Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19
To God Be The Glory for all that He is about to do with this new thing!
Be sure to check it out!
Waltena Downs Pride LLC |
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See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:19 God always surprises me. Even in the middle of a pandemic God is moving and still ding new things! This afternoon, after online worship I started fiddling around on the computer. I had heard of the Anchor podcasting website and decided to check it out. Long story short, I have now have a podcast on Spotify. It's called - Waltena Pride, My Story. I've recorded two very short introductory episodes and plan to do a longer episode soon.
To God Be The Glory for all that He is about to do with this new thing! Be sure to check it out!
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The statistics are staggering, as of today; 20.1 million COVID-19 cases worldwide, 737 thousand deaths with 163 thousand in the United States of America. Racial unrest, protests, and riots are in the streets. The violence in too many neighborhoods has escalated and too many men, women, and children are being gunned down each week. We are in the middle of a very active hurricane season. Wildfires and natural disasters are occurring all over the world. Beirut and Baltimore were rocked by explosions this week. And an erupting volcano in Indonesia has killed at least fourteen people and covered many villages in ash. It looks like all hell has broken loose. Or has it?
With so much going on in the world, I decided to study the book of Revelation. I've read through it a couple of times when I read through the Bible but frankly I just saw a lot of symbolism that I didn't really understand. This time I decided to follow the Revelation Explained Bible plan on YouVersion. (I highly recommend it.) It's a seven part plan with each part designed to take seven days. I'll admit that it's taking me a little longer because I usually listen to the audio devotionals several times and reread the scripture, sometimes in different translations. I completely understand why so many people avoid the book of Revelation and don't really want to hear about the tribulation and end times. It reminds us too much of not just the end not of time itself, but the end of our own lives.. Most of us have already heard about what a terrible time the tribulation will be for those who were not raptured. And even though the rapture has not occurred yet, I believe that we are getting a glimpse of the tribulation right now. The tribulation is that seven year period near the end of time that comes right after the rapture. It's a seven year period of great trouble and suffering like the world has never known. About midway through the tribulation, and after the seventh seal had been opened and the seven angels have sounded the seven trumpets, there was mass destruction. One third of the earth, trees, grass, seas, sea creatures, ships, rivers, streams, water, and people were destroyed. Without getting deep (and deeply in trouble) in theology I believe that this is not the tribulation, but possibly a glimpse what is to come in the tribulation. It's like we are being allowed to see what it will be like for those who have been left behind after the rapture. I believe that humankind is being reminded that we have no real power or control over anything. And that any minuscule amount of power and control that we believe that we have is not ours, but that all power and control rests with God. The world has become idol worshippers. I'm not talking about golden calves or Asherah poles. We worship power, status, money, and control. We have taken the Creator out of our lives and replaced Him with what we believe that we created. We have not just fallen away from the teachings of Jesus Christ, but we have even abandoned the Golden Rule. "Do unto others has you would have them to do unto you." This is a basic concept found in every major religion in the world and is an expression of human decency and the laws of reaping and sowing which may be found even in the most unsophisticated civilizations. I believe that the reason that all of this is happening right now is because God is giving us a chance to change our ways. We are being given the chance to treat each other with respect; to seek peace instead of conflict, to bring joy rather than sorrow, and to spread love rather than hate. But maybe everything that's happening is just a series of very bad coincidences. Maybe it's just a bunch of bad decisions made by a few leaders. Or maybe it's just the luck of the draw or simply bad luck. Maybe it's nothing at all. That may be true, but I believe that times we are living in right now are fulfilling a divine purpose. I believe that the curtain of time has been pulled back, just a little, to show us what will happen if we don't honor and serve God as we honor and serve God's people. To me being a Christian is really pretty simple; love God, love others, love yourself. It's simple, but it's not always easy. thankfully we don't have to do it alone. With the Holy Sprit as our guide we can love others as we love ourselves. I haven't finished the Bible plan yet and it may take me a while to read, reread, and digest it all. So I'll keep studying and looking at what's happening in the world. It is nothing? Or is it a glimpse of the tribulation? One Hundred Fourteen and counting. That's the number of Confederate monuments that have been taken down since June 2015 according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. June, 2015 marked the South Carolina church shooting. That seems like a lot of progress. But according to Wikipedia there are more than 1,503 Confederate monuments and memorials with over 713 monuments and statues. That's a lot of monuments and memorials to honor a lost cause; the act of succession by the Southern states to protect the right to own black people as slaves. So just 155 years after the end of the Civil War, it has finally occurred to some governmental officials that it really isn't a good idea to glorify American traitors and slave owners. Now, don't get me wrong, the monuments need to come down. But more importantly the institutional and systemic racist practices need to be taken down.
We can't get comfortable and cheer for the Confederate statues to fall when the racist and discriminatory statutes continue to remain firmly entrenched all over the country. Many of us have become comfortable with the number of people of other races who are joining in the protests. But changing the minds of a few white people do not change the laws and policies that continue to legally bind us to the past and relegate us to the position of second class citizens. It's time for the systems that support discrimination and racism to be taken apart and taken down. We must take apart and take down the systems and structures in public education that cause funding inequities which cause some schools to have better resources and services than other schools. The factors that cause an inherent bias in high stakes testing must be removed. And the discrepancies in suspension and expulsion rates must be eliminated. We must take apart and take down the unfair practices in the Justice system. They work against Black people with racist practices in police departments, biased judges and prosecutors, as well unfair laws. We must take apart and take down structural racism I every area of society. From discriminatory practices in the medical field where, the mortality rate in many diseases is much greater for Black people than that for white people. And where more Black women still die from childbirth than white women. And we must not forget about the unfair lending practices and redlining which still hinder our ability to be homeowners and therefore build generational wealth. So what's next. First we cannot rest on our laurels. The work is just beginning and progress will not be made by burning, looting, and lawlessness . We must get beyond where we are and continue to move forward. Next, we must use what we have to move forward. In Exodus 4:2 God asked Moses, "What is in your hand?" This is a question that we answer. What has God already given us that we can use to advance the tearing down of the societal structures which continue to oppress us and will oppress future generations if we do not act. And finally, we must draw on our faith and the faith of our ancestors to follow the path that God has set before us. We must focus, move forward with whatever gifts, talents, skills, and abilities that we have been given with love, faith, and determination. 114+ statues and memorials pulled down. Now let's pull down the statutes and laws that hold us back. |
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