Leviticus 19:26-28

Lev 19:26 “You will not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You will not interpret omens or tell fortunes.
Lev 19:27 You will not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard.
Lev 19:28 You will not make any soul cuts on your skin or tattoo yourselves: I am Yahveh.

culture clashers

The people groups in and around Canaan would do all these things. That meant that the Israelites would have drawn attention to themselves by not doing them. The LORD wanted them to be culture clashers, people who dared to be different — to stand out from the crowd.  This generation — even in the church — we are so busy trying to fit into our culture that we do not even understand the reason for these kinds of instruction.  The world needs to see that the God of the Bible is different. But we have swallowed the lie that in order to have peace we need to affirm everyone’s beliefs and everyone’s practises. As a result, we have ceased to stand out. We are blending in.

LORD, give your church the courage to clash with the cultures you have placed her in, and called her out of.