Many people turn to fortune tellers, psychics, and horoscopes for hope. Faith in this hope (false hope) has ruined countless lives.
All men, at some point in their lives, are confronted with the truth. At such time, men must choose to accept or reject that truth.
Many people choose to continue in sin thinking that the consequences are not mounting up. The scriptures indicate something quite different.
A sure sign of rebellion involves the rejection of God’s word. Throughout scripture, the Lord associates rebellion with a willful decision on the part of an individual or people group to refuse to hear. In Psalm 107:11 the Bible says, “Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High.” In Nehemiah 9:26 the scripture declares, “Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs.” Those who make their necks stiff in rebellion will not incline their ears in order to receive instruction (Jeremiah 17:23). They may accept the counsel of others but refuse the Lord’s counsel (Isaiah 30:1).
Though the means of worldly safety have changed throughout time, people have always put their trust in various things to offer temporary safety. The Bible depicts those who trusted in fenced walls (Deuteronomy 28:52), nations (Isaiah 30:2-3), horses, horsemen and chariots (Isaiah 31:1), weapons (Psalm 44:6), and mountains (Amos 6:1). People today place their trust in weapons, security systems, governments, insurance policies, and even medicines. Though the sources of trust have changed, the Lord remains just as grieved today when men place their trust upon the things of this world rather than upon Him. Ultimately, every source of worldly safety will fail, often in the moment we perceive as our greatest time of need.
God’s people should conscientiously cover themselves so that the shame of their nakedness does not appear to others. Yet, it is also important that their choice of covering be acceptable in the sight of the Lord. Some people have wrongfully assumed that the Lord does not give any thought to the attire of His people. God's word emphasizing the inward man does not reflect a lack of concern for the outward adornments. The assumption that it does is sometimes based upon a misapplication of 1 Samuel 16:7 where the Bible says, “for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” Truly, man is generally limited to looking upon the outward appearance, but God sees both the outward appearance and the inward man. In fact, Proverbs 7:10 testifies to the validity of this truth. In that passage, the Holy Ghost plainly indicated that a woman’s clothing was representative of a harlot’s attire. Apparently, the Holy Ghost was keenly aware of what was seen on the outside.
It is difficult for new and sometimes older Christians to fully comprehend sin's effects. From God’s perspective, every facet of sin involves a vile act. However, from man’s viewpoint, though sin can be extremely harmful, the temporary pleasures (Hebrews 11:25) distract from sin's injurious nature. For instance, Proverbs 6:24 warns about the “evil woman.” We might think this to mean that we should stay away from women who say bad things, yet the evil woman does not always speak negatively. In fact, this woman is said to speak with flattery; she says nice things but with impure motives. This warning is so important that it was given on multiple occasions (Proverbs 2:16; Proverbs 6:24; Proverbs 7:5, 21). The warning here is given specifically about a strange woman (a woman other than the man’s wife), but it applies to men and women alike. We ought to always be on guard about those who flatter us with their words.
