As millions of Americans seek security, safety, and sanity after a time of great disunity and dissension in our country, evangelist Alveda King—executive director of Civil Rights for the Unborn with Priests for Life, founder of Alveda King Ministries, and a niece of Dr. Martin Luther King—has a message. She urged all of us to “move forward in faith, hope, and love” and to “look to God, not man, for answers and solutions.”
She also said firmly, “Be encouraged in 2021!”
King shared her deeply spiritual and moving thoughts exclusively with CNJ on Wednesday, January 13, 2021.
“As a Christian evangelist living in America in 2021, at the beginning of this year, I’d like to encourage all Americans to move forward in faith, hope, and love, as the ‘one blood, one human race’ of Acts 17:26,” said King.
“Acts 17:26 says that of one blood, God made all people to live together on the face of the earth,” she continued. “I believe that is part of the foundation of the message of my uncle, Martin Luther King Jr.—brother of my daddy, A.D. King, and son of my granddaddy, Martin Luther King Sr.—when he said we must learn to live together as brothers, and I added sisters, or perish together as fools. I believe that we, as a human race, can learn to communicate, men and women of faith, so that we can move forward and avert heartbreak and stress and more violence. This is very important at this time.”
King added, “I believe that we have to look to God, and not man, for our answers and solutions. I look forward to Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of my faith. It is very important to avoid envy and strife, which bring about confusion and every evil work. We must learn to repent, to forgive quickly,” she also said, “and to pray that God will forgive us of all our sins.”
She noted further, “Be encouraged in 2021! Do not respond to your situations in fear. Respond, rather, in faith—and faith works by love.”
King is the author of numerous books and is outspoken for many who need a strong voice of faith working on their behalf, including the unborn.
Alex McFarland, a Christian apologist, evangelist, and advocate for biblical truth, also shared his insights and wisdom exclusively with CNJ this week.
“Christians always have hope,” said McFarland, who runs Alex McFarland Evangelistic Ministries. “We must pray, and we must realize that the Lord and truth always prevail in the end.”
McFarland expressed his thoughts on Wednesday afternoon as the House of Representatives—led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)—voted to impeach President Donald J. Trump for the riots that occurred last week on Capitol Hill.
Trump released a new video message to all Americans, saying that he “unequivocally” condemned the “violence” and “vandalism” of January 6, 2021, and urging “healing” for the country he has served for the past four years. “Making America great again has always been about defending the rule of law,” said Trump—and he stressed “peace” for the nation as the U.S. moves forward.
“Donald Trump has been the most transformative president of our lifetime,” McFarland said. “Part of the reason that Nancy Pelosi and others who oppose our American form of government have opposed Donald Trump with such animus is because no other president in our lifetime has so closely aligned with the evangelical voting bloc. Evangelicals,” added McFarland, “accounted for 43 percent of Trump’s support in the 2020 election.”
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The author of many books, McFarland said that “evangelicals are also the voting bloc that seeks the preservation of that which was the basis of our constitutional rights, government, judiciary, education—and of our culture in general. I am speaking, of course, about all of the Judeo-Christian moral worldview.”
He noted, “Christians always have hope, though at this moment, so many offices of our land are now in the hands of people who don’t know God and who appear to have lost their moral compass. Yet the church has hope. The church has eternal truth. And the church has spiritual and legal recourse. We must pray, and we must realize that the Lord and truth always prevail in the end.”
McFarland said that “the Lord taught His disciples to pray that things would be ‘on earth as it is in heaven.’ Sadly, many lost souls are unknowingly building a climate here on earth that is the inverse of this,” he said. “More than ever, we need citizens to be civil and civic, and the saints to praise God and proclaim truth. And we need the preachers to preach.”
McFarland finished, “A better day is coming, because a just God still rules and reigns in the affairs of men.”
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Bob Reccord, founder and chairman of Total Life Impact Ministries, shared his insights exclusively as well. Reccord has been a pastor in three states; he served previously as president and CEO of Hope for the Heart Ministries in Plano, Texas.
“Amid the tumultuous times of recent days, often people of faith are heard making statements such as, ‘What can I do that will make a difference?’ or ‘Is there really any hope?’” Reccord told CNJ on Wednesday. “Every person has the power to make a difference in his or her sphere of influence if they choose to do so. While your sphere may not be Washington, it is no less important.”
Author of the recent book is “Ending the Cycle of Father Wounds,” Reccord outlined a number of positive actions that each of us can take in our lives, “right where we are, as we seek to regain our footing as citizens in a world that has regularly seemed to be increasingly out of control.”
Reccord’s first tip, citing James 1:19, is this: “Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.” He said that in such highly partisan and emotionally charged times, “Remember that God gave you two ears and one mouth—use them in that proportion. The Bible says it is what comes out of our heart that can defile us, much more than what goes into our mouth (Mark 7:20-23).”
Reccord’s second tip: “Guard your heart above all else (Proverbs 4:23). The Scripture implores us as people of faith to do this ‘above all else.’ It challenges us to intentionally determine what gets in and what doesn’t. ‘Guards’ need to be intentionally posted,” he urged. “They don’t just happen.” He recommended that it’s wise to “set guards such as how much news you watch, who you choose to listen to, and what filters you establish for your information sources.”
And Reccord’s third tip: “Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). In all these years, I am yet to find anything more powerful than when you really believe what God’s book says: ‘Call unto me, and I will answer you and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know’ (Jeremiah 33:3).” The Lord, shared Reccord, “is as reliable today as the day the verse was written. Put Him to the test. Write a few notes to leaders in your city or county asking them how you can pray for them. What they hear most is what people think they are doing wrong! Your note will get their attention.”
In addition, Reccord urged all people of faith to reread the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Aside from gaining a close reacquaintance with the key details of these great founding documents, doing so “will help us recognize revisionist history” when it’s “pushed by many today,” he wisely advised.
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This article was written by Maureen Mackey. She is a writer, editor, and digital content strategist.