or stealing (like small office supplies from work)?

How often do we refuse to acknowledge them for what they are, such as murder (abortion), hating God (choosing the world over God), or idolatry (worshipping something other than God)?

How often do we just flat out enjoy them, such as foolish behavior, sexual immorality, or greed?

How often do we feel the other person deserves them, such as wrath, maliciousness, or being heartless?

How often do we dismiss them as not as important as others, such as lying (you know, those little white lies), disobedient to parents (they can’t tell me what to do), envy, or an insolent attitude?

How often do we do them because they bring us some kind of relief for our pain, such as stirring up strife, getting angry, being a drunkard, or joining with revilers?

How often do we side with our society which considers them human nature or the way we were born – and thus excusable, such as acting haughty or engaging in homosexual acts?

Struggling with a sinful behavior is not the same thing as living in it. In our human weaknesses, we are not capable of living a sinless life. We will and do fall at times. However that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about sin that we hold on to, refuse to acknowledge, or refuse to give up. We justify that it’s not really sin, or we buy in to the idea we were born with it and can’t do anything about it, or that the good we do in our lives outweighs the sin. We might even feel guilty and ask for forgiveness over and over and over again, knowing deep down in our hearts that we’re just going to engage in it again. We live in our flesh instead of living in the Spirit. We prefer the pleasure of the sin over the displeasure of God.

It’s time to stop making excuses. It’s time to love what God loves and hate what God hates. It’s time to judge ourselves so God won’t have to.

If we were judging ourselves correctly, we would not be judged. But when the Lord Jesus judges us, he disciplines us so that we won’t be condemned along with the rest of the world. (1 Cor 11:31-32) [Note: I’m aware that Paul was addressing the Corinthians behavior at their Lord’s Supper, but I think what he said about judgment and discipline applies to any wrong behavior we consistently engage in.]

Doing Good

Once we turned from sin and returned to Christ’s ways, we can’t hide away in our homes. We need to shine our light into the darkness by doing good whenever we get a chance. God calls us to do both – turn from sin and do good. And not just to those who love us. We are called to do good to everyone, including those who hate us.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matt 5:16)

But I say to you who hear; Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful even as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:27-28, 33, 35-36)

Just as God was clear on what He calls evil, He’s also clear on what He calls doing good.

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause (Is 1:17)

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. (Matt 25:35-36)

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:9-21)

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thes 5:12-22)

If we, as the Body of Christ, cleaned up and got busy doing good wherever we could, our country would see such a difference. I’m reminded of a city in the Old Testament who was also given a warning from God.

Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles; let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. (Jonah 3:3-10)

If a great city like Nineveh could do it, certainly we can do it, too. And maybe, just maybe, we can save our country and avoid the judgment of God.

Let’s all turn away from evil and toward the light of kingdom living.

Let’s all be Christian But Not.

Fire in His Mouth

On By LindaIn My Thoughts, photo thoughtsLeave a comment

Leaders who are like wolves, tearing whom they may in order to get dishonest gain.

Religious leaders who profane the laws of God, not teaching right from wrong.

Prophets who say they speak for God but give lying messages instead, and often for money.

People who practice extortion, commit robbery, oppress the poor and needy, extort from immigrants without justice.

Dishonesty, disrespect for parents, cheating or oppressing aliens (immigrants), mistreatment of widows and orphans, profaning sacred things, lying, bribery, rape, incest, extramarital affairs, charging excessive interest, extortion, creating one’s own idols, shedding blood.

Ignoring God.

This is how God described Israel. Not the whole world, although they were guilty of the same behaviors, but He was talking about His people. The ones that called themselves by His name.

God sent many warnings about the need to stop; to turn around and get back to God’s ways. The Israelites didn’t accept the warnings. They didn’t change their ways. And they were destroyed.

The scary thing is… God could be saying the same things about us. Not all of America, even though there’s guilt there too, but those of us in America who call ourselves by His name. Those of us who claim to be Christians.

God has been sending us warnings for years; to turn around and get back to His ways.

Will we respond any better – or will we end up with the same fate as the Israelites?

How much longer will He give us to change? Or has He already started blowing on us with the fire of His wrath?  Could the increase in violence and turmoil in our country this year be part of it?

It’s easy for me to ignore this in my day to day life, doing my part in the corona virus war by staying home as much as possible. But complacency is never good. I was recently startled by a cloud that looked an awfully lot like the Lion of Judah with the glow of fire in his mouth. Not just startled like, “Hey, look at that.” But STARTLED like, “Oh no, He’s here!”

Ezekiel 22:21 I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it. 

I believe God is telling me it’s time for me to get serious with my writing. And if God is really speaking to me about what He’s about to do, then it’s my responsibility to share that with as many people as I can. Just like I would if I knew a hurricane was coming.

My goal is to write a series of blogs challenging us as Christians to compare how we’re living, how we think, what we do – to His word. I’m including me in the we. Are we courageous enough to examine ourselves and admit where we fall short? Are we serious enough about God to change our ways that don’t line up with His?

He certainly is serious about us.

Tell me what you think in the comments below. And let me know which specific areas you’d like to see me to cover.

Ezekiel 22:1-31 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2“And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to her all her abominations. 3You shall say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself! 4You have become guilty by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made, and you have brought your days near, the appointed time ofa your years has come. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all the countries. 5Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you; your name is defiled; you are full of tumult.

6“Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood. 7Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you. 8You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths. 9There are men in you who slander to shed blood, and people in you who eat on the mountains; they commit lewdness in your midst. 10In you men uncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they violate women who are unclean in their menstrual impurity. 11One commits abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you violates his sister, his father’s daughter. 12In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profitb and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.

13“Behold, I strike my hand at the dishonest gain that you have made, and at the blood that has been in your midst. 14Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it. 15I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your uncleanness out of you. 16And you shall be profaned by your own doing in the sight of the nations, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”

17And the word of the LORD came to me: 18“Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are dross of silver. 19Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you. 21I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it. 22As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the LORD; I have poured out my wrath upon you.”

23And the word of the LORD came to me: 24“Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is not cleansed or rained upon in the day of indignation. 25The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. 26Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. 28And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD has not spoken. 29The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice. 30And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. 31Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord GOD.”

2 Chronicles 7:14  if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Idols by Any Other Name

On By LindaIn My ThoughtsLeave a comment

Sighing, I continued my physical therapy exercises as the You Tube video I was watching was interrupted by yet another ad. Usually I tune out the ads, but something in this one caught my attention. I stopped moving and stared at the tiny screen on my phone.

A young beautiful woman was talking about her abusive past, and that she had found something that helped her overcome it.

Was it Jesus? I had never seen a testimonial ad on You Tube. I continued watching.

She got a good job, was able to save money, and even travel. And she was so thankful. This something had turned her life around.

Was it Jesus? Sure sounded like it. I waited for her to give Him the glory.

Then somehow she lost that something. Everything in her life fell apart. She lost her job, her home, and her happiness. One day a friend led her back to that something, and again her life was restored. And now she wanted to tell the world about it.

About Jesus? I was ready to celebrate with her, but…

Nope. It wasn’t about Jesus at all.

It was about… a bracelet.

A very special bracelet, infused with good energy by specific rituals, and accompanied by clear directions on how to wear it (make sure you touch it frequently to… what?… show it your faith?) and what not to do with it. She attributed all her well-being to this bracelet, and all her problems to having lost it. It even had a name.

I was floored.

Here in America, we don’t worship man-made objects, right? I mean, in this country we can’t just go to the market and buy a god or two. We (Westernized Christians) generally think of idols as pride, wealth, or status. But what if we’re wrong? What if idols actually mean idols? And what if we are as full of them in the Church today as the Israelites were in the Old Testament? As Christ-followers, we have been commanded to seek all our needs from God, to look only to Him. If we seek joy, prosperity, health, wisdom, peace, safety or anything else from anything other than our Father, how is that any different than what the Israelites were doing? And if we are as guilty of idolatry as they were, regardless of what we call our idols (good luck charms, energy stones, and healing crystals, among others), then aren’t we as much in danger of judgment today as the Israelites were back in their day? God is still a jealous God, and will not share His glory with another. We have been warned numerous times.

Let’s do ourselves a favor. Let’s be like Josiah, the king in 2 Kings 23. Let’s examine ourselves and our stuff and get rid of any idols we may have, before our Father has to come down here and do it for us. Then we can enjoy his blessings instead of facing his judgment.

Deut 7:25-26 The carved images of their gods you shall burn with fire. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them or take if for yourselves, lest you be ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to the LORD your God. And you shall not bring an abominable thing into your house and become devoted to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest and abhor it, for it is devoted to destruction.

2 Kings 23:24-25  Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had found in the house of the LORD. Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.

Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

2 Cor 6:16  What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will  make my dwelling among them and walk among them and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

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.

What If?

On By LindaIn My ThoughtsLeave a comment

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What if all those warnings over the last 40+ years were true –

warnings of a coming darkness?

warnings of God’s wrath?

warnings of judgment because we (Christians) have turned from God?

 

What if you knew those days were here?

How would you live differently? Or would you?

How would it change your prayer life? Or would it?

 

Individually and as a Church,

would we use God’s Word to look within ourselves, to see where we’ve compromised with the world around us?

Because we have compromised.

Would we ask God to reveal our sin; where we’ve strayed?

Because we have strayed.

Would we repent, and pray for God’s mercy?

Because that’s what He wants most of all.

Or would we point our fingers at each other? Or at those outside the Church for bringing this upon us?

 

Each time the Israelites strayed from God’s commands, incorporating pagan lifestyles and beliefs into their own, God sent warnings through His prophets. God gave the people plenty of time to return to Him. Sometimes it was years, sometimes decades, sometimes even centuries. But each time the warnings were ignored. Since the wrath didn’t appear the next day, or the next month, the Israelites believed it wouldn’t happen at all. Instead of turning to God, they turned on the prophets with ridicule, imprisonment, even murder. Until the wrath fell on them.

 

What if we as a Church are no different? What if we have adopted the mind sets and life styles of the world around us? What if we no longer hold God first in our hearts, but  seek after the gods of this world? What if we have been warned repeatedly by courageous modern day prophets, but treated them the same way the Israelite treated the prophets of old? Have we dismissed those who have called out for us to repent? Have we belittled and criticized warning “prophecies”, believing, maybe, that God doesn’t do that anymore? Or that the prophets “got it wrong”? After all, we go to church. We give our money. We try to live good lives. We’re fine, right?

Are we?

 

God told the Israelites to…

worship only Him, and with all their heart,

to follow all His commands which involved their relationship with Him, and with each other,

and to keep His ways, not the ways of the people around them.

 

Didn’t Jesus tell us the same thing?

worship God with all our heart,

love each other, treat each other fairly and justly

obey the Holy Spirit inside us,

and not conform to the world around us

 

God poured out His wrath on the Israelites for straying – wrath that included…

Confusion, frustration

Diseases, afflictions, pestilences, and illnesses

Defeat by their enemies

Oppression and robbery instead of prosperity

Sojourners among them would rise higher and higher while they were brought lower and lower

A nation from far away come against them

Crops consumed by insects

So hungry they end up eating their own children

Be in darkness as if blind

Be left few in number

 

Scary, isn’t it?

What if He did the same with us? What if He’s already doing it? The New Testament warns of a coming wrath. It’s not a matter of IF it will happen, but WHEN it will happen.

 

Yet, God also promised blessings instead of curses if the Israelites turned back to Him…

Set them high among the nations

Defeat their enemies

Establish them as His holy people, causing all other nations to fear them

Prosper them in every way

Send rain in its season

Open to them His good treasury in heaven

They would lend to other nations, and not borrow

 

What if we listened to the prophets this time?

What if we turned back to God with all our hearts?

What if the time was now?

 

 

 

Scriptures:

“For the LORD GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)

“Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the LORD. These testified against them, but they would not pay attention.” (2 Chron 24:19)

 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.” (Rom 1:18-19)

“For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17)

“Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.” (Rom 2:4-6)

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among the saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has not inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceived you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”” (Eph 5:1-14)

 “ Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.” (Col 3:5-6)

“Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:3-4)

“But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.” (Jude 1:17-19)

list of Blessings for Obedience, and Curses for Disobedience (see Deut 28)

“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you, and return to the LORD your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and all your soul, then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you…  and you shall again obey the voice of the LORD and keep all his commandments that I command you today. The LORD your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of you cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the LORD will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers… (Deut 30:1-3, 8-9)

“For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?” Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?” But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil… therefore choose life that you and your offspring may live…” (Deut 30: 11-15, 19)

“if my people who are called by by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chron 7:14)

“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your father served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in the land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15)