With Regards to “Racism”, Christians and Christian Churches Are Accountable First to the “Law of Christ” – “Love One Another”

DEVOTIONAL VIDEO

 

MESSAGE SUMMARY:

As Jesus commanded us in John 5:12: This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”. Also, in John 13:34-35, Jesus commanded us: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”. Jesus’ “one another” is all inclusive and not just those that look like you and/or of your culture.

 

“The past few months have not only been pandemic, but pandemonium. We have watched evil displayed by fellow image bearers and some police officers in recent weeks. We have heard cries of grief in our own neighborhoods and from all around the world. And the cries have gotten louder. In the US we have struggled to overcome the effects of the systemic racism from our founding days, and we now know that changing laws would never be enough. Victories for civil rights, and for the desegregation of our schools would never be enough. For you see we do not have just a ‘skin problem’, we have a ‘sin problem’.”

 

“All the words about spiritual renewal and revival in the Bible are not directed to the non-Christian culture, but to the people of God. We need to look within ourselves. And it starts with me. What the Lord has shown me about me in the past few weeks is this – I have failed to understand the incredible burden and pain that many of my black brothers and sisters live with every day. I have not wept with those who weep. And I have not understood the depth of the effect of racism and injustice. I have not understood the burden of living under racist acts, slurs, and systems they must endure every day, nor have I understood the fear with which they constantly live for themselves and their families. It is not enough not to be a racist; we must not be blind to the sin of racism and ignore it in our midst. . . I find myself listening a lot these days. I find myself sad a lot. I find myself angry. I find myself yearning to see ‘all the sad things come untrue.’ And yet I know that none of this is a surprise to our Lord, and He can be trusted . . . ‘Doing nothing is no longer an option for me.’.”

 

“You can start right where you are. In your own heart, in your own relationship with God - first. {Then b} reaching out and building a relationship with someone different than you are. One drop of rain may not seem like much, but with other drops of rain it can create a healing flood. So, let us pray for one another about these things, and let us get out and make a difference in our local communities. God has placed you and me here for such a time as this . . .”

 

NOTE: Quotes above are from an address by Archbishop Foley Beach, Primate of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), to the ACNA’s Provincial (i.e. Canada, US, and Mexico) Council. Dr. Beach provides both a context and call to action for all Christian Churches, Clergy, and lay persons to become a part of the solution for America’s “race issues”.

 

 

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Lust Rather, I will abide in the Lord’s Perfect Provision. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Genesis 1:27; Revelation 7:1-17; Ephesians 2:19; John.13:35; Galatians 6:2; Romans 12:15; Psalms 103:12; Isiah 1: 18.

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “America Will Not Survive as a Nation Unless the People of God Stand Up and Plead for Our Survival - Pray for America": at our Website: www.AWFTL.org/listen/. 

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Cultural Turmoil and Health Threats Bring Fear, But Your Fear Is Overcome By Following God’s Call and Seeking His Will”:  www.AWFTL.org/watch

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