Charleston Church Massacre

"Nine people were killed Wednesday night when a shooter opened fire at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, during a prayer meeting."

As I have been praying for the men and women affected by this shooting, I am reminded of what they were doing when the gunfire broke out... 

They were praying. 

I doubt they were praying for themselves. More likely they were praying for dear family members, community leaders, and for God's Kingdom to come to earth.

When a person is murdered, their blood actually cries out for revenge. When Abel killed his brother in Genesis chapter 4, God comes to Abel and asks, "Where is Abel your brother?" to which Abel responds, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" God then says something fascinating about the blood of a person, "The voice of your brother's blood is crying to Me from the ground."(Genesis 4:9-10) Life is in the blood. Blood is what brings life. God explicitly commands the people of Israel, "Only be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life,.."(Deut. 12:23a) The blood of Jesus, ultimately, brings life to anyone who puts his/her hope and faith in Him. When blood is spilt in murder, blood cries out for revenge and only Jesus, the mediator (Heb. 12:24), has the authority to quiet the need for revenge.

The blood of these sweet people has been brutally poured out in a place of worship. While we set up measures to keep us safe from terrorist, we are destroying ourselves from within. This is not a situation of happenstance; not case for insanity. This was a hate crime carefully planned out - plain and simple. I know it's uncomfortable to look at pain.  It's uncomfortable to face the gaping wound of racism in our country, but we have to acknowledge that it is here and very real. As parents, we need to teach our children the difference between good and evil, right from wrong.  Not talking about this situation silently tells our children that this tragedy is not a big deal.  Talk with your children.  Cry with your children.  Let them see that hate against another person is not okay. Not okay. Jesus, a Jew, was traveling through Samaria, and sat down by a well to rest.  He then proceeds to have a conversation with a Samaritan woman at the well.  Jews HATE Samaritans and men disreguarded women.  Jesus is revolutionary!  He breaks down two cultural no-no's (boundaries) for us in John 4; he models a Savior who loves all people,

Galatians 3:28 – “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

The divisions that separate people in the real world, slave or free, Jew or Greek, male or female, black or white – are simply flattened or leveled in Christ, as a consequence of God’s new creation. Take time and read through the names below of men and women who lost their lives because of hate. If hate resides in me, remove it from my being so that I can be more like Jesus.  

Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Rev.

Clementa Pinckney, Rev.

Cynthia Hurd

Tywanza Sanders

Myra Thompson

Ethel Lee Lance

Daniel Simmons

Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Rev.

Susie Jackson

Join me in prayer: God, each name here represents a family who is in deep sorrow and struggling with how to move forward, how to respond to the media, what to say. I pray that their blood would not be poured out in vain, but that the prayers of these saints would ascend to Your Holy Throne. You would hear their prayers of love, of peace, of forgiveness, and of reconciliation. As a sister in Christ, who believes wholeheartedly that the ground is equal at the foot of the cross and we "are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28) may this Kingdom, God's Kingdom that unifies people, come to earth. Only by Your strength and power can the blood of these innocent people bring life instead of death; bring peace instead of war; bring unity instead of division; bring forgiveness instead of revenge. I pray that, like Samuel (1 Sam. 3:19b), the prayers of this group would not fall to the ground, but that the prayers offered in faith by the people at Emanuel Church on Wednesday night would be answered and that the seeds of their faith and love would produce life, healing and restoration one-hundred fold.

God, I do not pretend to understand the anger, frustration and sadness the families of these dear ones must feel. I pray You would surround them with Your love, support, and comfort. May they abide in Your grace and know they are being held up in prayer and love by people around the world.  Amen.

Continue to pray. With spiritual eyes, you can see this tragedy is a game-changer and has the potential to move a mountain. Let Your Kingdom come.

"But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13

Maundy Thursday Rememberance

Church tradition celebrates the Thursday before Easter as Maundy Thursday.  What is so special about this day?

For the Jewish calendar, this date was also the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread- the day of the Passover Meal.  The Passover meal was to be celebrated to remember how God delivered the people of Israel from slavery, out of the hands of Pharaoh (Exodus 12). If you recall the night of the first Passover, the people of Israel had to find an unblemished, year-old, male lamb. They were to sacrifice the lamb and then wipe the blood of the lamb above their doorpost. The angel of death visited on that night and killed every first born- except for the people who were living under the blood of the lamb.

It is on this Passover night that Jesus shared the very first, 'Lord's Supper' (Communion, Eucharist) with His Disciples.  

Keeping the perspective of the dual-celebration going on here (Passover Meal and Lord's Supper), of which the Disciple's couldn't see the correlation, we can see the importance and prophetic message of the cross of Jesus Christ shine through with the connection to the spotless (sinless) lamb as the sacrifice. It is as if Jesus is standing at the crux of time affirming the sacrifices of the Old Testament and Tradition and then instating Himself as our the new sacrifice- our ultimate sacrifice.

"While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, 'Take and eat; this is my body.'" (Mt. 26:26)

"Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'" (Mt. 26:27)

Then one of my favorite parts, "When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives." (Mt. 26:30)

From the meal together, the Disciples headed to the Mount of Olives (Garden of Gethsemane).

Here, in the garden, Jesus prayed.  If ever you questioned if Jesus was fully human, while simultaneously being full-God, read the prayers of Jesus at this critical time in His ministry.  You can hear Jesus wrestling with his humanity and His Father's will.  

Here are some of my favorite lines from Jesus' prayers at Gethsemane:

• "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death."
• "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
• "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation." 
• "The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

He was then betrayed by one of His disciples with a kiss (Judas) and then arrested.  Jesus' journey through government leaders and false accusations goes on through the dark hours of night - each step closer to the cross...

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Thank You, John Paul Jackson

John Paul Jackson

I love Jesus. His friendship, faithfulness and redeeming love has been my ever-present comfort and strength since I was just a little girl.

I've always had this connection with God that is revealed in nature and other “unique” ways- colors, seasons, smells, images, textures.  I thought of myself like a bit of an oddball since I felt I communicated/connected with God in these sensory venues and everyday stories.

Where most people thought I was crazy, I was introduced to a Godly man who founded my “craziness” and gave words and understanding to the spiritual world around me that I found myself.

His name was John Paul Jackson and today he passed away.

When I first learned the news of his passing, I was filled with grief. As the day trudged forward, the weightiness of the news became heavier on me. 

As I think back on my teenage and early adult years, John Paul Jackson is one of the people who had a tremendous influence on my life – though I never met him personally. While I was so very young, I remember watching (and hearing about) the interaction between John Paul Jackson and John Wimber (a Vineyard Pastor). I appreciated the way John Paul would work in conjunction with the local church and respect the Pastoral leadership of the Church community.

John Paul taught me that character supersedes gifting. 

I took weekend classes out-of-town called, “The Art of Hearing God.” In his classes I learned how to quietly listen to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit.  He taught us, through various other teachers, how to play games and do some activities to isolate His “voice” and learn how to adjust our lives to listen to Him.  He taught about the three pitfalls of ministry to watch out for (Gold, Girls/Guys, Glory).  I discovered through multiple classes that my odd connection to God in nature and life activities was actually a gift and ability to see supernatural lessons and concepts in my physical world around me.

As I look through my old class material, I recognize so much of my formation as a leader arose out of John Paul Jackson’s classes.  His leadership training was unique in its approach of Spirit sensitivity, while being explained and supported by Biblical stories and verses.

John Paul’s classes were heavy in service-leadership language.  The goal of cooperating with the Spirit was never to be ‘weird,’ but to support and serve the Pastors and church leaders and to operate within the spiritual covering and authority God has given.

In my 20’s, I attended John Paul Jackson’s Dream Interpretation classes.  My ability to see ‘supernatural’ lessons in our physical world expanded as I learned how to listen to dreams and guide people to God through their dreams.  I learned that, indeed, God is speaking to everyone and drawing people to himself- even in the venues of dreams. 

John Paul Jackson’s legacy and influence on my life will continue forever- and I'm just one minor person. As today is Ash Wednesday, the scripture that came to my mind when I learned of the passing of John Paul Jackson is John 12:24 – “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” My prayer is that John Paul’s years of ministry and planting seeds will continue to produce much more fruit.

Thank you, John Paul, for your encouragement and teaching to seek God's face, learn to listen to His voice and follow my Savior's lead.  You will be missed greatly, my spirit aches at the hole you leave behind, but I have no doubt I will see you again.