July 7
13You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:13-14, The Jesus Bible)
Happy July 7th my peeps. I started this post two days ago, after coming off of a busy and chaotic holiday weekend of work. In the three years I have been a patrol officer with Savannah Police Department, this year marked the first year I was working patrol and not the 4th of July festival. While we were swamped running from one report of guns being fired to another; to calls of fights breaking out at festive celebrations; to the occasional domestic dispute between family members; to the suicidal complaints from those feeling the overwhelming craziness of the holiday; the city of Savannah had just a few major incidents compared to what the rest of the country dealt with. There was a moment on the Fourth, as I was rushing from the south end of the Eastside to the north end, to back up another officer, I could see fireworks exploding all over the neighborhoods around me. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was seeing what it must have looked like during that original celebration of freedom, with “bombs bursting in the air”. And then, as I rounded a tight turn near the end of the expressway that provides a major artery from north-to-south on east Savannah, directly in front of me was a majestic display of someone’s firework finale. I thanked God for putting me in that spot, in that moment, to be able to see some gorgeous explosions of minerals into the night sky.
Well, that bright spot in my evening was fleeting and the rest of the night really put me into a sour mood. Then I let the devil keep me down as I read how deadly the weekend had become in major cities around the nation. Many in America continue to think that the freedoms most did nothing to earn, allows them to abuse, shoot, and kill anyone that infringes on those freedoms. News like the story out of Tampa, where a 7-year-old was killed after two parties arguing over jet skis getting too close to their kids escalated to guns being drawn and shots being fired. These stories continue to show that our country, our society, continues to spiral down a dark path of destruction.
But there are mighty warriors working to remind the world of the most important truth: that although we continue to make horrible choices and treat one another with deadly discord, God still loves us. Despite all the evil in the world, we are still children of God, a loving Father who forgives us, even for our darkest sins. We just need to turn back to God, seek forgiveness for our sins, and sin no more. We are heirs to the kingdom, and the great Lisa Harper preached a powerful word about that at Elevation Church this weekend. Ms. Harper’s sermon caused me to do a complete 180 and instantly reminded me of the joy and beauty in the world around me. Click this image below and listen to the amazing wisdom and incredible wit from this incredibly anointed teacher of the Word.
I was so busy this last week that I was unable to share any new music. There was a plethora of wonderful new tracks ranging from Christian hip-hop bangers, to powerful new worship anthems. But of all the new music, the debut album from Hillsong great Chris Davenport, was by far my favorite. Mr. Davenport has helped write many of my favorite worship songs in the last three years such as Hillsong UNITED’s “Another In The Fire;’ Phil Wickham’s “Hymn of Heaven;” Cody Carnes’ “Be Glad;” and Brandon Lake’s “Too Good To Not Believe.” This album, “TIME”, is an instant classic, and the song below really hit hard after I allowed Ms. Harper’s sermon to turn my heart around. God wants us to live in peace, to love one another, to help those in need, and to enjoy this beautiful life He gifted us with. Click, enjoy, be blessed and be a blessing to the world around you!
Common Sense Reborn 