Call to Prayer—November 3, 2020

The African Forum on Religion and Government (AFReG) calls on all Christians to increase our prayers as a faith community dialoguing on “African Identity, Dignity and Justice in the 21st Century.” This week, Tuesday, November 3, 2020, our theme is “Equality Before God”

“If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” Luke 7:39

Please read Luke 7:36-50

This is a very well-known Scripture whose narrative highlights a woman who appeared at a house where Jesus was being hosted.  Upon entering, this woman fell at His feet and broke an expensive bottle of perfume. She then went on to anoint Jesus while wiping the Lord’s feet with the tears she shed in His presence.  Quite a spectacle!  But in this “over the top” display, Jesus found some rich soil into which to plant His wisdom.  From this Jesus-encounter, we too can discover the lessons it teaches us all with regards to equality before God.

This narrative reminds us all that even during Christ’s earthly ministry there abounded many of the same illegitimate divisions that man far too often fosters and advances on others for our own positional advantage. These divisions…material, economic, social and even spiritual, are all fully on display before the Lord in Luke 7, even as they are before us all today.  Yet Christ still instructs us all to grasp some eternal truths and lessons that can help propel us all toward true “equality before God.”

Lesson #1:  We Must Begin with the Right Posture

The woman’s posture is unique among those gathered that evening.  This humble posture of kneeling before Jesus highlights that each of us, like the woman kneeling before Jesus, are equal before God in our need for a Savior who can look past the hurts we do to one another (and ourselves!) and forgive us and redeem us.  A recurring theme throughout Scripture is highlighted for us in James 4:6, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  This woman’s prayerful, humble posture was a spiritual declaration that we each are in equal need of Christ’s reconciling and restorative ministry.  Prayer in the Greek is “prosueche” (pro-suke-a), which literally means “towards one’s face.”  Prayer is less about our litany of “asks” or “demands” for the Lord to fix the ills that are so pervasive about us, and more about our posture, and where and to whom our face is turned.  Her “face” was focused upon Christ, and her posture reinforces the truth that our equality before God will always begin humbly in His presence.  It is here, aware of our far too often contributions to the ills about us and grateful to a Lord who always welcomes the humble into His presence, where God’s best work is accomplished. May our prayers be so as we always seek to adopt and model the correct posture before the Lord and we make His presence a non-negotiable when it comes to sharing in His reconciling work in our division-laden world!

Lesson #2:  We Can Foster Wholeness Through Brokenness

An expensive bottle broken.  A waste? An extravagance?  Simply one gift among many?  The lesson this broken vessel teaches us all is that gratitude and brokenness will always go together.  Together they inspire in the believer, by the power of the Holy Spirit, true sacrifice and service that God recognizes. (Romans 12:1-2) It is just as important, a sacrifice He can use. In the vernacular of the day, this woman at Jesus’ feet was the only one present “woke” enough to be broke enough.  The bottle she broke before Christ was symbolic of her recognition that personal brokenness is the gateway to being made whole. Our various nations’ need for wholeness and equality will only appear when broken people, made whole in Christ, powerfully testify and demonstrate Christ’s restorative work. Our responses of gratitude, service and sacrifice towards others and for Christ should always propel us each to direct attention to the Lord and the wholeness He came to make possible.

Lesson #3:  We Are Invited to Change the Atmosphere

The perfume was for Jesus, but the act of anointing His feet had an impact beyond just the Lord.  Everyone present was impacted. It changed the entire atmosphere of the environment and it impacted everyone who was around. It impacted even the detractors and those who just didn’t understand. Yet, it still impacted them! May that be our testimony. May people see and experience our acts of service unto the Lord and may our impacts of ministry seeking the welfare and dignity of every soul change the atmosphere and ultimately, the lives of those we in the AFReG Community have committed ourselves to serve.

Jesus’ encounter, recorded for us in Luke 7, serves to remind us each that even though men and women are equally created in God’s image, our separation from Him makes us all equally in need of His redeeming intervention. For those that have equally partaken of His amazing forgiveness and offered grace, it is to them then who are equally gifted by God’s Spirit for service in bringing all to Jesus where true equality can be experienced.

PRAYER:

  1. May we each position ourselves before the Lord, in humility and thanksgiving, and share in His continuing ministry that all may equally receive forgiveness, healing and grace in their time of need.
  2. We pray that we who have been made whole by Christ’s presence, will not forget the brokenness we have experienced and the wholeness of soul and spirit we have equally experienced through Christ.
  3. May the presence of Christ be ever before us in our lives and ministry, ever propel us to “change the atmosphere” of our marriages, families, societies and nations as we pursue His desire for all to equally experience heaven’s grace.

Search

Recent Posts

AFReG Devotional — 02 November 2023

The Courage of Joseph, the Earthly Father of Jesus INTRODUCTION A story of courage is told every Christmas season. But it is a story we often miss because the hero is usually in the background. In nativity scenes (the birth), he stands silently next to the manger, where the baby Jesus is laid. His name

Read More »

AFReG Devotional—6 October 2023

The Big Picture And suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) At this point, Jesus has not preached a sermon or performed a miracle. Yet, the Father makes this declaration. Ever wondered why? Twice later (John 12:28 and Luke 9:35), that voice

Read More »

AFReG Devotional—13 September 2023

God’s Plan for Man’s Life; Why Are We Still Here? “And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said, therefore, A certain nobleman* went into a far country to receive for himself

Read More »

AFReG Devotional—21 August 2023

God’s Plan for Saving Man Do you know the meaning of your name? My African name is “Tsepo,” which in the Setswana language means “hope.” As a result, my life calling is to bring “hope” and spiritual encouragement to others. What does the name “Jesus” mean? The Greek name “Jesus” is a translation of the Hebrew

Read More »

AFReG Devotional—July 19, 2023

God’s Intention In Creating Man The Magnificent God Psalm 145:3 and 147:4-9 The God who created the heavens with over an estimated 200 billion trillion stars and possibly the same number of planets in a space of 95 billion light years, with each light year being 5.88 trillion miles, is the only God worthy of worship.

Read More »

AFReG Devotional—4 July 2023

God and His Creation; God’s Plan at the Beginning In the United States, we celebrate our Independence Day on July 4th every year to recognize our nation’s freedom and establishment as a sovereign nation on the world’s stage. Even though, as members of the African Diaspora, we did not experience the freedoms this country aspired

Read More »

AFReG Devotional—20 June 2023

And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, YHWH, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”—Exodus 33:19, 20) Moses wanted to know about the

Read More »

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.