READ : Matthew 5:1-11 A good way to describe a Christian is a person with a tough skin and a tender heart. That insight comes from Jesus’ great sermon, “Blessed are you when people revile you, and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you FALSELY . . . .” No room for thin-skinned, easily hurt persons here. It takes toughness to accept rejection even when it’s deserved, but it’s worse when someone deliberately lies about you. …
He Cares for His Own
READ : Psalm 50:1-15 I can hear her now. It was a voice which Arturo Toscanini said occurs once in a century. She sang in the leading concert halls and major royal courts of the world. Hers was a God-given talent which many fellow Americans refused to accept because she came from the offspring of slaves. But Easter Sunday morning 1939, she performed as guest of the National Park Service under the prodding of Eleanor Roosevelt. When the Daughters of …
We Have a Champion
READ : 1 Thessalonians 4:9-18 June 19, 1936 was one of the most disappointing of days for African Americans. What little racial self-esteem we could muster in those days was being carried by our rugged but gentle gladiator, Joe Louis, contender for the heavyweight championship of the world, He was our pride and joy. On this summer day, he faced and was defeated by Nazi Germany’s Max Schmeling. Hitler’s theory of Aryan supremacy was seemingly vindicated. But Joe Louis …
Touch Power
READ : Mark 10:2-15 Have you ever wondered what it must have been like to have Jesus pat your head, or take your hand in His hand, or embrace you as a child? I most certainly have. Have you ever longed for the Master’s touch when you were ill, troubled, lonely or wronged? I am convinced I have! Have you experienced the Savior’s touch? I have, and I celebrate in singing from the psalter born in American slavery: I …
It’s Okay to Be an Alien
READ : John 17:6-19 Have you ever been in a place where the language spoken was completely unknown? Ever been to a community where you did not meet a person with whom you could identify? If your answer is “Yes,” I have a secret for you. Jesus has promised even greater alienation. As Jesus was facing His death, He spent time with His disciples and with His Father. He prayed to His Father and He prayed on behalf of …
Giving Credit Where Credit is Due
READ : Psalm 143:1-12 Today we celebrate the life of one of America’s great persons – Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln served during the most turbulent period of our history. This great nation was locked in mortal battle, brother fighting brother over the idea of whether the Union was to be maintained. During the war, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. It freed all the slaves in sections of the nation under the control of those who favored slavery. This stroke of …