Archived Devotion
Thursday // November 5 // 2009
The Bible describes a time in Israel's history when "everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6). But I also think that is a good description of our time. Rather than living by a set of absolute standards like the Ten Commandments, many people are making up their own standards and using a sliding scale for morality, thinking they are at least better than the next person.
It reminds me of the prophet Isaiah's warning, "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!" (Isaiah 5:20). That is where our culture is today. We mock what is good and pure, and we celebrate what is wicked and sinful. Good is called evil and evil is called good in our upside-down world.
That is why I think our generation could easily be called the iGeneration, because we think it is all about us. It is all about our getting what we want, when we want to get it. Now that we can get our information on demand, we don't want to be told what we can see or hear—or let others decide when we can hear and see it. We want what we want, and we want it when we want it. And many are taking the same approach to morality.
So how do we reach a culture like this? Answer: we reach it the same way Christians reached their culture 100 years ago and 300 years ago and 500 years ago and 2,000 years ago. We reach our culture with the authority and the message of God's Word, because that never changes, no matter what. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).
It reminds me of the prophet Isaiah's warning, "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!" (Isaiah 5:20). That is where our culture is today. We mock what is good and pure, and we celebrate what is wicked and sinful. Good is called evil and evil is called good in our upside-down world.
That is why I think our generation could easily be called the iGeneration, because we think it is all about us. It is all about our getting what we want, when we want to get it. Now that we can get our information on demand, we don't want to be told what we can see or hear—or let others decide when we can hear and see it. We want what we want, and we want it when we want it. And many are taking the same approach to morality.
So how do we reach a culture like this? Answer: we reach it the same way Christians reached their culture 100 years ago and 300 years ago and 500 years ago and 2,000 years ago. We reach our culture with the authority and the message of God's Word, because that never changes, no matter what. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).
Copyright © 2009 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000
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In Luke 17, Jesus told a parable about servants who were given a task to fulfill. At the end of the story, Jesus said, "And . . .
Keep Running! // Wednesday // November 18
When people say they enjoy running, it makes no sense to me. I don't enjoy any kind of exercise, but I do it—reluctantly and under . . .
In It to Win It // Tuesday // November 17
The analogy of running was one the apostle Paul favored in his writings. He often compared the believer to a runner in a race. For . . .
Make Today Count // Monday // November 16
Back in the 1950s and 60s, there was a lot of talk about the future. There seemed to be a utopian dream here in America . . .