Send us a text A Prayer For A Different Kind of Power “May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, so that you may have all endurance and patience…”- Colossians 1:11 The type of power the writer of Colossians is describing here is very different from what we normally think of as power. The kingdoms of this world associate power with physical or military strength, money or economic power, and social status, popularity or influence. The writer of Colossians doe...
Jul 09, 2025•1 min
Send us a text By Loving Not Believing Correctly “Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" - Luke 10:25 Don’t misunderstand the question. The lawyer wasn’t asking Jesus how he could get into heaven after he died. He was asking how he could experience the deepest, fullest, most meaningful, and satisfying life. The answer is simple, but it is not easy. The answer is love. First we love God with everything we have living life with equal parts wonder, appreciation, and gratitude....
Jul 08, 2025•1 min
Send us a text Who Are The Gods? “God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment.” - Psalm 82:1 Who are these gods that the Lord God is meeting with in the divine council? Who is accountable for the state of things in this world? Some of you reading and or listening to this may be shocked to learn that the answer is us. We are: “I say, "You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you” (82:6) We are gods, children of the Most High and we are responsi...
Jul 07, 2025•59 sec
Send us a text You Don’t Have To Be Dead To Experience Eternal Life “ …If you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.” - Galatians 6:8 The concept of eternal means without beginning or ending. The concept of eternal life in Galatians speaks less to the life we expect to experience in the future and more to the quality of life we can experience now. This is the same concept that Jesus describes as the Kingdom of God. At various times Jesus said the Kingdom of God is near, i...
Jul 06, 2025•1 min
Send us a text When We Feel Like God Is Angry With Us “For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” - Psalm 30:5 Sometimes life is so hard, so unfair, and so cruel that it feels like God is angry with us. It feels like we are being punished. It especially feels that way when we know we have done something wrong. Some people see religion as a tool used by the powerful to manipulate and control the masses with it...
Jul 05, 2025•1 min
Send us a text Hope, Humility, Time and Consistency “So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan… his flesh was restored… and he was clean.” - 2 Kings 5:14 Healing and restoration seldom happen the way we expect them to. They seldom happen the way we want them to. And they always seem to take longer than we want them to. But the story of Naaman reminds us that healing and restoration can and do happen. Naaman was healed and restored in part because made the best of his circums...
Jul 04, 2025•1 min•Season 14Ep. 26
Send us a text How To Be An Influencer “Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman's wife.” - 2 Kings 5:2 In a society that valued power and position, she was a slave. In a place that valued tenure and experience, she was a youth. In a world that valued men and manhood, she was a girl. Nevertheless, her words drove everything that happened in this story. Her words moved her slave mistress, Naaman a top general, two kings, ...
Jul 03, 2025•1 min•Season 14Ep. 25
Send us a text Sometimes It’s Not Hard. We Just Don’t Want to Do It “Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, 'Wash, and be clean'?" - from 2 Kings 5:13 In most areas of his life, Naaman was highly successful. He was happily married. He was the top general in the army and answered only to the king. Yet he had a chronic condition, an incurable form of leprosy. As a result, he told himself that he wo...
Jul 02, 2025•1 min•Season 14Ep. 24
Send us a text Clothed with Gladness “Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;” Psalm 30:11 There will be times in life where we are heartbroken and disappointed, when we feel the pain of loss, when we mourn and grieve. We don’t have to pretend that we are ok when we are not ok. It’s appropriate for us to give voice to our pain rather than deny it. There may even be times when we feel guilt and shame, when we live with regret,...
Jul 01, 2025•1 min•Season 14Ep. 23
Send us a text How We Come to Take Pride in Ourselves “All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor's work, will become a cause for pride.” - Galatians 6:4 How do we come to feel good about ourselves? How are we able to take pride in ourselves and in the way we live? These are important questions. Everyone should have a healthy sense of self worth. For the Apostle Paul, a big part of that answer is for us to stop comparing ourselves to other people, stop judging other...
Jun 30, 2025•1 min•Season 14Ep. 22
Send us a text How Do We Know If We Are Being Spirit Led? “If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.” - Galatians 5:25 How do we know if we are being spirit led? Self delusion and self deception are very real things. And many others will pretend to be what they’re not to get what they want. The first step is that we have to examine the fruit. Is the action or behavior motivated by love or is it being driven by anger, bitterness, fear, greed, lust, or hate? Are we self discip...
Jun 29, 2025•1 min•Season 14Ep. 21
Send us a text There’s More Than One Pie “You bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.” - from Galatians 5:15 In the previous verse, Paul reminds us that, “the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Paul’s metaphor of biting and eating one another is the contrast to loving one another. Do we see life as more of a competition or as more of a cooperation? If we see life primarily as a competition, we think...
Jun 28, 2025•57 sec•Season 14Ep. 20
Send us a text From Love and Joy to Peace “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (from Galatians 5:22-23) I find the order of Paul’s list of attributes to be fairly significant. Everything starts with love, love for God, love for self, love for neighbor as one’s self. Rooted, grounded, and surrounded by the love of God, friendships, and community we experience a deep joy that emerges from our gratitude for the lo...
Jun 27, 2025•1 min•Season 14Ep. 19
Send us a text Be Sure to Read the Middle Part… In Galatians 5, the Apostle Paul sets up a contrast or dichotomy to describe what our lives look like when they are Spirit led and when they are not. The non Spirit list begins with sexual immorality and ends with drunkenness. Many readers treat these two as the entirety of the list without seriously considering what’s in between: “idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy…” (from Galatians 5:20) Id...
Jun 26, 2025•1 min•Season 14Ep. 18
Send us a text Set Your Face, and Keep Moving Forward “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” -Luke 9:51 The fact that we may have a clear sense of mission, purpose, and calling doesn’t mean that it is going to be easy for us to fulfill them. Jesus knew that fulfilling his purpose required a return to Jerusalem, a place where he was already wanted by the authorities. Jesus knew that his showing the world how to live in the Kingdom of God would cause ...
Jun 25, 2025•1 min•Season 14Ep. 17
Send us a text Don’t Let Your Religion Stop You from Being Kind “But they did not receive him because his face was set toward Jerusalem.” - Luke 9:53 As Jesus prepared to non violently confront the powers of injustice and exploitation In Jerusalem, he passed through a small town in Samaria. By this time Jesus was already a well known teacher and healer, known for his deeds of power, admired for his words of wisdom. In much of the ancient world it was expected that distant travelers would be welc...
Jun 24, 2025•58 sec•Season 14Ep. 16
Send us a text For Love, From Love, With Love “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" - from Luke 9:54 Do you want us to call down fire and burn up our enemies, the wicked, and those who intend to do us wrong? This is the question James and John asked Jesus. Jesus’s answer was no. Not, wait until later. Not, I’m gonna give them one more chance. Not, I’ll do it myself. Jesus was not interested in killing even the people who would soon crucify him. Jesus d...
Jun 23, 2025•1 min•Season 14Ep. 15
Send us a text Live An Ordinary Life Extraordinarily Well “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." - from Luke 8:39 Jesus had given the man who once lived with a legion of Demons his life back. The man was ready to give his life to Jesus by following Jesus full time on the road along with the rest of the twelve. While we are all invited to join Jesus in following the way, we are not called to apostles, prophets, evangelists, or missionaries. Many of us may never experien...
Jun 22, 2025•57 sec•Season 14Ep. 14
Send us a text “I beg you, do not torment me," for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.” From Luke 8:28 -29 The man with the legion of demons initially wasn’t interested in Jesus’s help. He had gotten comfortable with them. They had given him the strength to break chains, and the freedom to lead an unconventional life. People didn’t respect him but they did fear him. He was comfortable with his dysfunctions. He knew how to live with them. He knew what to expect. He knew...
Jun 21, 2025•1 min•Season 14Ep. 13
Send us a text How to Get Unstuck “ Then there came a voice to him that said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" - from 1 Kings 19:13 ‘ What are you doing here?’ - a question so important that Elijah was asked it twice in verses 9 and 13. Elijah couldn’t stay where he was. The life he had known was gone never to return. He had to let go of his grief for the past and his fear of the future to get unstuck and move ahead. What are you doing here?- a question that has to shift from being rhetorical ...
Jun 20, 2025•1 min•Season 14Ep. 12
Send us a text Life Under the Reign of God “For dominion belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.” - Psalm 22:28 What would life look like if we truly decided to live together under the reign of God? The writer of Psalm 22 had some thoughts. There would no longer be the fear of violence. Our souls “would be delivered from the sword.” We would live together in safety and peace. (Verse 20) The powerful “lions” would no longer engage in economic exploitation or social injustice. Their “d...
Jun 19, 2025•51 sec•Season 14Ep. 11
Send us a text Finding Safety in the Wilderness “Then the LORD said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus.” - 1 Kings 19:15 Sometimes in life we find ourselves in places we never wanted to be, going to places we never wanted to go. Such was the case with Elijah. Elijah by trade and by calling was a prophet of Israel. His desire and passion was to serve God there. Yet it wasn’t possible for him to serve and follow God where he was, as he was. Had he stayed, he would have d...
Jun 18, 2025•57 sec•Season 14Ep. 10
Send us a text A Good Rest and A Good Meal “Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you." from 1 Kings 19:7 Elijah was really in trouble this time. So much so that he was ready to give up and die. Everything he had built had been torn down. His friends had been put to death and he was supposed to be next. He was physically tired and emotionally exhausted. The story reminds us that while we may be able to distinguish the body, mind, and spirit, in this life at least, there is no way t...
Jun 17, 2025•57 sec•Season 14Ep. 9
Send us a text Listen for the Silence “Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind, and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake, and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire, and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.” - from 1 Kings 19:11-12 Elijah was in trouble. He had been faithful. He had been consistent in doing all the right things fo...
Jun 16, 2025•1 min•Season 14Ep. 8
Send us a text The Difference Between Honoring and Obeying “Son, always do what’s right. Even if I tell you to do something wrong, do what’s right.” - my dad, The Rev. Horace G. McMillon, jr. My father’s instruction to me gave me a very different insight on a verse that is sometimes used for mischief: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’” (from Ephesians 6) We are not called to blind obedience. Our fathers and mothers are not called to be de...
Jun 15, 2025•1 min•Season 14Ep. 7
Send us a text Dominion to Care and Serve not Use and Exploit “You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;” - from Psalm 8:6 When we have toxic minds we tend to hear and read things in toxic ways. Toxic thinking leads to toxic living, leads to outcomes. The unrenewed mind hears the word dominion, as domination and control. The toxic mind understands having dominion as having the power and authority to use and exploit as they see fit. Too many of us think that’s what being a leader...
Jun 14, 2025•1 min•Season 14Ep. 6
Send us a text You Are Amazing! “You have made them (humans) a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.” - Psalm 8:5 You are amazing. You are incredible. You are spectacular. You are truly special (and I mean in a good way). How do you feel about these affirmations? Do they make you feel uncomfortable? Do you deflect? Is your first impulse to diminish or deny them? What if I quote the verse saying that you are gods and goddesses, children of the most high? Would this be too m...
Jun 13, 2025•55 sec•Season 14Ep. 5
Send us a text We Don’t Know “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” - John 16:12 We want to know. We want certainty. We want to be in control. Not knowing the what, where, when, how, and whys makes us afraid. It terrifies many of us. And we seldom make good choices when we are driven by fear. The reality is this: our best knowledge and understanding is partial, incomplete, and sometimes incorrect. “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to f...
Jun 12, 2025•1 min•Season 14Ep. 4
Send us a text We Are Seen “What are humans that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” Psalm 8:4 Compared to the scale and scope of the universe, we are not even as big as a single grain of sand on the beach. The longest human lives lived are not even as long a candle flicker against the backdrop of eternity. Yet the ancient witnesses declare that all of us are fully seen and fully known by the creator and sustainer of the universe in whom we live and move and have our being....
Jun 11, 2025•58 sec•Season 14Ep. 3
Send us a text Love Makes Hope Possible “hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts…” - from Romans 5:5 There’s a direct correlation between our capacity to love and our ability to hope. When our hearts are filled with God’s love, we understand that we are loved unconditionally, without hesitation or reservation. When our hearts are filled with God’s love we understand that everyone and everything is loved by God. It is this love that causes us to desire th...
Jun 10, 2025•59 sec•Season 14Ep. 2
