Day 209/365- Isaiah 59:14-15

"Culture Shock"

Our courts oppose the righteous,
and justice is nowhere to be found.
Truth stumbles in the streets,
and honesty has been outlawed.
Yes, truth is gone,
and anyone who renounces evil is attacked.
The Lord looked and was displeased
to find there was no justice. (Isaiah 59:14, 15 NLT)

Here is another passage that reflects our times. Courts oppress the righteous, justice can't be found, truth & honesty are outlaws, & anyone who renounces evil is attacked.

There has been a lot of talk about Chick-fil-a this week. Many people being critical of them & their beliefs, as well as their business practices. Many have chosen to support them & stand with them in their efforts. Here the president of a company affirms the family & is accused of opposing alternative lifestyles. And I think this is a prime example of Isaiah 59:15. "Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked."

These days, it seems you don't even have to renounce anything as much as just affirm something that others disagree with to be attacked.

What's comforting (and terribly sad at the same time) to me about this is that it's nothing new. Those who don't know God throughout the history of mankind have always acted this way & they always will act this way. We shouldn't be surprised when our non-Christian culture acts in non-Christian ways. It is grieving to our hearts but it is certainly not anything new.

The decay of Christian values in our country & culture over the years is hard to imagine. What was once done in the dark is now done in the light. Church was the center of communities & now many churches seem to oppose their communities & vice versa.

And while we may not be able to stop the moral decline around us, we must hone in on what we can do & not focus on what we can't.

We can be light to dark.

We can refuse to curse the darkness & light it up instead. We can realize that people without Jesus will act like people without Jesus & we must act like people who have Jesus, because we do! It's not on our culture to be like Jesus, it's on us.

It's our responsibility to live out & embrace the truth that the world denies & attacks. We must be willing to be attacked in our stance on the word of God. We must be truthful & tactful as we attempt to love people to Jesus. Because our world cannot change without him.