Do we understand what it takes to be sanctified?
Romans 12:2

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Sanctification is how we understand and act out the will of God in our lives. Sanctification is the goal for every Christian.

I believe that many Christians have a misunderstanding of what that means, what that entails, and how exactly it is that we get there.

Unfortunately, many people struggle in their walk with Christ because they don’t understand the process. What happens is, people accept Christ, but thereafter their relationship with God is no more than jumping from spiritual high to spiritual high, with deep valleys in between.

When you’re high, we can find you at church every Sunday, you open your bible every day and you might even show up early to church for Sunday School or give up a weeknight for Bible Study. But when you’re low, you don’t even want to see the church, let alone go. You no longer have time for any of the things of God; you can’t even find enough time to read the “Verse of the Day” on your Bible App.

This cycle repeats itself over and over again and after a while, you come to realize that your life doesn’t look much different than it did before you came to Christ. There hasn’t been much change, there hasn’t been much transformation. This realization leads to discouragement and if it sets in, the gaps between the highs and the lows become wider and wider until you wonder if you’re even a Christian anymore.

If this describes you, know this: God still loves you. His love is unconditional. He doesn’t stop caring about you because you went back to your old ways. God doesn’t love you because you are perfect, God loves you even though you are not.

The misunderstanding is that we believe that the change in our life should happen instantly. We think that as soon as we accept Christ, we magically turn into these holy, sinless beings. We think the work is already done and that all we have to do is walk in it. We walk around ready to reap the reward of the harvest, but we haven’t put in any work.

The truth is that while Salvation can come in an instant, sanctification is a process.

Luke 23:39-43

“One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

We see from these verses that one of the criminals makes a confession. He acknowledges that he is guilty and he pleads to Jesus for mercy. The guy who confesses is often referred to as the thief on the cross. However, make no mistake about it, this man was more than just a thief. The Greek word lestes is more than just a thief. A thief steals and tries to get away without anyone knowing. The word lestes more accurately describes a robber. Compared to a thief, a robber doesn’t steal in secret; a robber is someone who’s open about it. A robber is someone who uses violence or the threat of violence to steal. So despite all the crimes this man committed, for which he was properly being punished, Jesus, in his infinite love, showed mercy to him and accepted him.

Many of you were the same way. Many of you have felt the weight of your sin and have experienced the joy and peace that comes when we know that God has forgiven us. Part of the confusion that develops is that we think the joy and peace is sustainable by our own might. We think receiving salvation is like a magic pill that instantly makes us holy. The truth is that coming to faith in Christ and being saved is the beginning, not the end. To all my basketball fans, once you become a Christian it’s like the tip-off. Don’t mess around and walk off the court like you’ve already won.

To help you see this, please humor me in this thought experiment. Imagine if that criminal on the cross was spared at the last moment. Imagine that after Jesus accepted him, Pontius Pilate changed his mind and decided not to kill the criminal. Do you think he would have gone from the cross right to the pulpit? NO! I am willing to bet that that criminal would still be dealing with a lot of demons, a lot of baggage. Who knows what he went through in his life that brought him to the point where he became a robber? Does he have a place to stay? Does he have family to support him? Is he going to go back to his old gang? If he did, how long do you think he would last before he fell back into his old ways?

Likewise, many of us have a lot of work left to do after we come to Christ. Even if you don’t have a lot of baggage or a checkered past, like having been a robber, you still have work to do. Think about Jesus’ disciples, like Peter. Peter was a regular person, a fisherman by trade. Peter decided to follow Christ. Peter walked on water. Peter spent years being taught personally by Jesus. Peter was loved and fed by Jesus. Peter saw Jesus perform countless miracles. Jesus gave Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Peter thought he was bold and courageous, but when it came time to take a stand for Jesus, when it got tough, Peter did not have what it took. He denied Jesus 3 times and deserted him.

So if Peter couldn’t get it right after all that personal discipleship. What makes us think that we can? Some people have the experience that when they become believers, God instantly removes certain desires. By God’s grace, when I came to faith, I no longer wanted to watch pornography. After years of being hooked on it, I was able to give it up. However, I wasn’t cured from all lust, or laziness, or pride, for example. Could I say that I had a knowledge and understanding of the will of God and how to apply it in my life? Absolutely not. I’m still in that process.

So what does the process look like? Let’s look at Paul the apostle. Before he came to Christ, he was known as Saul, he was a zealous advocate for capturing and punishing the early church. He went from town to town trying to round them up. He was a bounty hunter. He voted for their deaths. Then came that fateful day on the road to Damascus. He was on his way to round up even more believers and had an encounter with Jesus Christ that changed his life. Now, what happened after his conversion? How did Paul go from violent bully of God’s people to the author of almost half of the New Testament?

1 Cor. 15:9-10

“For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecute the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”

When Saul Became Paul, the conversion wasn’t enough. He worked hard for sanctification.
Paul prayed, he studied God’s word, he fasted and he fellowshipped with believers. He went to meet Jesus’ disciples so that he could make sure he was spreading the true Gospel.
With all that, Paul still wasn’t perfect, he still had dark days. His life was not perfect; he ended up spending years in prison just for preaching the Gospel. He wrote about a thorn in his side that he prayed to God to remove, but that God did not answer that prayer. Nonetheless, Paul’s hard work in the process, allowed him to accomplish great things.

What are you going to do? What calling have you given up on or missed because you haven’t been willing to work hard. What many of you don’t realize is that your spiritual process of moving toward sanctification is directly tied to your destiny. Maybe your calling is not in the church like Paul, but outside the church. You might be called into a profession, you might be called into a business, you might be called to heal relationships, or you might be called to be the peace maker in your family. If you don’t put in the work, you will fall short of what God has called you to be. The hard work that you do spiritually can also bear fruit here on earth.

If you want to be promoted, you have to put in the work.

If you want to get into that training program, you have to put in the work.

If you want to be marriage material, you have to put in the work.

If you want good grades in school, you have to put in work.

If you want to be a good parent, you have to put in work.

If you want to develop business, you have to put in work.

If you want to know what God has called you to do, you have to put in work.

Part of our problem is our ongoing batter between our spirit and our flesh (Romans 8:12-13). In order to know and act out the will of God in your life, you have to be led by the spirit of god. In order to be led by the spirit of god, you can’t give in to your carnal desires. When we feed into our flesh, we defeat our spirit.

Romans 7:15-20

“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”

How many of you want to do that thing, want to accomplish that goal, want to lose that weight, want to go back to school, want to get that new job, want to write that song, want to develop that mobile app, want to make up with your father, want to get along with that co-worker, but don’t have the ability to carry it out?

All of us have this struggle. One of the main was we should remember to overcome is simple, Fast!
Fasting is a spiritual discipline that teaches the body to obey the spirit. Whenever you do it, it serves as a reminder that you do not live just to feed your flesh, but to feed your spirit. The exercise of denying your body of something it wants, prepares your spirit for other battles. Your spiritual muscles will begin to grow. When your spiritual muscles begin to grow, you will be able to resist temptation more and more. You won’t be defeated by the same schemes of the enemy over and over again.

Likewise, when your spiritual muscles grow, sometimes it bears fruit in your natural life. By fasting, you might be able to stay up a little later to study for that board exam. You may be able to deal with that difficult co-worker or family member. You might be able to stay a little bit later after work. You might step a little bit closer toward your calling and God’s plan for your life.

Of course, fasting is not easy. Denying yourself, especially something that is good, is very challenging. Nonetheless, it is necessary. I trust and believe that if you do this and take one step closer to God, He will see your efforts and come closer to you. God Bless you.

Matthew 26:31-34

“Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered,’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee. Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away. Jesus said to him, “truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”

Today on Easter Sunday we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but do we really understand what that means? Do we understand the scope of what Christ’s sacrifice covers?

Sometimes, those of us who have made the decision to follow Christ feel like Peter. We feel confident in our own strength and we think we can overcome any test or trial. Though, what happens though when we don’t? What happens when we fall? What happens when we stumble? Though the Bible is clear that we can overcome the power of sin when we live by the spirit, the truth is that sometimes believers struggle to live consistently by the spirit. Why does that happen? Why is it that Peter was so bold when he was with Jesus, but as soon as he was tested, he failed?

Matthew 13:20 The parable of the sower

“As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.”

Like Peter, many of us have heard the good news of Jesus Christ and have received it with gladness. However, it hasn’t yet taken root deep enough. Because of that, when we stumble, it’s hard to resist going back to the way we used to be. Guilt makes us feel unworthy and we feel such shame. In that moment we are tempted to revert back to the life we used to know. It’s so familiar, it’s so comfortable; it’s so easy. Besides, we might think, “God couldn’t possibly want us anyway.” We end up distancing ourselves from the only one that could possibly save us.

God Knew You Would Stumble.

A few months back I had a motion due in court. I had submitted the draft of the motion on time for my boss to review. I made the changes he suggested and then served a copy to the opposing attorney. However, when it came time to submit the papers in court, I missed the date. I was crushed. I felt so bad; “how could I have let this happen? I’m better than that.” I didn’t know what to do. I avoided my boss for the whole day. I made sure that I walked the long way so that I didn’t pass his office. I tried to call the court to see if they would make an exception, but the clerk literally hung up the phone on me. Eventually I went crawling back to my boss and admitted what had happened. Thankfully, he was gracious. He told me that I wasn’t the first person this had happened to. He told me that he wished I could have come to him first because he would have told me that I should not have tried calling the court, and that instead, I should have written a letter explaining what had happened with the motion attached to it. He told me that a number of judges have accepted late submissions that way in the past. So, much to my surprise, my supervisor had a contingency plan, but my guilt and fear kept me from taking advantage of it.

Likewise, God has a contingency plan for us. He died for us while we were yet sinners. He paid the cost for all of our sins forever. He knew there might be times that we stumble, but His sacrifice on the cross covered those sins too. Don’t let your mind trick you. You can always come back to the cross of Jesus Christ.

Sometimes we are fooled into thinking that we can’t come back. After a stumble, we can’t bear to face God. We believe the lie of the enemy. We think we can only be in God’s presence if we’ve been good, if we’ve earned it. Nothing can be further from the truth. 

God’s relationship with us is not like our relationship with each other. God is crazy about His church. He loves you, even after you have sinned. Don’t let guilt turn you away from the only one that can save you and make it right again. Don’t fall back into your old way of living, just because you’ve stumbled.

So, when you cursed out your coworker because she won’t turn down her music,

DON’T GO BACK!

When you messed around and got drunk at your friend’s birthday party,

DON’T GO BACK!

When you fell into lust while looking at that “fitness model” on Instagram,

DON’T GO BACK!

When you lied to your job and told them you were sick,

DON’T GO BACK!

When you told your mother that you hate her and that you’d never forgive her,

DON’T GO BACK!

When you told your girlfriend to leave her boyfriend because you’re jealous that you’re not in a relationship,

DON’T GO BACK!

No matter what the sin is,

DON’T GO BACK!

The hard truth of life is that even though we all believe in individual rights such as life, liberty and freedom of speech, those rights only exist in reality to the extent that they can be protected from those that wish to violate those rights. The debate between the 2^nd Amendment and gun-control is really about a debate that’s probably as old as civilization: Freedom versus Security. Should people have the freedom to protect their unalienable rights or should the job of protecting those rights be left to the government? I believe the answer is: both.

I believe that where you stand on that question reflects a certain type of privilege. If you live in an area where police will respond quickly and save you in a life-or-death situation, then you probably feel comfortable outsourcing this job to others. Gated communities and affluent parts of towns or major cities come to mind. If you live in a poor neighborhood where crime is high and police seem slow to respond or a rural area that’s not easy for police to get to, you probably don’t want to wait on somebody to come to your rescue.

Another factor that might impact where you stand on that question is whether you are a member of a politically privileged group. In 1957, President Eisenhower had to use the military and the Arkansas National Guard in order to enforce Brown v. Board of Ed., which put an end to the racial segregation of schools in the Deep South. In that instance, individuals were clearly inadequate for the task of protecting their rights because the size of the anti-integration protestors was too large. However, up to that point in our nation’s history, Blacks couldn’t count on the government to reliably (if at all) step in and protect them from being terrorized by lynch mobs and the Ku Klux Klan. It’s not hard to imagine that at certain times in our past, this was similarly true for LGBT people as well; police were more likely to target them for raids and arrests than to protect them against violence. Also, more recently, at college campuses like UC Berkeley, there have been instances where authorities have been slow or insufficient to stop violent protests against speakers or groups on college campuses.

The bottom line is that in order to protect the rights we all hold dear, there will be times where the government’s involvement is appropriate. However, at different points it has also been necessary for poor people, minority groups and others to be able to protect themselves and their rights when the government can’t or won’t.

Unfortunately, in my humble opinion, many people blithely propose repealing the 2^nd Amendment as if the government always gets it right. This seems naïve to me. History shows that there are gaps in the defense of our God-given rights that individuals must fill. It seems immoral to prevent such people from being able to protect themselves. In a country with 300 million guns in circulation, that means people have to have access to guns.

I believe it’s fair to ask whether access to all guns is reasonable. Some say that the AR-15 is a “weapon of war” that’s too dangerous for the general public, while others argue that banning it is pointless as there are countless other rifles that are just as lethal. To my mind, arguing over which rate of speed or caliber counts as too lethal is less important than whether we are able to reliably track their sale and purchase (gun-show loophole) and whether we can lawfully prevent mentally-ill people from having them. Jesus said: “from him who has been entrusted with much, even more will be demanded.” (Luke 12:48). In a country where we believe in entrusting individuals with the freedom to bear arms, we must demand of them reasonable regulations. It seems reasonable to me that we track the sale and purchase of guns as much, if not more, as we track the sale and purchase of cars.

As society responds to the most recent and tragic school-shooting at Stoneman Douglas High-school, we must continue to remember the philosophical foundations for the right to bear arms. Unless we can come together on the basic moral foundations of our country, we will never be able to make any progress on reducing mass shootings.

SPOILER ALERT! Plot Is Partially Revealed

When I realized I had the chance to see Black Panther in the theater (a rare feat as a parent) I was really hoping it lived up to the hype. Now that I’ve seen it, I’m happy to say it definitely delivered. There were many interesting topics in the film, as it touched upon various current social issues. For me though, two themes rose to the top.

On a personal level, I was very happy to see African culture celebrated on such a large stage. As the son of Nigerian immigrants, I didn’t have many mainstream examples of African culture being praised. When I was young, I was the kid with the weird name, whose family spoke a strange language and had marks on their faces. I was the “African booty-scratcher.” I  remember that my family and I loved the movie “Coming to America,” but people mostly looked at the African culture it presented as a joke, and not as something to be admired. Black Panther was much different. It beautifully elevates African culture for the world to see, which is refreshing, even though it fictional. Because of this film and the way African culture has gained mainstream acceptance, I hope that little African boys and girls in America won’t be ashamed of their heritage the way I was.

On a societal level, this movie gave me much more than I expected. I thought it was just going to be a really good comic book movie. However, it gave what I thought was a really good lesson on the responsibility that people with means have to people without means. In the movie, the Black Panther is the king of Wakanda. Wakanda is a very wealthy African country that hides its technology and resources from the rest of the world. For generations, Wakandans have feared that venturing out into the world would disrupt their way of life and the peace and prosperity they’ve enjoyed. However, there are some Wakandans that feel an obligation to use their resources to help the outside world. This idealogical difference sets the stage for the main conflict of the film.

To me, I saw the parallel with a challenge we face in our society. Jesus commands us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves; and while most people agree with that, how far are they willing to take that command? The truth is that truly loving your neighbor takes sacrifice. Unfortunately, we are often not ready to sacrifice very much. We are satisfied with dropping money into a homeless man’s cup, but we are unwilling to invite that homeless man into our home for a meal. We might drop off some clothes in the donation bin, but we don’t actually want to spend any time in the “bad” part of town may feel the call to improve that “bad” part of town. In either example, the limitations of our level of sacrifice have real consequences. As depicted in the movie, those who are disadvantaged end up suffering, sometimes needlessly, because we are unwilling to do more.

This is obviously an issue that people have grappled with for a long time and Black Panther didn’t address it in a shallow way. They were transparent about how exposing themselves to the world could make Wakandans vulnerable. Likewise, there are serious concerns about inviting a stranger into your home or going to neighborhoods that might be dangerous. In the end though, I think the movie made the right call. As the Wakandans were clearly well positioned to do more than they had been doing, it was clear that they were secure enough to risk being vulnerable for a greater good. In response we must constantly reevaluate ourselves and our willingness to sacrifice for others and ask if we are doing all that we reasonably can do. Without being too preachy, Black Panther will give millions of people an opportunity for some much needed self reflection.

Before last week, everyone and their mother had weighed in on NFL Quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision to protest police brutality, by kneeling during the national anthem during the 2016 season. Many welcomed Kaepernick’s peaceful protest as a bold and necessary tactic to raise awareness about the plight of minorities. On the other hand, many took Kaepernick’s protest as an insult to police and the very military members that had fought and/or died for Kaepernick’s right to protest. Even Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is staunchly progressive, called Kaepernick’s protest “dumb and disrespectful.”

The controversy seemed to have died down as the 2017 NFL season began. Kaepernick, who was not signed to a new team in the off-season, said he would stand for the anthem during the 2017, as his goal to raise awareness had been accomplished. However, President Trump ignited the controversy once again when he opined last Friday that NFL owners should fire players that disrespect the flag, using the phrase “son of a b***h,” to refer to such players. As you can imagine from such divisive, disrespectful and over-the-top rhetoric, people were outraged. Dozens of high-profile NFL players spoke out against President Trump and hundreds of players decided to kneel during the anthem before last week’s game or refused to even come out of the locker room while the anthem was played.

On social media, the debate now rages about whether Kaepernick’s protest was right to begin with. Those in favor of Kaepernick’s protest accuse opponents of being bigots, while those against accuse Kaepernick and his supporters of being unpatriotic. On either side, people are making divisive and disrespectful comments about the other. While reading posts and comments in my own newsfeed, the dialogue made me realize that there are parallels between the struggle that Blacks face for equality and the struggle that mutants face for peace in the X-Men movie series.

For those that are unfamiliar, in the X-Men films, certain people, mutants, have genetically evolved and developed special abilities like superhuman strength, the ability to fly or the ability to become invisible. Naturally, as humans become aware of mutants and their abilities, they fear that mutants could take over the world. The question then becomes, what should be done with the mutants? Can they coexist with humans? Should they be killed? Should they be forced into concentration camps? Should their abilities be weaponized and used for war?

In the film, Professor Xavier is a powerful mutant who believes that mutants can coexist with humans and favors a diplomatic solution. His friend and archenemisis, Magneto, is an equally powerful mutant that believes that humans will always fear mutants and seeks to destroy humans preemptively. This conflict serves as the backdrop of each movie in the series.

Without getting into who is right and who is wrong when it comes to Kaepernick, the question is: which one of these characters describes your attitude toward racial reconciliation in America today?

Obviously, the parallel between Kaepernick’s protest and the X-men isn’t perfect. You could argue that Professor Xavier and Magneto, both mutants, are on the same side, struggling about how to deal with people hostile to their very existence, whereas the controversy over kneeling during the anthem seems to be a conflict between two opposing sides. However, that’s not the parallel that one should be focused on. Professor Xavier is universally recognized as the hero in these films because he has an unyielding belief in the overall good of humanity, despite the hatred that is sometimes shown. Magneto, on the other hand, is universally recognized as the villain in these films because he has an equally unyielding belief that humans are mainly motivated by fear and that peace is not possible. So who are you?

On this specific issue of Kaepernick’s protest, no matter where you stand, are you one who assumes that the people on the other side are motivated by hate or love? Is it possible that people can love this country, yet be disappointed that it has failed to live up to its highest ideals with respect to how Blacks are treated by police? On the other hand, is it possible that people who sincerely love Blacks and believe in equality, admire the singing of the national anthem as sacred ritual? Can minorities ever co-exist with Whites in America?

It seems to me that if we believe that it is better to assume the best about people and to give them the benefit of the doubt, our dialogue about race should look much different. If we feel good when Professor Xavier wins in the movies, why do we go home and trash our opponents online? Why do we give into our anger and frustration by making, sharing and promoting content that is just as harmful as President Trump’s comments?

To say that these discussions are hard is an understatement. The hurtful experiences and emotions that people bring to the table are deeply connected to how they view things. However, at the end of the day, we have to remain hopeful and behave in a way that is consistent with that hope or the United States will never be united.

Daniel 3:16-18

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

America has a new president!

This past election season was one of the most negative in recent memory. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were the most unpopular candidates to ever have run for president. Donald Trump’s victory left everybody stunned. Nobody saw it coming and people are upset. We’ve had weeks of protests, people have rioted in the streets, high school students walked out in protest, many people were initially depressed, teachers cancelled tests, and they setup special rooms for people to go to if they can’t handle what’s going on.

So I saw everything that was going on and how severely people were reacting and I thought to myself, what does the bible have to say about this? How should Christians respond, what would Jesus do?

The first thing that God put on my heart is idolatry. Have we made an idol out of our political leaders? Exodus 20:3 says “You shall have no other gods before me.”

Some people have put entirely too much faith in what they thought Hillary or the Democratic Party could do for them or they were so sure that Hilary was going to win that they are in shock. It occurred to me that extreme reactions such as rioting in the streets, destroying property, beating people up or becoming depressed are ways people respond when they have made a person or a political party their idol. They view a person as their guarantee to prosperity or as some ultimate vindication of their political views and beliefs. Some people take great comfort in having their guy or girl in office. To my mind, this should not be the response of a believer.

Don’t get me wrong, it is ok to be disappointed or concerned. Donald Trump has said certain things that are extremely troubling. One of his major themes has been immigration. At times during his campaign he said some inflammatory things about immigrants and he took a very hard stance on what should be done with them. My home church was established by immigrants from Nigeria. We have many members who have had difficulty with their immigration status in the past and even those who are dealing with difficulties in their immigration status right now. My parents and many others came here because they loved the opportunities that America has to offer and we as their children have benefited greatly from it. However, even though there are reasons for concern, as believers we mustn’t react like the world reacts. We must remember: “My help comes from the lord, who made the heaven and earth” (Psalms 121:1).

God is sovereign over all things:

Let’s take a look at some scripture to see examples of what it looks like when God’s people remember that their help comes from the lord.

The book of Daniel was set in a time of terrible oppression for God’s people. The nation of Israel had been militarily defeated by the Babylonian empire. They were removed from their land and exiled to the city of Babylon. They were treated worse than second class citizens. They had little if any political power. Nonetheless, God had allowed a few Jews to be given some authority as officials in the Babylonian empire. Daniel was one of them.

The king at that time, Nebuchadnezzar, was so prideful that he made a golden image of himself and issued a decree that when you hear the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music; you have to fall down and worship the image. Those who did not comply would be cast into a burning fiery furnace. This decree comes into direct conflict with God’s prohibition against worshiping graven images.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, like Daniel, were faithful Jews. They had been given some authority, God had allowed the king to find favor with them and they were appointed to handle the affairs in certain areas in Babylon. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had refused to bow down to the golden image.

One thing that God helped me to see was that we need to have some perspective in order to be able to properly assess how much we should be concerned. Like it or not, this election was not stolen. Donald Trump won fair and square. We are blessed to live in a country that has political process that you can trust in. We have never had a military coup d’état in this country. Administrations transfer peacefully. We don’t have any serious fears that the winning party in an election will start killing or jailing their political rivals. We have free press for the most part. We’ve never had instances of journalists being jailed or killed for criticizing the government. Unfortunately, countries like China and Russia have seen their fair share of that.

Even if you are dismayed about the results of this election, we are not facing the level of persecution that the three Hebrew men were facing and we are not facing the level of persecution that people in other countries face.

At the same time, it’s still important to think about how they were able to face their situation, so we can take something from it.

The three Hebrews had faith. They really believed in God and in the power of God to deliver them from their situation. It was God that their hope was in, not the king. Without that faith in God, that type of courage in the face of death is not possible. Anyone else would have failed that test. This is extraordinary faith. Many of us, if we are honest with ourselves, might not have responded in the same way. That’s not an insult, that’s a challenge; we must continue to pray to God to increase our faith in Him. Increase our awareness of His power so that we can be courageous in difficult times. It should not matter who is in office.

The three Hebrews did not know their fate. It’s not like they had a vision or a prophecy about what was going to happen. They put their trust in God first and were ready to accept what happened, one way or the other. We’ve seen this before. When God called Moses, a stutterer and a murderer, to free the Hebrews, he didn’t know how it was going to work, he was hesitant, but he was faithful. When God told Abraham to take Isaac up to that mountain and make that sacrifice, he didn’t know how it was going to work, but he was faithful. The bottom line is that no matter what the circumstance we as believers are blessed to know that God is still on the throne. When we are faced with situations that we don’t like or when we are anxious about what will happen we must simply remember where our help comes from. When we do that, there’s no challenge we can’t face there’s no situation that can overwhelm us to the point of depression for too long. We don’t resort to violence or seek our way by illegitimate uses of force. We remain faithful to God, come what may.

At times like this, remember that Jesus said: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10b)

The abundant life is the freedom of knowing that God is in control no matter what; that even when you can’t see a way out of your situation, you have the blessed assurance of salvation through Jesus Christ.

So if you sit here today and you’re dismayed by the fact that Donald Trump is now America’s president or if you are anxious about what will happen during his administration remember that God is in control. Or like the other half of the country who didn’t even vote, you’re someone who couldn’t care less about politics, you may be dealing with broken relationships, addictions, stress at work, illness etc. I want you to remember that God is in control and pray that you lean on God even more.

We have no idea how God will use anyone

The bible tells us that we must pray for our leaders. (1 Timothy 2:1-2) We should pray for Donald Trump.

God can use anyone, no matter what man thinks. When God chose King David he told Samuel: “the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the lord looks on the heart.” King David was referred to as a man after God’s own heart. This is the same King David that was an adulterer and a murder.

Say what you want about Donald Trump, he’s been accused of many things and he has many faults, but he hasn’t been accused of murder.

 We should pray that God might use Trump for his Glory or that God may surround Donald Trump with people who have wisdom and fear the lord.

If you look at the three Hebrews, you can see the hand of God in how the circumstances worked themselves out.

Even in the midst of being exiled to a foreign land, God allowed the king to find favor with them because they were wise and skilled. Because of their high position, they were brought before the king. Imagine if they had been three regular Jews. They likely would have been executed right away. It was because of their status as officials that it got the king’s attention. So all along it’s as though God was setting the stage for an event that was very large so that God’s power could be put on display before a wide and powerful audience. Through the courage and faith of the three Hebrews, not only were there lives saved, but God was glorified.

So whether it is through president-elect Trump directly or through the people around him, we pray that at the end of the day that God’s will be done and that God is glorified.

We are in racially tense times to say the least. We are in an election year where a major political party is about to nominate a presidential candidate (“He who must not be named”) that has suggested that Mexican immigrants are all criminals, has repeatedly retweeted racist Twitter accounts and has offered to pay the legal fees for a guy who sucker-punched a Black man at one of his rallies. In addition, last week saw the graphic video-recorded deaths of Alston Sterling and Philando Castile at the hands of police. To top it all off, five Dallas police officers were killed after they were ambushed by a Black man. I mourn deeply for the loss of these lives.

Unfortunately, in these racially tense times, I’ve seen a certain attitude from people that troubles me. Whether it’s a post or a meme, my news feed seems to be full of people celebrating the fact that they have cut-off or “unfriended” somebody that has said something deemed racially offensive. It seems to be the latest trend in virtue signaling; whereby people make a statement to increase their street-cred among people that they know will agree. To me, this is a mistake for a number of reasons.

Tribalism is Ineffective

In TV discussions about race-relations, I often hear pundits say things like “we have to start having a real conversation about race.” Even though I’m tired of hearing that cliché, I think it’s mostly true. While we actually talk about racism quite a bit, we are often talking to those who already agree with us. America seems unable to hold on to two truths at the same time; that Black communities experience mistreatment at the hands of police and that these same communities are unfortunately plagued with a disproportionate amount of violence. How do we expect to address these challenges if we aren’t willing to engage those that only want to acknowledge one of those facts? When you cut somebody off, especially if you don’t let them know why, how exactly have you helped your cause? I think lasting change is only possible if we change the hearts and minds of people. Intentionally breaking down lines of communication with other people represents a missed opportunity.

Shaming Can Make Things Worse

In addition to rallying people who already agree with them, I think people publicly unfriend Trump supporters, for example, because they hope to silence others by shaming them. Unfortunately, as I’m sure many psychologists would agree, this is counterproductive because it prevents a diagnosis from being made and can worsen a condition. Whether it’s a conversation with a lawyer, doctor or pastor, people won’t get help if they don’t feel comfortable opening up. We need to be willing to create an environment where people can speak freely. What ever happened to disagreeing vehemently with a person’s statement, while defending their right to say it? I strongly believe that the rise of Donald Trump is due to the fact that some people are tired of being shamed. Trump says what many of them have been thinking, but are afraid to say.

Quitting is the Easy Way Out

I’m very sympathetic to the fact that conversations about race are often frustrating and very painful. When I heard about the recent spate of deaths, I was brought to tears and I didn’t want to go to work. Part of me feels like victims of oppression shouldn’t have to take the high road or make the first step toward reconciliation. Unfortunately, it seems that change won’t happen otherwise. Despite my initial feelings, I was able to push through. I actually ended up having some healthy dialogue with a number of people and I think I am better because of it. If nothing else, I was able to consider a different point of view and refine my own thoughts and feelings in response to objections that were raised. I think every time that happens, I get closer to being able to address opponents more effectively. That type of growth is just not possible if we cut people off.

Please don’t get me wrong; obviously, dialogue won’t work in every situation and you have to pick your battles. When people are disrespectful and show a clear unwillingness to listen, you shouldn’t waste your time. Heck, even Jesus acknowledged that you won’t be able to convince everyone and that sometimes you need to cut your losses:

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” Matthew 7:6

My only hope is that people try a little harder to reach out to people when it comes to discussions about race and not be so quick to conclude that someone is unworthy of the effort. To be clear, I think it’s unfair to assume that all or even most Trump supporters hate Black people. To my mind, racism is not the same as it was a generation ago. In its previous form, racism was overt discrimination against people of color, based in bigotry. The new racism is the conscious disregard or the lack of concern for policies that have a disparate impact on people of color. Today, apathy is the new racism. We have a right to be angry and frustrated that racism still exists, but we should be encouraged that progress has been made. In order to keep advancing, whether it’s in person or on social media, we have to be willing to be where the racists are.

In the current dust up over criminal justice reform, I see a deeper story of how our flaws as human beings keep us from realizing racial equality.

Bill Clinton seems to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one hand he wants to help Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid, on the other hand he wants to defend the legacy of his presidency against claims that his 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act helped drive mass incarceration. This conflict played itself out publicly last Thursday when Bill Clinton was confronted by angry protesters while he was giving a speech at a rally for Hillary Clinton. The former president defended his policy by arguing that his crime bill actually helped to save Black lives by driving down murder rates. This response was interesting because a few months ago, Clinton admitted that the law made mass incarceration worse, which is in line with the current sentiments among Blacks, who represent a key voting block that Hillary Clinton needs if she wants to be president.

So which one is it, did that 1994 Act save lives or did it contribute to mass incarceration? According to a new article from a Fordham Law School professor, the answer is: neither. In his article John Pfaff argues that the law had a minimal influence in the drop in crime rates during the 1990s and that it also did not substantially contribute to mass incarceration. First, by 1994, the prison population had already tripled since 1974. Second, the law’s harsh sentences only applied to people sentenced for federal crimes, which only amounted to 13% of the prison population at that time. Third, the prison population actually declined for the last six years after the law was signed.

Given that both Bill Clinton and the protestors got it so wrong about the 1994 law’s effect on mass incarceration, it made me wonder whether the conventional wisdom about mass incarceration itself can withstand statistical analysis. It’s true that the prison population exploded at the end of the twentieth century and that minorities were disproportionately represented therein. However, were the harsh sentencing laws motivated by racial prejudice?

In the corner of mass incarceration being motivated by racial prejudice, we have familiar talking points like these:

1. The Controlled Substances Act established a minimum mandatory sentence of five years for a first-time trafficking offense involving over five grams of crack (perceived as a Black drug), as opposed to 500 grams of powder cocaine (perceived as a White drug); and
2. Blacks are more likely to be arrested for drug crimes, even though they use drugs at similar or lower rates than Whites.

On the other hand, a recent article by Barry Latzer, argues that violent crime, not drugs, led to higher imprisonment rates. He presents a couple of intriguing points:

1. The rate of violent crime surged by 350% between 1960 and 1990; and
2. Drug convictions explain only “about 20% of prison growth since 1980.”

So who’s right?

To a certain extent, I’m not sure it really matters what the motivation was. Though I suspect that one’s answer to that question gives us insight into the human condition.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it.”  (Jeremiah 17:9) (ESV)

One way that I see this verse play out in life is that people often think they are more capable of being objective than they actually are. In my experience talking to friends and watching commentators discuss different issues, people think they’ve fairly considered both sides of an issue, but you can tell they haven’t because they are often unable to articulate the best argument for the opposing view. If they can state the opposing view at all, it’s usually a weak argument that can be easily dismissed, which gives them a false confidence that their view is superior.

Also, when deciding there own stance, people have a tendency to focus on the facts that fit most comfortably into their worldview, while ignoring the facts that don’t. Given the history of severe oppression of Blacks in America, from slavery to Jim Crow, some will see this country as racist, no matter what. Any discussion about public policy with such a person starts from the presumption that those who disagree with them are racially biased. On the other side, there are those who believe that race is never an issue these days because we’ve elected a Black President. They refuse to consider that both conscious and unconscious bias toward Blacks still persists today. They are likely to attribute Black issues to character failings. These two factions prevent us from moving forward and I believe we all fall into one or the other extreme on occasion, some more than others. We become incapable of giving the other side the benefit of the doubt and find it difficult not to assume the worst in others. I believe that we will never be able to solve any of the nagging issues of our time, whether its gun laws or terrorism, without being able to overcome this tendency.

When it comes to mass incarceration, it seems that it is plausible that harsh sentencing was a reaction to increases in violent crime. However it is also plausible that politicians and others were fine with the disproportionate impact these laws had on Blacks because they were indifferent to our suffering or assumed that Blacks were prone to crime. Nonetheless, when we pay too much attention to defending mass incarceration as a legitimate reaction or condemning it as racially biased, it prevents us from being able to analyze whether it was worth its fiscal and social costs, so that we can move forward.

In the end, each of us needs to ask ourselves whether we’ve actually taken the time to consider this and other vexing societal issues from our opponent’s point of view. How can progress be made if we don’t take the time to do that?

As of this writing, I have over 1,000 friends on Facebook. (I’ll hold a sec for your applause). I’ve been on FB since about 2005, when it was restricted to college students and when Myspace was actually more popular. Since then, of course, social media platforms have blown up; with options like Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram, just to name a few. Obviously, the word “friend” is used loosely on social media. I haven’t seen or spoken to some FB friends since junior high school, before FB was even a thing. Nonetheless, social media in general is the primary medium that young people use to tell the world about themselves. My question today is: As a Christian, do you ever use social media to share your faith?

To be sure, the Bible makes it clear that as followers of Jesus Christ, we are commanded to share our faith with the world. It’s commonly referred to as the Great Commission, Jesus said:

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you…” (Matthew 28:19-20 ESV)

If the answer to the above question is “not at all” or “rarely”, that’s fine. There was a time in my life as a Christian when my answer would have been the same. Eventually, though, I was able to overcome that after I discovered a few reasons for my reluctance. I’d like to share them with you in the hope that you can relate if they apply to you or that it encourages you to find your own.

I didn’t want to be “that” guy.

In one way or another, we’re all slaves to acceptance. I confess that when I post on social media, I check back (more than I’d like to admit) to see how many “likes” I’ve received. I’ve seen posts from fellow believers on FB that get little to no attention; even I didn’t bother hitting the like-button. I’ve seen posts from FB friends about their faith that I not only ignore, but that make me roll my eyes. (Really dude, if I don’t type “Amen” in the comments section, I don’t love Jesus). The worse kinds are the ones who never stop posting scriptures, when I see their names in my newsfeed, I don’t even stop scrolling anymore.

On the other hand, I’ve seen posts that are very inspiring and that have garnered positive feedback from believers and non-believers alike. What I realized is that if you are being sincere about being an encouragement to others, you’ll be more effective than if you’re using your posts to make yourself look holy or to be overly critical of others. Sharing your faith doesn’t mean that every post has to have a bible verse in it. Try asking yourself, would this post encourage me if I came across it or would it annoy me? Once I was able to answer this question, I realized that I didn’t care how popular my post was if I felt that somebody would actually be blessed by it.

I didn’t want to be challenged.

One of the risks you run if you happen to mention the bible or anything about Jesus is that one of your skeptical friends or even a fellow believer will chime in with a comment that you don’t know how to answer. “Doesn’t the bible support slavery” or “Jesus never said anything about ______.” Who wants to spend time going back and forth in the comments section for hours on end? I would think to myself, “All I wanted to do was encourage somebody, not create a controversy or start a theological debate.” Then I realized that there’s no shortcut to actually knowing more about the bible. If you’re going to be open about your faith, you have to be willing to invest time in understanding what you’re being open about. It’s only natural that people will have questions. As a believer, you have a responsibility to be able to give some kind of response when you sense that somebody is being sincere and even on rare occasion when they’re just being obnoxious (1 Peter 3:15).

I didn’t feel I could measure up.

People love hypocrites. For some reason (maybe because it makes them feel better about themselves) people enjoy it when they see somebody else not practicing what they preach. This is especially true when it comes to people who are open about their faith. Never mind the good that churches and Christians charities do all around the world, when a priest abuses a child or pastor says something in a unloving way, the negative story is much more likely to make the news. The same principle applies on social media. I was concerned that if I was caught on a bad day being less than Christ-like, people would be lining up to call me out on it. I’d think, “Should I like this post, it’s got a curse word in it?” or “should I like that photo, she’s half-naked in it or he has his middle finger up in it?” Eventually I realized that only Jesus was perfect. Although we should always try to be careful about how we are perceived and about what our actions and statements communicate about Jesus, we can’t be paralyzed by the fear that we might stumble. In fact, this realization made me even more gracious toward fellow believers when I saw posts of theirs that I thought were less than holy.

In the end, social media allows Christians to reach people all over the world in a matter of seconds. If we can overcome our reservations, these platforms can be effective in bringing people to Christ. We never know what role that post that we didn’t make would have had on somebody. People out there struggle with a number of issues and are looking for hope. If we believe that Jesus Christ is the source of our hope, why wouldn’t we share that with the world?