Category: Scripture

Posted in friends, Grace, life, Scripture, travel

I Love You, Man

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion.” Luke 10:33

His name was Paul. So this is a great story but in the interest of transparency I probably don’t have all the details right but the heart of the story is pure gold. My daughter Sarah and her husband Blake were out and about in Harrisburg. I believe they weren’t driving but rather taking a walk. Wherever they were Blake saw a younger man sitting on a big brown travel bag near the road. Unlike most times, this guy wasn’t holding a sign–he was just sitting. It was apparent that his life was probably hard and his circumstances were harder still.

At first they walked on by but something began tugging at Blake’s heart so he said to Sarah, “Wait a minute.” With that, he turned back and approached the man. In a casual yet caring tone, he asked the guy,”Hey man, do you need some food or something?” The guy responded with a no and that he was good. So Blake asked him where he was going. The guy explained that he was walking the country. He apparently had started in the northeast and had wandered the highways and byways of the land. He had been down south and over toward Missouri and that is how he found his way to Illinois and Harrisburg.

Blake asked him why he was walking and he said he was dying and wanted to do something before he did. Blake again inquired about what was going on and the guy said he had a large blood clot up and near his lungs and it was eventually going to be fatal. Well, they chatted for a while more. He didn’t ask for anything but appreciated another guy who was willing to take the time to talk and care. After awhile they both stood up and without thinking, Blake gave the guy a man hug and told him that he loved him. Boom–it was so not planned. So spontaneous. So genuine.

Well, Blake, compelled to do something, went into the store and got the guy a bag of trail mix. He gave it to him and said, “Hey, if you’re going to be on the trail you ought to have some trail mix.” So with a shared smile they went their ways. And do you know what? I’m pretty sure neither of them were the same as they were. Blake for caring and daring to share three words that men usually don’t share–I love you. Paul because he experienced the love of not just a man but perhaps, just perhaps, the love of a man called Jesus.

You know, we never know when an opportunity just might show up. I know for Blake this wasn’t the only time. Last time it was a guy with no shoes named Danny and Blake spontaneously gave him his. This time he gave him a piece of his heart. Let me encourage you to do what Blake did. If you see something–do something. Dare to pause, to wait a minute and see if you can help make a difference. It might take you out of your comfort zone–a place that most of us don’t believe we can go. But remember this–our Dearest Daddy lives beyond the comfort zone and he will be there to help you. He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne  

Posted in Uncategorized, Scripture, Grace

Garbage Juice–Pig Farm on Wheels

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” 1 Corinthians 15:33

It smelled like a bacon farm before it becomes bacon. Yup, that’s right. Judy came home the other day and was pretty certain that a pig farm had moved into the neighborhood. Now since we live in middle of town that was pretty unlikely. She sniffed and smelled and finally determined that the pig farm was somewhere in the garage or on our car. She came into the house and told me she thought we had a problem.

I slipped on my shoes and followed her out to the garage. We started with the rear wheel on the driver’s side and quickly found out that was the source of the odor–that did indeed smell like a pig farm. Well, a short time later my daughter Sarah and her husband Blake stopped by and I asked them to take a sniff and they did. We opened the garage door and they played odor detective. After a few moments, Sarah said, “Mom, I think you ran through some garbage juice. And you are asking, “What is garbage juice?” Well, let me tell you.

Garbage juice happens when a garbage truck stops and needs to compress the garbage he is carrying. As the garbage is compressed, all those nasty, stinking, gross juices are pressed out and find their way out of the truck and onto the ground. And, take my word for it, it smells like a pig farm. If you drive through it, that nasty, stinking, gross juice splashes on your tires and on your car and you, dear friend, carry that stench where you go. Apparently, that is what happened to Judy.

So, guess what? A garbage truck is not the only source of garbage juice. Sometimes life, sometimes enemies, sometimes friends, and sometimes we are the source of garbage juice. If we are not careful we can allow that vile mess to splash on us and we find ourselves in a stinking mess. Remember that old saying, “A pound of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” So we need to learn to avoid bad circumstances and stinky people and perhaps most of all our own wrong attitudes. 

Here’s the deal. If you see what even looks like some garbage juice on the road–carefully but aggressively swerve to avoid it. Do whatever you can to miss the mess. And, if you see a mess in the making in your life, do whatever you can to make sure you don’t run into it. It might means avoiding certain places and people and it will probably mean a change in our own stinking thinking. Regardless–do what is necessary.

Now if you do run into some garbage juice, do what we did…get the hose and wash it down. In other words, talk to your Dearest Daddy and confess if there is something to confess, repent if there is something to repent of and if it involves someone, well apologize if that is needed. Remember this. The hose of God’s grace will absolutely washing away the stench–no matter how bad it is. Mark it down–He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Scripture, life, thankful, food

Easy Does It!

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.” 1 Corinthians 6:12

I was reading this morning and came across a very interesting list of numbers. It said that the the average American spends three years in business meetings. Now if that average American is a Baptist, that number would certainly be much higher. So the list continues. We spend 13 years–that is years with a “y” watching television. Oh but wait–there’s more. We eat 109,354 pounds of food. Once again the Baptist number would be like a zillion pounds. That same average American would make 1,811 trips to McDonalds and spend almost $7,000 dollars in vending machines. Then for dessert we would eat 35,138 cookies and about 1,483 pounds of candy. After eating all of that we are going to need a long nap so we are going to sleep for 24 for years! That is amazing.

Of course, most of us find all of that unbelievable because it seems so impossible and takes a lifetime. We would probably never do those things to that excess if we really thought about it. Let me pass on to you two or three good pieces of advice. First, remember that time adds up. If God grants us a full day then we will have the gift of 1,440 minutes.  Remember to make everyone of them count. Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:16, “Making the most of the time, because the days are evil.” In other words–make every minute count.

Second, remember that we are free in what food we eat and besides the blatant sins, we are free to do most things. But we also need to do everything in moderation. Paul tells in 1 Corinthians 6:12 “Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.” I think that means we don’t need to eat 35,138 cookies or watch 13 years of television. Just saying.

Finally, we need to remember that we can honor God in so many areas of our lives. When it comes to serving Him, there really isn’t a religious world and a secular world. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 10:31 we read, “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Do.It.All.For.The.Glory.Of.God! That means we have multiple opportunities to bring glory to Him–and multiple opportunities to do the opposite! Remember to keep the main thing the main thing–honor Him.

So, remember to have a few cookies, take a few naps and even watch a little television but remember that while everything is permissible for us we should not be mastered by anything–except the Master. Tall order? Perhaps but with God we can do all things. After all–He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in fear, Grace, gratitude, life, Scripture, thankful

Rescue–I Just Ran Out

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand.” Psalm 37:24 

I just ran out. You know words can mean more than one thing. Those four words are a prime example. First, if someone says, “I just ran out” they might be talking about sugar. Maybe they were going to make a cake and realized that the day before they had used all their sugar. They would call a friend and say, “Can I borrow some sugar? I was going to make a cake and realized I just ran out.” Then of course there is a guy who found a snake in his bedroom. As he relayed the story to one of his friends, his friend might say, “So what did you do?” The guy might respond, “Well, I just ran out.”

Well, the other day I came face to face with a new meaning for those words. I was visiting my sister in Anniston, Alabama and was doing my morning walk thing. The fact that I was walking was nothing short of the goodness of God. After a long stint of hip and back pain, I was finally back (no pun intended) in business and trust me I was telling God just how grateful I was. So, anyway, is I was booking it pretty good–walking and talking with God.  And then–it happened.

There was a place in the road where the pavement looked like pavement does when someone didn’t do their job. As I walked, all of a sudden, the toe of my shoe hung up on something and I found myself fighting to stay upright. Rather than just fall flat on my face, I was able to start running. It may not have been pretty, in fact, I’m sure it wasn’t but somehow I was about to run enough to regain my balance and keep going. It was an amazing feat for my feet if I do say so myself.

So what do you think I did? Whine and complain? Nope. Grumble and groan? Nope. Pout and shout? Nope. As soon as I got my balance back, my hands shot into the air and I began praising the Lord. I knew this was yet another big intervention by my Dearest Daddy. With nothing on but shorts and a teeshirt, the road rash would have been of biblical proportions and on top of that there was the real possibility of some broken bones. But God was more than faithful. He sustained me, He held me, and He saved me. Plain and simple–He helped me run it out.

I was and am so grateful. I never get tired of telling and writing about the goodness of God. This particular time reminded me of Psalm 37:24. Speaking of the Godly, the author writes,     “Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand.” I can’t number the times that my great Rescuer came to rescue for me. And do you know what? If you think about–neither can you. 

This story could have had a harder and more difficult ending but God in His grace decided on this ending. And had I fallen–well, He would have still been good and still been gracious. Let me encourage you–always be on the outlook for the goodness of God. Trust me–it is everywhere. No matter the circumstances and no matter the outcome, always know and believe that, “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, friends, gratitude, life, marriage, Scripture

Fifty Years–The Great Adventure

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also praises her. Many women have done noble deeds, but you surpass them all! Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD will be praised.” Proverbs 31:28-30

It’s not always easy. So imagine you are Shakespeare and you are drawn to write a romantic scene for the ages. In your mind you see a beautiful, young maid standing on a balcony and below a charming prince. Both are madly in love with the other but what do you say, what do you write? You settle on, “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” Well, it probably wouldn’t have been my first choice, but hey, it surely was a crowd favorite. Ok, let’s try again.

This time you are a lawyer and a writer. It is 1814 and you are watching as the British bombard Fort McHenry in Baltimore during the War of 1812. The outcome of battle seems in doubt.  You wonder if the young nation will survive the nigh? As dawn begins to light the sky, He was inspired after seeing the American flag still flying over the fort. His poem describing the battle and the American victory was published within a week with the suggested tune of the popular song “To Anacreon in Heaven”. The song with Key’s lyrics became known as “The Star-Spangled Banner” and slowly gained in popularity as an unofficial anthem. It finally achieved official status as the national anthem more than a century later in 1931. But finding the right words just couldn’t have been easy.

Now imagine you are celebrating 50 years, five decades, of marriage and you find yourself trying, struggling to find the right words to put to paper. You know and every person in your world knows, that when you met and married Judy Dawn Allen you married up–way up. And honestly, we both know that we did absolutely nothing to deserve the blessings and grace that God has poured on our lives. We were two young kids, she younger than me, and by grace we were able to follow Him down a path that cannot be any less than amazing.

We walked together down the path of twelve years in the military. I can tell you two things. They were lean years and yet they were some of the best years. Then God whispered and we jumped from the security of the Air Force into the arms of our Dearest Daddy. Together we served four churches, I pastored and she ministered and all four opportunities were a pastor and wife’s dream. No we weren’t perfect, neither were our congregations but we all loved Jesus and each other and that was more than enough.

Along the way, God blessed us with three incredible daughters and sons-in-law and eight grandchildren. When we get together we are a little wild and a little crazy but that is what makes our tribe a great tribe. In my middle daughter’s home there is a writing that says, “In this house…we are real, we make mistakes, we say I’m sorry, we are silly, we have fun, we give hugs, we give second chances, we forgive, we laugh a lot, we love each other–we are a family.” The truth is that is true most of the time. But even if we get off course…we always find our way back to true north.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again. If you want to stay married for fifty years there are three important things. First, keep breathing. Second, keep God dead center in your marriage universe. Believe what He says, do what He says and love Him like crazy. Finally, be sure and marry an incredible person–like Judy Dawn Allen. Any success I’ve enjoyed in the military and in the pastorate and any success our children have enjoyed so far in life can be directly traced back to my wife and their mother.

Judy–thank you for sharing these decades with me. These words, straight from the depths of my soul, still fall short of describing my deep love for you. Short of God’s grace and mercy and His salvation of my soul, you are His greatest gift to me. And I am sure you are a key partner with Him as you both have assured me over and over again that, “We’ve got this.” I love you. Dewayne 

Posted in communication, Family, life, Military memories, Scripture

Left, Right, Left

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:25

Keeping in step has been a part of my life since I was in eighth grade. I suppose it all started with the Emerald Buccaneers. They were a drum and bugle corp that my sisters and I belonged to in Jacksonville, Florida. We would toot our horns and bang our drums and do our best to stay in step. In fact, I believe stepping together was just about as important as playing together. Anyway, we learned to march.

My big, and I do mean big, lesson in marching came when I joined the Air Force in 1972. Starting with day one we were drilled and drilled some more on the fine art of keeping in step. I can still hear our drill sergeant as he called the cadence, ” Left, right left.” For some this marching thing came pretty quickly–for others, well, not so. For me, because of my experience with the Buccaneers, it came pretty easily which is pretty amazing since I have exactly zero rhythm.

It was relatively easy for the drill sergeant or the drum major to tell if we were in step or not.  If our heads were bobbling and bouncing around he knew we were out of step. When our heads were steady…well, we were. When we were out of step, he would occasionally count the cadence to help us get back in step–left, left, left, right left. Shortly, and hopefully we were once again marching as one.

The other day I was reading one of my devotions and rediscovered a great verse in the Bible. It was written by Paul, a guy in the Bible, to the church that was located in Galatia. In Galatians 5:25 he wrote two important things in fifteen words. The first was, “If we live by the Spirit.” It might be better translated, “If we want to live by the Spirit.” The Spirit of course is the Holy Spirit and in many ways He is like my drill sergeant in the Air Force or my drum major in the Emerald Buccaneers. One of His jobs is to help us keep in step with the Father, and the Son, and of course, the Holy Spirit. And the bottom line is this. If we want to live in the power, and peace, and wisdom of the Holy Spirit, we have to learn to walk in step with Him. Walk in step with Him and experience the essence of what the Christian life, or walk, is all about.

When we marched in the Air Force and in the Emerald Buccaneers, we had to learn to listen. Marching wasn’t a time to left your mind wander. Wandering minds always led to bobbling heads and bobbling heads always meant we weren’t in step. There isn’t a great mystery to keeping in step with the Holy Spirit.  It begins and ends with us committing our heart and spiritual ears to Him. We learn to listen when He speaks. His voice may not be audible but it is certainly real. Learn to listen and you may hear two distinct things. First, a spiritual left, right, left. Translated it simple means, “Walk with me, step by step by step. The second thing you will hear, if your listen carefully, will be His calm assurance not to worry because, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, Scripture, Trials

Watch Your Fingers

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.”  James 1:26 

It sure hurt. It sure was embarrassing. I know all of us, and I do mean all of us, have done things that were just down right embarrassing. Some of them were rather public and some were private but they were embarrassing just the same. And then some of us have done some things that were painful and embarrassing and that is today’s story.

I’m a people watcher and I think that is largely because all people have stories and sometimes those stories are part of their physical appearance. Have you ever been standing in line at the grocery store and noticed that the guy in front of you had a banged up finger nail? By that I mean one or more of the nails on one of his hands was black or even missing. Well, I certainly have and I always wonder what happened. Most times I have to resist the urge to ask them what happened. You know, did you hit your finger with a hammer? Did you slam your finger in a car door? Did you drop something on it? You get the idea. I guess I am just curious like that.

Well, if you look on my left hand and my middle finger, you will notice a small but definitive spot under my finger nail. It isn’t big enough for you really to notice unless you were looking. Well, this week something happened that caused me to join the painful and embarrassing club. It goes like this. I had just gotten home from a stay in Vienna (remember this is the one in Illinois and not in Austria). I couldn’t find my shaving kit so I called my wife Judy and she suggested I go check again in the car. I was munching on a piece of toast as I went. After checking the car, I closed the trunk and was heading back to the house. There was one bite of toast left so I chucked it in my mouth and, get ready, chomped down before my finger was out of the way. I bit my own finger. My front incisor came down right on my finger nail and let me tell you–it hurt.

I’m pretty sure in the annals of my life history I had never before bit my own finger. I’m also pretty sure I never want to do it again. Almost immediately a dark spot appeared under my nail. I’m glad to report I didn’t cuss but it may have crossed my mind. Smile. So for the next half hour or so, my finger throbbed and I kept checking to see if my nail was going to fall off. Gratefully it did not nor does it appear to be a threat but it will be a long time before I forget how painfully embarrassing that was.

The most amazing thing was to realize just how much downward biting force my mouth had. I simply didn’t realize how strong my jaw muscles are. I’ve seen those shows about alligators but I’m pretty sure they’ve got nothing on me. And then a bell went off in my head–as deadly as my bite might be–my careless words, my harsh and unkind comments are worse–much worse. James, the half brother of Jesus tells us, “And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.” Now that is a hard but powerful truth.

So two bits of advice come from this story. First…don’t bite your finger. It will definitely hurt and if you do–don’t tell anyone. Oops. Second, if you do bite your finger or if you know someone who did, learn from their mistake. The tongue that resides in the mouth can cause more pain than your bite can. Honesty, it is very hard to control the tongue but I know someone who can help us. If we are Jesus followers, He’s our Dearest Daddy and He can and will help us do this difficult task. You might say, “He’s got this.” Chomp! Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, friends, life, love, loving others, marriage, Scripture

The Power of Remembering

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “But then I recall all You have done, O LORD; I remember Your wonderful deeds of long ago. They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about Your mighty works.” Psalm 77:11-12

Remember not to forget. You know, God is big on this remembering thing. When Jesus was just about done with His mission here, He met with His disciples on a Thursday night and did two important things. He washed their feet and served them a special supper. Washing their feet was to remind them that they were supposed to serve one another. And, just in case, one or two or all of them thought they were too important to serve He told them just like He the Master was willing to wash their feet so they should be ready and willing to wash the feet of others. Just a gentle nudge in the right direction. They would need it.

He also served supper that night. It was a simple affair jam packed with meaning. He took a loaf of bread and invited them to have a piece. He explained that the bread represented His body that would soon be broken on a Roman cross. Then, He gave them a sip of wine and explained that the wine represented His blood that would soon be spilt on a Roman cross. He told them as often as they ate the bread or drank the wine, they should remember–remember Him, remember what He did and why He did it. They would need that too.

While there are plenty of things we need to forget–you know, the sticks and stones and broken bones caused by harsh words and actions of friends and enemies, there are plenty of things we need to remember. In other words we need to forget the bad stuff done to us and remember the good things done for us. Let the bad go and hug the good. That is true with God stuff but it is just as true in our daily walk about life. And, it is especially true in love and marriage.

Recently I discovered something that was literally a game changer. When they invented the iPhone and all its cousins, they also invented the portable, go anywhere camera. If you are like most people we now can snap digital pictures all day long. Snap one here and snap one there. They have no development fees so feel free to snap away. Unfortunately we tend to never look at them. They are usually just filed away. Well, this game changer is a feature featured on my iPhone. Let me explain.

You see, I have the ability to search for all the pictures I have on my phone of my sweet wife Judy. Then, I can tell the iPhone to show them when I mash the magic button to turn the screen on. Wait there is more. Then I can tell it to show a different picture every time I do that. So whenever I get ready to use my phone, a different picture of a different adventure with my wife Judy shows up on the screen. Each one reminds me in full and living color of why I love her so much–and why I love our live together. It has been like a fresh breeze of our lives together and it is awesome.

So, if you have a smartphone, be sure and see if it has this feature and turn it on. You can choose your spouse, your kids or both of them, your pet, or your walk about life. But in the process you are going to remember all the things we have to be thankful for–and most likely–it will be a bunch. Oh, and you are also going to be reminded how many times God has whispered in your ear, “Don’t worry, I’ve got this” and that will be a whole bunch too.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, Father's Day, gratitude, life, Scripture

My Daddy

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

“You are the salt of the earth.” Matthew 5:13a

I think you would have liked my Daddy. With yesterday being Father’s Day and all, I just felt like I needed to tell you a little bit about my Daddy. On a Sunday morning in 1974, he up and moved to heaven. As far as I was concerned we both were too young.  He was 62 and I was 20. If I was to try and describe my Daddy I would probably go to the Bible and look at some of the characters there because my Daddy believed the Bible and in a very good way, my Daddy was a character.

My Daddy was like Adam–the very first man in the Bible. While there is a lot to be said for Adam the one think that sticks out to me was that he was a hard worker and so was my Daddy. Everyday, without question, he would get up and go to work at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station where he worked on jet engines. His shop was not air conditioned and since it was Florida it could get kinda hot and humid. It was my Daddy who taught me to value work. He was the one who taught me to take the family push mower and go from house to house knocking on doors and asking, “Sir or Ma’am, would you like your grass mowed for $2.00?” Yup, I made and spent a lot of money mowing grass. He’s also the one who taught me to get a job washing dishes at a local restaurant for seventy-five cents an hours and to bag groceries for a dollar an hour. My Daddy, like Adam, knew the value of hard work.

Oh, and the fella in the Bible who built things like an ark–my Daddy was like him too. No, my Daddy didn’t build an ark but he sure knew how to built a home. He and Momma put their lives together and eight kids later made a home. Neither one of them was perfect but they sure did love us a lot. They sacrificed so much and made sure that the house we had, an old repurposed Army barracks, was not a house but a home. Together they built a marriage and home and taught us to love one another–even when it was hard. My Momma and Daddy both knew the value of love.

My Daddy was also like that guy in the Bible named David who was a giant killer. When one of them, Goliath, decided to challenge God and His people, David took a couple of rocks and took care of him. Giants didn’t bother David and they didn’t bother my Daddy either. Raising eight kids wasn’t easy–in fact you could probably say it was ginormous. Plenty of times, despite all he did, there was more month than money but somehow the lights stayed on and the table was always set. When his heart gave out and he had to retire, he would work all night as a security guard just to make sure we stayed afloat. My Daddy knew the value of keeping his family secure–even when it meant killing giants.

When Jesus was teaching that day on the side of mountain, he looked at the people and all the daddies there and said to them, “You are the salt of the earth.” He was telling them that they were the foundation of all that He was about to do and teach. My Daddy would have fit right in there because he was the foundation of my small part of the world. I remember the time I came in from a late night date and he was praying at the kitchen table. I also remember the time he was leading us in family worship and he was kneeling at his chair talking to God. Those are precious memories. My Daddy was indeed the salt of the earth. He was a good man who loved God, loved Jesus and loved me. And along his life journey, he learned and taught me that no matter what, our Dearest Daddy could be trusted and could and would say, “Don’t worry…I’ve got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, forgiveness, life, Scripture

2 Peter 3:9–Freedom from Sin

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

It’s the new kid on the block. The United States has many federal holidays. Some have been around forever while others are relatively new. Juneteenth is one of those. Juneteenth, officially known as Juneteenth National Independence Day, is a federal holiday in the United States. We celebrate it every year on June 19th to remember the end of slavery in our country. The name “Juneteenth” was first used in the 1890s and is a mix of “June” and “nineteenth,” which refers to June 19, 1865. That’s when Major General Gordon Granger made sure the Emancipation Proclamation was finally enforced in Texas, the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War.

Juneteenth was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, when the 117th U.S. Congress enacted and President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. Juneteenth became the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was adopted in 1983. I have to admit that at first I didn’t realize it was a national holiday and I surely didn’t really know what it meant. When I grasped the meaning and understood it marked the end of slavery in the United States, well, it took on a whole new meaning. Slavery, one of the great sins of our nation, was finally outlawed. Though it didn’t solve the racism problem in our country it was a giant step in the right direction. Martin Luther once said that he had a dream and prayerfully one day that dream will come true.

Sometimes dreams come at a great price. When I thought about Juneteenth I also thought about the fact that God sent His Son Jesus to set men free. Since the garden, mankind has been enslaved to sin and there was nothing we could do. There was no escaping it–no defeating it. But when Jesus came, died, and resurrected on that first Easter morning–that changed everything. Listen carefully–Jesus came to set men, women and children free.

In John 14:6, Jesus calls Himself the Way, the Truth and the Life and if we are willing to place our faith and trust in Him we can be genuinely free. Jesus said in John 8:32, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” That is what adds such power to what Jesus said in John 14:6–Jesus is the truth and knowing Him will set you free. How about that? Not being good, not being religious, not keeping the rules–just knowing the Truth–just knowing Jesus.

2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” God is holding back His judgment to give each person the opportunity to experience a day of freedom from the bondage of sin. For that to happen, each person has to turn to Him for forgiveness. So why not let God give you your own Juneteenth Independence Day? Why not surrender your life to Him? No matter your sin debt, He can handle it. Rest assured, He’s got that! Bro. Dewayne