Racism/Hatred Come From the Heart
The Charlottesville, Virginia, protest and death of a protester is on everyone’s mind individually and nationally. It is not the first and will not be the last. In fact the first did not involve the crowd but just two people. At that time we know the earth’s population was just 4 people not even 40. So how come in the first protest, Cain kills his brother Abel? We were not even talking about black and white or any other color or races. It was just same family and from same womb.
We need to put in perspective the ugliness we are seeing and make sure we understand the root of the issues. We are not dealing with things you can legislate and decree from the White House. We should and must denounce every form of hatred and racism but that still does not bring solution to the issue.
Our current study in Matthew 15, Jesus puts His finger on it. Listen: “those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies”. Vs.18-19.
Do you hear that? Evil is within not outside on the streets. We only see the manifestation on the streets. There is still only one solution for evil in the heart – the Cross of Christ.
Oh we would like to feel good and think we can get rid of evil by our efforts. The world/press does not want you to hear the truth of the matter. They want you and me to believe that we are naturally good. There is only one that is good and that is God. Everyone else has sinned and full of sin. ““The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
10 I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah 17:8-10.
We all need a new heart that has been cleansed and transformed by the blood of Christ. Everyone – the white supremacist, the KKK, the alt-left, alt-right, the center, the right, the left, the democrat, the republican, the independent, the white house and outhouse, and all the self-righteous need a clean heart. “7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin”. 1 John 1:7.
Even after we trust in Jesus as our Savior, we must continue to make Jesus the Lord of our lives and allow him to work on our hearts to cleanse us. “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” 1 John 4:20
What are we to do at these times? We must be open to talk about these issues of race with humility. We must submit to God any hatred we find in ourselves before we point fingers at others. Most people who are shouting racism and taking the higher ground have still not dealt with the hatred that are in their own hearts.
We must pray and proclaim the gospel to all. These are great opportunities to share the gospel with anyone. Let’s give people Jesus, the one and only answer to hatred and racism. Racism is sin and it is not only an American sin. Where I come from, we have tribalism and we are still the same race. We must continue to reach across to all that are different from us and build bridges on the grace we have received from God.
"He (God/Jesus)has made from one blood[c] every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being" Acts 17:26-28. We must seek and find God.
Father, examine us and see if there be any wicked ways in us and cleanse us from every unrighteousness. We pray for all people of this land for them to know you and turn to you regardless of their color or race. Have mercy on America and let righteousness reign in the land from the white house to the outhouse. Amen.
Matthew 15 New King James Version (NKJV)
Defilement Comes from Within
15 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; [a] and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— 6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’[c] Thus you have made the commandment[d] of God of no effect by your tradition.7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And[e] honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”[f]
10 When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
15 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”
16 So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”
The Charlottesville, Virginia, protest and death of a protester is on everyone’s mind individually and nationally. It is not the first and will not be the last. In fact the first did not involve the crowd but just two people. At that time we know the earth’s population was just 4 people not even 40. So how come in the first protest, Cain kills his brother Abel? We were not even talking about black and white or any other color or races. It was just same family and from same womb.
We need to put in perspective the ugliness we are seeing and make sure we understand the root of the issues. We are not dealing with things you can legislate and decree from the White House. We should and must denounce every form of hatred and racism but that still does not bring solution to the issue.
Our current study in Matthew 15, Jesus puts His finger on it. Listen: “those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies”. Vs.18-19.
Do you hear that? Evil is within not outside on the streets. We only see the manifestation on the streets. There is still only one solution for evil in the heart – the Cross of Christ.
Oh we would like to feel good and think we can get rid of evil by our efforts. The world/press does not want you to hear the truth of the matter. They want you and me to believe that we are naturally good. There is only one that is good and that is God. Everyone else has sinned and full of sin. ““The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
10 I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah 17:8-10.
We all need a new heart that has been cleansed and transformed by the blood of Christ. Everyone – the white supremacist, the KKK, the alt-left, alt-right, the center, the right, the left, the democrat, the republican, the independent, the white house and outhouse, and all the self-righteous need a clean heart. “7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin”. 1 John 1:7.
Even after we trust in Jesus as our Savior, we must continue to make Jesus the Lord of our lives and allow him to work on our hearts to cleanse us. “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” 1 John 4:20
What are we to do at these times? We must be open to talk about these issues of race with humility. We must submit to God any hatred we find in ourselves before we point fingers at others. Most people who are shouting racism and taking the higher ground have still not dealt with the hatred that are in their own hearts.
We must pray and proclaim the gospel to all. These are great opportunities to share the gospel with anyone. Let’s give people Jesus, the one and only answer to hatred and racism. Racism is sin and it is not only an American sin. Where I come from, we have tribalism and we are still the same race. We must continue to reach across to all that are different from us and build bridges on the grace we have received from God.
"He (God/Jesus)has made from one blood[c] every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being" Acts 17:26-28. We must seek and find God.
Father, examine us and see if there be any wicked ways in us and cleanse us from every unrighteousness. We pray for all people of this land for them to know you and turn to you regardless of their color or race. Have mercy on America and let righteousness reign in the land from the white house to the outhouse. Amen.
Matthew 15 New King James Version (NKJV)
Defilement Comes from Within
15 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; [a] and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— 6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’[c] Thus you have made the commandment[d] of God of no effect by your tradition.7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And[e] honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”[f]
10 When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
15 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”
16 So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”
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