Originally posted on Facebook on Thursday, July 10, 2025.
Everyone knows what a plane is, right?
That depends.
How it’s used in a sentence is what reveals its meaning.
“We boarded the plane for our vacation.”
“The artist sketched a cube on a flat plane.”
Same word. Different meaning.
Context is what gives it meaning.
Last night at Starkville Bible U, we began our study of John—and it was wonderful. Those who got the most from the lesson will tell you the key was prayer and reading through the whole book.
Because context is what gives things their meaning.
We invite you to join us in the study of the Gospel of John—not only to better understand Jesus, but to better understand yourself.
Because context is what gives things their meaning.
Jesus is context for everything.
“All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”
— John 1:3
We hope you’ll read through the entire Gospel of John and join us next Tuesday.
A link to the study questions for Lesson 2 is in the comments.
#StarkvilleBibleU #BibleStudy #HowToReadTheBible #Context
Originally posted on Facebook on Sunday, July 6, 2025.
When I understand that Jesus' life is an act of worship, it reveals what true worship is—and transforms how I worship.
“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him."
— John 4:23
Worship is not just music and lip service.
Worship wants God's glory more than anything: it's an invitation for all to know and love God the way Jesus does—in Spirit and in Truth. This is God's will: God with us, God in Us, God through us, God all in all. And worship is everything that is joyfully offered, to the extent of our whole lives, in order to reveal it.
Originally posted on Facebook on Saturday, July 5, 2025.
"I don't feel particularly patriotic," someone dear to me said, in light of recent events.
But we’re getting out and celebrating the birth of our nation.
And I made sure to wear my American flag shirt.
There are those who would like to take Old Glory the way of the Confederate flag—which, to me, means “whites only” and the subjugation of all others—but I won’t let them.
It’s foolish to withdraw, especially now.
When we step away, it leaves a vacuum they fill with meaning that is antithetical to the very spirit of our country.
Our nation is “for the people, by the people”—not “for some people, by some people.”
They, who brandish outsized flags with small-minded vitriol, are squatters. And the way not to lose your home to them is not to leave it.
Now is the time to lean in—and to fight the way true patriots do:
Through intelligent discourse.
By casting a vision for a country that works well for all citizens—even those with whom we disagree.
By creating conditions that deliver on the promise of our founding: to protect life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
By organizing around that vision.
Through voting for which vision we deem best.
And through honoring the rule of law.
As we were walking yesterday, a white child looked at me and said, “Happy 4th!”
I exuberantly replied, “And Happy 4th to you, young man.”
Because I want him to associate me—my pride and my kindness—with that flag.
Get it in your heart: I am with you, I am your fellow American, and this is mine too.
Originally posted on Facebook on Friday, July 4, 2025.
In preparing for our next meeting of Starkville Bible U on Tuesday, July 8th, I've already been tremendously blessed. It's amazing how you come to a text you've read many times and still get something new. It truly is God's living Word.
I am so excited to learn and grow with fellow disciples.
We are going through the book of John. A link to the study questions will be provided in the comments. To get the most out of the study, it's recommended that you read through the entire Gospel of John. It's rich and you'll want to constantly re-read certain sections, but try to get through it in one go. There will be plenty of opportunity to dig deep as we go through the study.
Everyone should try to answer all of the questions if they can, but we recommend focusing especially on the following questions because these are the ones we will discuss:
– Question 4 (sets the framework for the rest of the study)
– Questions 1, 3, 5, 6, 7
– And Question 8 if we have time!
Each meeting will follow this general format:
– 📖 Brief introduction to Starkville Bible U
– 👋🏾New attendee introductions (optional)
– 🙏🏾 Prayer
– 🗨️ Roundtable discussion of selected questions facilitated by an Orientation Leader
– 🙋🏾♂️ Answering selected submitted questions (general questions about God, the Bible, the Church, faith, and more)
– 🙏🏾 Closing prayer
– 👋🏾 Dismiss
Feel free to ask any questions in the comments and we look forward to seeing you there!
Originally posted on Facebook on Friday, July 4, 2025.
In Week 27 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks to God for a treehouse in Mississippi.
I remember as a child growing up in Jackson, Mississippi, when I and a friend down the street built a treehouse.
My dad had just built a shed behind the house and we used left over boards and whatever other wood, sticks and nails we could could find around the neighborhood.
It was rickety as you might expect from a couple of ten-year-olds. It was essentially a crude lean to supported by the trunk of the tree and a couple of limbs. You had to climb in just so or the whole thing risked falling apart. It barely supported our weight, but it did and the one time we sat in it together was amazing.
We sat there all day practically, the passing of time marked by strobes of light that poked their way through our thatched roof and crawled across the floor. We talked some, sometimes in sitting in silence—but taking it all in. We couldn't have been more proud.
What a beautiful summer memory.
Such a simple but significant thing. Sometimes, we walk on gold so long that it becomes pavement to us.
Do you know how safe, care-free and wealthy you have to be for something like this to even be possible?
As a black man in Mississippi, I deeply appreciate this.
I have high hopes for my country—that it provides everyone with the freedom, safety and prosperity for their children to dream and build.
We can certainly be better.
But I am appreciative and thankful for what she already is.
Originally posted on Facebook on Thursday, July 3, 2025.
Nehemiah 6 stood out to me from my Bible Study this morning, specifically where his enemies make multiple attempts to disrupt his work, finally by bribing a "prophet" to make him afraid. But, Nehemiah said this,
"Should such a man as I flee?"
—Nehemiah 6:11
Wow.
It reminds me of where Jesus said,
“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour."
— John 12:27
It is a conqueror's mindset—marching forward, refusing to be stopped by fear (note I didn't say we're not afraid or concerned but rather not stopped).
And I glean this:
When the Lord gives you a work, let no one make you afraid—even those who come to you in the name of the Lord, because a spirit of fear is not from God. (2 Timothy 1:7)
Originally posted on Facebook on Saturday, June 28, 2025.
The Remedy For Worry
Meditations on Luke 12:22–34 and Matthew 6:25–34 and what it means to "seek the Kingdom of God."
We are troubled by many things (Luke 10:41)—seeking after food, drink, clothing, and other things that cause an anxious mind.
Why seek resources one after another that leave our minds scattered and our hearts divided, when we can have the Source from whom all the resources flow?
Here’s why: the Source is a Kingdom where I am not king. I want to control how the resources come to me and in what quantity. The problem is, my ultimate pursuit is the resources—which is a fool’s errand, because they do not satisfy.
But the rule of the rightful King is the best part (Luke 10:42)—the part that makes for our satisfaction and peace.
And if I love the King of the Source instead of the resources—so that they are no longer my pursuit—if He is the treasure I diligently seek, I will receive Him (Hebrews 11:6).
I am then satisfied with many wonderful things (Psalm 16:11), and He adds what is needed (Luke 12:31). And when He adds, He does so in healthy, sufficient portions—so my heart is not made fat and sick.
Then, I ultimately do not fret about the resource, because I’m satisfied with the Source—the Kingdom of God, where Christ is King.
So, my prayer is for a pure heart that loves and delights in God alone. And my sincere hope is a heart posture that says even if I should perish, I hope I do so in a way that blesses my beloved.
Originally posted on Facebook on Thursday, June 26, 2025.
"Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:31) has been heavy on my heart and the word that is in my spirit is "Oneness".
"Oneness" is a characteristic of God.
"The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.'"
– Mark 12:29
Everything God creates reflects His Oneness.
Separation and division, by contrast, are from the evil one.
But Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). And, He does so with this teaching that we find in Mark 12.
When I read the word of God, I'm often just as amazed by what God does not say as what He does say.
God could have told us to love our neighbor in countless ways, but He chose this one: "love your neighbor as yourself". I believe this is saying not to love my neighbor like or in a similar way that I love myself, but to love them as me.
This is an awesomely high bar that I fall totally short of.
I repent.
And I'm praying for His heart to see you as one with me—a heart that would not permit your harm, that knows I'm crippled without you and does everything it can not to lose you, and that has the wisdom to understand how it is all held together: Jesus Christ.
I believe Jesus Christ is the only thing powerful enough to hold it all together. (Colossians 1:17)
He is the only way to Oneness.
Wait a minute. What about Matthew 10:34?
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword."
This is an excellent point because it highlights what is necessary for Oneness: being separated us from what separates us (which is what His sword is against), but what is most important to Oneness is the only thing that can truly unify and hold all things together—Christ.
This is the context of the preceding and following verses: Matthew 10:33 "But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven." and Matthew 10:37 "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me."
Now, back to Mark 12. In verses 12:32-33, a scribe affirms Jesus' teaching of the law that there is no greater commandment than to love God with everything, and to love your neighbor as yourself. Yet in the very next verse (Mark 12:34), Jesus acknowledges that the scribe answered wisely, but replies, "You are not far from the kingdom of God".
If the scribe answered correctly according to the law, why isn't he instead in the kingdom of God?!
Because, when Jesus said, "You are not far from the kingdom of God," He was not talking about the law. Jesus was speaking of Himself, which the scribe had not yet embraced as the Christ which is necessary to enter into the kingdom.
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'"
– John 14:6
Originally posted on Facebook on Monday, June 23, 2025.
I used to call myself introverted.
But now I seek out fellowship with other believers—because I know I’ll be richer for it.
Being with other disciples is like standing in a stream, panning for something precious.
When I’m in the presence of people who love God, I receive Him.
Christ’s death and resurrection released something unimaginably powerful—like a star exploding and scattering all kinds of precious elements. Or perhaps more accurately, like the Big Bang, which many believe gave rise to everything in existence.
Through His death and resurrection, Jesus released precious things—parts of Himself into people: grace, gifts, and ministries.
"But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Therefore He says:
'When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men.'"
— Ephesians 4:7–8
These deposits of Christ in each of us were given for the very purpose of being discovered, drawn out, and shared which results in God's glory.
And what’s remarkable about this kind of “mining” is that it doesn’t leave the one being mined any poorer—but more refined, more radiant.
And those who receive what’s drawn out?
They become richer too.
The same person can be mined again and again, increasing their value collectively—without being diminished in any way.
Oh, the economy of God!
It’s not zero-sum like the world’s economy. It’s exponential.
And this deeply changes how I see my fellow believers—how I see people.
They are infinitely valuable.
"There's Gold in Thar Them Hills."
The treasure is Christ.
The gift of God.
The true riches.
