As I sit in a second floor coffee shop in Downtown Nashville,
sipping on my coffee, I scroll across this headline-- "There are now more than 50 million refugees around the world." Here is what it says, "The Institute for Economics and Peace released its Global Peace Index today, and the insights were troubling. According to the index, the world has become less peaceful in the last eight years, and one of the consequences is that more than 50 million people have been forced from their homes as refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs). As The Atlantic points out, that’s “one in every 133 people worldwide,” or roughly the equivalent of the combined populations of Australia and Taiwan. It’s the highest number of refugees and IDPs since WWII. The number of IDPs has grown by more than 300 percent in the last 11 years, with conflicts in the Middle East, Colombia, Congo and Somalia displacing civilians. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre estimates the annual economic toll of displacement is almost $100 billion ..." So many times, we get caught up in our coffee drinking, lazy boy sitting, iPhone scrolling society we live in, that we forget (and are sometimes brutally reminded) that people are actually trying to survive today. People are fighting for their lives, their childrens' lives... People are being forced from their homes and even their own countries. And then you feel helpless. Like, what can I do? Sometimes we can't do much and that is just the reality of it. But we can be reminded that this world is a little bit bigger than our little bubble we live in. And people are actually fighting for their lives. Just be reminded today. There's more. Pray. These are not my original thoughts but I 100% AGREE!
Here is what I just read by @raechelmyers on Instagram. In response to @influencenet posting a photo that read "Pray for Dylann Roof" "I'll admit, I'm angry with Dylann, too. And I found myself, with many others, feeling a bit like Jonah--Salvation is for me, not for the bad guys. Jonah didn't want to preach salvation to the Ninevites. He didn't think they deserved to be forgiven of their wickedness (the Ninevites were known for removing the noses and ears of their prisoners, temple prostitution, child sacrifice , infanticide and so much more). But when Jonah finally took God's message to them, they repented in a desperate-for-God way. And our good God had mercy on them and they were saved. If we believe that anyone is too far gone for God's mercy, then let's not pray for Dylann. If we believe we deserve God's mercy, but Dylann doest not, let's not pray for him. But friends, if you, like Paul find yourself being the "foremost sinner", grateful for the saving work of Jesus Christ in your own life (1 Tim. 1:15-16), then let's pray for Dylann Roof, too, guys. Let's believe that salvation isn't just for us, that Jesus came for the sickest sinners, and believe that God's mercy will always surpass our own. We aren't making anybody famous; we are believing the gospel is true." Now I don't know about you, BUT THAT IS GOOD! So I haven't blogged in this traditional sense in a while.
I still blog on my Instagram and on my Facebook... but let's give this a shot again. So most of you know that 2 days ago, a young man walked into a Bible study at a Historical Black Church in Charleston- stayed about an hour and then opened fire, killing 9 out of the 11 people there. The young man was obviously racially motivated saying, "You rape our women and you are taking over our country. I have to do what I have to do." Now we have to look at this from 2 different worldviews. One, from the lenses of race. And two, from the lenses of Christianity. So let's try to hit both of them at the same time. Those of us within the body of Christ must grieve and sympathize with our brothers & sisters in Charleston. In 1 Cor. 12:26, Paul writes "if one part suffers, every part suffers with it." He is saying that when evil visits Charleston, it visits all of us. We must stand with Charleston. The primary problem is that our identities are too small and mainly insignificant. We tend to rely most on our smaller, cultural, racial identities and ignore our larger, common identity as members of the Body of Christ. Adopting a common identity is the key to tearing down cultural divisions and working toward reconciliation. The act of adopting a common identity that supersedes all other identities is a frightening, even painful, one. However, research shows that it is the key to true unity. To truly identify as the body of Christ and find unity in that, we must set aside our common, normal, racial and cultural identities. This attack hit close to home. I live in Pickens, SC which is just 4 hours away from Charleston. God is doing some amazing things in South Carolina. There are some incredible Churches in SC that are truly working to claim this state in the name of Jesus. AND THIS WILL NOT STOP WHAT GOD IS GOING HERE IN SOUTH CAROLINA. No evil can stand against MY GOD! We must stand together, link arms and face this head on. Life will be better that way. Let's stand together. |
AuthorFollower of Jesus. Husband to Cassie. Volunteer Coordinator at 5 Point Church. Adventurer. Speaker. Angler. Athlete. Artist. Lover of coffee, mountains, beer, duck hunting, pit bulls, flat bills, graffiti, water and the outdoors! Archives
October 2015
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