60 Seconds of Hope with Horace McMillon

Send us Fan Mail “The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured outeven on Gentiles” - Acts 10:45 It is appropriate for us to do what we believe is right. It is appropriate for us to follow and honor our customs and traditions particularly if this practices help keep us grounded and centered in God’s love. Where we get into troub...

Send us Fan Mail Trust that it will be ok and keep going.  “Life becomes far easier once you know that things will still work out even if you are lacking something.” - Marie Kondo I draw a great deal of inspiration and insight from the American Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s. I often think of how difficult things were for them, constantly criticized by friends and foes, doubted and demonized...

Send us Fan Mail “A frog in the well knows nothing of the great ocean.” Japanese Proverb  Our ability to dream, to achieve, to create, to relate, to connect, is often limited by our limited perspectives.  One of my best friends from high school has gone on to do really well in life. I say that he has done well in life not being of his economic or social status. He already had those. I say that he...

Send us Fan Mail  “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt The internal and external voices that tell you that you are not good enough, smart enough, or talented enough are not from God. The voices that keep trying to use your past against you, that continuously attempt to heap guilt and shame on you in the Biblical tradition come from Satan not from God.  It’s...

Send us Fan Mail “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” – Alice Walker We are not all given the same opportunities and resources to begin our lives. And some of us encounter real challenges, obstacles and setbacks. Sometimes these are of our own making, sometimes not.  We may not always get to choose our circumstances, but we always have the power to d...

Send us Fan Mail Relentlessly pursue excellence.  “I was raised to believe that excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism. And that’s how I operate my life.” – Oprah Winfrey There is no denying the reality that there is injustice and inequality in the world. The obstacles of racism, sexism, classism, and all sorts of other isms must be navigated and overcome by many of us.  In facing th...

Send us Fan Mail Change is Hard. Not changing is harder.  “If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” -Erica Jong There is a comfort in what is familiar. There are some things in our lives that are broken and dysfunctional, but we know how to navigate them. We know how to get by.  There’s an old saying that ‘it’s better to stick with the devil you know than the one you don’t know.’ I want to...

Send us Fan Mail Overcoming Suffering   “Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” – Helen Keller Adversity, hardship, and struggle are part of the human condition. I believe it’s important to acknowledge that. It’s important to acknowledge our hurts and pains. It’s important to acknowledging when we are having a hard time. It’s important to offer ourselves...

Send us Fan Mail Never give up! “When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as if you couldn’t hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time when the tide’ll turn.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe Living and working in a society where she herself as a woman did not have full legal rights, Harriet Beecher Stowe, went on to become one of...

Send us Fan Mail “We should be choosing what we want to keep, not what we want to get rid of.” - Marie Kondo In order to move from where we are in life to where we need to be, we must be clear in our intentions. It’s not enough to focus on what we don’t want. We must instead focus our energies on developing a clear picture of the things we do want.  When Jesus encountered a group of blind men, he...

Send us Fan Mail “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” – Anne Frank How often do we find ourselves standing around wishing that someone somewhere would do something about whatever the thing is that’s bothering us? ‘Somebody ought to be doing something about this’, we often complain.  Well good news! We ourselves are the somebody who shoul...

Send us Fan Mail “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.” He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” - from Daniel 3 I would like to tell you that if you are a good person and do good things then only good things will happen to you. But I cannot. Th...

Send us Fan Mail Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were three people who lived in a foreign land. Their nation had been conquered and they now worked for Nebuchadnezzar- the conquering emperor.  In every circumstance they carried themselves with integrity. They worked hard and tried to be a blessing where they were in the land where they lived. They were trusted servants of the empire. Nevertheless,...

Send us Fan Mail “He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.” - John 15:2 I don’t know much about gardening or growing plants. But gardeners from time to time find it helpful to prune, to cut off or cut back parts of a plant in order to give it better shape or to promote more fruitful growth.  Are there things in our lives...

Send us Fan Mail We have to hold each other up.  Not even Moses could do it all on his own.  “ And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses hands were heavy; So they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other si...

Send us Fan Mail Use what you have and get moving.  “ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.” - Exodus 14: 15-16 Moses didn’t have faith problem. Despite the fact that the mighty Egyptian army was its way and t...

Send us Fan Mail “Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father….” - from John 20 Often when we think of letting go, we think exclusively about the bad things we need to let go of. Sometimes we also have to let go of the good as well.  For Mary Magdalene and Jesus’s first followers, there was nothing negative or toxic about their hopes, dreams and aspirations for Jes...

Send us Fan Mail “Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father….” - from John 20 Jesus and Mary Magdalene were very close. One of the non canonical writings describes her as his companion or wife. I am not claiming this to be historically accurate. However it does point to how close they were known to have been.  The death of Jesus marked the death of the hopes and...

Send us Fan Mail “Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.”- 1 John 3:18 It’s one thing to say that we love and care for the poor. It’s an another thing for us to share our hard earned money generously and sacrificially. It’s another thing to advocate for policies that may benefit others without directly benefiting ourselves.  It’s one thing for us to say that...

Send us Fan Mail Envy blinds men and makes it impossible for them to think clearly. Malcolm X There is injustice in the world. There is inequality in the world. Not everyone starts with the same advantages. Nor is everyone given the same opportunities.  Nevertheless, we cannot allow injustice and inequality to twist who we are. We cannot allow our righteous indignation turn to rage. We cannot allo...

Send us Fan Mail “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” - Psalm 23:5 It’s not possible to get through life without facing some hardship and adversity. And unfortunately there will always be people who don’t particularly like us, who do not wish us well, maybe even some who intend us harm.  The key for us is to not allow those p...

Send us Fan Mail Goodness and Mercy Show Up When We Do (from Psalm 23) “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long.” - Psalm 23:6 There are different ways of understanding the phrase goodness and mercy following us. In one of these ways we are centered in gratitude.  We become fully aware of all the blessings we...

Send us Fan Mail “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long.” - Psalm 23:6 Many people unfortunately believe that purpose of our practice of religion and spirituality is to secure our place in the next life. It is not.  It’s about our individuality and collectively experiencing the wellbeing and peace of God in...

Send us Fan Mail “ Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." John 20:21 One of the greatest, perhaps the greatest gift we receive is the gift of peace. Jesus describes it as a peace that the world cannot take away from us.  It’s easy to talk about peace when things are going well. How does it work when we face adversity? How does it work whe...

Send us Fan Mail Don’t Compare Struggles  Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. Booker T. Washington It’s time for us to stop comparing ourselves to others. Let us not denigrate ourselves because we have not reached the levels someone else has reached. Let us not denigrate others because they have not reached t...