Originally posted on Facebook on Saturday, December 13, 2025.
Years ago, a young man wandered into my office with a long swan song about running out of gas, a pregnant girlfriend, and how they had to be somewhere urgently. All red flags.
This particular time I decided to give him money. Afterward, my co-worker chided, "You know he's just scamming you, right?"
I replied, "What he's doing is none of my business. But what I'm doing is communicating to him that there is light in this dark world: compassion, love and respect—for him."
It's a seed that I hope brings him back to that Light and explodes into abundant life in him.
The Way I follow is not to worry about other people and their motives, but to be prayerful, discerning, intentional and purposed in my heart, and then do what I set out to do.
Originally posted on Facebook on Wednesday, December 10, 2025.
It is not enough for each of us to perform acts of love.
True love shows up in our systems.
Love that does not create loving infrastructure is merely performative.
Love not only gives someone something to eat, it establishes structures that protect them from insecurity in the first place.
"You will know them by their fruit."
— Matthew 7:16
God's love is the sap—our lifeblood;
God's Spirit is the pressure—the force that drives it outward;
and the fruit—its ultimate expression is God's Kingdom, whose leaves perpetually heal the nations (Revelation 22:2).
Originally posted on Facebook on Thursday, December 4, 2025.
Color me impressed.
I was putting together a technical guide and had to use screenshots from different computers with mismatching backgrounds and color schemes. It was driving me nuts! 😅
So, I gave ChatGPT a pretty vague prompt,
"I have pictures from different computers that I would like to change to match. Please generate an image of the screenshot ending in '-2.jpg' to match the color theme of the first image but keep all the text the same as the original."
From that it was able to recreate the screenshot to match the theme of the other images so that the look was consistent throughout the guide.
The crazy thing is, the image I was asking it to modify was actually a photo with a glare and everything, but it converted it into the form of a matching screenshot. I like.
Originally posted on Facebook on Saturday, November 29, 2025.
What's happening when I read the Word in faith?
The answer to that question begins with acknowledging what Scripture refers to as the inner spiritual man.
Every believer is born with a new heart that God gives—a heart born of the incorruptible seed: the implanted Word, and made alive by the Holy Spirit. This new heart is the core of our spiritual being and is what allows us to experience and participate in spiritual life.
Just as physical food is the material that builds our physical bodies, the Word is spiritual food that builds our spiritual being.
So when we read the Word in faith, we "eat" it (test, receive and accept: ingestion, digestion and absorption) and thereby Christ is being formed in us (our being conformed to His image), our inner man is being nourished, increasing our spiritual capacity to perceive, function, and live.
Therefore, always seek to understand but read the Word even if you don't understand it yet, like physical eating where you benefit even before grasping the mechanics of nourishment. The Word, our spiritual food, is doing a work.
Not everything is food and a lot of what we feed on from other sources is killing us. The key is identifying what is food.
“For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. […] It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life."
— John 6:55, 63
So,
"as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby"
— 1 Peter 2:2
Humble yourself.
Do not harden your heart.
Yield to the work of the Holy Spirit.
Receive the bread of God that comes down from heaven:
the Word in flesh, Jesus Christ.
Hear Him. Believe Him. Be Him.
Eat.
Originally posted on Facebook on Wednesday, November 26, 2025.
There is nothing more for us as children of God to do than to rule well. (Micah 6:8)
That is, to believe and rule as Jesus ruled (which, for us, flows out of believing)—
obeying the Father,
empowered by the Holy Spirit,
according to the character of God and the government (order) of His Kingdom which is Love
—stewarding God's trust to the profit of God's Kingdom, so that everything entrusted to our care flourishes and His life is magnified by us through the Communion of the Body of Christ.
It is putting down rebellion against this cause (in us and our dominion). It is grieving, confessing, being cleansed of and resisting sin until everything is put under His feet—in preparation for the great and very terrible Day when Christ comes to deliver the Kingdom to God (1 Corinthians 15:24).
This is the anti-work—ceasing our works and receiving His works through faith: the paradox of our being "diligent to enter [His] rest" (Hebrews 4:11).
This is sanctification.
This is obedience.
This is excellence.
This is worship.
This is abiding.
This is life.
Rule well.
By grace.
Through faith.
In Communion.
Centered in God's love revealed through Jesus Christ.
Originally posted on Facebook on Sunday, November 23, 2025.
"The things people say when they feel righteous… I can see why people run from the church… It's disrespectful. It's not Christ-like."
This was a gift given to me by Rick Patton during our last Starkville Bible U fellowship, and I've been feasting on it ever since.
Have you ever known someone on a new diet who thinks everyone should be on that diet and are condescending about it? They're insufferable.
I've been that guy. I repent.
The church is like a restaurant. But imagine a restaurant that's preachy about how others should eat and condemn people for eating any other way.
Shouldn't we instead, even according to Scripture, just concentrate on serving what we have to offer to the best of our ability? I believe Jesus—His flesh and His blood—satisfies. That's the offer. I can't make you want it.
If you're craving Korean barbeque, I can't make you want Mediterranean food. In a world that confuses experience (pleasure, excitement, etc.) with living, it's tempting to either condemn people's lifestyle or cater to it. But the Church should do neither.
The Church should stand firm on what we offer without the leaven of compromise. The question is, do we enjoy it ourselves? If so, its effect should begin to express: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control—life. We should have testimony of its benefits.
What more is there to do than declare the offer and share these testimonials?
One thing we share in common with every other "restaurant" is this: people only come when they already have a taste for what we serve. What we offer is only for those whom God is drawing.
Hungry? Thirsty?
Their appetite is given by God and is satisfied by Christ.
One way the Church is different than every other "restaurant" is this: those whom God draws—when they eat and drink the One we serve, Christ—will never hunger or thirst again.
To the Church: Christ satisfies. Declare that gospel and serve Him, alone.
To the Hungry and Thirsty: Come. Taste and see that the Lord is good!
Originally posted on Facebook on Friday, November 21, 2025.
Buying a microwave was one of the greatest moments of my life.
And from a pawn shop no less.
I was 20, moving into an apartment, and didn't have a stitch of furniture.
But I couldn't have been happier.
Having lost everything before to sin and foolish living, this used microwave, in an apartment I secured after living in my car, was a symbol to me of the hope that is in God—that I can start again, that I can build from here.
I arrived at that apartment a single man and left with this beautiful family.
As I look ahead to the second half of my life on this birthday, and again reflect on where God has brought me from, I have great hope—that I can start again, that I can build from here.
Originally posted on Facebook on Sunday, November 16, 2025.
"I don't know what to say." Part 2
My continued journey into prayer—what it is, how to do it, and where to begin.
Prayer is first and foremost a response to God’s mercy and loving-kindness.
God revealed Himself after we cut ourselves off by our sin. God initiated the restoration of the connection and established communication—a means of getting to know Him.
The Kingdom comes through the knowledge of God which Satan opposes.
So PRAYER IS FIGHTING for that connection—"taking the kingdom by force"—an engagement in war in the spiritual realm to let God's kingdom come. To pray is to overcome resistance.
This world is a lie.
Prayer is coming out from the lie of this world and into the Truth God reveals, to be reoriented with reality—not this world that has been pulled over our eyes to blind us from it, but the actual reality we cannot see without the help of the Holy Spirit. Prayer parts the veil and offers escape from the deception of this world so we can live.
To abide in Him is to live.
Prayer (especially with fasting) assaults the world's hold on me and my hold on it—subduing all other rule, including my own. Prayer is where I wrestle against the world to enjoy rest in Him.
Prayer is coming to the only true power and ruler—God—as a holy, righteous, and loving Father with all the humility, reverence, adoration, and worship that His presence commands.
Prayer is where I seek, wait for, and enjoy communion with God. It's a sacred place where I am made known and where I get to know Him.
Prayer is coming before the Father by the privilege afforded to me through Jesus Christ and mediated by the Holy Spirit—with boldness: the confidence that I am cherished as His child. It's not about me doing the right works or having the right words—He achieved my access and I can't mess it up.
In the confidence of that amazing grace, I bring everything with gladness and thanksgiving—joys, pains, hopes, fears, confessions, questions, discoveries, plans, supplications, intercessions—all in pursuit of Him, grounded in the reality that His presence comes with His Kingdom.
His Kingdom is the ministry of every good and perfect gift under His righteous, loving rule—which I eagerly welcome and seek to see ministered everywhere in my sphere.
In short, these have become my 9 Pillars of Prayer:
Prayer is a response to God's merciful invitation to know Him.
Prayer is spiritual warfare to overcome resistance to God's Kingdom.
Prayer connects us to The Way from deception and death to truth and life so we can live. (To abide in Him is to live.)
Prayer untangles us from the world.
Prayer is worship.
Prayer is complete sharing—communion with God.
Prayer is access established by God through Christ and facilitated by the Holy Spirit.
Prayer seeks God and His purposes. (Prayer is getting to know Him.)
Prayer equips us to do what we see the Father doing: Kingdom.
Prayer starts with presence—and from there, we can get everywhere. Laying hold of any one pillar leads to all the others.
I still don't quite know what to say. But through this, I've learned that prayer is not so much about what to say as it is about how to be.
Learning how to be with God in prayer also teaches me a great deal about how to be with you. Our communion with others is centered on our relationship with Him.
It begins with showing up—honestly and authentically—and trusting that God is doing something, even if I can't see it, and regardless of how it seems it's being received.
Originally posted on Facebook on Friday, November 14, 2025.
I'm so glad to have so many smart, well traveled Facebook friends. You guys give the best recommendations!
First off: "Paul! Are those TWO plates of food yours?!" Mind yo business. 🤣
Weldon Goree recommended Prince's Hot Chicken if we're in Nashville. As we were walking to their downtown location, we came upon Hattie B's. It was smelling good and the line was around the building. Melissa was like, "Maybe we should be going to Hattie B's." Resolute in my faith I said "Nope. My boy said Prince's and that's where I'm going." And faith did not disappoint! Good looking out, sir.
"Nashville Hot Chicken" is a culinary icon of Tennessee with African American roots and Prince's is the original. The origin story for Hot Chicken is hilarious!
Melissa and I both ordered the jumbo tenders. She ordered hers mild and I, medium. On first bite, I thought I was going to be disappointed, but give it a second. The flavor started flooding in, but not in an overwhelming way. It came in in swells, the taste accentuated by other flavors on the plate. The tenders were garnished by slices of sweet hot pickles. Our sides were greens, baked beans, fries and corn bread. Bite of chicken then beans—slammin. Chicken then fries—yum. Chicken then pickles—wonderful. Chicken then cornbread—sweet. Everything on that plate was perfect.
It probably helps that everything is made to order. After ordering, I stood for 20+ minutes waiting for my food and it was worth every second! Every. Second.
Look, I've had the fortune of enjoying some great food, but this contends for the best meal I've had this year! Not an overreach—facts.
Did I mention the wings? I couldn't decide so I ordered the tenders and the wings (I know, big back behavior 😅), thinking these were going to be your run of the mill wing-joint wings. No sir. These wings are the wings of those chicken's mother—full grown chicken wings. And perfectly cooked.
Every piece of chicken was thoroughly cooked, yet with the perfect tenderness. My wife doesn't like bone in chicken for this very reason—fear of being undercooked, but as I said, every piece was perfectly cooked and she tore one of my wings up! 🤣
My only disappointment was I didn't get one of their desserts. While standing in line, they were occasionally putting other pies in the dessert case. Are they back they're making these too?!! However, the cornbread was a dessert itself.
Originally posted on Facebook on Thursday, November 13, 2025.
Honestly, I haven't really prayed in a while…
For the same reasons I don't like calling friends and family:
"I don't know what to say."
I am afflicted by a kind of dyslexia of thought.
There's a deep well of love and affection, but getting it to the surface takes tremendous effort. There's a near infinite chain of interlinked thought and sentiment where to pull anywhere in an attempt to extract a thought is to pull it all. Hardly anything ever comes out right.
My thoughts are often jumbled—not in an order that makes sense to most people or conveys the weight of what I want to give them. Throughout my life when I've tried to communicate, the reactions I've gotten—as though I'm weird or stupid—haven't felt great.
I'm constantly afraid I'm going to do or say the wrong thing—afraid I'm going to inadvertently offend someone or embarrass myself.
So I withdraw, even from God.
And I settle for small talk: reporting of facts and reactions about what's on the surface rather than having a real heart to heart. I hate it and actively avoid situations involving small talk.
Because another one of my afflictions is that I'm practical to a fault. I approach everything asking "What are we doing here? What do we hope to achieve? What's the purpose?", including talking.
I really don't understand casual conversation. I don't understand what it does for people. And if it's not accomplishing something, if I'm not doing something for you, what's the point?
I've been doing a Bible study that's challenged me on this. We were in the book of Daniel where I took note of the prayer life of Daniel. It revealed this: presence is the point.
God's presence does something. It is life.
Daniel persistently sought it.
And when we, who are created in the image of God, show up honestly and authentically—as He created us to be—it does something.
It never occurred to me on a heart level that anyone would want just me—that my just being there does anything—that my presence is a form of love.
I love God.
But, I haven't loved God in prayer.
I repent.
I haven't committed the time and effort to reach out and spend quality time with Him because it's been a struggle for me to show up authentically for fear of not coming across well or of it not accomplishing anything.
"But perfect love casts out fear." — 1 John 4:18
I will not be rejected, because He initiated the communication. He wants to be with me.
And what I see now in His love for me is it starts with presence.
Presence speaks volumes. We can get to everywhere from there.
It is a struggle, but that's part of love—overcoming resistance to reveal the beautiful Truth.
This has transformed how I have approached prayer: what it is, how to do it, and where to start—which I'll share later in more detail in "I don't know what to say" Part II.
