Reversal

The Bible is clear when it says in Romans 3 that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God - all are without excuse; we are all in need of a Savior. But, Jesus came to reverse the curse by dying on a cross and rising from the dead. All are sinners - that's the reminder from Luke chapter 13:
1 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
2 And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?
3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?
5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

The world is steeped in sinfulness descends from selfishness.  But, Jesus came to bring us new life, dying on the cross as the substitute for our sins.  He has come to give us a new heart and eternal and abundant life.  Just as He reversed the practices of idolatry and greed in the Temple during Holy Week, He calls to us to repent - to admit our need for Him and to allow Him to assume His rightful place in our hearts by confessing He is Lord believing in our hearts that God raised Him up. He wants to make His home in our hearts today.

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We have heard of the Great Reset, which represent an upheaval of the way the world operates economically and politically, concentrating power in the hands of the few.

There's also the Great Resignation, in which employees are leaving the workforce for a variety of reasons, which has followed in the aftermath of the peak of the pandemic.

I would propose that are seeing a Great Reversal, in which, as Isaiah 5 says, good is being called evil and evil is being described as good. The Bible states:
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!
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!

We need the reversal led by the Holy Spirit, in line with our resurrected Savior, who came to set things right. In Matthew 21, we can read:
11 So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."
12 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.
13 And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.' "
14 Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.
15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant
16 and said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes. Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?"

The people in the Temple in those days had begun to practice evil in a place that is good.  They had corrupted the Temple by their greed and selfishness. Jesus had other ideas - he wanted to make things right, He came to bring restoration, consistent with His nature. 

I saw an article recently that included the headline, "It's Table-Flipping Time."  The author, Jerry Wilson, who hosts The Cephas Hour podcast and is a devotee of contemporary Christian music, after presenting a brief appraisal of the online material, stated in an article on RedState.com:

Life is even more fragile than the online world. We must remember this, not with frantic paranoia and frenzied action minus thought and substance, but with educated urgency. We who believe are commanded to evangelize, thereby embodying the love for others God evidenced for us by sending His Son to die on the cross in our place so we may have eternal fellowship with Him once our race on this dusty orb ends.

He writes, "Whether we are the young lions, mature ones gathering in fall, or making our way through winter, we need to reclaim our birthright in Christ. We alone are the true lions, following the Lion of Judah. Let’s live like it."

Isn't that the truth?  Through our words, inspired by Scripture, and our actions, guided by the Holy Spirit, we can upend the way things have come to be.  We don't engage in doing physical harm to others, certainly - but we can be mindful to access and use our spiritual power.

Because, here's an example of what we're up against.  The Western Journal reports:

A new bill being proposed in Minnesota that would compile alleged “incidents of bias” even if they don’t break any laws is being panned by critics who say that the state is on the road to creating a “thoughtcime” [sic] database.

The bill would set up a system for authorities in the far-left state to report people to authorities who are accused of saying or doing something that constitutes a “slur” against another person or protected group. The reports would be amassed in a database to be maintained by the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Fox News reported.

In an overt threat to free speech, the bill, House File 181, would require the state to keep records identifying the person accused of saying something offensive as well as the identity of the victim “relevant to that bias.”

Of course, who determines what type of speech violates the code? The article says: "Rep. Walter Hudson told Fox News Digital the whole thing is 'insidious' and a violation of free speech, religious freedoms, and political discourse. That article states that the proposed legislation, according to Hudson, "is so broad that it could easily make religious expression a crime."

A lady in the U.K. has experienced not one, but two arrests for "thought crimes." FoxNews.com reports:

A pro-life activist was arrested for the second time Tuesday for the "offense" of silently praying in her head near an abortion facility in a so-called censorship or "buffer zone" in Birmingham, England.

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce's arrest comes only weeks after the court cleared her of criminal charges for breaking a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) which enforces a censorship zone around the abortion facility, according to an Alliance Defending Freedom UK press release.

The article relates Vaughan-Spruce's account of the exchange between her and the arresting officer:

"I'm not protesting, I'm not engaging in any of the activities prohibited," Vaughn-Spruce told officers during her second encounter when they asked her to step outside the exclusion zone.

"But you said you are engaging in prayer, which is the offense," the officer responded.

"Silent prayer," she responded.

"No, but you were still engaging in prayer," he said. "It is an offense..."

People are calling evil good and good evil.  We have to counter this Great Reversal with a "return" to God's ways. After all, Jesus implemented a reversal of His own.  He reversed the curse of sin and death and replaced it with eternal life and what Scripture calls a "living hope."  The world's version of hope is temporary and fragile; Christ's version is lasting and strong. 

There was evil in the Temple - there was inappropriate behavior taking place.  Jesus turned over the tables, reminding us of His ability to overturn sinful ideas and actions that have come into our churches.  The things we tolerate in our own sinfulness and selfishness.  Jesus wants to cleanse us personally and He wants to transform the Church into a powerful organism that touches and transforms the world - a shining example of the presence of the Lord!