I read an article last night that has really shaken me up. The preliminary results of the 2010 US census have been released. The article, first of all, was deceptive in its heading. The headline read “Census shows whites lose US majority among babies”. This is not something to cry over! We should rejoice that we have merged and melted into a multiracial society. The true meat of this article, for me, was this alarming statistic: the share of African-American households headed by women – mostly single women – now exceeds African-American married households. My heart began to beat fast and tears welled up in my eyes. We read statistics constantly of the moral decay of the young black community. We hear of how our prisons are overcrowded and the percentage of black men in prison is nearly 7 times that of white men and 3 times that of Hispanic men. More than 20% of African American men live in poverty, twice that of whites. For African American men, young deaths are caused more by homicide than any other cause. HIV is the sixth leading cause of death. Although blacks make up only 13% of the population, they make up 50% of the diagnosed cases of HIV. Black mothers who are unwed is 72% compared to 29% white. The most recent government statistics indicated that “43% of all murder victims in 2007 were African American, 93.1% of whom were killed were African Americans.”
We blame several factors and shift the responsibility. The source of this decomposition is fatherlessness. The world is becoming a different place for children of color. Married or two-parent heterosexual households is no longer the norm for many of the children in our society. Where are the strong, godly, Spirit-filled men of color? What have we done?
I can’t put into words the feelings that I have over this information. I just know that we need to tell the Truth. How do we get this information to the people who need to hear it? I have to speak out…not just to people who look like me. It is apparent to me that the Gospel that has been spread has not reached fleshy hearts. So, what is the problem? NO REPENTANCE, which means no salvation, no regeneration, so sanctification can’t even begin, which is growth. It begins in the pulpit. When we see Bishop Eddie Long being heralded right back to the position he fell from, what does that say to a dying and burning soul? “Well, if he can do that so can I.” It angers me that there are many influential black Americans who do not stand for Truth in this dying age. What is my responsibility? How big is my voice and will it fall on deaf ears?
I know what I have been taught in the Word of God. I know what my Spirit discerns in all of this…MANY HAVE BEEN DECEIVED. We are made to complete each other, not compete. Christ is the head of every man, man the head of woman. Man is to love his wife as Christ loves the church and a woman is to respect her husband (Ephesians 5). FORNICATION IS A SIN! (1 Cor 6:9-10, 18) Repentance is a must. Recognize the sin and accept responsibility for it. James 4:17 tells us that to know to do right and choose to do wrong is sin. There is no salvation without repentance. It ALL begins with repentance (2 Cor 7:10). We must have godly sorrow for our sins…recognizing that we are bought. Not human sorrow for our sins…only realizing that we got caught. When the Holy Spirit convicts us, there is freedom. When the world convicts us, we are placed in shackles and chains. Darkness (sin) and light (holiness) can not coexist. Stop deceiving yourselves and don’t believe the lie! Obedience is what brings the blessings of God (1 John 2:3-6). We cannot continue to give in to our sinful desires and inherit the Kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21, 1 Cor 6:9-10). It’s time to accept responsibility for the lives that we are leading and the lives of the children that are after us. Don’t stifle a generation with these lies and deception. Offer the Truth. Offer the Gospel of Jesus Christ that says that God is holy and the Creator of all things. All of His judgements are righteous and He is just in all His ways. We have been created in His image for the purpose of bringing Him glory and we are to do that whether we eat, drink, or whatever (1 Cor 10:31). The Word tells us that no one is righteous, not one of us (Rom 3:10). All of us have sinned and have not met God’s standards (Rom 3:23). John 3:19-20 says “And the judgement is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.” So, the Lord sent His only Son as an act of love toward His creation (John 3:16-17). He was both God and man and He overcame sin (John 1:14, Rom 3:25). He endured the wrath of God for OUR sake. He was crucified as a criminal and then raised to life. This enables us to be forgiven because He took on the sins of the world (1 John 4:10). He left the Holy Spirit as an Advocate, a Comforter, a Helper for us. He puts His Spirit in those who are His (Rom 8:2,9; Eph 1:13). If we accept Him as our Savior, the results are clear. We will walk in love, gentleness, self control, faithfulness, peace, and joy (Galatians 5:22-23). The time for choices is now. We will all worship Him at some point, either in Heaven and earth or below (Phil 2:10). I would rather choose Life now and fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity- the man Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:5) In Jesus’ Name. AMEN
{SCRIPTURE REFERENCES FOLLOW}
1 Cor 6:9-10, 18
Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people- none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.
Ephesians 5:23,31-33
For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
2 Cor 7:10
For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There is no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.
1 John 2:3-6
And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,”” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
Galatians 5:19-21
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
1 Cor 10:31
So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Rom 3:10
As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous- not even one.”
Rom 3:23
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
John 3:16-17
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”
John 1:14
So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
Rom 3:25
For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past…
1 John 4:10
This is real love- not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
Rom 8:2,9
And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.
Eph 1:13
And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.
Galatians 5:22-23
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Phil 2:10
…that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth…
Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
