"WOE!!!"

Today's devotion is a rather peculiar one because it begins with the word woe; a term of admonishment against a particular action or saying. Now, this may appear to go against the norm of a devotion, but devotions are written not only to inspire and encourage people with a message of hope for their particular situations, but devotions can also serve as warnings against doing evil and sinning against our holy God, which is what Road2TheCross is all about; keeping God's people on the narrow road that leads to righteousness. However, Isaiah writes something really powerful that is really prevalent in the 21st century, especially in the United States. He says in verse 20, "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," which is exactly what is happening in our society. Sin is no longer being called sin, but good, and that which is good according to scripture is now being called evil. And as you all know, evil is the absence of good, and yet the sin of homosexuality, the sin of transgenderism, the sin of alcoholism, the sin of self-centeredness, the sin of entertaining the flesh, and the sin of desecrating the temple of the human body are just a few examples of what's evil being called good. Unfortunately, what's really disturbing regarding today's generation is that it's duplicating the sin of our ancestors. Solomon said it best in Ecclesiastes 1:9, "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, Look! This is something new? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time." 

In other words, what we witness in the world today is nothing new under the sun. What Isaiah saw in his day was nothing new under the sun. And what Solomon saw during his time was nothing new under the sun. Sin and evil will continue to be called good, while good will be called evil. So, does that mean because sin is trending that the people of God should follow this trend? Absolutely not! That's the reason why Isaiah spoke out against it during his day and why Christian Way Ministries is speaking out against it in this generation; so that those who call themselves children of God can avoid the pitfalls of this generation! The scripture is very clear in what it calls good and what it calls evil. It says... WOE to those who call evil good, WOE to those who call good evil, WOE to those who put darkness for light and light for darkness, and WOE to those who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Furthermore, Isaiah also said throughout chapter six, WOE to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land. WOE to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night till they are inflamed with wine. WOE to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes. WOE to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. And WOE to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks (notice a second admonishment against drinking, hint, hint).

But it doesn't stop there, in Proverbs 6:16-17 "There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him; haughty (prideful) eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers." In addition to that, there are several abominations to the Lord found throughout the pages of the Bible. Even the Lord Jesus himself spoke against the religious leaders of his day with seven woes in Matthew 23, which are too deep to get into during this devotion. Essentially, anyone who goes against the "good" Word of God, WOE to him and WOE to her! Repent and be converted so that your sins may be wiped out according to Acts 3:19 or else, WOE unto you; for "if we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice of sins remains, but only a fearful expectation of judgement and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God (Hebrews 10:26)." But thank God for his Son Jesus Christ who conquered sin, who conquered temptation, and who conquered death, that whoever confesses their sins to Him, He is able, and faithful, and just to forgive us of our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 

Remember folks, Paul said it twice in 1 Corinthians 6:12 and 10:23, "Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial," and just because you have the free will and choice to do something, doesn't mean you should do it. If it goes against the Word of the living God, not only are you doing evil in His sight, not only can you expect to be judged for your sin, but you are a child of the devil. 1 John 3:8 says, "He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning since the beginning." The question that remains to be answered is who do you belong to, God or the devil? You can't serve both God and money! And you can't drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too! So, how long will you waver between two opinions? If you belong to God, study his word and show thyself approved, or else... Woe unto you!        

Let us pray,

Dear Heavenly Father, you are great and worthy to be praised! You are good and your word is Good. Allow your people to follow your word, to repent from their sins to you who is our High Priest, and to allow them to speak out against sin as your prophets, as your disciples, as your word, and as your Son Jesus Christ spoke out against sin. Grant Christian Way Ministries the boldness to also continue to speak out against sin in a generation that steadily calls sin good and good evil and allow Christian Way Ministries to preach forgiveness and truth out of love. We thank you that your grace and mercy endureth forever, and we are so grateful that you are patient and abounding in love, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come unto repentance. So, be with us on this day, continue to be patient with us, and grant us the ability to deny the flesh daily and pick up our cross and follow you and your word, in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior we pray,

Amen!