Zeph 1:18
18 Don't plan on buying your way out. Your money is worthless for this.

Zeph 1:11
Moneymaking has had its day. The god Money is dead.

God said:
Zeph 1:1-3
2 "I'm going to make a clean sweep of the earth, a thorough housecleaning." GOD's Decree. 3 "Men and women and animals, including birds and fish — Anything and everything that causes sin — will go, but especially people.

A thing that I want to add but God made this clear too is that we’re all forever beings which means that our debt to our children never ends which makes retirement only apply to this world because we are forever people. Therefore our goal shouldn’t be to pass on our retirement money but a forever life. Money will mean nothing as our life continues but destination will! So while leaving money may be important, it’s only important to this world and our time on this world is very short so our goal should be to prepare our children for forever NOT just life on Earth.

Every human wants validation. And validation comes in the forms such as job title, responsibility and money. The more of any of these equals more validation and the more validation the more satisfied the human is. Were we created to want and need validation? No. We were created to bring glory to God and He developed every day of our lives BEFORE we were born, so do you think that He left out validation at the time He created us? I don’t. So is our need just for us personally or a mistake or lack in creation? I think that it is just for us personally because we are more interested in making ourselves happy than in making God happy. In short it’s us or Him and as humans we choose us.

Hab 2:4
bloated by self-importance — full of himself but soul-empty

this is what many people are.

Mic 7:8
I'm down, but I'm not out. I'm sitting in the dark right now, but GOD is my light.

Mic 6:8
8 But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do, what GOD is looking for in men and women. It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don't take yourself too seriously — take God seriously.

Mic 5:2
2 But you, Bethlehem, David's country, the runt of the litter — From you will come the leader who will shepherd-rule Israel. He'll be no upstart, no pretender. His family tree is ancient and distinguished.

This is about Jesus!

Amos 9:10
10 but all the sinners will be sifted out and thrown away, the people who say, 'Nothing bad will ever happen in our lifetime. It won't even come close.'

Amos 5:21
21 "I can't stand your religious meetings.

Amos 5:14
You talk about GOD, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies, being your best friend. Well, live like it, and maybe it will happen.

Amos 5:6
6 So seek GOD and live! You don't want to end up with nothing to show for your life

What we want to have to show for our lives may not be good. I can’t recall ever hearing anyone say that they wanted to seek God with their life.

Amos 3:8
GOD has spoken — what prophet can keep quiet?

My suggestion is that you go back to the prophets.

Joel 2:12-14
But there's also this, it's not too late — GOD's personal Message! — "Come back to me and really mean it! Come fasting and weeping, sorry for your sins!" 13 Change your life, not just your clothes. Come back to GOD, your God. And here's why: God is kind and merciful.He takes a deep breath, puts up with a lot, This most patient God, extravagant in love, always ready to cancel catastrophe. 14 Who knows? Maybe he'll do it now, maybe he'll turn around and show pity. Maybe, when all's said and done, there'll be blessings full and robust for your GOD!

Joel 2:1
GOD's Judgment's on its way — the Day's almost here!

Since the scriptures (the word of God) clearly say the Satan was thrown out of Heaven and given the Earth (the world) to manage then possibly the way of the World is not the way of God. Certainly the way of the world has many benefits that only apply to this world but we’ve been given examples of what God will do for us in the children of Israel.

Hos 13:2
Religion customized to taste.

Hos 10:13
You thought you could do it all on your own

Hos 6:6
6 I'm after love that lasts, not more religion. I want you to know GOD, not go to more prayer meetings.

Hos 5:4
They wouldn't recognize GOD if they saw Him.

Hos 4:1
GOD's Message! GOD indicts the whole population: "No one is faithful. No one loves. No one knows the first thing about God.

This should make you think…it did me!

The things that Hosea did are very much like what I did. Nothing sounded good to people but everything that happened was to demonstrate God’s providence. I’m sure that people didn’t accept him then and they don’t accept me now.

Dan 4:37
God knows how to turn a proud person into a humble man or woman."

Dan 4:35
35 Life on this earth doesn't add up to much, but God's heavenly army keeps everything going.

Dan 4:32
the High God rules human kingdoms and puts whomever he wishes in charge."

Dan 4:25
the High God rules over human kingdoms and that he arranges all kingdom affairs.

Dan 4:17
the High God rules human kingdoms

humans think that THEY rule their kingdoms.

Picture or just fathom this: you were created by God to bring Him glory and He wrote all of the days of your life BEFORE YOU WERE BORN, so you were planned to be here and what you are here to do is bring Him glory. Him not you. Satan manages this Earth and he will try to convince you to bring glory just to yourself. So who are you listening to?

Ezek 33:31
They flatter you with compliments, but all they care about is making money and getting ahead.

Ezek 33:26
26 You rely on the sword

To rely on the sword is a form of competition.

Ezek 33:20
I'll decide on each of you exactly according to how you live.

Ezek 32:19
You think you're so high and mighty?

Ezek 32:12
lay your pride low

This would hurt many!

Ezek 31:15
GOD, the Master

Quite often in the Bible it says: God, the Master but I wonder if people view Him that way because often people think that they are masters so attention gets paid to them instead of to God.

Ezek 28:5
But the money has gone to your head, swelled your head — what a big head!

Ezek 21:13
Why have you despised discipline? You can't get around it.

This verse really helped me understand why I’m never going to be like other people:
Ezek 20:32
What you're secretly thinking is never going to happen. You're thinking, "We're going to be like everybody else, just like the other nations.

Ezek 20:32
What you're secretly thinking is never going to happen. You're thinking, "We're going to be like everybody else, just like the other nations.

Ezek 7:20
20 Proud and pretentious with their jewels, they deck out their vile and vulgar no-gods in finery.

No-gods in finery…

Ezek 7:19
They tripped on money and fell into sin.

Tripped on money…

Ezek 6:9
lust for gratifying themselves

Ezek 5:8
8 "Therefore this is what GOD, the Master, says: I'm setting myself against you — yes, against you, Jerusalem. I'm going to punish you in full sight of the nations.

There has NEVER been a sermon on this but it’s in the Bible!

Ezek 3:27
They can listen or not listen, whichever they like. They are a bunch of rebels!

The same thing is happening today! Are you listening?

Lam 3:40
40 Let's take a good look at the way we're living and reorder our lives under GOD.

There is much more in the Bible than there is in ANY curriculum! Imagine what would happen if people would spend more time and effort in the Bible than they do in other studies?

Again this is about Jesus:
Jer 33:14-18
"'Watch for this: The time is coming' — GOD's Decree — 'when I will keep the promise I made to the families of Israel and Judah. 15 When that time comes, I will make a fresh and true shoot sprout from the David-Tree. He will run this country honestly and fairly. He will set things right. 16 That's when Judah will be secure and Jerusalem live in safety. The motto for the city will be, "GOD Has Set Things Right for Us." 17 GOD has made it clear that there will always be a descendant of David ruling the people of Israel 18 and that there will always be Levitical priests on hand to offer burnt offerings, present grain offerings, and carry on the sacrificial worship in my honor.'"

Jer 31:34
34 They will no longer go around setting up schools to teach each other about GOD.

Jer 26:4-7
4 "Say to them, 'This is GOD's Message: If you refuse to listen to me and live by my teaching that I've revealed so plainly to you, 5 and if you continue to refuse to listen to my servants the prophets that I tirelessly keep on sending to you — but you've never listened! Why would you start now? 6 — then I'll make this Temple a pile of ruins like Shiloh, and I'll make this city nothing but a bad joke worldwide.'"

THIS is what sermons should be about, but they’re not!

I have 2 choices: 1) I could have it much easier right now and follow mankind or 2) I could have it much easier later and follow God which means that I wouldn’t follow mankind and I would have to wait for the good things. I choose choice 2 because eternity is much longer than my life on this Earth.

I‘m very glad that God doesn’t think the way that man thinks because if it were up to man then I would be dead and go to Hell but God saw past that and I’m alive and focusing on Him.

Rev 13:8
8 Everyone on earth whose name was not written from the world's foundation in the slaughtered Lamb's Book of Life will worship the Beast.
I’ve got to admit THIS SCARES ME! I don’t want to be one on these people! I have fallen short but I don’t want to go to Hell!

Jer 23:24
24 Can anyone hide out in a corner where I can't see him?" GOD's Decree. "Am I not present everywhere, whether seen or unseen?" GOD's Decree.

Jer 23:5-6
5 "Time's coming" — GOD's Decree — "when I'll establish a truly righteous David-Branch, A ruler who knows how to rule justly. He'll make sure of justice and keep people united. 6 In his time Judah will be secure again and Israel will live in safety. This is the name they'll give him: 'GOD-Who-Puts-Everything-Right.'

This is about Jesus.

Jer 22:17
All you think about is yourself

This is not a good thing to do.

Jer 18:17
like autumn leaves in a high wind

the fact that God knows about autumn leaves tells me that He made the seasons, they don’t just happen because of the calendar.

Jer 17:27
self-important business
the NAME of business is self important!

Jer 17:9-10
9 "The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. 10 But I, GOD, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be."

Jer 17:5
5 GOD's Message:
"Cursed is the strong one who depends on mere humans, Who thinks he can make it on muscle alone

Jer 16:16
16 "Now, watch for what comes next: I'm going to assemble a bunch of fishermen." GOD's Decree! "They'll go fishing for my people and pull them in for judgment. Then I'll send out a party of hunters, and they'll hunt them out in all the mountains, hills, and caves.

This happened! Jesus sent the apostles fishing for people.

Jer 15:19
Don't change your words to suit them.

This is what people do, titles & money and honor are made of changing words to suit others.

When God chose to speak through anyone before it is in the Bible but there is never anything about what a person did (their career), it was only what He had to say.

Jer 10:23-24
23 I know, GOD, that mere mortals can't run their own lives, That men and women don't have what it takes to take charge of life. 24 So correct us, GOD, as you see best.

God is the potter and we are the clay.

Jer 9:23
Don't let the rich brag of their riches.

Can you say Cadillac?

Jer 9:23
23 GOD's Message:
"Don't let the wise brag of their wisdom.

Can you say rewards?

Jer 8:8
Your religion experts have taken you for a ride!

Jer 6:19
19 And, 'Pay attention, earth! Don't miss these bulletins.' I'm visiting catastrophe on this people, the end result of the games they've been playing with me. They've ignored everything I've said, had nothing but contempt for my teaching.

Pay attention Earth?

Jer 6:13
13 "Everyone's after the dishonest dollar, little people and big people alike.
Isn’t this why we make something of ourselves?

Jer 5:24
The God who gives rain in both spring and autumn and maintains the rhythm of the seasons

And it is called nature? It’s God!

Why haven’t I ever heard this?
Jer 5:11
11 They've betrayed me over and over again, Judah and Israel both." GOD's Decree.

Jer 1:4-5
4 This is what GOD said: 5 "Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you.

Before I shaped you I knew all about you. That is before he made something of himself.

Isa 66:18-21
18 "I know everything they've ever done or thought. I'm going to come and then gather everyone — all nations, all languages. They'll come and see my glory. 19 I'll set up a station at the center. I'll send the survivors of judgment all over the world: Spain and Africa, Turkey and Greece, and the far-off islands that have never heard of me, who know nothing of what I've done nor who I am. I'll send them out as missionaries to preach my glory among the nations. 20 They'll return with all your long-lost brothers and sisters from all over the world. They'll bring them back and offer them in living worship to GOD. They'll bring them on horses and wagons and carts, on mules and camels, straight to my holy mountain Jerusalem," says GOD. "They'll present them just as Israelites present their offerings in a ceremonial vessel in the Temple of GOD. 21 I'll even take some of them and make them priests and Levites," says GOD.

Isa 66:16
16 For it's by fire that GOD brings judgment, a death sentence on the human race. Many, oh so many, are under GOD's sentence of death:

Isa 64:8
We're the clay and you're our potter: All of us are what you made us.

This does not mean that we are what we made of ourselves therefore WE are to be honored!

Isa 64:8
We're the clay and you're our potter

Isa 58:13-14
If you refuse 'business as usual,' making money, running here and there — 14 Then you'll be free to enjoy GOD!

Isa 57:21
21 There's no peace," God says, "for the wicked. “

Isa 56:1

GOD's Message:
"Guard my common good: Do what's right and do it in the right way, For salvation is just around the corner

Isa 55:1
Hey there! All who are thirsty come to the water! Are you penniless? Come anyway — buy and eat! Come, buy your drinks, buy wine and milk. Buy without money — everything's free!

This is what I’ve always done!

Isa 53:2-54:1
2 The servant grew up before God — a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field.There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look. 3 He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand. One look at him and people turned away. We looked down on him, thought he was scum. 4 But the fact is, it was our pains he carried — our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. 5 But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him — our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed. 6 We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost. We've all done our own thing, gone our own way. And GOD has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong, on him, on him. 7 He was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn't say a word. Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheared, he took it all in silence. 8 Justice miscarried, and he was led off — and did anyone really know what was happening? He died without a thought for his own welfare, beaten bloody for the sins of my people. 9 They buried him with the wicked, threw him in a grave with a rich man, Even though he'd never hurt a soul or said one word that wasn't true.
10 Still, it's what GOD had in mind all along, to crush him with pain. The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin so that he'd see life come from it — life, life, and more life. And GOD's plan will deeply prosper through him.
11 Out of that terrible travail of soul, he'll see that it's worth it and be glad he did it. Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant, will make many "righteous ones, "as he himself carries the burden of their sins. 12 Therefore I'll reward him extravagantly — the best of everything, the highest honors — Because he looked death in the face and didn't flinch, because he embraced the company of the lowest. He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many, he took up the cause of all the black sheep.

This was about Jesus!

Isa 47:10
You thought you knew so much, had everything figured out

Isa 47:10
10 You were so confident and comfortable in your evil life,

Isa 47:8
You're acting like the center of the universe, Smugly saying to yourself, 'I'm Number One. There's nobody but me.

Isa 45:18
18 GOD, Creator of the heavens — he is, remember, God. Maker of earth — he put it on its foundations, built it from scratch. He didn't go to all that trouble to just leave it empty, nothing in it. He made it to be lived in.

Isa 45:9
9 But doom to you who fight your Maker — you're a pot at odds with the potter!

Isa 44:24
24 GOD, your Redeemer, who shaped your life in your mother's womb, says: "I am GOD. I made all that is. With no help from you I spread out the skies and laid out the earth."

Isa 41:4
4 "Who did this? Who made it happen? Who always gets things started? I did. GOD. I'm first on the scene. I'm also the last to leave.

Isa 40:17
17 All the nations add up to simply nothing before him — less than nothing is more like it. A minus.

Isa 40:3
3 Thunder in the desert!

This was about John the Baptist!

Isaiah 34 is more meaningful than reading Revelation!

Matt 4:4
4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone , but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Isa 33:14-16
Who of us can get out of this purge with our lives?'" 15 The answer's simple: Live right, speak the truth, despise exploitation, refuse bribes, reject violence, avoid evil amusements. 16 This is how you raise your standard of living!

Isa 29:19
19 The castoffs of society will be laughing and dancing in GOD

Isa 29:13-16
13 The Master said:
"These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their hearts aren't in it. Because they act like they're worshiping me but don't mean it, 14 I'm going to step in and shock them awake, astonish them, stand them on their ears. The wise ones who had it all figured out will be exposed as fools. The smart people who thought they knew everything will turn out to know nothing."
15 Doom to you! You pretend to have the inside track. You shut GOD out and work behind the scenes, Plotting the future as if you knew everything, acting mysterious, never showing your hand. 16 You have everything backwards! You treat the potter as a lump of clay. Does a book say to its author, "He didn't write a word of me"? Does a meal say to the woman who cooked it, "She had nothing to do with this"?

Isa 26:21
21 Because GOD is sure to come from his place to punish the wrong of the people on earth.

Isa 26:5
5 Those who lived high and mighty he knocked off their high horse.

Isa 26:4
4 Depend on GOD and keep at it because in the LORD GOD you have a sure thing.

Isa 24:13
13 That's the way it will be on this earth. This is the fate of all nations:

Isa 24:11
no more joy for this old world.

Isa 24:5
Earth is polluted by its very own people

Isa 24:1-2
Danger ahead! GOD's about to ravish the earth and leave it in ruins, Rip everything out by the roots and send everyone scurrying: 2 priests and laypeople alike, owners and workers alike, celebrities and nobodies alike, buyers and sellers alike, bankers and beggars alike, the haves and have-nots alike.

Isa 14:26
26 This is the plan, planned for the whole earth

Isa 13:12
12 Proud humanity will disappear from the earth.

Isa 13:9
9 "Watch now. GOD's Judgment Day comes. Cruel it is, a day of wrath and anger, A day to waste the earth and clean out all the sinners.

Waste the Earth…

Isa 12:4
his great reputation!

It doesn’t say: My great reputation, it says His great reputation!

Again this is about Jesus:
Isa 11:1-5
A green Shoot will sprout from Jesse's stump, from his roots a budding Branch. 2 The life-giving Spirit of GOD will hover over him, the Spirit that brings wisdom and understanding, The Spirit that gives direction and builds strength, the Spirit that instills knowledge and Fear-of-GOD. 3 Fear-of-GOD will be all his joy and delight. He won't judge by appearances, won't decide on the basis of hearsay. 4 He'll judge the needy by what is right, render decisions on earth's poor with justice. His words will bring everyone to awed attention. A mere breath from his lips will topple the wicked. 5 Each morning he'll pull on sturdy work clothes and boots, and build righteousness and faithfulness in the land.

Isa 10:23
all over the globe.

All over the globe means the whole world!

Isa 9:6-8
6 For a child has been born — for us! the gift of a son — for us! He'll take over the running of the world. His names will be: Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness. 7 His ruling authority will grow, and there'll be no limits to the wholeness he brings. He'll rule from the historic David throne over that promised kingdom. He'll put that kingdom on a firm footing and keep it going With fair dealing and right living, beginning now and lasting always. The zeal of GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies will do all this.

This hasn’t changed!

Isa 8:10-11
10 Plan and plot all you want — nothing will come of it. All your talk is mere talk, empty words, Because when all is said and done, the last word is Immanuel — God-With-Us.

Isa 7:14
14 So the Master is going to give you a sign anyway. Watch for this: A girl who is presently a virgin will get pregnant. She'll bear a son and name him Immanuel (God-With-Us).

THIS is about Jesus from the Old Testament.

Isa 7:9
If you don't take your stand in faith, you won't have a leg to stand on.

Isa 2:22
22 Quit scraping and fawning over mere humans, so full of themselves, so full of hot air! Can't you see there's nothing to them?

Isa 1:10
Receive God's revelation, you Gomorrah-schooled people.

This is referring to the nation of Israel! I have NEVER heard this but I did read it.

Eccl 12:13-14
13 The last and final word is this:
Fear God.
Do what he tells you.
14 And that's it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it's good or evil.

Eccl 8:16-17
16 When I determined to load up on wisdom and examine everything taking place on earth, I realized that if you keep your eyes open day and night without even blinking, 17 you'll still never figure out the meaning of what God is doing on this earth. Search as hard as you like, you're not going to make sense of it. No matter how smart you are, you won't get to the bottom of it.

Eccl 7:20
20 There's not one totally good person on earth

Eccl 7:18
A person who fears God deals responsibly with all of reality, not just a piece of it.

Eccl 7:16
16 So don't knock yourself out being good, and don't go overboard being wise. Believe me, you won't get anything out of it.

Eccl 5:18-20
That's the human lot. 19 Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what's given and delighting in the work. It's God's gift! 20 God deals out joy in the present, the now.

Eccl 5:2
God's in charge, not you

Eccl 2:25
25 Whether we feast or fast, it's up to God.

Eccl 2:17
what happens on earth is a bad business

Eccl 1:4
4 One generation goes its way, the next one arrives, but nothing changes — it's business as usual for old planet earth.

Maybe “business as usual” isn’t good…

Prov 29:25
25 The fear of human opinion disables

Prov 29:13
13 The poor and their abusers have at least something in common: they can both see — their sight, GOD's gift!

Not often is sight viewed as a gift from God but it is!

Prov 28:7
7 Practice God's law — get a reputation for wisdom

Prov 25:21-22
21 If you see your enemy hungry, go buy him lunch; if he's thirsty, bring him a drink. 22 Your generosity will surprise him with goodness, and GOD will look after you.

Prov 25:2
2 God delights in concealing things; scientists delight in discovering things.

Prov 21:30
30 Nothing clever, nothing conceived, nothing contrived, can get the better of GOD.

Prov 21:26
26 Sinners are always wanting what they don't have; the God-loyal are always giving what they do have.

Prov 21:13
13 If you stop your ears to the cries of the poor, your cries will go unheard, unanswered.

Prov 21:3
3 Clean living before God and justice with our neighbors mean far more to GOD than religious performance.

Prov 21:2
2 We justify our actions by appearances; GOD examines our motives.

So eye candy is not important.

Prov 20:27
27 GOD is in charge of human life, watching and examining us inside and out.

Prov 20:24
24 The very steps we take come from GOD; otherwise how would we know where we're going?

Prov 19:21
21 We humans keep brainstorming options and plans,
but GOD's purpose prevails.

Prov 19:17
17 Mercy to the needy is a loan to GOD, and GOD pays back those loans in full.

Prov 19:4
4 Wealth attracts friends as honey draws flies, but poor people are avoided like a plague.

Prov 18:21
21 Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit — you choose.

Prov 17:5
5 Whoever mocks poor people, insults their Creator; gloating over misfortune is a punishable crime.

Money is king?

Prov 16:25
25 There's a way that looks harmless enough; look again — it leads straight to hell.

Prov 16:19
19 It's better to live humbly among the poor than to live it up among the rich and famous.

Prov 16:9
9 We plan the way we want to live, but only GOD makes us able to live it.

Prov 16:2
2 Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; GOD probes for what is good.

Prov 16:1
Mortals make elaborate plans, but GOD has the last word.

Prov 15:11
11 Even hell holds no secrets from GOD — do you think he can't read human hearts?

Prov 15:3
3 GOD doesn't miss a thing — he's alert to good and evil alike.

People don’t realize this!

Prov 14:31
31 You insult your Maker when you exploit the powerless;
when you're kind to the poor, you honor God.

Let’s spend some time on the word normal. Was it normal for God to live among humans? NO. Were the plagues done to Egypt normal? NO. Was it normal for God to lead the Israelites with a cloud by day and fire by night? NO. For the Red Sea and the Jordan to allow the Israelites to cross on dry land was that normal? NO. For Jesus to be killed and come alive was that normal? Is it normal for me to live in an apartment ? NO. So maybe normal isn’t God.

Prov 13:7
a plain and simple life is a full life.

I needed to read this!

Prov 12:15
15 Fools are headstrong and do what they like

What they like as opposed to what God wants…

Prov 12:11
11 The one who stays on the job has food on the table

It doesn’t say a thing about the type of job!

Prov 11:31
31 If good people barely make it, what's in store for the bad!

Prov 10:22
GOD's blessing makes life rich; nothing we do can improve on God.

Prov 5:21
21 Mark well that GOD doesn't miss a move you make; he's aware of every step you take.

Prov 4:18
18 The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine.

Prov 3:32
GOD can't stand twisted souls. It's the straightforward who get his respect.

Prov 3:27
27 Never walk away from someone who deserves help; your hand is God's hand for that person.

Prov 3:5-7
5 Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. 6 Listen for GOD's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track. 7 Don't assume that you know it all. Run to GOD! Run from evil!

IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU!

Prov 2:6
GOD gives out Wisdom free, is plainspoken in Knowledge and Understanding.

As opposed to colleges and degrees.

Prov 1:7
Start with GOD — the first step in learning is bowing down to GOD; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.

The FIRST STEP TO LEARNNG IS BOWING DOWN TO GOD. Now I’ll guarantee that no college is teaching this!

Ps 149:4
GOD delights in his people, festoons plain folk with salvation garlands!

He CHOSE to create us! We are SPECIAL to Him!

Ps 147:11
11 Those who fear GOD get GOD's attention; they can depend on his strength.

Notice that it says they can depend on His strength not their strength. So depend on Him NOT ON YOURSELF.

Ps 147:11
11 Those who fear GOD get GOD's attention; they can depend on his strength.

Ps 147:6
6 GOD puts the fallen on their feet again

Ps 146:10
10 GOD's in charge — always.

Ps 146:4
4 Mere humans don't have what it takes; when they die, their projects die with them.

Ps 146:3
3 Don't put your life in the hands of experts who know nothing of life, of salvation life.

Ps 145:20
20 GOD sticks by all who love him

Ps 145:19
19 He does what's best for those who fear him — hears them call out, and saves them.

Ps 145:18
18 GOD's there, listening for all who pray, for all who pray and mean it.

Ps 144:3-4
3 I wonder why you care, GOD — why do you bother with us at all? 4 All we are is a puff of air; we're like shadows in a campfire.

I don’t know why either! But I do know that He does care!

Ps 140:2
2 All they do is think up new ways to be the best.

Ps 139:16
The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day.

So much for having to make something out of yourself!

Ps 139:15-16
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. 16 Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you,

Ps 139:14
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!

Ps 139:13
13 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb.

Ps 139:12
12 It's a fact: darkness isn't dark to you;

Ps 139:4
4 You know everything I'm going to say before I start the first sentence.

Ps 139:2-3
2 I'm an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I'm thinking. 3 You know when I leave and when I get back; I'm never out of your sight.

Ps 139:1
GOD, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand.

He has ALL of the facts on everyone’s lives because He is God.

Ps 138:6
6 And here's why: GOD, high above, sees far below; no matter the distance, he knows everything about us.

Not many humans acknowledge this.

Ps 127:3
3 Don't you see that children are GOD's best gift?

Ps 121:1-2
I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains? 2 No, my strength comes from GOD, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.

Ps 119:155
155 "Salvation" is only gibberish to the wicked because they've never looked it up in your dictionary.

Ps 119:96
96 I see the limits to everything human

Ps 119:72
72 Truth from your mouth means more to me than striking it rich in a gold mine.

Ps 119:66
66 Train me in good common sense; I'm thoroughly committed to living your way.

Ps 119:14
14 I delight far more in what you tell me about living than in gathering a pile of riches

Ps 119:9
9 How can a young person live a clean life? By carefully reading the map of your Word.

Ps 119:4
4 You, GOD, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it

Ps 118:22
22 The stone the masons discarded as flawed is now the capstone!

From Psalms this is about Jesus!

Ps 118:17
17 I didn't die. I lived! And now I'm telling the world what GOD did.

Ps 116:7-8
GOD has showered you with blessings. 8 Soul, you've been rescued from death; Eye, you've been rescued from tears; And you, Foot, were kept from stumbling."

God has rescued me from death, I can’t cry and I can’t walk.

Ps 116:6
6 GOD takes the side of the helpless; when I was at the end of my rope, he saved me.

Ps 111:2
2 GOD's works are so great, worth A lifetime of study — endless enjoyment!

No College teaches this!

Ps 106:14
14 They only cared about pleasing themselves in that desert

Ps 106:6
6 We've sinned a lot, both we and our parents

Ps 104:34
I'm so pleased to be singing to GOD.

Ps 104:23
23 Meanwhile, men and women go out to work, busy at their jobs until evening.

Imagine if humans thanked God for their work instead of themselves!

Ps 104:15
Their faces glowing with health

God does this! 11 years and I’ve never been sick!

Ps 100:3-4
3 Know this: GOD is God, and God, GOD. He made us; we didn't make him. We're his people, his well-tended sheep. 4 Enter with the password: "Thank you!" Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him.

People CAN do things that make them very happy BUT if God is not the center of what they’re doing then they miss out later. A lot of time, money, effort, etc. has been spent on just making people happy but God isn’t incorporated in what people are doing.

Ps 94:8-11
8 Well, think again, you idiots, fools — how long before you get smart? 9 Do you think Ear-Maker doesn't hear, Eye-Shaper doesn't see? 10 Do you think the trainer of nations doesn't correct, the teacher of Adam doesn't know? 11 GOD knows, all right — knows your stupidity, sees your shallowness.

I have NEVER heard a sermon on this:
Ps 89:30-32
30 If his children refuse to do what I tell them, if they refuse to walk in the way I show them, 31 If they spit on the directions I give them and tear up the rules I post for them 32 — I'll rub their faces in the dirt of their rebellion and make them face the music.

Ps 89:18
18 All we are and have we owe to GOD

Ps 89:12
12 You positioned the North and South Poles

Ps 78:39-40
39 He knew what they were made of; he knew there wasn't much to them, 40 How often in the desert they had spurned him, tried his patience in those wilderness years.

I have NEVER heard a sermon on this!

Ps 78:5
commanded our parents to teach it to their children

do we do this? NO! We send them to school and let no God people teach them.

I heard a popular Christmas song today called Santa Clause is coming to town. Now let me ask you: Is it a good idea to make a song about a non-existent person and to say “He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake”? God is real and He does see you when you’re sleeping and He does know when you’re awake but there’s no song or holiday about Him!

Ps 74:16-17
16 You own the day, you own the night; you put stars and sun in place. 17 You laid out the four corners of earth, shaped the seasons of summer and winter.

So much for nature!

Ps 73:28
I've made Lord GOD my home. God, I'm telling the world what you do!

Ps 73:1-5
No doubt about it! God is good — good to good people, good to the good-hearted. 2 But I nearly missed it, missed seeing his goodness. 3 I was looking the other way, looking up to the people 4 At the top, envying the wicked who have it made, 5 Who have nothing to worry about, not a care in the whole wide world.

Ps 71:17-18
Now I'm telling the world your wonders; 18 I'll keep at it until I'm old and gray.

Ps 69:12
12 Now drunks and gluttons

Jesus was called a drunk and glutton!

Ps 69:5
5 God, you know every sin I've committed; My life's a wide-open book before you.

Ps 68:28
28 Parade your power, O God, the power, O God, that made us what we are.

Ps 68:24
24 See God on parade

Ps 66:6
6 He converted sea to dry land; travelers crossed the river on foot.

This happened for the children of Israel.

Ps 51:16-17
16 Going through the motions doesn't please you, a flawless performance is nothing to you. 17 I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered.

Ps 49:15-17
16 So don't be impressed with those who get rich and pile up fame and fortune. 17 They can't take it with them; fame and fortune all get left behind.

Ps 49:7-9
7 Really! There's no such thing as self-rescue, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. 8 The cost of rescue is beyond our means, and even then it doesn't guarantee 9 Life forever, or insurance against the Black Hole.

This answers the issue of making something of yourself.

Ps 47:9
The powers of earth are God's — he soars over all.

Ps 46:10
High God, above politics, above everything."

Ps 44:3
it was a gift!

From Psalms in the Old Testament!

Ps 41:2
2 GOD looks after us all, makes us robust with life —

Ps 40:6
Being religious, acting pious — that's not what you're asking for.

Ps 39:9
9 I'll say no more, I'll shut my mouth, since you, Lord, are behind all this.

So much for competitions.

Ps 39:6
6 Oh! we're all puffs of air.

We are even though we don’t think so! This is why I write to teach!

Ps 34:19
19 Disciples so often get into trouble; still, GOD is there every time.

Ps 34:6
6 When I was desperate, I called out, and GOD got me out of a tight spot.

We read in the Bible that God created human beings but NOWHERE does it say that God created an ‘A’ game.

Ps 34:4
4 GOD met me more than halfway

Ps 34:2
2 I live and breathe GOD

Ps 33:14-15
14 From where he sits he overlooks all us earth-dwellers. 15 He has shaped each person in turn; now he watches everything we do.

So since He has shaped everyone LIFE IS NOT A COMPETITION!

Ps 32:2
2 Count yourself lucky — GOD holds nothing against you and you're holding nothing back from him.

Ps 31:21
21 Blessed GOD! His love is the wonder of the world.

Ps 31:11
they cross the street to avoid me.

Jesus even told a story where THIS happened!

Ps 31:6
6 I hate all this silly religion, but you, GOD, I trust.

Ps 30:3
3 GOD, you pulled me out of the grave, gave me another chance at life when I was down-and-out.

Ps 27:14
I'll say it again: Stay with GOD.

Ps 27:10
10 My father and mother walked out and left me, but GOD took me in.

Ps 22:27
27 From the four corners of the earth people are coming to their senses, are running back to GOD.

Ps 22:26
"Live it up, from head to toe. Don't ever quit!"

Ps 22:26
26 Down-and-outers sit at GOD's table and eat their fill.

Ps 22:18
throw dice for my clothes.

This happened to Jesus!

Ps 20:1
GOD answer you on the day you crash

Ps 19:11
11 There's more: God's Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure.

Ps 18:49
49 That's why I'm thanking you, GOD, all over the world.

Ps 18:24
24 GOD rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.

Ps 18:21
I don't take God for granted.

Ps 17:15
15 And me? I plan on looking you full in the face. When I get up

Ps 17:14
14 Barehanded, GOD, break these mortals, these flat-earth people who can't think beyond today.

Ps 17:6
6 I call to you, God, because I'm sure of an answer.

Ps 17:4
4 I'm not trying to get my way in the world's way. I'm trying to get your way, your Word's way.

Ps 14:6
6 Do you think you can mess with the dreams of the poor? You can't, for God makes their dreams come true.

Ps 12:6
6 God's words are pure words.

Ps 11:7
7 GOD's business is putting things right

Ps 9:16
the way God works is well-known.

Ps 7:17
17 I'm thanking God, who makes things right.

Ps 5:10
Let their so-called wisdom wreck them.

Ps 4:6-7
6 Why is everyone hungry for more? "More, more," they say."More, more." I have God's more-than-enough, 7 More joy in one ordinary day

Ps 4:4
Keep your mouth shut, and let your heart do the talking.

Ps 3:8
8 Real help comes from GOD

Ps 2:12
But if you make a run for God — you won't regret it!

If we spent more time on who we are in God and LESS time on what we want to become then the road wouldn’t be so narrow.

Isa 55:1-2
"Hey there! All who are thirsty, come to the water! Are you penniless? Come anyway — buy and eat! Come, buy your drinks, buy wine and milk. Buy without money — everything's free! 2 Why do you spend your money on junk food, your hard-earned cash on cotton candy? Listen to me, listen well: Eat only the best, fill yourself with only the finest.

My thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways says the Lord but tell that to a college.

Job 42:2
2 "I'm convinced: You can do anything and everything. Nothing and no one can upset your plans.

Job 28:23
23 "God alone knows the way to Wisdom, he knows the exact place to find it.

Job 28:12-13
12 "But where, oh where, will they find Wisdom?
Where does Insight hide? 13 Mortals don't have a clue, haven't the slightest idea where to look.

Job 19:29
Worry about your own sins and God's coming judgment,
for judgment is most certainly on the way.

Job 19:25
25 Still, I know that God lives — the One who gives me back my life — and eventually he'll take his stand on earth.

Job 12:13
"True wisdom and real power belong to God; from him we learn how to live, and also what to live for.

What happened to Job happened to me but just like Job I didn’t blame God. For a while things may be difficult for me but what happens to me has nothing to do with God.

Neh 8:10
Go home and prepare a feast, holiday food and drink; and share it with those who don't have anything: This day is holy to God.

Share it with those who don’t have anything…

Neh 6:9
I prayed, "Give me strength."

This is what WE should do! NOT pray to give THEM strength!

Ezra 9:12
don't make over them and get them to like you so you can make a lot of money and build up a tidy estate to hand down to your children.'

This was a prayer to God then but people are doing this now.

Ezra 7:10
10 Ezra had committed himself to studying the Revelation of GOD, to living it, and to teaching Israel to live its truths and ways.
Committed to living it, it doesn’t say: “as long as nothing else was bothered”.

If someone is doing something that you don’t like then don’t pray for them! Pray for yourself! YOU are the one who is bothered and Jesus said to love your neighbor as you love yourself. So if something is bothering you then YOU are having a problem not them!

2 Chron 25:4
We each pay personally for our sins.

2 Chron 20:15
This is God's war, not yours.

2 Chron 16:9
You were foolish to go for human help when you could have had God's help.

God formed you so that you can be successful per your definition but success to you and success to God are totally different.

2 Chron 7:17
17 As for you, if you live in my presence

If you live in my presence…

2 Chron 7:9
two solid weeks of celebration!

I’m sure that no one planned for this and they had other things to do but they praised God!

2 Chron 6:33
people all over the world will know who you are and what you're like, And live in reverent obedience before you, just as your own people Israel do, So they'll know that you personally

2 Chron 6:14
GOD, O God, there is no God like you in the skies above or on the earth below, who unswervingly keeps covenant with his servants and unfailingly loves them while they sincerely live in obedience to your way.

2 Chron 1:11-12
11 God answered Solomon, "This is what has come out of your heart: You didn't grasp for money, wealth, fame, and the doom of your enemies; you didn't even ask for a long life. You asked for wisdom and knowledge so you could govern well my people over whom I've made you king. 12 Because of this, you get what you asked for — wisdom and knowledge. And I'm presenting you the rest as a bonus — money, wealth, and fame beyond anything the kings before or after you had or will have."

Solomon did not ask God to make something special of himself for his benefit but he wanted to do a good job for God.

1 Chron 29:25
25 Solomon rode high on a crest of popular acclaim — it was all GOD's doing. GOD gave him position and honor beyond any king in Israel before him.

1 Chron 29:14-15
14 "But me — who am I, and who are these my people, that we should presume to be giving something to you? Everything comes from you; all we're doing is giving back what we've been given from your generous hand. 15 As far as you're concerned, we're homeless, shiftless wanderers like our ancestors, our lives mere shadows, hardly anything to us.

1 Chron 29:6
6 Ready and willing, the heads of families, leaders of the tribes of Israel, commanders and captains in the army, stewards of the king's affairs, stepped forward and gave willingly.

People wouldn’t do this today.

1 Chron 29:1
this is not just a place for people to meet each other, but a house for GOD to meet us.

This is what Church is about. It is NOT a place to see people but a place for God to meet with us!

1 Chron 28:9
for GOD examines every heart and sees through every motive.
Every!

1 Chron 25:8
Nobody, whether young or old, teacher or student, was given preference or advantage over another.

Not today… today preference is given.

2 Kings 14:6
We each pay personally for our sins.

God formed you and He formed your brain so there is NOTHING that you can do that He doesn’t already know and He wrote in His word that He can do more than you know. However many individuals think that they are as smart as God. Imagine that: The created thinking that they are as intelligent as their creator.

I can remember this! There are several things that I can’t remember but this I can. As humans every accomplishment is a production and so everything is either good or bad. The problem with that is that we are ALL only actors in God’s play therefore we are NOT the producers and it is NOT our play. The Bible begins with God’s production of creation and as a small part of that we come in as actors to act out what He has developed. Therefore, to bring anything to ourselves is not bringing attention to what He has done.

So think about that. If interest is taken from the real production then the indication is that the real production is not sufficient and in life that just isn’t true.

What you make of yourself means nothing at all to God. He created you, formed you in your mother’s womb, planned your life before you were born and knows what you are going to say before you say it so what you choose to do with yourself is already known by God. It means something to you but not to Him.

1 Kings 8:12
GOD has told us that he lives in the dark where no one can see him

God is not eye candy.

1 Kings 6:12
12 "About this Temple you are building — what's important is that you live the way I've set out for you and do what I tell you, following my instructions carefully and obediently.

Nothing about the building and everything about living.

1 Kings 4:29-31
29 God gave Solomon wisdom — the deepest of understanding and the largest of hearts. There was nothing beyond him, nothing he couldn't handle. 30 Solomon's wisdom outclassed the vaunted wisdom of wise men of the East, outshone the famous wisdom of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than anyone

God gave him this! Not teachers or colleges or curriculum.

The very most important and hardest thing for me to convey is that while God created the Earth Satan was thrown out of Heaven and given the Earth to manage so while God is still in charge of everything Satan is doing an intense job of running this world! Herein comes our job of choosing God over the world! It is not going well and that is why Jesus came. So the MOST critical thing that we can do is recognize that the standards of this World are not the standards of God and it’s up to us to note the difference and choose to meet God’s standards which are not the standards of this World.

2 Sam 22:21
21 GOD made my life complete

2 Sam 8:6
GOD gave victory to David wherever he marched.

The scriptures do not say: David got victory because of himself. No, they say that God gave him victory which is NOT common today. God has not changed at all.

2 Sam 7:20-21
You know me, Master GOD, just as I am.

2 Sam 6:16
When she saw King David leaping and dancing before GOD, her heart filled with scorn.

This is not uncommon. People will not like what a person is doing if they follow God.

1 Sam 30:6
strengthened with trust in GOD.

NOTHING ELSE is worth anything!

Because we are eternal beings our position in eternity is far more important than our position in life on this Earth.

1 & 2 Samuel are in the Bible to teach us of God’s sovereignty and to teach us how to care for others.

1 Sam 24:2
the best he could find

Why is it that people (the created) always try to be the best?

Gen 1:1 - 1 Sam 22:2
So David got away and escaped to the Cave of Adullam. When his brothers and others associated with his family heard where he was, they came down and joined him. 2 Not only that, but all who were down on their luck came around — losers and vagrants and misfits of all sorts. David became their leader. There were about four hundred in all.

David and people down on their luck? Loses, vagrants and misfits? Sounds like Jesus!

1 Sam 17:58-18:1
58 Saul asked him, "Young man, whose son are you?"
"I'm the son of your servant Jesse," said David, "the one who lives in Bethlehem."

This was to prepare us for Jesus.

1 Sam 16:7
Men and women look at the face; GOD looks into the heart."

So much for eye candy!

Judg 16:7
7 Samson told her, "If they were to tie me up with seven bowstrings — the kind made from fresh animal tendons, not dried out — then I would become weak, just like anyone else."

Samson was an example of people of today thinking that their expertise and accomplishments will get them more than God could give them.

Judg 4:9
But understand that with an attitude like that, there'll be no glory in it for you.

THIS is what people don’t understand! They want all of the glory for themselves.

Judg 3:15
He was left-handed.

So am I!

Nothing is more imperative:

Josh 24:14
Fear GOD. Worship him in total commitment.

Josh 7:11-12
11 Israel has sinned: They've broken the covenant I commanded them; they've taken forbidden plunder — stolen and then covered up the theft, squirreling it away with their own stuff. 12 The People of Israel can no longer look their enemies in the eye — they themselves are plunder. I can't continue with you if you don't rid yourselves of the cursed things.

Are we the plunder now?

Josh 6:27
27 GOD was with Joshua. He became famous all over the land.

Even fame belongs to God.

I didn’t realize that this happened just like the Red Sea!

Josh 3:17
stood firmly planted on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan

Deut 30:4
4 No matter how far away you end up, GOD, your God, will get you out of there

Deut 29:10
10 You are all standing here today in the Presence of GOD.

This was Moses talking:
Deut 29:5-6
5 I took you through the wilderness for forty years and through all that time the clothes on your backs didn't wear out, the sandals on your feet didn't wear out, 6 and you lived well without bread and wine and beer

Deut 18:13
13 Be completely loyal to GOD, your God.

Deut 18:2
GOD is my inheritance.

Deut 15:7-9
7 When you happen on someone who's in trouble or needs help among your people with whom you live in this land that GOD, your God, is giving you, don't look the other way pretending you don't see him. Don't keep a tight grip on your purse. 8 No. Look at him, open your purse, lend whatever and as much as he needs. 9 Don't count the cost. Don't listen to that selfish voice saying, "It's almost the seventh year, the year of All-Debts-Are-Canceled," and turn aside and leave your needy neighbor in the lurch, refusing to help him. He'll call GOD's attention to you and your blatant sin.

None of this: It’s mine! I earned it!

Deut 13:4
4 You are to follow only GOD, your God, hold him in deep reverence, keep his commandments, listen obediently to what he says, serve him — hold on to him for dear life!

NOT your boss, your company, your family or your income!

Deut 12:7
Celebrate everything that you and your families have accomplished under the blessing of GOD, your God.

This isn’t what happens. People celebrate THEIR efforts!

Deut 10:14
14 Look around you: Everything you see is GOD's — the heavens above and beyond, the Earth, and everything on it.

Deut 8:17-18
17 If you start thinking to yourselves, "I did all this. And all by myself. I'm rich. It's all mine!" — 18 well, think again.

Deut 8:12-14
12 Make sure that when you eat and are satisfied, build pleasant houses and settle in, 13 see your herds and flocks flourish and more and more money come in, watch your standard of living going up and up — 14 make sure you don't become so full of yourself and your things that you forget GOD, your God.

make sure you don't become so full of yourself and your things that you forget GOD, your God

Deut 7:25
Don't get greedy for the veneer of silver and gold on them and take it for yourselves — you'll get trapped by it for sure. GOD hates it; it's an abomination to GOD, your God.

There are many things: the things of our time, that get our attention so that we’ll want them.

Deut 7:9
GOD, your God, is God indeed, a God you can depend upon.

Deut 7:7
7 GOD wasn't attracted to you and didn't choose you because you were big and important — the fact is, there was almost nothing to you.

This is NOT what the World will tell you! They set standards to make you important.

Deut 6:6-7
6 Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you 7 and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night.

Do we do this? NO!

Deut 6:5
5 Love GOD, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that's in you, love him with all you've got!

I have a HUGE concern to talk about!
Clearly humanity is represented by the children of Israel and that is why that story is in the Bible. Time and time again Moses tried to teach them about God but they insisted on doing their own thing and God just became in the way of doing what they wanted to do. We are no different than they were. God should be the priority in our lives but other things having little or nothing to do with God take precedence in our lives and God just becomes something that may be socially acceptable but He’s certainly not a priority.

God has said over and over again to learn about Him and to TEACH OUR CHILDREN! But often we are very satisfied and allow unbelievers to teach our children so much so that WE rely on that teaching for ourselves so we rely on unbelievers to teach, and we’re very much OK with that?

Deut 5:7
7 No other gods, only me.

Does this only refer to images that are worshipped? No. We put many things up front so that we can follow them. Gods are very much a part of our lives.

Deut 4:39
Take it to heart right now: GOD is in Heaven above; GOD is on Earth below.

Deut 1:17
Don't be impressed by big names.

The difference between me and other human beings is that:

I believe that God is in charge. My eternity means everything to me and I wouldn’t risk that for anything! Where I am was not planned for or remembered but it is a blessing from God. I have everything and more.

Other people believe that they are in charge. Other people live for life on this Earth. They feel that I have nothing and what they have changes moment by moment.

I am not saying that you have to change but this is where I am.

Num 24:20
Amalek, you're in first place among nations right now,
but you're going to come in last, ruined.

Isn’t this just like the first shall be last and the last shall be first?

Balak and Balaam were good examples. Balak wanted what society wants but Balaam only listened to God. Balaam’s donkey speaking up was about like you talking about God. Society won’t agree with you but you are right. It’s just something that society will not believe.

Num 21:8
8 GOD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it on a flagpole: Whoever is bitten and looks at it will live."

This was a prophecy of Jesus.

Num 11:4-6
The riff-raff among the people had a craving and soon they had the People of Israel whining, "Why can't we have meat? 5 We ate fish in Egypt — and got it free! — to say nothing of the cucumbers and melons, the leeks and onions and garlic. 6 But nothing tastes good out here; all we get is manna, manna, manna."

The riff-raff among the people complained. There will always be riff-raff but God is good.

In the Old Testament people were required to pay for their own sins but in the New Testament Jesus paid for everyone’s sins.

Lev 26:8-9
8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand and do away with them. 9 I'll give you my full attention.

People don’t realize this. They think that everything is up to them but it clearly is not.

Lev 22:32
I am GOD who makes you holy.

He makes you holy.

Lev 20:23
23 You simply must not live like other nations

Lev 19:18
"Love your neighbor as yourself. I am GOD.

Ex 34:28
28 Moses was there with GOD forty days and forty nights. He didn't eat any food; he didn't drink any water.
And it’s odd that I don’t ever get hungry? Nope!

Ex 32:1-2

When the people realized that Moses was taking forever in coming down off the mountain, they rallied around Aaron and said, "Do something. Make gods for us who will lead us. That Moses, the man who got us out of Egypt — who knows what's happened to him?"
They wanted eye candy!

Ex 23:25-26
"But you — you serve your GOD and he'll bless your food and your water. I'll get rid of the sickness among you; 26 there won't be any miscarriages nor barren women in your land. I'll make sure you live full and complete lives.

God did what He said. No one was ever sick.

Ex 20:5
don't serve anything but Me.

Ex 16:13-15
13 That evening quail flew in and covered the camp and in the morning there was a layer of dew all over the camp. 14 When the layer of dew had lifted, there on the wilderness ground was a fine flaky something, fine as frost on the ground. 15 The Israelites took one look and said to one another, man-hu (What is it?). They had no idea what it was.

Quail AND manna.

Ex 16:8
You haven't been complaining to us — you've been complaining to GOD!

Moses told them but they didn’t stop.

Ex 16:2
2 The whole company of Israel complained.

See?

Ex 15:25
25 So Moses cried out in prayer to GOD. GOD pointed him to a stick of wood. Moses threw it into the water and the water turned sweet.

God is more than capable of doing this all by Himself but He used something that could be seen because we can’t see Him and He wanted faith.

Ex 15:24
24 And the people complained to Moses
This happened a lot!

After the miracles in Egypt and crossing the Red Sea on dry land while the Egyptians drowned the Israelites were happy but God still stayed invisible and the Israelites doubted things. Hmmm, that sounds just like people today.

Ex 14:13
13 Moses spoke to the people: "Don't be afraid. Stand firm and watch GOD do his work of salvation for you today.

NO ONE HAS EVER SAID “SALVATION”.

Ex 13:21-22
21 GOD went ahead of them in a Pillar of Cloud during the day to guide them on the way, and at night in a Pillar of Fire to give them light; thus they could travel both day and night. 22 The Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night never left the people.

Ex 11:2
Tell the people to ask, each man from his neighbor and each woman from her neighbor, for things made of silver and gold."
This was for a good reason! There would be no silver or gold in the wilderness!

Ex 8:26-27
26 Moses said, "That would not be wise. What we sacrifice to our GOD would give great offense to Egyptians. If we openly sacrifice what is so deeply offensive to Egyptians, they'll kill us. 27 Let us go three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to our GOD, just as he instructed us."

Our worship is offensive to people!

Ex 8:15
15 But when Pharaoh saw that he had some breathing room, he got stubborn again and wouldn't listen to Moses and Aaron. Just as GOD had said.

This is what people will do! They won’t be interested in God just themselves. This was an example.