Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho
Joshua fought the battle of Jericho and the walls came a tumblin’ down…
*Warning, solemn and somber post…and long, too but worth it!*
Can you imagine if the wall of this Jericho… aka Racism and oppression in the United States ended?!
One thing I’d love to see is a handful for friends and family acknowledging and opening their eyes to the injustices of this world. In turn, they can tell another few friends and thus continuing the cycle!
However, because we live a, what my pastor calls, a morally broken pain machine, we see racism and prejudice overlooked even celebrated. Many give way to partiality due to comfort or perhaps what they know to be normal or feel is better…
The Bible talks about favoritism as a sin:
But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law. --James 2:9
Reality: all have sinned and fallen short of God’s measurement. YET… that does not excuse many who continue to oppress others.
Today for the nation of the United States to heal, we must address the issues head-on and then sit with the pain and grief and then GRIEVE…
To help the healing and grieving process in the black community or some of our black families, we continue talking about the injustices the black community faced during the last several decades (especially those in the south).
*Did you know: Dr. Martin Luther King experienced bombings… https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/martin-luther-king-jr-home-bombed-montgomery
Did you know that many blacks in the south experienced bombings in the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. https://www.al.com/news/erry-2018/07/f39190a3553390/bombingham.html
and another hard article to read and decide for yourself: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/05/13/406243272/im-from-philly-30-years-later-im-still-trying-to-make-sense-of-the-move-bombing
Yes… this is in America–“Land of free and home of the brave.”
Did you know that in the south, people are being pulled over for simply looking suspicious. That doesn’t fly… not ok. **Did you know that when you are made to feel rejected or less than or humiliated your body is responding to a trauma of sorts: imagine… heart racing, sweating and the part in the brain, the amygdala defined: a roughly almond-shaped mass of gray matter inside each cerebral hemisphere, involved with the experiencing of emotions. **We either FIGHT (attack, try to defend ourselves), FLIGHT (flee and run away), or FREEZE (unable to move and a sense of paralysis)… friends, no one person should be made to feel like life or their neighborhood is a warzone and I’m talking about particularly in a nation like the U.S… why should some parts be so safe and other places the police turn the blind eye OR where neighborhoods are targeted or seen as “lesser.”
Yet, our battle, the Bible says is not against flesh and blood but against the principalities and dark powers of this world.
Today, I’d like to facilitate in the mourning and grieving. Let’s approach. Why? Because in order to heal, we must sit with the evils and pain and acknowledge it.
Here are a few more links. Before you click, please know this will be terrible and horrific. You will even get sick. As a human, you will feel so many emotions and you will want to run and do nothing… but sit with me and grieve. Let’s tell God sorry on behalf of the evil people and ask him to bring healing to families who were abusers and oppressors so that their children and their children’s children will receive forgiveness and healing. I also encourage you to pray for victims who can easily turned towards hatred and being hurt to hurt others. Only God can heal this land: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/06/remembering-red-summer-white-mobs-massacred-blacks-tulsa-dc/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/04/race-lynching-museum-katie-couric-alabama/
I encourage you to research more of the attacks on blacks in the south and lynchings of blacks in the south…
I am reminded of conversations with my mom on Cambodian Genocide Memorials… the targeted attacks I spoke to my parents as Pol Pot, regime leader, in Cambodia sought to kill most of Cambodians and create his sense of Utopia… he would target those who were educated, bilingual, and so many more…
My parents were spared because God was on their side and he protected them! They had no ill-will towards anyone and meant no harm. God’s mercy was upon them as the spies and soldiers learned my dad was a Teacher and Preacher, they did not choose to kill him.
Well, onward to facing atrocities in America, as I wrap up… we must address our horrors and evils we have seen in the United States not too long ago for many as it has shaped out nation and our worldview.
Whenever tragedies and evil strike, we must remember that evil will not win… In the end, God will make all things come into light and no thing and no one and no sin shall hide.
While we’re here: let’s mourn well. No matter the nation we live in.. may we always be moved towards love and compassion… fight for the oppressed.
Let’s pray for oppressors and victims alike…
The story of how we were once enemies of God… before I came to know God, I was an enemy of God until I admitted my sins were like scarlet, believe then chose that salvation comes through no one else but Jesus. And now, I am no longer a slave to sin. I am no longer an enemy… I am part of the family of God. Friends, this is the hope for all… no one need be a slave to sin or choosing to oppress others. In the parable of
So, as we know some of have bought into racism and favoritism… we can turn from darkness to light. We can turn towards God and away from evil and the power of Satan… we can be made new.
As we hurt for communities that remember their past and experience generational trauma: let’s lift one another up. Let’s pray for others and seek to rid of partiality, prejudice and favoritism in our own hearts. May God grant healing and peace to our nation especially in the areas of racial unrest.
Prayer: Lord, as we have gone through some history and heartaches people have faced, namely the black community, we ask for forgiveness. I mourn for the nation has had decades of horrors towards blacks. We ask that you would move within current leaders and policies and legislators. We ask that were laws are made to keep others oppressed, we would see them removed. We pray for politicians to come to know Jesus. We know that Jesus is the only Savior of the world, but Jesus calls us into a life of freedom, fullness and fruitfulness. We can love others as you have loved us, Lord. Teach us and move in us and others, today. In Jesus’ name.
Matthew 18:21-35 New Living Translation Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor 21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone[a] who sins against me? Seven times?” 22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven![b] 23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.[c] 25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. 26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. 28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars.[d] He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. 29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. 31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. 35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters[e] from your heart.”
Abundant Mommyhood 