“Watch out for false prophets.  They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.  By their fruit you will recognize them.”  (Matthew 7:15-16)

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;”   (John 10:10)

There are a lot of sheep loose right now, running rampant in so many places. From a distance they appear white and woolly, wholly harmless.  But if you get too close, you will find among them, a wolf, waiting to take your life at the opportune moment.  Like the thief, the wolf comes only to steal, kill and destroy.  But because the wolf masquerades as a sheep, no one notices the damage they are doing until it is done and then it is too late.

That could explain why something doesn’t feel quite right, something just doesn’t seem to make sense to me but I can’t quite say exactly what it is.  I feel uneasy about it. Things don’t add up.  If black lives matter, why is BLM burning down and looting black owned and other minority businesses?  If black lives matter, why would they destroy memorials and statues honoring those that fought to free slaves, such as Ulysses S. Grant?  Lincoln lost his life because he was hated for what he did, but he signed the Emancipation Proclamation nonetheless.  Why would that act of courage not be worthy of remembering?

I confess – I am easily deceived, I am easily led astray.  If something seems good to me, if something sounds right to me, if something appears to be the correct way to go – I’m in.  Following my own wisdom or the ways of others however, does not always turn out as I had intended that it would.

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”  (Proverbs 14:12)

Some things sound so right.  “Black lives matter” is one of those phrases, which seems right and true and good and obviously correct.  And those words are true. But those three words are also the name of an organization that doesn’t seem to act in a way that says they believe what their name says they believe, namely that black lives matter.

You can imagine my confusion and concern upon learning that two black men, ages sixteen and nineteen had been shot and killed in Seattle’s CHOP zone, a safe space created and run by Black Lives Matter.  I didn’t see their names or pictures all over the news, or in the news at all.  Didn’t their lives matter?  Where was the outcry and the outrage over the loss of those two black lives?

Where is the protest over David Dorn’s death?  He is a black retired police captain who was killed in St. Louis by BLM protesters/rioters as he attempted to protect a local black owned business.  Doesn’t his black life matter?  There has been no outcry from BLM.  Why not?  Do only some black lives matter?  And if so, which ones?

Why isn’t BLM protesting outside of Planned Parenthood clinics?  According to the Wall Street Journal, “In 2014, 36% of all abortions were performed on black women, who are just 13% of the female population.”  The 2010 Census revealed that “79% of the Planned Parenthood surgical abortion facilities are located within walking distance of minority communities.  In some cities, such as New York, black abortions outnumber black live births by thousands every year.”

Don’t those black unborn lives matter to BLM?  What about the black lives lost to gun violence on the streets of Chicago (and other cities) every day?  Do those black lives matter to BLM protesters?  I haven’t seen any media coverage with the names and the faces of any of those black lives lost during this past month, or any month for that matter.

It is difficult to distinguish the wolf when he is hidden among the sheep, dressed in their likeness.  You can’t tell just by looking.  You have to watch what he does and you have to pay attention to what he says.

Brad Polumbo recently wrote this concerning the organization, BLM.  “No doubt, the organization itself was quite radical from the very beginning.  Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors described herself and fellow co-founder Alicia Garza as ‘trained Marxists’  . . .  ‘We actually do have an ideological framework,’ Cullors said of her organization.  ‘We are trained Marxists.  We are super-versed on, sort of, ideological theories.’ ”

Polumbo goes on to say that BLM chapters use racial justice as a way to advance their own ideologies stating that BLM DC “openly dedicates itself to ‘creating the conditions for Black Liberation through the abolition of systems and institutions of white supremacy, capitalism, patriarchy and colonialism.’ ”

The national organization of BLM’s official platform published in 2015, contains a call to “disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure.”

BLM has been talking, telling us who they are and what their agenda is.  Has anyone been listening?  Their goals are pretty clear.  Destroy democracy.  Destroy the family.  Abolish capitalism.  No private property.  The state owns everything collectively.  And there is much more on their website about what they do and what they intend to do.

As I have watched BLM in action across our country over the past month, as I have witnessed buildings burning, books banned, a statue thrown into the harbor, vandalism and violence – I find myself wondering if this is how the people of China felt during the Cultural Revolution of Mao, which took place in their country from 1966-1976 in order to usher in Communism.  By many accounts,

“Nothing related to traditional Chinese culture was safe.  Libraries were ransacked, monuments destroyed or severely damaged, and religious sites and tombs of historical figures were looted and desecrated.  Chinese literature, scrolls, and other classics were burned, paintings torn apart, and murals defaced.”

I think I know a little of how they must have felt as they watched their entire history being wiped away with the destruction of their written records, genealogies, literature, art, artifacts, tombs, and temples – all connections to their past, containing their history and carrying it forward into their present – reminders of their identity – now gone forever.

Suddenly, it is all too familiar.  Will history be rewritten for us once every reminder of our past is destroyed?  With every painting, every memorial, every statue, (every church) every book not deemed acceptable gone – who will we be then?  A free people?  The people of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and the Emancipation Proclamation, or no?

Will we follow like sheep or will we recognize the wolf in sheep’s clothing for who he really is, before it is too late?

“Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.    . . .  Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”   (Matthew 7:17-20)

Today being “woke” is what we are told to be.  The question is, will we wake up in time?

“Arise, (wake up) cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord.  Lift up your hands to Him for the lives of your children, (your family, your friends, your country) who faint from hunger at the head of every street.”   (Lamentations 2:19)

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I confess – I am a big fan of birthdays – mine or anybody else’s.  I mean no matter whose birthday it is, you still get cake and ice cream, right?  And that’s my second confession for today – ice cream is my number one favorite food of all time.  That being said, you can see why I am sad that so many birthdays have gone uncelebrated since mid-March due to COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings.

Especially when we are young, birthdays are eagerly anticipated events, with much planning going beforehand to determine venue, food, decorations, guest list, games or activities etc.  This seems to apply more to children’s birthday parties than those we have as we get older.  But still, we like to celebrate the lives of those we love in some special, meaningful way.

Some birthdays seem more important than others because we deem them milestones, such as turning one or sixteen or twenty-one or sixty-five or ninety. Still every birthday is reason enough to celebrate in its own right.  How many grandparents have missed celebrating the birthdays of their grandchildren during this time? How many long planned parties have been cancelled or postponed?

These birthdays, these milestones of our lives, have gone unmarked and uncelebrated during this time when places have been closed and even family gatherings forbidden. Maybe we could ask the question, “if there’s no cake, no candles, no ice cream and no singing – am I really a year older?”  We shouldn’t have to add a year to our age if there was no cake or ice cream.  That just doesn’t seem fair.

This is the time when we usually celebrate another birthday, the birthday of our country, the United States of America.  Her birthday has always been celebrated in grand style.  From fire works to fish fries, from parades to picnics, from grand concerts to countless small town celebrations, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, we all take time to celebrate our freedom as we celebrate our country’s birthday.

She was born under difficult circumstances, our country and she has faced many times when she was in critical condition, fighting for her very survival.  We weren’t alive then, we don’t realize how hard our country has fought to stay alive. We have no idea what life without freedom would be like.  We take for granted what we have never been without.

Abraham Lincoln referred to America’s birth and purpose in his Gettysburg Address calling the United States a nation “conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”  Yes, the United States was born out of a peoples’ desire to be free and a peoples’ belief in the equality of all. They no longer wanted to be ruled by the royal monarchy of England but wanted to establish their own government.

Eighty-seven years before Lincoln gave his Gettysburg address, in our Declaration of Independence from England, our founding fathers clearly stated this self-evident truth saying, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  And so our country came to be, born out of a desire to be a free and self-governing people.

Born out of the Revolutionary War and having survived the War of 1812, our country now found herself on yet another battlefield listening to Lincoln saying these words, “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that (our) nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.”  It didn’t look good for America.  We were a young country struggling to survive.

You see, ironically, some in the country were not living out the ideals upon which our country was founded.  They were free from the crown of England but they were now enslaving other people.  The free were now taking away the freedom of others.  This could not continue.

This reminds me of the story in Matthew 18 of a King who was going to put a man in jail because the man owed the King a huge debt, not possible to ever repay in a lifetime.  But the man begged for mercy, so the King cancelled his debt thereby setting him free to live his life.  But this man then found someone who owed him a small amount and had that person put in jail because he could not pay.

How could someone who had been set free turn around and enslave someone else?  It cannot be allowed.  And that was the purpose of the Emancipation Proclamation that Lincoln issued and signed on January 1, 1863 – to free any person held as a slave. Slavery could not continue in this country.  Slavery is incompatible with a country dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal because they are created by God, for God, in His image.  And so it came to pass that Lincoln and others found themselves on the battlefield of Gettysburg on that November day in 1863.

Lincoln said on that battlefield that day “that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -”  Today, on this birthday of our country, we find ourselves on the battlefield once again.  We have been engaged in battling the invisible enemy of us all, COVID-19 and the also invisible, even more debilitating, enemy of our souls, fear.  But as our battle with COVID-19 and fear continues, our country is now called to battle another enemy simultaneously.

The enemy, injustice accompanied by prejudice, has come to claim our country once again.  The choice is ours.  Will we allow our country to die or will we fight to give her “a new birth of freedom,” as Lincoln resolved at Gettysburg that day?  If she ceases to exist on our watch, we are conceding that all who have died in the service of this, their beloved country over the years, have now died in vain.

Nathan Hale’s last words before he was hanged on Sept. 22, 1776 by the British as he fought for our independence, ring down through every era to today.  “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”  Lincoln would give his life in the service of this country, fighting for the abolition of slavery.  He was assassinated in 1865.  Little more than one hundred years later, Dr. Martin Luther King would likewise be assassinated, giving his life in the service of this country, trying to help her live up to the ideals stated in her constitution.

In fact, Dr. King was not seeking the death of America.  He was challenging her to make good on her promises and reach her potential as a people and as a nation. In his famous “I have a dream” speech, he said it was time to cash the check America had written so many years ago.  Without tearing down a single statue, Dr. King issued the greatest speech of all time and forced this country forward into fulfilling her unkept promises made so long ago.

The Gettysburg address was given on a battlefield.  Today, a day we should be celebrating our country on her birthday – every city is a battlefield, every conversation a minefield, every word a weapon – every act of discrimination a defeat, every act of courage, caring and justice a victory.

Today, the battle is not waged so much over possession of a fort or a hill or a valley – rather the battle is for the hearts and minds of the people who call this country home.  Lies and twisted half-truths take many prisoners, leaving them no longer free to think for themselves, no longer free to speak or to live as they choose. Truth – their only hope of regaining lost freedoms.

We have come too far to give up now.  If we don’t remember our past we will have no idea how far we have come.  Conceived in liberty, we are still a very young country compared to other nations, only two-hundred forty-four years old.  We must continue to grow into our founding documents, our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, the Emancipation Proclamation, these must not be erased from our history and therefore eventually from our memories.

We must heed Lincoln’s words, we must “take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion . . .”   We must resolve, they shall not have died in vain.

As I write this, my thoughts turn toward our veterans everywhere.  You have served our country with self sacrifice and honor.  We owe you an unrepayable debt.  But one thing is sure.  Defacing your memorials and erasing the record of your service and sacrifice serves no positive purpose and makes no one’s life any better.  No one is any safer or any freer due to destruction and demolition of public property.

Are we still the land of the free and the home of the brave?  It has not felt like this is true in recent months.  People seem afraid to fly an American flag or to stand up in support of the country that has given them the freedom, safety and peace to pursue their dreams of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Why would we not want to fight for our country, to make her better, rather than to tear her down and erase her heritage, which is to erase our own heritage.  Just because a past is painful, does not mean it is not beneficial.  We have already witnessed through history our country slowly, painfully but purposefully correcting her mistakes.

I think our focus has been held captive by an incomplete picture of the reality that is our country.  What we give our thoughts to is so important.  Consider these words from Philippians 4:8,

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance.”   (Psalm 33:12)

I pray that we will celebrate our country’s birthday today, giving thanks for the freedoms and protections she has provided us in the past and remembering the sacrifices of all who have gone before us, giving their lives so that this country might live.  She deserves a celebration.  Their memories deserve to be honored.

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I confess – I continue to be confounded and confused by current events each and every day.  Just when I think I can make sense of things, I am confronted with a reality which doesn’t conform to the conversation of our country.

I thought BLM was fighting against oppression and injustice, because they feel black lives suffer both oppression and injustice.  So imagine my surprise when I see black owned and minority businesses burned and looted in so many cities during the BLM demonstrations/riots, protests and takeovers.  I thought they said black lives mattered?

A young black man, nineteen year old Horace Lorenzo Anderson was killed on June 20th in the BLM “CHOP” occupied territory in Seattle, Washington.  Where are the demonstrations over his death?  Why aren’t his name and picture all over the news?  I thought BLM’s message is that black lives matter?  Doesn’t his life matter?  Who gets to decide?

I find it curious that the group, BLM, who says they are wanting to free people from oppression, are in fact enslaving people through oppression – oppressing people in order to accomplish their goal.

I don’t know when I’ve witnessed more tyranny, more rule by mob violence and more destruction of both public and private property than I have in the past month.

They say they are pleading the case of the oppressed and the voiceless.  How ironic that their method used to accomplish this goal is to oppress everyone who doesn’t support them and to silence every voice save their own, so there are no voices of dissent or voices of protest against their actions allowed to be heard.

Did you feel safer or freer before the protests began?  COVID-19 had us confined and afraid for our lives.  Then the protests/riots began.  We lost our freedom and our peace of mind to COVID-19.  Then, in this past month we lost our peace and our freedom all over again to BLM.

Many of our streets and public places are not safe while mob rule reigns.  We are not free to speak our minds.  Corporations and individuals are scrambling to fall in line and profess allegiance to BLM lest some harm should come to them, either physically, economically, socially (public perception of supporting them or not supporting them) or otherwise.  I think they are more afraid of BLM than of COVID-19.  (unfortunately a mask is even less protection against BLM than it is against COVID-19)

And so I watch the oppression of a people, of a country, silenced before my eyes. No one will speak out and say that arson and looting and vandalism and graffiti are wrong, not to mention illegal.  (unless you are burning or spray painting your own property, then I guess that’s your right)

The answer to oppression is not to oppress others.  The answer to injustice is not injustice.  If you desire freedom of speech for yourself then you cannot silence other voices, even if they are voices of difference or dissent.  But for now it appears the angry mob rules.  America is being bullied by burners, statue topplers and graffiti vandals.  No one has the courage to speak out against this destruction, oppression and injustice.

In Isaiah 1:16-17 we are told not to ignore wrong doing and mistreatment of other people. “Stop doing wrong, learn to do right!  Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.  Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”

We all want justice.  Justice, however, does not come amid chaos and confusion, death and destruction.  These words from Isaiah 11:3-9 describe what justice will look like when she comes.

“He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes, or decide by what He hears with His ears; but with righteousness He will judge the needy, with justice He will give decisions for the poor of the earth.   . . .   The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.  The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.  . . .  and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest.  They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

what a beautiful picture of life lived in peace and in freedom; freedom from fear, freedom from violence, freedom from oppression – God’s perfect justice ushering in safety, peace and freedom for every living creature, even the animals!

When I feel discouraged and disappointed in what I witness around me, I will remember and hope in these words of Psalm 146:3-10,

“Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.  . . .  Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven and earth,  . . .  the Lord, who remains faithful forever.  He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.  The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.  The Lord watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but He frustrates the ways of the wicked.  The Lord reigns forever,  . . .   Praise the Lord.”

sincerely,        Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To say that we were few in number would be quite the understatement.  I have grown used to seeing large crowds of people on my TV screen – large, loud, moving mountains kind of crowds of people filling the streets to overflowing, clamoring to be heard.

We did not even fill the parking lot where we gathered to make our petitions known.  Not many would have given us a second look as they passed by.  We were a group that would defy description should someone attempt to label us.  From many different denominations, all shades of skin color could be seen among us as we banded together for our urgent purpose.

We were family coming together to talk to our Father, our Heavenly Father.  We came with our hearts heavy with grief for all the suffering surrounding us on a daily basis.  We have been witnessing the suffering of others while experiencing sadness and suffering of our own.

This is not a time to stand by and remain silent.  And so we gathered together.  We gathered to pray, to petition our God and to protest the evil overtaking our beloved country.  We assembled and we raised our voices to the One who always hears the cries of His children.

We came together in courage, in hope and most importantly in obedience.  You see, 2 Chronicles 7:14-15 gives us this command accompanied by a promise,

“if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.  Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.”

Our land needs healing.  Our country is being torn apart and torn down right before our eyes.  And so we gathered together in obedience to God’s instruction to humble ourselves, (admit we can’t fix this) seek His face, (ask Him for His wisdom and His ways) turn from our ways, (which are not only wicked but are obviously not working) and pray – pray to God (not protest to God, making demands of Him as if He owed us something or as if we shouldn’t have to suffer)

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.”  (1 Peter 4:12-13)

And so we gathered to cry out to God on behalf of our country and its citizens, ours a ministry of intercession through prayer.  Prayer, the most powerful form of petition and protest.  Prayer from a posture of humility – bended knees, bowed heads, raised hands, crying, repentant hearts, confessing tongues and listening ears.

“The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great effect.”  (James 5:16)

Another translation of this verse in the Living Bible says our prayers have “great power and wonderful results.”  That makes me want to pray even more!  There is something I can do for my country and all the people living in it.  I don’t have to stand helplessly, silently on the sidelines while watching everything burn down around me as people continue killing each other in the streets.

I can pray.  I am commanded to to pray.  I am called to pray.  I have One who is always interceding on my behalf.  It seems only fitting that I should intercede for others even as Jesus is continually interceding for me, pleading my case before a holy God.

” . . .  Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”   (Romans 8:34)

So we gathered to pray, to intercede for our country and for those living in it – for all those living under its protections and its freedoms that it has provided over the years for those who live within its jurisdiction.  There was no crowd, no mass mob, no media – we were petitioning an audience of One.

And unlike the protesters/rioters, the mobs full of angry voices all blending together along with the graffiti messages scribbled, merged and melded into one ugly eyesore over what used to be if not the absence of offense to the eyes, actual beauty in artistic form –  unlike the protesters, we have the assurance, the gift of knowing that our voices, our cries, our confessions, our petitions, our requests, our intercessions – are heard, that they are always heard, always – every word.

We were heard that day in the parking lot.  “then will I hear from heaven  . . .   Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.”   (2 Chronicles 7:14-15)

“Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.”  (Isaiah 65:24)

“In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help.  From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came before Him, into His ears.”  (Psalm 18:6)

We didn’t add our voices to the din of public discourse that has deafened every ear to the truth.  Instead, we raised our voices to the One who always hears us.  We cried out to the only One who has the power to change our hearts and to heal our land.

“Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O Lord.”  (Psalm 139:4)

The protests are continuing.  Our praying, our praytests, must continue as well.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God,  . . .  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”(Ephesians 6:12-18)

Let us rise up by kneeling down, let us not keep silent but cry out – cry out not to each other but to our God who hears us, to our God who can heal us, to our God who can heal our country.

“But for you who revere My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.”   (Malachi 4:2)

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are one race, the human race.  We had best learn to recognize ourselves in the faces of others.  God gave us two commands that He said took precedence over all others.

“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  (Matthew 22:37-40)

Life is a gift, a gift from God – a wonderful, precious, mysterious, sacred, holy gift. Therefore, life matters.  And if one life matters, then all lives matter.  If we say one life doesn’t matter, then we denigrate all lives.  But because life does matter, then all lives matter.  Precisely because all lives matter, black lives matter.

Because every life matters, we cannot demean, devalue, diminish, dismiss, destroy nor ignore any life, not even one.  Each life is of infinite value to the Creator, Author and Sustainer of all lives, of each and every life.  When we diminish another’s life, we diminish our own life in the process.

Because God sees every person as of infinite worth, we are to see them in that same way and to treat them accordingly.  Luke 9:48 explains it this way,

“Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me.  For he who is least among you all – he is the greatest.”

Furthermore we are to “Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.  Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”   (Isaiah 1:17)

Romans 12:13-19 tells us more about how to treat others.  “Share with God’s people who are in need.  Practice hospitality.  Bless those who persecute you;  . . .  Live in harmony with one another.  . . .  Do not repay anyone evil for evil.  . . .   as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath,”

We are to treat others well because God loves them so well.  “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ ”   (Matthew 25:40)

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”   (Matthew 7:12)

A simple solution to the problems of protesting and violence that have plagued our cities for the past month.  If each of us would follow the instructions given to us in the words above, we wouldn’t be experiencing the chaos and the destruction that we witness on a daily basis.

Each one of us is a part of this equation.  We are either a positive or a negative. We are either part of the problem or we are part of the solution.  We are either tearing down or we are building up.  We are inflicting harm or we are bringing healing.

The choice is ours to make anew each day.  Lord, help me to choose Your way.

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

I confess – I’ve been writing a lot about listening lately.  Maybe that’s because there are so many clamoring voices out there, voices muzzled by masks, voices misunderstood and much maligned, creating a din of undecipherable chaos.

Perhaps I and maybe you, too, along with many others are actually hard of hearing, at least when it comes to hearing people we perceive as different from ourselves.  My favorite quote begins “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly . . .”.   Well, I think it may also be true that “it is only with the heart that one can hear rightly.”  I may not need an audiologist, I may need a cardiologist instead.

I may not be hard of hearing after all, but hard of heart.  A heart that is full of hate and anger and fear makes ears deaf to the cries of the people all around.  That heart hears only its own pain, rendering it deaf to the pain of others.

Empathy is not possible without listening.  And an angry, hate-filled, fear filled heart cannot hear any voice but its own.  It has not learned to listen.  We have become a nation of angry voices, with no listeners to receive our words.  But I can know that there is One who always hears me.  You can know that there is One who always hears you.  He hears me even when I feel that there is no one who hears my words, no one who hears my wailing, no one who hears my cries of desperation, my questions seeking answers.  He hears me and He hears you too, dear readers.  Rejoice and be glad!  You are heard!

“Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O Lord.”   (Psalm 139:4)

He is listening, He hears me!

“When I called, You answered me; You made me bold and stouthearted.”  (Psalm 138:3)

I need to learn to listen to others like my Heavenly Father listens to me – with attention, with care, with compassion, with understanding –

“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”   (James 1:19-20)

“I love the Lord, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy.  Because He turned His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.”  (Psalm 116:1-2)

“let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance -”  (Proverbs 1:5)

Lord, let me learn to listen to others just as You lovingly listen to me, hearing beyond my words to my heart –

give me ears to hear and help my heart to hear as well –

sincerely,           Grace Day

 

 

 

I have watched a person die before – watched someone battle an illness and lose that battle.  I confess – I hated how helpless it made me feel.  I remember all too well my feelings of helplessness.  I remember feeling powerless to save the person that I loved.  I remember being a captive audience with no where to go, no where to look away.  I was forced to watch.

And now I find myself a captive audience once again.  I have never watched a country die before.  I want to look away, but I can’t.  I want to help my country, but I have no power, I have no platform, I have no voice.  What voice I have is silenced by shame, accusation and innuendo.  The Filter only allows voices of agreement and acquiescence to get through.  There is no place for dissent in this new order of things.  Even big corporations are too cowardly to speak up, unless it is to agree with the rioters in hopes of sparing themselves the wrath of the angry mob.

It is not street names that need to be changed, it is hearts.  Can there be a country with no history?  A country with amnesia has no character, has no clue who she is or how she came to be who she is today.  After every business is burned down, after every beautiful, old building is brought low, after every statue is toppled, every monument and every memorial is defaced and destroyed, every school is renamed, every park renamed, every street, every landmark, every city renamed, what then?

Will there be peace at last?  Will the insatiable appetite of the masked, mindless mob of anonymous, angry, faceless, violent vandals at last be satisfied?  Will our lives be better then?  Will we be freer with every statue gone?  With every reminder of our painful past erased, will justice for all now be a reality?

So far I don’t feel any safer or any freer.  In fact under the tyrannical reign of political correctness, free speech is quickly disappearing.  But I can take hope in these words from Daniel 2:21,

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His.  He changes times and seasons; He sets up kings and deposes them.”

“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.  The authorities that exist have been established by God.  Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”  (Romans 13:1-2)

God is sovereign over all the chaos in the streets of our cities, causing death and destruction day after day, night after night.  In a season usually marked by travel, tourists, family vacations, outdoor concerts, eating out and sight seeing, we find ourselves hostages in our own homes in order to escape the violence in our public places such as our streets and our parks.

I am praying that this season of lawlessness will  pass and a season of peace will take its place.  A season of healing and a season of hope would go a long way to revive the life of our wounded country.  If we are no longer free to live our lives without fear, without threat of violence from lawless mobs, then we will no longer be able to hold out the hope of freedom to the oppressed around the globe.  We will ourselves have become the oppressed.

Romans 12:9-21 has words that lead us in the direction of living lives of freedom, of peace and  of justice.

“Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.   . . .   Live in harmony with one another.    . . .   Do not repay anyone evil for evil.  Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is Mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.  On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.’  . . . Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

It is hard to put these words into practice, it takes a lot of courage to live this way. But courage is what is called for in times such as these – the courage to speak out truth rather than to look away in silence.  No courage is necessary to tear things down; it is not an act of courage but of cowardice to burn a building, block a road or topple a statue.  But it takes immeasurable courage to create and to sustain a country where people with differences can live in peace and in safety with the freedom to live their lives as they see fit.

It is my fervent hope that, in Abraham Lincoln’s words,  “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”  (Gettysburg Address,  Nov. 19th, 1863)   not on our watch  –

sincerely,         Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the protesters/rioters have been capturing our attention as well as our streets, our places of business and our public and private spaces and places.  But why?  What is their message?  Whatever it is, it has been hard to hear over all the noise, the disruption, the destruction, the defacing of public and private property, the chaos, the crime, the vandalism and the violence.

Spray painted amidst the graffiti are often the letters “BLM,” standing for black lives matter.  Is this the message?  It is an important one to be sure.  I think it is a message everyone can identify with at its core.  Don’t we all want to know, want to believe that we matter and to be treated as if we matter?  That desire is part of our human condition, it is built into us – we want to know that we have value – we want acknowledgement that we matter.

But turns out, we are not very good at treating each other as if we matter.  We don’t always treat others and others don’t always treat us in a way that shows respect, dignity and acknowledgement of the value that is inherit in each one of us.

Our country knows that each individual life matters.  It is written into our Declaration of Independence that each life matters.  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,  . . . ”   And there is the proof of the truth – the truth that we all matter – equally matter – to our Creator and to our country, according to the law.  That’s what sets our country apart, no other country operates on this premise of everyone mattering, everyone having equal value, everyone having equal voice.

The ballot box is where our voice can count, where it can be heard.  It is our great equalizer.  The vote of the poor person counts the same as the vote of the wealthy person.  The vote of the unknown counts the same as the vote of the well known. In the past, we have not lived out the law as it is written.  The law does not need changing – we do.  All men are created equal, all men must be treated equally, fairly, justly.  It is time we lived up to the law.  It is time we made “liberty and justice for all” a reality on our streets and in our courts.

“Black lives matter” won’t accomplish that, but “all lives matter” will.  I don’t understand why we prioritize one life over another.  But we seem to be doing just that very thing.  In this culture we value fame and fortune, position and power, assigning more value to people with these attributes than to those who lack them.

We seem to constantly be prioritizing one life over another.  The COVID-19 crisis has given us a new group of “lives that matter,” that being those who die from COVID-19.  Of course those lost lives matter, just as the lives lost to cancer and to gun violence and to heart disease and to hunger and to sex trafficking  . . . well the list is endless, but surely all these lives lost matter equally as well.

My grief isn’t less because my friend died of cancer rather than of COVID.  Every life lost is worthy of grieving – because every life matters.  Every life has value because we were created in God’s image.  We are His image bearers in this world.

“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”  (Genesis 1:27)

So black lives matter, blue lives matter, unborn lives matter, handicapped lives matter, elderly lives matter, poor lives matter – all lives matter.  All lives matter to God, therefore all lives must matter to each one of us.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart form the will of your Father.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”  (Matthew 10:29-30)

What a confirmation of the worth of each person to God!  I love the image of God as our shepherd, as the One who cares for us and protects us and lays down His life for us, His flock.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters,  He restores my soul.”  (Psalm 23:1-3)

I like the story in Matthew 18 about the shepherd who owns one hundred sheep. When even one of them is missing, he leaves the ninety-nine on the hillside and he goes in search of his missing sheep.  When he finds his lost sheep, he rejoices greatly.

“In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.”  (Matthew 18:14)

The shepherd isn’t satisfied with ninety-nine percent.  Every life matters to him. In the same way, every life matters to our Heavenly Father, the Good Shepherd.  In fact, each life matters so much to Him that He gave His own life to ensure that we would have life.

“I am the Good Shepherd.  The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  (John 10:11 & 10)

Every life matters to the Good Shepherd.  ” . . .   I lay down My life for the sheep.  I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen.  I must bring them also.  They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.”  (John 10:15-16)

With my Heavenly Father, all lives matter.  Galatians 3:26-28 explains it this way, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,  . . .  There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

God sees us all the same and loves us all equally, unconditionally, even lavishly.

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!”  (1 John 3:1)

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”   (Jeremiah 31:3)

if this life is a dress rehearsal for heaven, we need to learn the lesson that all lives matter, that each life matters – because we are all created in God’s image and are precious in His sight.

eternity will contain the diversity of earth but in heaven it will be cause for celebration not cause for division

“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.”  (Revelation 7:9)

every, all inclusive, each life mattering because all lives matter 

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

I confess – I confess that sometimes confession is hard, it is hard because it is painful.  It is hard because it is revealing and leaves the confessor vulnerable, at the mercy of the one to whom he bears his soul.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”   (1 John 1:9)

Lord, help me not to fear Your conviction which leads to life but please protect me from Satan’s condemnation, self-condemnation and the condemnation of the world which lead to death.

“Blessed is the man You discipline, O Lord, the man You teach from Your law;”  (Psalm 94:12)

” ‘My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son.’  Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons.   . . .   Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness.  No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.  Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”   (Hebrews 12:5-11)

Lord, let Your conviction teach me and train me in Your ways which give life, but please protect me from condemnation which leads to death.

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”   (Romans 8:1-2)

“Jesus said, ‘If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ ”   (John 8:31-320

truth, the difference between conviction and condemnation – the difference between life and death –

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”   (John 10:10)

thank you Lord for being the Creator of life, the Giver of life, the Sustainer of life, the Redeemer of my life . . .

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

I confess – though I don’t think of myself as a “cryer”, I find myself weeping at odd moments of my day, with no apparent trigger or reason, just silent tears or uncontrollable sobs – I cannot tell you why, dear readers.

It could be so many things.  Months of missing people that I used to see on a daily basis, perhaps.  Sadness over what is happening in our country.  Missing “the assembling of ourselves together.”  After all, we are a nation of assemblers.  It is who we are.  It is in our constitution and in our DNA.  That knowledge definitely helps us to understand why the past three months have been so hard for all of us.

Growing up in southern Indiana with the second largest high school gym in the state, (actually now the largest high school gym in the country) where basketball was king, Friday nights meant a packed house with standing room only, as we screamed our heads off rooting for our team.  We didn’t do it alone, we didn’t do it as a high school, we did it as a town, a whole town.

So football and basketball at a big ten college didn’t seem any different to me.  The stadium would be full of fans cheering on the team, watching the half time show, supporting each other in victory or in defeat, one collective celebration or wake depending on the outcome of the game.

yes, we are a nation of assemblers – but sports are not the only thing we turn out for in mass.  Anyone who has ever stood in line for concert tickets for hours on end can attest to that.  The Indy 500 draws a huge crowd every year.  It seems from auto racing to opera, venues are packed with people who want to witness their preferred passion first hand and do so in the presence of others who also share their passion.

This affinity for assembling starts at a young age.  I remember the excitement of an all school assembly and how special they were.  Probably the fact that they didn’t happen very often and that it meant we got out of class, contributed to my anticipation of said event.  Still they were fun, whether a pep rally, talent show, band or choir performance or a speaker, it was a shared experience for us to talk about and critique for days afterwards.

Have you ever been in a movie theater where everyone cheered at the end or collectively gasped or laughed at appropriate moments in the movie?  I have.  It’s that sharing of an experience collectively, that lends it meaning and memory.  We participate in this power of assembly in so many different ways – like when we fall silent while watching the extra point being kicked after the touch down, then we collectively moan or cheer depending on the outcome.

People find themselves holding their breath as the last notes of the opera hang in the air, then find themselves on their feet applauding in appreciation along with everyone else in a standing ovation.  Have you ever watched world cup soccer fans?  There’s power in that assembly.  Billy Graham used to pack stadiums and other large venues. People assembled in mass to hear his message in person along with thousands of other people also seeking after something, hoping to hear words that would answer questions they had long carried in their hearts.

We assemble to mourn as well as to celebrate.  Lines are long to pay respects and funeral processions full, as people come to share their collective grief.  Funerals such as John F. Kennedy’s and Princess Diana’s attracted extremely large crowds as people grieved collectively over the loss of these public figures.

The same goes for celebrations.  We have parades to celebrate so many occasions, such as the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, New Year’s Day parades, St. Patrick’s Day parades, Mardi Gras and Fourth of July parades to name a few. These events become traditions for families over the years.  Nothing like the pageantry of a parade as a shared experience to make a lasting memory.

We are a nation of assemblers.  Have you seen Times Square on New Year’s Eve? Or a super bowl?  or been to South by South West in Austin, Texas or to Lollapalooza in Chicago?  These annual gatherings attract huge crowds of people who come together to share the experience.

We are a nation of assemblers.  From county fairs to country music, on summer nights, we assemble.  Every Sunday in the fall, fans flock to football stadiums all over America while simultaneously hundreds head to houses of worship in every city and town to assemble together for praise and prayer.

We are a nation of assemblers, guaranteed our right to peaceably assemble by the first Amendment of our Constitution.  We have exercised and enjoyed that right for many years, until the last three months.  Things have been shut down, closed and cancelled across the board, across our country during this time because of the COVID-19 threat.

And as law abiding citizens we have forsaken the assembling of ourselves together in both our public and our private lives.  No more public gatherings, no more private gatherings such as weddings, birthday parties, funerals etc., except for a few recent protests by citizens wanting to reopen their businesses and return to work.  But those protests didn’t even last one whole day.  The protesters were quickly publicly condemned as uncaring murderers prioritizing money over peoples’ lives and told they were in violation of the law.

And that was that until these past three weeks in which we have watched non-stop, day and night BLM protests and riots across our country.  I guess our first amendment right to peaceably assemble has been reinstated.  It must have been because these protests/riots have continued with huge numbers of people packing the streets in multiple cities for multiple days.

The media has not suggested that these protesters shouldn’t be out in mass numbers but restaurants here during the same time have been allowed only twenty-five percent capacity for their customers and churches, if open, could only admit a limited number of people so that social distancing could be practiced.  I guess only the protesters have the freedom to assemble without the rules and the restrictions that would limit their numbers (to under 50) and their actions.  (to require social distancing at all times, as well as temperatures taken and masks worn)

It doesn’t seem a very equitable situation at present, now does it?  Some citizens are allowed to assemble in large numbers while businesses and other citizens still face many restrictions if they want to open or get together at all.  If you don’t want to have to cut the guest list for your wedding, why not just call it a protest?  Then you can have as many people as you want present.

So what is it about this innate need of ours to experience life and to live life in the context of community?  Where did this come from?  In pioneer days they harvested crops together, had barn raisings and quilting bees.  Maybe that was more about survival than socializing but it fulfilled both needs simultaneously.

We have the same need today to share life and experience it within a larger context than just that of ourselves alone.  We are like marathon runners, who enter these large races.  They run alone and yet share that experience with thousands of others who are running the same marathon, running the same race. (53,000 plus runners in the last New York City marathon)

We are all running the same race of living life and many of our paths will intersect.  In fact we are a nation of assemblers precisely to ensure that that intersection, that shared experience will take place.  Deprived of it, we do not do well.  Deprived of our usual venues of assembly, we will create our own.  Is it any wonder the protests are continuing?  (they don’t have to be at work, there are no other events to attend)

We were created to be assemblers.  How do I know this?  Because it is our eternal destiny.

“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.  They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.  And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’ ”   (Revelation 7:9-10)

An eternal, peaceful assembly.  One of joy, not strife.  One of celebration, not mourning.  One of peace, not violence.  One of reconciliation, not revenge.  One of healing, not hurt.  An assembly of life, not death.  An assembly where every voice is known and every voice is heard.  An assembly where every voice matters.  An assembly where every life matters.

an assembly where every life was purchased with the blood of Jesus – (Revelation 5:9-10)

“because You (Jesus) were slain, and with Your blood You purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.  You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

an assembly where all lives matter,

sincerely,        Grace Day