A few weeks ago I had the privilege of listening to my husband preach. Since Mr Covid came to visit, I’ve kept my girls at home. So Sunday mornings look more like sweatpants and messy buns than sweet dresses and hair ties.

My husband preached a powerful message on how we need to learn to break down the barriers that divide us.

Too many times we allow discrimination to destroy the unity Jesus died for.

Whether its racial, gender or economic divides; these things derail us faster than an unhinged train.

The Bible warns us about these things.

In Ephesians 2, Paul urges us to practice peace. The once lost soul is now saved through the death and resurrection of the Saviour. There is no need for division. As Christians, we are encouraged to start wearing the new ‘clothes’ that Jesus bought and paid for. The lousy words we use need to be laced with kindness instead of malice.

We are all united in Christ. And that unity cost Jesus His life. After all, the greatest division of all has been bridged by the bloodshed out on the cross. The once gaping hole that separated us from our Father in Heaven, has been closed. And we live in the privilege of knowing Him. And if this is true, then surely we need to live lives that make the Lord proud.

Ephesians reminds us that through the sacrifice on the cross, all hostility has been put to death and that peace should be the prize.

Ephesians 2:15-16 – “He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.”

However, sometimes hostility is closer to home than we like to think.

Do you have a hostile heart towards anyone?

What could you do to change that?

It’s a good time of the year to start projecting hope instead of hate.

My prayer is that we would have a ‘road to Damascus’ kind of revelation that will set us apart from the rest.

As Christians, we are called to be different and to make a difference.

God knocked Paul off of his horse and blinded him with revelation on the road to Damascus. We too, need to be knocked off our horses with a revelation that will cause our eyes to see the will of God.

We need a “but God” moment.

We see these “but God” moments found throughout scripture.

These “but God” moments demonstrate the power of God to change what’s broken and miraculously fix it.

Most times, we are the ones that are shattered with indifferences that tear into our hearts.

If anything, Mr Covid has caused us to unite in ways we never thought possible. Sometimes, it takes a common enemy to bind the barriers that separate us. And what the enemy intended to harm us – God intended to bring us hope.

Mr Covid didn’t see the differences that threaded their way through our thoughts; the racial divides, the economic divides, the geographical lines that separate us. Yet, this masked life is one that we all have in common; every nation, tribe and tongue.

So with sanitized hands and masked faces, will you allow God to mend what’s broken within you?

Will you allow these ‘but God’ moments in scripture to arrest your thoughts, mid sentence and break down the barriers and walls of discrimination that you’ve built up within your hearts and minds.

I pray that these “but God” moments would anchor us in revelation not discrimination.

Romans 5:8 – “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

1 Corinthians 1:27 – “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”

Ephesians 2:4-6 – “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses made us alive together with Christ and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

If hostility is evident within our hearts, then our hearts need to be shocked back into full biblical rhythms. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to defibrillate our hearts with true and fresh revelation of who the Father is.

When we encounter the Father, the Son and the Spirit – it is enough for us. The depths of our soul is being transformed by the manifestation and power of the Holy Spirit.

John 14:8 – “Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

We always need a “but God” moment to set our hearts back on course.

Have you had a “but God” moment this year?

Write down your “but God” moment and pray through what God has revealed to you.

Reflect.

Remember.

From my corner of the world,

To yours,

Robynne

Robynne