I discovered during my time of study one of the most moving sentences in all of the Word of God. As the Lord would have it, it provides a fitting conclusion to my most recent teachings as we conclude Black History Month.

Just before his death, Moses turns to the children of Israel, and says to the next generation, "Don't hate the Egyptian because you were a stranger in his land." (Deuteronomy 23:7) Whoa! Don't hate the people who persecuted your ancestors and made their lives a living hell? How could Moses say such a thing? The truth is: he knew that to build a free society, you have to let go of hate-you have to learn to forget your toil and suffering as Joseph did. Without that, Moses might have taken the Israelites out of Egypt, but he would have failed to take Egypt out of the Israelites.

The Lord wants to do a new thing with us, but he won't put new wine into an old cloth, else the new wine burst the cloth and is wasted.

Robert M. Johnson, D.Min., Pastor