KINDNESS TRANSFORMS

KINDNESS TRANSFORMS

 The British statesman and banker, Cecil Rhodes, whose fortune was used to endow the world-famous Rhodes Scholarships, was a stickler for correct dress--but apparently not at the expense of anyone else’s feelings.  A young man invited to dine with Rhodes arrived by train and had to go directly to his home in his travel-worn, wrinkled clothes.  Once there he was appalled to find that other guests were already assembled, wearing full evening dress.  After what seemed a long time Cecil Rhodes showed up wearing a shabby old blue suit.  Later the young man learned that his host had previously been dressed in evening clothes, but had put on the old suit when he heard of his young guest’s dilemma.

 Perhaps Maya Angelou expressed it best: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

 Be kind…always.

 Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

NEVER FEAR BEING DIFFERENT

NEVER FEAR BEING DIFFERENT

 Whenever you feel anxious or apprehensive about approaching a task in unique and unusual ways, consider this.  Years ago, Frank Lloyd Wright was given the impossible task of building the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.  No comparable construction job had ever been undertaken.  With vision and patience, Wright laid plans for the immense building in a land of recurrent tremors and earthquakes. 

 While carefully assessing the situation, he discovered that only eight feet below the surface lay a massive bed of soft mud.  His mind immediately embraced an unconventional thought.  Why not float the gigantic structure on this mud cushion to absorb the shock of earthquakes?  After four years of extensive work, amid significant skepticism and ridicule, the incredibly difficult building was completed.  Soon a day arrived in which its stability would be tested.  The worst earthquake in fifty-two years caused many Japanese houses and buildings to tumble and fall in ruins.  But the Imperial Hotel stood and survived, because it had been constructed to adjust to the seismic tremors of the earth.

 At all costs, avoid herd mentality.

 Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

WHERE CAN WE FIND WISDOM?

WHERE CAN WE FIND WISDOM?

 It has been said that a wise man learns by the experience of others; an ordinary man learns by his own experience; and a fool learns by nobody’s experience.  Just in case someone is thinking that tangible success and prosperity are synonymous with wisdom, please think again.  My friend, you don’t have to be listed in Who’s Who to know what’s what.

 I love the way J. I. Packer describes wisdom in his book, “Knowing God.”  He writes, “wisdom is the power to see and the inclination to choose the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it.”  That statement leads us to the indisputable conclusion that the only reliable and constant source of wisdom is our Creator. 

 Listen to the Word:  “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1:17)  “The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.” (James 3:17)

 Our Lord is the all-wise sovereign Savior.  Talk to Him – and in the quiet moments of your heart, listen.

 Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

GRATITUDE FOR GODLY PARENTS

GRATITUDE FOR GODLY PARENTS

 In all of our lives, it is absolutely certain that no one has greater import and impact than those whom the Almighty has purposefully chosen to steward and sustain our lives.  Therefore, we are eternally grateful for the love, guidance and discipline-seeds that parents have sown so generously in us.  Surely, we shall never forget.  With your indulgence, I would pay special homage to my own, Bishop Joseph Edison Bass, Sr. and Mrs. Mary Velma Watts Bass, parents par excellence.

 It brings to mind the observation of a musical impresario by the name of Sol Hurok, who deeply admired the celebrated African-American soloist, Marian Anderson.  In Hurok’s words, “Marian Anderson hadn’t simply grown great, she’d grown great simply.”  He wrote, “a few years ago a reporter asked Marian to name the greatest moment in her life.  I was quite curious to hear her answer, knowing she had so many great moments to choose from.  There was the night Toscanini remarked that hers was the finest voice of the century.  There was the private concert she gave at the White House for the Roosevelts and the King and Queen of England.  To top it all, there was that Easter Sunday in Washington when she stood at the Lincoln Monument and sang for a crowd of 75,000 – including the president’s cabinet, supreme court justices, and most members of congress.  Which of those big moments did she choose?  None of them,” concluded Hurok.  “Miss Anderson told the reporter that the greatest moment of her life was the day she went home and told her mother she wouldn’t have to wash other people’s laundry for income anymore!”

 Gratitude is reflected not only in our attitudes, but in our corresponding actions.  How often I have wished that my own parents were still alive.  I am confident that you, too, are grateful for yours.

 Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

CHRIST CAUSES CHANGE

CHRIST CAUSES CHANGE

 Earlier today, I was blessed to read a brief essay by triathlon and marathon coach, David Roher, which I’ve reprinted below for your spiritual edification and enlightenment: 

 “The motor home allows us to put all the conveniences of home on wheels.  A camper no longer need contend with sleeping in a sleeping bag, cooking over a fire, or hauling water from a stream.  Now he can park a fully equipped home on a cement slab in the midst of a few pine trees and hook up to a water line, a sewer line and electricity.  One motor home I saw recently had a satellite dish attached on top.  No more bother with dirt, no more smoke from the fire, no more drudgery of walking to the stream.  Now it is possible to go camping and never have to go outside.  We buy a motor home with the hope of seeing new places and getting out into the world.  Yet we deck it out with the same furnishings we have in our living room.  Thus nothing really changes.  We may drive to a new place, set ourselves in new surroundings, but the newness goes unnoticed for we’ve only carried along our old setting.   Remember that the adventure of new life in Christ begins when the comfortable patterns of the old life are left behind.”

 Amen, Brother Roher, Amen! 

 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2)

 
Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

WHY NOT LAUGH A LITTLE MORE?

WHY NOT LAUGH A LITTLE MORE?

 Somehow we tend to allow the cares of life to wear away at our ability to smile and laugh.  A study by researchers at the University of Michigan reveals that while the average child laughs 150 times a day, the average adult laughs only 15 times.  Even as our bodies age, we must resolve to remain ‘youthful’ in response to daily circumstances.

You see, laughter not only elevates one’s disposition, it improves one’s health.  Norman Cousins wrote of being hospitalized with a rare, crippling disease.  After his prognosis was reported as “incurable,” Cousins checked out of the hospital.  Aware of the harmful effects that negative emotions have on the body, Cousins wisely reasoned that the reverse was true.  So he borrowed a movie projector and prescribed his own treatment, consisting of Marx Brothers films and "Candid Camera" reruns.  It didn’t take long for him to discover that 10 minutes of laughter provided nearly two hours of pain-free rest.  Incredibly, his deadly debilitating disease was eventually reversed.  After the account of his health victory appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, Cousins received more than 3,000 letters from appreciative physicians and patients throughout the world. 

My friend, never let the turkeys (people or situations) get you down!  Find a reason and season to smile.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

THE UNCHANGING CHRIST

THE UNCHANGING CHRIST

 One of my favorite New Testament verses simply declares that “Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)  We are infinitely blessed by the ultimate dependability of our God.   In the words of the prophet Jeremiah, “great is Thy faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:223)

 When Lloyd C. Douglas, author of “The Robe” and other Christian novels, was a university student, he lived in a boarding house.  On the first floor was a retired music teacher who was infirmed and immobile.  But every morning those two had a ritual they would go through together.  Douglas would come down the steps, open the elderly man’s door, and ask, “What's the good news?”  The old man would respond by picking up his tuning fork, tapping it on the side of his wheelchair and saying, “That's middle C!  It was middle C yesterday; it will be middle C tomorrow; it will be middle C a thousand years from now.  The tenor upstairs sings flat; the piano across the hall is out of tune; but, my friend, THAT is middle C!”  

 This gentleman’s attitude had been literally transformed by the discovery of one powerful truth on which he could depend – one constant reality, one still and serene point in a turning world.  For us Christians, our one still point in this uncertain world is The Unchanging One in whom there is no shadow or hint of turning.  And His name is JESUS CHRIST!

 Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

RELATIONSHIPS GIVE LIFE

RELATIONSHIPS GIVE LIFE

 If you ever think that close and healthy relationships aren’t extremely important, consider the cruel experiment carried out by Emperor Frederick, ruler of the Roman Empire in the 13^th century.  He sought to discover which of three languages (Hebrew, Greek, or Latin) was first spoken by man.  To do so, he completely isolated a few infants from the sound of any human voice, reasoning rather strangely that they would eventually speak the “original tongue” of humankind.  Their wet nurses were sworn to absolute silence and though it was quite difficult they abided by the rule.  Those poor infants never heard one solitary word from a human voice.  Within several months they were all dead. 

 Bottom-line: Close connections are indispensable to human existence.  Therefore, we should resolve to go the extra mile to sustain close and healthy relations with others.  To assist our efforts, let’s prayerfully consider the following words for fostering positive communications:

 

The SIX most important words: “I admit I made a mistake.”

The FIVE most important words: “You did a good job.”

The FOUR most important words: “What do you think?"

The THREE most important words: "After you please.”

The TWO most important words: “Thank you.”

The ONE most important word: “We.”

The LEAST important word: “I.”

 To stay connected with others, we must strive to listen…really listen…and learn.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING.  Maranatha!

 

YOUR GIFTS MAKE ROOM

YOUR GIFTS MAKE ROOM

 Wisdom suggests that it is unnecessary to engage in self-promotion.  Never boast or brag.  Just develop yourself as much as God and life allow…and BE.  Although seemingly delayed, positive results invariably follow when you invest optimal talent and effort.  According to R. W. Emerson, “If a man can write a better book, preach a better sermon, or make a better mouse-trap than his neighbor, though he builds his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten pathway to his door.” 

 The patriarch Abraham’s son, Isaac, called the name of his new and productive well “Rehoboth” – and declared (faith-fully) that “the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” (Genesis 26:22)  Remember: a dream delayed is not a dream denied.  So keep on digging your unique ‘life-well’ with faith and tenacity, knowing your Creator has great expectations.  “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

 Bottom-line: According to King Solomon, “a man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.” (Proverbs 18:16)  Almighty God has already allocated sufficient room and resources to make your dream come alive.  Significant blessings and fulfillment await you at the intersection of faith and diligence.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

GRACE = UNMERITED FAVOR

GRACE = UNMERITED FAVOR

 How can we define grace?  Consider this.  When someone works an eight-hour day and receives payment in exchange for labor, that is a wage.  When someone competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for a winning performance, that is a prize.  When someone receives recognition for a consistent record of service and excellence, that is an award.  But when someone is not capable of earning a wage, or winning a prize, or deserving an award--yet receives these gifts anyway--that is a clear picture of God’s unmerited favor that is freely poured out upon us.  We call it GRACE.

 Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

SPIRITUAL SELF-AWARENESS: KNOW YOUR GROWTH EDGES

SPIRITUAL SELF-AWARENESS: KNOW YOUR GROWTH EDGES

God’s Word admonishes us to prayerfully examine ourselves and our works. (I Corinthians 11:28 – Galatians 6:4)  Spiritual self-awareness is mission critical to sustaining a covenant relationship with Christ, actualizing the divine will and consistently overcoming temptation.  It’s all about being thoroughly conscious of our growth edges and conscientiously attending to them.

Remember: Things that tempt me might never appeal to you.  Those things that draw you might never capture my attention.  So we must both know ourselves and be completely honest with ourselves.

One “Discipleship Journal” survey reported and ranked areas of greatest spiritual challenge:

 

1. Materialism

2. Pride

3. Self-centeredness

4. Laziness

5. Anger/Bitterness

6. Sexual lust

7. Envy

8. Gluttony

9. Lying

My friend, know what ‘floats your boat’ (so to speak), and be watchful whenever it shows up on your spiritual radar.  In the words of Jesus Christ, “watch and pray , lest you enter into temptation.” (Matthew 26:41)

 Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

THE SAFEST PLACE

THE SAFEST PLACE

 The Clark Sisters of gospel music fame recorded a song which proclaims emphatically that “the safest place in the whole wide world is in the will of God.”  In my own ministry, I have consistently taught that “the center of God’s will is the place of His promise, power, protection and provision.”

 Of course, it isn’t always easy to accept or adhere to the divine will.  For sometimes God says “no” to our heartfelt requests, when we would obviously welcome an affirmative response.  Remember that His “no” is rendered in the service of present or future good, whether we can readily discern it, or not.  It has been said that when God bolts the door, one should never attempt to gain entrance through the window.  Amen to that!  Because the will of God will never ever lead us where the love of God is not powerfully present and the grace of God will not promote, protect and provide for us.

 I love how Pastor Chuck Swindoll frames it: “God doesn't work on our timetable.  He has a plan that He will execute perfectly and for the highest, greatest good of all, and for His ultimate glory.”

 My friends, we do trust HIM, don’t we?  Yes, and we have every expectation that He is and shall be a present and powerful source of hope and help – every day and every way.  That’s why the very safest place in the whole wide world is (absolutely and indisputably) inside the will of God.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

THE PARADOX OF PAIN

THE PARADOX OF PAIN

 On the surface, one can scarcely discern any good in the familiar life experience that we call pain.  Pain has little intrinsic value, in and of itself.  Therefore, its presence and power are somewhat of a paradox.  How so?  For the believing sufferer, pain carries the potential of elevating faith via submission to the perfect or permissive will of God.  On the other hand, for compassionate observers, that same painful circumstance will produce empathy and selfless acts of love.

 My friend, never allow any experience of pain to make you bitter, only better.  Yours may not be a situation where you can readily trace God’s hand, but faith will mobilize you to trust God’s plan – knowing that providence transforms even negative circumstances for our good, simply because we love Him and are called according to His divine purpose. (Romans 8:28)  To wit, our faith empowers us to handle pain, instead of allowing pain to handle us.

 Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

THE TRUE SOURCE OF UNITY

THE TRUE SOURCE OF UNITY

 In his book, “The Pursuit of God,” A. W. Tozer asks this question: “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other?  They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow.  So one hundred worshipers gathered together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could otherwise possibly be, even if they were to become merely unity-conscious and turn their eyes away from God while striving for closer fellowship.” 

 When Christ prayed that we believers would become “ONE,” His intention must have been that we would become so individually devoted to Him that we would automatically enter into significant and sustained relationships with one another. (John 17:11)  Indeed, HE is the divine Source of all unity, blessings and love.

 Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

THE WORLD NEEDS MEN (WOMEN TOO)...

THE WORLD NEEDS MEN (WOMEN TOO)...

who cannot be bought;

whose word is their bond;

who put character above wealth;

who possess opinions and a will;

who are larger than their vocations;

who do not hesitate to take chances;

who will not lose their individuality in a crowd;

who will be as honest in small things as in great things;

who will make no compromise with wrong;

whose ambitions are not confined to their own selfish desires;

who will not say they do it because everybody else does it;

who are true to their friends in adversity as well as in prosperity;

who do not believe that shrewdness and cunning are best qualities for success;

who are not ashamed or afraid to stand for the truth when it is unpopular;

who can say “no” with emphasis when all the rest of the world says “yes.”

Reprinted: “Living Above the Level of Mediocrity,” by Pastor Chuck Swindoll.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

PEACE THAT SURPASSES UNDERSTANDING

PEACE THAT SURPASSES UNDERSTANDING

 Long ago a man sought the perfect picture of peace. Not finding one that was satisfactory, he announced a contest to produce this masterpiece. The challenge stirred the imagination of artists everywhere, and paintings arrived from far and wide. Finally the day of decision arrived. The judges unveiled one peaceful scene after another, as the viewing audience clapped and cheered.

 The tensions in the crowd grew when only two pictures remained veiled.  As a judge pulled the cover from one, a hush fell over the crowd.  A mirror-smooth lake reflected lacy, green birches under the soft blush of the evening sky. Along the grassy shore, a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed. Surely this was the winner!

 Then the second painting was revealed as the crowd gasped in surprise. Could what they were seeing possibly represent peace?  A tumultuous waterfall cascaded down a rocky precipice.  It was so striking that the crowd could almost feel its cold, penetrating water spray. Stormy-gray clouds threatened to explode with lightning, wind and rain. In the midst of these thundering noises and bitter chill, a spindly tree clung to the rocks at the edge of the falls. One of its branches reached out in front of the torrential waters as if foolishly tempting exposure to its full power.

 A little bird had built a nest in the elbow of that slender tree branch. Content and undisturbed in her stormy surroundings, she rested on her eggs. With her eyes closed and her wings ready to cover her coming little ones, she manifested peace that transcends all earthly turmoil. 

 It would seem that peace is not the same thing as what we perceive as calmness or serenity – where all is apparently well and nothing seems threatening or disturbing.  Remember: GENUINE PEACE consists not in the absence of danger, but in the presence of God.  Peace that Jesus gives does not always avoid trouble, but it is secure in the confidence that He is there…always.  Jesus Christ yet declares to His disciples: “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

 My friend, be at peace because the One who declared to the wind and waves, “Peace, be still” is here. (Luke 4:35-41)  HE grants peace “that surpasses all understanding.” (Philippians 4:7 – John 14:27)

 Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

GOD'S TIMING

GOD’S TIMING

The works of our God are never explainable by using human timetables or timepieces.  Clocks are man’s invention; eternity is His.  In the “Sunday School Times,” a rather strange story was told of an Eastern king.  It illustrates our misunderstanding of God’s presence and work in our human lives and circumstances.  

 The king was seated in a garden, and one of his spiritual counselors was speaking of the wonderful works of God.  “Show me a sign,” said the king, “and I will believe.” 

 “Here are four acorns.” said the counselor, “Will your Majesty plant them in the ground, and then stoop down for a moment and look into this clear pool of water?” 

 The king did so.  “Now,” said the counselor, “look up.”  The king looked up and saw four massive oak trees where he had planted the acorns. “Wonderful!” he exclaimed, “this is indeed the work of God!”

 “How long were you looking into the water?” asked the counselor. 

“Only a second,” said the king.

“Eighty years have passed as one second,” said the counselor.  The king looked at his garments; they were threadbare.  He looked at his reflection in the water; he had become an old man.

 “There is no miracle here, then!” the king shouted angrily. 

“Yes,” said the counselor, “it is God’s work, whether He did it in one second or in eighty years.”

 My friends, God’s ways are absolutely transcendent, often far beyond our comprehension or comfort.  So whatever comes or goes, we must learn to WAIT on the Lord. (Psalm 27:14 – Isaiah 40:31)  Both His solution and timing are perfect – whether we presently understand them, or not.

 Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

TRUSTING GOD

TRUSTING GOD

In its most mature phase, faith becomes an experiential confidence that Jehovah-Jireh will surely provide for the unknown needs of tomorrow.  After all, He has already proven Himself (repeatedly) in the affairs of yesterday and today.  So never doubt or debate whether or not He will show up on time.  According to Thomas Carlyle, “a man lives by believing something, not by debating and arguing about many things.”  So we must evict tenuous and wavering behaviors. 

 Focus.  Pray.  Believe.  Receive.  FAITH it into existence!  According to the teachings of Jesus Christ, “all things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22)  Indeed, your “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

 Remember this: The sovereign God typically works in mysterious and unanticipated ways – often totally opposite to our human expectations, limitations, or dreams.  According to Brett Blair, faith understands that God always intervenes in the natural course of events.  And even  if the natural course of events should appear to answer our prayers--that which we call a coincidence--faith still believes that the omnipotent God is entirely and powerfully present.

 I dare to trust in ALMIGHTY GOD…as do you.

 Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

SHALL WE PLEASE GOD OR MAN?

SHALL WE PLEASE GOD OR MAN?

 Kindly pardon the old Middle-English language in this devotional; but you’ll surely get the point.

 Hugh Lattimer once preached before King Henry VIII.  Henry was so greatly displeased by the boldness in the sermon that ordered Lattimer to preach again on the following Sunday and to apologize for the offense he had given.  The next Sunday, after reading his text, he began his sermon as follows: “Hugh Lattimer, dost thou know before whom thou are this day to speak?  To the high and mighty monarch, the king’s most excellent majesty, who can take away thy life, if thou offendest.  Therefore, take heed that thou speakest not a word that may displease.  But then consider well, Hugh, dost thou not know from whence thou comest--upon Whose message thou are sent?  Even by the great and mighty God, Who is all-present and Who beholdeth all thy ways and Who is able to cast thy soul into hell!  Therefore, take care that thou deliverest thy message faithfully.”  He then preached the same sermon he had preached the preceding Sunday--and with considerably more energy. 

 There’s a New Testament scripture that is absolutely applicable: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John…they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13)

 Hold fast to THE TRUTH – not ‘your truth.’ (John 14:6)

 Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

THE PARALYSIS OF ANALYSIS

THE PARALYSIS OF ANALYSIS

 Sometimes it feels easier to remain detached than to jump in and become involved.  Quite often, such passive behavior proves to be disastrous or deadly.  Kitty Genovese was a young woman who was brutally murdered in a New York residential section while at least 38 neighbors watched from their windows.  During the course of her tragic 30-minute assault, no one even telephoned the police.  Follow-up investigation revealed some surprising facts about all those eyewitnesses.  It turned out that they were not totally indifferent as some had suspected.  The main reason nobody did anything was that every person thought that someone else would take the initiative and get help.

 How does that familiar security slogan go?  “If you see something, say something.”  All too often we remain passive or reluctant to intervene when family or friends are in dire need of helping hands.  Reminder: God is a Spirit, so technically speaking, His hands and feet are OURS.  My friend, use wisdom, but never succumb to the paralysis of analysis.  You can and should do something.

 Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!

ARE WE STILL DECLARING LIBERTY?

ARE WE STILL DECLARING LIBERTY?

 As a life-long student of American history, I am aware that fifty-six men signed our Declaration of Independence. Their strong and unwavering conviction resulted in profound suffering for themselves and their families. Of those fifty-six men, five were captured by the British and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary War. One signer had two sons captured. Nine fought and died from wounds or hardships of war. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, had his ships sunk by the British navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in poverty. At the Battle of Yorktown, the British General Cornwallis seized Thomas Nelson’s home for his headquarters. Nelson quietly ordered General George Washington to open fire on the Nelson home. His home was completely destroyed and Nelson died in bankruptcy. John Hart was cruelly driven from his wife’s bedside while she lay dying. Their thirteen children fled for their lives. His mill and fields were destroyed. For over a year, he lived in forest and caves, then returned home to find his wife dead and his children gone. Only a few weeks later, Hart died from grief and exhaustion.

 These historic forebearers of our national freedom sacrificed so much.  My fear is that our generation has presently adopted such a cavalier and haphazard approach to truth, righteousness and justice that we stand on the precipice of forfeiting what had been courageously constructed and defended with the blood and tears of many.  In truth, are we yet declaring, promoting and upholding “liberty and justice for all?”  Or will that poignant phrase ultimately be relegated to the trash-heap of history?

 Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!