Yes, some of you may be surprised by the title of this post, others may not. I don’t watch or listen to the news, but it’s hard to spend any time on the internet these days and not see a shocking headline that you know has to be untrue, but unfortunately is not. Yesterday I saw just such a headline. It was about a major sports apparel company teaming up with an artist I had never heard of to create a sneaker design referred to as ‘Satan Shoes’ that would include a drop of human blood in them. I just knew it had to be false. So I checked into it.

The company released a statement saying that they had nothing to do with this custom design. The design was an after market change to one of their products. (Update: There are reports that the company will sue for the use of their sneakers in this manner). The rest unfortunately was true and the story was much worse than the little I have shared here. The artist, Lil Nas X, whose given name is Montero Lamar Hill, had also recently come out with a very disturbing music video that involved satan, hell, and other things that I won’t mention. I did not watch the video, I just read the details and that was enough.

So why am I even sharing this? Why am I giving this the attention that this young man was obviously trying to get? I am sharing this because of what God said to me in the midst of this. You see, I was very quick to be appalled, as I should be. I was very quick to judge his actions as sinful, which they were. I was also very quick “to judge, to reject, to condemn, and to pass sentence” on this young man. The quoted words here are from John 3:17 in the Amplified Classic Bible.

As I shared this shocking story with my husband, appalled at what the world has come to, I heard these words rise up out of my heart, “Who wishes all men to be saved…” (1 Timothy 2:4, AMPC). The full scripture says, “who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4, NKJV). I then heard that still, small voice speak to my heart, “Pray for him.”

So, Montero Lamar Hill, did get my attention. I will now be praying for him to be saved and to know the truth about the One Who loves Him, the One Who died for him. God gave us a free will. Mr. Hill gets to choose to receive the free gift of salvation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ or not. Until the day that he or I move to heaven, I will be praying for him, not judging, rejecting, and condemning him. I do not approve or support his actions. I will pray for and extend God’s love to the man in my prayers.

“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.” (John 3:16-17, AMPC)

Happy Easter everyone. I leave you with this.

“There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’ And they divided His garments and cast lots… Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, ‘Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ Having said this, He breathed His last.” (Luke 23:32-33, 44-46; NKJV)