There is an interesting story in Joshua chapter 10. There were five kings who joined forces with their troops and took up their positions against Gibeon. The Gibeonites sent word to Joshua asking him not to abandon them. So, Joshua marched with his best fighting men. Israel pursued them and cut them down and they fled. God helped Joshua to defeat them and the kings ran and hid in a cave. Joshua told his soldiers to bring them out of the cave and put their foot on each one of their necks. Church, it is time for us to put our foot on the necks of racism, prejudice, hatred, injustices. Bring them out of hiding in and outside of the church and “Put Your Foot Down.”!!!!!!

I shall never forget the words of Al Sharpton. “Take your knee off my neck.” In and outside of the church!!! Believe me, I have felt the knees in my life!!!

Well here it is. I’m Jacqueline Elizabeth Smith born 12/8/43. Raised in the north as a Negro, years later called Black and now African American, experiencing prejudices, racism and bigotry and injustices in every way possible. At a very young age I entered the white world in pursuit of a career in the classical music field which made me an “ice breaker”with much hurt and insults because of the color of my skin. Having a strong Mother to build confidence in me we endured. Employment opportunities were difficult as life continued, but I pressed on and was once again able to be an “ice breaker.” Now let’s fast forward to 1973 when I got saved in the Church of God. I’m now age 30 and thinking things will surely be different the church, but much to my dismay it wasn’t. I found much racism in the Pentecostal Church. The Lord called me to preach 40 years ago and the mantle placed upon me was to break through racial, cultural and gender barriers. At that point I wondered what God had against me. With much reluctance I answered the call. Now, I had 3 things against me; black, female and single. Needless to say, I have been mistreated for all three. Called the “N” word, told I didn’t have a soul, walked out on in services, racist jokes, threatened, trashed on actscelerate when I preached the 2006 General Assembly and believe me I could go on. At one point I told the Lord I wanted out. His response was, “I love them and when I put you before them I’m confronting them about their SIN.” He also reminded me that I had been an “ice breaker” my whole life and now He wanted me to do it for the Kingdom!!! Things have gotten better in the church, but there is still much work to do. I want to thank all of you Pastors that believed in me by having me minister in your churches when it wasn’t easy for you to do so. I especially want to thank Bishop Timothy Hill and my two Pastors, Chris Fraley and Mark Williams for leading by example during this “racial pandemic.!!!!

God is not intimidated by the darkness. That is where He does His very best work. It was the Night the death angel came through that He saw the blood and that household was saved. At another time the wind blew all Night until there was dry land for the Israelites to walk through the Red Sea. Psalm 30:5 tells us “weeping may endure for a Night but joy comes in the morning.”He specializes in bringing light out of darkness; you just have to go through one to get to the other! It was at the midnight hour that the Lord sent an earthquake and freed all the prisoners. No need to stay up at Night walking the floor; for He never slumbers or sleeps. HE IS ALWAYS UP. Praise Our God!!!

Sheep are susceptible to flies landing on their noses and laying eggs which will turn into worms. The worms crawl up their noses and will enter their brains. The sheep can die from this, so each day the shepherd pours oil on their noses and the flies slide off instead of going in. We as children of God have experienced some irritations buzzing around our heads during these challenging times, but remember we have a Good Shepherd who will pour the OIL of the Spirit upon us so these annoyances will not be able to gain a foothold in our minds. They will have to “ slide off.”!!!