LETTER #61 of “LETTERS TO MY YOUNG ADULT CHILDREN AND TO A WOKE, DECEIVED AND UNLOVED GENERATION” (Letter 61) by Daniel Whyte III, Author of the National Bestselling Books: LETTERS TO YOUNG BLACK MEN and LETTERS TO YOUNG BLACK WOMEN First written over 30 years ago.
LETTER 61
Separate From Woke, Evil People, and Have a Great New Year!
Dear Daniel, Danni, Danyelle Elizabeth, Danyel Ezekiel, Daniqua Grace, Danae, Danita, Danielle Tekeela, Duran, and Kywaizia:
I hope you all had a true Godly, Christ-honoring Christmas season and day as I did here. I am not going to say much today since Christmas has passed, and oh! what a wonderful time we had this year in the Lord as well. That is for those of us who truly are born-again-saved and know the Lord because as long as you are not sinning, you will always have joy, peace, and good cheer because you have the Lord and you are being obedient to the Lord. As you make your way to the early days of the New Year, I will leave you with this to contemplate, and that is, if you truly want to have a new year, you will have to SEPARATE from old, woke, evil family members, friends, church members, job mates, and schoolmates — anybody you know who is living an evil and sinful life contrary to God’s Word, and anybody who is trying to convince you to do the same and is trying to take you down with them. Here are two verses that I share with you to read and obey for your good:
2 Corinthians 6:17: “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.”
Ezra 6:21: “The sons of Israel who returned from exile and all those who had separated themselves from the impurity of the nations of the land to join them, to seek the Lord God of Israel, ate the Passover.”
MY END OF YEAR/BEGINNING OF THE YEAR DEVOTIONAL TEXT IS Hebrews 4:16: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
Resolutions and Redemption
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” — Ephesians 2:8-9
It’s that time of year again! I’m talking about New Year’s resolutions, of course. It’s still December as I’m writing, but I guarantee that by the time you read this, I’ll already be asking myself what possessed me to come up with such grand, unattainable plans for the new year. (It seemed like a good idea at the time). Every year I tell myself it’ll finally be the year I keep all my resolutions. I mean, come on – how hard can it possibly be to finally set aside an hour for exercise each day, to stop consuming so much chocolate and coffee, and to never sleep for less than eight hours again?
Why are New Year’s resolutions so hard to keep? I don’t know, but it’s a lot like another area of life. Let me explain.
Before I became a Christian at the age of 17, I approached my life the same way I often approach New Year’s resolutions. I would try so hard to do the right things but I always ended up falling flat. I convinced myself that as long as I was the “good girl,” I’d be fine, so I tried really hard to live up to certain standards to please everyone, and hopefully God too. The problem, though, is that there’s nothing anyone can do in his or her own power to “earn” God’s favor.
As Ephesians 2:8 says, it’s by God’s grace that we are saved, not because of anything we could ever hope to attain or accomplish. God’s gift of His son Jesus Christ to save us from our sins through His death and resurrection is just that – a gift. Doing all the good, noble things in the world will never earn salvation, and like verse 9 says, nobody could ever think of boasting about such an undeserved gift.
Of course, the desire to do the right things is one result of making Jesus the Lord of your life, but we all continue to mess up because, after all, we are just sinners saved by grace. I still lose sight of it all sometimes and get caught up in the cycle of trying to “out-good” myself and others. This new year, however, in light of any New Year’s resolutions you may have made (or already broken), join me in remembering the assurance of one thing we never have to work to attain: God’s grace.
Intersecting Faith & Life: It’s hard to live up to New Year’s resolutions, but it’s impossible to earn God’s favor through good works or noble aspirations. This year, realize and thank God anew for the gift of His grace and salvation through Jesus.
Anna Kuta
Daniel, Danni, Danyelle Elizabeth, Danyel Ezekiel, Daniqua Grace, Danae, Danita, Danielle Tekeela, Duran, and Kywaizia, I am praying for you all “Without Ceasing,” and I love you very much. Please pray for me as well.
Love God and Jesus Christ first.
Love Papa, second.
Love,
Papa
Zechariah 4:6
