Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I was going to talk this week about focus (a lesson learned from Sabbatical), but I found it more necessary to write to you about how we respond to political violence.
Yesterday was the anniversary of 9/11. 24 years since almost 3000 people died due to an attack against America. The day before Charlie Kirk, a Christian, conservative political organizer who founded Turning Point USA, was assassinated in Utah. Earlier this week, Israel launched an attack on Hamas leaders, not on Israeli soil or even in Gaza, but in Qatar. We live in a world that is ready to go to war, to retaliate, to murder those with whom they don’t agree.
But our Lord Jesus calls us to a better way. We are called to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Certainly, we can pray for justice. But we are not to give ourselves over to hatred, or anger, or murderous bloodlust like Cain. We may feel that the murder of healthcare CEO’s is just, or that people who are confrontational deserve what they get. But if anyone deserves what they get, it is each one of us. We deserve justice and wrath for our sinful rebellion against God. But God, who is rich in mercy, forgave us our sins through the sacrificial death of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Because we have been forgiven through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we too, can forgive others, pray for our enemies, and seek to understand those with whom we disagree. Also, if what is going on in our world brings you fear or anxiety, the best thing we can do, though not the only thing, is to pray. Tell God how you are feeling. Take time to re-focus on who God is and what God has done so that you aren’t overwhelmed by the stories of evil and violence. Because of who God is and what God has done, evil does not have the final word. Jesus will return to make all things right.
Please continue to pray for the nations of Israel and Ukraine and South Sudan. Here is a suggested list of prayers if you are at a loss for words in how to pray: https://send.org/story/hh_pray_for_ukraine. And https://worldrelief.org/blog-prayer-for-israel-and-gaza/ And here are other prayers for peace in general: https://worldrelief.org/prayers-for-peace-in-the-world/ Thank you for kneeling on behalf of the people of Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Gaza and Lebanon, Sudan and South Sudan, and taking a stand (or a knee in prayer) against the forces of darkness in this present age.
Further announcements can be found in the weekly spotlight. And other church wide announcements can be found in our weekly bulletin.
For Prayer:
1. From Bishop J.C. Ryle – “To be prayerless is to be Christless, Godless, and in the high road to destruction…It will always be found that when prayers are few, grace, strength, peace, and hope are small.” Please join our Wednesday night prayer meeting (7:45 – 9:00 pm) even if you can’t participate the whole time.
https://zoom.us/j/758587937?pwd=aS9sZUdxcm1janNNM2I2aXJ6Smx2QT09
Meeting ID: 758 587 937
Password: 030086
Join by phone: +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
2. We’d be glad to pray for you. If you need prayer, you can submit your prayer request via the following link: https://www.cbcgl.org/pray/
In Christ, your servant, SDG,
Rev. Dr. Nathan Willems
Associate Pastor of CrossPoint Community – A Ministry of CBCGL