Rev. Yolanda Whiten, Pastor
St. James AME, Brighton, MI
"Don't shine so that others see you. Shine
So that through you, others see HIM."
Pray for all Republicans, Donald Trump, your ex-friend, your evil auntie, and whomever else. Pray for police everywhere. Pray for your nasty neighbor and your very worst enemy. Do this right now. Some of us have so many enemies even in our own families! Pray for these shallow, empty people!! WHY? Cause the Bible tells you to.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?"
-Matthew 5:43–47
“'I have the right to do anything,'” you say—but not everything is beneficial. 'I have the right to do anything'—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others."
-Corinthians 10:23–24
As Christians, we believe that you cannot do anything you want just because you are grown.
"So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess."
-Deuteronomy 5:32–33
Careful. Not what you think. What the Lord has commanded!
Have you ever helped someone or some situation and the people involved then forget how it was before God sent you and your expertise into their ongoing issue? Why do people forget?
David said, “Praise the Lord, I tell myself, and never forget the good things He does for me” (Psalm 103:2).
David told himself to never forget the good things God has done. We also must make up our minds to never forget God’s goodness in our lives.
As I was reading through the book of Psalms, I began to note all the times forgetting was mentioned (chapters 78, 103, 106, and 137). Psalm 107 says when we forget it “tests God’s patience, frustrates the Holy One of Israel, and makes God’s anger rise.” That had my attention! At the end of my study, I was convinced that forgetting God’s goodness is a sin.
It wears me out. Folks are seemingly ungrateful a lot! I know it tests my patience when I worked hard to help someone or something and there is no sincere gratitude, but I can handle that. It is worse when the same folks that needed help try to then "teach" you how it should be done! I remind you today. Try to be grateful and remember when God has blessed you and your circumstance.
Thoughts to begin your week!
"Finishing is better than starting! Patience is better than pride! Don’t be quick-tempered—that is being a fool.
Don’t long for 'the good old days,' for you don’t know whether they were any better than these!
To be wise is as good as being rich; in fact, it is better. You can get anything by either wisdom or money, but being wise has many advantages."
-Ecclesiastes 7:8–12
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
-Exodus 20:8–11
For those of you who wish to say, "Well . . . that is the Old Testament," try this:
"What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!"
-Romans 6:15
