60 Seconds of Hope with Horace McMillon

Send us Fan Mail What Brings Us Together “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people.” (from 1 Peter 2:10) Sometimes we find ourselves next to people we’re not sure how to relate to— unsure what we share, or where we fit. We live in a time of deep suspicion and mistrust. We find ourselves divided by age, race, gender, nationality, class, identity and more. This is not new. Those livi...

Send us Fan Mail A Prayer for When We Almost Ask for Help Loving God, Sometimes we know we need help— and still don’t ask. Sometimes we get close to asking for help— and then stop. We hold back what we need, unsure how it will be received. Meet us in that hesitation. Give us the courage to remain open just a little longer— and to trust just a little bit further, knowing we will be received. Amen....

Send us Fan Mail When We Almost Ask for Help Sometimes we get close to asking for help— and then decide not to. “In you, O LORD, I seek refuge; do not let me ever be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me.” (Psalm 31:1) Sometimes we hesitate to say what we really need— as if naming it might expose too much. There is no shame in seeking help, no dishonor in admitting our vulnerability. Thes...

Send us Fan Mail When We’re There and Something Isn’t Right | A Prayer Loving God, Sometimes we find ourselves in a moment where something isn’t right— and we’re not the one doing it, but we’re there. We’re left deciding what to do— whether to speak, to step in, or to stay quiet. And at times, we may find ourselves going along with it— not because it is right, but because it is easier… or because,...

Send us Fan Mail When We See Something We Know Isn’t Right Sometimes we find ourselves in a moment where something isn’t right— and we’re not the one doing it, but we’re there. Do we say something? Do we step in? Or do we stay quiet— because it’s easier not to get involved… or because, in some way, we agree with it— even if we wouldn’t do it ourselves? This is where a young man named Saul was. He...

Send us Fan Mail A Prayer for When Things Aren’t Right Loving God, Sometimes something happens— and we know it isn’t right. And we can feel the pull to respond in ways that lead us away. But you are present with us there. And as we remain with you, give us the willingness and the determination to respond in love— trusting you are at work in us even here. Center us in your love— that we would not g...

Send us Fan Mail How We Can Be Our Best When Things Are Their Worst Sometimes something happens that isn’t just difficult— it’s wrong. Stephen experienced the ultimate form of this in Acts when he was being stoned. How did he respond? “Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’” (from Acts 7:60) Without the scripture reference, many of us might con...

Send us Fan Mail When What’s Happening Doesn’t Change | A Prayer Loving God, Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that do not change— and we can feel the pull to respond in ways we don’t want. But you are present with us there. And as we trust you, something in us does change. What we face does not have to define us. In what we are facing, lead us— that we would not give ourselves over to fea...

Send us Fan Mail When What’s Happening Doesn’t Change—But We Do Sometimes something happens— and we can feel ourselves starting to react in ways we don’t want. “While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’” (from Acts 7:59) His circumstances didn’t change. He was still facing violence. Still surrounded by anger. But his circumstances did not determine who he became...

Send us Fan Mail When We Don’t Want to Hear It | A Prayer Loving God, Sometimes something reaches us— and we begin to close ourselves off. Not because it isn’t true, but because of what it might ask. Give us the courage to remain open a little longer— not rushing to accept, but not turning away too quickly either, trusting you are leading us more fully into life. Amen. #60SecondsOfHope #DailyPraye...

Send us Fan Mail When We Don’t Want It to Be True Sometimes we hear something we don’t want to be true— and we shut it out. “But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him.” (from Acts 7:57) That’s how the crowd responded to Stephen. The message wasn’t false. It was disruptive. To hear it would have meant unlearning what they thought they knew. It was true. But...

Send us Fan Mail When Ordinary Moments Don’t Feel Spiritual | A Prayer Loving God, Sometimes we move through our days thinking that only certain moments count— the times we set aside to pray, to reflect, to worship. And everything else can start to feel like it doesn’t count. But you are present in all of it— in the conversations, in the shared meals, in the quiet moments we spend with one another...

Send us Fan Mail When It Feels Like Only Certain Moments Count as Faith Sometimes the moments that feel the most ordinary— time spent talking, sharing a meal, just being with people— can feel like they don’t quite count. Like faith is something that happens somewhere else— in prayer, in worship, in study. And we can start to believe that’s what really counts— and everything else is secondary. “Day...

Send us Fan Mail A Prayer for When Something Isn’t as It Should Be Loving God, When something comes our way that isn’t how it should be, and we feel the pull to respond from what rises up in us. Ground us in this moment. Give us the awareness to notice what is forming within us. Where anger rises, where pain lingers, where bitterness settles in, meet us there. And in the midst of it all, draw us t...

Send us Fan Mail When Something Isn’t as It Should Be When something comes our way that isn’t how it should be… “When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.” (from 1 Peter 2:23) It’s tempting for us to respond from what rises up in us in those moments— from anger, from pain, even from bitterness. And whe...

Send us Fan Mail A Prayer for Finding Our Way Through Loving God, Sometimes we find ourselves moving through places that aren’t easy to navigate. And we’re not always sure what to trust or which way to go. Lead us, as you have promised, beside still waters— to places where we can rest, where we can receive what we need, and where we are reminded that we are not alone. Help us to recognize your voi...

Send us Fan Mail When We’re Trying to Find Our Way Through When the world around us isn’t easy to move through… “He leads me beside still waters.” (from Psalm 23:2) The psalmist doesn’t deny how difficult life can be. A life shaped by faith, hope, and love doesn’t remove those difficulties. But it does remind us that we are not alone. We are not abandoned or forsaken. There is a voice that calls t...

Send us Fan Mail A Prayer for Recognizing the Voice Loving God, When the noise around us is loud and the voices are hard to sort through, help us not to lose ourselves in it. Help us to recognize the voice that already knows us— the one that meets us where we are and calls us forward in love. When we are unsure what to follow, help us remain grounded in what we already know. And as we move through...

Send us Fan Mail We Already Know The Voice When the noise around us is loud and the voices are hard to sort through, how do we know what to listen to? The gospel writer assures us that we already know the voice when we hear it. “and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.” (from John 10:4) We know the voice that recognizes us and finds us where we are. We know the voice that calls us tog...

Send us Fan Mail A Prayer for When We Face Unfair Hardship Loving God, Sometimes we find ourselves carrying something we didn’t choose, didn’t cause, and wouldn’t have wanted. And we’re left trying to make sense of it. Give us the clarity to recognize what we are responsible for— and what we are not. And in all of it, keep us aware of your presence with us. When the path feels unclear, and the wei...

Send us Fan Mail When We Suffer Unfairly Sometimes something happens to us that we didn’t choose, didn’t cause, and wouldn’t have wanted. And we’re left trying to make sense of it. “For it is a commendable thing if, being aware of God, a person endures pain while suffering unjustly.” (from 1 Peter 2:19) 1 Peter doesn’t welcome suffering—but it does recognize it. And it speaks to those moments when...

Send us Fan Mail A Prayer for Widened Circles Loving God, Sometimes our days are already full— and our attention stays with what’s right in front of us. The people we know. The things we’re responsible for. What we can manage. And even that can feel like enough. But in the midst of that, there are moments when we are invited to remain a little longer. To stay in the conversation. To check in inste...

Send us Fan Mail When We Widen the Circle Sometimes our focus stays close to what’s right in front of us— our responsibilities, our people, what we can manage. We care for the people closest to us, and maybe say a prayer for everyone else. In the immediate aftermath of the resurrection, the people in Acts begin to live differently. “They would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the pr...

Send us Fan Mail A Prayer for When We Don’t Make Time for Each Other Loving God, Sometimes our days fill up quickly— and we feel the pressure to keep producing, to keep accomplishing, to keep moving. In the midst of all that, it can be easy to skip spending time with one another. We begin to treat connection as something extra— something we’ll get to when everything else is done. Remind us that fe...

Send us Fan Mail When Taking Time For Fellowship Matters “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (from Acts 2:42) Many of us find ourselves extremely busy— sometimes a little overwhelmed— feeling the constant pressure to produce, to create, to accomplish. The early apostles were busy and productive as well. But they also consist...