Category: Faith

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Happy Thanksgiving!

ThanksgivingImageWe need three positive emotions to balance out every negative one according to Dr. Barbara Fredrickson, Professor of Psychology at UNC-Chapel Hill. As a Pastor and Life Coach, I can’t help but believe that many people are living with a deficit. The good news is we don’t have to be stuck that way. We can “choose” good feelings.

I remember this principle coming home to me in a very real way when I traveled out to the remote village of Kakamega Kenya. When my friends and I got off the bus from Nairobi, we were greeted by enthusiastic children and adults. As two of us were white, we got special attention. Many of these children had never seen a white person before and were amazed as they looked at our skin. Continue reading “Happy Thanksgiving!”

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Pits, Potiphars, and Prisons

pas21Isn’t it ironic that even the most debase among us demand justice? Doesn’t it irritate you when you read or hear a bad guy say something like, “You killed my brother, now your family is going to die?” He seems to totally ignore that his brother killed a bunch of innocent people and was planning to blow up the world. In the bad guy’s mind justice is all about what personally affects him. Continue reading “Pits, Potiphars, and Prisons”

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The Atheist Omelet

Disclaimer: The following story is in no way intended to demean or trivialize the faith of atheists. Not only do I personally enjoy the privilege of living in a country founded on the idea of free thought, God Himself grants it through what church people like to call “free-will.” I understand the hyper-simplicity of the story. It is metaphorical and not intended to exhaustively explore views of causality, quantum-physics, or any other scientific or philosophical discipline. If nothing else is achieved by the story, it is my hope that by the end, you will at least consider that the atheistic view of God requires more faith than the Christian one. Now, on with the story.

egg_fkvrevKOOn a hot summer day in Georgia, a jet-black Labrador Retriever named Chance awakened from his nap to the clucking of a barnyard chicken who had ventured too close. Chance let out a loud bark and shot after the chicken with a vengeance. He was moving so fast, that the snap of the chain barely slowed him down.

The chicken clucked and flapped frantically trying to get away from the violent K-9. Using her limited wing capacity, she pushed herself as high into the air as she could and was able to clear a large rock. Just as she flew over the rock, she dropped an egg which fell onto the rock breaking perfectly in half depositing its contents on the rock as the two halves of the shell fell to either side.

Continue reading “The Atheist Omelet”

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Illuminating Grace: 4 Ways that Grace Changes our Lives

Wooden crossGod is doing a great work in our days in the area of illuminating our understanding of grace. Perhaps more than any time since 1779, when former slave ship captain John Newton penned the words, “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me…,“ – people are asking the question, “what is grace?” and “what does it mean to me?” Let’s take a look at a few of the ways grace changes our lives. Continue reading “Illuminating Grace: 4 Ways that Grace Changes our Lives”

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Peace Be Still

Boat sailingAn easy metaphor for our current reality is a boat on a storm-tossed sea. A graphical representation of that metaphor could be painted as miles of ocean surrounding a tiny boat that is tilting to one side about to be engulfed by a large wave, as torrents of rain pour from above. Such a picture would provide an observer a singular perspective of the dangers of the storm and the isolation and vulnerability of the vessel.

Unfortunately, such a picture would not represent our modern perspective. That view is too far removed from the actual experience; the sheer terror of turmoil and danger; the pure adrenaline of the moment and the filters of our past experiences. No, our perspective is painted from the boat itself. We are often plagued not only with the fears we know, but also the ones we do not. Mental images of jagged rocks just beneath the surface, vessels and other dangers just beyond our ability to see, circling sharks awaiting their next meal. We are driven by our deepest fears as we desperately cling to some semblance of hope in a future where we can survive.  Continue reading “Peace Be Still”

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Being Fruitful in Despair

grapesHave you ever found yourself at a place in life where the circumstances of the moment crowded out and overshadowed the Prophetic Promises spoken in the past? Have you ever found yourself so pressed by current adversities that you could see no path forward?

If you said yes, Joseph was certainly a person who could empathize. As a young man he literally had dreams of being a leader. In those dreams he saw his older brothers bowing down to him. I’m sure he was very excited at the prospect of a fruitful and meaningful life. I doubt he understood the course it would take to get there.

Continue reading “Being Fruitful in Despair”

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The Project

museum-village-1978559_1920It was an unmitigated eyesore. Bright pink, lavender trim and a lime green “Daisy Mae” painted in script across the headboard. There were a couple of broken spindles and a missing decorative ball. Still, there was something about it that drew Paul in like metal to a magnet. Careful inspection revealed that underneath all the paint, glue and amateur patchwork, the antique crib had been lovingly designed, cut, assembled and finished by the talented hands of a remarkable craftsman.

In its current condition, he knew Melinda would not be happy if he returned home with it. And he feared that the mere suggestion of placing their soon-to-be first-born baby in it to sleep, might cause his normally sweet and gentle wife to erupt in a hormonally charged outburst that could very-well negatively impact his health.

Continue reading “The Project”

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Defective Lighthouses

lighthouse-2372004_1280In 1970 the teenage son of a Pastor from California emerged triumphantly from the basement of The Pentecostal Tabernacle church. His family was scheduled to sing there that evening and realized they needed more material. Ronnie had excused himself for several minutes and returned carrying a trail of toilet tissue. On that unceremonious paper, were the lyrics to a brand-new song titled, “The Lighthouse.” After a little refinement in collaboration with his brother Kenny, the song was first recorded by The Happy Goodman’s and later by Elvis Presley.

Since that time, thousands of groups and soloists around the world have performed the song – including me. Although Ronnie Hinson has written many chart busting songs since that time, none have reached the awards, accolades and success of “The Lighthouse.”

Continue reading “Defective Lighthouses”

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Exposed!

wellWhat was the woman thinking as the Jewish man moved closer to her? She knew that Jews considered her kind untouchable merely for their ancestry. Her personal secret life took her discomfort and shame to an even greater level. As he opened his mouth to speak, she was most certainly expecting some kind of put-down or curse. Instead, he asked her for a drink of water.

What was the woman’s attitude? Was she merely surprised by the unprecedented request, or was she belligerent at the audacity of a man – from a group of people known for always looking down on her race – asking her to serve him?

Continue reading “Exposed!”

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Singing in the Storm

Woman and rain showerIt seems that every day I peruse Facebook, I see posts claiming health, wealth and prosperity to everyone who is reading. Some preachers even teach that if you are suffering, you are falling short of God’s will for one reason or another. I was even at a funeral once where a “Prophetess” told the daughter of the woman who died that if she had had enough faith, her Mom would still be alive. I have addressed some of this before, but today I would like to take a little different approach.

Continue reading “Singing in the Storm”