Wednesday, June 24, 2015

INDICATORS OF WICKED LIVING (PART 8)



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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“But you—come here, you children of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!”

“Who are you mocking? At whom do you sneer and stick out your tongue?”

Isaiah 57:3-4a

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today marks the eight devotion in this series on indicators of wicked living, drawn from the concluding verses of Isaiah 56 and the opening verses of Isaiah 57. Here we have found God providing us behaviors and attitudes we should avoid as we live this thing called life because they drag us into sin and away from the righteousness He expects. To review, here are the indicators we have covered so far:

1. Lacking God’s vision, knowledge, and understanding.
2. Complacency, lethargy, and laziness.
3. Never being satisfied with what God has provided.
4. Seeking to go one’s own way separate from the Lord.
5. Never being satisfied with what God has provided.
6. Choosing to abuse substances.
7. Looking to the world to try and make life better.

All of them have one thing in common. They all involve actions and mindsets that are separate from the Lord, the very Lord that so many people choose to mock today.

That’s our eighth indicator.

So how do people make a mockery of the Lord?

It should be painfully evident today as there has been a consistent effort afoot to degrade and erode Christian belief systems around the world even the United States which had espoused to be one nation under God at one point. They even boldly proclaimed it on their currency.

But what do we see today?

Removal of prayers in schools and other public places. Government striving hard to ensure other religions have freedom while removing the freedoms that Christian believers have, even denigrating the belief system publicly. Open persecution of Christians worldwide, sometimes by murder, and no movement by world governments to stop it. Drives to eliminate any symbolic references to God or His word like removing crosses or depictions of the Ten Commandments from public display.

And I haven’t even begun to mention the absolutely incessant ambition to drag the world into moral turpitude and, and in doing so, spiritual bankruptcy. What is depicted as sinful and wicked in the Bible is celebrated and embraced by the world today. We are in indeed sad times and as we will see, it’s just a modern day continuation of Old Testament antics. Look at our verses for today:

“But you—come here, you children of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!”

“Who are you mocking? At whom do you sneer and stick out your tongue?” 
Isaiah 57:3-4a

Here the prophet Isaiah is rebuking the people who are opting for iniquity over living in obedience to God, the false worshippers who followed sorcery, the sexually immoral adulterers and prostitutes.

These people willingly chose to make a mockery of God through their actions. Although well steeped in the law God had handed down, these people chose their own ways and desires over His, a choice that would not go unpunished.

Back to present day. Can you see that once again, as we have seen in so many other instances, we are repeating the mistakes of the past, oblivious to the peril that brings from a God who will not stand to be mocked or disrespected, a God who has sent judgment before and will do so again and again and again until we start to get a clue and honor Him as He deserves?

This indicator of wicked living is all around us and it’s time we wake up before it’s too late.

For the scriptures are clear that a day is coming when this world as we know it is going to perish and all those who refuse to place their belief, faith, and trust in Jesus will perish along with it (Revelation 21).

I urge you today to not perish but ensure you will have eternal life (John 3:16). Honor God today by surrendering yourself to Him and His only Son who He gave to die for you and your sins.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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