The captain went with his Temple guards and
arrested the apostles, but without violence, for they were afraid the people
would stone them. Then
they brought the apostles before the high council, where the high priest
confronted them. “We
gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man’s name!” he said. “Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with
your teaching about him, and you want to make us responsible for his death!” But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must
obey God rather than any human authority. Acts 5:26-29They called in the apostles and had them flogged.
Then they ordered them never again to
speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go. The apostles left the
high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for
the name of Jesus. And
every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and
preach this message: “Jesus is the
Messiah.” Acts 5:40b-42
There are some things
that, despite man’s best efforts, are just not going to stop or be controlled
in any way; tsunamis are that kind of thing, along with climate shifts, hurricanes
and, especially, a movement orchestrated by the Spirit of God.
Often in the Scriptures
we see God moving at a time when God has picked. Moses had that discussion with God at the
burning bush; God had chosen that moment, and that man, to set God’s chosen
free. Pharoah found out how unwise it
was to fight against the hand of Yahweh.
It cost him the life of his own firstborn son, as well as his entire
army drowned in the Red Sea[1]. Earlier,
another leader, Nimrod decided he wanted to be god over this earth, so he
constructed a tower to declare his strength against all who would dispute him. His tower came down in a crumbling mess
because God decided otherwise.
I see the same kind of extraordinary
thing happening currently in our land.
There are those who are trying desperately to hold onto the evil of past
ways; specifically the notion that we are somehow different from each
other. It’s easy to see how that idea
perpetuates itself, with different bone structures, skin colors, or facial
appearance. But, underneath, as we said yesterday, we are all siblings, offspring of Adam and Eve (or
Lucy for you diehard evolutionists). Our DNA may be distinct, alerting us to our
individuality, but it is also the link that charts our connectedness, all the
way back to our Creator.
Cutting to the chase…the
event in Minneapolis that took George Floyd’s life and put Derek Chauvin behind
bars, was another stain on the DNA of all of us. And God is watching. We should remember that when God sent Moses
to set his people free, it was in response to 400 years of oppression. It turned Egypt’s apple cart on its ear.
America has made great
progress, outlawing slavery in the 19th century, standing for
freedom around the world, and fiercely protecting human rights. We have moved quantum-leapwise in the last
decade, moving forward to electing an African American man president
twice. However, the seed of oppression still
raises sprouts in the culture of 2020. We
have not quite divested ourselves of oppression in the dark places of the
spirit, the place where only God can see, but is the place where it counts the
most. Every soul, no matter it’s outward
appearance, or actions is created in the image of God; Derek Chauvin and George
Floyd included. And, on the other hand,
there is still a frightening bit of Pharisee in us all.
Progress, yes…victory…not
quite.
Let’s Pray Together:
Father, save us from our fear of each other. As we trust in You, surrender to Your will, and listen for the soft sounds of sandled feet, help us to heed what you say to us deep down, and take off our soiled inner garments. Let us be cleansed of madness.
For You Today
It does little to keep
this to yourself. It’s time to enter the
discussion about what we can do…and even past time to do it.
