Posted on

2024 PERSERVERENCE

Your practical, inspirational resource

for supporting your spiritual walk.

 

Our theme for 2024 is Perseverance and we will focus on how we sustain in the midst of what’s to come this year.

Bitter partisan divides have deepened over the past few years and the rhetoric has become extremely dangerous. While it may be difficult to remain calm while reading the daily paper or watching the TV news; don’t be distracted or deceived. If we stay within God’s will for our lives everything will work out for our good.

Gods Will is in our best interest. We can be sure that the best way to seek our own self-centered interests is to be entirely God-centered. In this paradox, godliness and the self-life meet. Or, as Jesus said, “Whoever loses his life will preserve it” (Lk 17:33). 

For 2024, let’s avoid the political noise and negative discourse that is kicking into full gear. As children of light we must PERSEVERE this year because we are more than conquers. 

 

Check out our past E-Newsletters

 

 

Subscribe to our bi-monthly newsletter -  The Journey!!!

By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

 

 

Posted on

All Things Are Possible To You

 

 

“But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit”
1 Corinthians 6:17

 

No one argues with the Scripture which says, “. . . with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26). Yet the same New Testament also says, “. . .  all things are possible to him that believeth” (Mark 9:23).

 

Are these Scriptures equally true? Could one be a statement of fact and the other a misconception? A falsehood? No! Both statements are fact.

 

All things are possible to him that believeth. It helps me as I drive down the road to say that. Whatever this year holds, I know You hold me. Nothing is impossible for You! It helps me when I face a seemingly impossible situation to say aloud, “All things are possible to him that believeth. And I believe.”

 

Posted on

You Are A Child of God

 

No truth in all the Bible is as far reaching as the blessed fact that when we are born again into the family of God – God the Father is our Father. He cares for us! He is interested in us, each of us individually, not just as a group, or as a body, or a church. He is interested in each of His children and loves each one of us with the same love.

 

Get acquainted with your Father through the Word. When you were saved, you were born into His family as a spiritual body. Babies in the natural must eat natural food to develop and grow. The Bible instructs the children of God: “As newborn babies, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby . . . “ (1 Peter 2:2).

 

It is in the Word where we find out about our Father, about His love, His nature, how He cares for us, and how He loves us. He is everything the Word says He is. He will do everything the Word says He will do.
Posted on

No Hashtags or Slogans . . .

 

 

In the Bible God told us how to represent Him. And how we demonstrate who He is to a watching world. Yet, the deaths and devastation caused by the pandemic has not softened the hearts of some. The cultural clashes across the country have not softened the hearts of others. The stain on the Church for its divisive actions has not softened hearts.

We know only God can change a heart so let me ask you – Why is it that some hearts have been changed and others remain hardened? The theologian Charles Spurgeon said, “the same sun that melts the wax, hardens the clay.”

We don’t get a pass that lets us abdicate our responsibility for a changed heart. God gives us free will to respond or not. Let’s not be a prisoner of the political drama in the Statehouses and the Capital. We should refuse to let these events limit the importance of Biblical relationships.

It’s important to understand that the nature of Biblical relationships is not arbitrary.  God has designed them to work in a certain way, and humans only flourish when we experience relationships the way God intended.

Our friends and associates can have a profound influence on us, often in very subtle ways. If we insist on friendships with those who mock what God considers important, we might sin by becoming indifferent to God’s will. This attitude is the same as ridiculing God.

Happy are those who don’t listen to the wicked,
who don’t go where sinners go,
who don’t do what evil people do.
They love the LORD’s teachings,
and they think about those teachings day and night.
They are strong, like a tree planted by a river.
The tree produces fruit in season,
and its leaves don’t die.
Everything they do will succeed.
But wicked people are not like that.
They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
So the wicked will not escape God’s punishment.
Sinners will not worship with God’s people.
This is because the LORD takes care of his people,
but the wicked will be destroyed. Psalms 1:1-6

Psalms extolls the joys of obeying God and refusing to listen to those who discredit or ridicule Him. We must have contact with unbelievers if we are to witness to them, but we must not join in or imitate their sinful behavior. Neither are we to join in or imitate believers who exhibit sinful behavior. The more we allow those who ridicule God to affect our thoughts and attitudes, the more we separate ourselves from our source of nourishment. God is ridiculed through patterns of behavior that are contrary to God’s Word.

When Scripture says, “In all they do, they prosper,” it does not mean immunity to failure or difficulties. Nor is it a guarantee of health, wealth, and happiness. What the Bible means by prosperity is this: When we apply God’s wisdom, the fruit (results or by-products) we bear will be good and receive God’s approval. Just as a tree soaks up water and bears luscious fruit, we also are to soak up God’s Word, producing actions and attitudes that honor God. To achieve anything worthwhile, we must have God’s Word in our hearts.

“Chaff” is the outer shell (or husk) that must be removed to get at the valuable kernels of grain inside. After the plants were cut, they were crushed, and then the pieces were thrown into the air. Chaff is very light and is carried away by even the slightest wind, while the good grain falls back to the earth. Chaff is a symbol of a faithless life that drifts along without direction or giving in to the self-interest that is not of God. Good grain is a symbol of a faithful life that God can use. Unlike grain, however, we can choose the path we will take.

We are driven by what our hearts love most. Hence, the way to a person’s heart is to capture their imaginations (minds), move their emotions (affections), and challenge their actions (wills). While we can play a role in shaping people’s hearts, ultimately, such transformation requires the miraculous work of a sovereign God. And the acceptance by that person.

Sadly, sometimes churches or denominations distinguish too sharply between these features, pitting them against one another in problematic ways. For example, one church values the mind, while another highlights the power of emotions, one community concentrates on stimulating the will to action, another emphasizes emotional self-control. One denomination emphasizes material prosperity, while the other acts as though only souls matter. But we should never pretend that only one aspect of the human person is important. On the contrary, the Bible assumes that all aspects of the human being are essential and deeply integrated, and so should we.

The heart is at the center of personhood and drives behaviors. Your heart drives your response to others and is at the center of God’s commandment:

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your might.
Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart” Deuteronomy 6:5-6 (NRSV)

Do you create a narrative about people that belittles them so that you don’t feel obligated to help them? Do you create a story in which your possessions indicate your moral superiority when, in fact, both their story and yours are far more complicated?

What will be key to both is love. And central to this love is discovering the biblical truth that God first loved us, well before we loved Him or deserved His love.

Jesus taught that loving God with all of ourselves is the first and greatest commandment (Mt 22:37-39). This command, combined with the command to love your neighbor (Lev 19:18), encompasses all the other Old Testament laws.

Intimacy in Christ is the relational design to reveal the fullness of His heart in you. Happiness, comfort, prosperity, freewill individualism – these counterfeit forms of intimacy are confusing us to the truth of God’s design. We are called to drop our nets, die daily, take up our cross, crucify our fleshly desires and imitate Jesus’ love.

Is this a place where God is knocking on the door of some closed place in your heart?

Posted on

We Can’t Heal, If We Can’t Hear

Uncertainty abounds all over the global village, from the Israel-Palestinian conflict to the Russian autocratic policies across Europe, to the economic wrestling with China, to the hijacking in Belorussia, to the struggling survival of the Sudan. We are confronted every day with tremendous uncertainty.

 

But it is not just distant uncertainty; it is the uncertainty that has captured our land. Geographic uncertainty as rural areas are feeling neglected, disrespected, and misunderstood. The death, isolation, and job challenges caused by the pandemic. A spike in mass shootings across the country. Unruly behavior from biting on airplanes, to spitting, throwing water bottles and popcorn at NBA Playoff games to storming PGA golf fairways. Challenges to our democracy and electoral processes. Calls from a former Presidential Advisor for a military coup. Increased institutional warfare leading to an “all in on outrage” as a strategy in Congress.

 

Uncertainty that has transformed how we view people. Increased racial tension with a spike in antisemitic incidents across the country and growing Asian hate crimes. Increased police scrutiny relative to violence against people of color. An uprising of political actions to hide the violent history against Native Americans and Blacks. Dehumanization makes it easier to see people as a “temptation”; someone to eliminate or consider as not worthy of equal rights or privileges.

 

We are subject to painful reflections about the hateful, subconscious beliefs with which some continue to drape our existence. To make it worse, as Jeremiah said in Chapter 12, “we have planted and haven’t seen a harvest.” We’ve been planting since 1619. Through the various military exploits of this nation, we’ve been planting. Through the transforming revolts of each era, we’ve been planting. Through the modification of constitutional legislation and amendments, we’ve been planting. Through marches and protests, we’ve been planting. Yet, we are still not saved.

 

And in our individual lives, we all have our own stories of struggle. How are you going to meet your financial challenges? How are you going to respond to the doctor’s diagnosis about you or a family member? Feelings of uncertainty about your job or job opportunities. Will you be able to avoid the foreclosure pending on your house? Or even the foreclosure already in process; will you be able to redirect it. And when the foreclosure evicts you, where will you live. How will you make your way? We are in some difficult times.

 

What will become of this nation as two sharply contrasting visions clash on the political horizon. The topography of their outcomes will set the direction for this nation. I asked myself, what should the Churches response be? It became apparent to me our response does not need to be complicated. Some people are looking for some theological mystery to be unraveled. As the songwriter says, “Gotta keep it real simple, get right back to ground zero. When it all comes down to this: Love God and love people.” Another songwriter adds, “What if we came down from our towers and walked a mile in someone else’s shoes. If the church wants to see a change in the world out there, it’s got to start right here.”

 

In the words of the honorable Bishop Arthur M. Brazier, “We can’t just be satisfied functioning within the physical and philosophical walls of the church building.  We have to apply Christian principles to the solutions of the great social problems of our time. Our faith calls us to see civic and political responsibilities through the eyes of faith and to bring our moral convictions to public life.  As believers we are called to be a community of conscience within the larger society and to test public life by the values of scripture.”

 

The church should serve as a moral conscience to society and should seek to respond to our social, economic and political as well as spiritual needs. Faith and Justice need to become as one flesh in service of God and social transformation. Our individual activities in this regard, can be a calling only if it is viewed as a mission of service to something beyond merely our own interest.  I believe we are to articulate and live out these views in ways that are theologically faithful, exegetically careful and personally sustainable.

 

Pastor Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Life opens with, “It’s not about you. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment.” Too often decisions are based on self-interest and justified by that belief.

 

But, as with most subjects in the 21st-century U.S., opinion soon polarizes along partisan lines. This country is becoming devoid of places where differences are valued. Even in our churches, the ideological divide has become more locational than denominational as people are more likely to live and worship among people who share their worldviews and to spend free time with them. The ability to hear each other is muted by the echo chambers of political and racial speak.

 

 

When did hate become so ordinary in the church? Love, empathy, forgiveness, mercy, and compassion is disappearing. We begin to grasp divisive rhetoric and use labels as shortcuts to conversational hearing. Labeling closes minds to hearing or learning. It ignores the nuances and details of situations, then creates misinformation.

 

Some are raising objections to any attempt to “fill in the blanks” of American history. Any conversation that challenges an interpretation of America’s national identity neglects the trauma inflicted in creating that identity. National identity is divided along critical axis of class, faith, or race. Creating the foundation of the threefold objection – one, that this country belongs to a unique set of people. Two, the church supported slavery’s legacy. And three, slavery’s legacy still shapes American life today—an argument that is less radical than it may appear at first glance:

 

  • The QAnon theory is more popular today among evangelicals than people of other religions, according to a study by the conservative American Enterprise Institute.
  • States are implementing educational laws that teaching history in schools “may not define American history as something other than the creation of a new nation based largely on universal principles stated in the Declaration of Independence.”
  • The Texas Governor is threatening to withhold lawmakers pay if they don’t come back into session and vote for the Restrictive Voting Bill.
  • “We birthed a nation from nothing. There was nothing here in America before white colonizers arrived, and Native people haven’t contributed much to American culture.”
  • Backlash on the 1619 Project, which outlines the theft of labor and land, because it centers its voice on the history of Black people instead of telling a story of a glorious longstanding idea of the past – men who founded a country then built it into a Christian nation.
  • Thirty per cent of Republicans endorsed the idea that the country is so far “off track that American patriot’s may have to resort to violence” against their political opponents.
  • Senator Ron Johnson has sent letters to acting U.S. Capitol Police chief casting doubt that Officer Brian Sicknick’s death was related to the attack on the Capitol.
  • Pastor’s teaching Critical Race Theory as anti-biblical because it addresses the effect of racial bias and erosion of advances made by Blacks in the ’90s instead of only assigning individual responsibility to their outcomes.
  • The Black body is always guilty of something; therefore, whatever the police do to them is self-caused and justified.
  • Blue Lives Matter, except when conservatives attack them.
  • The Black Lives Matter Movement is a Marxist hate group and not a quest for equality, justice and humanity.
  • Biden’s presidency is illegitimate because the votes from people of color, who voted in record numbers, should not be counted.
  • Asians in America were responsible for COVID and the attacks on them are understood.
  • Native Americans were savages and their extermination by the cowboys was heroic.
  • The January 6 insurrection was a “tour of people” who are, understandably, not happy with the country’s direction.
  • Christianity and America is God’s gift to White people.

 

So many people live in a state of misinformation. What they are invested in banning is simply a complete and accurate accounting of American history! Claiming all discussions reflect “a displacement of historical understanding by ideology.” How do you heal the nation if facts are distorted and no one is listening to each other?

 

“The only problem that can’t be solved 
is the one we pretend doesn’t exist.”

 

We can’t depend on the political landscape to heal our nation.  And let’s avoid any false moral equivalency between the two parties. Historically, one side defining good for its purposes and assigning evil to the opposition has led to further social violence. Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) shouldn’t have engaged in antisemitic rhetoric. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) shouldn’t have urged anti-racism protesters to be “more confrontational.” As reported by the Washington Post, Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a star of the right, was observed accosting Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) as she was exiting the House chamber. Taylor later made negative comments connecting mask, Jews, and the Holocaust.

 

And yet Greene isn’t really that much of an outlier in the House Republican caucus alongside the likes of Reps. Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Louie Gohmert (Tex.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), and other Freedom Caucus members who want a White’s only party.

 

“As believers we are called to be a community of conscience within the larger society and to test public life by the values of scripture.”

 

Posted on

Almost There, But Not Quite Yet – Part 2

In a culture filled with chaos and confusion, faithful and committed Christian communication is needed more than ever. Disruption is the new normal and the Church is called to lead on demonstrating to a watching world “unity in Christ.”

 

Unfortunately, politics, racism, and religion have replaced the Word of God in guiding some people’s beliefs, habits, attitudes, and actions. Thoughts, feelings and emotions that are believed to be at odds with ones integrity can cause people to lash out at others. Even if that integrity has been built on a false narrative. But even though “the flowers fade, and the grass will wither, the Word of God lasts forever.”

 

Most of us remain trapped in the narrow framework of the dominant liberal and conservative views of race in America, which with its worn-out vocabulary leaves us intellectually debilitated, morally disempowered, and personally depressed.

 

The Barna Group validated what we presented in Part 1. Their research uncovered, what every person of color already knew – “Church’s efforts toward unity in recent decades seem to be insufficient in helping to understand or rectify the challenges experienced by worshippers of color, especially Black individuals, for whom issues of race in the U.S. are front and center.”

 

“Our truncated public discussions of race fail to confront the complexity of the issue candidly and critically. The predictable pitting of liberals against conservatives, Great Society Democrats against self-help Republicans, reinforces intellectual parochialism and political paralysis.

 

We confine discussion about race in America to the ‘problems’ Black people pose Whites rather than consider what this way of viewing Black people reveals about us as a nation.

 

This paralyzing framework encourages liberals to relieve their guilty consciences by supporting public funds directed at ‘the problems’; but at the same time, reluctant to exercise principled criticism of Black people, liberals deny them the freedom to err. Similarly, conservatives blame the ‘problems’ on Black people themselves and thereby render Black society misery invisible or unworthy of public attention.

 

Hence, for liberals, Black people are to be ‘included’ and ‘integrated’ into ‘our’ society and culture, while for conservatives, they are to be ‘well behaved’ and ‘worthy of acceptance’ by ‘our’ way of life. Both fail to see that the presence and predicaments of Black people are neither additions to nor defections from American life, but rather constitutive elements of that life.” This description provided by Princeton Professor Cornell West highlights the need for a new conversation. A non-political and biblical conversation that emphasizes that we must always prefer people over any pleasures that might bring us joy.
These conversations must be grounded in equity. Not equity from the Republican perspective of identity politics or the Democratic perspective of diversity, but from the Kingdom party perspective of the Imago Dei. The Bible teaches about the value of work and the value of equal opportunity. The most productive and progressive society is one in which every member has full and unencumbered access.

 

Equity is not a program or initiative; it is a belief, a habit of mind. As I have stated many times: What you believe about someone determines how you label them. Those labels dictate how you (and others) choose to engage or disengage with them. Achieving true equity must be a moral imperative, and it serves as a central and essential component of any attempt to achieve the unity Jesus speaks of in the Bible.

 

Equity is not a guarantee that everyone will succeed. Instead, it assures that everyone will have the opportunity and support necessary to succeed. In an equitable system, the barriers that inhibit progress are removed.

 

From the balcony, solutions exist, and we are almost there, but not yet.
As believers, we are actively taking part in the kingdom of God, although the kingdom will not reach its full expression until sometime in the future. Jesus’ parables of the kingdom picture it as yeast in dough. In other words, the kingdom is slowly working toward ultimate fulfillment. It is not sporadically “breaking through” to bring us comfort in this world. Therefore, our efforts will need to be continuous and not a point-in-time solution.

 

It starts with forming or enhancing relationships with outgroup members; not pushing away from them.

 

“Forming relationships with outgroup members can have
myriad individual benefits, helping individuals widen their social circles, feel less stress and anxiety in intergroup contexts, and reduce their prejudices. But to benefit from the consequences of outgroup relationships, individuals must first build them.”

 

The believer is in a lifelong struggle with the flesh (Romans 8:13). Likewise, the church is a fellowship of persons who are both new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and still imperfect sinners. As we await our glorification and the destruction of our sinful natures, we must continue our process of sanctification, the daily process of growing into the very image of Christ. We accomplish this by “exercise yourself to godliness” (1Tim 4:7) – demonstrating love one to another, activating the fruits of the spirit, engaging in conversations and actions to unify, and being God’s witness here on earth for the world to see a better way. In effect, you’re saying to Him, Father, don’t let me waste this difficult time the country faces. Use it for my long-term benefit and to enhance Your glory through my life.

 

In the meantime, stay prayerful, God is up to something. We’re almost there, but not quite yet . . .
Posted on

The Black Church Is A Spiritual Virtue

 

 

“Back then, Black churches were a small piece of peace.
Church was a world where, even with its imperfections,
the offer of equality and common humanity was the sustenance needed to make it through the rest of the week
in a society that deemed them less than human.”

 

Today you will read the “heart cry” of Dante Stewart that encapsulates the hurt, pain, and disappointment of many. As you read this, prayerfully consider how we bring unity to the body of Christ.
Guest Author: Dante Stewart
I can remember when it first happened — when my dungeon shook and my chains fell off. I had recently gone through a horrible experience and felt there was nowhere to turn, no one who could give voice to my ache, my pain, and my rage.

 

I feared that many wouldn’t understand.

 

At the time, I was immersed in White evangelical church life. I had been the one selected to lead a group through John Piper’s Bloodlines because the church wanted to be more “diverse.” I was probably the first black person to preach there.

 

That usually came with a badge of honor — the “first” usually means you’re breaking barriers (or so I thought). Then Trump happened. Then the shootings of unarmed black people. Then … the white responses in the church I was in.

 

I was confused.

 

“How could they be around me and my wife and say this about black people?”
“How did they not know us?”
“How could they believe this?”
“Why aren’t we speaking about this?”

 

Confusion compounded by the employer who used my abstention from the National Anthem as an opportunity to lecture me on NFL protests and oppression.

 

Confusion compounded by the colleagues who said, “there’s no need for Black History Month,” and another, “there’s no such thing as black theology.”

 

Confusion compounded by another colleague who reported me for inappropriate touching after I side-hugged her while bidding her a good weekend. Maybe at that moment I forgot all the lessons my mom taught me about being careful around white women. Did she know that they see her as innocent and me as a danger? Maybe she believed the lie that Amy Cooper believed: that her whiteness is a weapon to keep a “n— in his place.”

 

And then my confusion turned to rage as the comments continued.

 

“You are losing the gospel.” 
“I’m not racist.” 
“You’re a social justice warrior.” 
“I have black friends.” 
“All lives matter.”
“Black men need to stop killing black men.”
“It’s a sin problem, not a skin problem.” 
“Jesus came to change hearts not societies.” 

 

Black rage in an anti-black world is a spiritual virtue. Rage shakes us out of our illusion that the world as it is, is what God wants. Rage forces us to deal with the gross system of inequality, exploitation, and disrespect. Rage is the public cry for black dignity. It becomes the public expression of a theological truth that black lives matter to God.

 

Rage is the work of love that stands against an unloving world. Rage is the good news that though your society forgets you and works against you, there is Someone who loves you and believes you are worth fighting for.
⠀

 

If you’re more concerned about the responses of black rage than you are about a system that justifies and rewards black death, you don’t love black people — you just love when they stay in their place. And that’s not love, that’s hate.

 

So, I wept — I wept because I felt so powerless, so vulnerable, so unloved, so hated.

 

In “A Letter to My Nephew,” James Baldwin wrote:
Please try to remember that what they believe, as well as what they do and cause you to endure, does not testify to your inferiority, but to their inhumanity and fear.

 

His words hit me with the sort of mercy, a grace as if Almighty God was speaking, when he wrote, “You don’t be afraid. I said it was intended that you should perish …”

 

But I did not. We did not. We are still here. It was at that moment that a fire came over me. It was then that my dungeon shook, the chains of fear fell off, and the bones began to rumble, and the sinews that made flesh black began to come to life. It was not just the question, “Lord, can these bones live?” No. It was, “Lord, where will these bones go?”

 

I needed to give voice to God’s action in the black experience, our suffering, and our resistance. I needed to bear witness to the struggle for our freedom. I needed to give voice to being both black and Christian. I did — and I never looked back.

 

James Cone said after the Detroit rebellion, “I could no longer write the same way, following the lead of Europeans and white Americans.”

 

And don’t we feel this? With white racial paranoia. With Trump. And now with black suffering in COVID-19, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd. Terror. We saw the responses to the cries of our people as many of our women, children, and men became hashtags. They praised “black forgiveness,” called us to speak of love, when their people gave us death. Our people’s blood cries out from the ground.

 

What does theology have to say in the black freedom struggle today? What does faith say in the face of black death? What is good news for black people in America’s racial caste? Cone was right: “I had to find a new way of talking about God that was accountable to black people and their fight for justice.”

 

I am black; I am Christian. We have been through hell in this country — and we’re still going through it. But I too am America; this is my country. Being black in an anti-black world becomes the greatest spiritual, moral, and political task of each generation.

 

The journey has been long and a struggle for many of us — trying to speak of Christian faith and being black in America — but it is also empowering. We know that we come from a long tradition of black people who refused to accept the tragic belief and practices of white supremacy — the belief that we are second-class citizens, that we deserve exploitation and punishment, that we deserve disrespect and death, that we must be respectable and cater to the demands of whiteness. No. We will not.

 

Many will believe we have exaggerated the scope and depth of injustice. That’s okay. We’re fighting for hope, we’re fighting for love, we’re fighting to live. This world as black people experience it is not the world as it should be. All of us must give voice to the hope of a better day. There’s no other way.

 

To love, to struggle, to fight, to pray, to embrace, to remember — these become our sword and shield. To protest violence against black people is a spiritual virtue, moral obligation, and political practice. In a world that wounds the souls of black folk, it represents the Spirit of God at work resisting the evil of white supremacy and murder with impunity. It’s holy work. Through rage and heartbreak, we work. Until we are free, we can never rest.

 

SOURCE: Sojourners, Black Range In An Anti-Black World Is A Spiritual Virtue, May 29, 2020

 

Posted on

Your Calling Is Calling

 

This virus and election season have exposed our innermost thinking, beliefs, attitudes, and actions. Many have looked to those called by God for understanding and support. Yet, some influential Christian leaders are saying to overlook the wrongs of politicians, who support their self-interest, but condemn the wrongs of those considered the “other”. Many people ask me why Christians plant their flags on things not spoken of in the Bible but ignore what is clearly laid out? So rather than giving my opinion, I took to the phone, called ten pastors to hear their answers to the question. The most common responses were “what the scripture meant was” and “God uses flawed people to do his work.”

 

The first answer, I believe, is the foundational basis of the challenge this country faces—interpretation based on self-interest rather than self-sacrifice. We tend to ignore the parts that challenge us or call us to make that great sacrifice. It’s much easier to point the finger at someone else. But as momma used to say, “when you point to what you think is someone else’s issue, there are always three fingers pointing back at you and your issues.” Or to use scripture. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matt. 7:3). From Lucifer’s desire to be like God to the last sin we committed, every sin committed is grounded in self-interest.

 

The second answer, I agree God used flawed people. For instance, the stories of Zacchaeus and Matthew, both tax collectors who cheated people. Jesus spent time with them, and once knowing Jesus, they turned their lives around. Zacchaeus paid back all whom he’d cheated, and even more, than he had taken. (Luke 19: 1-10) Matthew dropped everything and became a disciple. (Matthew 9:9) Just two of the many examples that demonstrate they repented, and because they came to know Jesus, their lives became different. People could see evidence of their faith.

 

 

2021 will provide us an opportunity for a mental and spiritual reset. Love instead of hate; understanding instead of judgment; critical thinking instead of homogeneous bubbles; values instead of violence; dialogue instead of division; sacrifice instead of self-interest; influence instead of control; Imago Dei instead of class systems; living out the Word instead of talking about it.

 

People are walking away from the Church in record numbers. When they can’t hear what you’re saying because of what they see you doing, you have to ask yourself – what are your patterns of behavior saying?

 

Your calling is calling you. Will you answer the call in 2021?
Posted on

R U Looking 4 A King?

Scripture transcends ideology, identity, party allegiance, and is full of clear specific instructions on how we should treat each other. Today, I’ll let scripture speak for itself and in the words of Ray Charles, “do what it do. . .” Those who are serious about finding and following a king will heed Christ admonition that “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).
Read them carefully and consider how to apply them in your life:

 

Leviticus 19:11 Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.

 

John 13:14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

 

John 13:34 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

 

John 13:35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

 

Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

 

Romans 12:16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

 

Romans 13:8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.

 

Romans 14:13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.

 

Romans 15:7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

 

Romans 15:14 I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.

 

Romans 16:16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.

 

1 Peter 4:9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

 

1 Peter 5:5 Be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

 

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

 

1 John 3:11 This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

 

1 John 3:23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.

 

1 John 4:7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

 

1 John 4:11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

 

1 John 4:12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

 

1 Peter 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

 

James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

 

James 5:9 Don’t grumble against each other, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
Hebrews 13:1 Keep on loving each other.

 

2 Thessalonians 1:3 We ought always to thank God for you, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.

 

1 Thessalonians 5:15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

 

1 Thessalonians 5:13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.

 

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

 

1 Thessalonians 4:18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.

 

1 Thessalonians 4:9 Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.

 

1 Thessalonians 3:12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.

 

Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

 

Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices

 

Philippians 4:2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.

 

Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

 

Galatians 5:26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

 

Galatians 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

 

1 Corinthians 12:25 There should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

 

Galatians 5:15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

 

1 Corinthians 11:33 When you come together to eat, wait for each other.

 

Romans 1:12 That is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.

 

Ephesians 4:16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

 

Philippians 2:3-5 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.

 

We change our moral and ethical behavior by letting Christ live within us, so that he can shape us into what we should be. The scriptures call us to love as we have never loved before. This requires radical humility (next issue’s topic).

 

 

Posted on

Is Your Commitment To Capitalism or Christ?

Dr. I. David Byrd

 

“What if this darkness is not the darkness of the tomb,
but the darkness of the womb?”   Valarie Kaur

 

 

If capitalism works, more people would have achieved economic security as the stock market continues to go up. Capitalism’s premise is that wealth will trickle down to make life better for everyone. The U.S. reports the lowest unemployment in 50 years, rising incomes across all races and job levels, a stock market that continues to reach historic highs (even with the recent volatility sparked by the spread of the coronavirus), the low-interest rates, and a GDP that has been expanding.

 

Juxtapose that against a possibility of a terrible second or third coronavirus wave. A delay in the discovery of a vaccine, a potential constitutional crisis in the election in November, runaway inflation, the prospect of higher taxes to pay for the stimulus, a more significant trade war with China, social unrest, or the dozens of other risks that seem to be bubbling just below. In July, CNBC reports that 32% of Americans couldn’t even pay their rent or mortgage. And according to Newsweek, U.S. billionaires got $583 billion richer since mid-March. Over 30 million Americans can’t find a job despite efforts to become gainfully employed.

 

Was that a political rant? No, that was showing you our need for the dependence on Jesus and not humans’ idols. No ideology is going to last; only the Word of God is eternal.

 

If our history tells us that economic scarcity can lead to violence, then let’s create a system in which more people can access economic success. I read an article from Anand Giridharadas about his interview with Senator Chris Murphy.  They concluded, “America does have a law-and-order problem, but it’s nothing new. And the nature of that law-and-order problem is being the most violent country in the rich world. And the genesis of that violence isn’t Black and brown communities rising up against friendly, overwhelmingly white suburbs of Minneapolis. It’s America, from the founding days of the republic, committing to an economic and political model that made violence a daily, systemic necessity. In short, those fighting to make America less racist are not our law-and-order problem. America’s real law-and-order problem is and always has been racism. The conversation continued with Senator Murphy stating, “This reckoning we’re having with our past is necessary, but it also comes with real consequences for one of the few threads of fabric that unites the country. As we all retreat to our corners, as we all get our information from different sources with different spins, our founding ideals and founding mythology are among the few things that we have left in common. Now, we’re not even sure what that mythology is.”

 

America has destroyed all nuances around American racism. It is now there, in the open, for everyone to see. The result has been to draw a lot of other people out into the open. Unfortunately, even dialogue by religious leaders is coarser and more hateful than ever before. This is antithetical to the Word of God and promotes the sin of self-interest and not the mission of the gospel.

 

Choose ye this day who you will serve. “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”