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Be the “Abraham” You Want to See

I had devotions with my son, Lucas, this morning. We’re reading through the Bible from the beginning. Lucas had been given a Bible from our church when he entered 1st grade. It’s the New International Reader’s Version for early readers, so it puts the text in terms children can better understand.

This morning, we read Genesis 18. In the second half of the chapter, Abraham is talking to God while they overlooked Sodom and Gomorrah from a distance – two cities filled with all sorts of disgusting evil. God tells Abraham that their wickedness is so great, and Abraham surmises that God plans to destroy the cities.

Abraham tried to intercede on behalf of any righteous people that may be found in the cities. He was thinking about his nephew, Lot. He asked God, “If you find 50 people who are godly, will you save the city?”
God said, “If I find 50 people, I will spare it.”
“How about 45 people? Will you still spare it for 45 people?”
God said, “If I find 45 people, I will spare it.”
The Bible says that Abraham knew he was bordering irreverence by continuing to plead with God. But he continued anyway, pleading on behalf of 40 people, 30, 20, and then 10 people, for God to spare the city. And each time, to each number, God said he would not destroy the cities.

In the conversation between God and Abraham, a few things came to mind. First, the personal attention God gave Abraham. Just yesterday, I listened to a woman on YouTube discuss the differences between the God of Christianity and other gods. Consistently, the God of Christianity is a personal God. In other religions, their god is lofty. So lofty that he doesn’t *come* and converse with his people. He’s untouchable and impersonal. Though I’m not sure what it looked like, God came to Abraham personally and spoke with him.

Secondly, I was moved by God’s patience. For nine verses, Abraham persisted, asking God to spare the cities for the godly people who resided there. “Will you save it for 50 people?” “Yes.” Will you save it for 40?” “Yes.” “Will you save it for 30? 20? 10?” “Yes. Yes. Yes.” God was and is patient and long-suffering.

Lastly, I was moved by how this pertains to our time today. We are living in wicked times. The Bible repeatedly speaks about the depravity of man. And the things listed in the Bible written over 2,000 years ago are EXACTLY what’s happening today. And I thought to myself…will I be Abraham? Will I ask God to spare our world on behalf of the righteous who inhabit it? Christians know an end will come. It’s only a matter of time. But in the meantime, will I be overcome by my righteous indignation? Or will I pray for mercy?

The answer is a simple one, but not an easy one. I pray for mercy because I’ve been shown mercy. Were it not for the grace of God, I would be one of those who cast God aside, living a life of sin. That was me years ago. And I’ve been shown grace and mercy–so much more than I deserve.

So, I call on all of us who are believers to pray for God’s mercy – to pray for our unsaved friends, that God would open their eyes to the truth of His Word–that they would recognize their need for a Savior.

God saved Abraham’s nephew, Lot, and his family. But Sodom and Gomorrah burned. He will only tolerate so much wickedness. We’d do well to remember that.

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We Show Grace

Today, I’m calling for the Christians of the black community to show grace. I’m calling for Christians of the black community to advance unity. Now is not the time to succumb to the world. We Christians of the black community are not led by black leaders, I don’t care how prominent or “articulate.” They do not speak for us. We are not moved by the world’s movements. We do not respond to the call of worldly notions and ideals. We do not respond to wrongdoing in kind. We do not act out of righteous indignation. We do not view our friends or anyone through “black-colored glasses” or wear our blackness on our sleeves. We are neither guided by nor make decisions based on our experiences as black people.

We are Christians! We are led by Jesus Christ. God speaks for us. We are moved by love and grace. We respond to the calling of our God. We respond to wrongdoing in prayer. We view our friends and everyone through the lens of the Bible. We are guided by and make decisions based on our experiences of having been sinners saved by grace.

No one has changed their ways through movements rooted in arrogance, anger, and condescension. Since the fall of man, hearts have only been changed by the power of the Holy Spirit and grace.

Our world is in a downward spiral. It is unstoppable. It has been predicted and prophesied. But we needn’t hurry the decline by giving in to Satan’s tactics of questioning our white friends’ characters and intentions. We, as Christians who happen to be black, need no other validation than the validation we received when Jesus sacrificed His life for us. Because of that sacrifice, we ARE seen. We ARE valued. We ARE whole.

So, we show the grace that’s been shown to us. Please don’t follow the ways of the world. That way is broad and leads to destruction. We take the narrow high road. We show grace.

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Let the children be…

Bridget Depew and Amanda Stetka circa…Strawberry Shortcake and milkshake T-shirts

My concern about what’s going on is that children in this generation won’t grow up as my friend and I did. She wasn’t my white friend, and I wasn’t her black friend. We simply grew up as friends and playmates. And whereas, of course, we saw each other’s color (we weren’t blind), it wasn’t a thing to discuss. It wasn’t a topic.

I’m concerned that children today, by their parents’ prodding, are going to see their friends’ skin color and it will be a thing. Not in a negative sense, but in a sense at all. With these parents now “educating” themselves, they will encourage their white children to ask their black friends about their culture. Their background. What it’s like to be black. And I mean…ok, I guess. If kids are naturally curious and ask on their own, that’s one thing. That was always welcomed by my sisters and me. Our friends would ask about our hair and how it stays in those twists like you see in this pic. We never minded that. But that was innocent curiosity. It wasn’t an “I’m trying to educate myself on your culture so that you don’t feel excluded, because I need to make it a point to let you know your black hair and life matter” sort of thing.

I’m concerned children won’t be left to simply be children—free to ask about their black friends’ hair or not care one iota about it.

Our children will grow up making race a thing. And it doesn’t need to be.

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#TruthMatters

You know what I was thinking yesterday? I was thinking about the irony of #BlackLivesMatter and the push by black people to demand their white friends hold the same stance lest they deem them racist. It looks as though black folks are still wanting/needing whites to validate them. That’s so 1950, Blacks. Get it together already.

The Civil Rights movement gave us the ability to validate ourselves. To hold ourselves up and do and be whatever God wants us to do and be. And there’s the caveat–what God wants us to do and be.

I had a conversation with my kids this morning. On my white board (though black boards matter), I have a list of truths about who we are as people. I don’t do it every day, but today, I remembered to call my children into my room and we read them.

I am God’s child.
I am forgiven and free of condemnation.
I am God’s workmanship.
I am made new.
I am more than a conqueror.
I am safe from the evil one.
I am a citizen of heaven.
I can do all things through Christ.

I had both my children read these aloud this morning, and I read along with them. I told them the truth–that they are worthy and important because GOD sees them that way. I told them that though I don’t believe there is systemic racism, that I don’t believe white cops are out hunting black people as soon as we leave our homes (sorry, LeBron James–white cops are not hunting you as soon as you leave your multi-million dollar mansion.), that I don’t believe white people are keeping us from being considered equal, there are people, racist people, who believe we are inferior to them. I told them that should anyone tell them they can’t do or be something because of the color of their skin, they are to go back to the Word of God and find out differently.  I told them that they needn’t wait for white validation. They needn’t wait for black validation, for that matter. I’ve had black people try to invalidate me and my beliefs more so than white. And I warned them against feeling any validation from whites spewing their supposed white privilege, telling them their lives matter just because they say they do. Their lives matter because God says so. Their lives matter because they were conceived and born–that’s it. They were born, therefore their lives matter. And I also warned them against believing their lives matter any more than anyone else’s life. I warned them against specificity of lives mattering. I warned them against even speaking such rhetoric. Because to do so instantly segregates them, placing them in a group separate from the rest. And people died fighting against that very thing.

I hope to see a day where black people stop looking for their white friends to validate them and their cause, but I don’t think I’ll see that day. Maybe I’d see it if black people spent less time rioting and championing for a senseless cause and more time encouraging their children, telling them how amazing and worthy they already are. All I can do is make sure my kids find their validation on a daily basis–first from their God and secondly, from their parents.

Then we prayed, thanked God for allowing us to see another beautiful day, and went off for a day of shopping, spending the money I worked hard for and earned with my black privilege.