The Christians definition of how we define “success” in a year usually falls alongside worldly goals. It’s easy to create New Year’s resolutions. They are the sum of all things that happened the previous year we didn’t do. It’s also the compilation of things we want to stop doing. It’s human to look at what is quantifiable. Here is usually how we evaluate a year in review:
We count how many “wins” we had during the year, not reviewing what we’ve learned from failures.
We define success on what we’re able to buy during the Christmas season, not current blessings.
We evaluate God’s response rather than his present provisions.
How do we break this?
It begins in the Spiritual realm. We have to retrain our minds to look at the bigger picture. It’s not what happened or didn’t happen, it’s where God has us, and his care and covering over us. It’s a difficult area of thought because our humanity wants to achieve our goals. As Believers, it should always be the priority to live our lives to give God the glory. As we slowly exit another year, let’s focus on how we can do that:
Start your conversations with what God has done for you. Give thanks.
Gifts? List God’s blessings to you and your family.
How were you able to help others?
What happened that made God’s provision for your life more than words?
Keeping a Godly perspective is hard. Sharing that perspective is harder. The hardest thing to do at the end of the year is to reflect with a perception that doesn’t forget 2017 but gives God the glory for it. The Christian definition of success begins and ends with God.
The scars and stains of racism are still deeply embedded in Britain. We have made enormous progress in teaching everyone that racism is bad. Where we seem to have dropped the ball”¦ is in teaching people what racism actually is?
You’d think we’d have figured out how to treat each other by now.
In what feels like an increasingly volatile climate, that some of us are surprised by and others are less so, here a few quotes on racism, bigotry, and intolerance in the hopes that it would inspire us all to reflect and move forward.
We still believe the best days are ahead, that Martin Luther King’s dream will indeed be a reality, and that our commonalities will prevail over our differences. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who were tragically injured and killed during the shameful events in Charlottesville.
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background or his religion. People learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” ’- Nelson Mandela
“Racism is man’s gravest threat to man – the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason.” ’- Abraham Joshua Heschel
“Race relations are fraught with land mines,” Michael Emerson warns, because racial groups tend to define racism differently-with whites emphasizing overt acts of prejudice and discrimination, and people of color focusing on group inequalities and unjust systems.” ’- Joseph Parker
“We must heal the divisions caused by intolerance and bigotry.” ’- Janet Reno
“Racism springs from ignorance.” ’- Mario Balotelli”
“But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness.” ’- 1 John 2:11
“People know about the Klan and the overt racism, but the killing of one’s soul little by little, day after day, is a lot worse than someone coming in your house and lynching you.” ’- Samuel L. Jackson
“You don’t fight racism with racism, the best way to fight racism is with solidarity.” ’- Bobby Seale
“No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them.” ’- Elie Wiesel
“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” ’- Martin Luther King Jr.
“Do you know what we call opinion in the absence of evidence? We call it prejudice.” ’- Michael Crichton
Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn’t matter which color does the hating. It’s just plain wrong.” ’- Muhammad Ali
“Prejudice is the child of ignorance.” ’- William Hazlitt
All humans are descended from Adam and Eve and so all are related and need the salvation offered by the Last Adam, Jesus.” ’- Unknown
“If a white man falls off a chair drunk, it’s just a drunk. If a Negro does, it’s the whole Negro race.” ’- Bill Cosby”
“Racism, in the first place, is a weapon used by the wealthy to increase the profits they bring in by paying Black workers less for their work.” ’- Angela Davis
“…racist thought and action says far more about the person they come from than the person they are directed at.” ’- Chris Crutcher, Whale Talk
“The roots of racism lie deep in man’s nature, wounded and bruised by original sin.” ’- Sargent Shriver
“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” ’- Audre Lorde, Our Dead Behind Us: Poems
“It demands great spiritual resilience not to hate the hater whose foot is on your neck, and an even greater miracle of perception and charity not to teach your child to hate.” ’- James Arthur Baldwin
“Racism, because it favors color over talent, is bad for business.” ’- Steven Pinker
“For hundreds of years Jesus was portrayed as a blond-haired man with pale skin. This was profoundly unhelpful in the way Christians learned to relate to those of other races. Jesus’ dark skin and Middle Eastern birthright are part of his glory.” ’- Unknown
“Racism is a refuge for the ignorant. It seeks to divide and to destroy. It is the enemy of freedom, and deserves to be met head-on and stamped out.” ’- Pierre Berton
“Ignorance and prejudice are the handmaidens of propaganda. Our mission, therefore, is to confront ignorance with knowledge, bigotry with tolerance, and isolation with the outstretched hand of generosity. Racism can, will, and must be defeated.” ’- Kofi Annan
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” ’- Martin Luther King
“As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it—whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.” ’- Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
“God cares about people regardless of their ethnicity, nationality, and social status (Deuteronomy 10:17-19).” ’- Unknown
From a biblical perspective, there is one biological race. This is confirmed by scientific studies on the human genome. Biblically and scientifically there is no defense of racism.” ’-Unknown
The problem is that white people see racism as conscious hate, when racism is bigger than that. Racism is a complex system of social and political levers and pulleys set up generations ago to continue working on the behalf of whites at other people’s expense, whether whites know/like it or not. Racism is an insidious cultural disease. It is so insidious that it doesn’t care if you are a white person who likes black people; it’s still going to find a way to infect how you deal with people who don’t look like you. Yes, racism looks like hate, but hate is just one manifestation. Privilege is another. Access is another. Ignorance is another. Apathy is another. And so on. So while I agree with people who say no one is born racist, it remains a powerful system that we’re immediately born into. It’s like being born into air: you take it in as soon as you breathe. It’s not a cold that you can get over. There is no anti-racist certification class. It’s a set of socioeconomic traps and cultural values that are fired up every time we interact with the world. It is a thing you have to keep scooping out of the boat of your life to keep from drowning in it. I know it’s hard work, but it’s the price you pay for owning everything.” ’- Scott Woods
“God calls Christians to oppose racism or prejudice of any kind.” ’- Unknown
“God cares how we treat each other because we’re all created in His image (Genesis 1:27). He makes no distinction between the inherent value of one race or ethnicity over another.” ’- Unknown
“Race doesn’t really exist for you because it has never been a barrier. Black folks don’t have that choice.” ’- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah
In The Sin of White Supremacy: Christianity, Racism and Religious Diversity in America (Orbis, 2017), Jeannine Hill Fletcher, Ph.D., professor of theology, examines theology’s culpability in perpetuating ideas that elevate both Christianity and whiteness over all else.
The beauty of the gospel is that the God who is one and yet three—unity and diversity—has created a kingdom where both unity and diversity is celebrated as various people worship a common Savior who bought them with his blood and united them with his body.
We live in a society that places a high degree of importance on physical appearance. Beauty is commonly defined as a combination of qualities, such as shape, skin color, or form that pleases the aesthetic senses.
True beauty has also commonly been tied to good works. However, people have done good works that were later found to be wicked. Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Tse Tung come to mind.
Probably the most famous quote about beauty comes from Margaret Wolfe Hungerford in her book Molly Bawn, in 1878, where she wrote;
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
It’s never been truer! Especially when the fashion and entertainment industry try to shove their idea of beauty down our throats. That quote deters from looking at a physical appearance for God looks at the heart of all people and things. Use these 30 hand-picked quotes to find the real beauty in yourself, others, and what surrounds us.
“Beauty is a heart motivated by a love of God and a love of our neighbor.” – Unknown
“We become truly beautiful by becoming like Christ.” – Unknown
“What it means to be beautiful is when I found my most authentic self, that’s when I truly knew I was beautiful.” – Brely Evans
“Accepting me, my good, my bad, my indifference, my flores, but loving me in spite of me, that’s beautiful.” – Wendy Raquel Robinson
“It looks like actions and behaviors of Jesus Christ that are demonstrated by believers who are diligently seeking to become like Christ.” – Dr. Michael Williams
“Can be summed up in one word, family.” – Malis Family
“Having fun and expressing myself.” – Journey
“Beautiful means to be confident, secure, and aware.” – Robin Reed
“Someone who has gone through a lot in life and they may fall down a bunch of times, but they are determined in there heart to get up, to never ever, ever give up, that to me is beautiful.” – Sophia Luke
“It was when I was happiest that I longed most. The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing to find the place where all the beauty came from.” – C.S. Lewis
“Outward beauty gets the attention, Personality gets the heart.” – Tehreem
“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.” – Elisabeth Kubler Ross
“True beauty is commonly regarded as beauty on the inside.” – Unknown
My eyes saw your unformed substance (Psalm 139:16).” – The Bible
“Inner beauty is inside each of us. We are all beautiful in God’s eyes as we are created in the image of God.” – Unknown
“Sensual pleasures are like soap-bubbles, sparkling, evanescent. The pleasures of intellect are calm, beautiful, sublime, ever enduring and climbing upward to the borders of the unseen world.” – James H. Aughey
“Beauty is not who you are on the outside, it is the wisdom and time you gave away to save another struggling soul like you.” ’- Shannon L. Alder
“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Prayer beautifies you” ’- TemitOpe Ibrahim
“God crowned you with glory and honor as the pinnacle and final act of the six days of creation.” – Unknown
“To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others.” – Unknown
“I am the Creator and you are my creation. I breathed into your nostrils the breath of life (Genesis 2:7).”- The Bible
“I knit you together in your mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139:13) – The Bible
“Beauty is about being comfortable in your own skin. It’s about knowing and accepting who you are.” – Ellen DeGeneres
“There is nothing more beautiful than someone who goes out of their way to make life beautiful for others.” ’- Mandy Hale
“Please girl don’t act beautiful, be beautiful.” – Unknown
“You are fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14) – The Bible
“True beauty is measured by the number of pearls within you, not those around your neck.” – Suzy Kassem
“A true beauty radiates from the most beautiful feature in the world – the heart.” – Unknown
“Look to Jesus. Keep your eyes on him. He is the author and perfecter of your faith.” – Unknown
“Unless you break free from the shackles of beauty as dictated by the media and society, true beauty will be elusive.” – Khang Kijarro Nguyen
You’re the Project Leader, congrats. However, have you ever asked yourself, “Am I a good Project Leader?” and felt unsure of the answer? or what makes a project leader great? Are you a truly amazing project leader or just a mediocre one?
But what can project leaders learn about project management from Jesus of Nazareth?
In the four gospels describing the life and work of Jesus, one sees that his life was to spark widespread interest in the goal of both personal and social transformation.
When given very difficult questions – even questions designed to make him look bad – he finds a way to express the truth so that even his enemies respect him.
Being a project leader is hard. People don’t naturally wish to have one. And not everyone wants to be one. But most people are anxious to follow a good leader, and all projects live or die on the quality of the leaders who run them.
“It’s not a stretch at all to say that Jesus was the greatest leader the world has ever seen. There’s a reason why you see all those churches in your town.”
Surely by adopting the habits of Jesus and shunning the sins of bad project leaders, anyone can do a better job of managing projects. Just as long as the leader has a growth mindset.
Not sure how you stack up? Here are some key beliefs that are held by the best Christ-like project leaders, but that is often rejected by the worst.
You treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
You put the human before the project and understand that life sometimes gets in the way.
The success of the project depends largely on you being the master of obvious and mundane things, not obscure, or breakthrough ideas or methods.
People you manage feel comfortable bouncing ideas off you, sharing feedback, saying ‘I don’t know’ and admitting mistakes.
You are aware of what motivates you and your decision-making.
You strive to be confident enough to convince people that you are the project leader, but humble enough to realize that you are often going to be wrong.
You always roll up your sleeves and pitch in when needed right alongside your team.
You give feedback — “the good, the bad and the ugly”.
You shepherd your people through every hard turn.
Your rewards for success are keeping your job and receiving, even more, responsibilities and challenges.
You are aware of your own blind spots and challenge yourself to step out of your comfort zone in order to build trust and motivate the team.
You realize that most difficult part of being a project leader is striking the balance between being too assertive and not assertive enough.
You leave your ego at the door and are able to surround yourself with people that are more knowledgeable and more skilled than you are to complete the project tasks.
You are transparent.
You inspire.
You aim to fight as if you are right, but listen as if you are wrong.
You admit to having a inaccurate understanding of what it feels like to work for you.
You understand that how you do things is as important as what you do.
You understand that because you wield power over others, you are at great risk of being insensitive and not knowing it.
You create clear structures for each team member and ensure that they know what their responsibilities are.
You are approachable and show real concern to the issues facing the people on your team.
You use your status for the greater good of the company and treat the team members with respect.
In God’s project of reconciling man with God, Jesus Christ is the “man in charge”. He kept the elements of God’s Salvation project together and as the project leader, worked within the elements of scope (reconciliation of all mankind unto God; 2 Peter 3:9), time (when the fullness of time has come, God sent forth Jesus, his Son to be born of a woman to redeem and Save all mankind who were under the law; Galatians 4:4-5) and cost (willingly laying down his very own life; John 10:18).
Learn to inspire, teach, protect, remove obstacles and be human and you’ll become the unforgettable project leader that your people will remember for the rest of their life’s.
A lot has been written about Martin Luther’s legacy and even though he was born in 1546, the legacy of the reformer is still felt today.
Though he was a student of Scripture, Martin is probably best known for defying the Catholic Church of his day, laying some of the groundwork for protestant theology, forming the Lutheran tradition. He was both a complex, influential ”ž and controversial ”ž.
In today’s hectic world, there is much we can learn from Martin’s commitment to simple living, good stewardship and value of nature.
He had much wisdom to share, here are some of his most influential and controversial ”ž quotes that are sure to give you some food for thought:
“I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.” – Martin Luther
“Whoever drinks beer, he is quick to sleep; whoever sleeps long, does not sin; whoever does not sin, enters Heaven! Thus, let us drink beer!” – Martin Luther
“The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship” – Martin Luther
“Reason is a whore, the greatest enemy that faith has; it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but more frequently than not struggles against the divine Word, treating with contempt all that emanates from God.” – Martin Luther
“A person who…does not regard music as a marvelous creation of God, must be a clodhopper indeed and does not deserve to be called a human being; he should be permitted to hear nothing but the braying of asses and the grunting of hogs.” – Martin Luther
“The devil, the originator of sorrowful anxieties and restless troubles, flees before the sound of music almost as much as before the Word of God….Music is a gift and grace of God, not an invention of men. Thus it drives out the devil and makes people cheerful. Then one forgets all wrath, impurity, and other devices.” – Martin Luther
“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.“ – Martin Luther
“I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” – Martin Luther
“You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say.” – Martin Luther
“Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times. I know not the way God leads me, but well do I know my Guide.“ – Martin Luther
“The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me.” – Martin Luther
“Be a sinner and sin strongly, but more strongly have faith and rejoice in Christ.” – Martin Luther
“If you want to interpret well and confidently, set Christ before you, for He is the man to whom it all applies, every bit of it.” – Martin Luther
“The Gospel cannot be truly preached without offense and tumult.” – Martin Luther
“Therefore we conclude that all law, divine and human, treating of outward conduct, should not bind any further than love goes. Love is to be the interpreter of law.” – Martin Luther
“We are nothing with all our gifts be they ever so great, except God assist us.” – Martin Luther
“Those speak foolishly who ascribe their anger or their impatience to such as offend them or to tribulation. Tribulation does not make people impatient, but proves that they are impatient. So everyone may learn from tribulation how his heart is constituted.” – Martin Luther
“My heart, which is so full to overflowing, has often been solaced and refreshed by music when sick and weary.” – Martin Luther
“True humility does not know that it is humble. If it did, it would be proud from the contemplation of so fine a virtue.” – Martin Luther
“Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly.” – Martin Luther
“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” – Martin Luther
“I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” – Martin Luther
“So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: “I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!” – Martin Luther
“Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God.” – Martin Luther
“To find Christ in such poverty, and what his swaddling clothes and manger signify, are explained ”¦ that his poverty teaches how we should find him in our neighbors, the lowliest and the most needy; and his swaddling clothes are the holy Scriptures; that in actual life we should incline to the needy; and in our studies and contemplative life only to the Scriptures; in order that Christ alone may become the man of both lives and that he may everywhere stand before us.” – Martin Luther
“A Christian man is the most free lord of all, and subject to none; a Christian man is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to everyone.” – Martin Luther
“I am more afraid of my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals. I have within me the great pope, Self.” – Martin Luther
“Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved.” – Martin Luther
“God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars.” – Martin Luther
“I am afraid that the schools will prove the very gates of hell, unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures and engraving them in the heart of the youth.” – Martin Luther
“You have as much laughter as you have faith.” – Martin Luther
“There never yet have been, nor are there now, too many good books.” – Martin Luther
“This life therefore is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness, not health, but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it, the process is not yet finished, but it is going on, this is not the end, but it is the road. All does not yet gleam in glory, but all is being purified.” – Martin Luther
“The dog is the most faithful of animals and would be much esteemed were it not so common. Our Lord God has made His greatest gifts the commonest.” – Martin Luther
“We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.” – Martin Luther
“If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.” – Martin Luther
“Everything that is done in this world is done by hope.” – Martin Luther
That Alexander Hamilton became anything at all in this world was a remarkable accomplishment. That he became one of the most influential Founding Fathers of our country seems almost miraculous. To understand the unlikely nature of Hamilton’s rise, we need only understand where he came from. In his early years, Hamilton endured more hardship, tragedy, and loss than any person should have to bear in a lifetime.
Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757 – July 12, 1804) was an American statesman and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.
Hamilton and his older brother James were born into a poor family on the island of Nevis in the West Indies. Their mother Rachel, having fled a previously unhappy marriage without obtaining a divorce, was unable to remarry, and lived in a common-law relationship with the boys’ father, James. The circumstances of Rachel’s first marriage and her common-law relationship earned her a reputation as a notorious woman, creating a stigma of illegitimacy around James and Alexander.
When Hamilton was a young boy, his father abandoned the family, leaving Rachel to raise the two boys alone. When Hamilton was twelve, Rachel died from a raging fever, a sickness that almost took Hamilton’s life as well. Both boys found themselves, at very young ages, as orphans in utter poverty.
Their older cousin, a thirty-two-year-old man named Peter Lytton, became the boys’ legal guardian. A widower, Peter struggled financially as a result of a number of poor business deals. Only a few months after taking the two boys in, he committed suicide, adding yet another layer of tragedy to Hamilton’s life.
Author Ron Chernow sums up the unbelievable loss that Hamilton experienced throughout his early years:
“Their father had vanished, their mother had died, their cousin and supposed protector had committed bloody suicide, and their aunt, uncle, and grandmother had all died. James, sixteen, and Alexander, fourteen, were now left alone, largely friendless and penniless. At every step in their rootless, topsy-turvy existence, they had been surrounded by failed, broken, embittered people.”
How could this boy, who endured such incredible hardship, end up as an influential Founding Father of our country? Miranda begins his musical with this very question.
The answer begins with yet another devastating tragedy. In 1772, a massive hurricane descended onto St. Croix, causing widespread destruction and loss. Hamilton wrote an essay to describe the horror of the event. Through a series of fortunate circumstances, the letter was published anonymously in a local newspaper. Readers were greatly impressed by the obvious intellect and skill of the author.
The young Hamilton interpreted the hurricane as divine retribution from God, and called the people to repentance and faithfulness. Hamilton wrote,
“Where now, oh! vile worm, is all thy boasted fortitude and resolution? Death comes rushing on in triumph. . . See thy wretched helpless state and learn to know thyself. . . . Despise thyself and adore thy God. . . . Succour the miserable and lay up a treasure in heaven.”
A few local business men felt compelled to act when the seventeen-year-old Hamilton was revealed as the author. Chernow writes,
“Hamilton did not know it, but he had just written his way out of poverty. This natural calamity was to prove his salvation. . . . A subscription fund was taken up by local businessmen to send this promising youth to North America to be educated.”
Hamilton’s character sings about this experience, reflecting on how this act of grace changed the entire direction of his life. Everything that Hamilton became, every opportunity afforded to him in America, was made possible by this generous gift. In other words, Hamilton built his life on the foundation of grace.
What is true of Hamilton is true of all of us. Where would any of us be without the grace of God? Isn’t the foundation of each of our lives built squarely on God’s grace alone? The story of God’s activity in our lives is of course, above all else, a story of grace.
NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 15: Actor Leslie Odom, Jr. (L) and actor, composer Lin-Manuel Miranda (R) perform on stage during “Hamilton” GRAMMY performance for The 58th GRAMMY Awards at Richard Rodgers Theater on February 15, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/WireImage)
The grace that formed the foundation of Hamilton’s life is now being offered through Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton musical to students throughout New York City. Through a partnership with the Theatre Development Fund (TDF), six hundred students were given the opportunity to attend a matinee performance of Hamilton. Ginger Bartkoski Meageher of TDF said that the experience moved the students deeply. Any time we encounter grace, it transforms us.
The Rockefeller Foundation expanded this grace significantly. A $1.5 million gift enabled 20,000 students from New York public schools to see Hamilton in 2016. Hamilton producers hope to offer a similar program to other cities on the national tour. These tickets represent grace given to these students, as many of them never could have obtained them on their own.
This gift of grace could possibly transform their lives, and transform the givers’ lives in the process. After one of the student performances, Miranda tweeted,
“The student matinees are, it turns out, the highlights of my life. I can’t begin to describe how it feels.”
The above is an excerpt from God and Hamilton: Spiritual Themes From The Life Of Alexander Hamilton & The Broadway Musical He Inspired by Kevin Cloud. The book will be available on Amazon in June, 2018.
We were discussing the doctrine of sin, and one of my students asked me: “What do you think of generational curses?”
This depends on what you mean by a generational curse. If a person means that a person can be socialized to learn sinful habits from parental influence, then the idea makes good sense (although such an idea doesn’t require the label of “generational curse”).
Generational Curses as Spiritual Bondage?
However, it seems when people use the phrase “generational curse,” they generally have in mind the idea that a person is experiencing “spiritual bondage” that involves demonic influence as a result of sin in previous generations.
Where does this idea come from? The main biblical text is:
Exodus 20:5 ~ “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (There are verses others like it that are very close in wording.)
1. Generational Love?
There are many problems with trying to get the “generational curse” theory out of this text. First, while it affirms punishment for numerous generations, it also affirms God’s love for those who obey him.
So what happens if the second generation obeys God? Are they still cursed? To follow the logic behind the “generational curse” theory, then the second generation, and thousands more, would be loved by God regardless of their response to him.
Rather than teaching a logic of generational cursing, this text seems to be contrasting the expansive love of God (to a thousand!) versus the punishment of God (to just a few). Consider also Exodus 34:6-7.
2. The One Thing Missing
The even bigger problem with concluding that this text teaches “generational curses” is that the word “curse” doesn’t occur in the text! Rather, it speaks of punishment, and the punishment doesn’t involve demonic influence (that could hypothetically be denounced, as the generational curse proponents teach); the punishment comes from God.
3. A Curse for No Generations
Of course, there are other biblical texts that might point to the idea of generational curses. Consider, for example,
Deuteronomy 11:26-28~ “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse; the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.” (Again, there are other texts like this.)
However, unlike the text from Exodus above, there is here no sense of generational continuation from the curse.
Furthermore, numerous biblical texts (even in the Old Testament!) make it clear that “The child will not share the guilt of the parent” (Ezekiel 18:20).
Finally
Just to be clear, I am not denying that demons have real influences in this world. I am, however, denying that the Bible teaches that generational curses exist.
More importantly, (and here I agree with those who talk about generational curses), I would certainly affirm that God can (and does!) set people free from all kinds of nasty habits or oppressive thinking. One thing we can proclaim with certainty is that whatever curse there was for not obeying the law in the Old Testament (see above), “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law” (Galatians 3:13).
From the birth of Christianity to the present, the most significant objects of transformation for Christian architecture and design were the great churches of Byzantium, the Romanesque abbey churches, Gothic cathedrals and Renaissance basilicas. These large, often ornate and architecturally prestigious buildings were dominant features of the towns and countryside in which they stood. There aren’t many facets of Christian architecture that haven’t been sufficiently perfected over the past two millennia.
The Catchy Design
A new project from the Church of England and UK-based firm Denizen Works seeks to challenge that notion. With a barge that not only is able to traverse the London canal network but that also has a functional aesthetic for a place of worship that eschews the traditional concept of real estate as well.
“An instrument in spreading the gospel to parts of London.”
A Growing Community
A Floating Church Will Soon Set Sail on London’s Canals
The vessel named Floating Church is expected to be ready by December 2018. In particular, the focus will be on developing links with the growing communities in the London Mayor’s key Opportunity Areas. The vessel will be built for the Church of England’s Diocese of London to bring the gospel to places where there are still no established houses of worship.
Denizen Works architect Andrew Ingram said in a statement:
“We have designed a boat which we think will become a landmark on the London canal and provide its users with a unique and inspiring space.”
The interior will be adaptable for many activities as parent-children groups, yoga classes, art exhibitions, concerts, or book and supper groups. For the period the church will be wandering around communities and will assume two different shapes. In order to pass below London’s bridges, it was necessary to build a compact and flatboat. However, these features are only needed to navigate the waterways.
Designed to mimic the bellows of a church organ, when anchored, the boat will transform into a bright accordion-shaped space, thanks to a huge pop-out canopy. The canopy will provide a wide internal space adequate for worship and any other cultural event.
The Floating Church is presently raising funds for its construction and work on the mobile church is expected to start in March 2018.
The floating church is expected to connect with people in East, Sweetwater, and Eastwick in the Olympic Park development zone. It will also be open for rent for art exhibitions, interfaith gatherings, and other events.
Hey parents: Do you want to reduce the chances that your child will follow the crowd to the point of rejecting Christ and the values and truths you hold so dearly?
It’s no secret that children of all ages are being exposed to negative criticism of Christianity as they spend time at school, with friends, or online. Are you prepared to talk with your kids about how they can effectively answer the tough questions that come their way?
I often wonder how I am going to teach my three kids about Jesus, the Bible, and the radical love of God found in these ancient pages. Do I start with the Romans road? Do I start with the Gospels, driving the Sermon on the Mount into their minds? Or do I pick and choose from the myriad of Old Testament stories, Noah and the flood, David, and Goliath?
Most parents may not give it much thought, and I believe that is a great mistake. What we teach our kids about Jesus and the Bible is of everlasting significance. We should thoughtfully and prayerfully consider how and what we teach our children. Especially when it comes to our faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
Starting with Jesus may seem like the best place to start. Though, there are good reasons for starting with the Apostle Paul and the Romans Road. But Mike Fabarez, author of Raising Men, Not Boys makes an interesting argument. He suggests we start at the beginning and go from there.
“Don’t get me wrong, but in one sense it is unfortunate that the first verse our boys traditionally learn is John 3:16 (i.e., “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…”). Yes, that is a fantastic and essential summary of God’s saving work motivated by His love. But it assumes a lot of foundation truths that many don’t learn until much later. In a sense teaching our boys first about God’s love is out of biblical sequence. It’s like having someone in high school tell you that “Jennifer loves you!” if I know little or next to nothing about Jennifer, or worse yet, if I imagine Jennifer to be someone she is not, learning that Jennifer loves me will end up being meaningless. (44-45)”
It makes sense, doesn’t it?
If we don’t talk to our kids about God as Creator, God as Sustainer, God as the One Who Sees Us, all characteristics revealed prior to John 3, who will they assume this God is that loves them? It would make perfect sense for them to ask “Why would God do something like sending Jesus to die?” if they have no framework or reference to the love of God that has been present since the before the world was created?
Keeping Your Kids on God’s Side
Starting with Genesis 1:1 and taking our kids on the journey with the Israelites, learning and discovering who this God is could be a great way to reveal the true heart of God. The heart that is ultimately shown in Jesus Christ. Seeing Israel realize more and more that God is not interested in blood sacrifices or physical circumcision, but the circumcision of the heart and a living sacrifice may help your kids to realize the same thing. That faith in God is not about a routine of sacred actions but the inward change that results in an outward expression of love.
Don’t get Fabarez wrong or misunderstand him. He does say “in one sense”, so I hardly think that he has forced his kids to a strict linear learning and reading of Scripture. But there is some wisdom, some insight into teaching our kids this way.
It gives you something to think about when it comes to teaching and raising your kids, doesn’t it?
My prayer is that each of your children will grow up to be, as author George Barna puts it, “an irrepressible follower of Jesus Christ who accepts the Bible as truth, lives by its principles, seeks ways to impact the world and continually deepen his or her relationship with God.”
From the early basilical churches of the Roman Empire to the unfinished Sagrada FamÃlia, there aren’t many facets of Christian architecture that haven’t been sufficiently perfected over the past two millennia. Church architecture has had over two thousand years to evolve partly by innovation and partly by imitating other architectural styles as well as responding to changing beliefs, practices and local traditions.
“Christian architecture was enriched through the cultural interaction with the Greco-Roman world.”
In 312, the Emperor Constantine defeated his principal rival Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. After that victory, Constantine became the principal patron of Christianity. By the beginning of the fourth century, Christianity was a growing mystery religion in the cities of the Roman world.
“The invention of the Christian church was one of the brilliant – perhaps the most brilliant – solutions in architectural history.”
Thousands of churches have since been built, rebuilt, or restored. From an aesthetic point of view, a lot of the church architecture featured below is unprecedentedly novel with a good appropriation of pre-existing structures that fit in with the local landscape, which already have a history and facilitate the formation of a church building.
With the National Geographic putting images on the map and now the Internet fuelling easy access to pics, it’s easy to forget how difficult these churches were to build. Behind the scenes, much goes on to tackle the making of a magnificent church building.
Here are a few such images that should cause you to sit up and have your breath taken away because of their grandiosity, complexity and stunning beauty.
He performs to packed venues all around the world, he has sold millions of albums and he has countless fans that hang on his every song. Most people reading this could tell their own stories. He has that effect on people.
Lecrae Devaughn Moore (born October 9, 1979), might be best described as a poet. Someone with a rare gift to channel his mighty intellect and generous spirit through an artful, unparalleled mix of wit, and spectacular clarity using rap music.
Born and raised by his single mother in Southern Houston, Texas. As an American Christian hip hop recording artist, songwriter, record producer, and actor Lecrae is the president, co-owner, and co-founder of the independent record label Reach Records.
Reach’s mission is “changing the way people see the world.”
Experiencing abuse and neglect during his childhood, Moore used his ability to rap as a source of significance. Lecrae eventually turned from drugs to alcohol consumption and a party lifestyle and became a “misfit of a person.” Moore currently resides in Atlanta since relocating there from Memphis in 2009 and is married to Darragh Moore, who also handles the business portion of his career. The couple has three children together.
Lecrae is one of very few artists operating in the Christian genre to hit No. 1 on the Billboard. To date, he has released seven bestselling albums, two mixtapes and won two Grammy awards and a Billboard Music Award in the process and landed a global distribution deal with Red Distribution/Sony Music for the record label he co-owns, Reach Records.
Critics are uncomfortable with Lecrae’s recent music because it is no longer a monologue preaching an agenda.
“Lecrae engages with culture and dialogues with the modern secular world and is looking to break mold of a Christian rapper.”
Lecrae isn’t alone. Artists like Propaganda, Andy Mineo, John Givez, JGivens, Beautiful Eulogy, Trip Lee, KB, Jackie Hill Perry, Social Club, and Tedashii are engaging culture and bringing restoration to hip-hop and the world through great music.
Here are some of Lecrae’s most powerful quotes that can help re-inspire the way you live your faith.
“Why live for the approval of men when you can have the approval of their Creator? What can they give you that God can’t?” – Lecrae
“Suppressing your hurts is like not tending to a bullet wound. Eventually, you will bleed out. Don’t numb pain, express it.” – Lecrae
“Live like someone died for you.” – Lecrae
“If people throw stones at you, pick ’em up and build something.“ – Lecrae
“The less time you spend with Truth, the easier it is to believe lies.“ – Lecrae
“Life is like a dice, so watch the ones you’re rolling with.“ – Lecrae
“We fear circumstances so much because we fear God so little.” – Lecrae
“If I’m wrong about God then I wasted my life. If you’re wrong about God then you wasted your eternity.“ – Lecrae
“People will hurt you. But don’t use that as an excuse for your poor choices, use it as motivation to make the right ones.“ – Lecrae
“Prayer doesn’t bend God’s arm but it’s guaranteed to bend our hearts toward His will. Worry less. Pray more.” – Lecrae.“ – Lecrae
“Christians aren’t people who never sin or always do the right thing. We’re people who live in continual repentance.” – Lecrae
“Don’t follow your feeling. Just follow the word.” – Lecrae
“I’m not a Christian because I’m strong and have it all together. I’m a Christian because I’m weak and admit I need a Savior.“ – Lecrae
“Better to have a small role in God’s story than to cast yourself as the lead in your own fiction.“ – Lecrae
“God gave you your own race to run, stop comparing yourself to other people. They have their race and you have yours. Run hard and don’t quit.“ – Lecrae
“Some work hard to acquire money only to find in the end that money acquired them.” – Lecrae
“Believe the best about people. Pray for their shortcomings. You are not the standard. We all need grace.“ – Lecrae
“Character isn’t who you are when life goes your way. Character is who you really are when the bottom falls out.“ – Lecrae
“God is never late, we’re just impatient.“ – Lecrae
“Don’t waste your time explaining who you are to people who are committed to misunderstanding you.” – Lecrae.“ – Lecrae
“A man who is too afraid to admit his fears is a man who won’t overcome them.” – Lecrae
“God is not bothered by your persistence. Keep asking.“ – Lecrae
A controversy has been brewing in Christian hip-hop and at the center of this controversy is rapper Lecrae and the record label he co-founded, Reach Records.
I recently noticed some Christian songs that were encouraging listeners with the refrain “God is not against you,” and “God is for you.” I know that some famous preachers also seem to make this their regular mantra when they appear before their congregations.
Whenever I hear such encouragement, however, I wonder how someone can make such a blanket statement to all people who might be listening.
I think of stories like the Exodus where God was clearly for the Israelites as God led them out of bondage, whereas God was against their Egyptian captors (Psalm 81:5).
Sometimes people have a fairy tale image of God. We can be prone to think of God as there for our well being, as existing to grant our wishes (at least sometimes), and as one who is always nice to us, whose prime goal is to make us comfortable in life, and who would never think of disciplining us.
The fact is, though, that God does discipline. And our sin does affect our relationship with God in this life. It is even possible that God can be against you.
“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” (James 4:6).
“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil” (1 Peter 3:12).
“Now the hand of the Lord is against you” (Acts 13:11).
Even though God can be against people, there is still a sense that God is for everyone, if by this we mean that “God so loved the world” (John 3:16). We can even say that God wants what is best for us.
At the same time though, sometimes God gives us “tough love” to help us straighten up. For example, Paul warned the Corinthians that if we celebrate the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner we might be “judged . . . by the Lord” and “disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:32).
I cannot tell everyone that God is not against them. I don’t know about you, but knowing this gives me strong impetus to repent of my sin and ensure that I stay in a good relationship with God.
The good news is, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Praise the Lord!
On June 22, 2015, Karen Fleshman posted on LinkedIn,
“White People, If You’re Not Part of the Solution, You’re Part of the Problem”
A direct plea for white folks to examine how their everyday actions contribute to institutionalized racism. Karen Fleshman suggested ways to change their behavior to improve race relations. The post quickly went viral, with 20,000 views and over 400 comments, 85% of which were not only merely negative but outright cruel as follows. “bereft of any connection to reality,” appalling, asinine, delusional, divisive, garbage, hateful, inflammatory, insane, preposterous, puerile, rubbish, stupid and other terms we would not repeat.”
While Karen knew white people maybe ultra-sensitive about the topic of race, she believed that many white people would be saddened by the state of race relations around the world and strive to improve. It was in that spirit that Karen Fleshman wrote the post.
“American nationals are not at all on the same page when it comes to race, and from what I can observe, at a time when it is crucial we come together, we are drifting even further apart.” – Karen Fleshman
The root of the structural racism problem is said to be about millions of people with the same biases who make up the organizations, both public and private sector and act accordingly.
Unfortunately, many People of Color are reeling from a series of events that they interpret as evidence that British and American society finds them of no value. Hence the slogan:
“Black Lives Matter.”
ENOUGH WITH RACIAL ‘RECONCILIATION
There is no precedent for racial harmony in British or American history; we have to begin to create a world that is not predicated on white privilege but on a common humanity. Before any talk of reconciliation, we need to begin with conciliation, the process to “overcome the distrust and hostility.
“Talking about reconciliation simply avoids the painful process of confronting the brutality of white privilege that continues to wreak havoc on black lives.”
RACISM, WHITE SUPREMACY IS A CHRISTIAN PROBLEM TOO
The racism of many personal interactions and microaggressions is real. This exists in the Church too. Racism is a social matter, not just a personal matter. It is cultural and intimately woven into our communities, our symbols and our formation of identity—even in places like London where crime rose sharply after the EU referendum, according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).
“Non-racism is a popular third option where politeness and courtesy in behaviour or speech are paramount. It recognizes the evil of white supremacy but, like Pontius Pilate, washes its hands of responsibility.”
As Christians, we must recognize that there is no such thing as a non-racist. There isn’t a third option. Non-racism is merely a passive rejection of racism, but it is also a rejection of human dignity, solidarity, and the common good.
A NEW APPROACH TO HEAL THE RACIAL DIVIDE IS NEEDED
When people deny and dismiss the problem, it only makes it worse.
“Non-racism allows white people to acknowledge racism is a sin while continuing to reap the benefits of white supremacy.”
When the author of The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander speaks at churches, she says, “We’re all sinners and we’re all criminals.”
Today is the day for pastors and preachers and Christian university presidents and faculty and denominational leaders to loudly take a stand against racism in all forms. Denouncing it and categorically condemning it.
CONFESS YOUR ROLE
Michelle Alexander says “Confronting a system that benefits us might feel like a loss. We have to listen to hard stories, let go of some power, face discomfort and change our ways.”
“A group of Christians in Nazi Germany signed their names to the “Barmen Declaration,” in 1934 opposing Nazi ideology as antithetical to the Gospel. Christians feel the need to do the same thing almost Eighty years later.”
Confession creates all kinds of shameful feelings. We resist admitting our wrongs.
Confess your apathy and silence. Too few of us have said, enough. Too few have defended the cause of the marginalized and intervened in the face of blatant injustice.
The people of God can do better.
Christianity teaches that everyone is equal in the eyes of God.
The only question that remains is, will you remain on the sidelines – silent about the blatant racism all around – or will you join in leading the charge to end all the prejudice, and instead support all of God’s people?
This is your day to shine.
RACISM FACTS
A state of racism exists between some of the citizens of the United Kingdom. Studies taken by the BBC in 2014 and 2015 claim racism is on the rise in the UK, with more than one third actually admitting they are racially prejudiced
In 2003, the Community Service Society published reports that 50% of the black men in New York City didn’t have a job, and in 2005, another report demonstrating that there are 170,000 young adults ages 16-24 who are not in school and not working, largely black and Latino.
Black Caribbean pupils are permanently excluded from school three times as often as white British classmates
Unemployment among black, Asian and minority ethnic people is nearly double that of white Britons
Theresa May, UK Prime Minister recently admitted Britain has a long way to go to achieve racial equality after a major review laid bare significant divisions in the way black and ethnic minority people are treated. The race audit is welcomed because the data it provides cuts through easy stereotypes about race and class and shows the limits of a “good education” Black and Asian students do well at school, but lose out in the jobs market.
Much like the statistics, the reasons for this disparity are not new. The time for talking is now over, we must now move to debating solutions.
December 04, 2017 – Today Christians in Britain are seen as both “dangerous and offensive”, according to Tim Farron, an evangelical Christian and former Lib Dem leader who recently resigned saying it was impossible to be both true Christian and a political leader.
“The former Lib Dem leader is to argue that faith lies at the core of liberal values in an annual lecture of the religious think-tank Theos.”
In a speech to be delivered on Tuesday, Farron will say:
“If you actively hold a faith that is more than an expression of cultural identity you are deemed to be far worse than eccentric. You are dangerous. You are offensive.”
In prepared remarks, he will also tell the think thank that Christianity and its values are at the heart of liberalism.
Scrutiny of his religious beliefs persisted during this year’s election campaign where he was repeatedly asked in media interviews to clarify his views on whether homosexuality is sinful.
This question first arose two years ago during an interview on Channel 4 News, to which Faroon replied: “We are all sinners.” The media questioning then intensified during the general election campaign earlier this year until he eventually stated that he did not believe gay sex was sinful.
He also faced questions about an article he had written over six years earlier in which he said abortion was “a sin”, but recanted of that view during the election campaign.
Mr Farron says “People talk about shared values today. But when they do, what they mean is these are my values – and I am going to act as though they are also yours, and will demonstrate contempt for you if you depart from them.”
He argues that given this diversity, the only way to hold society together is through ‘real’ liberalism that accepts religious differences.
“Liberalism has eaten itself because it has eaten the very world view that gave birth to it, that made it possible, and which makes it possible,” he will say.
“So I knew that stepping down was the only thing to do,” he added. “I was right to do it. I don’t regret it.”
Media Headlines
Christians are deemed ‘dangerous and offensive’ says Tim Farron – Telegraph.co.uk
Christians are deemed to be dangerous, says Tim Farron – The Guardian
Christians are deemed ‘dangerous and offensive’, says former – Catholic Herald Online
Tim Farron: Christianity is seen as dangerous – BBC News
UK Politician: Christians Seen as ‘Dangerous and Offensive’ – CBN News
Lib Dem leader defends record on LGBT rights, but says ‘I’ve already answered that’ when asked repeatedly by radio caller – The Guardian
Mr Farron criticised social media too, saying it had been “naive” to think a decade ago the medium would lead to a “greater democracy”.
Genuine Christianity, he said, “has always has been countercultural. It will always go against the norms of the day,” which makes it unbearable for the guardians of secular orthodoxy. Christians will have to battle against “inevitable disdain.”
“But Christianity rebukes both sides: don’t judge, show kindness, show gentleness, show patience – especially to those who don’t deserve it.”
