Perspectives

If the pillars of our faith are to hold true, if they are to steady us upon troubled seas, it is imperative that we truly know who "Jesus" is. What does his presence look like in our lives. Not in the all too familiar context of a warmhearted story that traditionally encapsulates Christmas and Easter, but rather knowing with the utmost assurance the reason for his coming, the significanc...

Good morning, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the class of 2024, and all the kindergarten through college graduates, on their academic success. Wishing you the absolute best in your future.    In life we can be so wrong about so many things, in fact the longer I live, the more life I experience, that notion proves to be true often, when it comes to our presumptions, assumptions, an...

I want to pause before I begin today’s message to salute the service and commitment of our servicemembers as we celebrate Memorial Day this weekend. Warriors apprehend at some point in their lives they are unable to abide under their physical strength alone, but to endure it requires something far greater. Having been to war and suffered the hardships of life God has kept me through the promise of...

Before I begin today's podcast, I want to wish all the mother's a very happy Mother’s Day, showered with flowers, candy, cards, balloons, and the treat of a special meal that she does not have to cook herself. Thank you for absolutely everything. .  Is there anything greater, more beautiful than a mother’s love, to hear her voice, as she shares words of comfort and tender mercy. Is there a...

Over the last few months I have attended four funerals, as I witnessed firsthand the grief and sorrow the families endured at the loss of their beloved. I listened to wonderful eulogies, acknowledgements, words of comfort, and invitations to Christian fellowship, and all with the exception of one sang the lyrics to the song by Reverend Paul Jones, titled “I Won’t Complain”, as he says   I've h...

Throughout our lives, we are constantly pressured to be confident, self-sufficient, and be certain of our own abilities, depending on absolutely nothing or no one. Confidence enough in oneself to believe that we can do and accomplish anything we put our hearts and minds to, albeit innocent or ill intended. Given the ideal set of circumstances we can achieve and compete at the highest level and rea...

Before I begin, I want to wish you and your families a very wonderful Easter, and the many blessings the day brings for us all as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I continue to keep you in my prayers and ask for yours as well as I seek to present with all humility what God has given unto me to share.    For more than 4,000 years God sought to redeem the whole of...

Succotash, of which I cannot spell, is the most insufferable complement to vegetables known to humanity. Whereas the peas and carrots are pleasing, the dried tasteless texture of the lama beans make it unbearable, as I would do my best to purposefully separate them, and on occasion hide them in a napkin to inconspicuously throw them away. There are others such as “black” licorice that many find ap...

Before we begin, I want to ask a special prayer on behalf of the James family on the loss of their mother, my aunt Mary. I ask that God give them comfort and peace in this moment.   There is nothing more beautiful to behold than to witness, first-hand, the embodiment of God's grace and mercy. Someone that takes hold of the unbelievable nature of these two attributes. Mary Evelyn James was such...

There is no more impressive sight to behold than an aged tree, standing tall and picturesque in its magnificent glory. While others seem quite commonplace, like the trees and bushes in our yards, there are those that seem to have found a bit of immortality, archives of history. Yet, in all its luster, its life tells a story of strength, power, and perseverance, as well as hardship, sorrow, and bro...

Before we begin this morning, I ask that we say a special prayer for a beloved friend of mine, Dick Williams. I had a chance to visit with he and his family this week, however his health has taken a negative turn.   Scriptures Jonah 2:1-10, Psalm 121:1-8   Today’s message has only two scriptures, as they are used to address our needs in times of trouble, hardship, turmoil or when we have absolutel...

Welcome to 2024! And thank you for joining me for the first episode of the new year. I ask a special prayer for a gentleman named Omar, and a young lady named Kathy, her mother Sylvia, and her daughter Katrina, and her son Anthony.   Another year (2023) has ended, another list of inconsequential resolutions. A chronological file of all the things we are going to do this new year, in an all out att...

I missed you all these last few weeks, as I was under the weather, and thank you for you continued prayers.   Have you ever heard a song sung so beautifully that it gives you goose bumps (or as I had a friend from the south refer to as “chicken bumps”), or a melody so sweet, so deep that it brings you to tears. The utterance of every single syllable and word has meaning, depth and purpose. Such ar...

We ask a special prayer for the McIntosh family, as we lost Mary at 4:30 p.m. last Sunday.   Growing up we heard a lot about chivalry, the age of King Author and the Knights of the Round Table (however I don’t know why the table was round). We watched its depiction in Hollywood classics, as men would spread their coats across a puddle of water so that a damsel crossing the street would not get wet...

The principal tenants of our faith rest directly in our understanding of Salvation. It is not reserved for some but offered as a gift to all. Suppose I was to ask, to whom does salvation belong , we could rightly proclaim, with the greatest assurance, everyone. However, the most important answer that we can give has to be inclusive of us. When the role is called, scripture does not say that we are...

This past week has been full as I found myself moving from one event to another. As Tuesday arrived, I was exhausted, and finally had a chance to exhale. All our lives are full, I suppose … but we should take advantage of the days that God has so richly blessed us with. We may believe we hold the keys to life and death, exercise, eating healthy, drinking plenty of water, multi-vitamins, routine ch...

Have you ever wondered to yourself if you got this thing called, “Christianity,” right? We know its definition. We’ve heard others publicly declare to be. We can assume, I suppose, that it means to be Christ like. However, doing so would oversimplify the true depth of its meaning. Today, it is popular to say such, as it gains us access and privilege by doing so. Conversely, in times past, the peri...

Have you ever found yourself in a place in which the longer you stayed, the more perplexing it became. Where oftentimes what you learned in the beginning no longer applies or makes sense, because we’ve taken on, or added pointless layers of little or no consequence, that make what was ideally simplistic far more complex. My last two years in High School were such. As a mandated study requirement,...

This week marks the 22nd Anniversary of the catastrophic events that took place on September 11th, 2001, in which we witnessed firsthand the horror and devastation that took place that day. There are few such events throughout history where we can say we were there. Those that happen with little or no warning. Thousands of lives lost in an instant, the suddenness of humanity’s hopelessness on full...

I am pleased and consider it a privilege to be with you once more. It feels like an eternity, since my last podcast, but my time away was needed to set aside time to consider what God would have me to share, and to lovingly hold fast the faith that He has patiently poured into each of you. My hope is that in continuing to ministering to you, I am found worthy of your time and thoughtfulness.     A...

The best game ever invented was hide and seek. It has international acclaim as kids (and surprisingly sometimes adults) play it globally strategically and objectively. The object of the game is to hide inconspicuously (sometimes in plain sight) without being caught. “Hiding” is the easy part, seeking, however, is often most challenging. My sister, brother, and I would play in the house for hours o...

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.   These are the words articulated in the Declaration of Independence written on July 4, 1776. It is the linchpin of a newly formed democracy 247 years ago. But suppose I told you there is a...

Although I began writing this message about five weeks ago, for some reason the timing was not right, but as a believer of God’s perfect timing, I am certain this particular message is meant to resonate with someone today, at this very moment. If someone is trying to remember my name for the first time, it is not uncommon for them to respond with, oh like David and Goliath, or the popular Claymati...

The oceans are littered with sunken vessels, those capsized, tossed to and forth by the torrent of waves and the ceaseless billow of the winds. Meanwhile, others having faced similar circumstances remained afloat, although battered amid the most perilous seas. They may have been tossed about, overshadowed by darkness, but they were held in place by the weight and strength of their Anchor. Likewise...

Well, I know it has been some time since the original episode of Perspectives (September 15, 2020). In fact, today is episode ninety-nine (99), and how timely it falls Mother's Day, but before I begin, I want to wish you all a very happy and blessed Mother's Day, and all the best a mother can receive in 2023. This Mother’s Day podcast has been reserved and set-aside for quite some time for...