God is Calling for Unity in the Capital Cities! – February 2018
Laura McMurtry |Prophet|Shekhinah International
Hello all this is the first installment of the On Eagles Wings Blog. I am new to this blogging thing so I would love to hear your God-thoughts on my blog-thoughts! As we are now into the year 2018, I have been seeing the following words: unity, transitions, provision and crossing over.
UNITY
I hear Father God saying that He is “calling for unity in the capital cities!” Our city of Lansing, Michigan is one of a handful of cities across the nation who are participating in the Truth, Reconciliation, Healing and Transformation Initiative. One of goals of this initiative is to address the important issue of systemic racism in our nation – namely the U.S.A.
I had a vision recently during a New Year’s Eve church service. During the service, I saw that this church was filled to overflowing with many nations of the world. As I looked up, I saw a man standing up in the front of the church. He was wearing my gingham black and white earmuffs. I saw myself talking to him and trying to get him to take off the ear muffs so that he would be able to hear what I was saying. I heard the Lord say “we are knit together as one black and white.” I knew immediately, He saying that we must come together. The vision ends
Later, as I was praying about the meaning behind the vision, God reminded me of the song “Black and White”. The song I heard was by Three Dog Night a 70’s group. As I listened to the words God prompted me to research the meaning behind the song. What I discovered was that the song was originally written by Earl Robinson in 1954. The original lyrics were based on the U.S. Supreme Court case Brown vs The Board of Education. This decision desegregated public schools across the United States because the judges had finally determined it was unconstitutional to segregate children based on the color of their skin. In the original version written by Earl Robinson, one of the verses talked about the judges with white hair and black robes. Years later, that verse was removed in the remake of the song in an effort to make it “more universal.” The removal of this verse changed the original intent of the song-writer. In an effort to be non-confrontational it had lost its true power. We need to be careful not to gloss over things in this season and use wisdom in allowing for tensions to be felt so that true transformation can occur. God is calling Christians in our capital cities to unite and come together around these kingdom issues and take the necessary action that will result in true transformation. Now is not the time to retreat!
One aspect of the vision was key, in the sense that, in real life the right ear muff falls off when I put them on because it is not attached. At times I have to wear a scarf over my head to stay warm and keep the earmuffs in place. Like the ear muffs, we as a nation have become detached from our history of racism and the wounds that our people still carry from it. God is exposing these issues so our nation can be healed. Much like the ear muffs needing to be removed from the man in the vision, we all need to let God remove anything impeding our ability to hear Him or our willingness to hear from others. The wounds of our nation must be healed so we can move forward in unity. Both sides need to heal. If one side heals but the other does not then we as a nation will not be completely whole; and we will not be able to move forward. The only way to get through this is with the love of Jesus.
There is a Nigerian proverb that says, “In the moment of crisis, the wise build bridges and the foolish build dams.” What do you want to be? A wise man who builds a bridge in a time of crisis or a foolish man who builds a dam?
In Matthew 7:24-27 Jesus teaches on what happens to the foolish man who builds his house on sand. What happened to it? It collapsed! The wise man in contrast built his house on the rock and it survived the storms of life that came against it. In this parable the rock represents the foundation of Jesus Christ. No matter what comes against us, He will always be there for us when we need it. When we make mistakes He provides forgiveness and when others sin against us He graces us to forgive them. In contrast one who builds their house on the things of the world, which is represented by sand in the parable, will have it destroyed when the storms of life come against it. In some ways this is what is happening in our country today. Many have built their houses on the things of the world and they are collapsing around them.
I decree in Jesus name, “We are bridge builders in Michigan. Like the Mackinac Bridge that joins the Upper Peninsula and the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, the two halves make up our whole state. The Mackinac Bridge brings them both together. Let’s take this time and prayerfully consider reaching out to widen our circle of friends connecting with those from other churches, especially reaching across racial and ethnic divides. Open yourself up to hearing from your neighbors. Let’s help our community come together and be transformed WITH Christ. Take a moment to consider the timeline graphic perhaps it can give a bit more historical perspective to the brief length of time our nation has had to heal.