Today our nation observes Juneteenth, the end of slavery in the United States (read more here). It is a day to celebrate past victories over racial inequality and to rededicate ourselves to this effort. 

One of the gifts God's people receive from the African American stream of God’s Church is the ability to endure hardship. We celebrate today the “Balm of Gilead” that brought comfort and healing to Christian African Americans throughout 300 years of slavery. May their confidence be ours.

There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.
 
Sometimes I feel discouraged,
And think my work’s in vain,
But then the Holy Spirit
Revives my soul again.
 
There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.
 
If you cannot sing like angels,
If you can’t preach like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus,
And say He died for all.
 
There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.

Learning from David - a Faith that Sustained Him 

Many of the psalms numbering in the 50's provide history behind the psalm. Read Psalm 51-55.  David went through great personal and national hardships. Let his words help you as you go through your own hardships. 

• Psalm 51 – surviving the guilt of moral failure. “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean!”
• Psalm 52 – a prayer when evildoers are prospering. “I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God.”
• Psalm 53 – another prayer when evildoers prosper. Note the middle verse: “Do all these evildoers know nothing?”
• Psalm 54 – when you are betrayed. Again note the middle verse: “Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.”
• Psalm 55 – another prayer when you are betrayed. “As for me, I call to God, and the LORD saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice."

These two small copper coins were lepta (sing. “lepton”), the smallest and least valuable coins in circulation in Palestine, worth one-half of a quadrans or 1/128 of a denarius, or about six minutes of an average daily wage. This was next to nothing in value (Footnote in the New English Bible). 

A Faith that Would Sustain the Apostles

Click here to read Luke 21:1-19. 

Often our faith falters because we value the wrong things.

• The apostles valued the large gifts and beautiful buildings. 
• Jesus valued what was in the heart of a very generous widow. 
• Jesus valued the testimony the apostles would share.

Note the promises that can sustain us...

• Bad things will happen to us, but this happens "so you will bear testimony to me."
• When bad things happen to us, trust the Holy Spirit who can give you the faith and the words that point people back to Jesus. "I will give you words and wisdom."
• Even when death strikes us, "not a hair of your head will perish."

Our congregation has completed a beautiful building program. Many widow's mites have been and continue to be given to support this ministry expansion. Let us remember:

• Our "widow's mites" are not given simply to build beautiful buildings, but testify to the God who saves us. 
• These buildings are tools the Lord Jesus is giving us to help us testify to our community. “Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me" (Psalm 54).