Love more

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.

Philippians 1:9-10

The world today has become a place where it seems like we are supposed to just except everyone’s choices in lifestyle as acceptable simply because we should love everyone.  Brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to be careful of this frame of thinking.  While we are to love all, however Christ set some lifestyles as clearly unacceptable.  This certainly does not mean that we need to push the person away because we don’t agree with their choices. 

We need to love more however at the same time, we need to make sure that we are able to discern what is best so that we can be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. 

Today I want to encourage you to love more and share God’s love more so we can also encourage others to be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.

Trumpets of God

“Sing aloud to God our strength;

make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob.

Raise a song and strike the timbrel,

the pleasant harp with the lute.

Blow the trumpet at the time of

the new moon, at the full moon,

on our solemn feast day.”

       Psalm 81:1-3 (NKJV)

In just a few days, Jews around the world will be celebrating Rosh Hashanah, referred to in Scripture as the Feast of Trumpets.  Psalm 81 was likely sung as part of this celebration.  The Feast of Trumpets culminated the festival year and was heralded by the blowing of trumpets as praise to God.

The trumpets of God are important for Christians as well.  The Lord Jesus will come again on the “clouds of heaven with power and great glory” and “with a great sound of a trumpet” (Matthew 24:30-31).  And when the trumpet of God sounds, we will be “caught up” to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

This is a good time to remember God’s chosen people, to pray for peace in Jerusalem and ask God to open hearts to receive Jesus as Messiah.  It’s also a good time for Christians to look with expectant hearts for God’s trumpet to call us and to praise Him with joyful hearts for His greatness!

It's Uncomfortable

“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink?  Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’"  Matthew 25:37-40

This is a very difficult devotion for me to write.  Don't fret!  This is not a parting devotion.  However, this is one that will make some very clear statements, and some of you will feel very uncomfortable.  If it does, then I am happy because as much as I prefer not to have conflict, I must because I trust that God loves us enough that we can discuss this openly.  Trust that you understand what is said is not meant as malicious or ill willed.  It is simply because I love you enough to share my world with you.  There is a part of me that knows I’m entering the danger, but God simply put something in my heart I can no longer simply ignore.

We are living in a time where there is a deepening racial divide.  Although I have been blessed to be around a number of beautiful people who would look at me as just Kent, I live in a world that still does not understand what it means to be black in America.  It does not mean that I hold ill will if you do not understand, and I will still smile to say hello regardless of what race you may be.  I bring up my race not to insult you.  It is however to remind you.  It is to remind you that when I am not in the room and you hear someone say something racially insensitive, it is totally unacceptable, and I would expect you to speak as if I was there.  It is to look at me as a friend even when your experience with other African Americans may have been negative.  All because I may look like them does not mean I or the next person acts like them.  It is to say that when there is outrage after a policeman is shot but silence when an innocent black man is, I would ask you to look in the mirror because something is very wrong with that picture.  And when you support a candidate who has proven on multiple occasions that he violates Jesus’ greatest commandment, to love thy neighbor as thyself, all because he will either support the Supreme Court or change things, I will simply say your heart is in the wrong place, and you need to know this.  Why?  Because of the verses above.  If something hurt me, it would not bother me at all for you, the reader, to disagree.  But if it hurts those closest to me too, that tells me my feelings are not that far off, and it is not political or media induced.  It is very personal.  If any or all of this makes you uncomfortable, I am not sorry.  It is the discomfort I have carried for years that pushed me to write this.

God wants us to grow through our discomfort to better love one another.  I brought up today's verses because doing what is right is not always comfortable, but we should always seek it for the greater good of God's Kingdom.  It is easy for us to simply be good people loving God and being good to others.  However allowing others to say offensive things about another or be racially insensitive just to not offend them is never acceptable.  Ever.  My greatest fear was that my feelings on this would offend others who would call me overly sensitive.  Jesus was never one to shy away from controversy.  He did not walk into the synagogue to make the Pharisees feel comfortable.  He made it uncomfortable.  Very uncomfortable!  God challenges us to do things we are not always comfortable doing for His will.  Not ours.  It is never easy, but it is always righteous.

We cannot be Christians and dismiss the wrongs in the world.  One of the reason God and politics do not mix well is because both sides pick what they like but yet none are willing to embrace all of what Jesus Christ teaches.  My goal is not to have people change party lines.  It is to simply look to Him and acknowledge that there are some fundamental things we just should not tolerate any more.  We can support police while crying for justice when one of them does wrong.  We can learn to understand the pain of one who was both white and a minority in the city, and we can stand up for one who is black and makes us uncomfortable.  We can still love our country and show love and respect for a person who holds their fist up in the air or kneels down to bring awareness of civil injustice.  God did not make us the same color to challenge us to look beyond our skin.  And yes, He loves all of us!.  As such, we are to love each other freely and unconditionally.  It does not ask us to pick those we know.  It says to love all of our neighbor as ourselves.  Do you have God's love in your heart yet deny Him with others?  Are you willing to feel discomfort to challenge your own views on race?  My prayer is that we fight our own unconscious racial bias understanding our discomfort God is placing in our minds and hearts.  Amen.

Tues Devo: The measuring stick

2 Corinthians 10:12-13 “For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding. But we will not boast beyond our measure, but within the measure of the sphere which God apportioned to us as a measure, to reach even as far as you.” (NASB)

Hello,

Measurement is a funny thing. For any measurement to mean something, there must be 2 elements present: 1) the unit of measurement and 2) a point of reference. If I tell you that something is 100 that is meaningless. If I tell you that it is 100 lbs – now you know more, but are yet unsure if that is heavy or light or just normal. The point of reference is critical to understanding.

When we look at lives, it is not about others – it is merely about ourselves as individuals and God. He has given all of us the ability, gifts, opportunity and expectation. While that context for measurement may seem daunting, let’s not forget the third element of measurements – it is not a one-time thing. Don’t get down by looking at a one-time measurement; keep working and growing!

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill