THE CASE FOR TRAYVON MARTIN

I form the light
and create darkness, I make peace [national well-being]
and I create [physical] evil (calamity);
I am the Lord, Who does all these things.

~ Isaiah 45:7 [Amplified]
Are things truly better than they were in the past? Are we progressing in a direction of equality for all? Is each and every person within the United States and through-out the world viewed as being equally important and as valuable as the next? What about simply being classed as a human being to receive and to expect nothing less than righteous behavior from our fellow man? Whether man, woman, child, Jew or Gentile! How do you get people to own up to accepting responsibility for their actions? When will we examine ourselves to sincerely repent and turn from our wicked ways to incorporate change?

I hearkened and heard, [but] they spake not aright:
no man repented him of his wickedness, saying,
What have I done? every one turned to his course,
as the horse rusheth into the battle.

~ Jeremiah 8:6 [King James]

Slavery in the since of the meaning of the word supposedly ended approximately 400 years ago! However, the concept and the impact of it still exist today for a number of people through many forms of division. And yet we refuse to acknowledge the existence of what has taken place within the world to mirror the past disguisable under different labels to justify it. No one wants to or is afraid to speak to the disparaging oppression and traces of history that many of us are still subjected to by broken systems in place (or those in positions of power) used to deliberately destroy the spirit of others.

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise,
as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering
to us-ward, not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance.

~ 2 Peter 3:9 [King James]

For approximately the past seven (7) years, I have been hearing like a bull horn in the wilderness penetrating through my spirit, “HISTORY, UNFORTUNATELY, REPEATS ITSELF!” When I heard about the death of a 17 year old black male in Florida whose name was Trayvon Martin, I told God “it was going to be somewhat difficult for me to keep dismissing my pain to move past this one as if it never happened. Mainly because I have had to deal with a great deal of pain resulting from the color of my skin first, being a woman second and third for quite simply just being different and wanting more out life for myself than others were willing to share with me. A reality, I have experienced and have had to contend with more times than I care to count within my life time while being surrounded by condescending egotistical chauvinistic (male and female) oppressing racist (black, white and other) prejudice spirits attempting to tell me that what I want and who I AM does not matter.

He must correct his opponents with courtesy
and gentleness, in the hope that God may grant
that they will repent and come to know the Truth
[that they will perceive and recognize and
become accurately acquainted with and acknowledge it],

~ 2 Timothy 2:25

Today, we have a black President; something I thought I would never live to see or experience in my life time. And yet, even with his demonstrated display of intelligence for rightfully being deemed to be worthy to hold such a position, I believe he is, without a doubt, the most disrespected man in the world. People surrounding him on BOTH sides of the house, the media, racist hate groups and ignorance of all hues have very openly and directly challenged his decisions as well as his position although he won the election fair and square; the first and the second time. Furthermore, if truth be told, all of the upheaval and rise in racism is greatly directed at him but indirectly – because they cannot get at him. Look at the state of humanity to include race relations as a whole! Even after the Trayvon Martin event which has received much coverage across the nation, many people are still undivided in not willing to see the underlined truth. What will it take for us to be truthful about what went wrong with our judicial system to include the obvious deception through-out the entire world?

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:
because thou hast rejected knowledge,
I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me:
seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God,
I will also forget thy children.

~ Hosea 4:6

Upon hearing the Martin – Zimmerman verdict, I cried most of the night! And all through-out the next day, each time I thought about the ruling, I was literally sick to my stomach. Wow, taking into consideration, the impact of this recent event on my mental psyche, I have been reluctant to speak on the issue for fear of my emotions taking the lead in diverting my attention away from God as old wounds resurface to hunt me. Regardless of what is done to me or around me, I am expected to keep my focus on the LORD above in knowing HE is my redeemer. Regardless of history and its attempt to raise its ugly head to pull me in to believing the lies, I must remember the promises of my FATHER in knowing HE is my light and the rock of my SALVATION. For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us (2 Corinthian 1:20). Therefore, I will continue to lean on HIM in refusing to give up or to give in to the darkness surrounding me. Just as there is POWER IN THE NAME OF JESUS TO BREAK THE CHAINS, there is victory in HIS NAME to escape the bondage as well as the oppression man attempts to link me to as being my fate while holding on to HIM as my LIBERTY! As a child of the most HIGH GOD who has been called and chosen to let my light shine, I AM more determined than ever to stand for righteousness in fighting the good fight of FAITH regardless of my pain thus knowing who GOD is and HIS ABILITY to do the impossible!

Run away from infantile indulgence. Run after mature righteousness - faith, love, peace - joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God. Refuse to get involved in inane discussions; they always end up in fights. God’s servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth, enabling them to escape the Devil’s trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands. ~ 2 Timothy 22-26 [Amplified

To the Martin Family, I leave you with Isaiah 45:3-4 which states “And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call [thee] by thy name, [am] the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.”

A PERSONAL COMMENT FROM PASTOR KENNETH WILKINS: Last week the verdict of Zimmerman sparked controversy throughout the country. Many are outraged at the Florida Justice System, and are demanding that action be taken. Although we cannot go back and reverse the verdict we can look to the hills from where our help comes from (God). This is a devastating tragedy that continues to plague our communities, but what can we do as a people moving forward is a question that we need to consider. Yes we have the right to point fingers, but we can also begin to look within our own hearts at taking responsibility for developing, and educating our families, and youth. As a people we must begin to value one another, and look at raising our standard of living above the norm. This isn't to say that it will eliminate injustice, but change the level of respect that we demand within our society. Many of us are voicing our opinions, but unwilling to become part of the solution that starts with the dynamic of our families, and trickles down into our communities. Too many of our people are perishing from a lack of knowledge, rather than taking the necessary action to transform our lifestyles that will raise the bar of how we treat one another as a people. Zimmerman walks free on the outside, but know that his accountability to God for his actions still rests in the hand of the Creator. Let's not take away from this situation failure, but hope that our God will use this tragedy to spark a revolution amongst a people to rise up on the inside to fight a fight of faith, and continue to press forward towards the mark that God has set for us.

Not that I have already obtained all this,
or have already been made perfect, but
I press on to take hold of that which
Christ Jesus took hold of me.

~ Philippians 3:12

REFERENCE:
http://www.kennethwilkins.org/

http://asbcmedia.org/?p=367 [Dr. Rev. Howard-John Wesley]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHBdZWbncXI [President Barack Obama]
http://www.kennethwilkins.org/#!empowerment-by-ann-mack/cnqj
http://frankviola.org/2013/07/18/zimmermantrial/
http://www.counterfire.org/index.php/articles/book-reviews/15567-ra...

BOOKS:

Race Matters
Author: Cornell West
Publisher: Vintage; First Edition (March 29, 1994)
ISBN-10: 0679749861 and/or ISBN-13: 978-0679749868