​The great Dr. Martin Luther King once said, “That old law about 'an eye for an eye' leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing.”
 
By now you have witnessed or heard about the cries for justice. We have to realize first that this war on racism and injustice is not just natural—it’s spiritual. We cannot overcome hate with hate, but we must overcome hate with love. Upholding the rights of the oppressed is an act of love, which we are instructed to do as believers.
 
“Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.” - Psalms 82:3 NLT
 
The Bible says in the book of Isaiah that God loves justice! To fear the Lord is to love what He loves and hate what He hates. So the only bias I have is towards righteousness. My allegiance is to not to a political party but to the God of the universe whose kingdom trumps all parties.

“Blessed [spiritually calm with life-joy in God’s favor] are the makers and maintainers of peace, for they will [express His character and] be called the sons of God.”
Matthew 5:9 AMP
 
We cannot make it our goal to divide. We must make our goal to unify. We must come together because where there is unity the Lord commands the blessing, and life evermore.
 
History teaches us that at one time black people were considered ⅗ of a person. And still many didn’t consider them people but property. The dehumanization of a race took place. Once slaves were freed, Jim Crow laws were introduced to remind blacks that they still weren’t as good as their white counterparts. My father grew up in the south in Tuskegee, Alabama. He lived through segregation as a young man and still tells me stories of his experiences. To me it serves as a sobering reminder that we are only a few generations removed from this ideology. The result of that have been implicit cultural memories, unspoken emotions and feelings passed on from generation to generation, that still haunt the black community and society at large. The black community is still fighting to feel whole again.

Recently I learned of a study that was conducted with 135 preschool teachers. They told the teachers to watch a monitor that showed four preschool aged students: one black boy, one black girl, one white boy, and one white girl. They asked the teachers to be on the lookout for bad behavior. Using eye-tracking software they we able to track the movements of the eyes of the teachers watching the students.

As a pastor and someone who is very visible in a large ministry, there are a few questions that I get more often than others. “Are you Bill Winston’s son?” – Yes, since birth. “How old are you??” – I was born in 1985 so you can do the math. But the last one is the most important question and a question that everyone seems to have at some point:

            “What do I do now?? I need some direction.” 
 
In life it is certain that at some point we're all going to need direction. What I have found is that sometimes the direction that we think we should take is not always the direction that God wants us to take.
Ephesians 2:10 the Amplified Bible says, "For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]."
​So there's a path that God has planned for us to take. A place of success reserved just for you. The only catch is that God is the only one who has the map, so if we want to get there, we have to for directions.

During the last few weeks I have been teaching as series called "Care•less" - not meaning not careful, but living free of worry and anxiety. In the world today it seems like it's impossible to avoid worrying about something. Life brings so many twists and turns. Some are expected and some are a complete surprise. But know this, God was not surprised by what you are going through. As a matter of fact, He saw it coming. Now you might be wondering, God why are you letting me go through this?? However, there is one thing that we should consider before we point the finger at God: He has already prepared our rescue package. That's why God is good, because He didn't leave us alone or forget about our needs. He saw what we needed ahead of time and made reservations for us. All we have to do is receive His strategy, wisdom, direction, and provision that will prove to be the answer to whatever life is throwing our way. 

God says in a passage found in 1 Peter 5:5-10 that you can cast all of your cares (worries, anxieties) on Him because he cares for you. BUT there is a specific strategy that this passage outlines, giving us steps to follow so we can live worry free. Here we go!

This took courage to write, and some may not like it or agree... But it's worth a shot! (warning, this post is a little lengthy so get your coffee ☕️ )

Growing up in my house I used to think that I would have to pray for many hours a day to be a good man of God. From years of watching my dad (Dr. Bill Winston, Living Word Christian Center) get up at some crazy hour of the night/morning, I thought that was normal. Now I loved God, but I had no desire to replicate that in my life. Any one who knows me knows that I like my sleep. So when God called me into full time ministry, I was nervous.. "God does this mean I have to get up at 4:00am every day???" ? I used to feel bad for months after entering into full time ministry because it was so hard for me to wake up so early for prayer and devotional time. I loved God and spending time with Him but I just felt like I was not wired to be up so early. But as I grew in God, He showed me that it's not about seeking Him the exact same way someone else does. Pursuing God in a way that speaks more to religious tradition than to authentic relationship is not God’s original plan. And that's where I get to the point of this blog post. Many Christians look at what they are not doing on a daily basis and feel bad about their walk with God. They find themselves asking is my Christianity good enough for God?..Or even good enough for others? Do I read enough of the Bible? Do I pray for long enough? Am I attending enough church services??

After years of growing up as a Christian young man in a pastoral household, to being in ministry now, God brought me to this conclusion: it's about relationship, not tradition or religion.