Originally posted on Facebook on Thursday, April 28, 2022.

If I may be real, for years I struggled with whether to share my faith with my children.

First, because I was wrestling with whether I truly believed. I still am. (It is they that endure to the end that are saved.)

And second, because the most detrimental thing I could do to my children's prospect of authentic faith was have it based on mine (rather than on Christ).

It is too easy for my children to accept what I say and mimick what I do because they love me, trust me and want to be accepted by me, rather than thoughtfully examining the claims of Scripture and coming to their own authentic, personal, battle-tested faith in Christ.

One thing I did decide early on was to convey that I would love them the same regardless of what they believed, not only because I want to remove any stumbling blocks to my children coming to sincere faith in Christ, but because it is true.

Beware #CulturalChristianity

Originally posted on Facebook on Sunday, April 24, 2022.

Being black, in my experience, is to be incessantly asked the question, "Do you belong here?" Unless of course you're in prison, in poverty or a position of subordination.

It's a question that makes my soul tired.

Even some of those who purport to be allies or to "help" readily relegate blacks to the lower rungs in their world or to the head of diversity.

It all swells in me a near infinite anger, one that would not be exhausted even if I were to kill everyone and raze everything to the ground.

This is yet another way I know there is a God to keep such a consuming fire in check. More than that, to also give me compassion for those by whom the offense comes -the perpetrators of my pain, because the enemy is not flesh and blood but sin that enslaves. I was once a slave.

My vision for my people are to have spaces (distinct from being in spaces) where our belonging is never a question but a necessity.

Let it start here and with me. Black people, I need you and don't want a world without you in every part of it.

Originally posted on Facebook on Saturday, April 16, 2022.

I used to be offended by the resurrection.

The notion that a man died and came back to life was an insult to my sensibilities and was a major stumbling block to my accepting wholesale the claims of this man called Jesus.

I would not have believed had the Holy Spirit not intervened through the Spirit-filled preaching of the Word, the Spirit-filled ministry of believers and other various means.

My encounter with the Spirit prompted questions I had not sincerely considered before:

"Is this all there is? Could there be more? And, what if this man called Jesus is not just a man? What if He's more?"

I'm eternally thankful for His intervention because without the resurrection, the Christian faith is just another philosophy. But there is power –not just for some future mystical event, but power that is real and at work in my life today because Christ died and was raised.

Christ's dying as the perfect sacrifice satisfied the penalty of sin so I'm no longer condemned,
His being raised conquered death undoing for me sin's ultimate effect,
and His living established His kingdom where sin has no power and I'm given power over sin.

So, because of the resurrection, today I live free, with power to resist sin and I have this hope for tomorrow to attain to this resurrection, being eternally free from sin and death and to live: enjoying God without hindrance or limitation forever.

So, to those in Christ I say, "Happy Resurrection Day!" And, to those being saved I say, "Come. You are invited into the joy of our Lord!"

Again, "Happy Resurrection Day!"

#ressurectionday

Originally posted on Facebook on Wednesday, April 6, 2022.

If I truly care about reaching the lost then I need to understand that sophisticated arguments won't convince them but a demonstration of love will.

And, not just any love but Jesus' love.

Our Lord says,

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” -John 13:34-35

And, in another place it is written,

"If we love one another, God abides in us […]"
"and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world." -1 John 4:12-14

The love of Jesus is:
Love that is willing to give everything,
Love that prioritizes others,
Love that humbles oneself,
Love that settles for nothing less than wholeness,
Love that wages war on anything that attempts to put itself between us and God and each other.

When we love like that, that's compelling evidence.

I labor to this end

Originally posted on Facebook on Wednesday, March 30, 2022.

On my own:

I am evil.
I am weak.
I am foolish.
My heart is wicked and I don't know how to live without being destructive.
I am an enemy of God, rightfully condemned.

These are all deeply offensive, true and absolutely essential to a right delivery and acceptance of the gospel.

But thanks be to God, I am not on my own because God sent His Son Jesus, who makes it so none of these things are true about those who receive Him. And, that's the good news.

Promises of health, wealth and a picture perfect life, ain't it. This is the #gospel.

Originally posted on Facebook on Monday, March 28, 2022.

We've all heard "Jesus saves," but saves from what?

Jesus saves us from the power and penalty of sin.

The power being sin's influence in my life to do harm that I'd rather not and my being powerless to resist it.

The penalty being God's wrath; His anger that burns against evil, the coming justice and final punishment for all wrongdoing which all sinners are condemned to.

But thanks be to God for deliverance through Jesus Christ!

Through belief in Him I am no longer a condemned sinner enslaved to sin but a sinner made saint who struggles with sin.

The difference?

There is no longer ANY condemnation! And, I am no longer helpless against sin. I can fight now.

As I learn to walk in my new found liberty as a saint I am now able, through Christ, to fight in the struggle against sin. Jesus teaches me to make war. By God's grace through Christ, I'm already more than a conqueror.

Are your hurting? Are you hurting others? Do you need to be saved from sin? God loves you and sent His Son so that you would not perish but have everlasting life. Turn to Jesus Christ and be saved.

#gospel

Originally posted on Facebook on Friday, March 11, 2022.

I'm naturally introverted (solitude energizes me, most interactions with people exhaust me) but I also avoid people because I'm messed up and I'm afraid that I will be abandoned because of it.

But, rather than live in fear of being abandoned, I have instead decided to create safe spaces for others and that I won't abandon you.

I want good for you and I can't minister good things to you if I'm isolating myself from you. So, people are just going to have to bear with me, because I intend to give all that I am, jacked up parts and all.

I apologize for the messed up parts in advance (it's being addressed, I'm being made new in Christ), but be assurred that, by the grace of God, my innermost desire when I am with you is to help you and not harm you.

I love you and that's a promise.

Originally posted on Facebook on Wednesday, January 12, 2022.

My heart is still on home and the Parable of the Prodigal Son is so rich,

"And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him." -Luke 15:20

Of all the homes I've ever known, they all had one thing in common: they already had their mind made up to love you even before you got there –what's more is that it isn't on the basis of what you've done or haven't done but rather on the basis of who they are: home.

#spirithome

Originally posted on Facebook on Thursday, December 2, 2021.

"Finding a wife" is not like stumbling upon money on the ground, but like unearthing rubies, a precious gemstone, that has to be mined, cut and polished. You have to appreciate the value of this treasure, have the understanding to identify what's valuable and be actively searching for it (digging).

Fun fact: you can get totally different gems from the same corundum mineral stone: a priceless ruby or a much less valuable sapphire or a worthless rock – it varies based on the skill of the lapidary (gem cutter) [Husband]. An incompetent man can ruin a great wife. So, learn from the Master.

Jesus teaches us how to "find a wife".

He's clear about:
Who God is, thus;
Who He is.
What He's doing.
Why He's doing what He's doing.
Where He's going.

He then makes an invitation to join Him and is clear about what it costs.

He loves the wife He finds; covering, praying, leading, teaching, providing, giving His life -perfecting her that they may be one in God.

By the grace of God, I "find a wife" in Melissa every day. It's not a one time event. It's a continual process. My example is Jesus as Christ prepares for Himself a bride — in me. I, along with all those who accept His invitation, am His bride.