Something that confuses me about our current culture is the negative connotation we have with inherited wealth. I have even been guilty of this bias myself when referring to the British royal family. My argument was always, ‘Why should I give them any of my attention? All they did is be born.’ I still don’t see them as deserving much of my attention, but I have come to see the bias beneath my argument. The bias I had was the belief that they did nothing to earn what they have, but are simply the product of inherited privilege and thus are of no value. Our culture is a works-based culture that loves an underdog story, but will cut them down if they rise too high. I am confused by famous actor’s children in Hollywood changing their names so that they can make a name for themselves, second and third generation politicians and heirs downplaying their parents and grandparents to find comradery, and the children of wealthy people shaming the wealthy. I am confused by mobs of people who can afford to protest for months destroying business districts only to find out that many of them are quite well off. The people perpetuating this line of thinking despise the wealthy and the idea of heirs inheriting anything worth having.
Righteous Desire
I started to abandon this line of thinking when I began to have kids. Something shifted within me as the number of people I loved more than myself began to increase. My focus turned from working hard for my own account to pouring the best of me into my family. My motivation in business changed from building something for me to enjoy to building my business so I can leave an inheritance for my children's children. I look at all the ways I had to struggle and my desire is for my children to stand on my shoulders as I muscle through the mud and go to even higher heights. I am prepared to communicate my mistakes to them when they reach an appropriate age so that they don’t repeat them. I’ve gone from shaking my head at people who have inherited wealth to working hard so that my children and their children can inherit from me. I am now confused at the thought of someone wanting to start at the bottom just to find favor with people who will turn on them at the drop of a hat.
Love
In my dream future, I hope to have a number of businesses that help fund Not-for-Profit organizations around the world and provide jobs and steady income well after I am gone. I want my kids to learn my work ethic and take everything their mother and I build to the next level and make it theirs. I want them to emulate all of the best of what we’ve done, avoid all our mistakes, and grow to be better. I hope to have all the resources available for them to excel in whatever capacity God leads them. Whatever is ours is theirs because they are our legacy. My dream is for them to take ownership of everything we accomplish in this life for them. Our motivation is love. I want our kids to fully benefit from this life that we give for them. My wife homeschools each kid one-on-one, intimately molding their knowledge and royal character while I give support and shalom to the home by loving her and them. To love us back they just need to honor our love for them by taking all we have to give and allowing God to take them higher. It would break our hearts if the ones we gave our lives for are ashamed of our life's work. My hope is that my kids will realize the love of their father and mother in laying down our lives for them and to not lower themselves to the fickle opinions of others. What I want to leave for them is a form of grace.
Grace
Grace is an unmerited favor, a gift we couldn’t deserve less, which is passed down to us through no effort of our own, an inheritance we receive simply by being children of God. My dream for my children does not require them to work to attain anything I earned. It is the result of a father’s love, and the only proper repayment is to accept it and be thankful. God’s grace is so much more than this. Though we do not deserve what was given so that we can have life in abundance, because of this grace we also have authority and power. Jesus had to come as a fleshy man because it was mankind that God blessed and gave dominion over the earth. It is only through mankind that the blessing can be realized in order to operate with the authority God gave. Before ascending to Heaven, Jesus declared He now has all authority in heaven and on earth. Jesus also extends that authority back to us as we abide in Him and He in us. Because of the sacrifice Jesus made with His life, we are able to benefit from all that is God. All we have to do is accept the love of the Father in meekness and the earth is ours. To be meek is to rely on God’s grace to be our strength, guide, and help instead of on our own earthly strength and wisdom. When trials and hard times come our way, the finished work of Christ is our eternal stamp of approval. The world will always try to make us feel like we didn’t do enough, we don’t deserve what we have, that we need to go make a name for ourselves, but none of that is true.
If we believe the lies of the world that the life Christ gave is not enough, we will find ourselves working to earn what we already have. If we allow pride to control our hearts, we will find ourselves refusing to stand in the name our Father gave us and try to make one for ourselves. The world would have us believe there is greater value finding out for ourselves which path is good and which is bad instead of standing on the truth of our Father who loves us and has our best interest in mind. All of these lies are designed to keep us from the grace that is already ours. This grace empowers us to be able to do all that God commands, which is to love, so of course our enemy wants to keep us on the wild goose chase of being self-made people. As children and heirs we are invited to come to the throne of grace with confidence. We can have the same confidence before the throne of God as a child asking for a cup of water from his dad because of the love that was demonstrated when Jesus willingly went to the cross and the promises that affirmed when God raised Him from the grave. At the throne, mercy is in abundance and the grace needed for every obstacle can be found. Grace is our inheritance and it is the Father's good will that we take advantage of it and do the greater works that God has planned for us to do.
Faith
For it is by grace that we are saved from falling victim to lies, but grace can only be realized through faith. The act of accepting and relying on the grace of God is faith. Faith is declaring Christ sacrifice is enough and claiming our identity as heirs. Faith is proudly bearing the name of Jesus because there is no higher name. Faith is believing God's truth with all our heart and faith is demonstrated by our actions matching that truth. Faith is the logical reaction to the grace of God becoming one's truth. Faith is the act of choosing God's truth over the world. It is through faith that grace is realized because it is the act of accepting our inheritance. Faith is the only visible substance the outside world sees that reflects what is true on the inside. Our faith is our witness to the world, which is why without faith it is impossible to please God.
Blessed are the Meek
The peacemaker's strength and power to do all that God calls flows from this grace. It has already been provided as an inheritance to all who believe. Christ is our inheritance and He is full of grace and truth. It takes an act of faith to surrender our will to God, to rely on the finished work of Christ and not our own works, to pray for our enemies and love the people who try to hurt us. Pride says they are disrespecting your name, but grace says nothing can separate you from the love of God who gives you a new name. If you say, 'I lack faith' that means you haven't humbly embraced grace. If you cannot find grace that means you don't fully understand the Father’s love. The greatest love is to lay down one's life and the peacemaker is called to love the world like Christ did. This can only be done by grace through faith and not of ourselves, it is a gift of God and not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9) The apostle Paul time and again explains the source of his strength in his quest as a peacemaker:
And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)
It was in what Paul calls his weakness that grace empowered him to model Christ. By weakness Paul is speaking of a silent confidence to rely on the finished work of Christ as the source of power over his own abilities or accomplishments. The willingness to be seen as weak by the world's standards and to trust in the grace that is available takes a great strength that we call meekness. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. The peacemaker’s strength is found in simply walking in their inheritance.
Full Circle
If we think about it, this was always God's will. He created the world and everything in it and then made mankind to benefit and take ownership of it. The Father made us in His image, male and female He created us. It pleased Him for us to share in His glory and He called it good. And now through Christ Jesus, "it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven." (Colossians 1:19-20) Through Jesus' sacrifice, He made our inheritance available to us once again in Him. He is our inheritance and he is everything we need; for He is love, peace, the way to the Father, truth, life, the good shepherd, the gate, and full of grace. Jesus is…
]]>There are many things that have baffled me about my wife over the years due to us being raised in different cultures. When one of us brings up a thing we see as unusual about the other's culture, it becomes a fun cultural exercise of learning the rationale behind whatever it was that was deemed unusual. One thing I have never fully understood is what seems to be her obsession with monarchs and ‘royals’. I didn’t understand why we owned numerous movies with the word princess in the title and almost every Disney princess cartoon prior to having kids. For the life of me, I have no idea why she knows the whole lineage of the Queen of England down to 2nd cousins and random information about their personal lives. What was really confusing is how astonished she is that I know nothing about any of that. I remember well the look I received when I walked by her and some other women watching what I learned later was a ‘royal’ wedding and I asked “why is that guy dressed like Captain Crunch?” I soon learned that this obsession with royalty is a global phenomenon and I am in fact the unusual one. Now that I have a daughter who will be 8 years old in a few months, I have seen numerous princess movies and now get ‘shh’d’ by both my wife and daughter during them. Most of the movies have similar storylines where a ‘common’ girl somehow gets mixed up with a royal family and has a hard time gaining their acceptance. The tension created through the clash between ‘common’ and ‘royal’ is always the source of the movie's comedy. Specifically, those who are raised as royalty are presented as adhering to a high set of standards in every facet of their lives. The standards are in place because these people represent their entire country to the world and in many cases they speak on behalf of the country.
Honor Cultures
There are similar standards that can be seen throughout the world on the family level in what is called honor cultures. The idea is that a person is a representation of their family and their behavior can bring honor or dishonor on an entire extended family. For example, if a family member engages in dishonest business practices then that whole family can be seen in the community as dishonest. In these cultures, parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents have a vested interest in the character of each individual. Every person is expected to operate with a high level of integrity which then becomes the standard. In our individualistic culture, the thought of an extended family asserting standards over a person may seem wrong and maybe even domineering. This is even the theme of many of the princess movies as there tends to be a storyline that suggests that lowering standards is a good thing.
Imagine a culture where there is no accountability for actions. Imagine a culture where there isn’t a push to encourage youth to excel. Imagine a culture where creating a healthy family is no longer the goal when pursuing intimacy, but only perceived as a desirable extra. Imagine a culture that accepts irresponsible behavior that leaves children fatherless and mothers bitter. These are characteristics of what it looks like at the extreme opposite side of the spectrum from an honor culture. A culture that is built upon honor has nothing to do with income brackets or availability of resources, but on family and community. Many immigrants who come to the United States prove this point quite well. I am friends with a number of men from various countries in Africa and am intrigued at their perception of we black Americans. Each one of my friends speaks of their individual clans from their various countries. No matter the country, each clan operates from a culture of honor and respect. To see people who look like them but function at very low standards and expectations is extremely confusing and often heartbreaking for them. I have one friend who is so bothered by this reality that he now regularly hosts trips back to his home country so black Americans can see a culture of people that look like them carry themselves with a standard of honor and integrity.
Reflection of a Time
In the family I was raised in, my parents were older and their parents were older, so I was raised to standards a couple generations removed from my peers. Just two generations ago, black culture in the United States still reflected an honor culture especially in rural areas (which is where each one of my grandparents came from). In my family, we were held to a higher standard than any of my friends and were not allowed to entertain pity. I do admit, I struggled with pride for a time as a result, but I thank my parents that they always expected much of me and my siblings. We were expected to finish anything we started, honor anyone who is older than us, respect authority, look people in the eye, and to be a people of the highest integrity. This is not me bragging, but simply communicating my parents’ standard. I have been on the brink of homelessness, without food, jobless, and even operating against the standards I was raised to adhere to. Every time when I found myself in these situations, my default always directed me in the right direction. Why am I saying all of this? I consider myself privileged, not because I have money or what the world considers wealth, but because of the vantage point in which I view myself and the standards with which I was taught to carry myself.
The Right Man
In the Old Testament of the Bible there was a man named Moses who was a member of a people who had lost their identity and were slaves in a foreign land. Moses was unique among his people because he was raised as a prince in the palace and not as a slave. He knew his lineage and heritage belonged to those who were slaves because his birth mother was able to have a hand in raising him. At the same time, he sat at the table of royalty and adhered to the standards of a prince. Moses was a man of dual citizenship between two realities. He was comfortable at the table of the king and was seen as royalty, but also identified with the people of Israel where his birth family suffered. When a person is raised to hold themselves to higher standards, expectations, and accountability, they are not motivated the same way as one who is at the other end of the spectrum. The kingdom mindset is motivated by duty and authority while the slave mindset is motivated by fear. The slave is groomed to choose the path that yields the least amount of immediate pain and is only focused on the short term. The kingdom mindset is trained to weigh a number of factors when making decisions and, if the culture is rooted in righteousness, will choose the best choice in spite of pain with an eye to the future. In order to move a person from a slave mindset into one of royalty, those with kingdom mindsets must humble themselves into the world of the lowly, take them by the hand, and encourage them to the next level.
Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.(Numbers 12:3) God called Moses to bring the people of Isreal out of slavery in a place where he was wanted for murder. Moses weighed the cost and eventually allowed God to lead him back to free his people. The book of Exodus records the account and the whole ordeal was a complete headache for Moses as the slave mindset proved to be a problem time and again as the people constantly complained and fought Moses. The sad truth behind this is summarized in the adage, ‘It took one night to get the slaves out of Egypt but then took 40 years to get the Egypt out of the slaves.’
True Mercy Uncovered
Mindsets are hard to transform because in many instances it is seen as an attack on the person’s identity. When Moses came to the Israelites they had been crying out and complaining about their enslavement for many years. After being freed from slavery, they tried to revert back to what was familiar anytime they faced uncertainty. They even complained on one occasion that they wish they were back in the land where they were slaves. Still, Moses spoke to God on behalf of the people and continued to hold them to royal standards. Likewise, the ‘privileged’ peacemaker will face much opposition as they try to elevate people to their created potential. Society at large will think they are helping when they lower standards and remove consequences for actions. In reality, these things only cripple the one with the slave mindset as they now have confirmation in their belief that they are helpless. When there is push from society as a whole to lower standards and remove consequences on the basis of race and culture, that means society as a whole believes that the person is in fact less than. The peacemaker is one who shows mercy by walking alongside their neighbor and helping them build hope in God and His vision for them. If the peacemaker is called ‘privileged’, they should own it, as they are a royal child of God. Take that opportunity to speak the word of royalty over the accuser.
On this side of the cross, Christ did not give us the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but we have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”(Romans 8:15 modified) Now God is able to work on us from the inside to transform our mind so that we can embody the perfect will of our Heavenly Father. Jesus, like Moses, humbled Himself to our level and encouraged us to a kingdom mindset. We are then instructed to do the same.
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. (Phillipians 2:5-8)
Made in the Image of...
A slave mindset will always view the world through the lens of oppression even if they are wealthy by the world’s standards. If oppressed is what a person identifies as, then they will latch on to anything that supports this identity. If royalty is what a person identifies with, then they will affirm themselves with all that stands in agreement. As kingdom-minded people, we are called to have the attitude of Christ with whom we are co-heirs, and empty ourselves through the Grace that is ours in Christ to suffer alongside our neighbors, by taking the form of a slave (facing their problems with them), but not the mindset. As such, we are to exemplify righteous royalty and share the hope of the gospel. If hope is accepted, we introduce them to who they were made to be and draw it out of them. That is discipleship.
The next post will focus on the power needed to be able to do the task of the peacemaker and how we tap into it.
]]>Growing up, I was always enamored with hip hop music and culture. I used to pride myself on my stolen music collection acquired through Napster, Limewire, friends’ collections, and other avenues. I had every album from every remotely mainstream artist and hundreds of underground artists. To be successful, the artist generally had to be able to portray a persona that spoke to the aspirations of the listeners. The general formula for success was through songs about money and what it buys, power and all it allows them to do, and a respect that more resembles fear. The artist also had to portray a backstory of brokenness and poverty. If it was revealed that an artist came from a healthy family or was an honorable person this would harm the artist’s reputation. Though there are exceptions, most artists glamorized selling drugs in their neighborhoods, making money from illegal activity, using women for sex, or owning expensive things. The well-to-do fans of the artist see him or her as someone who is cool like a movie star or celebrity. The fans who relate to the persona the artist portrayed view the artist as a role model. These fans make the things the artist sings about into goals. The more affluent an area is, the greater diversity you will find in music and art while in more impoverished areas the vast majority of the population listen to the same genre of music. The neighborhood I live in would be considered a lower income neighborhood that qualifies for nearly every opportunity zone status there is. Every day I watch people walk up and down the street with headphones on, singing the songs to themselves while imagining they are the artist. I hear them sing about guns, women, sex, selling drugs, using drugs, and money as they walk by. I am reminded of my five-year-old son as he plays one of his imaginary games as I watch them beat their chests, pump their fists, and make their hands into guns as if they were shooting. Then I realize- the imagination of the heart shows what a person treasures. And, wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
Culture
If the majority of a demographic of people elevate the same type of people as role models and esteem the same things, those people and things become cultural values. Culture can be great if the culture values things that lead to community, family, and prosperity. But culture is destructive if it elevates high school dropouts, drug dealers, convicts, mistreatment of people, sex with multiple partners, and anything else that doesn’t lead to wholeness within a community; that which is elevated will become reality. There is much talk about systems of oppression that need to be eliminated by politicians and political activists. I watch as people and groups look to political structures to correct all the discrepancies and disparities that we see. One can even look back from a historical perspective and see how past policies have contributed to the systemic poverty we observe today. There are many systems that are blamed like the education system, welfare system, justice system, policing, zoning, housing, and banking. I, too, see the problems in these man-made systems, but none of these problems could ever overcome a culture that is rooted in righteous treasures. The many stories of immigrants from even worse systems who are thriving is a testament to this. In my ‘opportunity zone’ neighborhood there is a large Mexican community and they have a number of businesses that were once only dreams of the heart. The beautiful way they esteem family and support one another is amazing and makes my heart fill with joy and hope.
Counter the Culture
I would like to point out that up until the point of using the Mexican families as an example, I have not spoken from a racial perspective, but only from a socioeconomic perspective. I think it is the job of anyone who recognizes their royal status as kingdom representatives to speak life and demonstrate wholeness to a culture that glamorizes that which leads to death. I believe politicians and political activists give too much credit to ‘white people’ for the ongoing impoverished mindsets and realities we see in culture. A person or group of people is only as hopeless as they believe they are. The peacemaker views the world through the lens of the reality of the finished work of Christ and reconciles worlds. The peacemaker knows that the grace given to him/her is sufficient to complete the task ahead of them. The task ahead is bringing peace, or shalom, on earth. This is done by refusing to agree with anything- any system of thought or practice- that is contrary to truth that leads to life. If the culture around us esteems the very things that breed more impoverished conditions and death, we are to engage the culture in love and demonstrate life and light. When the culture normalizes dehumanizing and talking down to spouses and children, we are to love our wives and husbands as ourselves and allow them to see us speak blessings over our children. When the culture justifies unethical behavior because it brings in money, we are to demonstrate integrity and righteousness in all our dealings even though it may hurt us financially. When the culture elevates selfishness and vanity, we are to love selflessly by regarding others as more important than ourselves. When the culture condemns and ridicules those who are ‘beneath’ them, we are to reach for the lowly in kindness and encourage them. The key in doing all of this is to do it not out of guilt or with any sort of pride but in love. In order to do all this in love, the peacemaker must humble themselves to step into the messy lives of those whose hearts treasure that which leads to death.
Play your Hand
What do you have? What are you gifted in? Where is your influence? What is the immediate issue before you that doesn’t line up with God’s will? Jesus came from a working-class family and was from an area that nothing ‘good’ ever came from. He did not spend much time appealing to the political parties of His day and instead devoted His time to the people society had rejected. He lived entirely within the will of God and refused to agree with anything that didn’t line up with that which is in Heaven. He spent His time speaking about the Kingdom of Heaven and reconciling that kingdom with the one here on earth. He brought peace between the two. He had zero tolerance for sin, but at the same time showed mercy to sinners. He was perfectly just, but broke bread with those who acted unjustly and encouraged them towards their potential. There had been many teachers that came before Jesus, but even in His time the culture knew He was different. His message was one of hope that was demonstrated in love and brought about the faith needed to transform the world. The agents He used for the task ahead of Him were the people He’d met on the streets who had answered His call and endured through everyone trying to make them change their minds. His family thought He was crazy, His treasurer was guilty of embezzlement, and the two major political parties of His time wanted Him dead. Despite the odds and apparent lack of resources, the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. (Matthew 11:5)
Thermostat or Thermometer
Jesus commands us now to go and do the same as He did and assures us that He is with us always. He has given us His peace so that we can share it with the world. It doesn’t take much; one must only be willing to answer the call and go. Start using what you have to love the people in your home and then expand to your neighborhood. If you love to cook then ask God how you can use that for kingdom purposes. If you currently lack resources then pick-up trash, beautify the neighborhood, pray for the sick, start a Bible study with neighbors, organize a community project. Do that which reflects Heaven in your immediate reach, inspire those around you, and share the message of hope that transforms lives, even if it is one at a time. As you go forward, never forget who you are and Who is with you. There will always be voices trying to get you to forget the mission or make you stumble, but you are more than a conqueror. You will never be tempted beyond what you are able to handle if you keep your eyes on God Who is faithful. He will always provide an escape from temptation. The peacemaker is a person that recognizes that they are complete in Christ. When we allow God to make us complete in Him, we can suddenly see the opinions and words of that which is incomplete for the empty trash that they are. When we are confident in our wholeness in Christ, then we view the insults and barbs from the incomplete with compassion not offense. Racist remarks and actions are then seen as cries of the broken for that which can make them complete. The peacemaker’s ability to repay evil with good, to love their enemies, to forgive, and put God’s will first gives them the power to change the temperature of the room and eventually transform the heart of an individual. It is only through changed hearts that communities are able to heal.
Next post I will speak to the perspective of the socioeconomically affluent peacemakers (often referred to by SJW as ‘privileged’) in how to engage the hostilities they face and be agents of peace.
]]>People are wired to think of morality in binary terms- good and evil, us versus them, right versus wrong. This binary way of thinking becomes an issue when our concept of ‘good’ does not rest on an objective truth. It becomes even more of an issue if we associate the term with a person or man-made system. Our culture now is so polarized in two man-made directions that bias in the media is overt and blatant. The bias is so blatant that it causes people to sympathize with the misrepresented party and take the extreme opposite position in response. The truth of the matter is that extremes in each of the man-made directions lead to more division and results in more poverty amongst the most vulnerable. I’ve tasked myself with trying to ignore the bias and to scoop out the truth from the partial information and manipulation that is given from both sides. To do this, I have to reground myself on a daily basis in what is true and Biblical because it is very easy to lose one’s footing when entering the wave pool of opinions. In my search for truth, I often read posts where people argue from both of the sides on an issue. There is usually an arsenal of articles, studies, interviews, and data that is presented from both sides as they make their case. I essentially just allow the people who are obsessing over the material to do the work for me and then I try to present the findings to the real Judge for perspective.
Water Jousting
In my eavesdropping on the various people aimlessly floating about in the chaos of public opinion, I notice the conversations tend to turn personal. It is here that I fight with everything within me to stay silent. When one side brings up a character flaw of the other side's champion, the response often turns to finding fault with the person who exposed the flaw. On one occasion I recall one of the individuals did his homework and was even proving the bias of fact-checkers. In response, the other person brought up the researcher’s past failures in college and younger years. Then followed it up with “Like you can talk, you did….” The person who started with a well-researched position immediately retreated to the defensive and the conversation reduced to character attacks back and forth as if that made their champions righteous by comparison. During these character attacks, my heart cried out ‘That is not who you are! It’s just residue of something you were never meant to be.’ I long to encourage each person in the truth and not condemn them by identifying them with their failures. Whenever anyone stands up for righteousness, there will always be a voice using any tactic of condemnation to take focus away from truth. This is by design because once people become confident in who they are made to be and what we are called to do, peace is a natural byproduct.
Lies of Inaction
Parents believe these lies constantly when raising their children in our culture. The lie is, “How can you tell your kid not to do something when you did it when you were their age?” Here is the answer- There were times in our lives when we made decisions based on lies and false truths that seemed right in the moment. Since then, we have acknowledged we were wrong, we have repented, and were forgiven through the sacrifice of Jesus. We now can judge that action from a righteous vantage point and declare it wrong, but we also know the source of our righteousness is not of ourselves. Our judgement then should have an element of mercy, love, and encouragement that the wrongdoer also be made whole by aligning with truth. This is what it means to remove the log from your own eye so you can see clearly before trying to remove the speck from someone else's eye (from Matthew 7:5). Notice it does not tell us to refrain from judging, but it gives us the perspective to judge from. Good parents always encourage the best in the ones they love. After experiencing the pain of bad decisions, how can someone justify laying the groundwork for someone they love to fall into the same trap? It is imperative for the ones we love that we view ourselves through the correct lens in order to bring peace to our homes.
Another lie is that associating with people who have done wrong then makes one wrong by association. This one has layers of lies and condemnation attached to it. First, in order to think that, one has to fully condemn a person and identify them as their failure. Second, one must assume that the person is incapable of the forgiveness and restoration given by Christ's sacrifice. Third, if we allow this lie to affect how we interact with others, we have then elevated the opinion of people over that of God.
The Opportunist
If a critic brings up your past, rather than retreat into ashamed defensiveness, that is a prime opportunity to share your testimony. Lucky for me, I have many stories and points of past failures that relate to many people and situations. I used to be ashamed of my past and spent many years hiding it from people as if I was still that person and was afraid of people finding me out. I am not still a sinner saved by grace, but a saint being led in righteousness. In Jesus' most famous speech he warns against how we treat and label other people.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.(Matthew 5:21-22)
These words seem pretty harsh to be a Jesus quote, but that is how passionate God is about what we declare over people. To call someone something like ‘you fool’ is labeling them by their shortcomings and not by who Christ gave His life for. Yes, all have sinned and have fallen short, and we were once sinners, but now we are forgiven as if we did not sin. Ryan of old engaged in the foolishness of mob activity, drunkenness, sexual immorality, assault, wild parties, murder through an abortion, a DUI, pornography, lying, cheating, and stealing. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57) I am forgiven and the thought of those things brings a bad taste to my soul. And such were some of you. You may have a past list like mine. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11 modified) I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20) I am now a peacemaker, an ambassador of heaven, of the ministry of reconciliation. I admit that sometimes I do not reflect those titles well, but I am forgiven and beloved. I just need to reground myself in Truth in order to simply be. No matter what my kids do that is contrary to what I teach them, I will always remind them of who they are and love them towards that.
Next post will focus on practical implementation of peacemakers on all sides of the racial issues.
]]>Around the corner from my home was a community garden. It was located in the midst of a number of businesses on one of the main roads of the city. This garden became a popular place for a large homeless population to gather and they eventually claimed it as their own. Being so close to our home, we would regularly stroll by the garden on our family walks. There was never a shortage of shirtless men with matted hair lying on the benches with their bottles and a number of others smoking their cigarettes. Then one day, the garden was gone. The city came in and bulldozed the garden upon request of the landowner who also owned a business on the same property. There was no warning that this was going to take place and an outcry from the community ensued. Everyone in the area had an opinion about what had happened. The greatest concern was for the homeless people who had made the garden one of their places of socialization. Local business owners and residents have since attempted to organize various events for the homeless population. I love and admire the compassion that is being shown for our city’s homeless people, but at the same time something didn’t sit well with me. I spent over a month trying to figure out how to articulate the feeling, and only now is it becoming clear.
Uneven Scales
The now-displaced homeless folks who sheltered at the community garden represent a large group of people operating from a place of hopelessness every single day and yet that was never a problem for the people around them. It was like everyone, myself included, simply labeled this group as ‘homeless’ and were content with leaving them in that category. We as a society operated in agreement with the hopelessness these people identified with. But are they hopeless? The more life people live, the more we seem to accept things the way they are presented to us. We naturally place people in categories in order to justify applying different standards and values to them. For example, imagine one of these homeless people who was passed out on a bench with their half-empty bottle of liquor had been your junior high science lab partner. They grew up in your community and you may even have considered them a part of your social group at one time in your life. The likelihood of being able to write-off this person would substantially decrease. If that person is our sibling or child, our hearts ache the more. When the barriers we create become blurred, the right kind of compassion is released. This world is depraved and opening ourselves up to intimacy with broken people is so often painful so we build walls to protect ourselves. But often these walls allow us to justify our differing standards and expectations of people around us.
Peace To You
These barriers that enable us to accept groups of people as being less than us are the result of a fallen world. They are the terrible residue of an identity lost. If mankind was made to reflect God’s glory on this earth as smaller versions of God Himself, anything short of that is lost potential. I have two sons and two daughters that are smaller versions of me and my heart yearns for them to accomplish far more than I ever have. The yearning of the Father intersected with human history at the moment when Jesus died and God enthusiastically tore the barrier of the veil apart. It was He, Himself, Who removed the wall between us. It was then that peace, or wholeness, was restored to us. We are now free to reach our created potential as image bearers. We are able to have a new spirit within us that is from God Himself and gives us assurance of our identity and victory.
“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:14-17)
As recipients of our new spirit that is capable of communicating with God’s Spirit, we are equipped with the capability to carry the presence of the Creator of the universe with us. This only comes with us first receiving the Spirit, then submitting to the Spirit, and allowing our mind to be transformed. When our minds are being led by the Spirit we most completely reflect the heart of God. When people encounter us in this state of a pure heart they encounter God through us. The more we allow ourselves to reflect God’s good, acceptable, and perfect will, the more we will naturally exhibit His presence and our gentleness will make known to all that the Lord is at hand (derived from Romans 12:2 and Philippians 4:5). As we operate from a place of sacrifice we become carriers of Shalom. Peacemakers operate from a place of shalom, or completeness in God, and work to make the aroma of earth to match that of heaven.
Blessed are the Peacemakers
Peacemakers don’t see people as their fallen version, but made whole as God intended the person to be (see 2 Corinthians 5:16). God created each person in His image, imbuing them with objective worth and value, even the homeless person passed out on the bench. When Jesus walked the earth, people’s standards were raised as He encouraged all who came to Him to be who they were created to be. Anything that made a person incomplete was made whole. The only way someone was left incomplete is if they resisted His will and love. Jesus is the Son of God and the Prince of peace. As the Son, He came bearing the presence of God and exhibiting the love of God, and we are His co-heirs. Peacemakers do not condemn, but they convict and encourage in love. Condemnation sees a person's fallen state as their identity and labels the person as such. Conviction looks to who they were made to be and, in love, encourages them to a higher standard. Peacemakers kindle “unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3) The peacemaker is always about the Father’s business because he is in constant communication with Holy Spirit. That translates to a person who is willing to share in Christ’s sufferings so that they also may share in His glory. This is a person that is not self-seeking or prideful but humble, regarding others as more important than themselves. Furthermore, the peacemaker submits their speech and thoughts to God, seeking His wisdom in their responses. Peacemakers bring healing. Just like the 72 disciples that went out before Jesus, the peacemaker brings healing when the peace they bear is allowed to rest. Their willingness to allow the righteous Judge to abide in them brings emotional, spiritual, physical, relational, and cultural healing. Peacemakers bring the kingdom of heaven, or shalom, and for that they are blessed.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.(Matthew 5:9)
The above paragraph may seem impossible for any person to do, and I agree it is. The only way it can be accomplished is by recognizing that we can not do it and to give it over to God. At first, the ‘giving it over’ will be moment by moment. Like when our anger begins to rise up in response to what a politician did or said, when someone treats us less than the 'image bearer' that we are, or when we are being socially shamed and ridiculed for our convictions. At times we may fail in the moment, but even then God does not condemn us, but lovingly encourages us to become the righteousness of God that He made us to be. God doesn’t keep record of the failures of those under the covering of Jesus' sacrifice, but celebrates victories in Him. The goal is to keep striving forward towards Him and to not believe the lies that come into our head when falling short. Every moment we allow ourselves to be used by God, surrendering our feelings to His righteousness by viewing our neighbor as God intended them to be and not as their fallen state, we are a peacemaker. As we give more and more moments over to God and experience the joy and peace we receive from it, we will find ourselves doing it naturally. That is how transformation starts.
Next post will expose some of the lies people believe that keep them from becoming peacemakers.
]]>I have a small mattress shop in central Illinois and, like many other businesses 2020 has not been kind. In January, prior to the pandemic, a patch on our roof broke, sending a waterfall into our space when the snow melted. Over the following three months, I found myself tossing around the concept of what it means to be made whole. I had one definition and the insurance company had another. Then, first in July and then again in September, our shop was burglarized. After the July burglary, I felt I was made whole while in September we were unable to receive compensation for our loss and I felt incomplete. Much of the narrative on race and culture is fixated on this same subject as well. The idea is that society itself owes specific groups of people in this country something that would make them whole. This concept is the basis of the justice system. But disagreement comes into play with the various ideas of what wholeness looks like.
History of Peace
The original audience and writers of scripture had a term for wholeness called ‘shalom’ which we translate to ‘peace’, but the word ‘peace’ doesn't really do ‘shalom’ justice. We equate peace to mean the absence of war while shalom means completeness, or wholeness, which encompasses all aspects of life including health, prosperity, victory, and relationships. The writers and original audience understood this peace can only come from God and, specifically, His presence, making God the source of perfect wholeness. In Judges 6:24 a follower of God named Gideon built an altar to God and named it Yahweh Shalom or “The LORD is Peace.” Or in Numbers 6:25-26, in instructions on how to give a priestly blessing, God instructed the priest to say “The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.” Then in Isaiah 26:3 we see that the focus of our minds has a direct correlation to attaining this wholeness or completeness found in God's perfect peace: "The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You.” This idea of peace carried over to the New Testament as Jesus comes to be the human representation of God and the Prince of Peace. Jesus then gives us His peace as He says in John 14:27- "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” Then we go full circle in 2 Thessalonians 3:16 when the peace that is given is connected with the God’s presence. “Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!”
Tangible Peace
When Jesus traveled, before He entered a town or city, He would send roughly 70 of his disciples ahead of Him. The disciples of Jesus who were in His presence carried a peace with them and were sent ahead of Jesus to prepare the way. They were to not talk to anyone on the way as if the package of peace they had could be lost in transition. The disciples were instructed to have nothing of value on their person, but this tangible peace as they entered homes. As soon as they entered a home they were to say “Peace be on this House” as if the package was delivered. If the peace was received and allowed to rest there then they were allowed to stay in that house and were granted the authority and power to bring healing to that home as they proclaimed the kingdom of God.
Following Jesus death and resurrection, He appeared among His disciples with the greeting “Peace to you.” This was the first time we are told of Jesus using this greeting. Then Jesus repeats the same greeting after showing His crucifixion wounds as if to pass on a baton.
“Jesus repeated His greeting, “Peace to you!” And He told them, “Just as the Father has sent me, I’m now sending you.” Then, taking a deep breath, He blew on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. I send you to preach the forgiveness of sins—and people’s sins will be forgiven. But if you don’t proclaim the forgiveness of their sins, they will remain guilty.” (John 20:21-23 TPT)
The Shift
Something shifted during this encounter with Jesus. There is something different in the nature of these two sendings, the first when Jesus sent out the disciples before Him into town carrying peace, the second this sending out. “Just as the Father has sent me, I’m now sending you.” That seems like an unrealistic task, He is Jesus, the perfect one and the only one who has seen God. The disciples, and us for that matter, have a history on the wrong side of the tracks and many of us have track marks on our arms. How on earth can we be expected to operate at that kind of standard? Jesus is God with us or God in the flesh and we are, well, flesh. Then I read verse 22 as Jesus blew on them that same breath that caused Adam’s lungs to pump and said “Receive the Holy Spirit.” God with us, Emmanuel, offers us the Holy Spirit, the third person of the GodHead, now it all makes sense. Jesus spoke one evening to a religious leader named Nicodemus of the need for every person to be born again with a new spirit. Now that Jesus paid the price, we are able to have a clean slate. The wounds Jesus showed His disciples were proof of His bearing the sins of the world’s past and future. We, too, can stand anew with the track marks of our past before the cross and show how Jesus’ resurrection made us new. The only catch is we have to receive. The gift has been given, but we still have the choice whether we want it or not.
The Gift of Giving
Wholeness to you, Christian, and wholeness to me is what Jesus gives. It is not like anything the world gives because it is the key to life itself. We all have things we regret and would never consider ourselves perfect, but, in Jesus, we as a body of believers are perfected by His sacrifice. We are brand new in His sight, presented before Him as holy, blameless and above reproach. If indeed we continue in the faith, firmly established and steadfast, and not moving away from the good news of what Christ accomplished for us. In receiving His Spirit, we have God with us, just like Jesus. If we keep our mind focused on that fact and allow ourselves to operate from that mindset, we will then embody His perfect peace. This is the tangible presence of God that we can then carry into the world. Since we received the Holy Spirit, He is with us and is ours for the taking every day. We simply must receive Him. It is in the taking up of this Peace that we operate from a place of holiness, because, like peace, holiness is a part of the nature of God. It is here that we truly are what the Bible calls ‘image bearers’ because we are then able to reflect our created purpose. What is that purpose? For now, until Jesus returns, it is the same as that of Jesus- to preach the forgiveness of sins so that people will turn from their sins and be forgiven. Our preaching is informing people of the good news of what has already happened in hopes that they will receive the same gift we have been given. We have peace, or shalom, with God and He has empowered us to spread that Peace to the world through the message of forgiveness of sins. How can one be a peacemaker if they harness hate, prejudice, and unforgiveness in their hearts towards those who God breathes on? Much of what many call ‘social justice’ is in opposition to being a peacemaker. Furthermore, much of what is considered justice lacks mercy.
Next post we will dig deeper into the pathway and nature of the peacemaker.
]]>I am fascinated by the techniques of manipulation and am often very quick to notice manipulation when it’s being used. Following the death of George Floyd, I quickly realized there was a movement that had been working behind the scenes and preparing for this very moment. I noticed who was organizing the peaceful protest across the nation in every large city on the same day and I saw that the majority of the people who came were peaceful and seeking healing. In each gathering, though, there was a small group at the center of the demonstrations with slightly different messages and language on their signs. Then I witnessed complete chaos during the night as caravans of people wrecked communities. At first, the black community was confused and scared. The main leaders in our community and the family of George Floyd were begging for peace and an end to the unrest. On social media, black people were quick to separate the protesters away from the looters and rioters. Footage began to come out showing large groups of white people wearing all black and holding “Black Lives Matter'' signs initiating all the damage as black people watched in shock. Piles of bricks began to conveniently appear as these people dressed in black handed them out to protesters and brought about the chaos. The black community leaders quickly realized they weren’t in control. Agitators in journalism quickly began to conflate the two groups and declare that this is what happens when you drive black people to hopelessness. I started to pray, to seek God as I saw the hand of manipulation at play. I was simply told to remind people of the truth of who they are. I tried to expose the wickedness I saw at play on social media and one comment in response really stuck with me as I baited the agitators out of the darkness. It said:
“While I think you are right that some of these events have been instigated by outside actors, the fact that they continue suggests they didn't need much more than a push to get started even if every single one was instigated by Antifa.”
People behave in accordance to who they believe they are
It hit me then that is what the agitators were banking on. They knew that if they got people to believe they are hopeless victims and then gave the push they could get the type of mindset needed for control. And it has worked! I get on social media and see posts even by respected individuals within the black community sharing about the ongoing horrors of slavery and sharing the agitators posts rooted in hopelessness. There seem to be constant injections of reminders of victimhood and every speck of racism from the past into our minds. The reminders of the past are not being used as a source of hope for how far we have come, but as confirmation of stereotypes being cultivated and nurtured in the minds of people. They are being used as justification for speaking and doing evil things to other people and their property. Love and peace have left the building. The constant reminders of the worst of the past has led people to believe they have never been loved in this country. Whole groups of people now identify with the pain, hurt, and hopelessness spoken over them and being fed to them on a daily basis. At this point, it doesn’t even matter if what they believe is true or not because it has become their identity. Hope was stolen and now the walls are being built.
Building the Walls
Walls have many purposes, some good and some destructive. When stereotypes about groups of people are accepted by a majority within a group there follows a pull to create barriers. These barriers take many forms as people view the world through the lens of skin color and gender. Soon you start to hear things like ‘don’t buy items owned by people who are of one race’ on a particular day. Or people build structures of leadership that actively exclude participation from one race or gender of people. There are pushes to have whole dormitories on college campuses segregated. There are groups seeking to found entire communities and towns only for specific races of people. Meanwhile the agitators are trying to declare autonomous zones of anarchy in various cities.
On the flip side, there is a famine of compassion as the pain of an entire community is minimalized and disregarded. However the pain got there, whether by means of manipulation or from a direct injustice, it is there. When a group of people adopt a narrative as part of their identity it truly becomes a form of truth to the people in that group. When something reaches the identity stage, facts and data are disregarded and love is the only key that will unlock this stronghold of the heart. As the hurt and hurting build walls to separate them from what they feel is the source of their pain and villainized groups seek various forms of self preservation, there is a desperate need for a truly righteous judge. Both approaches only lead to more separation and hostility between groups. I am saying all of this to set the scene for what we are up against. These types of destructive walls are only built when the identity crisis begins to enter the deepest parts of the heart.
Raise the Gates
Churches can no longer use their walls to create an oasis of separation, but need to leave the building and get back to the roots of who we are. We must keep our shared past in our minds and our promised future in our hearts. As a result of the mercy we received in the past and the glory and mercy of God before us we are called to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship. We are not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of our minds, that by testing we may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect and be living demonstrations. (Derived from Romans 12:1-2) His perfect will is for reconciliation, healing, peace, and for all ethnic groups to be one in love as the perfect bond of unity.
Just like in the first century, when these words were penned, people are hurting and feeling oppressed. In the century prior to Christ’s birth there were many uprisings as the Jews dreamed of the Messiah, coming on a great white horse ready for war to avenge the injustice and oppression they were under from Rome. Christ didn’t come anything like they expected; instead He came powerless by the world's standard. When He came, His focus was on an entirely different kingdom. This was the subject of nearly all of His conversations. This other kingdom was His frame of reference in every conversation and in every situation. Whenever His disciples showed fear from being stoned to death, drowning, or being beaten by a demon- possessed man, Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith in the kingdom He spoke of and then demonstrated its supremacy.
One Body
One of Jesus' final prayer for the people of earth was that we would be one as He and the Father is one. The Apostle Paul spoke on this oneness we are called to on a number of occasions:
Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
1 Corinthians 12:13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
Why did Jesus and His apostles stress oneness so much? I believe the answer can be found in the case study we can call ‘The Year 2020’. In the world, there is a natural draw to view everything through the lens of ‘us vs them’. There also seems to be an attack on the people that claim Christ, a demand for them to take a side. As the body of Christ, we already have a side and it is not of this world, but is of the kingdom Jesus brought us into. Long before Jesus’ first coming, there was a man named Joshua who was leading all of Israel. One day he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in hand. Joshua went up and asked the man “Are you for us or for our enemies?” the man replied:
“Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” (Joshua 5:14)
God is not on either side, but directs us to a higher kingdom. When the perspective changes so the question changes. Instead of “which side are you on” it becomes “Are you going to follow the King or not?” So we need to direct people to the higher kingdom which is the Kingdom of God. All of mankind was created to live as royalty within this kingdom. It is God’s will that all people know this and as citizens/ambassadors of this kingdom, it is our job to do the will of the commander of the army of the Lord.
The Challenge
To bear with one another means we will have to follow the truth and be truth while our brothers and sisters identify with a lie. To bear with one another, we will have to be willing to stand firm in the face of powers actively working to manipulate our brothers and sisters in order to keep them mentally oppressed and obsessed over worldly power structures. To bring about the healing the world needs and yearns for we must become unoffendable. Like Jesus, we who have been anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and with power to do good are His hands and feet, deputized to bring healing to all who are oppressed by the schemes of the devil, for God is with us.(derived from Acts 10:38) For Christ Himself stated “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b) This means that to the mentally oppressed, we encourage them to view themselves through a kingdom lens and not the lens of what culture expects of them. This means that to the self-exalted members of the culture, we encourage them to view themselves through a kingdom lens and not by what culture says about them. This is the job of the peacemaker to which we have all been called.
In the next post we will discuss the role of the Peace of God and the peacemaker
]]>A few years back I was able to sit in on a presentation at a Saturday night church service from a very accomplished clinical psychologist by the name of Dr. Ted Wolgamot. His presentation was on the high percentage of physical and sexual abuse at a young age among the prison population. The numbers and statistics he presented seemed exaggerated and extremely high in my opinion and I would have dismissed them completely if it weren’t for all the ex-convicts in the room crying. At this particular presentation, a large number of ex-convicts who had transitioned or were in the process of transitioning were invited and what I witnessed was profound. These were grown men and women who seemed like the toughest people in the room, sobbing uncontrollably. And then I saw something even more powerful- I saw all of the other people in that service quickly embrace the ex-convicts and speak words of encouragement to them. Some even cried with them as they bore their pain. I am going to focus on two aspects I took away from this experience. The first is the data presented and the second is the path to healing.
The Data
I apologize that I do not recall the exact figures, but I can tell you it was an extremely high percentage of the prison population who had suffered abuse in their younger days. I remember what was most shocking for me was how prevalent sexual abuse was amongst the male population. Because of society’s assumptions and expectations, the men were less likely to have told anyone about when they were victimized which led to anger and fits of rage. These events caused both sexes a great deal of confusion and pain that manifested itself in harm and disregard for other people and themselves. The old adage, hurt people hurt people, rang true as I sat in this room.
The Big ‘As’
On one of the many occasions when Jesus was in dispute with the powers that be of His day, a scribe, the lawyers of the Jewish law, was intrigued by how well Jesus answered his challengers. The scribe asked:
“Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor AS yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31 emphasis added)
Imagine a person who was molested and beaten in their formative years hearing this? Imagine that this person was abandoned, before they can even remember, by a parent, one of the two people on the earth made to love them? Imagine a person so hardened by rejection, hurt, and disappointment that by 10 years old the thought of telling someone what happened to them doesn’t even cross their mind. How can one love their neighbor AS themself when they have never experienced love themselves? Or, they had someone who loved them and then they failed, left, or abused them. The prerequisite to being able to love your neighbor is loving yourself or believing you are worth loving.
The Healing Path
A person who loves themselves doesn't need confirmation from the culture about their worth. This is not a white and brown problem. This is not a call for every white person to feel sorry for every person who has more pigment in their skin. This is not a call for the “victimized” to demand they have value in the face of white people. This is also not a call for standards to be lowered. This is an identity crisis. This is a call for all who’ve known love and compassion to extend it to their neighbors who haven’t. This is a call for people to bear with their brothers and sisters until they realize who God made them to be and then to encourage them in their journey to get there. People behave according to who they believe they are. Once people realize they are loved and made to be royalty, they will then have a desire and passion to act like it. Through this lens, they can have the hope and motivation needed to transform their physical reality to match the truth that is within them. It is from this vantage point that justice is to be demanded and righteousness sought. Those who do not know Love and those who are hopeless justify the use of violence and the disregard of other people and their property because hurt people hurt people. This is a call to action for all the body of Christ of every ethnic group to Love their neighbors AS themselves. We must Love first and with no thought of return because the world is full of people who are incapable of doing this; they do not know Love or what it looks like. This is love- God loved us long before we loved Him. It was His love, not ours, that changed everything. He proved His love by sending his Son to be the pleasing sacrifice to take away our sins. Delightfully loved ones, if He loved us with such tremendous love, then “loving one another” should be our way of life! (1 John 4:10-11 TPT) It was His love, not ours, that came to our rescue and now it is our love, not theirs, that will bring healing. We were made to be Love in a world where people believe, whether it is true or not, that there are entire groups of people that hate them because of their race and ethnicity. There are many in our land who have developed harmful stereotypes that enable them to view those made in God’s image as an oppressor or as a lesser being. Love is the only way to break down stereotypes. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Though people may fail, Love never fails. (derived from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
Who is my Neighbor
Jesus said, “Love your neighbor AS yourself” and ever since people have been asking “who is my neighbor?” When a lawyer asked this question to Jesus, Jesus' answer broke down the racial dividing lines of His day. He answered:
30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. 31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. 33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ 36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. 37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”(Luke 10:30-37)
You see, Samaritans were mixed-raced people that the Jewish people of the day saw as unclean. They treated Samaritans as less worthy than pureblood Jews. Jesus' answer let it be known that all are included in the word ‘neighbor’. The Gospel has always been the way to peace and Jesus is the Prince of Peace. As followers of Jesus, we are called to have the same mind as Jesus who emptied and humbled Himself to Love even those who hated and reviled Him. He then demonstrated His Love by giving His life while we were at our worst. We, His people, have been called to bring this good news and demonstrate the healing Jesus already gave to our hurting world. So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. (Colossians 3:12-14) People first need to experience Love, to feel loved, in order to love. And we who claim the name of Jesus have not only been loved but we are, right now, HIS BELOVED!
In part 6b I will speak on the challenges ahead of us in bearing with one another.
]]>People in my age group have a unique position within our current era. We saw the cell phone come on the scene and gain popularity. We can remember life before the Internet. In our youth, we were the first adopters of all modern technology and we were also the trial run of social media in our high school and college years. All of these advancements have had a major impact on nearly every aspect of society. In my college marketing program, I was able to see behind the scenes the real-time adjustments that were being made. Between 2006-2009, I was able to sit in with doctoral students who studied Google’s algorithms and analytic tools from the back-end. When Facebook advertising first came out, I worked on a project to use and measure its effectiveness and return on investment as one of its earliest adopters. I worked with various teams exploring the new marketing opportunities and it was an exciting time as we now had unparalleled access to our end consumers. In a very short time, markets began to flood with competition. We began to see magazines, newspapers, and television stations as slow and outdated in sharing the news. People had access to news 24/7, every sport in the world, an expansion of television options and subscription services, and it was all in real time and all in the palm of our hands. People could search Google for anything they dreamed of and it gave them a sense of confidence to now have knowledge enough to voice an opinion. Opinions kept coming from every angle and every viewpoint. Then politicians caught on to these valuable resources and hired people specialized in the art of manipulation to use these new tools. Fast forward 12 years and now here we are. We have political parties and candidates strategizing the delivery of their messages with actual news sources and various social platform executives as they are now extremely proficient in the art of manipulation. The search engines have altered their algorithms so that the information they want people to see covers the first page of results while people believe things are still sorted by relevance.
We the People
We, the people, have been empowered to act as judges in a dysfunctional courtroom where the powers-that-be have their hired hands present their cases. The unbiased data needed to make educated decisions is buried under strategically placed misinformation. The fight for power, the manipulation of the information we are presented, and the focus away from Truth has created a culture of bitterness and unforgiveness. Everyone’s past is being dug up and, in many cases, fabricated. Perfection is demanded from imperfect people who are being judged by imperfect people. Society has become liars, cheaters, adulterers, and murderers judging people for lying and cheating. We use subservient standards to justify evil while at the same time demanding the highest of standards. Scene set.
For Those who Have Ears
I really want people to catch what I am saying because it is imperative to receiving all that our hearts truly long for. The various parties are all demanding perfection. Every position is working to present their plan as the way to achieve a perfect society which is the surest path to power because every person is longing for a solution to the problems that seem so obvious to them and, they assume, to everyone. Each group has a different view of what perfection looks like so, even if one view can be achieved, a large portion of the population will still be unhappy. Only One has seen perfection and He is not represented by the hired hands in the courtroom everyone is focusing on. He has a higher court, and it is only in this court and by His standards that perfection can be replicated. In this courtroom, the liars, cheaters, adulterers, and murderers do not have a say, but stand already judged guilty. The only One able to plead a case is the perfect One, Jesus the Christ, who paid the price for the debt we could not pay. The ones who accept the reconciliation that Jesus made possible in His physical body through His death on the cross are able to identify as children of God and forgiven of lying, cheating, adultery, and murder. Jesus reconciled us IN Himself so we could be presented as holy, blameless, and above reproach in the highest court. We who place our hope in Christ Jesus by obeying His commands are able to present and plead our case before the throne of grace. To be able to be heard in this court we must keep ourselves holy, blameless, and beyond reproach IN Christ which means we plead according to His will and nature. It is all by the grace that this is available to us and through a faith that extends from the hope we have in the finished work of Jesus. It is through this hope that we are quick to forgive as we rely on God to provide restitution and be the perfect judge. The Apostle Paul pleads this case in Romans 12:1-2 when he says, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
The Indicator Light
Unforgiveness is a symptom of misplaced hope or hopelessness. It is a warning light or the GPS lady saying “Rerouting”. A person who understands what their position in the high court would be without someone to pay their debt so they can plead their case, is incapable of the pride needed to be able to render judgement on someone who is in the same position. One who places their hope in Jesus is quick to forgive in light of the mercies they receive through Jesus’s sacrifice for them. How can I muster up the strength to elevate myself when I did nothing to become who I am? I am forgiven and I am redeemed. “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14) In Matthew 6:12, Jesus instructs His disciples to pray ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.’ The prayer assumes that those who call on God as Our Father (i.e. His children) are already obedient to the command to forgive. Let me say this another way- those who truly know God as their father (like Jesus) are not unforgiving. I also want everyone to notice the correlation between forgiving others and being forgiven. A bitter and unforgiving person doesn’t feel forgiven because they haven’t yet surrendered themselves to God. The pride at the root of an unforgiving heart is an indicator of this. To pound this point home for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness:
Matthew 5:7: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Matthew 9:13: Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
James 2:12-13: So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
But when we forgive and give it all over to God to be the judge, we receive forgiveness and mercy that then leads our heart to being transformed and rooted in peace. It is here that we begin to reflect the perfect will of God. When we reflect God’s perfect will and present our case before Him in the high court, mountains move as the righteous judge speaks. This truth, I am confident. How confident? This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. (1John 5:14-15)
In Part 6 I will now venture over to discuss the job of those who understand how much they have been forgiven in what I will title Bearing with One Another.
]]>Cultural Unforgiveness
Over the past decade, I have observed the norms of society shift as people discuss and compare their antidepressant medications and which therapist they’re seeing. So many people seem to have so much bottled up inside and their only release is through paying for someone to talk to and chemicals to alter their brains. People are so overwhelmed with life in general that they are becoming more and more incapable of thinking outside of themselves. When a person is in this overwhelmed, self-focused state, there is a natural tendency to exalt their problems as unique and of higher significance than those around them. And then if someone can convince themselves that they have suffered a unique and significant injustice they are able to justify harmful and hurtful retaliations. If you add racial prejudice into the mix, you have people harassing and hurting entire groups of people. They feel no remorse since they are able to justify their actions in their own mind as a righteous punishment. A culture of unforgiveness leads to all of this.
We are a people so connected that we can reach out to numerous people any time we want via numerous methods. We can engage with entire groups of people on social media at the drop of a hat, yet we have to pay someone in order to release all the emotions we have bottled up after engaging with these people. A culture that is unforgiving is quick to point out the mistakes of others and, even if the person who has hurt or slighted us apologizes, it is never enough. It only justifies our overwhelmed, self-focused, and self-loathing state. In fear of social shaming, people have to project an image they see as acceptable to be welcomed into a semblance of community and then they have to adopt the values of that community to be allowed to stay in fellowship. Children see their parents and other authority figures attacking and shaming anyone who thinks differently and they do likewise. Then, since they are kids, they are labeled bullies for copying society and are themselves socially shamed. The kids being bullied and the bully both start the cycle of social conditioning, bottling-up their problems and trying to project a facade. Unforgiveness robs a culture of the transparency needed for healing and reconciliation.
Protecting the Facade
Imagine living in a legalistic culture where the rules are unwritten and constantly changing based on whatever new thing is considered offensive to someone. In this culture there is no learning curve and to be seen as righteous you have to publicly expose everything that is culturally “unclean.” The most offended or “oppressed” become the rulers, dictating in real time the social codes. To keep subjects in line, the rulers enforce “no mercy”, so that if you break one law you break them all and are punished by social shaming and being ostracized. Any questioning of the group, even logical and reasonable questioning, is against the law. Subjects must adhere to the ever-evolving laws which means they have to constantly be attentive to the leaders so they are current and don’t accidentally stumble. In a culture where everyone is self-seeking and elevation comes through exposing everyone else's shortcomings, there will be no trust, no true friendships, no transparency, no identity, no mercy, no grace, and no love. Just constantly protecting and repairing whatever the facade is currently being demanded. But, on the inside, the person is boxed in, anxious, bottled-up, and in chains. A person in this frame of mind is easily triggered as they internalize everything people around them say. They constantly wonder if people are attacking them indirectly and hang on every word but never listen to what is actually being said. They pay attention in order to find agreement with their preconceived notions and negative self-identity. Life is exhausting. If only people lived according to a higher standard and encouraged each other in who they are made to be and not by who they are not.
The Two Kingdoms Observed
Back in November of 2016, the day after Donald Trump was elected into office, a journalist posted a photo of two students at SIUC (my alma mater) to his 400,000+ followers on Twitter to display Day 1 of Trump's America. In the picture, the two students' faces were painted black while making funny faces with a Confederate flag hanging behind them. In addition, he posted photos of their Facebook pages with their names so people could find them in order to be shamed and ostracized as an example. Social media erupted as thousands of people hunted down these two students and flooded the University with demands to expel them. The girl in the photo was harassed so much that she left the school while her boyfriend in the photo deleted his accounts. They have since received numerous threats to their lives as the witch hunt continued and followed them even after anyone who cared to investigate realized the message they thought was being expressed was untrue. It turns out that the photo was taken weeks prior to the election, the flag was cut in half and defaced as a protest, and the two in the photo were simply taking selfies to show them doing charcoal masks together. See here. People were so eager to attack these two students because of someone trying to paint a narrative. As a result, they completely destroyed these kids’ lives. I remember one of my favorite skits was one of Jimmy Kimmel impersonating Karl Malone. It always made me laugh and I never heard anyone say anything negative about it. That is until all forms of “blackface” were deemed racist regardless of motive. What was funny to black and white people years ago didn’t get the memo of the changing rules. There are instances of blackface in the past that were indeed racist and I imagine even now. The issue is that intent is not even considered, but only what people can imagine as the intent. Dave Chappelle also performed skits on his show in the early 2000's with him doing "white face" quite a bit and, likewise, white and black people found them funny (including myself). The difference is he wasn't impersonating just one person, but white people in general. As a result, he may be a target in the future when rules change again due to someone seeking elevation and deciding they are offended.
Watching these stories unfold, I think back to when my now-wife, who is white, and I first met in college. Though her sister is black, she was raised in an extremely white culture and had never learned what is politically correct (PC) in black culture. When I began to attend an all-black Southern Baptist church, she started to tag along with me. The women there were so loving to her and even gave her a key to the church so she could get the building ready for guests every Sunday. At first, she would say things that were not PC out of pure naive ignorance. The women would just go “oh honey, don’t say it that way”. They would explain why, my then-girlfriend would turn red and apologize, and then they would answer her question. They didn’t judge her based on preconceived notions or according to how they could have interpreted what she meant. They exhibited what the Apostle Paul called ‘preserving the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace’ from the fourth chapter of Ephesians which states:
“ With all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:2-3)
The Key to Peace
Yes, forgiveness is a command from Jesus Himself, but it is also a key to the type of unity that yields healing. An unforgiving culture will march people away from all that is needed to empower. It will make subjects out of them and then manipulate the masses into labeling things “good” that are evil. The rulers of this dark kingdom will work to silence all dissention and try to blot out any and all light that tries to expose the unfruitful deeds of darkness. At the same time, the rulers twist righteousness and justice with speech that is intended to manipulate subjects into feeling justified in their unforgiving culture of hate. Meanwhile, the truly righteous ones are insulted, persecuted, and must endure people falsely speaking all kinds of evil against them. Still they rejoice and are glad through their sacrifice because of the hope that is within them is greater than the opinions of man. Love cries out from those who are called peacemakers, those unwavering children of God, “Father, forgive them!”
In Part 5c, I will talk about the greatest reward forgiveness yields for each person and a society.
In September of 2014 my church invited me, my wife, and our almost 18-month-old daughter to attend the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) conference in North Carolina. Before being invited I didn’t know what the CCDA was or anything about it. The conference and break-outs proved to be a moment of clarity for me and answered questions that I had been struggling with for a few years. Three years before the conference, I had entered a masters program in Bible and Theology and I had completed my final thesis on discipleship in the style of Dietrich Bonhoeffer just a few months before heading to North Carolina. After learning about many of the events recorded in Scripture within their historical context I was left with many questions about how the church in general had become a shadow of what Jesus birthed. It was here, at CCDA, that I heard about and witnessed the power of the gospel of Christ to heal entire communities and bring about racial unity. I heard testimonies from dozens of communities and various approaches that touched every facet of life and every level of government. I saw people from every race and every walk of life loving each other and helping each other. Some were covered in tattoos and piercings, some were old hippies, some very conservative. There was reggaeton, hip hop, gospel, hymns, and Latin fusion. We danced, sang, cried for our cities, and lamented together. Did everyone agree? Not at all, but fellow brothers and sisters came beside them in love to listen to their views. The people all had their shortcomings and bits of dirt, but the group as a whole reflected Christian love and it was beautiful. How had I never heard about this conference before? Or maybe I had and didn’t care enough to take notice. I began to inquire how this conference with thousands of people from all over the United States started.
New Role Model
I learned it was started in 1989 by a man named Dr. John M. Perkins and he was there, somewhere. I heard the next morning that he had a breakout session where he would be speaking and taking questions, so of course I went. Upon entering the room where the breakout session was, I overheard adults of all ages and pastors from all over the country talk about this man like I would be talking if I was about to be in the same room as Michael Jordan. Half of them were carrying books written by Dr. Perkins that they hoped to get autographed. Now I was anxious to learn what made this man so special. Then, escorted by a man everyone referred to as Coach Gordon, in walked an older black man in his mid-eighties with glasses, a Kangol hat on his head, and confidence in his step. I could feel the excitement of the room go from 8 to 10 in a second as joy filled that place.
He talked of a love I had heard Sunday School teachers talk about as a child and teenager, a love I had disregarded most of my college years as myth, an illusive love that had perplexed me the last three years leading up to this point. I sat at the feet of a man who had learned to hate white people after his older brother Clyde, a WWII veteran, was killed by a marshal after returning from serving the country. His crime was putting his arm up to block a club from hitting him in the head a second time; his first offence was talking too loud. I learned about a man who, by today’s standards, abortion rights advocates would use as an argument for why abortion is a better alternative. By the time Dr. Perkins was born, his father had left and at 7-months-old his mother died of malnutrition. He was raised by grandparents, working on a Mississippi plantation as a sharecropper and being constantly harassed by other white boys who knew there would be no justice for him. This all climaxed at the age of 16 when his older brother came back from war to be shot and killed by a marshal. He did not believe in God and was bitter and resentful to the point that his family sent him to California for his own safety. In California he saw a glimmer of hope, fell in love, married and started a family. One Sunday his son invited him to a church where he was attending Sunday school and Dr. Perkins gave his life to God. He went all in and his hunger for more led him to the point he was convinced the Gospel of Christ was the answer to all the world's problems.
Bring Light to Darkness
After being saved for three years, Dr. Perkins decided to return to Mississippi in 1960 to share his new love in Jesus and to bring about racial reconciliation. In 1962, he started a nonprofit organization which provided many community services and Bible literacy training. That same year two people were killed and hundreds more injured in riots over James Meredith’s admission to the University of Mississippi. The next year, three black students sparked a riot in Jackson by sitting at the “Whites Only” counter at Woolworth’s. A year later, three Freedom Summer workers were famously killed and their bodies hidden by Ku Klux Klansmen. Dr. Perkins was deeply involved in the civil rights movement, organizing various peaceful demonstrations. This all climaxed in 1970 when he went to Rankin County Jail in Brandon, Mississippi, to post bail for some of his fellow civil-rights demonstrators who had been arrested. Before he could even enter the building, highway patrol officers began to beat him with their fists and he was arrested and tortured, barely surviving the night. These events took a great toll on Dr. Perkins, leading to a heart attack and ulcers that required an extended hospitalization and him questioning where God was in all of this. In the hospital he found hope in seeing his white doctor and nurses tend to his wounds. He took notice of the two white people who were beaten alongside him, his white contributors to his nonprofit, and his white lawyer. In his book One Blood he states, “God used the black and white nurses and doctors at that hospital to wash my wounds… for me they were symbolic of the people who had beaten me. What they did healed more than just my broken body. It healed my heart.” Then I heard this man who had experienced such suffering and injustice say that at that point he decided to forgive, love, and pray for those who had hurt him throughout his life. After hearing Dr. John M. Perkins talk of this foreign love, a love that I had studied in books my whole life as merely historical text, tears filled my eyes and something shifted in my heart. This one man’s heart transformation led to him starting CCDA and the transformation and racial reconciliation of thousands of neighborhoods and communities across the country. One spark of love was what it took to ignite this roaring fire. I was now all in and my wife and I decided after that conference that, when we were able to purchase a home, it would be in an inner-city neighborhood. We wanted to be a light.
Forgive them!
The first ten verses of the 17th chapter of Luke has deeply bothered me for the longest time, to the point of an internal conflict. It wasn’t until God dealt with my youthful pride that I now see it in a different light. The section is 90% Jesus Himself speaking on the topic of forgiveness. After Jesus commanded that they should always forgive their brothers and sisters an infinite amount of times, the disciples, seeing this as an impossible task, asked Him to increase their faith to be able to obey the command. Jesus then says His famous “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” (Luke 17:6) and then the offensive (at first) part:
“Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” (Luke 17:7-10)
At this point the disciples didn’t fully understand the full nature of Who was giving this command and they didn’t understand the price that was to be paid for them to become Christ's possession. In Jesus, all of the trillions of offences from the creation of the world and to its end are forgiven. The disciples would soon know this to be true and would be called to live out their lives in a way that reflected the finished work of Christ. They were to be an example for all future generations who call Jesus Lord to follow. It is through this sacrificial Love that Jesus cried out from the tree He was lynched upon, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”(Luke 23:34a) A generation later Stephen, in the midst of being stoned to death by an angry religious mob, uttered the same words and the heavens opened up so Stephen could see His Lord Jesus stand up at God’s right hand as if to say “Well done, my good and faithful servant. (from Luke 7:56)
To God, unforgiveness is appalling. So that His disciples would understand unforgiveness from God's perspective, Jesus gives another example in Matthew 18:21-35. In the story, or parable, Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wants to settle accounts and one servant comes in who owes an amount that would be impossible for him to pay. The King orders for everything and everyone in the man's household to be sold to repay the debt. The man begs mercy and pledges to pay back the impossible debt in time. The King takes pity on the man and cancels all his debt. Then the man who was forgiven goes out and finds a man that owes him a small amount of money, a fellow servant who also could not pay. He grabs the man and chokes him, demanding his money. The fellow servant falls to his knees and begs for mercy and the man who just received mercy from his master, instead of living in mercy, has his fellow servant thrown into prison until the debt is repaid. Some of the other servants saw this all play out and went back to the master and told him what was done. Furious, the king calls the servant wicked and orders him to be tortured and thrown into prison until he can pay back the debt. Then verse 35 gives the warning, "So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18:35) Unforgiveness is appalling to God because His beloved Son paid the ultimate debt we could not pay with His own blood. It was so heartbreaking, the price the King of Heaven paid to forgive us, that for a moment the eternal indwelling bond of the Father and Son was broken. Forgive them! It is a command for those who claim the blood that forgives them!
Story of Dr. Perkins HERE
In part 5b I will discuss why forgiveness is much more than a command, but a key to a lock that opens a treasure.
]]>The Perfect Ledger
Jesus then comes on the scene and says:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:17-18)
Jesus lives the perfect life by keeping all 600+ laws and fulfilling all the prophecies about how the Messiah would come and what He would do. He was perfect. Then, though He was all perfection, He willingly gave Himself to die, to take the penalty for disobeying God, a thing He had never done. He was the perfect sacrifice because He knew God intimately like the original created man, making him the true image bearer of God. Adam (the first man) sinned while having full and intimate knowledge of God and since him all mankind has fallen short of the glory that God created them to be. This created a predicament because there was none capable of paying the price for what was lost. A perfect sacrifice was needed to pay the penalty, but all mankind was in need of spiritual resurrection. At any point during His death, Jesus could have stopped what was happening to Him as every angel in Heaven was at His beck and call, but instead He emptied and humbled Himself by becoming obedient even to the point of death. This one man went where we could not go and paid the price we could not pay. Why? Because Jesus is God’s perfect Son in whom God is well pleased and God's will for His children is to yearn for what He yearns. Jesus came to fulfill God’s promise, to redeem back God’s lost children and bring about his Kingdom on earth. For He (God) rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (1 Colossians 1:13-14).
Bucket List
One of the newest items on my bucket list is to attend a naturalization oath ceremony. A friend of mine attended one at the federal courthouse and, after describing it to me, it immediately made the list. A naturalization oath ceremony is the event where a person born outside of the United States becomes a citizen of the country. As soon as the individuals who have worked hard to get to this point recite the U.S.Oath of Allegiance, they are then citizens of the United States. The people who go through the process are often very excited and filled with joy. From that point on they have every right that I, a natural-born citizen, have only short of becoming President or Vice President of the country. The new citizen can vote, get a passport, and stand on the rights every other citizen has within our country. If they don’t like something in their city, they can run for political offices and lead police departments. Sure, there may be some who still look at them as less-than-full Americans, but, according to the United States, they are equal and are free to walk around and take pride in their country. No matter what anyone says, they can stand on the truth of their citizenship and should not accept anything different. It would be an extreme injustice for a government official to deport a naturalized citizen for any reason. If this happened ,the naturalized citizen could seek justice against the official in a court of law and he/she would win and possibly leave with a settlement.
Through Jesus, we who place our hope in Him and pledge our allegiance to Him are citizens of the Kingdom of God’s beloved Son. As citizens of the Kingdom, we have many privileges. Through Jesus, we have access to God, once more being able to have intimacy with Him like in the beginning. We are no longer bound by the 600+ laws that were impossible for us to fulfill. Through Jesus, we are able to fulfill them just like Him by simply humbling ourselves to His will and when we slip up His mercy is new each morning. No matter what anyone else may say or how much they bring up our past, we are able to stand on the finished work of Christ and trust He will avenge all injustices done to us. This is the reality where our hope rests. Through Jesus, we have peace with God. This is a peace unlike anything the world can promise; it is a peace that ensures us that nothing can separate us from God’s love so we never need to allow our hearts to be troubled or to be afraid (John 14:27 paraphrased).
Clean and Unclean
Within the old Laws there were many that stressed separation from outside influences. These laws mostly used the language of clean and unclean. I could go deeper into these various laws but, for the purpose of simplicity, it was God's way of protecting His people from influences that could easily deceive people who were spiritually dead.
Where am I going with this summary of Christian history? Through the blood of Jesus, we who place our hope in the finished work of Jesus are now of one body and one Spirit and called to one Hope (which is Jesus), one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through and in all (Ephesians 4:4-6 paraphrased). That which used to be separate is now brought into unity. Jesus stated in His high priestly prayer, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and you in me that they may be perfected in unity and then the world would know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (John 17:23). It is in our unity that we are perfected and through the love we show, that is contrary to the world, people will know Jesus came from God and God loves us. In addition to being naturalized citizens of the Kingdom of God, we also went through an adoption ceremony and are now children of God which makes us not only citizens but royalty. Speaking on our adoption, one of Jesus' original disciples wrote, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called children of God and such we are and for this reason the world does not know us because they did not know Him (1 John 3:1). All people who claim the blood of Jesus are children of God! Do you get it? If God has adopted us as His children through Jesus, and we all claim the same blood, that makes us...family.
Early in church history there was an event that is recorded in Acts 10 where God is bringing the Apostle Peter up to speed on the fullness of what all was accomplished through Jesus' sacrifice. In those days, Jewish people did not associate with other people as they were seen as unclean. Separation was ingrained into their culture and religious practices. To get His point across, God put Peter into a trance and 3 times gave him a vision of a buffet of animals that were considered unclean by the old Laws standards. Each time, Peter refused, stating he had never “eaten anything impure and ritually unclean.” Then God spoke with a voice and said to Peter “What God has made clean, do not call impure.” God used this lesson to get Peter to go into a non-Jewish home and lead a whole family to Jesus which is something he never would have done. He realized that day that when Jesus said his last words from upon the cross, “It is finished”, the reason for the separation laws were fulfilled and all mankind was invited to be children of God or...family.
Landing the Plane
There have been many injustices and innocent bloodshed in our nation's past and probably every other nation’s past, for that matter. The law of the land is “Your eye shall not pity: life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot” (Deuteronomy 19:21). And according to the Law, one may almost say,”all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22). To all who are not in Christ, those rules still stand and various groups are lining up and demanding justice for generations of injustice. The sins of past generations are being unearthed and with each new sin payment is being demanded. In the Law, only one with authority could apply the Law to the people and enforce the Law. Also, the one who has been the most wronged by the injustice is the one to whom payment is due. God, as the creator of all, has the ultimate authority to say what is right and what is wrong and He, as the author of the highest moral code, is the one most offended by mankind’s injustices. All will stand judgement in the high court and justice will demand blood. This is right, the justice upon which our concept of justice, and injustice, is based. The good news is that payment has been paid in full. It is finished. The wages of sin, which is death, has been paid and the free gift of God, which is eternal life, has been granted, but only through Jesus who gave his perfect blood as payment. All who accept this gift and pledge their oath of allegiance to the Kingdom of God get the privileges of the kingdom which are redemption and the forgiveness of sins. Furthermore, they are adopted as children and become one with one another.
I expect non-Christian teachings that do not claim the free gift of God to demand blood, but I expect something different from people who understand how much they have been forgiven. God's will is for all to take cover under the blood payment of Jesus Christ. It is also God's will for His children to yearn for what He yearns for which is to be drawn more and more into intimacy with God and unity with each other. Pride keeps people self-seeking and not concerned with the will of God. Pride leads people towards polarization, even within the church, and labeling brothers and sisters in Christ as “supremacists”, “oppressors”, and demanding blood that was already given. God does not see them as these labels just like He doesn't see people as oppressed or victims, but as royal children and blessed. “What God has made clean, do not call impure.” THUS SAYS THE LORD!
Yet God does see the injustices done even amongst brothers and sisters and the next 2 posts will be on how the body of Christ is instructed to deal with things that don't line up with the kingdom.
The Glass Ceiling
Often when people hear the word ‘hope’, they confuse it with the word ‘wish’. When someone wishes for something there is an unspoken understanding that they should feel lucky if they actually get it. The assumption is either the thing is undeserved or a long shot. ‘Hope’, on the other hand, says that the thing is either mine or that it can be mine. The assumption is that all the resources needed to have the thing hoped for have been attained or are easily attainable. Why am I splitting hairs about this? These two vantage points, that directly impact how one views oneself, are powerful enough to alter generations. When the professional black businessman was a teenager on the southside of Peoria, Illinois, his future aspirations were limited by his support system and perceived opportunities. My mom working with those kids, pushing them to excel, investing in them, encouraging them, and believing they could rise above, all while speaking life over them, turned a wish to hope. With hope, a person goes from victim to empowered and generations shift.
Attached to much of Marxist ideology is something called critical theory. Critical theory, with its fixation on power structures, depends on people adopting a subservient identity, essentially keeping them in the mindset of wishful victim. In order for Marxism to take hold, there must be the sort of civil unrest that leads people to see the world without hope. It is in the interest of a Marxist to keep a people group down with no vision of advancement apart from the path the Marxist has set. Quick question- If I am oppressed because I was born black in the U.S., how does Marxist ideology help me rise above seeing myself as oppressed?
What is sad is how this ideology has crept into every facet of life, even the church! The vast majority of articles, books, speeches, and sermons on race and culture assume this mindset and so take a subservient, or wishful, position with regard to source, status and standards. Subservient is defined as ‘useful in an inferior capacity’ or ‘subordinate’. It's like going to the gas station to buy your sushi.
Subservient Source
As followers of Christ, our hope is in God and is essential to having peace in our heart. Hope is a vantage point, a fixed reality that we are to operate from that is superior to anything any person can do to or for us. Jesus walking this earth and revealing God’s will and love for us is the source of our hope. God signing off on everything Jesus declared by raising him from the dead makes our hope a sure thing. The hundreds of people who witnessed the resurrection testified to it with their lives. In the face of persecution so vicious it makes what we go through in the U.S. look like a five-star resort, they changed the world. For the first few hundred years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, followers of Christ expected to be persecuted and possibly killed. As they were banned from synagogues, disowned from their families, and had their livelihoods taken from them, they looked to God as their source and the one who would somehow make all of the cost worth it. The Apostles would travel from region to region, church to church, encouraging the believers in who they were IN Christ. Almost every one of the Apostle Paul's letters- Galatians, Ephesians, Romans, Colossians, and Thessalonians- encourage the believers in who they are and where their hope rests in the face of persecution.
Popular culture’s message promotes the same sort of subservient, wishful thinking the Marxists preach. Government has been put forth as our hope and is seen as the ultimate answer to all of life's problems. What is their answer to black kids reading at lower levels? More government programs. What is their solution for fatherlessness? More government interaction at younger ages and a system that incentivizes single parent households. What is the solution for children being raised in poverty? State-funded abortion clinics that target minority neighborhoods. Or as some of my well-meaning white friends will say, “It’s better that a child never be born than for that child to have to be raised in a harmful or disadvantaged environment.” But large government structures are not able to operate with the compassion needed to bring change on a case-by-case basis. When people place all their hope in an impersonal, man-made, subservient source to provide what is needed for flourishing, the bureaucracy involved tends to make matters worse. One of the major differences between black families in the 1960’s and black families now is the welfare system. Are we better off now as a people with this shift? The thinking behind the welfare system was good, but the bureaucratic standards don’t encourage flourishing. Rather, they discourage people from advancing and bettering themselves. Subservient sources are incapable of addressing the root problems that cause low reading levels, fatherlessness, and poverty. These can only be addressed through a compassionate love that bears with people and encourages them to have a superior hope, that helps build a vision of a different life for themselves and their families.
Subservient Status
A person cannot have this hope if they believe they are inferior or of a lower status. Furthermore, someone who believes they are inferior will be too focused on how people perceive them to be able to encourage someone else. For a little over a year now I have been developing friendships with a number of chronically homeless people. Initially I thought, I know a number of leaders of nonprofits and other people who can help my friends with resources for thriving and can encourage them. From the outside looking in, the solution to their problem seemed very simple and I estimated that with encouragement, guidance, and my connections, I could have them self-sufficient in about five months. I soon found out that first I have to break down a huge barrier. The greatest barrier to them thriving is how they view themselves. When a person settles in their mind that eating scraps is as good as it gets, me saying something different can be taken as an attack on their identity. The chronically homeless people I know are the most self-centered people I have ever come across. They are always in survival mode and the constant focus on what they lack makes them unable to think beyond themselves. When I gave them things my thought was, “Now you have a reprieve from survival mode. Let’s map out a realistic plan to change your trajectory.” Their mindset was, “I wonder how much more I can milk this guy for?” They didn’t even have the capacity to imagine themselves not being homeless.
This is the mindset where both Marxism and popular culture thrives. This mindset and those who hold to it tell me I am oppressed because of my race. But, in Christ, I am told I am more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37). The culture says I am a victim of white supremacy and there is a system designed to keep me down. With God, I am told I am an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20) and I will judge angels (1 Corinthians 6:3). Marxism needs people to believe they are powerless unless there is an uprising (that elevates the Marxist leaders into power, of course). In Philippians 4:13 I am told I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Do you see the conflict of these thoughts? In order for Marxist ideology to take root in a society, people must be stripped of their identity in Christ. The goal is for the people to believe they are inferior so deeply they cannot even imagine themselves not being oppressed. The hope that is needed for thriving is a threat to the hopelessness needed for control.
Subservient Standard
A few years back, when the movie Black Panther was still in theaters, I visited a black church for their anniversary service. At this service, guest pastors and guests of honor presented and spoke words of encouragement and blessing over the church. Black Panther proved to be a perfect depiction for the preachers to use to discuss racism in the country. To the preachers and the black community at large, the movie was a picture of hope in a black utopia (to be clear, I also like this movie and own it). One preacher told the story of a conversation he had with one of his members upon leaving the theater after watching the movie. The person expressed how he had liked the movie, but couldn’t get on board with the paganism practiced by the main characters. The preacher used this moral conflict to educate his church member, and now all of us at this service, about why we should embrace the paganism within the movie as it was culturally accurate to some African tribes. His reasoning was that the white man had forced their paganistic religious practices on us for so many years and now it was time we embraced our own pagan roots. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped as I waited for the other pastors to immediately call this out as foolishness. To my surprise, they smiled and encouraged it and the congregation clapped and said amen.
When the standard is not Christ, something else will take His place. Can you imagine the Apostle Paul telling the Corinthian church “Practice the worship of your ancestors’ idols since the Romans have forced their emperor worship upon you?” No, instead he says “You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.” (1 Corinthians 10:21) When Christ is the standard grace, truth, and peace reign.
The motivation behind popular culture and Marxism is pride that leads to coveting what other people have. When the focus is on what other people have or do and what you lack or can’t do, then that becomes the idol of your heart. When a culture covets their idol for long enough, a preacher can point to the idol as justification for an action and no one will bat an eye. When you measure your life against a subservient standard based on comparisons, you become ungrateful of everything you have and bitterness consumes your heart.
Hope Stolen
In Hebrews 11:1 we are told faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. Hope is a reality that you can build your whole life on. Faith is that hope lived out and without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). For those who are in Christ, our hope is a person, Christ Himself, and we live in faith as children in the kingdom of God. If someone could steal that hope away, they can get a people to live their lives without faith and, again, without faith it is impossible to please God. The battle we fight is not against flesh and blood, but there is something working behind the scenes to get us to trust a subservient source, to believe we are a status lower than children of God, and to yearn for idols. Something is at work to steal our hope, kill our desire to thrive, and destroy our peace.
There is a part in the Gospels (Matthew 4:1-11) where Jesus is tested by Satan in the wilderness during a period when he wasn’t eating for 40 days. Each test began with Satan saying, “If you are the Son of God...” This was done to get Jesus to question His status as “son”. At one point Satan challenges Jesus to throw himself off a building to see if God will catch Him. This was done to try to get Jesus to question His source. Then Satan took Jesus up to a high mountain and promised Him the world if He would bow down and worship him. This was done in order to get Jesus to yearn for an easier path to God’s design, to yearn for the idol of ease. Yet Jesus knew who He was and whose He was and countered each attempt to deceive Him with truth.
My Motivations
Social media is dangerous many times because it is hard to judge the tone people are using to express with their opinions. If I am honest, I did not want to write on this topic and my motivation is one of heartbreak. I can see and feel the hopelessness and it breaks my heart. I feel like King T'Challa's mother in the movie Black Panther, yelling from the sidelines during his challenge with M'Baku- “Show him who you are!" We are a people who have been tempered by fire, tested generation after generation, and now are very strong. Much of this perspective has been lost from our narrative through fatherlessness, but the heritage is still there and I am telling you, you are more than conquerors. Don't agree with views and opinions about yourself that are not true and are intended to keep you mentally enslaved! These agreements try to get people to question their identity and worth in Christ and are meant to steal away the very hope needed to thrive. Next week I will address the other flaw from popular opinion on race and culture which is "they negate the finished work of Christ."
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Prejudice breeds in the unknown. What do I mean by this? White supremacists (real ones) don’t usually have any black friends. Without any knowledge or personal experience of other people, they can categorize all black people into one group and think less of them. One black person who is willing to put down their own prejudices and humbly engage in conversation and relationship can dismantle the worldview of most white supremacist. We can see this with the example of Daryl Davis’ infiltration of the KKK. One black man led to over 60 KKK members hanging up their robes. All he did was listen to them, ask questions, and treat them with the honor he expected for all men. Growing up, I heard a great deal of racist things said to me from kids who were just repeating what their parents said. Many times when I would explain how most black people would take what they said, they would go “oh ok, my bad” and we would move on. Many of those people became some of my best friends and would fight anyone who tried to disrespect me. Through building these friendships, I know white people are not inherently evil or bad. I know most of them strive to be good people and that it is wrong to stereotype them into groups based on their race (which is textbook racism, btw).
Tails
On the flip side, pride and fear of the unknown fuel the prejudice. Many of the Marxist groups on the front lines of the protests for racial equality are attractive to the black population because they play on pride and the unknown. Shouting down all forms of authority, blocking highways, and destroying what majority culture values brings a sense of power that is intoxicating to the prideful and the hurt. But what is their goal? I asked a friend. His answer was the same as everyone else I have asked the same question- “to eliminate white supremacy.” I then ask “what does that look like” and they always fumble and say something along the lines of getting equality of outcome (instead of equality of opportunity), fair hiring practices, and the end of racism (at least in one direction). Do you see the flaw? The goal is for every single white person to think and act a certain way. It is a view that assumes people are inherently good (or bad to some) and sin is a construct that can simply be laid aside. This will never happen until Jesus comes. What this thinking actually results in is a society in which there is no margin of error. Every single hateful act a white person does to a black person in the entire country is a trigger! Even worse, when these groups throw things at police officers, destroy statues, and won’t decry the destruction of people's livelihoods, they create new stereotypes and breed more hate. Now the few real white supremacist groups can cite actual injustices to boost recruitment. Why can't we see this fact? Answer: Prejudices! In the mind of the prideful pre-judgers, all white people are racist supremacists and now they are just showing their true colors. No, actually you just destroyed their livelihoods and cultural artifacts because of their race, called them names, and stereotyped them. Ironically, these are the very reasons the Marxists point to as justification for their actions, citing slavery and Jim Crow laws. The Marxist groups, while shouting down the prejudices and stereotypes that lead to racial profiling, are operating off of prejudices and stereotypes themselves. If you do not believe me, just ask them questions. I have. They will justify their actions by grouping all white people or all police officers into one big group as the enemy (and cite the actions of one person or a tiny group) and any person who disagrees with their racist jargon is black listed.
Useful Puppets
I should note here that most people who follow the Marxist groups are not Marxist themselves and many do not even know what Marxism is. Most of the people marching behind the Marxist leaders do not know their narrators are championing a philosophy that has led to the most innocent bloodshed in all of history (For a start of further study see Vladimir Lennin, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, The Khmer Rouge/ Pol Pot and research fascism's Marxist roots). When the vehicle is fueled by anger and pride, truth is the blind-spot. Would people continue to virtue signal and expose every speck of dirt from history if they knew they shouted from a muddy mass grave? I do not know; pride is a stubborn master. Most folk just believe in the phrases and slogans the Marxist groups use and are mesmerized by the philosophies they speak that play on the pride, conceit, and covetousness that is already in their hearts. When there are dozens of ways to express the same message as the tainted slogan Black Lives Matter, why don't those who disagree with the group's values say something else? Do people care that the BLM organization promotes all the things that are destroying the black community? To play devil’s advocate, one could argue that many atrocities have also been done by those who follow Christ. True, and many who claim to follow Christ are also justifying the destruction and division perpetrated by the Marxist groups. The real question is, what do the platforms people stand on actually proclaim and argue for? My question is why do those who oppose Marxist views still mark themselves with the Marxist branding? From a marketing perspective, if I created a brand that I wanted people to put their money behind, complete with hashtags and slogans, I would be ecstatic with the more people I saw with my branding. I would take pictures of them and present them before my contributors to get more money to legitimize and funnel into my movement. It's my slogan and my branding, I own the message that goes forth from it. I would own the narrative no matter what the people who exalt me say! In all of this I am not trying to say that there isn’t an issue to be addressed. I am simply trying to expose the motivations of the heart, which is what God sees. “When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Be careful, then, that the light within you is not darkness.” (Luke 11:34-35)
Who do you say I Am?
I used to volunteer at a youth camp as a dorm counselor. The camp was about 90% white kids and they would give scholarships for a few inner city black kids to attend. In my dorm one year, there was one black kid in a sea of white kids, something I grew up with most of my life. He was rebellious and unruly all of the time. He intentionally caused problems and wouldn’t follow any rules. If they said "everyone quiet," he would talk louder trying to be funny (because in urban black culture this is what the cool kids do). If they said sit together with your dorm, he would sit on the stage or in the middle of a girls dorm. In the paintball activity, he shot the kids that were sitting next to him waiting to go. In team building, he intentionally sabotaged his team so they could not complete any exercises (until the whole team literally lifted him through it). The thing that made me most angry was all the Christian white people treating him like a special case. They would smile and talk softly to him and practically coddle him. Halfway through the camp, I got in his face when no one else was around and asked why he is acting like a charity case? I then told him all the white people thought he was a mentally disabled special needs case. I told him they were coddling him and talking light and condescending to him because they thought he was stupid. I told him I knew he was very intelligent and smart and I refused to treat him differently from the rest of the campers. From that moment on, he was a model camper and stayed by my side most of the time.
My family’s church is the product of a merger of a predominately white church and a predominantly black church that happened while I was away at college. The church is located in the inner city in a predominantly black neighborhood and is extremely involved in the community and the corrections systems. Through the church, they lead a statewide job training program within the prison and jail system. It is not uncommon for a large portion of our congregation to be ex-convicts and it is impossible to notice who is. As a reflection of the neighborhood, 95% of the youth ministry is black while many of the teachers are white. Each kid from the neighborhood comes in acting exactly like my camper. On a regular basis, the white teachers have to call in one of the black teachers to bring some form of order to the various break out groups. There is one kid, about 12 years old, that is a ringleader of chaos. He feeds off of the other kids laughing at his antics and can take over any activity in a matter of minutes. One day in the middle of prayer in the main church service, he was playing a game on his phone and had the volume up all the way. A few white adults tried to politely tell him to turn it down and he ignored them.Then one of the black men, who was also an ex-convict, got up and snatched the phone out of his hand. The boy’s sisters came running to me and said, “you need to get him his phone back or our brother will start yelling and flipping chairs in the middle of church.” All the kids taunted him and stared at him eager to see what he would do. I went over, sat down next to him, and started talking to him. He was very angry and told me to get his phone back or he was going to start throwing chairs (wonder where he got that idea?). I asked him why he would do that over a phone? He then told me about his medical history and how he can’t help himself because he has all these problems that send him into fits of rage. I told him to stop looking at the other kids and to look at me. I looked him in the eye and told him “Don’t let people tell you things about yourself, and don’t let these other kids play you like a clown.” I then told him I know he is smart and can control himself and that he needs to reject what people say about him. He calmed down and I told him I would get his phone, but he better turn the volume down. He agreed, and I got him his phone. Now he comes up to me quite often to show me his drawings and I have absolutely no problems with him.
Let's Re-Examine the Journey
There are so many conspiracy theories within our community as to why things are the way they are. Why 13% of the nation’s population comprise a majority in the prison system, why the worst schools have the highest minority populations, why on average we always test lower than all other races in reading and math, why we are more susceptible to various health issues, and so on. I have researched so many statistics and studies showing the various disparities and trend changes from the 1960’s to now that I could argue both sides of the issue for days. I have looked into books on race and culture from various authors using terms like supremacy, privilege, oppressor, and the like. I have read both Christian and non-Christian writings and articles. My findings time and again reveal TWO flaws that both deal with identity. Next article I will address the first one which is 'they take a subservient position.
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The Question
Why am I or my friend so rare? Many will point to a system of systemic racism and white supremacy that has kept my fellow black brothers and sisters down. I cannot speak for other people, but I can speak for myself. I do consider my background extremely different from the norm for black males in the United States. First and foremost,I was raised in a two-parent household, but also I was raised by a mother who was of a different generation than my peers’ mothers. My mother was 40 years old when she had me and her father was in his 50’s when she was born. My grandfather was born in 1892 and was a very hard working man (that is an understatement, all he did was work). All of my grandparents were born in Southern states. My mother is very disciplined and expected us to be disciplined and work with a spirit of excellence. We were expected to respect adults, never give up or quit, and operate with a higher standard than those around us. We lived in a predominantly white community and went to predominantly white schools while attending a predominantly black church and participating in all-black cultural events. We were taught that since we were black we had to be twice as good as our white peers in everything to get ahead in life. Our whole family would break into the high-school track on a nightly basis to run and practice. We would attend numerous basketball and football camps growing up and were expected to always be in the top 10 of our class in academics. If we didn’t know how to do something or if we fell behind in school, our mother would stay up all night if she had to to ensure we would go to school the next day as experts.
Youthful Pride
My family had me so proud of who I was I literally thought I was better than everyone else in my class. If someone said something about my big lips I would stick my lips out more and call them jealous. In my family, we would fight over who had the darkest skin, biggest behind, and largest lips. All of my white friends respected my parents because they were expected to behave at a higher standard when around my mother, in particular, and they did. Did I experience racism? Most definitely! Many times I was the only black kid in the class. I have more stories about discrimination and racism than any other black person I know in my age group. I am sure there are many who have more stories than I do, but I don’t know them. There were a few other black kids who went to school with me over the years, and through them I learned that there was something different about me than even them. Other black kids that went to predominately white schools and experienced both subtle and blatant discrimination like me tend to be on the front lines of the racial divide, angry, holding signs and fists up high.
When I was younger, how my parents taught me to see myself lifted me above the pack. If I was wronged or cheated out of something, I would think that I would have the last laugh and just worked harder. I don’t know where I would be today if I’d begun to believe all that was said of me or dwell on all that was done to me. I couldn’t imagine going through life worried about what other people were thinking of me. The very thought of it now makes a little anxiety churn in my stomach.
The Old is Gone
However, thanks be to God, I am different now. In the past six years, God has greatly humbled me from the pride that used to fuel me. For a time, I went through quite a few humbling experiences and periods of poverty that brought me down out of the clouds. Through this humbling time, my community and identity have grown stronger than ever before. God has fathered me and showed me I can trust Him as He provides for all of my needs. I now realize that I am a son of the most high God and I long to uphold his standards to show my love and appreciation. I have so much joy in my heart and confidence in who I am in Christ that if anyone treats me differently than the person I know I am I simply feel sorry for them. From the vantage point of pride, I would have never thought to feel sorry for the person who treated me as less than. I would only seek revenge and be fueled by the thought of me one day looking down on them, whether from the height of my accomplishments or by beating them in a contest. Pride as a motivator will always turn into resentment in the end because it elevates a person, at least in his mind, to the level of a god. When life doesn’t play out as one dreams and hope leaves, anger and resentment are at the door constantly comparing and coveting. I look out at my fellow black people and understand what they experience on a daily basis and my heart aches for them. I see the feeling of hopelessness and I often weep. I ask God how can I help them see themselves how He sees them? One morning in prayer, He told me to speak truth to them, speak life to them, and to keep telling them who they are. You see, as black people we are constantly told we are oppressed and victims. We see the look in the eyes of potential employers and know we aren’t getting the job before we sit down; we grow up seeing white images as the standard, and our culture celebrates the very things that perpetuate harmful stereotypes.
My Answer
So, why am I different? I am different because my identity is not found in this world, though I weep for it. Do I love justice? I would argue that I love justice more than all the people destroying statues and blocking roads combined. I am different because I strive to live according to the 2nd chapter of Philippians which specifically states:
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” -Philippians 2:3-5
Or 1 Thessalonians 5:15 which states:
“See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.”
Yes, I do know who I am, and no, I do not like it when I am treated as less than who God says I am. But like Christ, I choose to focus on the good that will come to me and to the people I reflect Christ to when I live in humility and return good for evil. I believe hearts changing, not vengeance, is the key to progress. I believe love is the perfect bond of unity and strive to allow peace to rule in my heart. I trust in the blood of Jesus and will share the word of my testimony, always willing to die for righteousness sake.
In Part 2 I will touch on prejudices, stereotypes, and the effects of how one views themselves.
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At least $8 of t-shirt sales will go towards Helping Hands Resale Shoppes
and if you can give more or want to give less you can here on the GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/give-helping-hands-a-hand-during-covid19?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link-tip&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet
Timothy Culture Training compliments of Helping Hands Resale/ Small World Connections
We believe after looking at the life of Barnabas you will want to say to him, “Barnabas you are such an encourager, such a connector, so flexible and so available. How did you get to be that way?”
Let’s look at his story together and see if we can figure that out…
Section 1 – Principles
First a few questions to help clarify what you understand these Barnabas principles to mean. We will also ask you to return to these questions after going through this discussion/study and see if you look at each in a different way as a result of what you discover about Barnabas.
What does it mean to be an encourager?
Why is it difficult to be an encourager?
What does it mean to be a connector?
Why do we generally not live the life of a connector?
What does it mean to be available?
Why are Christ-followers not usually seen as available?
What does it mean to be flexible?
Why is flexibility difficult to live out in our daily lives?
Section 2 – Passages
Take some time to read through each of these passages about Barnabas and consider the corresponding questions as you read. Write down or share your answers after reading each passage through a few times.
Read Acts 4:32-37
Ask: Why was what Barnabas did in this story so impactful that it ended up landing him a permanent nickname?
Read Acts 9:22-30
Ask: How important in the big picture of the New Testament is the connection that is made in this story and why does it matter?
Read Acts 11:19-30
Ask: What evidence is there in this story that Barnabas was both available and flexible?
Section 3 – Personal
This section is designed to give you an opportunity to see what the Lord is showing you personally in the life of Barnabas.
What personal thoughts have you had so far about Barnabas as you have read a few stories from his life?
Do any stories about people in your life that come to mind when you read about Barnabas? If so can you summarize those here or share a story with the group?
Section 4 – People
This video will give you a quick glimpse into the life of someone living out these Barnabas principles in our world today. We might not be able to sit and have coffee with Barnabas at this point, but we can be inspired by Diane’s story and see how God will be glorified in our life like he was in the life of Barnabas. Please watch this short interview and then answer a few questions about what you have seen.
WATCH Short Video on Small World Connections SWC YouTube Channel (11 minutes)
YouTube video titled: Small World Connections Timothy Culture Training – Video 1
Link: https://youtu.be/wjaO1f2tRpw
How do you see the Barnabas qualities (encourager, connector, flexible and available) lived out in the video you watched telling Diane’s story?
What else stands out to you about Diane’s story?
Section 5 – Practical Points
In this last section we will share a few points of intersection that we see between the stories of Barnabas and the goal we have to help connect a Timothy culture in the Church. In addition to these points we will give some practical ways to apply these in the context of our ministry with Small World Connections and other mission efforts.
Barnabas brought a field –
This simple yet extremely sacrificial act that we read about in Acts 4: 32-37 is so encouraging to the early believers and Jesus’s apostles specifically, that they begin to call this man Barnabas from that day forward. We never read about him in scripture again called anything except Barnabas which, as we are told, means Son of Encouragement. Where we might normally think of encouragement meaning someone who comes by your side and tells you that you are doing a great job or cheers you on when you want to give up, in this case the fact that Barnabas was doing exactly what Jesus had said to do in Luke 12:33 was a huge encouragement. He literally was selling his possession and giving it to those in need. It is easy to imagine the apostles seeing this and saying to themselves, the Lord has worked in this man and the Holy Spirit is guiding him to look more and more like Jesus. That was a huge encouragement and it gave him that identifying nickname from that day forward.
Does reaction of the Apostles surprise you as they see the action that Barnabas took and find it to be such an encouragement?
What are some other reasons that this act might have been so encouraging to the apostles?
Barnabas built bridges –
In the second passage we looked at about Barnabas we see that he is a connector that builds bridges where there are none. There have been many important introductions in history (John Lennon meeting Paul McCartney comes to mind) but perhaps none have changed the course of history more than the apostles first meeting Jesus and then the apostles meeting each other. In Acts 9:22-30 we see Barnabas step in and make sure that the apostles who had walked with Jesus understood that Saul (later known as the Apostle Paul) had also seen Jesus face to face and was one of them. We know the rest of the story now, but at the time nobody would have been able to imagine that Saul as the Apostle Paul would go on to reach the edges of the Roman world with the Gospel. They would have only been able to see the man who had persecuted their friends and families for following Jesus. Yet, Barnabas was there to build that bridge because he was trusted and could see the potential that God had put in these men if they would connect in leading the early Church. We can thank the Lord that he had Barnabas in the right place at the right time and that Barnabas was willing to put his own reputation on the line to make that connection.
What are some reasons that we rarely see someone go out of their way to introduce people who might be able to help and serve each other within the Church?
What do you think Barnabas was motivated by in this story?
Barnabas was available and flexible –
Something was going on in Antioch. In the Acts 11:19-30 passage we see that persecution has scattered the believers as they spread out from Jerusalem. The believers who went to Antioch of Syria were seeing gentiles come to faith in the Lord as the Holy Spirit moved. This was reported back to the apostles in Jerusalem, they looked around for a person they could send to check it out and there was Barnabas the Son of Encouragement. This looked like a chance for Barnabas to shine, as he willingly went when called and saw many come to faith in Christ. Yet, when the task seemed like it required someone with gifts and talents that were different than his, Barnabas took a road trip, went and found Saul and brought him back to help. They worked there side by side for a year and the result of their ministry was so powerful that at Antioch we received our nickname too. Believers in Jesus were called Christians there for the first time. There we began to be known simply as little Christs. It might take a little effort to see it, but after Barnabas was available to be sent to the mission field he was also flexible and adjusted to the situation without regard for getting the credit himself for the results in Antioch. Was it that that model and inspiration that God used to grow a church that would soon be identified as looking like Jesus? We believe that Barnabas is a great example of availability and flexibility in ministry.
What do you think Barnabas would say if you asked him what was most valuable to him and why do you think that would be his answer?
What are a few things that you must be willing to give up if you are going to be available and flexible in the same way Barnabas was in these stories?
Barnabas – Encourager, Connector, Flexible and Available
Relationship Application Opportunities:
Return to our initial questions under Section 1- Principles and see if you would answer those any differently. Note any changes in perspective on those questions.
]]>At least $8 of t-shirt sales will go towards Helping Hands Resale Shoppes
and if you can give more or want to give less you can here on the GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/give-helping-hands-a-hand-during-covid19?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link-tip&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet
Like many other businesses, Helping Hands Resale Shoppes in Chillicothe, Peoria Heights, and Canton, Illinois have been forced to close their stores due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Why should people focus on this organization? Simple. Relationship. Helping Hands Resale Shoppes exist for the purpose of selflessly giving all by sharing in the communities they serve. Helping Hands to date has donated over $1.7 million into their communities. Their generosity is so limitless that when forced to close for at least 2 weeks, they simply do not have the funds to cover their fixed cost and employees in the coming days.
I (Ryan Foster) have a dream/vision that I am working toward that seems humanly impossible to accomplish. Looking at my resources currently, where I need to be seems unfathomable. After trying to make it happen for months in my own strength, I asked God to show me the next step to take because I wanted to give up. The word I was given was plant seeds and I immediately thought, 'I have nothing of value to give.' God then made it clear I am to call each Not-For-Profit I had contacted, ask how I can pray for them, and intentionally pray each and every day. I have been doing this for over a month now (prior to the virus) and something shifted within me. After the first week, I found myself crying out, in tears at times, and petitioning for these organizations and their families. After two weeks, I became so invested in the lives of these Not-For-Profits that I do all I know to do to help them in their sufferings. God gave me compassion for them and it was through intercessory prayer that this developed. When they hurt, I hurt; when they suffer, I suffer. The word compassion literally means to share in suffering or to suffer with. When Jesus walked this earth, his compassion is constantly spoken of. It led him to extend more of himself for his neighbors.
Last week when I checked-in with my Not-For-Profits, my heart ached as I learned about how many of them were affected by the pandemic. My heart wrenched the most for Small World Connections/ Helping Hands Resale Shoppes. They told me the very real possibility of not surviving the quarantine period. Then they brought me to my knees. In the next breath they said they were organizing teams to go out each day to go shopping for the elderly starting in the Chillicothe community. In the midst of possibly going under, they were looking at their neighbors and asking how can we give more? Silver and gold they no longer had but what they had they gave thee. What did they have? Themselves. Imagine if this type of heart became contagious? Contagious like Covid-19 contagious? Could you fathom how this pandemic would be if more people shared in the sufferings of their neighbors? There would be toilet paper for starters.
Could this be what Paul spoke of in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27? Here we are called to be a unified body with Christ as the head. If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it and likewise if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it (1 Corinthians 12:26). Here is your chance to follow the example of Helping Hands Resale Shoppes/ Small World Connections by looking beyond your situation and help the one that emptied themselves for the ones they love- their neighbors.
Philippians 2:1-11: So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
One Body.
]]>Then the opportunity came thanks to our student loan system. Now I had the means to go with the misguided priorities and ignorance to get my first tattoo. I was just waiting for my over-payment check (I purposely took out more than I needed in loans and at that time schools would give thousands of dollars to kids). Then, in a move that was pure genius though I mistook it for wishful thinking, my mom begged me to make a deal with her. Her deal was to wait until I was 25 to do any more alterations to my body, just to give my brain a fighting chance to fully develop. Fully develop? That's insulting! Now driven by pride, joy in the thought of proving my mom wrong, and maybe a little wanting to pay for rent and food, I took the deal.
By the time I turned 23 I didn't want a tattoo anymore. I am not saying all this wanting you to infer that there is some deficiency of maturity or understanding that correlates to getting tattoos, because there is not. My point is, people are fickle with ever-changing preferences, motives, and levels of understanding. I will admit my reasoning at that time was a bit of religious legalism mixed with my natural high self-esteem (I have always thought I am awesome...even when I was not). At that time I had just begun to take God’s will seriously when it came to my choices in life. I read what many refer to in the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) about markings on the body and that made me begin to question getting a tattoo. (I would still be getting one at this point, it was just going to be more God-centered) As I studied Scripture more, my self-awesome awareness somehow latched onto the thought that God did a good job in making me and there was no need to attempt improvements on His artwork. It was this thought that swayed me more than anything from wanting tattoos, for a while.
In the grand scheme of things, I am confident tattoos have absolutely no correlation with God's love for us. What about what is written in the Torah section of the Old Testament?, you ask, Specifically, Leviticus 19:28? To properly address that specific Scripture we have to take a few steps back so that our view is in line with intent. There are many ways to approach the Word of God. There are those who see the Bible as simply being filled with dos and don’ts. They view it as a list of rules for us to keep, mostly by our own strength. This will lead a person to read it devoid of true understanding and blind to God’s intent. But rather, all of the Bible is written in light of relationship and, simply, the heart of God. When something seems to be baseless and doesn't make much sense to the modern reader, it is proper to simply ask, “why?” Now to the person who still believes this is merely a collection of ancient books that has no divine attributes, what their minds can imagine can be seen on the History Channel. What I mean is to bring the view of an all-knowledgeable God with an eternal perspective to all of life into the reading and ask why? Ask why, in light of all the Scripture that demonstrates various parts of the heart of God, did He say this or command that? Depending on the intent of the reader's heart, this still can lead down dark corridors of their heart, but ironically that helps build upon my point. God judges motives more than He judges the action. This is precisely why God is the perfect judge because He doesn’t simply judge the actions or their consequences, but judges the intent of the heart. If a person's motives were pure, God judges accordingly. There are some actions in Scripture, though, that the action itself is a reflection of impure motives of the heart and those are usually spoken of with phrases like “God detests” or “God abhors”.
What does all this have to do with tattoos? Gather together Leviticus 19:28, the Scripture surrounding it, and additional resources and we can understand why God makes this statement. God didn't want the Israelites to adopt the practices of the nations around them, especially their practices of idol worship. Cutting their hair to look like idol gods, cutting their flesh for the dead, and making marks on the body were forbidden in light of the surrounding cultures’ practices. One may object and state, “I thought God is supposed to be never changing, how does this work?” God is never changing, but our relationship with the never changing God has drastically changed since the writing of Leviticus. When we speak of the Old Testament and New Testament we are referring to a covenant or contract. There is the Old Contract and the New Deal, if you will. Under the Old Contract there were terms and conditions spelled out for the nation of Israel in order to be allowed to dwell in the land and experience the benefits of being God’s chosen people.
It was understood among all the people that this contract was not God’s Will, but a way to keep a people connected with the God of the universe by some means. Under this agreement they were allowed to have a temple or tabernacle in their midst where one person, after various steps and sacrifices, could enter into the inner chamber called the Holy of Holies one time per year to atone for the whole population of people. ‘Atone’ is a term that means simply to temporarily cover the penalty for their falling short of God’s purpose for all mankind. The key point to notice is even after the people tried to follow the contract they still fell short of the terms and needed another person to provide a temporary solution to the breach of contract. The whole system was a temporary patch job to hold them over until the Savior came.
The Old Contract assumes something bad happened between the creation of mankind and the implementation of this contract. It pointed to the need for justice for whatever happened and assumes that something was missing for justice to be satisfied. People, being the crown jewel of creation and being made in the image of God, had nothing of equal value that could act as payment for both the initial and the ongoing injustice. Nothing on earth could fill the void that was created when we decided to turn away from God. You see, we have a perfect and holy God who made us for intimacy with Himself, intimacy that is so intertwined that we are almost one, us in Him and He in us. That bond was broken and our imperfect condition caused a rift in the intimacy God desires. Mankind intimately bearing God’s image (God in us and us in Him), our default setting and God's Will, is the just payment. The contract was created so that God could be in the midst of His love to woo her from a distance and remind her of time that once was and is yet to come.
God, knowing mankind's susceptibility to being deceived without the intimacy with Him who is Truth itself, put safeguards within the contract. He knows He made us to be experiential people and the ritualistic practices of false religions would be enticing what with the cutting of flesh and marking of the skin. God knew He made mankind for community and we have a natural yearning to feel accepted and part of something bigger than ourselves. The draw of cultural rituals and markings that signify acceptance would be tempting, and would further separate the people from being God’s own. Following basic logic, if a people worship other gods, that would fall under the “not acting as God’s chosen people” clause of the contract.
God Himself sent His one and only son, Jesus, to save us from our imperfect state. Jesus became that perfect representative we needed but could not find in all of creation. He was the first and only human to obey the contract completely. He was tested in the same manner as God's original creation, but clung to the Word of God over all else. He became the temple of God's intimate presence as God had intended from the beginning. It is then that Jesus became the perfect and just payment for what was lost. There was now no need for the old patch work job, we now had full payment for our transgressions in Jesus the Christ. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, gave Himself so that all mankind could be reunited with the intimacy we were created for. Now all who identify with Jesus' sacrifice and allow God to be their one and only can become the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and of God. We do not need blanket safeguards due to cold formality and distance. We have the Spirit of God to guide us and the community of like-minded people who are walking in the same light we are. The New Deal is intimacy with the Creator. We who are in Christ have Christ in us and God with us everywhere we go. We do not fear the darkness which is the residue of death due to separation from God, but have become light that overcomes darkness and death.
In the new covenant, we are not defiled by what we do to our bodies or by what we eat, but by the motives of our heart. It is when we lose sight of who we are in Christ and live as if we are products of this world that we are defiled. So are tattoos bad? It depends on the intent of the tattoo. The good news is even if motives are bad, the blood of Christ can turn it into a testimony of where God brought us from. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. That is the New deal. Now I will take this time to say my wife has three tattoos and she is the most beautiful person in the world in my eyes. I would be devastated if she felt that removing one of her tattoos would make me love her any more than I do. This is as it is with Christ and we who are His church and bride.
There is a lady I met some years ago who had had a troubled past of promiscuous behavior and various addictions. On her hands she has ‘Jesus Christ’ tattooed. Her motivation behind these tattoos was to be a public declaration to whom she belongs. At any time, if her hands are about to do something that is contrary to the love of God she is reminded of God’s love for her and her freedom in Christ. Her tattoos are so beautiful to me that I once again contemplated getting tattoos for a season. She freely shares her story of where God brought her from and she is absolutely beautiful in the eyes of God and I hope to be able to share her inspiring testimony of what God redeemed her from as a future post. She married a great and Godly man a few years ago and recently had her second child. The light that comes from that family is inspiring and a testament to the new deal we have in Christ Jesus.
31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31-39 NLT)
God is raising up a generation of the tattooed, scarred, bruised, and rejected to demonstrate what holiness is. The light of God’s glory will overwhelm all preferences and differences that once led to prejudices and stereotypes and Love will be all that remains.
Amen.
]]>I began to notice there always seemed to be a number of homeless people who congregated there. The longer I sat, the more their numbers would grow. I noted their different techniques of asking for money or food, and always cigarettes. After the first two Wednesdays, I found my heart drawn to these new people in my life. I made it my personal goal to learn each one of their stories. My findings are as follows: not one of them was from Peoria, the city in which they are in. All but one was from at least two hours away. They all had been diagnosed with some form of mental disorder. They all had great hurt as a result of family they didn't talk to anymore. They all had addictions that took the majority of what funds they attained. Every woman had a check that came once a month for over $1000 that would be gone within one week.
At first, after hearing their stories and getting to know them, I sincerely tried to help them. I didn't give them money because I didn't want to contribute to their addictions, but I would try to get them job training, give them rides, resources that would help them, buy them food, and even started a Bible study with them. After months of trying to help them out of their situation I began to notice some things. Every one of my new friends seemed to have no aspiration of getting out of their situation. They were... comfortable? Yes, they were comfortable in their daily routine because it was familiar to them. Also, every little issue seemed to be a grand emergency and quickly elevated to crisis mode as I received phone calls at 12:30AM because one of them walked to East Peoria and was now too tired or cold to walk back. Or calling me six times in a day while I work all my jobs and take care of my family to pick up a broken refrigerator six miles away in my truck and take it to the recycling center so they can cash it in. They did not seem to care about my family, sleep, schedule, or anything really. They would see their immediate situation and want me to drop everything to help them with one of their many daily crises.
The last straw was when my wife and I brought home our new son. Less than 24 hours home from the hospital I received a phone call. After a brief congratulations, in the next breath, this friend asked me to bring them some tea packets to the gas station because it was cold out and they wanted a hot drink. My wife and I had just got home from having a C-section 5 days prior and she was in great pain. I was a bit irritated, but still wanted to show the love of Christ. Since my father-in-law was at my house, and once I made sure my wife was comfortable, I was going to bring my friend the tea and some toiletries. Next thing I knew she was at my front door! How did she find out where I lived? I let her in against my instincts and she looked at all the stuff in our home like she had hit the jackpot. She then sat in a chair in our living room and made herself at home and began talking about her new crisis that someone stole her book bag that had her cigarette maker in it and a few other items. At the same time, my recovering wife could hear everything from the bedroom. Being mindful of her, I went back to check on her and she was not amused to say it nicely. In our living room was a homeless woman with a crack cocaine addiction, my father-in-law, and our kids. We teach our kids to love all who are made in God's image so they treated my friend like anyone else- completely naive and playful. Meanwhile, I am, rightly, most afraid of my wife and go back to the living room to offer to take our visitor back to the gas station. Upon arriving there, I let her know what she did was inappropriate and that my wife was not happy. She responded by saying, “That’s why I don’t care for other women.” At this I barely held my tongue and that is when I realized that God is truly changing me.
I have many stories like this one that show the self-centered nature of this demographic that comes from being in constant survival mode. Let me be clear and say all homeless people are not like this. I have volunteered and met families at a shelter in Peoria and they were simply people down on their luck and striving to improve their situation. There are different genres of homeless. The ones I meet on the street are what I refer to as lifers. This group knows every free food opportunity, clothing pantry, and resource they can benefit from every day of the week. Some have been on the streets in various towns for over a decade. Many of these people can quote Scripture and even tell you a sermon in one moment and consider prostitution the next. I began to get discouraged as I shared the Gospel, drove around Peoria looking for them, and prayed over them and saw no change or even a flicker of hope. I realized that what I thought was a flicker was just them seeing me as another resource to use to keep them comfortable in their mess. I began to pull away from them and use tough love. I began to call them out on what they were doing and point out their entitlement issues. At this, I saw that they began to avoid me and I was okay with it. Honestly, I was fed up and became annoyed with them. I mean, how does one find comfort from the concrete? How can someone place drugs and alcohol over health and family? How can a person get $1200 each month and six days later be found exchanging sexual favors for $10 worth of goods. They were the most selfish people I have ever met and I fully understood why they were in a town away from everyone that may have loved them, striving each day to feel numb.
But God. Those words can bring the greatest of hope or conviction depending on which side of the coin you are on. In my case, it has been an ongoing conviction. Each morning I ask God to transform my mind to be like Him and to make His will mine. After each of my harsh or aggravating encounters with my homeless friends, God shows me...well me. The end of my prayer time has me contacting my friends, looking for them, telling them Jesus loves them, and offering to help in a way that isn’t simply enabling.
Do you see it? We were all homeless. This is the story of everyone. All of us like sheep have gone astray, we have all turned to our own way (Isaiah 53:6 paraphrased). But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Over and over we are told of Jesus’ compassion for the people. In all His perfection, He came into our dirty, hopeless situation and showed compassion. He was followed by thousands of people with selfish motivations and He showed compassion. He walked with many prostitutes and devious sinners and spoke life to them. He was the only person on the face of the earth that fully knew what mankind was made for. Can you imagine His perspective as He interacted with everyone that was created through Him to dwell forever in an incorruptible home He prepared for us? Imagine what must have gone through His mind as He sat in the homes of wealthy religious leaders that looked down on Him while He had spoken the very dirt and stone used to make the impressive buildings into existence. For all the compassion and love He gave He received the most injustice the world has ever seen. He was mutilated, disrespected, and killed. In the midst of it all, Love asked God’s forgiveness for His oppressors. What right do I have, one whose soul was once homeless, to look down upon those who my redeemer gave everything for?
God revealed to me what rejection can do to people. Every one of my homeless friends had significant others, kids, and some had grandkids that they had a severed relationship with. They had made one too many mistakes in their lives and bridges were burned. When I come in talking about the love of Christ they know talk is cheap. To them love is just a word used to get things and causes great hurt. To be Christlike is to become Love. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) God is Love (1 John 4:7-8), and Jesus is the fullness of God, and we are called to have the mind of Christ (see Philippians 2:5-8).
Am I saying I should have no boundaries and allow my friends to take advantage of me? No, I am not saying that. I do have boundaries because I must keep my family safe, but love is beginning to motivate me to not feel jilted when they waste my time or act in selfishness. I have died as my master did. It is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me. (Galatians 2:20) I do recognize sometimes love does say no and doesn’t simply enable a person.
Do I still have moments where the old Ryan comes out? Oh, I have stories! One time one of my friends called for me to come to McDonald's because they urgently needed a ride. So I came and she came out and quickly jumped in my truck. I then noticed a guy come out of McDonald's looking over at us and walking away kinda shameful and confused. I then found out a transaction was made to exchange two breakfast burritos for sexual favors in the bathroom and when he went into the bathroom she waited for me to show up and jumped into my truck. He then came out just in time to see her get into my truck which probably made me look like some kind of value menu pimp. That did not sit well with me, as one might imagine. Or there is the time I gave one a bike and instead of saying thank you or showing any type of gratitude, they saw this as an opportunity to ask me for more stuff, and my pride rose up within me. Christ simply shows me myself in them. Do I give thanks for all of my blessings? Don’t get me started about how I was in high school or college. What kind of Love is this? I mess up, maybe even make God look bad in the eyes of others and He welcomes me back and forgives me. Compare this to the shaming, condemnation, and ostracization we see done in the name of social justice. The world is unforgiving and my homeless friends can testify to that. But God.
King David in the Bible is considered the standard (apart from Jesus, of course) for Israel kings. Did you know, he slept with one of his deployed soldier’s wife, got her pregnant, and then had his soldier killed? Scripture tells us, God saw this as pure evil (2 Samuel 11:27). David’s job as king was to reflect God’s will for Israel and he had lust issues, marriage issues, family issues, leadership issues, committed gross injustices and even murder. Yet God called King David a man after His own heart because he always turned back to God in the midst of his sin and truly repented. God didn’t excuse what He declared evil, but God demonstrates His love in the midst of the sin by bringing us back into his love.
I was comfortable floating through my lot in life from crisis to crisis. Then Love came like a light in darkness. At first, I dared not approach the light because in it I am completely exposed. My motivations and dirt are all on display. The conviction on this side of the “But, God” can make one yearn for a shadow or dark corner of familiarity as my eyes adjust to this bright incomprehensible light. Who can run from this? Where can I go? Then instead of what I know I deserve in my exposed state, I am given compassion and mercy. What is this foreign and yet familiar love that sees all of me and yet looks upon me like a treasure, cleans me, rejoices in me, clothes me, adopts me, and welcomes me home. My Father is Love and I am home IN Him.
Signed: No Longer Homeless
]]>Starting in March 2019 I structured my entire day around time with God. I set my alarm everyday for 5:11AM (why not 10, I do not know) and started a bedtime routine with structure. I spend the last half hour of the night preparing for the morning so I can get up and get to my study time. By 5:35AM I have my Bible open and am reading and studying a passage while the water for my tea is boiling. At 6AM I am practicing scripture memorization and around 6:30 I go into a private room for prayer. Then the last half hour of the morning I do whatever I feel led to do before getting home at 8AM to make breakfast for my family. I figured if God wants me to do this He will make my brain be able to retain the scripture I’m memorizing.
Now as 2020 starts, I have 100 verses memorized from around 60 different passages. My prayer life has been transformed, my thinking is completely different, my thirst for more of God has increased, and I have been given a huge vision for my life that seems impossible and crazy. Thankfully, the increase in faith that has resulted keeps me pressing forward as I am being led. At first it didn’t make sense what God was directing me to do because my prayer was simply for financial stability and to be debt-free. I am an entrepreneur and have a large family that I am entrusted to care for. When business is slow we tend to barely scrape by, so my prayers tend to be for success and direction in business. To get a marching order from God to memorize Scripture and meditate on passages in the Bible seemed disconnected. My prayers were always in one area and for years the answer or command in another. Then I finally submitted to do what I was told to do.
I still have yet to receive the success or be debt-free and it seems my businesses are now doing worse than ever. At the same time, since about May, every bill has been paid, we have plenty of food, and our family keeps receiving premium grade items as gifts. Where is the money coming from? Like clockwork and without telling anyone our situation, sometimes 2 days before a bill is due and sometimes right when it is due, we get an envelope filled with money from random sources. We have one person who says God told them to keep buying us diapers. We have a number of people who God told them to babysit our kids for free so we can have dates. We have one person who fills our refrigerator and freezer with food. We have yet another who comes over once a week to help clean and supply our home with various items. All the while, repairs are being done on our home and gifts keep coming. I don’t have space to list everything, but it is overwhelming. Recently, I have built relationships with a number of homeless individuals and one was in shock when I told her she had made more than me the past few months as I was buying her breakfast.
Very important side note: I am not saying that if you follow these steps you will have the same results. I am simply encouraging all to seek God as your ultimate treasure. As a bonus, all that other stuff will follow naturally, but I pray that is not your motivation. (Matthew 6:33)
There are times that I have found myself tired and ashamed that I have to rely on everyone else to simply sustain my family. I often feel inadequate and like a failure. I realize then that this is pride and I bring it before God. In Hebrews 3, the writer issues a warning to not harden our hearts and complain as the Israelites did in the wilderness after leaving slavery in Egypt. Like them, I have been guided and all of my needs provided for each day. I am learning to trust and rely on God while in this valley so that I will stay true when elevated out of it. I give thanks in all things to God in the name of my Lord Jesus and I have peace because I know He is with me.
What I wanted for years was financial stability, flourishing, and success. What I needed was intimacy with God which can only come through surrender and a reprioritized life. The good Father always gives what is best. I know he wants those other things for me, but first things must be first.
We at WokenTruth challenge all to commit to simply memorizing one verse per week. Make this one thing your #1 priority for 2020 which we are calling the Year of Vision. Provided here are steps that helped me learn to memorize verses, and if I can do it anyone can. I pray this will lead to hunger and thirst for more, but in the meantime try this one thing. Every Monday, starting January 6, we will present the new verse to memorize with a short write-up on the verse. If you miss the first one, few, month, or even half a year, feel free to pick up wherever we are. We will also create a private group through our page on Facebook where individuals can dig deeper into the verse and surrounding passages along with a community of believers. I encourage anyone who wants to go deeper or simply wants to help others dig deeper to participate in that group. My prayer is that it will be used as one of God’s many sharpening tools and a refinery as we spur each other on to love and good works.
The Word of God is a powerful weapon that needs to be embedded in our hearts. Without it, people are easily deceived and led astray. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness after fasting 40 days it was the Word of God, quoted word for word, that was His weapon. In the face of distorted truth, He answered with what was embedded in His heart so that He didn’t fall into sin (see Matthew 4: 1-11 & Psalm 119:11). There are many who distort the Word for their own selfish and lustful desires who are eager to lead people to destruction (see Romans 16:17-18 & 2 Corinthians 11:12-15). When people agree with the lies they are told, they forfeit their freedom and give themselves to slavery under a system of oppression (see Colossians 2:8). There are many within the church who are under such oppression. The Truth of the Word of God is a key to freedom (see John 8:31-32 & 2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Let us allow ourselves to be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we may prove the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God (Romans 12:1-2 paraphrased).
]]>Below is a process that might help you to memorize scripture.
1. Read the verse or passage aloud several times. While reading try to understand what’s being said. Reading aloud connects the verse with more of your senses (hearing and seeing), increasing ability to remember. As you read the verse add the reference.
2. Write out the verse and reference several times. As you write it out think about the meaning of the words. Notice the breakdown of the verse phrase by phrase.
3. Repeat the verse and reference until you can recite it without looking. You can do this by reciting the first phrase from memory and reading the next. When ready, recite the first and second phrases from memory before looking at the Bible. Do this until you can recite the entire verse and reference without looking. WHEN YOU CAN REPEAT THE ENTIRE VERSE WITHOUT LOOKING NOW YOU ARE READY TO MEMORIZE.
4. Recite the verse and reference from memory aloud 5 times. After repeating the verse 5 times, check the Bible and make any corrections to your understanding.
5. Repeat the verse and reference again from memory 5 times. Once again after reciting the verse 5 times from memory, check the Bible to catch any mistakes.
6. Now recite the verse 10 times in succession from memory. After this again check your memory against what’s written in the Bible. You should have been able to recite effortlessly and mistake –free by this stage. If not go back and repeat step #5. AT THIS POINT YOU ARE READY TO MOVE INTO THE MOST IMPORTANT STEPS:
7. Incorporate the verse in prayer to God. Pray the verse back to God, asking Him to apply the verse to your life. If it is a promise, claim it to be true in your life. If it is a command, ask for grace to obey. If it is a truth about God, ask Him to transform your understanding to know Him better.
8. Meditate on the truth of the verse. Ponder how it applies to you. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal applications for your life and situation. Tell the Holy Spirit it is your intention to be a doer of the word and not merely a hearer. Ask Him to transform and renew your mind, emotions, attitude etc. according to the truth contained in the verse.
]]>In the final scene of the dream, a group of people and I were walking across a gigantic field surrounded by tall trees on all sides. For some reason, we needed to get to the other side, I guess for safety. It was weird, like I had been here before, like deja vous. I knew the dragon would come and get us and there was no chance of crossing the field unharmed. The question was only from which angle would the dragon come? We walked in the middle of the field so that we had more time to run from the dragon once we saw its location. The field seemed to be a few miles long and about a mile wide. At first when the dragon came we would run to save ourselves hoping to escape as it attacked the ones closest to it. Then the dragon would disappear again to stalk us in the woods in order to attack from a different angle. The next time the dragon came, I realized there was a large body of water that stretched almost the length of the field near one of the tree lines I ran towards to escape. I jumped in and swam deep to avoid the fury above. To my surprise, not being able to breathe under the water wasn’t a limitation and I could swim unaffected beneath the water for a great distance. I came up out of the water a way down the field to walk some more and keep on the lookout for the dragon to appear once again. Now when the dragon appeared, I would immediately jump into the water and swim with a few other people while many others still ran above and when the dragon left, we would come up again to walk.
Towards the end of the field as our destination was very close, the dragon came out right next to me as if I was the target. I then quickly jumped into the water to escape as I did many times before. Only this time the dragon came into the water too and had me cornered. I then came out of the water cowered in fear at the feet of the dragon when I realized there were many who came to the dragon with gifts and were pampering the dragon. The dragon seemed nice to these people as they painted its toes and nourished the dragon. I quickly joined these people and began to help paint the dragon's toes and then I woke up.
The running from the dragon part of the dream I realized I must have dreamed before and that is why it was familiar, but the last part seemed to burn into my mind as I wondered if there was any significance to this weird dream. What was most alarming is I hardly ever remember my dreams. I maybe remember 2-3 dreams per year (though I wish I remembered more) and of those maybe 5% have any form of fear in them. When I realized this dream wasn’t being shaken from me anytime soon, I began to ask God about it. I immediately remembered there is a dragon in the book of Revelation so I opened my Bible to refresh my memory. You see, most Christians do not thoroughly study the book of Revelation because it is confusing. I know enough to talk about it in a general sense, but never really studied about the dragon, beast, and other mysterious characters and signs in depth because I know I don’t fully understand. Here is what I read:
Revelation 12:7-17
7 And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming,
“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Messiah,
for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down,
who accuses them day and night before our God.
11
But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.
12
Rejoice then, you heavens
and those who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
for the devil has come down to you
with great wrath,
because he knows that his time is short!”
13 So when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to her place where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent poured water like a river after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood. 16 But the earth came to the help of the woman; it opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her children, those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus.
Well crap, I was so scared I started to paint toenails! I began to question why I didn’t just call out to my Savior at any time in the dream. Why wasn’t that my first response? After beating myself up a bit more, I then began to ask what it all meant and what needed to be done so that God could transform my mind to where it needed to be. All of the people in the dream I realized had been given the Word of God. I do not know if the seed/ Word was implanted in all, but I do know the dragon's goal was to prevent the seed or Word from becoming fruit. The Word of God is a seed that is planted. The Word in itself is perfect and complete, lacking nothing. The ground in which it is planted is the make-it or break it. God shows us how to cultivate good soil, walk in the light, and nourish the seed. Jesus spoke of the need to stay connected to him who is the trunk of the tree or vine in order to receive the nourishment found in the sap of the tree (John 15). Meanwhile, God prunes the unproductive branches and fertilizes the flower so that fruit is produced, and a great amount of it. The fruit in itself is a testimony and infuses hope in others who come to it for nourishment. The fruit is unaffected by outside circumstances and can be seen in saints who are not afraid of the dragon, but in the midst of persecution respond in love, joy, peace, perseverance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no compromise to the dragon, but full surrender to the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Messiah.
The dragon has already been defeated, but is only overcome in the here and now by the blood of the Lamb and the word of His testimony. Jesus is the Lamb who was slain and it is only through him that the dragon is defeated. It is in Jesus testimony of overcoming death that we boast. It is only through Jesus that we have life and life outside Him is death. How we interact and react to the dragon is a series of life or death decisions. Those who live life focused on the fear created by the dragon live a life motivated by finitude or death. Those who live a life not dictated by worries of this world, but by Jesus Word choose life.
I want to note that I am not speaking of specific people as being the dragon but of things that are unseen to the naked eye. Do not associate various individuals as being demons or Satan. People are used mostly unknowingly of what is at the root motivating their actions. The war is not with flesh and blood. Most people operate in a darkness and fog they are unable to comprehend because they have never seen the light. I wear glasses now, but prior to getting them in high school, I didn’t have a standard to compare my poor eyesight. Once I walked outside with my new glasses on, I spent most of the day staring at trees in amazement. The people who seem to be behind the persecution are not who the war is against. They are simply in darkness and most of the time do not fully know what they are doing, this is why Jesus asked “Father forgive them” toward his oppressors. Love is the unseen standard that gives a new set of eyes. The world speaks of love, but has a blurry view of it at best. For this reason, we are called to love our enemies. Not only does it follow the example of Jesus, but it introduces a new standard that was previously unknown. One can not have fruit without Love, and those who are fruitful are like a bright light in darkness. The truth of the light has the power to unleash the chains of oppression the dragon has on individuals. The light has the ability to produce a hope within an individual that leads them to let go of the rope that pulls them further into the darkness and walk in faith towards the light.
In my vision I was able to operate as most forms of believers of Christ. I was first, one who operated in fear at the thought of Satan and lived a life afraid to even be seen in the open. One example of this individual is one whose friends openly mock God and other Christians not even associating the person to that group because they see no difference. I was then one on a journey out in the open, but still fearful and motivated by self preservation in my every interaction. One example of this person is one who professes faith strongly and focuses their attention totally on reacting to attacks to their worldview. Every believer is called to have a defense for the hope within them, but this person will also attack other believers weaknesses and condemn still others. They react based on their own intellect and strength and not by God's love. Then I was the one who selfishly abandoned everything and everyone at the mere sight of trouble, but when the coast was clear was back in the open again with the rest of the people on the constant lookout for the dragon. Then finally, I was publicly outed and confronted and bent to the pressure of self-preservation. I chose to appease the dragon so that I could have what was a counterfeit peace. In all these instances, I never really believed I was victorious. I operated from a place of an orphan and not as a Son of God. Fear won the day and the fruit was never allowed to bud. The light was covered and the world left hopeless. I ponder what would happen if I declared the finished work of Christ and the power of the blood. What would have happened in the vision if I raced forward in the strength and armor of God and the good news of the Gospel. What if I walked confident that I wasn’t alone and knew I was loved by the creator of all I saw? What if I truly understood Psalm 23 in that moment? How would that affect the ones who cower in hiding, walk in fear, bail at the hint of trouble, or compromise in compliance?
I know that by me standing and proclaiming the testimonies (mine in how I am renewed and His in He did all the work), I will be a target. My fruit will begin to show and that is the very reason the dragon attacks. The dragon knows the power of the light and will hang on every opportunity to find fault with me which will become obsessive at times. However, I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. This life which I now live in the flesh here on earth, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loves me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 paraphrased)
Let’s Go!
]]>I started gardening a few years ago and enjoy working in the soil of the earth and yielding the fruits of my labor. The longer I garden the more I learn about all the things that work against my efforts. The condition of the soil, insects, fungus, that vine from our neighbor's yard, chipmunks, raccoons, rabbits, frost, timing, my toddler, rain, overgrowth, sunlight, and if that wasn’t enough lack of bees and butterflies all affect me having zucchini bread. You see, I can fight off all the negative and cultivate an environment that has all the positive stuff for growth, but can still not have any zucchini or watermelon if the right insect doesn’t pay me a visit. Now I have learned how to pollinate my zucchini myself after googling “why my zucchini plants are broken,” but was struck by the dependency of most fruit and vegetable plants. How in the world are fruits and vegetables still a thing? Strikes are effective tools of labor unions, but if bees and butterflies could organize, all else would cower in compliance. I mean when I worked for the university in Southern Illinois there was a union that would fine us if we hung a poster on the wall of our office because that was stealing jobs. Do you think I would be able to pollinate my zucchini? How does one sneak behind a bee's back?
My deranged sense of humor aside, this is a functional system that is in place and that we depend on to help fuel industry and life itself. Existence seems to be a fragile balancing act with hundreds of factors at play to make life possible. As far back as humans can investigate, bees and butterflies (and maybe other now extinct species) have provided for countless other species and animals by simply making honey and whatever a butterfly does. What if bees simply stopped for a month across the globe, what would be the result? That is a tangent for another post, but the picture I am painting is one that highlights our lack of control. As I mentioned there are hundreds of other factors that, if altered in our universe, would end life or cause great loss, but somehow we are still here in our fragile balancing act. Furthermore, most of us are confident laws of nature and conditions for life will be in balance tomorrow. In this fragile state, how can we possibly put any weight in our future plans, intentions, and efforts? Still we trail blaze forward with an urgency toward made up goals, quotas, and missions that could easily burn up tomorrow. Many rest their faith in scientific theories and hypotheses that do not effectively account for the existence of bees without flowers or flowers without bees. Is it wise to assume that a blind and mindless process has our best interest? There is an unspoken assumption that with time nature is advancing. How can we assume nature has this level of intelligence? I don’t assume that in my garden as I force male parts to touch female parts of my zucchini plants. One can make simple observations and see that the vast majority of mutations don’t strengthen or advance but weaken and deteriorate. To counter this fact we have vitamin supplements, immunizations, high carbon levels, and an alarming increase in those considered on “the spectrum.”
I did not make this post to incite PTSD, stemmed from the lack of control we have. My hope is that people could approach life from the vantage point that has developed in me. This reality doesn’t scare me, but makes me thankful. It does not hinder me from being productive, leaving me frozen in fear, but motivates me to start businesses, and a blog. Anxiety is such a foreign concept to me that in the rare instance that it even begins to rise up in me, it sends me into an excited weird scientific exploration to measure and deduce its source. I observe it as if I am the understudy in the novel The Giver, so that I can talk to others about it. My secret isn’t religion as some will call it, but a real and time tested relationship with the balancer of the universe. As a kid, I was forced to go to church, Sunday School, and learn about how to live a Christian life. It seemed like a bunch of rules that I kept getting wrong. Even if I did manage to appear like I had it right, I knew my mind, motives, and acts in darkness were far from it. So first chance I had, I ran hard and fast in the opposite direction and lived “life” as advertised to me from television and through peers. I tried to do everything bigger and better from parties to indulging in the fat of the land. The longer and further I drifted away, the more of “life” I needed to attain the brief moments of satisfaction I got from it all. At the same time, I found out I had a growing feeling of uneasiness, it was like I was uncomfortable in my own skin. This feeling could only be suppressed by more indulgence in “life”and to get the level of satisfaction I achieved yesterday, I needed to dig deeper today. The darkness I was wandering into had a real pull to it that was like an unquenchable thirst. I never even came up for air enough to ask who had the rope I was clinching to.
One night I am now thankful for, after a regular night of partying hard and hearing last call, I slapped a hundred dollar bill on the bar and said turn this into shots. I did about six of them in a very short period of time and everyone around me took care of the rest as they looked at me in admiration. I then jumped in my silver Monte Carlo SS and darted out driving the opposite direction on a one-way street. The police promptly pulled me over and after failing a field sobriety test, was handcuffed and thrown into the back of the police car. My car was impounded and I was sent to a holding cell. I called my then agnostic/atheist girlfriend to bail me out and went home with my ticket. At this time I was in graduate school working towards my MBA as a research assistant in the office of the president of the university and feared losing my stipend and having to leave my studies. It was here that I for the first time in my life pursued God. I did it simply out of religious hope that all that I was told as a kid would somehow be true. That day I went to a church and it was like my ears and mind had opened up. I felt peace even though my situation didn’t change. I welcomed whatever consequence would fall upon me. I was put on probation, had to pay fines, and had a few other punishments, but none could take the peace I had away. I began to dig into this for the first time in my life to know the source of this peace more. I was given a new set of eyes and saw the trap that I was once in and made me sick to my stomach. I still lightly indulged a bit to appease my friends, but now that I had these new set of eyes it was proven the more unfruitful and left me sorrowful. Upon graduating, I was never happier to leave a place as I was there. The only thing I would miss in the six years was the church family I gained in the last year.
Since then I have drifted a bit at times, worked 80hrs a week for a stint, went back to school, and even was on the brink of being homeless, but was shown mercy by my brother and his wife. While drifting in complacency and religious routine, I received an earth shaking moment when I and about 100 people witnessed a man fall down dead right in front of us while preaching in a pulpit. I was the first to run to his side while his wife screamed. I had just completed a basic first aid class, but froze when I saw the situation up close. Luckily, there was a trained nurse in the group who began chest compressions. By the time paramedics arrived, he had no pulse or heartbeat and he was recorded to be without one from then for over 22 minutes (it was more than likely longer). We had broken out into prayer groups as he was taken away and we were left distraught. Miraculously, they were able to get a pulse back in him at the hospital, but he was in a coma and if he would awaken they were preparing the family for him having brain damage. Eventually he did wake up over 24 hours later to his family and doctors fearfully waiting for the prognosis. He looked up and said, “did I finish the message?” The doctors had no medical/natural/ materialistic explanation for the series of events and declared this a miracle. This event brought me out of complacency of religious practice and routine to seeking something more.
I now simply practice trusting the Lord with all my heart, while trying to not rely on my understanding of how things should go, I allow God to have first say in all I do, and see where He leads me (Proverbs 3:5-6). Sometimes I find myself being still, sometimes I am moving forward at a stellar pace, and other times I get a definite no. I have prayers unanswered and new dreams and visions that rise up within me. Through it all, I find myself trusting more and more in this relationship that has developed. At the base of the relationship is not simply a faith that God exists. It is a knowing that He is with me and loves me no matter what. I live my life not trying to earn this love, but I live as an expression of it. I know I have everything I need and my new life IN Christ is proof. My peace, joy, hope, and love is my proof. It is proof to myself, and everyone else's thoughts and opinions are their own problems not mine because I am free. Every day is a chance for growth and that makes it exciting and every shortcoming is met with thanksgiving. Within this relationship, I have found a draw to help and reach other people so that they may know this peace and joy that I now have. I remember the days when I was a slave to the pull of darkness and now I have a new pull. This time, I know who is on the other end and my cup if filled everyday to overflowing quenching my thirst. Still, I am drawn to look outside myself, to a world clenching to a rope pulling it into a darkness of hopelessness. The one that I abide with tells me to go back into the darkness to those who are lost in the trance I was once in, but this time as a light. My message is, "Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you."(Ephesians 5:14)
Let's Go!
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]]>God Bless
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