ClydeStyle

Tag: Faith

  • How do you feel now?

    This post makes the first of 5 posts that will be written this year covering American history to see how you feel about the incident today. I will briefly discuss the feelings of the day, and then you, dear reader, can comment on how you would feel if it happened today.

    So, on June 20, 1967, Muhammad Ali refused to be inducted into the Army and was convicted of draft evasion, sentenced to five years in prison, and fined $10,000 and banned from boxing for three years.

    Ali had a religious conviction. It should have been the same religious conviction that everyone in a Christian society should take. But America has always had a duality with good and evil depending on the circumstance and who is likely to benefit.

    Ali said: “My conscience won’t let me go shoot my brother, or some darker people, or some poor hungry people in the mud for big powerful America. And shoot them for what? They never called me nigger, they never lynched me, they didn’t put no dogs on me, they didn’t rob me of my nationality, rape and kill my mother and father. … Shoot them for what? How can I shoot them poor people? Just take me to jail.”

    These statements cut deep to some in America who thought Ali was being un-American for making those statements. At face value, he was expressing the great divide that has always been in America between people of color and white people.

    The issues Ali brought out were not things America wanted to deal with or discuss, and definitely not publicly. It was the type of truth that had no rebuttal, only shame, denial, and blame.

    As a result, the powers that be wanted to punish Ali, so in the prime of his boxing career, they wouldn’t let him earn a living boxing. A few years later, the conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court.

    So, what are your thoughts on Ali. Should he have gone to Vietnam and fought in the war? Should he have gone to jail? Should he have been reprimanded for the things he said about America? To some people, the answer is “yes” to all three questions. What say ye?

  • I can’t spend the rest of my life in my dad’s clothes

    So, on the eve of Easter, there will be preparations for a huge celebration across Christian areas of the world regarding the Resurrection.

    Easter morphed into the holiday that remembers the death, burial, and resurrection of the Christ, although it didn’t start that way. However, for many who have surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ, righteousness has been bestowed upon you due to obedience. That’s right, the Bible is clear that believing in the gospel and being baptized for the remission of sins puts you in a right standing with God.

    Further, he has forgiven your sins and begins the process of transforming your mind. This process is like putting on your father’s clothes as a kid. When God makes us righteous, it is like wearing clothes that are 8 times your size. The idea is that, from this point, we’re supposed to grow.

    That huge garment we were given should eventually fit if we do the work. The goal is to be able to honor God at every turn of your life. In your decisions, in relationships, at your job, and in your family, God must get glory.

    The problem is that there are people who have been made righteous years ago and still have not begun to grow. The way they think, act, make decisions, spend money, help people, or study their bible fall behind the person’s desire to serve self.

    That was not God’s plan. Some folks will have a lot of explaining to do on judgment day. So for this Easter, allow self examination to be of the utmost importance to you. Think about your lifestyle and see if changes are warranted based on scripture. That would be the best way to celebrate the holiday this year!

  • Determination is our strength; guess where it comes from?

    Determination is the firmness of purpose. Resoluteness. Whenever we see success, determination showed up first. To live life knowing where you’re supposed to go is a beautiful thing. It allows you to step with assurity and act expeditiously.

    Obviously, this state is not so easily attained. Many get paralyzed in their desires and crumble at the stress. When there is no “handout” in sight, can you get the job done alone? Ignorance, prejudice, stupidity, pressure, and focus are always against us. It’s a battle whether you have succeeded or failed we all will have these struggles.

    Then, our upbringing at times is a hindrance to our future because either someone loved us too much or not enough. Perverted things happened that affected our lives forever or we had a loved one missing which left an empty space in our hearts. We were bullied, discouraged, cheated, lied to, and hurt.

    Finally, we lacked the proper examples, we never saw someone else do what we desired to do and we lost our sense of well-being. It was as if there was a conspiracy set against us. But deep down in our souls is a glimmer of hope.

    Now hope is commonly used to mean a wish: its strength is the strength of the person’s desire. This would be fine if there had been no challenges or disappointments in your life. But in the Bible hope is the confident expectation of what God has promised and its strength is in His faithfulness. This means that you have a blessed assurance of trusting in God to bless your efforts according to his will.

    Watch how this works: This would mean that you would never trust a man, you would never even blame a man for his folly. Everything that would happen to you would be viewed as part of a grand scheme by God that ends in your benefit. Completely trusting God and living a life to please him is the greatest thing for a man. The Bible teaches us to seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. It then promises that everything else we need would be given to us.

    When you read about God’s people in scripture try counting all the rich people. Adam was rich — he was the only man on earth. Noah would have experienced this as well being the head of his household. Abraham and Isaac were rich. We literally saw Jacob obtain his wealth. Job and countless others lived extremely well and I believe they were blessed in this way because God saw their heart and knew that wealth would not ruin them.

    The point here is that determination begats success but believing in God begats determination. We come into this world being memorized by what we see. I want you to ignore what you see and live life knowing.

  • There is nothing like a good. . .

    There is nothing like a good teacher. Our educational system has a lot to be desired especially when being compared to foreign countries we’re not even in the top 20.

    But a truly good teacher is hard to find. Good being defined as one who unconditionally treats the children as little sponges that can absorb anything. These teachers change lives, inspire kids and builds confidents. They make learning fun and they make no distinction between the children. They do everything possible to make sure no child is left behind and they keep our kids safe.

    There is nothing like a good first responder! Whether you needed a firefighter, police officer or a paramedic these folks are gamechangers. They jump in the middle of tribulation and trials without regard for their own well being. They are selfless. They will be there when you need them without bias or fear. These individuals make the uniforms mean something and they are a blessing in any community. My heart still hearts for the Evalde, TX children who could have used such warriors but couldn’t find any. God bless our first responders.

    There is nothing like a good pastor! Someone who will lay down his life for his sheep. One who gives the right counsel in the time of confusion, a strong word in the moment of doubt and is a comfort to those in fear. A good pastor always prays, hopes, loves and endures. He has studied his craft and doesn’t live a contradicting life. He smells like sheep! Thankful for the pastor!!

    There is nothing like a good parent! It’s not easy to make a home and there are many broken and dysfunctional families in America but God bless the parent that keeps his family safe, provides a decent living, loves unconditionally, demonstrates and develops character, integrity and faith among the children. A good parent knows what the child needs before the child does. They nurture, teach, provide comic relief and empowers their children. Good parents teach their kids not to be bullies, to respect themselves and others, to work and play hard and most importantly to know Jesus. The parent is responsible for maintaining the sacred bond and trust between the parent and child for as long as they live!

    And finally, there is nothing like a good neighbor!! One who shows themselves friendly. A person who is helpful, resourceful and positive. A good neighbor cultivates a relationship that benefits both parties and does things never expecting any credit for it. A good neighbor keeps and eye on their surroundings to make sure it’s safe for all and they know when to get involved and when not to. Good neighbors build strong neighborhoods and even elevates the property value! Long life the good neighbor!

    Hopefully this blog as got you thinking of other good people in your life that are making a difference and to remember to give them their flowers before they die. 2023 is a good year to begin showing gratitude for the wonderful people God has place in your life!

  • The resurrection and the life

    Easter Sunday is a day that we enjoy hearing about the resurrection. We enjoy the story of Jesus’ resurrection as well as others whom he saved from death. This power is always an attention grabber because it goes far beyond our human abilities.

    Jesus made this statement to Martha in the Gospel of St. John: “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live”. I know, at face value the statement doesn’t make sense. Give Martha a break because we know the rest of the story, but she lived it. She saw her brother wake up from the “death sleep” and walk among them as if nothing happened. We don’t read where Lazarus laments about being dead or that the experience was even horrible. He just takes his place among the living. I’m sure he was thankful for what happened. The question I have is that if you die once like Lazarus and you get a second chance, are you afraid of the death the second time?Image

    I mean the fear of death has to not bother you as much. For those who survived Hurricane Katrina a few years back, would they be as worried about the next big hurricane? If you have been shot before should the sound of gunfire bother you as much? If you were about to walk away from a deadly car crash, should you be afraid to drive a car or ride in a car again?

    I want to attempt to crack open this scripture for everyone to have a better taste of its fruit. If Jesus is the resurrection and the life (and he is), then this ability would work on everything, not just death. This understanding was given to us under the death category, but I contend that this verse is more like the master key — it fits every lock!

    So, If I lose my job, I am dead to the job that I lost and I can surrender this dead to the resurrection and the life (A.K.A Jesus Christ) and he will raise up (resurrect) a new job for me that I may dwell (live) in. If I lose my marriage, home, money, self respect, or mind, the Jesus who resurrects will replace the old with something new for me. You see, it was difficult for Mary, Martha and the others to fully understand the power of the resurrection. We struggle with it today as well.

    Let’s not limit the resurrection and life to just a wonderful biblical story. Let’s not limit God’s power to only the measure we understand. Let’s surrender everything in our lives that is dead and allow him to breathe life into it again because he truly is the resurrection and the life. 

  • A Love Letter to Meadowlawn Church of Christ

    On June 6, 2004 I officially became the ministering evangelist at Meadowlawn Church of Christ in Sandusky, Ohio.

    I never wanted to preach or even be seen as a preacher. Many accept this calling and the criticism that goes with it. Living a life under a microscope for people to judge you and hold you to a different standard than the rest.

    For me, Meadowlawn always seemed to fit. I remember in 2004 having the opportunity to leave Ohio and take the ministerial work in Rockledge, FL at the Fisk boulevard Church of Christ. The church was 10 times the size of Meadowlawn and had more than 400 members. Again for me, Meadowlawn always seemed to fit.

    At Meadowlawn, God took me through a transformation by the things which I endured. There were many struggles. We struggled with tradition, evangelism, money, discipleship and support. As a result, we grew into a family. We fellowshipped together, we cried together and we fought together. Every problem we faced seemed to bring us closer.

    I grew up spiritually at Meadowlawn and was able to make full proof of my ministry. I would not change the experience for anything.

    Now it is time for me to move on and I have mixed emotions about that.

    I love what we have been building and I love the fact that our congregation is not your typical congregation. Most have been able to take off traditional glasses and view the Bible, God’s people and the service we give in a purer fashion. We began to truly allow Jesus to be the author and finisher of our faith.

    We grew in a way that increased our knowledge of God’s Word and allowed some of us to build a closer relationship with Christ. I cannot thank the church enough for the opportunity to serve and the patience to forbear me in areas where I needed to grow.

    I want to encourage you all to continue in the fight of faith. Love one another. Laugh together often and never return to the traditional shackles that have enslaved you for so long. Support the leadership and encourage them to do what’s right. Invest in the children and take care of the seniors. Don’t allow Satan back into the church. Challenge everything you are taught to make sure it is of God and never quit reaching out to the community.

    I hope that you all know how much I love and care for you and may God be with you all the way.

    Now unto Him who is able to keep us from falling; and deliver us faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy; to the only wise God our Father be glory, majesty, dominion and power both now and forever, amen!

  • Is there a resurrection for the dead?

    This week in my life was filled with death.

    Now it might sound strange for me to say that since I work in hospice, but my week was filled with death because two people that I personally knew died. And neither was over 60.

    I watched at one particular funeral as the people crowded around and some seemed to be really worried about the death. They seemed to be hopeless wondering how will they go on. You couldn’t help but feel sorry for them.

    As I sat there watching everything I wondered if many of these people – who considered themselves Christians – believed that there truly is a resurrection for the people of God today.

    For Christians who profess their faith it seems that you should never see us hopeless. You should never see us discouraged. We should never allow ourselves to be in the position to allow our actions to deny that Christ has risen.

    Maybe it’s that everyone has a hard time applying the idea at a funeral that Christ lives and that our loved ones will live, too –  if they believe in Him.

    Who am I fooling?

    For America to profess a faith in Christianity, we sure don’t handle death well.

    We need a healthy dose of God’s word. Then we need to understand what it means and finally learn how to apply it.

    Let’s try it.

    In the 14th chapter of the book of Job, Job was lamenting to his three friends about his life. As many of you know, Job, in a very short period of time, was hit with tragedy. He was a rich man and lost all that he had – including his family and his health.

    His friends thought he had done something to anger God and he was being punished. Job insisted that he hadn’t done anything wrong.

    By the time you get to the 14th chapter, Job, in a very helpless state, wonders about what happens when a man dies. He said that there is hope for a tree (verse 7) because with his own eyes, he has seen a tree that had been cut down still grow.

    In Verse 14 Job says this: “If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait until my change comes.”

    Now Job uttered these words with the hope that God would evoke a change in him after death.

    This, for him, was just a hope – because Job never got to hear John 3:16. In fact, Job never knew God as his father in heaven.

    That’s because the family relationship with us and God was a direct result of the finished work of Jesus on the cross. When he broke the bonds of sin and set the captive free, He established a new covenant with us which now saves us. This new covenant is sealed with the blood of Jesus and was in the mind of God before the foundation of the world.

    For Job to have never heard this and to still have a glimmer of hope is marvelous! This is why he was known for his patience.

    But to the people living on the resurrection side of Jesus, we need to tell the world about the Savior we serve and the very important fact that He has risen. The fact that he has risen brought teeth to this promise by Jesus: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.”

    Application: Jesus set us free from sin and this freedom is available to everyone who believes. With that said, if you are a child of God and happen to die (which is something we all will do until Jesus returns) at any age, you WILL live again. If this is not true and Christ is not risen, then our religion, my preaching and our faith tradition mean nothing.

    Death does not checkmate God’s promises to us!