WEEK 5 - MARGINALIZED PEOPLE
The prayer spotlight falls this week on people who are often overlooked or even mistreated. Pray that the Lord will make us His vessels of love, hope, and justice. Pray for those among our Alliance family who do the important work of chaplaincy—bringing the message of Jesus to people in their most challenging times, when they need to hear that message the most and may well be most responsive to it.
DAY THIRTY-THREE // RACIAL RECONCILIATION BY RON MORRISON
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility…
Ephesians 2:14
God makes it clear in His word that His image bearers’ lives matter equally and supremely—and He sent His Son to prove it. There is no hierarchy of importance in human life. Do you believe that statement, or do you assign levels of importance on some over others? What makes one person’s life superior and another inferior?
If you don’t believe in a hierarchy of importance in human life, then you should have no problem unpacking the statement “All Lives Matter” to assign every people group equal value. Black lives included. While our nation’s history is scarred by injustices like slavery, and current events include the all-too-frequent mistreatment of Blacks, Christ followers must lead the way in fully acknowledging the equal dignity and value of Blacks as fellow image bearers.
This is why we need to allow the Bible to inform our worldview to “demolish arguments and . . . take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ”—and to think like Him (2 Cor. 10:5). We need to agree with God about ALL image-bearing HUMAN LIFE—born and unborn—being of equal value and equally precious in His sight. This includes all Black life.
Have you allowed God’s Word to challenge your assumptions and change your thinking about absolutely everything? If only the Church for which Jesus shed His blood could unify around and embrace the great equalizer, the Cross, we could show this world what a holy nation looks like when God is our King.
PRAYER POINTS:
1. The Lord has reconciled all believers to Himself and one another by tearing down walls that separated people groups and uniting them in one Body. Let us recognize the unity He has created (see Ephesians 2:14–18).
2. Each of us has been given a ministry of reconciliation to tell others about the God who makes reconciliation possible. Pray that you will fulfill your assignment in word and deed (see 2 Corinthians 5:18).
3. Acceptable worship involves going to our brothers and sisters to attempt to reconcile when we realize they feel something is hindering our fellowship. Pray about who you need to reconcile with (see Matthew 5:23–24).