Category Archives: Uncategorized

I remember in school, especially the early years when I was learning to write that it was important to stay in the margins on the notebook paper.  I don’t know if I understood what the word “margins” meant, but I did recognize I was not supposed to write past the vertical lines that went downContinue reading “Stay Within the Margins”

At times in my life, I have thought to myself, “I just wish Jesus would do what I want him to do.”  Most of us as followers of Jesus struggle between living in the Kingdom of God and our kingdoms.  It seems we can do our best at times trying to get God to doContinue reading “My Kingdom Come”

As we now find ourselves several months into the COVID-19 pandemic, hopefully, we have learned some lessons along the way.  With the world turned upside down, our lives altered, and uncertainty the daily norm, these days have been fertile ground for growth in our lives.  What have we realized about ourselves, others, and life inContinue reading “A New Normal: It’s Not Just About Me”

Sometimes life falls apart.  Yet, you did not need me to tell you this.  We have all had those experiences which cause life to become broken; a death with its grief, sickness, unemployment, family division, depression, and disappointment which only begin the list of such things that can shatter a life.  We can suddenly findContinue reading “Finding Peace in the Pieces”

You’re driving down the road when suddenly you see the orange sign which reads, “Road Work Ahead.”  At that moment you realize your journey is about to change.  You will have to slow down your speed, perhaps merge into one lane, drive on a rough road, or even come to a complete standstill.  The nextContinue reading “End Road Work: Journeying with Jesus”

Research shows the average person speaks at least 7,000 words a day, with many speaking much more than that.  And most of the time, we don’t think about the words that come out of our mouths.  They are just part of our daily conversations.  However, there are also those times in which we are remindedContinue reading “Words Matter”

At some point in school, I remember learning long division in math. In math, long division is a method used for dividing large numbers into groups or parts. Long division helps in breaking the division problem into a sequence of easier steps. Just like all division problems, a large number, which is the dividend, isContinue reading “Finding God in the Equation”

As long as I can remember Johnson and Johnson have advertised their Baby Shampoo as “no more tears.”  According to Johnson and Johnson, “This baby shampoo’s No More Tears formula cleanses gently and rinses easily, leaving your baby’s hair soft, shiny, manageable and clean while smelling baby-fresh.”  Having raised two children, I can remember theContinue reading “No More Tears”

We hear and read a lot about guidelines for living as we continue to live amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone has guidelines about how to return to life: schools, businesses, sports, church, etc. These guidelines are offered as a way of living that will offer the best way forward while the COVID-19 virus is stillContinue reading “Guidelines Moving Forward”

Have you ever reached your breaking point?  The dictionary defines a breaking point this way, ” the point at which a situation becomes critical.”  It is usually at our breaking points that our emotions are released as well as the physical tensions in our body.  At some point, we all reach a place where ourContinue reading “Breaking Points”

Sometimes in life, you can be in a room crowded with people, yet feel all alone.  Sometimes you can sit at a table for a meal with others, yet feel all alone.  Sometimes you can worship in your church and hear the gospel preached, yet feel all alone. Loneliness can be a difficult place toContinue reading “All The Lonely People”

The apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Rome spoke about the nature of genuine love.  He said many things with respect to this in Romans 12: 9-21.  However, the one I would highlight is in verse 15 where Paul writes, “mourn with those who mourn.”  Now the dictionary defines the word mournContinue reading “Mourn with Those Who Mourn”

When Jesus began his public ministry, he came unified around one mission:  The Kingdom of God.  God’s Kingdom, God’s Rule, and God’s Powerful Presence had entered the world of the first century Jews and things were going to be different.  The people of Israel had been longing for a deliverer to come and rescue themContinue reading “The Kingdom of God is at Hand”

In the Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy and her little dog Toto found themselves in the strange land of Oz she said to her furry companion, “I don’t think we are in Kansas anymore.”  Dorothy knew that she now stood in a place that was different than her home. When God finished creating the GardenContinue reading “A Long Way From Eden”

Most Christians have their favorite hymns.  Growing up in church most people are introduced to the great hymns of the faith as children; even when they are too young to understand what they are singing about.  For years as a child, I thought the classic hymn, Amazing Grace, was a song about my great AuntContinue reading “This is My Story, This is My Song”

In July, I will enter my 30th year as the pastor of Pine Street Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia.  In some ways, it seems like yesterday until I begin to remember all the people that I have had to say goodbye to because of their deaths.  Death is part of life and is something thatContinue reading “Just Breathe”

We’ve probably all heard the phrase “larger than life”  when describing an individual. If you describe someone as larger than life, you mean that they have a very strong personality and behave in a way that makes people notice them.  There can hardly be a greater compliment than to call someone “larger than life.” ThatContinue reading “Larger Than Life”

If you grew up in the Baptist Church as I did, the hymn Softly and Tenderly was sung often.  The hymn was written by Will L. Thompson in 1880.  The familiar chorus reads:  “Come home, come home, Ye who are weary come home. Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling, Calling, “O sinner come home”  The lyricsContinue reading “Softly and Tenderly”

As a child growing up, I was not one who could sit still very long.  I needed to be moving or some part of my body moving.  So to sit beside me in church worship was a challenge for my parents.  Even today as a pastor, sitting in pulpit furniture, my legs are in motionContinue reading “Be Still”

Because of the COVID-19 virus, it has been 8 weeks since my church has been able to gather together for worship or anything else.  Stay at home guidelines have been followed in order to keep the virus from spreading.  While I  hate not being able to gather with my church family, I think it isContinue reading “Following Jesus, Yet Leaving the Church Behind”