Grace for the Race

In 1995 I was discipled by a brother in Christ who has become a dear friend. Jeff was the first one to show me how to study the Scriptures. A month ago I was praying with him at Holy Cross Hospital as he prepared to undergo a heart procedure to identify what had caused his heart attack. The cardiologist found that one of his arteries was 95% blocked and inserted a stint. Jeff has come through very well and is on the road to full strength.

Jeff has always kept his body and heart in good condition. He is a contractor and has been physically active throughout his entire life. We’ve played softball together for nearly two decades. Walking through this trial with him has reminded me that no matter how well we steward the health of our hearts physically, eventually our hearts will beat their last on this side of the grave. Jeff taught me early on in my walk with Christ: “Physical training has some value, but godliness has value for all things, for both this life and the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).

It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace.  (Hebrews 13:9)

Here is God’s prescription for true heart health: to be strengthened by grace. The more our hearts are strengthened by God’s grace, the more they beat for God’s glory. As I have said here before, what rules your heart shapes your life. A heart ruled by grace is a cross-shaped life, living vertically for God and horizontally for others—all others. Hearts strengthened by grace will . . .

• Serve sacrificially
• Repent rejoicingly
• Forgive faithfully
• Love lavishly
• Give generously
• Pray passionately
• Comfort consistently
• Encourage everyone

By all means, take the time to be a good steward of the health of your heart. Eat the right foods, exercise regularly, and get adequate rest. But never let the physical training of your body crowd out the spiritual training of your heart! For your heart to be strengthened by grace you must spend time with the God of grace. There is simply no substitute for the kind of heart health that truly matters . . . on both sides of the grave. It is, indeed, good—very good—for our hearts to be strengthened by grace.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

When I was a boy, my dad would take us out fishing on the drift boats that dock in Fort Lauderdale. After heading out into deep water, the engines would be turned off, the lines dropped, and the boat would drift in the direction of the current. It was a lot of fun, but after a while the boat would drift in too far on the current and we would reel in the lines, start the engines, and head back out into deeper water.

In the Christian life, there is something I call “the devil’s drift,” which happens when we have shut our spiritual engine off for too long and allow the currents of life to take us where they want us to go. And make no mistake, where the currents of life want us to go is not where God is calling us to be!

I want to call your attention to something today: drift happens slowly, silently, almost imperceptibly. In no time at all, it can take us from deep water to dangerously shallow water, and ultimately onto the rocks if we are not paying attention.

What starts as an infection (a little neglect here and a little neglect there) winds us an insidious disease. We skip our time of daily devotion. We miss a service or two. We neglect our prayer closet. We add more and more to our professional plates and before we know it, we find ourselves in a place we don’t want to be and don’t even know how we got there!

So how do we deal with the devil’s drift? INTENTIONALLY! You see, the captain of the drift boat pays close attention to the location of his boat. He focuses intentionally on the position of the boat to ensure it does not drift into danger. The same should be true for the Christian, who must continually fight against the devil’s drift. We must be intentional about our walk with Christ. We must intentionally plan our work and work our plan, making sure we do not push our Lord out to the periphery of our lives.

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. (Hebrews 2:1)

Note this truth: there is no intention needed when it comes to drifting. Just turn off and tune out and let the currents of life take you where they want you to go. You will inevitably drift away from our Lord. To keep from drifting we must be intentional. As we focus on Christ, even when the currents are their strongest, He is stronger still and will hold fast to us. “No one can snatch [my sheep] out of my hand,” our Lord assures us (John 10:28).

If you have been dealing with a bit of drift in your life lately, fear not. You may feel far from God, but He is not far from you. You may have moved a great distance away but He has not moved an inch! His promise to never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5) is your power to intentionally turn back toward Him.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

There are countless sermons preached, seminars held, and books written on the pursuit of greatness. Yet we find very few sermons, seminars, and books on the pursuit of service. But did you know that service is God’s way to greatness?

The greatest among you will be your servant. (Matthew 23:11)

Now, the world has its own view on greatness, which it trumpets to us at every opportunity. From movies to music to television to the internet, the devil’s enticements are laid out for us, like a shiny lure designed to shift our focus and our affections from the things above to things below. Things like . . .

• Fame and fortune
• Power and prestige
• Achievements and the applause of man

To be sure, the things of this world often seem quite attractive and make grand promises about the paths that lead to greatness. But they can never deliver on what they promise. The serpent in the Garden of Eden promised Adam and Eve greatness in this life: they would be like gods! All they needed to do, Satan assured them, was reject what God had said and trust in their own wisdom, their own feelings. Tragically, they did, and in so doing passed a death sentence on themselves. Just like a fish that eagerly chomps on the lure, only to feel the sudden, shocking pain of the jagged hook ripping through its mouth, Adam and Eve eagerly bit into the forbidden fruit . . . and the results were catastrophic for them and for the rest of humanity.

But this is not for you! Greatness God’s way is the way of other-orientation. It is putting others first. It is serving others rather than being served. It is giving water to the thirsty and food to the hungry. It is clothing the naked and providing shelter to the homeless. It is walking past the chief seats to stand in the back. And this is just what our Lord did when He came; He chose not to be served, but to serve (Mark 10:45). On the night He was to be betrayed, our Lord knelt before His disciples and washed their feet, one by one (John 13:5)—the King of kings and Lord of lords taking on the posture of a slave! And, of course, the Cross provides the ultimate example our Lord’s other-orientation for all the world to see. He died to demonstrate God’s love for us, so that we who were still sinners might yet have life in Him (Romans 5:8).

We must remember that God has told us that the first will become last and the last will be first (Matthew 20:16). In other words, in order to rise, one must fall; and in order to live, one must die. And the key that unlocks the door leading to greatness God’s way is dying to self.

So . . . how are you doing in the area of death to self—both personally and professionally? Whose feet have you washed lately? Whom have you given a cup of cold water? When was the last time you shared Christ with someone? Greatness God’s way is the only way to lasting greatness, greatness that brings with it unimaginable joy and satisfaction.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Because the Christian is a new creation in Christ, growth is guaranteed. The Bible assures us that “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” (Philippians 1:6). If you have placed your trust in the saving work of Jesus Christ, that promise is for you. To be sure, we all grow in different ways and at different times; there are even those seasons when it seems like we are growing in the wrong direction! Yet the Scriptures make it clear that we simply cannot not grow when we have been given new life in Christ.

Let’s see how this promise is given in an Old Testament book that you may not peruse too often—the book of Malachi.

To you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves. (Malachi 4:2 NKJV)

Think about what this verse teaches us through the imagery of stall-fed calves. First, the stall suggests ownership; someone had to build the stalls and maintain them. Wild animals have no stalls. Second, the stall provides protection from the outside elements. Third, stall-fed calves are well-cared for. They don’t have to go out and scrounge for food because it is brought to them. And finally, the stall-fed calves continue to grow and grow until they finally grow up!

In this verse, those who fear the name of God are likened to stall-fed calves . . . and those who fear the name of God are those who have received the divine gift of faith in God. Those who have been given faith in God find their source of food in the Word of God. Our Lord has commanded us, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3).

So stall-fed calves are like Scripture-fed Christians. Both are given all the food they need to grow up to full maturity. For the Christian, maturity is to grow up in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But there’s more! Notice that Malachi 4:2 contains a double promise. Not only are we promised that we will grow up, but we will also go out. At Cross Community Church, we print on the front of every bulletin these words:

GATHER … GROW … GIVE … GO

God gathers His people together as a family, and in that process He grows us up into Christ. But growth is not an end; it is only a means to an end. The end is to model our Lord by giving and going. We grow in order to give and go. What a wonderful blessing God has planned for His people! We are not to simply remain in our spiritual “stalls,” munching placidly on what has been given us and growing fat. We are to go out in the strength of our heavenly Father’s care and bring the good news of the Gospel to all people. We are to be a source of nourishment and care to others.

Stall-fed calves shall not be stunted in growth; neither will Scripture-fed Christians! Feast on the Word of God each day and prepare to see the salvation of the Lord break forth in the lives of those you share Him with.

I’d like to offer one final word of encouragement. The ownership represented by the stall points to another Gospel truth: “You are not your own; you were bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). And what God bought with His precious blood, He will take good care of. He will grow you so that you can give and go!

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

When was the last time you pictured a “Running Redeemer”? Well, the Scriptures paint just such a picture, and I pray that it will be a word of great comfort for you today. In the parable of the prodigal son, the younger son demanded that his father give him his inheritance, and then went off into the far country and squandered it all. Shamed, hungry, and all alone, when this lost son came to his senses and realized his great wickedness, he longed to return home. He felt sure he had forever destroyed his relationship with his father, but hoped that he might be received as a hired hand.

So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. (Luke 15:20)

We are to see the father in this story as representing God. To those who heard Jesus relate this parable, it would have been remarkable to hear that the father, filled with compassion for the returning son, ran to meet him. At that time and in that culture, the normal response from a father who had been so utterly disrespected by his son was not to run and greet him with kisses upon his return. The neighbors would have been much less surprised to see the father spit in his wayward son’s face, rather than to see him gird up his outer garments and run toward his wayward son. The father’s actions would have been considered undignified and embarrassing. But not for Father God!

Again I ask, when was the last time you pictured a running Redeemer? James urges us, “Come near to God and he will come near to you” (James 4:8). The prodigal’s parable is a wonderful reminder of just how our heavenly father responds to His wicked and wayward children: He is a running Redeemer drawing near to you with amazing love!

Is that not a source of great comfort to you as you go through the struggles and storms of this life? From time to time, we all wander into the far country. The world presents us with so many idols of the heart that seek to ensnare our affections! But when we come to our senses and head back home, our Redeemer does not wait on the porch with a stern, disapproving frown, prepared to lecture us or punish us for our foolish decisions. No, He runs to meet us and wraps his loving arms around us and showers us with grace.

Now, if that does not light the fire of your faith . . . your wood is wet! Perhaps this day you are in a season of great success and faithfulness to God. Continue drawing near to Him and He will continue drawing near to you. But maybe this finds you “eating pods with the pigs” in a season of struggle and raging storms; no matter how badly you have fallen or failed, return to your Father and be prepared to be met by a running Redeemer who will restore you to your rightful place—as a child of the Most High God.

Remember this: a child of God is always a child of God, even when he is not acting like one. And this is the confession of all our lives from time to time. There are those times when you and I have blown it badly! But we need not fear our Redeemer’s response. As we return to Him, He runs toward us. Rest in that comfort today!

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Have you ever said, “I can’t” only to find out that you can? Well, you are not alone. In fact, you are in some very good and godly company who said the very same thing . . . only to learn “When Can’t Can!” Let’s recall the experience of Jeremiah:

The word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” “Ah, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.(Jeremiah 1:4-8)

When God first called Jeremiah into his ministry of service, Jeremiah’s response to was, “I CAN’T! I do not know how to speak.” To which God replied, “You CAN” and supplied all the “CAN” Jeremiah needed. Isn’t it amazing to see how God chooses to work out His purposes in this world? He could have decided to use angels, but He did not. Instead God chooses and calls fallible, frail, and fearful men and women into service—people just like you and me—and then He both equips and empowers them to do exactly what He is calling them to do.

Jeremiah’s initial response may have reminded you of Moses, who also balked at God’s call, protesting that “I CAN’T” go back to Egypt and into the court of Pharaoh speaking your words, “Let my people go that they may worship me!” Remember that Moses had struck down the Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave, and then Moses fled for his life. He spent forty years tending sheep on the backside of the desert. And when God called him to go back to Egypt as the deliverer of God’s people, Moses said, “I CAN’T.” But God said, “You CAN!”

It’s important to point out here that both Jeremiah and Moses were absolutely right. They could not do what God was calling them to do in their own strength. But God never calls His people without equipping them for the call. Moses and Jeremiah were not going alone, and they were not going in their own strength. They were in the place where “can’t” CAN!

This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord Almighty. (Zechariah 4:6)

So . . . is God calling you into something today that you believe you cannot do? A new career? Going back to school? A change of address? Forgiving someone who has wronged you? Recommitment in a relationship? If you have been questioning God’s call and fretting that you are up to the task, remember this: You’re right! You are not up for the task, but God is! And the truth the Scriptures teach us is this . . .

WHEN WE CAN’T . . . HE CAN!

Take your “I CAN’T” to God and ask Him to remove your doubt and fear. Freely confess that you have no might, no power, which will enable you to do the work He has called you to. Then get ready to see just what God CAN do, both through and in you, for His glory and your good.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

The Bible has much to say about the importance of having a teachable spirit and being able to receive and appropriately respond to correction. Yet far too often we would rather shift the blame, make excuses, and spend our time sewing fig leaves to cover our nakedness.

But this is not for you!

Whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise. Those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding. (Proverbs 15:31-32)

The only people who rightly “heed correction” are those who hope in Christ. When our hope is in anything smaller than Jesus, we view any divine, life-giving correction as a personal blow to our ego. It is ultimately a kind of personal death. We grieve and rage when we lose . . .

• Natural talents
• Reputation
• Social status
• Applause of man
• Approval of others
• Professional success
• Physical looks
• Financial stability
• Personal relationship

This list could go on and on. When we place our hope in these things, the things of this world, we receive any kind of correction as a crushing blow, rather than loving correction. Only when we place our hope in Jesus will we receive feedback that exposes our brokenness as the breakfast of champions. When we trust in the Lord with all our heart (Proverbs 3:5), we don’t feel any need to defend ourselves or bristle when correction comes knocking on our door. We can be “at home among the wise,” because our hearts are rooted in Wisdom . . . and His name is Jesus Christ.

You see, beloved, Jesus has already covered our nakedness, healed our blindness, and restored our brokenness. Please understand that I am not talking about perfection here; I’m talking about direction. When we place our trust in Christ, we are reoriented away from self and toward the Savior, which keeps us from disregarding discipline and despising ourselves, as Psalm 15 says. We no longer feel the need to sew together the flimsy fig leaves of self to cover our shame, because Jesus nailed all that sin and guilt and shame to the Cross. Because there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, (Romans 8:1), when correction comes our way, we can receive it and respond to it with both humility and a teachable spirit.  

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Does that seem like a strange title to you? If strength is strength and weakness is weakness, how can weakness possibly be strength? Scripture provides the answer:

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.(2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

Someone once said, “The Christian life is not difficult to live; it is impossible!” How true, apart from the strength of the Almighty! This is one of the primary reasons God allows us to go through the storms of life. When the storm winds are blowing and the waves of challenge are crashing all around us, we can make no progress on our own, no matter how hard we row. That is the point where we are confronted with the reality of our weakness. And in our weakness, God’s power is made perfect—and that, beloved, is when weakness is strength!

God is in the business of showing us our weakness. If He were not, no one could stand to be around us. Spiritual pride and self-righteousness would drive everyone away from us. God showed Moses his weakness when he killed the Egyptian who was beating the Israelite. God showed David his weakness when he should have gone off to war instead of chasing another man’s wife. God showed Peter his weakness in the courtyard when he denied knowing Jesus. And God showed Paul his weakness when he was on the road to Damascus to persecute Christians.

God sends us the storms we need to shift our focus away from ourselves and onto our Savior. Let’s reread 2 Corinthians 12:7; Paul confessed this truth in these words …

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.

The Scriptures do not tell us what this “thorn” in Paul’s flesh might have been. But we do know it was sent by God, who is sovereign over all things (Romans 11:36), even the fiery darts of the evil one. God’s purpose was to keep Paul from becoming conceited because of the great ministry God had given to him. Oh, how easy it is for all of us who are in ministry to succumb to our prideful, sinful nature! But God loves us far too much to allow us to go down that self-righteous road. So He sends us exactly the storms or “thorns” we need to remind us that we are weak and He is strong . . . and that His grace is sufficient for us. It was obviously more important to God and far more loving to keep Paul humble than to make him comfortable in his ministry of service. God did not take Paul’s thorn away in order to show him where his strength for ministry truly came from.

So . . . what storms has God sent your way to humble you and keep you focused on Him rather than yourself? Remember, the power of Christ cannot rest on us when we are working in our own strength. So God gives us work we simply cannot do in our own strength. I am living out this truth each day as pastor of Cross Community Church. My prayer is that you will delight in your own weakness, for when you are weak, then you are truly strong!

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

A few years ago I was speaking with my friend, pastor, and Bible teacher, Steve Brown of Key Life Network, about the prospects of Kim and I planting a church. He gave us his blessing, and his parting words to me were, “Tommy you are quite winsome.” When the conversation ended, I immediately called a trusted friend to ask him if he knew what the word “winsome” meant. (For those of you who don’t know, it took me eleven years to finish a three-year program at Knox Theological Seminary!) Steve has dedicated his life to spreading Gospel truth that both lifts and encourages, but I simply wasn’t sure if he was giving me some deep theological message . . . or pinpointing some area for personal growth.

When I got on the phone with my friend and told him what Steve said, he responded, “My dear brother, Steve Brown just gave you one of the nicest compliments you’ve ever received!” My friend went on to explain that “winsome” means that one has a pleasant personality, a candid charm that attracts others and, in turn, makes God attractive. At that point, I knew why I like Steve so much and listened to him for more than two decades!

Later that day, I did some thinking. First, Steve Brown is a very kind, encouraging man, but I’m really not that winsome. Second, this conversation took place only a few months before Kim, the kids, and I, along with a few families, did launch out and plant Cross Community Church. I felt that God was impressing upon me that “winsome” was the word that needed to define our church environment and all those called into service at our church family. We needed to be warm, pleasant, and honest, which would, in turn, make God attractive and draw outsiders to our new church, which we call “The Cross” for short.

Now, I fully understand God does not need our help to make Him attractive. He is attractive all by Himself.

God is love. (1 John 4:8)

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek:that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. (Psalm 27:4)

To be sure there is nothing more attractive than the love and beauty of God, which He expresses to us so powerfully in the Person and work of Jesus Christ. However, as attractive as God is, we who profess to be His people can either attract others to Him or repel them, simply by the way we engage with them. The more we reflect the character of Christ, the more attractive we make our God. If the people who walked onto our campus experienced the unconditional, sacrificial love of God in Christ through the way we engage with them, from the parking lot to the pew to the coffee pot to their particular point of need . . . we would succeed in making our God attractive and God would get all the glory.

We are in our 30^th month as a church plant, and the comment I hear most from those visiting our campus and experiencing the hospitality at The Cross is, “I felt welcomed and loved by everyone. Jesus is so present here!”

Soon after my talk with Steve I read this story about the great pastor and evangelist, D. L. Moody, whom you could call the Billy Graham of the 19th Century. Moody described the secret of a winsome church in these words:

“The churches would soon be filled if outsiders could find that people in them loved them when they came. This . . . draws sinners! We must win them to us first; then we can win them to Christ. We must get the people to love us, and then win them over to Christ.”

I love Steve Brown, but I’m really not all that winsome. One dear friend told me that when I forget to smile, I look like a hanging judge. So much for “winsome”! But God has raised up a group of people at The Cross who really are winsome! Every person on Team Cross makes God attractive, and that is attracting new people each week. Our church family is acting as the hands and feet of Christ, living out that candid charm that attracts others to them, which in turn attracts others to Christ.

There’s something else Steve Brown has said: “We are simply beggars telling other beggars where to find bread!” That’s winsome, and that makes God attractive.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

We have all heard about the tithe—giving to God the first 10% of our income to advance the Gospel and further the cause of the Kingdom. In as much as all wealth ultimately belongs to God (Haggai 2:8), and since it is God who gives us the ability to earn money (Deuteronomy 8:17-18), the Bible considers returning 10% back to the Giver of every good and perfect gift a good place to start. The tithe is a form of worship.

But when it comes to the heart, we are never to tithe 10% of our heart to God; we are to give Him all of it—every beat of it! To be sure, giving all of our heart in faithful obedience to our Lord is not always easy; we often fall short of the intended mark. This is what the Bible calls sin. But even though giving all our heart to God is not always easy, it is always right!

Let’s look at an example from Scripture:

On that day Moses swore to me, “The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.” . . .

Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly. (Joshua 14:9, 13-14)

We see twice in this short passage that Caleb did not tithe his heart to God. Rather, the Scriptures inform us that Caleb followed and served God wholeheartedly. Wouldn’t that be well said of all of us . . . that we followed and served God with all of our hearts? If you remember the story of Caleb from the Bible’s book of Numbers, he was one of twelve spies whom God commanded Moses to send into the Promised Land to scout it out and prepare Israel to enter into it. Caleb and Joshua returned with a favorable report, but the other ten spies said it could not be done. “There are giants in the land!” they quavered (Numbers 13:25-33).

Do you think it was easy for Joshua and Caleb to give the minority report? No, of course it wasn’t easy, but it was right. Do you want to know what else was not easy? It was not easy wandering around the desert until all of the unbelievers of his generation died in the desert (Joshua 5:6). Forty years of apparently aimless wandering, watching all the men and women he grew up with die, and yet through all of it Caleb gave all of his heart to God. No, it wasn’t easy most of the time; I’m sure many times it was flat-out hard. But it was always right.

For you and I today, this is where preaching the Gospel to ourselves comes into play in such a big way. Keeping the truths of the Gospel before us is the key to stoking the fire of the heart. The cross is the testimony to the truth that Jesus refused to tithe His heart to us. He gave it all, shed His precious blood to pay the price for our sins in full, and at the end He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

“Jesus paid it all,” as the wonderful old hymn proclaims, but He also gave His all. He gave all His heart—His very life itself—so that sinners just like you and me could have life in His name! As we keep the cross work of Christ in view, we find both the motive and the motivation to keep our hearts beating for Him. As Jesus said in Mark 12:30, we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength.

So give God 10 % of your income . . . but give him all of your heart . . . every day!

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!