Blessings and greetings L.Y.F.E. family!

Welcome to another edition of “L.Y.F.E. is…”!

We hope and pray that your hearts are encouraged and that you are blessed by this devotional!

The History of Juneteenth

Scripture: “The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.”

Psalm 103:6 (NIV)

By God’s grace, it’s June! And can you believe that we are halfway through the year?? This is often a busy month. A month that is earmarked for remembering ‘Dads and Grads’; a month where we applaud graduates on all educational levels for their hard work and commitment; a month where the seasons change from Spring to Summer; and a month where we have historically celebrated the end of slavery of people of African descent, known as Juneteenth.

The story of Juneteenth, aka “Freedom Day” or “Liberation Day” begins on June 19^th, 1865; nearly two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. While the Emancipation Proclamation legally ended slavery in the United States; there were several thousand African Americans and people of African descent who did not know that they were free. But freedom finally came on June 19^th, 1865 when Union Major General Gordon Granger and some 2,000 Union soldiers arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas and announced that all enslaved Black people were free by executive order and decree. The former slaves began to immediately celebrate with food, song, dance, and prayer. To date, Juneteenth celebrations across the nation have included prayer and religious services, speeches, picnics, family gatherings, song and dance. And on June 17^th, 2021, President Joe Biden signed legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday.

Juneteenth stands to remind us that though the African American experience includes the brutal chains of slavery, inhumane treatment, and historic injustice; emancipation did come, and it broke those physical shackles of slavery.

In our scripture text, David declares that the LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. God cares for the oppressed, the hurting, and the abused. We learn from David that God performs righteous deeds and justice. God’s grace and mercy toward the oppressed is shown in Biblical examples, from when God delivered the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt (Judges 6:7-9) to the treatment of Greek widows (Acts 6:1-7). And God’s grace and mercy, as seen through the liberation of slaves on Juneteenth, is one of the many modern day acts of righteousness and justice God worked for His children, African Americans in this country. God gave the world His Son, Jesus, the Eternal Emancipator and Liberator so that we would be spiritually free from the bondage of sin and free from the physical chains of slavery. We serve a God that is a God of the left out, locked out, locked down, left behind, looked down upon, the lowly, the lost and the lonely.

It is because of this celebration of Juneteenth that we find hope in times of uncertainty and strength in times of weakness. For it is Our God who will always perform righteousness and it is Our God who will see that justice is done to the oppressed.

Thus, we celebrate this act of righteousness and justice!

Let us pray.

Prayer: Dear LORD, we thank YOU for performing righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. GOD, You(LORD) gave this world Your Son Jesus, Our Emancipator and Liberator to free us from the spiritual bondage of sin and to free us from the physical, economic, social, emotional, psycho-emotional, and mental chains of today’s society. We have hope today because You, O GOD will see to it that Your justice is done to the oppressed. In JESUS’ name. Amen.

GOD bless and love you all!

Reverend Will Brown