Singer, violinist, evangelist and Order of the Flame 2016 speaker Jean Watson reflects on how we see ourselves. Listen here:

We had a funny moment here in our house the other night. My oldest was filling out a form to take the ACT in the coming weeks.  She’s only in the 7th grade, but I like that they start taking it early.  She was filling out the form and she called me into the living room.  When I got there, she had a question: “for race, should I check Hispanic?”

Now, some of you may know my blond, curly-headed daughter, and are thinking, what kind of question is that?

There’s a reason why she asked me that question.  My biological mother (my Mama Sarah) was born in Ecuador.  Her father was from Ecuador and when he and my grandmother married, they lived there for a time.  So my mother was half-Hispanic.  That makes me a quarter Hispanic, and my daughter an eighth.  I told her that doesn’t count!

Looking at my child, you would probably never guess that’s part of her background.  Looking at me, you may have some inkling, but not likely.  I don’t know much of my Mama Sarah’s background, I don’t know too many stories, much of her life remains a mystery to me.

But I know that anytime I hear someone of Hispanic origin belittled or put down, it hurts a little.  I usually don’t say anything, but if you know anything about a Southern boy, we don’t like folks talkin’ about our mamas.  When I hear the race that she was part of (and through her, so I am) put down, it is hurtful.

Today, it seems quite often that the way that we talk about each other can be so very toxic.  I don’t know if social media has made this worse, but I know it isn’t helping.  I know that as Christians, we have allowed the culture to seep into our language.  The way that we talk about those with whom we disagree is toxic in our culture. And we have to guard against that as believers.

It isn’t just issues of race where people say things about or to others.  We see it in politics.  Liberals are “libatards,” conservatives are “nutjobs.”  In sports, people don’t even want to come to church after a rivalry game because of what folks will say to them.  We see it all over.

I often joke, I’m the nice conservative.  On most every issue, I’m pretty conservative.  But I am not threatened by those with whom I disagree. And I will not deny the humanity of those with whom I disagree.  And I will believe with all that I am that Jesus died for those with whom I disagree. I know that most all conservatives feel this way.  As do most all liberals.  Most everyone one of us believes in the inherent worth of everyone!  But the culture has a way of dehumanizing us, getting us to get angry at folks that we really don’t even know.

Monday is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Day.  I think often of one of his quotes: “I have decided to stick with love.  Hate is too great a burden to bear.”

This age, this time, is no darker than any other.  I truly believe that. Ecclesiastes says that there is nothing new under the sun.  The culture that the church is called to incarnate has always been one that is full of sin and hatred. The church has always been called to love.  I guess with Dr. King Day coming up, along with my daughter’s question, I’ve been thinking about this a lot.

Christ died for the world.  White folk, black folk, Hispanic folk, Asian folk, all kinds of folk.  Conservative folk, liberal folk.  He died for them and he loves them.

And so must we.  Remember that song our mom’s taught us?

O be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above
Is looking down in love
So be careful little eyes what you see.

O be careful little ears what you hear
For the Father up above
Is looking down in love
So be careful little ears what you hear.

O be careful little tongue what you say
For the Father up above
Is looking down in love
So be careful little tongue what you say.

I don’t know how to fix everything in the world.  But I know I have to love.  I know I want to teach my children to love everyone, regardless.  I know I want to teach them to treat everyone the same, regardless.  And I know that I want to lead my church in a way that makes sure all the world knows that a Savior died for them.

So let’s be careful with our tongues.  With our social media.  With our very lives.  We have to love folks.  I want my children to always be loved, and to always love.

And I want that for all us.

May God’s grace call us closer to him, and to each other, in all things.

What simple gifts do you have this holiday season? Reflect on this piece from our archives by Rev. Andy Stoddard.

One of the things that I love most about God is how God can take our small efforts, the things in our life that we don’t believe are good enough, and make them truly amazing.  He can take our small, human efforts, and perform divine miracles with them.

He can make the impossible, possible.  Listen to what happens in John 6: 8-11:

One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.

Jesus is here with a crowd of 5,000 (men, there were, most assuredly many woman and children there also) and it’s time to eat. But there is nothing there to eat, at least nothing that could feed a crowd this big.

But in this text, we see two people who I’m sure must have felt foolish offer up a small little gift when they saw a huge need.  

First, the boy offers to Andrew these five loaves and two fish. And then Andrew offers them to Jesus.

You can almost see the child sweetly offering up the food, as a child would go to their piggy bank when their family has a need.  The parents smile knowing that it won’t be enough.  You can almost see Andrew do that.

But then he takes that sweet gift to Jesus, knowing that there is no way it can help, but at least it’s something.  And Jesus performs a miracle.

From one small gift, Jesus feeds thousands.

Today, we all have gifts that seem so small with all the needs around.  Offer them anyway.  Give them to Jesus.  Give to them to his mercy and grace.  And see what he can do.

He can take our simple, small gifts, and do amazing things with them.  All for our good (and the good of others) and his glory!

Today, give your simple gifts to Jesus.

Enjoy this meditation from our archives from violinist/singer/songwriter Jean Watson:

I was born on the east coast but moved to Michigan about 15 years ago.  At first I had a really difficult time adjusting to the amount of snow that falls here in the winter. The area where I live is called the “snow belt” which means exactly what it says! Moisture collects over Lake Michigan which is then promptly dumped in my driveway – every day from November through March! I did a lot of complaining that first year as I slid through intersections as I drove and got stuck on the side of the road. But one day the Lord asked me to stop complaining about my circumstances. He told me clearly that Michigan was his gift to me, and I needed to thank Him for bringing me here.  How could this uncomfortable place that I disliked be a gift? It wasn’t until years later I discovered that this cold icy land would one day be a great blessing to me!

Though I didn’t understand at the time, out of reluctant obedience, I began to thank God for Michigan instead of complaining. Each day,  I determined to find something to be thankful for rather than complaining. I even started to thank God for the things I didn’t like in my life like the snow and cold!  As I chose to give thanks regardless of my feelings, a miracle happened inside my heart. I discovered that the place I had resented was becoming a place where my desires were fulfilled. I was blessed with a job using my music. My children and I found a house to live in that I loved. I was given a beautiful horse to ride. Even my ministry began to blossom through divine connections I never expected!

The land where I did not want to be was becoming the land of my blessing.

Could thanksgiving have been a key to unlocking this blessing in my life?

In the Bible, the apostle Paul tells us that thanksgiving is not optional. In I Thessalonians 5:18 he said, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Easy for Paul to say, right?  Actually, he wrote those powerful words from a Roman prison where he was living with no sanitation, probably surrounded by rats and fleas! How could Paul give thanks in those conditions?

Perhaps He learned from the disciples who had seen Jesus give thanks before He fed the 5,000 with only five loaves and two fish.  Perhaps he heard how Jesus gave thanks and raised Lazarus from the dead, or how a man with leprosy gave thanks and was made whole! Paul knew that thanksgiving was a way we express faith to the Lord. The word “thanksgiving” literally means “to give grace,” and when we give grace to God, our hearts are prepared to receive His grace and power!

Is there an area of your life where you could use some grace? Today, instead of asking God to change your circumstances, try giving thanks in your circumstances instead. Trust God that He has a purpose for every detail of your life. The very things that are making you uncomfortable could be the very things God will use to bring transformation in you and through you!

Father, forgive me for complaining when things don’t go my way. Help me to be thankful  in my circumstances today knowing that You are working all things together for my good! Thank you that as I “give grace” back to you, I know that You can turn my trials into blessings. In Jesus’ name, amen.

In a world that is fascinated with beauty and fame and power, what is really beautiful?  What is a true image of beauty?  What do you think of?

Today in Isaiah 52: 7-10, we get one of the more well-known passages that reference beauty.  Listen to what it says:

7 How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, Your God reigns.
8 Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,
together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
the return of the Lord to Zion.
9 Break forth together into singing,
you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.

Isaiah tells us that beautiful are the feet that announce peace.  That bring good news.  That share of salvation.  That says that God reigns.

We are told to lift up our heads.  Shout for joy.  Sing.  Because God brings comfort.

These feet are beautiful, not because they are feet, but they are beautiful because of what they bring: the good news of God’s restoration and hope.

God brings hope and restoration to a defeated and broken down people. They have lost their way, they have lost their hope, they have lost their belief.  And the reason why those feet are beautiful is because God is saying, yes, things are bleak now.  But peace and joy are coming.  Don’t give into that fear.  Live in that joyful hope.

Why?  Because God reigns.

You think we may all need that message of hope now?  God reigns.  He really does.  For real.  No joke.  God reigns.  Don’t despair.  Don’t fret.  Don’t worry.  Remember that.  God reigns.

Beautiful are the feet that carry that good news today.

So, let’s have pretty feet today.  Let’s take the good news of God’s reign to our work, to our family, to our schools, to our communities.  Everywhere we go.

God reigns.  Let’s let the world know.

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12)

It is common practice to look for personal recommendations before trying something new. Jesus didn’t just recommend leading by serving to his disciples, he lived it in front of them, then commissioned them to follow in his footsteps. He calls us to live humbly with our God, to confidently expect to “receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16), and to live for the Father’s approval alone. He tells us that exchanging power-driven leadership for leading by serving is worth it. Do you trust his recommendation? 

“I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1)

A godly life is a reasonable request: all belongs to God. Hold nothing back. As we seek to understand the mercy of God, which is displayed in his longsuffering towards us, it helps to recognize how much we owe him. It is only a reasonable request that we present all of ourselves to him, displayed in a godly manner. All belongs to God; we ought to hold nothing back.

In 1 John 3: 11-24, we see two truths that are really, really hard to hold together.  We will not always be liked.  But we must always love.  Listen to what we are told today:

For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We must not be like Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not be astonished, brothers and sisters, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death. All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them. We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?

Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.

And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

Not everyone will love us.  In fact, following Jesus, doing the right thing, may actually cause some people not to like us.  It will make us unpopular.

There will be folks that hate us, simply because of Jesus.

Friends, I want to make a very important point here.  And all of us in the West need to understand this.  Yes, there are folks who may oppose our views, our beliefs, our moral code, whatever.  Yes, we may be unpopular.  Laughed at.  Mocked.  Face pressure and dislike. It is becoming challenging to be a Christian today.

But we have friends, brothers and sisters, who are literally being killed for their faith.  The people in Africa, in the Middle East, in Asia, who are being killed simply for being Christian.

So, yes, people make fun us. But there are brothers and sisters who suffer far worse fates than that. And we need to be praying for them. And John tells us as well what we should do for those who persecute us.

We should love them.

Because that’s what we are called to do as Christians.  Love.  Even those who hurt us or do us harm.

Love.

Because that’s what Jesus did for us.

He loved us.  So we must love them. That’s our calling as Christians.  To love even those who do not love us.  Even those who are abusive towards us.

Love.  Because God loves them. And Christ died for them.  And God can, through our love, change them.

So, let’s love.  Even when it’s hard.

Especially when it’s hard.