Peace and Equality: Can they really be found?

150 years ago, almost to the day, our nation’s bloodiest war came to an end. On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse. Within a few days, President Lincoln was assassinated; by May 9, his presidential replacement, Andrew Johnson, declared an end to all hostilities.

In the midst of this 150 year anniversary, our nation once again struggles to remember that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” In one of the largest riots in decades, violence broke out on the streets of one of America’s oldest cities – Baltimore, Maryland. According to reports, by the end of the night police had arrested 235 people while 20 officers required medical care from assaults by rioters. Reports also indicated one person was in critical condition due to a building fire. Rioters burned more than a dozen buildings and over 100 cars. Looters destroyed even more businesses as they busted through doors and windows, clearing shelves of food, alcohol, and anything else they wanted.

During it all, I sat securely in my home watching news coverage throughout the evening. I prayed for my cousin and her husband who live within blocks of the riots. I asked myself, “Has our nation come to this? Civilians throwing rocks and bottles at those assigned to serve and protect? City officials blatantly lying on television so those behind them may break in to another man’s business and take whatever they want? When did our society become this?”

Like the Civil War, the tensions were attributed to unequal treatment of black individuals. I’m not sure how rioters rationalize that burning a neighbor’s vehicle or place of business will bring peace and equality to race relations. Seems to me, those rioters are more interested in an opportunity than a civil rights issue.

Peace and Equality

However, not everyone is taking illegal and violent advantage of an opportunity. Many want their voices heard as they non-violently engage in dialogue and peaceful activity. They desire to bring peace and equality to their local community.

Where do we find peace and equality?
I attended my daughter’s spring choir concert last night at her high school. The school’s different choirs performed throughout the evening; at one point, I did a little mental math as I watched. I determined that over 40% of the choir was of a non-white ethnicity. Together, they represented multiple countries across Asia and Africa.

I listened to the voices sing last night and thought, “Our school has made this work.” Throughout the school, all is peaceful and all are equal. I have to believe that’s mainly due to their goal to inspire kids to realize their God-given potential through Christian training. Their goals don’t specify racial equality; however, inherent in the belief in God-given potential and a call to Christian training is the philosophy that all are equal. Racial equality is a natural outcome for those who honestly seek to live according to the Christian teachings of God’s Word.

I know. All kinds of racial groups have used God’s Word to justify all kinds of racial hatred through the centuries. I acknowledge that sad reality.

But what does the Bible really say?

Our Humanity
We’re all made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). He made us all equal in His own creative image.

We’re all descended from Noah (Genesis 10:32).

The evil within us leads us to distinguish and discriminate between people groups (James 2:3-4).

All people need to be told the message of Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20).

Jesus' Death
God loves all of us – the entire world (John 3:16). His death makes salvation equally possible for every single person on the planet.

Jesus’ death united all ethnicities and brings them back to peace (Ephesians 2:13-15).

All are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

Relationships
God asks all of us to love others just as much as He loves them (John 13:34).

Those who harbor hatred toward anyone aren’t living as followers of Jesus (1 John 2:9-11).

God also calls us to be kind and compassionate with all people (Ephesians 4:32).

What I know and what I don’t

I don’t know how a black man living in downtown Baltimore is treated. I don’t know if racial discrimination is rampant throughout their city government. I don’t know how many people there are trying to find solutions to a serious issue and how many are taking advantage of a bad situation to spread violence and promote hatred.

I do know a few things, however. I know that we’re all messed up pieces of the human race. Our common ancestor, Adam, passed down to each of us a genetic bent to sin. And I know that regardless of how much we let that sin control our relationships with each other, Jesus still died to restore our relationships with each other and even more importantly, with Him.

I know that unity through Him is the only thing that will ever bring true peace and equality to the human race.

The Servant Suffers: Finding victory in the pain of suffering

“Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). We know this to be true from these writings in the Old Testament / Torah but Paul confirmed it again in Romans 4 of the New Testament. For Jews and Christians alike, Abraham was a man of righteousness.

He was also a man of blessing. It was to him that God spoke, “Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:1-3).

I doubt Abraham had any idea the persecution and trials that would befall the Jewish people – his descendants through Isaac and Jacob – over the next several millennia. From the Egyptian enslavement, through countless attempts at extermination, and culminating in a final attack prophesied by Ezekiel which is still yet to happen, the Jewish people have suffered. They have known pain unlike any other ethnic group.

Many people of compassion look at Jewish history and ask, “Why?”

The Hebrew prophet Isaiah offers a hint of explanation in one of his most well-known prophecies. Yet, we often overlook it.

Join us as we consider Isaiah 52:13-53:12 – the fourth of Isaiah’s songs of the suffering servant. In this five-part study, we’ll consider the role Jewish persecution had to play in the coming of the Messiah, the significance of Jesus’ humanity, the purpose for Jesus’ life and death on earth, and the outcome for all humanity, including the Jewish people.

Click on picture to view a downloadable, printable pdf file of the study.

What do I do with it?

Several people have asked for copies of various blog series over the years. We're thrilled to make them available to you in a free downloadable, printable format. We've even added questions at the end for personal reflection or group discussion.

Click here to view the full selection of available Bible study downloads.

As hard as this is to believe, not everyone in the world has an internet connection. Not everyone has access to online study resources or neighborhood Christian book stores. Some of those who do have access don't know where to start when it comes to Bible study. So here are some suggestions on what you can do with these free downloads...

• Use them as a guide for your own personal Bible study time on a daily or weekly basis.
• Send them to a friend, relative, or missionary living in a remote location.
• Start a short term study with friends at work, in your neighborhood, or in your church.
• Be creative! Let us know in the comment section how you may utilize these resources!

Click on the above picture to open a .pdf file. From there, you may either download it to your computer or print the file.

May God bless your time in the study of His Word!

Netanyahu: A man called for such a time as this

History does indeed repeat itself.

I toured the Jewish concentration camp Dachau while on a mission trip in 1992. I read a sign on a particular display that I’ve never forgotten. Even in the moment, it impacted me enough that I took a picture of it.

It’s a well-known expression but I find it appropriate that I first learned it in a concentration camp. In English it reads, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (George Santayana).

I took a picture of another sign that day 23 years ago. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reminded me of it today when he addressed holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel during a speech to the US Congress. He reminded all of us that the horror experienced by Mr. Wiesel and the powerful life he has lived since those atrocities is a testimony to why we must all proclaim, “Never Again.”

Approximately 2,500 years ago, a man named Mordecai refused to bow to Haman, the chief minister under King Ahasuerus in Persia. Rage enflamed Haman; when he discovered Mordecai was a Jew, he decided to destroy the entire Jewish race rather than execute only Mordecai. Haman manipulated King Ahasuerus to bring about the Jewish people’s annihilation. He wrote a decree “to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jewish people – young and old, women and children – and plunder their possessions on a single day” (Esther 3:13, emphasis mine).

Queen Esther, a Jew who had until that point concealed her ethnicity, stepped up in a phenomenal act of bravery. At the urging of her cousin and guardian, Mordecai, she approached King Ahasuerus to plead the case of the Jewish people. Esther’s life was in danger the moment she stepped into the king’s presence unannounced as he could have had her executed for doing so. After a series of acts which displayed her humility, the King asked her to reveal the desire of her heart. She boldly yet humbly petitioned, “If I have obtained your approval, my king, and if the king is pleased, spare my life – this is my request; and spare my people – this is my desire. For I and my people have been sold out to destruction, death, and extermination” (Esther 7:3-4).

In the end, the king ordered Haman executed on the gallows Haman had built to execute Mordecai. The king gave the Jewish people the freedom to defend themselves, sparing the genocide of their race.

Despite the passing of 25 centuries since Esther’s act of bravery, the Jewish people still celebrate her every year on Purim. This year, Purim falls on March 4-5 on our calendar.

25 centuries later, Persian leadership once again threatens Israel’s existence in the form of Iranian nuclear capabilities. They likewise could destroy the Jewish people in a single day once their weapons are complete. The leader of the Jewish state of Israel, PM Netanyahu, spoke to the US Congress on March 3rd, the eve of Purim. Similar to Queen Esther in the past, his petition went against all established protocol of the time. Similar to Queen Esther, he made the request to stop the promised annihilation of the Jewish people. And like Queen Esther, I believe PM Netanyahu came forward in humility but also knowing that if he didn’t speak, massive death would come upon his nation and his people.

The timing of this event reminds me of one more correlation with the ancient Queen Esther. God has promised an eternal destiny for His chosen people, Israel. They will survive and indeed have done so through multiple persecutions throughout history. But for PM Netanyahu, as was the case with Queen Esther, “If you keep silent at this time, liberation and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father’s house will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).

PM Netanyahu submitted to his call for such a time as this as he declared to the world, “The days when the Jewish people remain passive in the face of genocidal enemies – those days are over.”

I’ll leave all the political ramifications of this speech to the political pundits.

Here’s what I see, though. The Obama administration has deteriorated our relationship with Israel – a country of freedom and democracy. They also have validated relationships with terrorist regimes such as Iran – a country of “death, tyranny, and the pursuit of jihad,” as PM Netanyahu shared.

Lines are being drawn in the sands of the Middle East; on which side of the line will we stand?

I think now is the time for us to individually consider this question. We tend to think all of this is over there – thousands of miles away – and doesn’t matter to us. Our jobs and activities keep us from taking time to educate ourselves as to the multiple crises occurring throughout the Middle East.

But here’s the deal. A time is coming when the world’s attention will focus quite intently on the Middle East. The Bible prophesies many earth changing events still to happen in that region of the world. We need to know what’s going on, how situations might fit in with prophesied events, and discern which side of the line we will choose.

We have different priorities by which we choose which side of the line we prefer. Democracy, freedom, rights for different races, religions, and genders, economic resources, and social standards are among the criteria we naturally consider. However, biased reporting and dishonest leadership can make those areas very difficult to accurately assess.

Let me give you one key criteria that’s very simple and won’t let you down – side with Israel. As events occur, deals are negotiated, and wars and rumors of wars come – side with Israel.

God made it very simple when He said thousands of years ago to the Jewish patriarch Abraham, “Go out from your land, … to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, … I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:1-3).

Be Still and Know...A Post That's Not Really About Syria

The Syrian conflict…there is no good solution.

So that’s not entirely what this article is about.

Grow Barefoot’s focus for the month of August has been the nations - all nations - including Syria, Egypt, and all the other places that are volatile right now. Some of the posts were…

But this is the post that really got me to thinking…

As I reread this familiar verse, “Be still and know…,” it reminded me of the popular quote “Keep calm and….” Sometimes the quote ends in something funny like “Keep calm and pass the chocolate.” I’ve seen t-shirts that said, “Keep calm and play volleyball.” A great friend sent me one a few days after I originally posted this article... Love it!

As I saw a similarity between “Be still” and “Keep calm,” I wondered where the “Keep calm” expression came from. As it turns out, the original was a motivational poster made by England around 1939 just as World War II was breaking out across Europe. This is my own adaptation of the solid red original...

The government produced the poster to increase morale among British civilians in the event of a massive attack. The highest fear was the release of poison gas in major cities. Sound familiar?

But here’s the deal…Even the trendiest poster can’t really help us keep calm in the midst of national attack – whether the attack is from chemical agents, natural disaster, economic collapse, corrupt government offices, or terrorist organizations. In those times, the only way to keep calm – or be still – is to know the one true God of Israel. He reigns over the nations, He blesses those nations who follow Him, He is the source of hope and salvation for all nations, and yet He will bring judgment on all nations. I choose to be on His side.

Who's the Enemy?

The Civil War was by far the bloodiest conflict our country has ever fought. Not only was the death rate the highest of any of our nation’s struggles but it exceeded the sum of the deaths of all other American wars from the Revolutionary War through modern times. Although the methods of warfare contributed to the high death rate, one factor stands alone as the greatest cause of the phenomenal loss of life. Every drop of blood that spilled was American blood. When we count the death toll, there is no “them” and “us.” Whether the uniform was gray or blue, whether the flag was Union or Confederate, as brother fought against brother, they were all American.

Our family visited the site of the Battle of Fredericksburg in Virginia. The story of Richard Kirkland, a 19 year old Confederate sergeant, touched my soul. The Union army had been defeated but many soldiers lay wounded on the battlefield; those who were still alive remained in their battle positions. Sergeant Kirkland couldn't bear the sound of the wounded crying out for aid and relief. Placing his life in danger, he took canteens of water and offered drinks to the hurting men. Union soldiers began firing on him but the firing ceased as they realized his actions were from a heart of compassion rather than malice.

Are we fighting a civil war within the church? The battle is now believer against believer as arguments are made and people are hurt. People leave churches. Believers lose the passion of serving their Savior.

Contemporary music vs. traditional

Programs and activities vs. Bible studies and prayer meetings

Casual dress vs. formal

He said vs. she said

It’s always been done this way vs. new and different

My ministry vs. your ministry

Issues such as these pull us away from the real enemy. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

We are all wounded soldiers lying on a spiritual battlefield. Shouldn’t we offer drinks of water to our fallen brothers rather than fire fatal shots? After all, fellow believers aren’t the real enemy; by firing another verbal blow or spreading another slanderous story we may find ourselves serving within the ranks of the true enemy.

Contemporary music vs. traditional WORSHIP

Programs and activities vs. Bible studies and prayer meetings LEARN

Casual dress vs. formal ATTEND

He said vs. she said SHARE

It’s always been done this way vs. new and different DO

My ministry vs. your ministry SERVE

“…Whoever is not against us is for us. I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward. And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck” (Mark 9:40-42).

LATER ADDITION: After I wrote this article, I kept thinking about and being exposed to spiritual attacks. Click here to read a follow-up article with some more thoughts on this subject.