The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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Several years ago, I went scuba diving with my sons. Although it was not the first time we’d dived together, and it certainly would not be the last, this particular trip was special, because it was the trip in which Joshua, my younger son, earned his certification as a scuba diver. His older brother, Harden, and I were already certified, and we accompanied Josh on one of his first open-water dives, which are part of the certification process. On this particular open-water dive, we were in the Ba...
I read about an enlisted soldier who was walking along a Bavarian road. World War I was over. Germany was defeated and devastated. The land around him was scorched by the destruction of war. This little fellow decided to end it all. With the Fatherland finished, what was the point of living? He came to a river, and he looked over a bridge railing to the icy waters down below. He decided to jump. He looked around again, and saw people aimlessly wandering about trying to find what was left of...
I really need Christmas this year! Let’s face it! There is a lot of division and mistrust in our culture, in our communities and in our country right now. On the political front, we are so divided! More divided than I have ever witnessed in my lifetime. We negatively label each other as Democrats, Republicans, Socialists or Libertarians. We are stereotyped as liberals or conservatives or moderates. It seems we have a hard time having civil conversations about things that matter deeply to us. T...
Free For All is the name of a new book I have written set to be released this December! The subtitle is 4 Things God’s Amazing Grace Can Do For You. In this book, we will explore four different ways we can experience God’s grace. God’s grace is truly free for all. The following is an excerpt from Free For All set to be released this December on Amazon. We find this SCUBA story in the chapter of the book where we explore God’s prevenient grace and the fact that it goes before us and surroun...
We all need to be encouraged, inspired and challenged, right? One of the ways I do that is by reading quotes. So, I often search for and screenshot quotes I like and keep them on my iPhone for future reference. Here are a few of my favorite quotes: “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa “Stand for what is right even if you stand alone.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter....
Part Two This month we continue exploring the seasons of the great life of King David with Part Two in our series. Last month we covered the first two seasons: The Season of Bethlehem and the Season of Gibeah. This month we will look at the last three. Have you ever considered that your life is a journey through different seasons? Your life is not just a meaningless series of ups and downs but rather an evolution of you becoming all you were designed and meant to be! Of course, when it comes to...
Part One Have you ever considered that your life is a journey through different seasons? Your life is not just a meaningless series of ups and downs but rather an evolution of you becoming all you were designed and meant to be! Of course, when it comes to the seasons of life, one can evolve into a wiser person who grows closer and closer to their creator through each season or one can chose to waste each season and keep repeating the same bad habits and learn nothing. One path leads to a more in...
Fifteen members of the Church of the Nazarene, most from the Alabama South District, visited Cuba on a “Work and Witness” mission in June. We were able to provide labor and supplies to assist with painting and refurbishing a church in the Havana area of Juanelo, as well as experience the people, culture, and country of Cuba. Visiting with the pastors of numerous churches throughout Cuba provided the opportunity to reflect on the work of the Church in the world. Witnessing first-hand the imp...
“Don’t Worry. Be Happy!” Remember that song? It was written and sung by Bobby McFerrin and was a huge hit in 1988! It is still a popular song at parties, bars and football games. It sounds so easy. Just don’t worry and you will be happy. But the truth is there are a lot of unhappy people, aren’t there? I do think most folks really want to be happy, but many just don’t know how. Happiness, many believe, is related to luck or a positive attitude or providence. But I believe happiness is very sim...
Who was the greatest leader who ever lived? Before you answer, let me give you a definition of leadership. John Maxwell defines leadership this way: “Leadership is influence. Nothing more and nothing less.” So, to put the question another way, who has been the most influential person in history? It’s not a trick question. You may be thinking like the little boy when the preacher was doing a Children’s Moment one Sunday morning. The Preacher asked the kids, “what is brown, furry, climbs tr...
The construction of the beautiful Gothic Cathedral, Notre Dame, “The Cathedral of Paris”, began during the reign of King Louis VII in 1163 AD and was completed in 1345 AD. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a worldwide Parisian icon. It was the location of some of the most important moments in the history of France and survived many wars including WWI and WWII. It has inspired the architecture and construction of many Catholic and Protestant Churches around the world. Notre Dame is the off...
The Heart of the Christian Faith is the Resurrection! The Christian faith is based upon an event and that event is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As Paul said in his letter to the Philippians, "All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection." (Phil. 3:10) Why was the resurrection so important to Paul. Because he knew that everything hinged on the fact and the power of this event. Paul understood the following facts very well. Through his death on the cross,...
I’d like to preface this by saying, this is my opinion. While I feel that technology and social media are key to living in today’s world and while there are some good things that can come from the web and hand held devices, I feel that there is more harm being done to the masses. What if everyone that picked up their device, picked up the Bible instead? Picture this: You’re at a sporting event supporting a child and you look around and all you see are people hovered by the nearest power outle...
On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little life-saving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves went out day and night tirelessly searching for those who were lost. Some of those who were saved and various others in the surrounding area wanted to become associated with the station and gave of their time, money, and effort to...
Your Time Again? You were married and for whatever reason you are single now. You’ve spent your life planning retirement with your mate, but now entering your golden years single is not always the way you envisioned. You probably had planned on growing old with your spouse. Sometimes we don’t understand why we lose people, but there may be answers to your broken heart. According to The Washington Post “Adults between the ages of 55 and 64 are also turning to websites and apps more often, with...
Several years ago, I read John Ortberg’s book, Soul Keeping, which I highly recommend. It’s one of my top ten favorite books. John opens the book with a Prologue entitled: “The Keeper of the Stream”. I invite you to read it carefully and reflect on this powerful parable about your soul. The Keeper of the Stream "There once was a town high in the Alps that straddled the banks of a beautiful stream. The stream was fed by springs that were old as the earth and deep as the sea. The water was cle...
“I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.” Proverbs 16:17 October 28, 2015 I heard Him speaking to me. In my time of prayer, just as He often times does, He was speaking over my words. Loudly, boldly as to get my attention. “Read it, write it, speak it.” These are the words He spoke to me. “Women’s ministry. Seminary.” This was the commandment He gave me. I silenced this ridiculous thought. How in the world could God possibly use me to further His kingdom? A sinner. Ju...
Dr. Karl Stegall is a great friend and mentor to me and to many other United Methodist Pastors in Alabama and West Florida! Karl served as the Senior Pastor at First United Methodist Church in Montgomery for 25 years before his retirement. He now focuses most of his time, energy and effort on the Stegall Seminary Scholarship Endowment Foundation which has raised millions of dollars for seminary student scholarships. Many of us United Methodist Pastors benefitted from the scholarship monies that...
Job 9:7-10 “If He commands it, the sun won’t rise and the stars won’t shine. He alone has spread out the heavens and marches on the waves of the sea. He made all the stars – the bear and Orion, the Pleiades and constellations of the southern sky. He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles.” I’ve so often wondered how I fit in this world. How I feel like Job more often than not. I love a pity party. Don’t we all? Who am I to be more deserving of a life of les...
“For you are saved by grace through faith…” [Paul, Ephesians 2:8] “Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect.” [Jesus, Matthew 5:48] “I’m just an old lump of coal, dear Lord, but I’ll be a diamond one day.” [Johnny cash] Sanctifying Grace Sanctify – (Sank’ tə Fī) – To set apart as holy, to consecrate, to make holy, to purify. In this article, I’m going to be talking about sanctifying grace. Over the last two months, we've covered two other kinds of grace that John Wesley taught us about...
The uncertainty of the future is real for many. It’s been real since the fall from grace. The forbiddenness of the fruit. The realization of the bareness of ones self in the midst of The King. But wait, future? How can you even think of the the future if you’ve ignored the past? Ignoring the past makes for an uncertain future. Luke 2:19 “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Can you imagine the relationship Mary must’ve had with God? In Luke 1:38 Mary spoke to...
Part Two in a Series “Grace for all, Grace in all . . .Free for All, Free in All” – John Wesley Justifying Grace Jus’ta-fi – to be made right, to free from blame or guilt. Remember, the whole point of this series of articles is to help us to discover the three ways that we can experience the power of God's grace. True freedom leads to fresh power in our lives! And true freedom comes as a gift from God’s grace. Let’s look at Paul’s beautiful message of grace found in the letter to the Ephesian...
Does this look like your life sometimes? Scrambled up and just a big ole obvious mess? This is indicative of my life most days. Running here and there and everywhere. Never taking enough time to iron out the surface of life. So this is what I get right? Hurriedly I put one pie in the oven only to drop the second moments later. I caught it and only some crust was lost, while other parts of the crust mixed into the filling. Crust. Those are the parts we need to prune anyways right? When I was a...
Oftentimes we are in a state of waiting. Waiting for the next opportunity to open up, the next promotion at work, the next paycheck, the next "better" season of life. We praise Him when the going is good. We plead with the Father and tell Him we will forever sing His praises if He will just send those blessings down upon us. We only like to praise Him for what He has already done in expectation that our praise will have a good return of yet another one of those fruitful God given blessings. Yes,...
Long ago in an ancient but not forgotten letter, a man named Paul wrote an encouraging word to his friends in a town called Ephesus. In this letter stands one of the most famous and exciting passages ever written about God’s grace: “God saves you by His grace when you believe, and you can’t take credit for this. It is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,...
