This
will be a different kind of devotion. I love the Word of God and I try each
week to build the devotion around the Word of God and not my opinion or my
preferences. But this week two events took place that have caused me to reflect
on things.
The
first one occurred on Thursday, February 18. I had a birthday and God has used
my birthdays to help me to reflect on life and to evaluate my relationship with
Jesus.
The
second thing that occurred this week is happening as I write this devotion.
This marks the end of ten years writing Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls.
This is also a time that God is using to help me to reflect and evaluate.
God
impressed upon me three things and, of course, three scripture passages.
The
first is Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work
together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”
I
hate COVID-19. It has caused harm to families through the death on love ones.
It has caused harm to people’s lives by the loss of jobs and businesses. It has
caused harm to our nation by creating anger and division.
I
thought it caused harm in the church, but what it has definitely caused is
change. It forces us to try new technology and do traditional ministries in a
different way. The result has been more effectiveness in ministry, more focused
in what we do & greater numbers reached.
Raise
the Roof and Remove the Walls is believing God is working for our good in
the midst of what looks like chaos.
The
second is Habakkuk 1:2-5, “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will
not hear? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and You will not save? Why do you make me
see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are
before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice
never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth
perverted.” Then God answers, “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be
astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.”
I
have complained to God with many of the same issues that Habakkuk did over the
last year. God was saying to Habakkuk and to me, “I have got this. You need to
chill and trust Me and move when I tell you to move and wait on Me when I tell
you to wait.” It is not my job to change the world but to cooperate with God as
He changes me and then uses me to do His work.
Raise
the Roof and Remove the Walls is taking my concerns to God and trusting and
cooperating with Him to work and change what needs to be changed.
The
third is Acts 17:26, “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to
dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times
and the boundaries of their dwelling.”
The
divisions I see in our nation over race find their solution in the gospel of
Jesus. It is in the gospel that we find the truth that we are all of the same
blood because we are created by one Creator, Jesus. It is in following Jesus
that we find the way to overcome racial injustice and prejudice. We as the
church need to take the lead.
Raise
the Roof and Remove the Walls is looking to the gospel to be the solution to
the social problems we are facing.
I
don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know Who holds each day of our future.
Following
Jesus by Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,
Joe
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