We’ve seen that racism is sin, that Jesus is the antidote for sin, and that heart change stems from the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit when we submit our lives to Him. We know that because of the fall, sin cannot be fully eliminated before Heaven. So, what is to be done when someone commits the sin of racism against their fellow man?

In the days of Esther, when all looked lost, God did a miracle for His people because of Mordecai, Esther, and those who fasted and prayed. Today, Purim celebrates God’s goodness and salvation.

There is a cry that leaves our lips that brings salvation; then God becomes our shelter, our tabernacle, and our heritage.

Eternal life is not just eternal life for nothing. It has a purpose. The purpose is found in Psalm 61:8 “So I will sing praise to Your name forever, That I May daily perform my vows.”

What happens to a country if there are bad laws? What about when those individuals tasked with implementing the laws don’t do it fairly? These are issues that God deeply cares about.

God is very careful to instruct His people not to favor the poor or the rich, the powerful or the powerless, and He wants equal justice to be shown to all without favoritism. Biblical justice requires everyone to be treated equally under the law. Racism is inherently unjust because it insists on giving some people special treatment while intentionally holding back or punishing others because of their “race.”

No one can heal us and restore us other than God. Putting our trust in men or women to change or repair their broken states will not work.

We have to completely depend on the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Restorer of our souls – Jesus.

David is betrayed. It is brutal. It is personal. And it is real.

This is his cry for help to God. His prayer where he seeks understanding from God of the trials he is going through.

He was labeled, pitied, dismissed, ignored and ostracized. Crippled was the word—and the stigma. “Disabled” and “challenged” hadn’t been invented. He was a young man with a difficult name and a difficult life.

Mephibosheth. He was royalty—once upon a time.

Slavery, like all other vices, has been around since early human history – at least as far back as the Ancient Egyptian Empire, but likely reaching back to Noah and the tower of Babel. Sinful man has always used the mistreatment of his brothers to vault himself into personal power, and oppressive slavery has been used again and again to further that end.

God knows that His SON – JESUS – will be set on His holy hill from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and the kings of the earth will bow down to Him.

The secret to not fearing in this time in history is to see God as our defense. He will defend us if we put our trust in Him.

The world is a messed-up place. There is pain, separation, brokenness, and death. Our fallen nature causes people to divide each other into groups defined by physical characteristics, and to treat each other horribly based on those groups. People lie, cheat, steal, and murder.

God calls this wickedness sin, and in the previous articles we have seen that, according to the Bible, the sin of racism is the unequal treatment of people because of their skin color, or the devaluing of someone or some group because of physical characteristics.

Her eyes. They were beautiful. That’s what I first remember. They were some of the prettiest eyes I’d ever seen.

At my parents’ farm in Pittsfield, Maine, on May 4, 1981, I knew I was really in love for the first time in my life.

That this young woman had come into my life, and loved me too, I regarded as a miracle akin to the parting of the Red Sea.

It was exciting. Feelings I’d never had before this day flooded over my heart as cascading waterfalls.

Do you believe in things you can’t see?

I hope so, because there is an abundance of real things we experience in the physical world that we cannot see. Take a minute and think of a few of them. What did you come up with? Some examples are the wind, radio waves, and the force of gravity. But there is another part of life, a whole dimension past the physical, that we cannot see or smell or feel, and yet it is the most real part of life. It’s the spiritual realm.

On Thursday of the outreach – our afternoon team met Tony.

Tony served in the army in Vietnam. He has been searching for truth all of his life in different religions.

He really believed that sin was forever, and the devil controls the world and there is nothing that we can do about it.

“Hi Mister! I’d like to see your puppies.” The young boy smiled broadly. The farmer led the boy to a pen where a litter of puppies scampered eagerly about their mother. The farmer was selling them and the boy had been saving his money.

The farmer watched as the lad carefully scrutinized the black and white pups. After a few moments, the boy pointed to a quiet puppy sitting alone in the back of the pen. He called him and the little dog gingerly limped toward the boy, wagging its tail. “I’d like that one,” the boy said.

In the modern church very rarely - if ever - do we hear a message on God – the Judge. But the truth is this – “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment….” - Hebrew 9:27.

Judgment Day is coming, and everyone will have to stand before the Judgment Seat of God.

God did not create multiple races, He created one human race. The idea that there are multiple races is entirely false and unbiblical. The Bible never groups people by skin color or other physical characteristics. The Bible never describes or defines a race or races. In God’s Word all people are part of one family, and we are all equal biologically. There are no superior colors and no superior blood lines.

But there are legitimate categories utilized by Scripture to classify and group people.

Even though the word “racism” never appears in the Bible, God’s Word takes an incontrovertible stand against this sin. It is not mentioned specifically because it is actually a subset of other sins which are directly and strongly opposed: favoritism, partiality, and injustice.

Jesus came to bring healing in the midst of extreme social division and hurt. He was acutely aware of the fact that, while he was physically thirsty and in danger of death, this woman was desperately thirsty spiritually, and in danger of spiritual death. And Christ knew that he himself was the only possible solution to her problem.

Being a Christian separates us from the rest of the world in a GOOD way – we have a refuge. We have hope and life because we know where to run and how to protect our souls. This is a constant training for us because we are always going through shaking in this world.

The gentle breeze whispered through the tall trees and played with the setting sun. The peace was palpable.

This was a beautiful place. Its serenity lingered with its sacredness.

I’ve always loved visiting cemeteries. Where do you find such a rich and diverse history gathered in a single plot of earth?