A Call to Repentance for the American Church

Many of us are wondering how we got here. We are watching as our rights are eroded and our country careens toward communism. Traditional values (the sanctity of life, the blessedness of intact families) have all but disappeared.  There are many calls going out exhorting the church to be unified. But what are we unifying around?

How did it all get so bad?

There are many answers to that question. The lack of local political involvement, our naive trust in our politicians to right the moral wrongs, and our unwillingness to perform due diligence before voting are a few of the reasons. But they are not the main reason.

The problem in this country is a spiritual one. (Now, don't tune me out just yet.) The American church has turned a blind eye to sin for decades. Instead of speaking out against legalized child murder and the destruction of the traditional family structure, we accepted these sins and injurious policies in the name of political correctness. We feared man more than God. "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!" Isaiah 5:20 NASB

Morality cannot be relegated to the political arena. Politicians do not decide what is right and what is wrong. In fact, the word political does not appear in the Bible. These issues are called good and evil, sin and righteousness. All we really have to do is take God at His word.

We do need to unite. We need to unite in repentance. We need to stop tolerating evil lies that lead people, human beings with souls, down deadly paths to eternal destruction. We need to be bold, to speak the truth, even if it hurts others' feelings. Which is preferable, a doctor who speaks the truth and recommends a painful treatment, or a doctor who tells you comfortable fibs and lets you die? If we value truth in medical matters, why don't we value it even more in the spiritual? Love is not telling falsehoods, or standing by quietly while others do. Jesus didn't do that. Neither should we.

We need to repent. 

We need to repent. 

We need to repent.

"Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

Just Be Our Allies

Last week, George Floyd was murdered by a white policeman. The ensuing protests, riots, and rage have grieved America's heart.

I first learned about George Floyd through a Facebook post, written by a white female broadcaster. She was horrified. Soon I saw other posts, always the same, outraged people decrying the circumstances of this man's death. My biracial daughter went to a protest in Chicago and was arrested while trying to protect a young black teenager from the policemen's batons. She showed me the bruises on her arm she got from the cops. Thankfully, she is back home and more determined than ever to speak up for justice.

The protests in Chicago have been well-televised, and there are many, many white people participating. I have heard the horror stories from my daughter of unequal treatment from the police, so I'm more aware than some about what can happen to black people. Not all police are bad, but the ones that are taint the whole force. It makes me sad and angry to think that some evil people have the power to abuse others, and to get away with it. Derek Chauvin, the man who murdered George Floyd, had multiple complaints against him, all of which were dismissed. George Floyd was failed by many, including the heads of the police department in Minneapolis.

But George Floyd, and many others who have died or been abused by the police, have been failed by society at large, particularly white society. We need to stand with our black brothers and sisters, we need to cry out, continually, for change, until that change is here. Human hearts need to change, but only God can do that. We can pray for people to change, for God to work upon their hearts, but we also need to demand that those who are responsible for committing evil be held accountable.

I told my daughter,  who is active in Black Lives Matter, that white people are frustrated and angry, and feel helpless, because they don't know what to do. She told me, "Just be our allies, that's all we want". 

That I will try to do. And I will use my voice to advocate for change, to demand change, to ask our human systems to restore accountability, to fight the tendency to gloss over seemingly small sins until they grow into something horrific and reprehensible, like the death of George Floyd. Let us do our best to make sure all people are treated equally under the law, by society, by the church, by teachers, by employers, by landlords and realtors, by all.  

Persecution From Within

So true.

 http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/61388-friendly-fire-in-the-church-god-s-answer-to-the-growing-crisis-bickle