Today I want to chat about something that has been on my mind for a while. There is so much rhetoric that is being spewed around our culture today. #BlackLivesMatter #BlueLivesMatter #AllLivesMatter Here is what I would like to share with you. In Genesis 1:27 it says, God created man in His own image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. This means that EVERYONE, no matter their race, ethnicity, or national origin, are created in God’s image. There is no differentiation.
When I look out at our world today, I see division. I see torment. I see hatred. I see a nation on the brink. There are two ways this can go. One way leads to peace and the other way leads to destruction. How are we as believers to respond? What can we possibly do? The spiral seems to be spinning out of control. Is there any hope for our nation? How can I possibly make a difference?
That was a lot of questions – and hopefully we will be able to find some answers together.
There are many times in the Psalms that David cries out to the Lord and asks, “How long Lord”? The first thing we can do is cry out to the Lord. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land”.
What we need to do:
- Humble ourselves
- Pray
- Seek God’s face
- Turn from wicked ways
What God promises:
- Hear from heaven
- Forgive their sin
- Heal their land
But is there really any hope for our nation or are we too far gone? Well over the last several weeks there have been some amazing movements of the Holy Spirit. People are becoming believers and being baptized by the thousands. This equates to changed lives. So, is there hope for our nation? ABSOLUTELY! With God anything is possible.
But I am only one person – how can I possibly make a difference? One person times hundreds of thousands of people can make a HUGE impact. Just in the last week or so there was a movie released on Netflix that sounds deplorable (I haven’t watched it, so I am going by online reviews). Hundreds of thousands of people stood up and let their voice be heard with the hashtag CancelNetflix trending on Twitter, a petition with more than 600,000 signatures, and millions of dollars in cancelled subscriptions. Your voice is important and when many of our voices are all raised together the Lord hears and our country hears.
A couple of weeks ago Pastor Tom asked his granddaughters about their favorite verse. They both shared the same one. It is from Esther – if you haven’t read Esther, take a little while this week and read it – or watch this YouTube video: Overview of Esther. Here is the verse that they shared: “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Queen Esther was one person, but her courage and bravery resulted in saving her people from destruction.
How do we walk this out in our daily lives? If you see someone being treated unfairly because of their ethnicity or race, stand in the gap for them. If you see someone being bullied, stand in the gap for them. Be the voice for those who are oppressed. Be the voice for those who are marginalized. We can’t go back and change what has happened in the past – that is history – but we can start today.
We can decide that people made in the image of God are too important to ignore.
We can decide that people made in the image of God are valuable.
We can decide that people made in the image of God are worth fighting for.
And WHO is made in the image of God? — EVERYONE!
Do not underestimate the value and power you possess. As a child of the King and Kings and Lord of Lords, you have heaven’s army at your disposal. Stand up! Be bold! Share your faith! Be the light and hope that the world is seeking.
I also wanted to share a song with you – Do Something by Matthew West
Be blessed my friends!