Original, daily devotionals, inspiration and more from a fresh, "Hey! I never thought about it like that before" perspective.
Evening Epiphany
Never take God’s grace for granted because if you think about it…
If you’ve been SAVED for a while, you’ve probably sinned MORE since you were SAVED than BEFORE.
BE BLESSTIFIED!
The American Civil War was a horrible time in the past, and it’s legacy and how people feel it should be remembered causes division today. Yes, it should be remembered, but not celebrated.
There has been much controversy and disagreement concerning efforts to remove certain images of the Confederacy from public places and entities.
Those who defend these images claim they are historic symbols, and they assert that those who want them removed don’t understand, know or appreciate history.
The problem with too many people who claim to be Christian is that they celebrate aspects of their culture, past and history that they should be ashamed of.
People quickly say, “You can’t erase history.” “You can’t erase the past”.
We can remember the past without honoring, glorifying and celebrating aspects of a culture and heritage that oppressed others…And, expect the descendants of those who were oppressed to honor the symbols of the oppressor.
If that’s the case, we tell the story of the American revolution, but where are the statues of King George III? Hmmm… the statue that used to exist in New York city was interestingly pulled down. Where are the British flags in our buildings…that’s our history too.
Those who claim to be Christians cannot justify by the word of God glorifying a system and culture that supported and thrived on American slavery. Which cannot even be compared to or defended by the ‘servanthood’ in the bible, addressed in my post, LET’S TALK ABOUT SLAVERY IN THE BIBLE…
Especially a system that was completely built upon kidnapping and selling people into slavery, which was strictly forbidden and punishable by death in the bible…
Exodus 21:16 (NKJV)
16 “He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death.
The American south isn’t the only culture who committed this atrocity, but it is equally wrong.
God had Israel remember their past, but without graven images. Could this be one of the reasons He forbade making graven images? People tend to honor (worship) them. We honor God WITHOUT a statue or a flag.
Exodus 20:3-6
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
If you notice this commandment goes beyond worshipping vs 3. It says don’t make ANY images first (v 4), THEN don’t bow down to them (vs 5).
The fact is that you can honor the past without disobeying God. This isn’t the first time that we have blatantly disobeyed God in our ‘establishment’. Notice that when people testify in court, or take office, they are asked to ‘swear in’ on a bible that strictly forbids swearing…
Matthew 5:34-37 (NKJV)
34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
Think about it…people don’t celebrate shameful aspects of their family history.
If your parent or grandparent was drunk or criminal do you celebrate that? It’s your history.
If your father beat your mother do you celebrate that? It’s your history?
We remember that Judas betrayed Jesus, but we don’t celebrate it.
The Jews remember war between Israel and Judah, but they don’t celebrate it.
The enemy keeps us divided and holds us back by convincing us that we should celebrate things that we should be ashamed of. God repeatedly tells Israel that they should remember the sins of their ‘fathers’, but not glorify them…
Hebrews 3:8 (NKJV)
8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
In the day of trial in the wilderness,
I ask you to consider this article with an open heart to God…not with your emotions.
This is the first in as series of articles that address CELEBRATING THINGS THAT WE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF.
BE BLESSTIFIED!
BE BLESSTIFIED! 