Joel 1:2 (NIV): Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors?
I embrace following Jesus. I embrace Biblical values. I am pro-life from conception to natural death. I am pro Biblical marriage between a biological man and a biological woman. I am pro religious freedom to have faith in God and to lovingly live out my values.
I have concerns about what is happening in our world. I am thoroughly convinced that after conception that there is another human life inside the woman’s womb, which was amazingly created to nurture a baby from conception to birth. I really don’t get the mantra of “my body, my choice.” From my perspective, regardless of how a baby started, that baby is an innocent and should be protected.
I strongly believe that we were created by God as male and female. God doesn’t make mistakes. Unfortunately, many people rebel against my Creator. They rebel to the point of declaring that God did not know what He was doing and that they are in the wrong body. They also rebel against the whole idea of Biblical marriage and being sexually pure before Biblical marriage.
With all of my concerns I can join the prophet Joel and ask “Has anything like this ever happened?”
Well… yes. Joel was a prophet in a time when people were in rebellion against God. Humans have been in rebellion against God since Adam and Eve led the way.
So I must ask, “What now?” What should I do? Should I rebel against our “woke” society? Should I lead the way to pronounce “judgement” on those who embrace abortion, homosexuality, transgenderism, and those who try to force me to support their lifestyles?
Certainly not. I started this Wednesday word with “I embrace following Jesus.” Jesus is not only my Savior and my Lord, He is my example. He loved others. He even asked God to forgive because they did not know what they were doing. That is self-sacrificial love. I can stand strong for my Biblical values. I must stand stronger with how I love others, with the love that Jesus has loved me.
Prayer: Lord God, You are a God of grace and justice. I embrace Your truth in how You created me. I also embrace following You while loving my neighbor, even my neighbors who have compromised how they follow You, or even those neighbors who actively rebel against you. May You use me to be salt and light to a world that seems to have gone crazy. May I be a model for all the people who are asking, “What Now?”
