There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
A time to be born and a time to die,
A time to plant and a time to harvest,
A time to kill and a time to heal,
A time to tear down and a time to build,
A time to laugh and a time to cry,
A time to mourn and a time to dance,
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
A time to embrace and a time for social distancing,
A time to search and a time to rethink,
A time to keep and a time to throw away,
A time to tear and a time to mend,
A time to be silent and a time to speak,
A time to love and a time to hate,
A time for war and a time for peace.
~Ecclesiastes 3: 1 – 8~
(slightly modified)

My thoughts;
It is long past time for us, as a people to be united in love, grace and peace.
I pray that as YOU read this post, you will let the scripture and my words take root in your heart.

With all of the anger and hatred being cast by both sides of the political aisle, I say it’s time to stop! Since I’m saying stop, I’ll start the new direction in hopes that some of you may do the same. This just makes sense as wisdom dictates, “United We Stand” but divided we all go to sh*t!
(If the use of that word offends you but you’re not truly offended by the social injustice being talked about today, stop reading.)

Moving on… Hate can never drive out hate. Violence will never end violence and anger only brings forth more anger.
Q: So, what do we do?
A: Stop fighting one another and be united in a peaceful movement that’s rooted in loving each other.

Even if you’re not a church goer, this will makes sense to you. Here’s a great story.
A long time ago, a government spokesman asked a peaceful protester, “what is the most important law of the land?” The peaceful protester answered saying, “that’s easy dude, love God with everything you have in you. Oh and before you ask, the second most important law is, love your neighbor, the guy down the street, across the globe… love all people as much as you love yourself. All the other laws of the land hang on these two.”
The government guy was put in his place knowing that the peaceful protester was right. Only love can unite the people. But the government guy knew that if everyone is united, they might ask for nice things like, social equality, real health care and helping one another so that everyone can live a life of dignity. So, they killed him.
(Read the Gospels to find out what happened next.)

Doesn’t everyone deserve a life with dignity? Of course we do, regardless of what color your skin is or where you’re from or your sexual orientation.
Love one another. Not just tolerance, but real heart felt love for one another is the way to get here. This is something that only you can do for yourself. This is something that you have full control over. Practice love, empathy and humility. Cultivate the love in your heart. Push aside all negative thoughts. It will take some work, but it’s worth it. This doesn’t mean to make yourself into a doormat, your dignity won’t allow this to happen.

Know this: If I don’t have the same color skin as you, please don’t think that I hate you, because I don’t.
If I don’t worship the same way as you, please don’t think that I hate you, because I don’t.
If I don’t have the same political views as you, please don’t think that I hate you, because I don’t.
If I don’t have the same sexual preference as you, please don’t think that I hate you, because I don’t. And you know what? Neither does God.

My God is the one most high, the creator of heaven and earth and all that’s within them. This includes you. God created you just as you are therefore, you cannot be a mistake.
I don’t know if anyone has ever told you this; you, whoever you are reading this, you are a child of heaven and God sent Jesus to bless you. God sent me to share with you this truth, not because I’m anyone special, but because I’m obedient. It’s the only reason why I’m a minister. It’s why I can say with sincerity, I do love you.

Love casts out hate and brings forth new birth.
Love doesn’t kill, but heals.
Love doesn’t tear you down, it builds you up.
Love doesn’t cast stones at you, it gathers them and builds up a bridge.
Love doesn’t have any room for darkness, but brings forth a light that reveals darkness in others. You can love someone though hate what evil they may do. Think of Jesus on the cross. He didn’t hate those who were killing him, just their actions.

So then, don’t look for darkness in others but rather look for goodness. Sometimes we don’t see the goodness only because we don’t look for it. You only see what you look for after all. Other times, it’s buried so deep only God can find it.
When one says, “Don’t tell me, I know what a good person is supposed to be like.” You may ask, “what’s the point of knowing what a good person should be like if you’re not truly trying to become be a good person?”

God bless you for reading this post. I pray to my God and ask for blessings to come to you and to those who thought, this is too long to read.

For all I pray, the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and grant you peace. Amen.
(NUMBERS 6:24-26)

Rev. Jimmy G. Despinis
June, 2020