I am and will continue to stand in the dangerous, unpopular middle where my savior Jesus Christ would stand now and has stood in the past. I will continue to go into the dark places of life, in the uncommon areas to find common ground and bring light and love. I will continue to stand in the middle to bridge the gap between the oppressed, the hurting, those without a voice, and the side with law enforcement and the people who have been on the side of oppressing others.
Racial injustice is an issue that is not going to disappear or be fixed overnight as much as we all desire it. We all have a lot of work to do with each other and for each other. Thankfully, we have a God who will never give up on us. He understands that change takes time and we will get it wrong. He is patient with us as we stumble and continuously miss the mark. As we try to get it right we need to have a lot of grace for each other. No excuses for bad behavior, but grace for the mistakes when we are trying to make things right. On this side of Heaven, we will always battle the sin and brokenness in ourselves and in our world, but I believe we will be the generation to change things by not repeating history and bringing Christ back to the center. Let’s be slow to speak, slow to anger, and quick to listen (James 1:9).
Church and fellow Christians, we need to stand in boldness where Christ would have. He wouldn’t have just stood by. Many of us have been afraid to speak out on this issue and it’s okay, but it’s time to rise up and be the light and love Christ would have been. It’s not going to be pretty and it’s going to be uncomfortable. That is how we grow and how sin is dealt with and healing and restoration take place. We need to be vulnerable with God and each other. It says that in James 5:16 that if we confess our sins to each other and pray for each other so we can be healed. There is a whole lot of healing needed right now in all of us and in our country.
I’ve felt a major shift and stirring in the spirit these last few weeks. I’ve prayed a lot for the Lord to search my heart and help point out to me where I need to do better (Psalm 139:23-24). I want to say I am sorry and repent for anything I have ever done to contribute to prejudice, racism, or injustice. Moving forward I will continue to speak up for those without a voice and when no one else is willing to be the bridge, I will. Jesus did a great job of showing us how to do this. I encourage you to do the same today.
Steps Forward
Step one is praying and repentance on a personal level. Pray and ask the Lord to search your heart and reveal areas that need to be addressed then repent for those things. It’s okay to be real with the Lord and deal with our sins. We need to be doing this regularly and this is a chance to start. Additionally, pray for people’s hearts to be open, for repentance to be an anthem song in our society, for truth and love to be spoken throughout our country, and for the Lord to heal our land.
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.”
Step 2-5+, are not fully defined yet, but I will personally be trying my best and I know so will our ministry. As a society, I think we can agree we have a lot to work on and that we need to put Christ back into the center or we will continue this cycle that leads to more hurt, destruction, and no actual change. These next steps will take time to sift out what needs to be done moving forward, but the Lord will continue to reveal that to us. Let’s be like Christ and show the world what the church is really supposed to look like! Are you in?!
Ezekiel 36:26 says, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
Bible References What does Jesus say about this? How did He fight injustice? Genesis 1:27; Genesis 12; 1 John 2:9-11; John 8:1-11 (Woman Caught in Adultery); John 4:1-39 (The Samaritan Woman); Acts 10:34-45; Jeremiah 7:5-7
Sources: The Bible, Flatirons Church CO
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