Now

 

Jesus is an abolitionist.

He ascended and left the gift of His Spirt to reside with us. An abolitionist Spirit.

The Bible tells us that the meek shall inherit the Earth. And for millennia we have been praying “on Earth, as it is in Heaven”. 

Today, we steward the Earth in alignment with the directive to transform Earth to resemble Heaven. We bear the image and likeness of the Trinity as we sojourn. 

The Spirit of Jesus is abolition.

The abolitionist movement to end slavery in the United States spanned 100 years. A century. The critical year of 2020 started the clock in our generation to begin the work of abolishing human trafficking and its cousin the criminal “justice” system. 

A century's work experiences ebbs and flows, and demands commitment.

We are abolitionists. 

This nation’s movements are led by the Spirit of Jesus. Quakers led Abolitionism. The Civil Rights Movement had its prophets and apostles. Today’s ekklesia must show up in this next reform. 

Years ago, I awoke from a dream with three imprints: “Martial Law”, “Reconstruction”, and “Repurposing”. I am not an ecclesiastical scholar but I believe that the current call for spiritual revival is a harken to a new reformation period. 

We are experiencing martial law in the natural today. If it is to be, then we must lead. My plan - informed by my ancestry and heritage - is to turn my bluetooth speaker on LOUD, and with tambourine in hand, walk the streets accompanied by the music of traditional mass choirs. I will penetrate the atmosphere of my city with (the) GOSPEL.

Bold Woman

 Good Girl Bold Woman.

My voice is a riot. I disturb the status quo with bold expressions meant to interrupt complacency. 

Jesus modeled deconstruction of the old way of living and relating to God. His challenge to us was to put away performance and live from God's love. And God's love enables my courage.

My team went out and met a new partner organization, Girls, Inc. Moved by their mission - because I too was a girl who obtained access to resources through community-based programs - I connected them to my workplace. That one meeting grew into fundraising support, senior leadership recognition, event sponsorship, and more. One instance of advocacy, blossomed.

***

Speaking of his wife, Graham Cooke shared, "I would do anything and everything to accelerate and elevate who she is because she is my beloved." His modeling of the way Christ loves the ekklesia has sparked my own reflection. Am I exhibiting love to my beloved - whether person or community - through acceleration and elevation of who they are?

Revelatory Truth for Activation

My faith confronts my biases, evidence of its activation.

I told my coworker about my family. "My mom and sisters are in North Carolina," I recounted. "My mom is also raising my young cousin." I could tell that my last remark piqued intrigue. I explained, "Her parents live with addiction. They just couldn't get it together."

As soon as the words left my mouth, they choked my consciousness. 

Despite my immersion in service to those who are traditionally underserved, I was confronted by the truth that I believe individuals living with addiction lack the willpower (strength) to order their lives. My academic training and work experience have taught me that addiction is a disease - in importance and requirements for care like cancer, diabetes, and the like. And even still, I harbored a deep belief about how it worked - and this belief was likely influencing my decision-making whenever I had to be adjacent to addiction in any form. 

I repented.

****

I awoke in the middle of the night and couldn't return to sleep. At 4:30am, my doorbell rang. Shaken,  I checked the security camera. A woman under the influence of something jiggled our door's lock, rang the bell, and waved at the camera when it lit up. For the next two days, I couldn't sleep. I prayed that God would free me from the fear that something far more sinister would happen to my family in the coming days. 

Finally, revelation. I heard God say, "She was never a threat to you. She rang your doorbell for help." I knew then that I was to exact authority. I prayed - better yet, commanded - that she would be arrested by the Holy Spirit during her incarceration. I prayed that she would be freed from addiction. I prayed that she would be reconciled to her family. I felt a deep release after my prayer. 

I've slept well every night since.

****

We spoke with my cousin's mother recently. She's doing well - appearing to have settled into life free from addiction. We pray for reconciliation and restoration. 

I pray for my heart to receive more truth, and for my faith to be thrust into action for improving how we exemplify the Spirit of Jesus in our work, relationships, and stewardship of the world we curate. 

Revelations of Work

• Work cultivates discipline - a discipline for exercising, exhibiting, and receiving the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives. The Message version of Galatians 5:22-23 shares it this way,

But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

• The ache we sometimes experience in the workplace is related to a ruling spirit of manipulation and control, manifesting as confusion. When we suit up with our armor, we rely on God's strength to enable peace and clarity. Ephesians 6:13-18 in The Message Bible shares it this way,

Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

The projects and initiatives we advance are part of a Holy Fight against the enemy who intends for the downfall of mankind. We need divine assistance, perspective, connections, patience, etc.

• There is a natural principle of sowing and reaping. You plant tomato seeds, you expect to harvest tomatoes. In the enemy's perversion of earthly systems, there's a temptation to harvest from places where we didn't plant. In corporate culture, the work cycles seem nonsensical; you plant a seed and 2 weeks later someone comes by and says it was the wrong seed, so you dig up the seed, and then find that the soil was contaminated, and then when you report the contamination someone tells you to overlook it, and then you know that in the contaminated soil the seed requires 4 weeks to germinate, but someone comes along and says to harvest whatever comes up after 1 week. Madness. So you may experience difficulty in ordering your work. Seek God's clarity on the divine order, and ask for a provision of his grace - a grace that may even come from the overflow of divinely appointed leaders he allows to care for you. 

God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no weekend war that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. (Galatians 6:10-12 MSG)

Called by Name

In a magazine interview, Sean John Combs shared that he derived his stage name "Puff Daddy / Puffy" from a childhood nickname - given to him because of his proclivity to "huff and puff" with rage. I suspect the wound caused by his father's death remained unhealed as he navigated life; as people and circumstances came near to this vulnerability, he cried out with extreme anger.

(I am not using this as an excuse for his violent behavior. I am using this illustration to teach the importance of a name.)

Throughout his life and influential career, this name has been reinforced in song lyrics, award announcements, and other proclamations. The name accompanied a rageful persona; we now see its footprints in the stories of women subject to violence by his hand.

***

We tend to name a thing by its wound, reinforcing alignment by word and action.

The prophetic challenges us to fix our gaze on the Most High, allowing His deep love for humanity to coat our gaze as we peer beyond the enemy's distortions to call a thing by its original name. 

As we cultivate our relationships with people, places, purposes, we must intentionally call these things by the name God intended at the beginning. I call these places blessed cities, and the inhabitants righteous.