Monday, January 15, 2018

I Have a Dream; Fulfilled

August 28, AD 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached his famous message, “I Have a Dream.”

He spoke of a check that needed to be cashed. 

“In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”  
-MLK

In his message, he specifically asked for three simple things (numbers have been added): 

“There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights,
‘When will you be satisfied?’ 
1.  We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.
2.  We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.
3.  We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.
No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”  
-Martin Luther King

To a large extent, these very legitimate requests have been satisfied.  America is vastly different in this respect than it was 54 years ago.  On a regular basis, I see Black folks treated the same as others – in motels, restaurants, banks, all types of businesses.  Not just as customers, but also employees. 

Speaking of ghettos, one of the best ways out is a job.  Black unemployment is now the lowest in 45 years. 
“In the 45 years since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking black unemployment, this is the first time that the black unemployment rate has dropped below 7 percent to just 6.8 percent.”  
-Armstrong Williams

Mississippi was specifically mentioned by King.  Today Mississippi has more Black elected officials than any other state in the nation.  No, that’s not to say Mississippi is perfect, but it has radically changed from the days Martin Luther King spoke these words.  

King continued,
“I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”  
-Martin Luther King

While we have made great strides, this should always be our goal.  

To this I would add a more recent quote:
“The oppression of black people is over with. This is politically incorrect news, but it is true nonetheless. We blacks are, today, a free people. It is as if freedom sneaked up and caught us by surprise.

Of course, this does not mean there is no racism left in American life. Racism is endemic to the human condition, just as stupidity is. We will always have to be on guard against it. But now it is recognized as a scourge, as the crowning immorality of our age and our history.”
-Shelby Steele

Today, African-Americans, and all USA citizens are free.  Thank God for that.  Pray often for America.  Use your freedom wisely. 

-David R. Brumbelow, Gulf Coast Pastor, January 15, AD 2018. 



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Wednesday, January 3, 2018

10 Reasons to Avoid Pornography

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.  -Philippians 4:8 (NKJV)

1.  Pornography corrupts your mind, and makes everything dirty. 

2.  Pornography is addictive.

3.  It impairs your ability to have a right relationship with a real person. 

4.  It promotes immorality and perversion. 

5.  It normalizes the abnormal and sinful. 

6.  It destroys marriages and families. 

7.  It makes you more likely to cheat on your spouse. 

8.  You rate others as sexual objects, rather than as people of worth created in the image of God. 

9.  It makes you unable to enjoy the good and decent. 

10.  Pornography offers everything; yet instead of giving, it takes away. 

On a related note, whatever your age, never, never take naked pictures of yourself or others.  Never send naked pictures.  Never ask for, or seek out nude photos.  If someone asks you for them, just say “No.”  Period.  Remember, private photos have a way of becoming public photos, especially with the internet. 

Pornography has always been around, but you used to have to go to a little trouble to get it.  Now, it is thrown right in your lap by smartphones, internet, TV, etc.  While they can, parents need to protect, inform, warn their kids.  Be accountable.  Do whatever is necessary to stay away from pornography.  Whatever your age, you should have nothing to do with it. 

Years ago there was a Christian book against porn that some pastors said bordered on pornography itself.  I’ve seen some Christian discussions of pornography that got downright creepy.  I certainly do not want to be guilty of such.  So I’ll just leave you with this simple article, without going into seedy details. 

Stay away from pornography.  It has no place in the Christian life.   

-David R. Brumbelow, Gulf Coast Pastor, January 3, AD 2017. 

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