Dear Fellow American, pt1

Here is a letter from Troy Thomas, pastor of Bethel Church in Louisiana. He is not only a friend and part of NRP's leadership team, but a highly regarded pastor and a voice in his community and beyond. --Keith Tucci, NRP Apostolic Team Leader

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Dear Fellow American, pt1

A letter from Pastor Troy Thomas

I covet your prayers that I would hear from God and obey Him. As I prayed this morning, this subject remained in my mind. DO BLACK LIVES REALLY MATTER? As I address this, I hope that my friends remain my friends. I pray that we are willing to see things through the eyes of Christ. 

You may ask what kind of man am I. According to the world, I am a black American. Well, let me correct that. I am a brown man with a little black hair on my head and on my top lip. I used to have a large afro of hair on my head, until it decided to leave my head without permission. Do you understand what I mean? People ask me: Who are you? 

I am a Christian first, an American second, and a black man third. My Christian principles affect how I see everything. 

Let me ask you: Who are you? 

The Kingdom of God is above my culture. My culture, at one time, endorsed slavery. My culture, at one time, said that I was 2/3 human. Cultures change. THANK GOD! The Kingdom of God has always been against slavery. Exodus 21:16 “And he that steals a man, and sells him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.” 

SLAVERY NEVER WOULD HAVE EXISTED IN AMERICA IF MEN WOULD HAVE SUBMITTED TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD! According to Exodus 21:5-6, servants sometimes loved their masters (employers) so well that they were willing to remain with those masters their entire lives. The master could not have been treating the servant like the American black slave for the servant to love them.  

I doubt if I will be able to cover this entire subject in one letter. 

Proverbs 6:16-19 “These six things does the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:…hands that shed innocent blood…A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.” 

DO BLACK LIVES REALLY MATTER? To see the life drained out of George Floyd was horrific. That was inhuman. More compassion is shown toward animals than what was done to Mr. Floyd. It is terrible for an innocent man to be shot dead by a policeman. It is terrible for any man to be gunned down after being stopped by the police for a bad tail light. For this same black man fleeing with his hands up, with no gun on his person, to be shot multiple times is horrific. It is a tragedy for young black men to be shot down in the prime of their lives, just because they were black. When a parent has to deal with the senseless killing of their child, many of them grieve the rest of their lives to death. 

I have experienced the passing of a daughter of mine. My daughter died from multiple diseases. Our she was eleven years old when she passed. Even though she did not die from murder, her death has affected my wife tremendously. As I observed my wife deal with the passing of our daughter, she seemed to be on the verge of losing her mind. I, and others, had to cover my wife in prayer. You probably do not really understand her feelings, unless you have had a child die. My daughter’s passing was not violent. Now, can you put yourself in the place of a parent who lost a child through violence and treachery? Think of the emotional turmoil that happens inside that parent. Take a moment and think about it. Selah. DO BLACK LIVES REALLY MATTER?

I do not belittle the needless, unjustified killing of one black man by a police officer. There have been needless, unjustified killings of black men by white police officers in America. From what I have read, for the last few years, there have been over 600 black on black killings every year in Chicago, Illinois. If I may say, we are killing ourselves more than any white policemen are. Where are the mass protests about all the killings in Chicago? So, it is okay for us to kill ourselves? Hmm? Where are all of the BLACK LIVES MATTER people in Chicago? 

I am just asking a few questions. Is the emotional hurt of a black parent’s child being killed less in Chicago? Maybe the hurt is less because a black man killing another black man is not as bad as an unjustified killing by a white police officer? Which hurt is worse? 

And then there is the issue of abortion, which I do not have the space to deal with in this letter. I’ll address it in my next letter.

Satan desires to destroy America. Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. Is Satan pushing race hatred? Is Satan striving to destroy our country through race wars? Have we forgotten that Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy? 

Listen to these phrases. 1) We are in a spiritual battle. 2) People are not our enemy. 3) By God’s grace, I will not let the devil use me. 

What is your response to this letter?