New Beginnings

“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.
Isaiah 1:16-17

The above verse is good for starting the New Year and making and keeping resolutions. How often have you made a dieting resolution or a resolution to exercise more? We always seem to want to improve our physical appearance, but what about those things that only God can see?

In today's passage, Isaiah addressed the wickedness of Judah and Jerusalem. They had rebelled against God, forsaken Him and provoked Him to anger. How? It would seem in these passages, they were going through the motions because it was what God had commanded them to do. But inwardly, they resisted God (Ex 23:15; Dt 16:16). Their offerings had lost their true purpose and had become empty and meaningless. Basically, they went through the motions of worship, and God saw right through them. So much so that their festivals and sacrifices, even their incense, were an abomination to Him (Isaiah 1:13). God wanted their hearts and motives to be pure (Psalm 51:17). 

January 6th marks the first anniversary of the attack on the Capitol. Many there on that infamous day claimed to be Christians. With COVID, many more destructive thoughts and influences have been growing in the community of Christ. Unruliness, anger, disobedience, and false information (spread by groups like QANON and yes even Fox News)  seem prevalent. Even politics in the pulpit have taken away what should only be pure devotion to God.

On top of that, false doctrines have steadily seeped in and increased in the church body, creating confusion and dividing the church. Anger has become the prevailing emotion in the body of Christ. God is no longer revered, and He sees it and knows it.

"From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it" (Isaiah 1:6).

So what can we do? Privately we can do as the verse above suggests. Wash ourselves clean and put away evil. Corporately, I believe it is time for an international day of mourning within the church body. To return to God with pure devotion. We need to stop divisive talk. We need to bar discussion of politics from the pulpit. If we can't discuss politics or even COVID without getting angry then we need to keep it out of our conversations with each other as well. Everyone has an opinion and in this day and age everyone seems free to share it. But as Christians, that might not be the loving thing to do.

I understand not all churches have lost their way, but collectively we are accountable to one another. And so it is time for the church to begin making amends to the damage it has done in Jesus' name. A new year means a new beginning. Let's start it off right and return to God with pure hearts and faithful devotion to Him.