10 Warnings in the Bible We Don’t Take Seriously Enough 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

10 Warnings in the Bible We Don’t Take Seriously Enough

Lynette Kittle

Although the Bible warns us of attitudes and activities to stay away from, how seriously do most Christians follow biblical counsel?

God’s cautions are for our good, and ignoring His guidance and commands opens us up to being misled. To help us keep our feet on the path that leads to life, below are 10 biblical warnings Christ’s followers should take more seriously.

1. Resist Being A People Pleaser

In this age of Social Media, it’s so easy to get caught up in gaining others’ “likes” and “shares,” and dwell too much on being accepted rather than speaking God’s truth.

If our goals are to be popular and well-liked, maybe we need to consider the following promise:

“If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. This is why the world hates you.” (John 15:19)

Having “haters” doesn’t necessarily mean we are on the right track, but if we are committed to speaking truth instead of flattery, not everyone is going to respond with praise and affection. All over the world, believers are persecuted and rejected because of their commitment to sharing about the life of Jesus.

Whatever you face in your context, instead of shrinking back, or pleasing others out of fear, find encouragement and boldness knowing we all are in good company with Jesus.

2. Be Very Careful How You Live

With so many voices and opinions bombarding our thoughts today, us humans can be swayed off-track without even realizing the direction we are headed. Ephesians 5:15 warns to, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise.”

How we choose to live matters. The daily choices we make add up to a lifetime, so in making daily choices it is good to consider how we might look back at our decisions twenty years from now, and how they may affect our life overall.

Romans 12:2 urges, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Focusing more on God’s truth, rather than what the world says is truth, will renew our minds, transform our thoughts, and lead us to follow His will for our lives.

3. Make Sure to Test the Spirits

Many people are quick to jump on board of new ideas and trends. Yet consider the following words: “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

So how do we test the spirits? Often, our own feelings and understanding can lead us astray as Proverbs 16:25 describes, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”

Instead, Scripture urges us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5,6).

By turning to God’s word to see what is written concerning a new idea or trend, along with praying and asking God to reveal the truth to us, we can test the spirits.

4. Let Go of Empty Words

Why are words so important? Does it really matter what we say?

Jesus explained why they do matter, “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken” (Matthew 12:36).

So what exactly is an empty word? “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29).

Ephesians 5:4 goes on to explain in more detail, “Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or crude joking, which are out of character, but rather thanksgiving.”

Even if we have spoken empty words in the past, going forward we can commit to choosing our words carefully. As Colossians 4:6 encourages, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Like David, we can commit our words to God. “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).

5. Put Aside Revenge

As Christians, how do we handle being lied about, wronged, mistreated, or cheated out of things such as promotions, positions, or belongings that should have rightfully been ours?

Do we follow current social protocol, such as going online to expose the injustice and spread the word of what the offender did to us? Or do we submit the wrong to God and trust Him to make things right?

Scripture urges, “Do not say, ‘I’ll pay you back for this wrong!’ Wait for the Lord, and He will avenge you” (Proverbs 20:22).

Jesus is the ultimate example of trusting God, as described in 1 Peter 2:23: “When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.”

In suffering, we can look to Christ and follow His steps as our example in walking through it (1 Peter 2:21).

6. Use Your Influential Power Wisely

Has anyone ever introduced you or pushed you to try certain activities with the potential to lead you astray and away from God?

If so, consider what “Jesus said to His disciples: ‘Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come’” (Luke 17:1).

Stressing the seriousness of leading others astray, Jesus said, “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea” (Matthew 18:6).

It’s important for us to be extremely careful how we influence others, understanding God’s warning concerning leading others astray. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 urges us to encourage one another and build each other up.

Likewise, Hebrews 10:24 say, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” 

7. Say “No” to Imitating Evil

In today’s society, it’s not uncommon to see individuals take on the look, sayings, and behaviors of popular celebrities, book, and movie figures of less than honorable character—dressing like they dress, adopting their mottos as their own, and taking on their overall personas.

Maybe it just seems like a harmless, fun thing to do, but look at what 3 John 1:11 has to say about it. “Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God” (3 John 1:11).

Although it’s easy to get caught up in the charm and likeability of clever and rebellious characters, Scripture warns us to, “Reject every kind of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22).

As 1 Peter 2:21 urges, when looking for a role model in life, follow Jesus’ example.

8. Keep Your Vows to God

Some Christians may believe that since we live under grace, we’re not obligated to keep our vows to God because we’re already forgiven, He’ll understand, and it doesn’t really matter to Him.

Yet, Deuteronomy 23:21 states, “If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin.”

From breaking marriage vows to promising God various things in times of crisis, many individuals rationalize not keeping their word to Him.

Still Numbers 30:2 urges, “When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.”

God is faithful and keeps His word to us. Deuteronomy 7:9 reminds us, “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.”

When tempted to break your word to God, ask Him to help you to be faithful, as He is faithful to you. 

9. Avoid Sexual Sin

1 Corinthians 6:18 warns to, “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.”

Unfortunately, even Christians are caught up in viewing pornography, participating in a hook-up society, and playing around with adulterous temptations. Online sites and phone apps make it easier than ever to be tempted and offer endless opportunities to pursue sexual sin. 

Yet, 1 Thessalonians 4:3 explains, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified; that you should avoid sexual immorality.”

As God’s word encourages, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1).

If you struggle with sexual sin, ask God to help you resist its temptations. As 1 Corinthians 10:13 assures, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

10. Refuse to Call Evil Good

The Bible warns in Isaiah 5:20, “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.”

Our current day society, including more and more churches, is in the process of calling things good that God has called evil. As governments are creating new laws in the land, renaming and legalizing sinful practices, many are churches joining in by changing doctrines to support the culture.

Ephesians 5:11-12 warns, “Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.”

By looking at what the Bible says and seeking God for wisdom and understanding, we can resist calling what is evil, good, and instead pursue a life that is “acceptable and pleasing to him” (Philippians 4:18), so that we may produce good fruit and grow in our love and knowledge of our Father. 

5 Things You Should Know about Old Testament Violence

• Dale Chamberlain
• The Bible is full of passages we love. Words that bring us comfort in a dark time. Words that inspire us to live according to how God designed us. Words that instruct our hearts and fill us with wonder.
  But then there are also some passages that we have a difficult time swallowing. They make us a bit squeamish.
  Passages like this, where Israel conquers Jericho:
  “So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. Then they devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword.” (Joshua 6:20-21)
  The fall of Jericho is often hailed as an emblematic sign of God’s victory through his people. But the scene itself was very violent. Israel completely destroyed everything that breathed. What’s more is that God is the one who commanded and empowered this destruction of human life.
  Why would God endorse such violence? To some, this may seem like a divinely sanctioned crime against humanity. And this isn’t the only passage where we see this kind of thing. The book of Joshua has several instances of such violence as Israel conquers the land that was promised to Abraham.

How does this square with what we know about our God being a God of love?

Here are five things we need to understand when we read about the violence of the Old Testament.

1. Know the historical context.

Historical context is so important in understanding what was happening with Israel’s conquest of Jericho. The author of Joshua doesn’t give us much of this context because the original audience he wrote to was already aware of it.

Some people look at the destruction of Jericho and wonder why God would destroy these innocent, fun-loving people. But these people were not innocent or fun-loving. The people in Jericho engaged in some dark practices.

Warning: this is a bit graphic.

In Jericho, pagan worship through sex was a regular practice. People would go to the temple to commit certain acts with prostitutes as worship. These prostitutes were likely not there by their own free choice; they were trafficked. Sex slavery was a central part of the economy and culture of Jericho.

In other Canaanite worship, the people were known to sacrifice their infant children on altars of stone that were heated by fire. They essentially tortured their own babies to death so that the gods would bless them.

These violent and heinous acts were a part of the fabric of the culture. They were celebrated by everyone in the community. This is what God needed to remove from the face of the earth.

2. Know that these events are descriptive, not prescriptive.

While God did exercise this judgment on Jericho, the story is not prescriptive. That means that we shouldn’t take it as a template for what we should do today. This was a very specific moment in Israel’s history when God judged these people and removed them from the land he had promised to Israel.

Anyone who uses a passage like this to justify some kind of violence against another person or group is not a follower of Jesus. Israel did not judge Jericho—God did. He only used Israel to do it. We don’t get to assume God is using us to carry out his judgment.

What’s more is that everything in the story seems to point out that Israel was very passive in this story:

• God is the one who brought the people into the land by parting the Jordan River (Joshua 3:1-17).
• God made his presence known by sending the commander of his army to meet with Joshua (Joshua 5:13-15).
• And God is the one who made the walls of the city fall down (Joshua 6:1-21).

Israel is not the main actor in this story—God is. This story isn’t about Israel versus Jericho; it’s about God versus Jericho.

We don’t have the authority to judge and condemn; only God does. And that’s what we see happening in the destruction of a city like Jericho.

3. Know that God’s justice is perfect.

As hard as this may be to accept, we need to know that God’s justice is perfect. If God has cast judgment on a person or city, we have to know that his judgment is pure.

This is also a sobering reminder about God’s justice: what may seem harsh to us is only what is fair. Because of our own fallenness, the damaging and destroying nature of sin is often lost on us. This graphic scene of judgment is an important reminder to us about how seriously God takes sin. 

Even still, we might begin to question whether everybody in the city of Jericho was truly evil. What about those who were young, those who didn’t understand what was happening? To be honest, I don’t have a great answer for that.

But just because God takes someone’s earthly life through judgment, that doesn’t necessarily mean that he has condemned their eternal soul. Perhaps there were some for whom God’s act of justice was also an act of grace.

For some, they may haven’t yet been indoctrinated in all the evil practices of this city. And by taking their lives, God saved them from growing into all the wicked things that would have required judgment. Maybe God was showing them grace by taking them out of this world.

4. Know that the invitation to God’s grace is extended to everyone.

An invitation to God’s grace is always present. We see that in the life of Rahab. Rahab was a prostitute in the city of Jericho, but she put her faith in God because she recognized his power. Here’s what she said about the God of Israel:

“…For the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.” (Joshua 2:11)

As a result of Rahab’s faith, she and her whole family were spared judgment. God loves showing grace. He will even show grace to entire peoples.

The prophet Jonah knew this when God sent him to the Ninevites. The Ninevites were just as wicked as those in Jericho, and they were cruel and oppressive to the people in Israel. Jonah knew that if he preached to the Ninevites, they might repent, and God wouldn’t destroy them. So Jonah didn’t want to go because he wanted to see the Ninevites destroyed. He was upset that God would show grace, even to his enemies.

But we were God’s enemies too. And God showed us grace.

“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.” (Romans 5:10)

5. Know that there are certain things in the Bible that we may never be comfortable with.

Even with all of this, I still feel a bit squeamish when I read certain passages in the Old Testament where God commands the destruction of a city. And I don’t know that the discomfort will go away anytime soon.

And that’s okay because I know that my understanding is limited. The way I see justice and goodness is tainted by the fact that I am a fallen person. My mind and heart are darkened by my own sinfulness. I look at justice through a dirty window.

But I know that God sees in full what I can only understand in part. And I know enough about God to be able to trust him with the things that make me uncomfortable.

I know everything I need to know about God when I think about a bloodstained cross and an empty tomb. All of God’s justice and grace were put on full display. When Jesus hung on the cross, he took the weight of justice that was meant for me. And at the same time, he was inviting me into grace.

So, while in past times God used his people as agents of justice, followers of Jesus today are agents of grace. We are called to invite others into the grace we experience in Jesus because Jesus took the full weight of justice for us.

The Shadow

In the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft: in his quiver hath he hid me. Isaiah 49:2

The Shadow

Streams in the Desert

“In the shadow.” We must all go there sometimes. The glare of the daylight is too brilliant; our eyes become injured, and unable to discern the delicate shades of colour, or appreciate neutral tints – the shadowed chamber of sickness, the shadowed house of mourning, the shadowed life from which the sunlight has gone.

But fear not! It is the shadow of God’s hand. He is leading thee. There are lessons that can be learned only there.

The photograph of His face can only be fixed in the dark chamber. But do not suppose that He has cast thee aside. Thou art still in His quiver; He has not flung thee away as a worthless thing.

He is only keeping thee close till the moment comes when He can send thee most swiftly and surely on some errand in which He will be glorified. Oh, shadowed, solitary ones, remember how closely the quiver is bound to the warrior, within easy reach of the hand, and guarded jealously.
--Christ in Isaiah, by Meyer

In some spheres the shadow condition is the condition of greatest growth. The beautiful Indian corn never grows more rapidly than in the shadow of a warm summer night. The sun curls the leaves in the sultry noon light, but they quickly unfold, if a cloud slips over the sky. There is a service in the shadow that is not in the shine. The world of stellar beauty is never seen at its best till the shadows of night slip over the sky. There are beauties that bloom in the shade that will not bloom in the sun. There is much greenery in lands of fog and clouds and shadow. The florist has “evening glories” now, as well as “morning glories.” The “evening glory” will not shine in the noon’s splendour, but comes to its best as the shadows of evening deepen.

A Prayer to Remember Your True Identity

A Prayer to Remember Your True IdentityBy Rick Warren

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. - Galatians 5:13

God did not make you to be what somebody else wants you to be. God didn’t make you to be what your parents want you to be, what your girlfriend or boyfriend wants you to be, what your spouse wants you to be or your boss or your friends want you to be.

God made you to be you. If you’re going to become all you can be, you have to refuse to be defined by others. You must be defined as a child of God.

Hebrews 11:24 says, “By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter” (NIV).

Moses had an identity crisis. He was born a Hebrew slave but raised as Egyptian royalty, the grandson of Pharaoh. When he grew up, he had two choices: He could pretend to be Pharaoh’s grandson for the rest of his life and live a life of luxury and fame and power.

Most people today are living lies. They’re trying to be people they’re not. But Moses refused to live a lie because he was a man of integrity. He insisted on being who God made him to be against all kinds of peer pressure.

Here’s my question for you: Who are you letting determine your identity?

Is it your friends and family? Some of you have parents that died years ago, but you’re still trying to live up to their vision for your life. Some of you are hanging on to what some ex-husband or wife said to you, and you’re trying to prove that person wrong. Some of you are trying to keep up with what social media and culture and the competition says you should be.

Make this resolution today: “I resolve that no more will I let other people press me into their mold. I’m going to be what God wants me to be. I’m going to do what God wants me to do, and I’m going to fulfill the plan that God has for my life, not somebody else’s plan for my life.”

Friends, that is real success. Real success in life is being exactly who you were created to be and nothing more.

Lord, I pray that I would stop trying to find my identity in anything other than being Your child, a child of the King and a citizen in the Kingdom of God. Thank You for this amazing grace in my life! Lord, help me see the minute I start placing my identity in something else- my children, my career, my marriage, my gifts and talents. Help me in those moments to remember that all of those things—even though they are good gifts—will never satisfy me the way You will. Help me keep you before me in all things. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

What Do We Do with Psalm 137?

What Do We Do with Psalm 137?

By Aaron Armstong

“Remember, Lord, what the Edomites said that day[a] at Jerusalem: “Destroy it! Destroy it down to its foundations!” Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who pays you back what you have done to us. Happy is he who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rocks.” - Psalms 137:7-9

So the psalmist here is wishing not for vengeance in human terms. He is praying for God’s justice. He is putting his trust in God’s promise to repay the Babylonians for what they had done. He is trusting that God will deliver his people, as God had promised. Throughout this psalm, he calls the people to remember. Remember Jerusalem in your grief—and remember the Lord’s promise of deliverance.

This is what he calls us to do as well.

Hoping in God

This is truly the blessed hope we have in the gospel—Christ died on the cross to deliver us from the most horrible suffering imaginable: An eternity in hell. And yet he took upon himself the wrath our sins deserved so we might be free. And even now, He sits in Heaven at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us, praying for us, preparing a place for us with Him.

What glorious hope that is!

That’s the hope that’s driven Christians from the beginning of the Church. It’s the truth that sustains us.

Brothers and sisters, we are clay jars and God has placed this treasure—this great hope—in us. That’s why we can say with the Apostle Paul:

We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’s sake, so that Jesus’s life may also be displayed in our mortal flesh. So then, death is at work in us, but life in you. (2 Corinthians 4:8-12)

Death is at work in us daily. But Christ is being revealed. That’s what our trials do. They make us look more and more like Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, the one who suffered for us so we might be delivered from death.

Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Christian, trials will come. Grieve them, but do not let your despair distort your thinking. Instead, put your hope in God’s deliverance.

The Bow & The Arrow

The Bow & The Arrow 
by Shawn McEvoy

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

Wisdom, suggests the book of Proverbs, is prized above all things. And wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord. Therefore, the wisest thing one can do is to trust and honor God.

And trusting and honoring God, according to Proverbs 3:1-12, "not only delivers one from evil, but promises certain rewards" (Ryrie Study notes). Among them:

• Longevity and peace (vv. 1-2)
• Favor with God and man (vv. 3-4)
• Health (vv. 7-8)
• Prosperity (vv. 9-10)

Pretty good stuff. Stuff we all like, and seek hard after. Barns filled with plenty, length of days, refreshment to your bones. And yet...

The section of Proverbs 3 that we know, love, cherish, cling to, and quote most often is the part that promises not peace, not health, not abundance. It is the part that promises... guidance. "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths."

Let's not miss that. In this promise-rich poriton of scripture, the part we people cite more often than the others is the part about trusting God more than ourselves so that in our "ways" and "paths," we will know which way to go. We will know what to do. We will get there directly. We will be able to read the signposts planted by the Almighty. The child of God longs for and receives many gifts when he or she receives wisdom. Is it possible that the most highly prized among them is a highly-tuned sense of spiritual direction?

If you've ever listened to peers ponder or authors write about the subject of seeking / finding / learning / doing "God's will," then I think you might agree that the answer could just be yes. We long to serve, to offer ourselves worshipfully. To walk so closely with God that "in him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28). Symbolically, what might this sense of direction, guidance, straight paths, and complete trust look like?

Perhaps... an arrow? Consider:

• Arrows point the way to other destinations
• Arrows indicate which way it is okay to turn
• Arrows are straight and narrow
• Arrows are colorful, sleek and efficient
• Arrows attempt to hit the target, but sometimes "miss the mark"
• Arrows can not be projected forward well by anything but the bow, they were made to fit into it ("Trust in the Lord with all your heart")
• Arrows are completely dependant upon the bow, and they were made to go out from it ("do not lean on your own understanding")
• Arrows discussing how they got somewhere without crediting the bow would sound ridiculous ("In all your ways acknowledge him")
• Arrows, if properly knocked, fly true ("he will make your paths straight")

Today's verse appeared on the program for our wedding, because it has always been one of my wife's life verses. It is even more meaningful to me as I re-study it today because of something else I had written for Valerie long before she became my wife. I wrote the following thoughts about arrows for her after we had been dating for two months, just before she moved several states away from me:

I used to teach archery at camp in Texas. It’s the kind of sport where it’s not hard to find a few life metaphors – hitting the target, nailing the bull’s-eye, missing the mark... But in the arrow itself, I found a wealth of lessons. It’s such a simple, effective, and elegant weapon, with its sleek shaft and colorful feathers, but it can’t function without help. It needs the bow in order to reach its potential, to drive it forward, or it is worthless.

The arrow also has been prevalent in my doodles for as long as I can remember, probably due to its symbolic significance in direction and guidance. But take another look at the feathers – do you notice how one, the one facing outward, is a different color? That’s called the cock feather. It’s unique in that it must face away from the bow, or outward, in order to fly straight when shot. As Christians, too often we cover up what’s different about ourselves, and we wind up missing the mark, or sinning. But when our unique side faces outward for the world to see, we fly straight and true, exploding towards the target in a glorious burst of color.

What is unique and different about you? Your faith, poise, depth, and grace, to name a few. Keep those true colors facing boldly outward; trust the Lord’s aim as He pulls back the string; fly straight. Let Him choose the targets, and you can’t miss.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Wisdom is often called the greatest gift, and no wonder, because it brings with it so many other gifts, not least among them the sense of guidance and direction that flying forth from God's Great Bow brings. What gift of wisdom do you prize above others? Remember the example of the arrow when you wonder what it looks like to trust in the Lord with all your heart, and to acknowledge him in all your ways. A true straight arrow can do no other! It is nothing but ineffective flash apart from the bow!