First Baptist Asheville Youth

The choir did a great job with the National Anthem at last night's Orioles' game. (XM Radio broadcast the game, and I was able to hear it live myself! - Tracey)

Today they are touring the Capitol, Ford's Theater, and Arlington National Cemetery. Tonight is a concert for the Filipino Congregation at Grace Baptist Church in Woodbridge, VA.

Here is today's devotion:

Pacem

Remember

Dona nobis pacem.

(Grant us peace.)

Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.

(And on earth, peace to all of good will.)

Read

Romans 14: 13-19

Reflect

Do these statements bother you?

Asian people are intellectual nerds.

Hispanic people love to drink beer and live in groups of twenty.

Black people are big fans of the welfare system.

White people can’t dance.

Blondes ask for a price check at the Dollar Store.

Consider

Surely the above statements are offensive to you. (Well, maybe not the one about Blondes!) They are offensive, first, because they are not true. Second, they are offensive because they reflect opinions that have led people throughout history (and even today) to commit acts of violence against others who are simply different than they are.

As we read in today’s scripture, since Bible times there has been conflict between groups of people over simple things like eating different foods. Added to the list could be differences between what people wear, how they talk, what music they listen to, and how they celebrate holidays. If we are very honest with ourselves, we must all admit that each of us hold certain prejudices against others. It might not be racial prejudice. It might be impressions we generalize about certain parts of our county, various types of cliques at school, even differing age groups. Unfortunately, it is human nature to be judgmental toward others who are different from us.

But we must remember that Christ came to redeem human nature. We cannot be comfortable with our prejudices “because that’s just the way we are.” Our scripture says that the kingdom of God is about peace and joy. Loving as Christ loved means that we fully accept everyone as creations of God.

Tonight we will be singing for a Filipino congregation in a suburb of DC. They are living in a foreign country. They have probably had to endure mistreatment, even abuse because they are racially different from the majority of people they live, work and go to school with. Yes, they will look different from us. They may dress differently from us. Most of them will have accents and eat different food from us and, perhaps, even serve us food unlike what we are use to. But they are, like us, followers of Jesus. God loves them just like he loves us, and the worship we share tonight will be a celebration of our similarities in Christ, not our differences. The peace that God grants to all people of goodwill will be shared tonight. We and they will be drawn closer to Christ because we will have lived together in peace.

Pray

Ask God to help you confess your sins of prejudice. Pray that God will show you ways to be a peacemaker in your home, neighborhood, school, church and workplace.

Labels: Choir, DC09 Tour, FBCA, Youth