"Is It Straight, Father?"

"Listen to the noise among the kingdoms,

the sound of the nations gathering together.

The Lord All-Powerful is calling

his army together for battle."

Isaiah 13:4

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SITUATION Isaiah reminded Israel not to make alliances with pagan nations. If the people sought God, his strength would be adequate to protect them. God promised to punish each neighboring country for its arrogance, rebellion, and immorality.

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OBSERVATION God expects his people as a group to stand up for truth.

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INSPIRATION It was May Day, 1990. The place, Moscow's Red Square.

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"Is it straight, Father?" one Orthodox priest asked another, shifting the heavy eight foot cross on his shoulder.

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"Yes," said the other. "It is straight."

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Together they two priests along with a group of parishioners holding ropes that steadied the beams of the huge cross, walked the parade route. Before them had passed the official might of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; the usual May Day procession of tanks, missiles, troops, and salutes to the Communist party elite.

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Behind the tanks surged a giant crowd of protesters, shouting up at Mikhail Gorbachev, "Bread!....Freedom!...Truth!"

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As the throng passed directly in front of the Soviet leader standing in his place of honor, the priests hoisted their heavy burden toward the sky. The cross emerged from the crowd. As it did, the figure of Jesus Christ obscured the giant poster faces of Karl Mark, Friedrich Engels, and Viadimir Lenin that provided the backdrop for Gorbachev's reviewing stand.

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"Mikhail Sergeyevich!" one of the priests shouted, his deep voice cleaving the clamor of the protesters and piercing straight toward the angry Soviet leader. "Mikhail Sergeyevich! Christ is risen!"

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In a matter of months after that final May Day celebration, the Soviet Union was officially dissolved. Christ is risen indeed and is building his church,"...and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (From The Body by Charles Colson)

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APPLICATION Do you know how your representatives in Congress have voted on moral issues? Do their votes align with God's desires? Write your representatives in Congress. Ask their position on specific issues. Write them your support or concerns. Next election, know the position of all the candidates.

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EXPLORATION Nations --Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 18:9-13; Isaiah 14:1-2.

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The Devotional Bible - Experiencing the Heart of Jesus, Max Lucado General Editor; New Century Version, Thomas Nelson Bibles