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Holy Week. Monday

The setting was the home of Lazarus, Jesus’ friend who had two sisters; Mary and Martha. Outside were crowds of their neighbors who’d heard Jesus was there. They came to look at Jesus — some had yet to see him — and to gawk at Lazarus because they hadn’t seen him since they heard Jesus had called him back from the dead. This had been the final straw for those determined to kill Jesus. They were…

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Lent 40. Be Yeasty

“And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”” Luke 13:20-21 NKJV Ever watch the progression of a newly kneaded piece of dough to a ready to bake loaf? It’s an entire science project. It was the experiment of the day every Saturday in my house. We were privileged to have Grandma…

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A Grace Grant

Appreciation demands this post today, as once again I’m taken back to the morning I was dying and didn’t know it. It was September 14, 2022. I did all the things I usually did on those mornings. I checked email. I returned a phone call to a coworker. And all the other usual things. I had no symptoms of any illness of any kind. I had been exhausted for over a week, which was unusual. And I had…

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Lenten Journal 7

“And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the…

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Jus’ Chillin’ in Prayer

Prayer is an ongoing transaction between us and the Lord. It needs no special form or formality. It makes me sad to hear people say they want to pray but don’t know what to say. I think that confession, right there, is the perfect prayer opener. Of course, no special words are needed to talk to the Lord. Regular conversation is just fine. Singing. Dancing. And most importantly, just listening.…

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Compel them to come!

Think of a book so good, you just cannot put it down. That is you. You’re the book. The Corinthians writer called you a living epistle. Your story is so good. Your testimony is so on point. Your drama is captivating, and people are watching your light shine, they’re tasting the salt, they’re seeing your walk and are being drawn by Jesus, as he said he would, to his life and light inside you.…

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God is Grace

Every child who has ever stumbled into a Sunday School class knows grace is unmerited favor. Everyone who ever went to a group in Baptist Training Union (BTU) knows Grace is the unmerited favor of God. Everyone who has belonged to a church for more than three months knows Grace is the undeserved, unmerited, unfathomable favor of God. Hopefully everyone who has entered into a salvation covenant…

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Grace welcomes us home

Anyone who has visited an African country has been greeted with the phrase, “Welcome home.” No matter which country, no matter your place of origin as an African person. You are greeted with a hug that makes you feel accepted and a hearty “Welcome home.” If we could label Grace with two words, those two words would be welcome home. Grace is the power of God, reminding us of who we are. Grace…

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When women gather story happens

If having your “scalp scratched” conjures up memories for you, this will be an easier journey. When all the elements came together on the first floor of our house, between the kitchen and the dining room…it was sometimes almost magic. Cooking or ironing in the kitchen. There was no door between the kitchen and the dining room, so there were no barriers to the story prompts that floated on the…

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This Grace

And then there’s that thing about the unforced rhythms of grace. I love this phrase so much. It’s so simple in its wording, yet so profound in meaning. Rhythm can’t exist without rules. This implies some sort of force to make the rules work. Music has time rules. It has melodic rules. It has pitch rules. It has all kinds of rules. And there’s even a tool called a metronome to help keep rhythm’s…

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Our Fear of the Cross

Have you noticed how few churches have crosses now? I’m not talking about the historical buildings with huge crosses on the walls. I’m talking about those built or created in recent years – those in shared community buildings or newly built. We’re quick to do away with the cross. We’re quick to do away with the very symbol that signifies who we are as believers. We’re quick to do away with the…

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The Logos of God

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. John 1:1 My middle daughter Paula has been married to Jamal Brown for 26 years now and they’ve taught us to expect only the extraordinary from them. One of the earliest signals sounded as we sat in expectation at the beginning of their wedding ceremony. The church was filled,…

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Have you heard about Peter?

Peter was a champion. He was a first tier disciple. He actually walked and talked with Jesus while he was on earth. He was petulant and passionate. He was powerful and persistent. He spoke without thinking. He acted before he thought. He was a strong willed man who many leaders would have shunned because of his temperament. Jesus was undaunted by all of that. As he is undaunted by our humanity or…

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A prayer life

Keep walking in prayer…

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ADHD was his super power

ADHD was his super power

I just wanted to share a holy memory of a classmate from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. I met a man who met the Lord and allowed himself to be totally transformed by God’s grace. He had the kind of thing many of us might use as an excuse. But not the Rev. Dr. Alpha Estes Brown. He’d lived the rough life and done things he wasn’t proud of doing. But he put all of that behind him…

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A long fast

It wasn’t my intention to start a long fast on that Monday. It was the weekly fast of my church on the day we had bible study. All the officers of the church and teachers (of which I was one) were asked to fast all day until after the study. I had been curious as to how the characters in the Bible had accomplished such a feat. Twenty one days without food. Hardly seemed possible. And I also felt…

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Acts of Blessing

A classmate from Wesley Seminary told me that when she was having a hard day, she’d see me on campus and I’d give her my thumbs up. From that, what I considered a corny sign, she’d be encouraged that things would be okay. I had no idea I just used it as a greeting when I wasn’t geographically close to the people I wanted to touch. Sometimes the strangest things bless us without our even…