July 25
10When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you – a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant- then when you eat and are satisfied, 12be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (Deuteronomy 6:10-12, The Jesus Bible)
Happy Tuesday Y’all! I am sorry that I let you down last Friday. In my post from Thursday, I had recapped the powerful worship experience my family and I were blessed to be part of by attending an Elevation Nights event. I had stated I would put a post together on Friday covering Pastor Steven Furtick’s message from the show. Well, I was unable to put a post together because I failed to wake up earlier than my three beautiful children. Once that trio is up and active, me being able to sit down and put a post together is out of the question. And, honestly, as much as I love sharing my thoughts with y’all on here, my time with my little ones is the most precious time I have. If I can not get a post out before they wake up, I must abandon my hopes of doing so for the day. Which is what had happened on Friday.
So here we are today, my first morning off since Friday (although this post has stretched into the afternoon-those little ones have been up for awhile now). Pastor Steven Furtick and his team were able to chase the devil out of Savannah for three nights, but then after Friday night, which was very uneventful for a Friday night, the devil made his way back. Our Saturday in Savannah was one of the most violent days the city has experienced in a long time. The city saw how a dangerously short police department enables criminals to get away as three separate shootings unfolded on the Eastside throughout the day. Savannah entered the summer with only one homicide for the year, which was an incredible statistic, but the last two months have seen the exact opposite unfold and we have quickly climbed to eight homicides for the year, which is still very low compared to most cities of comparable population. If you were following this blog last year, you might remember that the United States was experiencing a gun violence crisis, and I was keeping a running tally of the days of murder unfolding in cities across the nation. So far for the year, gun violence has dropped compared to this time last year for many of the cities around the country. But it is still too high. I found this really interesting interactive map from TheTrace, that allows you to see gun violence in any city across America. Click here to explore for yourself. While charts and maps allow us to see a realistic look of our cuntry, the real focus is how we end this current crisis?
A lot of outreach is needed to save the current generations that are being raised to not value life, have the ability to get their hands on guns, and are so hot-tempered that every conflict results in guns being drawn. We need brave warriors who are able to get out into the inner cities, spend time with the youth, speak to them about making the right choices, and teach them to be productive citizens. Even more important than reaching our current older teenage population, is ensuring the future generations are raised up away from this gun-loving culture our country is currently saturated in. Remember, the gun violence in America is a uniquely American problem. This article from Vox.com does a wonderful job explaining our shameful, gun-obsessive culture.
I shared the verses above because I have reached this chapter of Deuteronomy while reading the Bible to our baby. To me, this is a reminder to all of us. While the verses were originally written to remind the Israelites that their “promised land” was land that was currently populated with other races of people, God was going to help the Israelites establish their kingdom in the area the nation of Israel currently resides. Now, I don’t want to get into the murder and brutality that went into the Israelites invading a foreign land to push innocent men, women, and children out of the area (but we can easily have that discussion). Instead of focusing on all the bloodshed, these verses were a reminder to the Israelites that God was their protector, their provider, and they should never forget that. Well, for us Americans, that truth is still the same for us. We live in a country none of us helped to build and establish. Many of us live in the comforts of the 21st century thanks to commerce building, utility connecting, and public service providing all we need to survive in this nation. For all of these comforts, all we have to do is pay a fee, or a bill, and local governments work tirelessly to keep our society moving in the right direction. America is the country it is because it was founded under God, and if we step into our true potential as a Christian nation living TRUE Christian values, this current gun culture will slowly fade away. You can not be a follower of the Prince of Peace if you are an advocate for weapons of war and have the mentality that the best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is more good guys with guns. The only way to end gun violence is to get rid of guns altogether.
I’ll get off my soapbox now. For some much better inspiration, here is this week’s message from Pastor Steven Furtick. Despite hitting three different cities in three different consecutive nights, Pastor Furtick and his team were right back at it on Sunday morning at their amazing church. I have not listened to the message yet, but I am willing to bet it’s an amazing word. Click below to find out for yourself. Side note, I have the message on right now, and the first three minutes have confirmed my earlier statement.
The anthem of revival continues this year in the Christian Music genre. I was unable to share any of last week’s releases as I was listening to Elevation Worship on repeat, but make sure you don’t miss out listening to the new worship album by Red Rocks Worship. Tiffany Hudson released her first solo album. I love her voice and these songs are very unique and beautiful, but a little slow for me to call favorites. This week has a gigantic list of singles ranging from hip-hop to country to pop songs to many wonderful worship tracks. And three full album releases, which I will focus on this week. I want to start by sharing the new album from worship giant Jesus Culture. This is their first full album in three years and it was well worth the wait. Click here to listen to the entire set. Click the image below to hear one of my favorite tracks, the title track I ask you all: “Why Not Right Now?” When should you take that stand against gun violence? Why not right now? When should you go all in on living like Jesus? Why not right now? When should you love like God loves? Why not right now? When should you push all distractions aside and finally sit down and read the entire Bible? Why not right now?
Common Sense Reborn 