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Monday Meditation: Blessings to Consider

Early June 2020 marks an important moment in my life and in the life of Wilkesboro Baptist Church. We are reopening our facilities for in-person worship and Sunday school classes to meet.

I never imagined when 2020 began that we would be absent from in-person gatherings at church for more than 12 weeks. I never imagined that we would be in the midst of a global pandemic. I never imagined that we would be facing protests as a result of racial tension. And I never imagined that one of the more challenging things I would ever do in ministry is coordinate reopening our church facilities.

There are also some blessings that I can recount from this strange experience. The writer of Hebrews addresses the church and in doing so provides a template for looking at these blessings and the importance of meeting together again.

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:24-25

Here are some blessings to reflect on regarding our church during this time:

  • Serving others through love is our primary responsibility as a follower of Jesus. Even in this isolation and staying at home, we have been the church. Picking up groceries, serving meals, making face-masks, and praying with people over the phone are just some of the ways Wilkesboro Baptist members have served our church and community. I’m grateful that we have a spiritually healthy church that gives, participates, shares, and cares leading others to follow Jesus.
  • While we have not met in-person, we have not ceased meeting. Meeting together takes many forms. Hebrews 10:25 has been used to stress the importance of attending church services. This is an appropriate application. While we have not gathered in-person for several weeks, we have met together through media and family groups for worship. Online worship is not ideal, but it is better than no worship at all.
  • When we meet in-person again, we will be blessed by the smiles and songs. There’s something special about seeing a follower of Jesus smile in worship. There’s something special about hearing Christians sing in praise. This is a blessing we can all long for.
  • While our life has been interrupted, God is still in control. The reason we can pray and praise is because God rules and reigns. He is our hope and peace.
  • While outside forces may try to hinder the church, the church exercises her power through prayer. I think the prayer of the church encourages me the most. Many of you have joined us in special prayer for revival, awakening, peace, strength, and grace. No matter the outside challenges or the inside worries, our prayers can reflect confidence in God who is in control.

I’ll close this post with a quote I referenced in yesterday’s message from Jeremiah 33:3. It reminds us the glorious importance of our prayers.

God could move on his own, as He did in creation and redemption. He can take the initiative. He needs no permission to act. And yet, dealing with His children, it was His wisdom to place them in a training ground appropriate to their learning processes. We are to govern; we exist in an environment containing spiritual elements hostile to his sovereignty. What else could be better training?This is why in everything we are to present our requests with thanksgiving to God. Nothing is excluded, because all things affect the progress of the kingdom. Our work is large, and our faith operates across that part of God’s sovereignty visible to us. The long list of things we should pray for in the Bible (for governors, for the churches, for boldness) brings the entire movement of humankind, government, churches, and the kingdom under the influence of our prayers. God could move without our cooperation, but our cooperation is the method He uses to demonstrate His sovereignty. All power derives from God; He is the most powerful Agent in the universe. Prayer provides a way for us to cooperate with our all-powerful God.

T. W. Hunt, The Doctrine of Prayer, 70-1.

Photo by Illiya Vjestica on Unsplash

Monday Meditation: Racism, Injustice, and a Broken World

One week ago today, George Floyd was killed while under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer. At the very least, Floyd’s death was unjust (he was being arrested for a counterfeit bill). At the worst, it was an act of racial violence. Since his death last Monday, protests (peaceful) and riots (violent) erupted across our country.

Let’s acknowledge a few things before moving forward. Most police officers are not racist. Most officers put their lives on the line serving all the people in their communities. Most protestors are not vandals. Most of the recent protests are peaceful and not violent. Where racial violence and destructive behaviors occur they should be met with the force of law. Anarchy does not offer solutions.

Our country was already at an emotional and psychological boiling point with the disruption caused by Covid-19. In recent years, racial tensions have continued to grow as a result of unjust acts and/or highly publicized violent responses by white police officers against black suspects. Or as in the case that happened earlier this year in Georgia, white citizens taking the life of a black man.

It is not my aim in this article to jump to conclusions or offer sweeping judgments. I don’t have the details. I’m also a white man in a predominantly white rural town. My local context is very different than many places in our country right now. But as I watch the protests and the violence and the claims of injustice facing our land, it is right to claim the gospel and gospel-centered living as the solution our world needs.

In the last several months, Christians have been balancing the tension of being Christians and citizens. Do we push back against government bans of worship services that we may think limit our First Amendment rights? Do we act as citizens seeking the welfare of our fellow man by abiding by these statutes? This tension is not easy.

A cursory look at Bible sheds light on how those who follow God can keep their convictions and work toward the betterment of society. Joseph worked for the benefit of Egypt. Daniel served for the welfare of Babylon. Paul commanded submission to the Roman government.

The implication in Scripture is that followers of Jesus are to work for a better city and society by adopting a biblical worldview, loving each other and our neighbors, and working for justice and righteousness even in the midst of a pagan culture.

The Minor Prophets in the Old Testament decried injustice and idolatry. As followers of Jesus, we must do the same. The gospel of Jesus Christ offers us a paradigm for responding to racism, injustice, and the broken world around us.

The gospel is universal. It is good news for all people, everywhere. Racism has no place in the body of Christ, and we must work against all its tenets in our world. God created mankind in his image: the imago Dei found in Genesis 1:28. The Kingdom of Christ is universal. The church described in Revelation 5 contains people from every tribe, language, people, and nation. The doctrine of the imago Dei and the extent of the gospel teach us that we must uphold the inherent dignity of every person and view them as individuals Jesus died to redeem.

The gospel is the very picture of injustice and justice. Jesus suffered greater injustice than any other person who has ever lived. He was perfect, yet faced criminal charges. He was innocent, yet sentenced to death. Jesus identifies with the marginalized and those who experience injustice. But also on the cross Jesus faced justice: God’s justice against our sin. Because God sent Jesus to the cross to pay the penalty for our sin, we can experience the grace and mercy of a loving God. Christ’s salvation delivered on the cross demands that we as Christians seek justice, righteousness, peace, mercy, and grace for those around us.

The gospel is the only solution to a broken world. Hate. Racism. Violence. Murder. Looting. Vandalism. Abortion. Injustice. War. Dishonesty. These are just a few of the realities in our broken world. As followers of Christ, we do not have to be content with the status quo. Because we have experienced the gospel that changed us, we can embrace a gospel-centered lifestyle. We can and must work toward a better world. But to whatever extent the gospel succeeds in our lives, our homes, and our cities, our world will still remain broken. Only the return of Christ to set up his permanent kingdom will fix the broken world that we see around us.

We need the Deliverer to rescue us from all our sins. As I was listening to this old song written by Rich Mullins, sung by Rick Elias, I was reminded that Jesus alone is our Answer, our Hope, and the only One who can fix what we’ve broken.

To quote John in Revelation 22:20, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash