Morningside Devotionals

View on Vocaroo >>   Initiative is a strange characteristic. Because a person who takes initiative is a different kind of individual. And we all know that because we see people who are going to the front, to make sure that things take place, and we wonder, where does that come from(?); initiative can be a learned characteristic. Because if you stand back and you look at a picture image and you think, you know, that skyline would be perfect. If it only had one more tall building in there, initiative is drawing in that building, and then painting it in; so that the painting will be complete, or another way to look at it is an individual with initiative; sees that something needs to take place.   For example, if there's a lack of general education about how to repair things initiative goes toward trying to help others learn how to do that. I have a friend who's a plumber And what he discovered is that other plumbers weren't being created weren't being taught, were...

View on Vocaroo >>   As we go through these characteristics of a leader, these are all pronounced characteristics. They are things that leaders have learned to emulate, and to teach others how to emulate, and for they themselves as leaders to emulate, but most normally, these are characteristics that individuals possess, because as they've grown up, they've been educated by leaders as leaders.  But that is kind of changing in our culture. It's hard to explain the difference between a family that is patriarchal with a father who is present. Who is himself a leader and is teaching his children leadership and a non patriarchal family that is not centered in that way. So those lessons aren't passed on in that way. I'm thinking about such men as, for example, Gen. Patton and the relationship that he had with his father see those kinds of dominant leading men.  Well, I think that they are changing in our culture, and I believe that in our culture, we need to...

View on Vocaroo >>   Endurance is easy to say very difficult to prove out. What does endurance mean? If you really want to test endurance, just to see how long your endurance actually is, get somebody with a gallon jug of water in a car. And just take off, walking and let them follow you and just walk until you can't walk anymore. You may make 3 miles, you may make 5 miles, but at some point you're gonna say, this walking is getting old, get in the car, have a drink and you'll know your level of walking endurance, you'll know how long you can keep on walking without it being to the point where you don't feel like walking any more.   We view endurance with several different aspects of perspectives and vantage points. Endurance is also easily associated with long distance running. People are familiar with the idea of building up endurance, but in Christianity, building up endurance, takes on an entirely different meaning we think of and usually hear sermo...

View on Vocaroo >>   Dependability means more than just being able to be trusted to be somewhere at a specific time and event. Dependability means that you have shoulders that can be leaned on. You have strength of character that can be trusted, that you can be depended upon, to act and react to certain circumstances in certain ways.   Dependability in a leader means that when you suggest to folks, or even order folks that something must be done; that you've thought it through that you're not going to ask them to do something that you yourself would not be willing to do. So that the reason that you're delegating is not because you don't want to do it, but because you have the idea. And it needs to spread, and it needs to be done by other people. In order that the overall progress of the organisation can be furthered, so dependability in a leader is an essential trait, and it is fundamentally a trait that can be learned.   All of my life. because I gre...

View on Vocaroo >>   Years ago, there was a movement in business, especially in business schools, universities and colleges had to do with just make a decision! Because after the decision. Obviously there's going to have to be adjustments and there are always adjustments in every project that's ever proposed. So the big statement was just make a decision.   Well, here's the thing about decisiveness. It's not so much that you're just making a decision, it's actually taking into consideration the factors that need to go into the result that you're considering. So decisiveness is a learned behaviour and it's very much a behaviour that can be improved upon.   I love to play Chess. And more than loving to play it, I love to win and I hate to lose, but I also just love to play the game. Well here's the thing after learning a style of opening in Chess. You can win an awful lot of games because it's a very hard opening to combat against. So t...

View on Vocaroo >>   Courage is a word that gets thrown around a lot. And people have a lot of interesting pithy, sayings about courage, courage is not the ability to just stand there and fight without any sense of fear, courage, is the ability to fight in the face of fear.  I personally like Winston Churchill's quote that says "Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen." I really like Winston Churchill when it comes to statements about courage, because if it weren't for Churchill, I'm not sure that we'd be speaking American in America, I think we might be speaking German. But I don't know for sure, history has been kind to us in America. History has been very kind. We are a fortunate nation. We are a nation, however, founded. I believe personally on courage.  If you had to take one of the traits of leadership from bearing courage, decisiveness, dependability, endurance, enthusiasm, init...

View on Vocaroo >>   47 years ago. November 11th 1978, I received the Gen. Douglas McCarthur award for distinguished leadership from the Bad Toelz NCO Academy, Seventh Army NCO Academy.   It was a high point a real high point, because what they instructed us in was bearing, courage, decisiveness, dependability, endurance, enthusiasm initiative, integrity, judgement, justice, loyalty, knowledge, tact and unselfishness. The characteristics of a leader.  And the shocking thing to me was that the staff sergeant in charge of teaching leadership said that in the opinion of most military greats such as Eisenhower, Patton Marshal, etc., the greatest military leader of all time, was Jesus Christ Because with 12 men, he changed the world forever.   Now That was a little bit shocking to me, because you would expect, great military leaders, Alexander the Great; Hannibal things like that. Marcus Aurelius out of Rome, but no in their opinion, in these real mili...

View on Vocaroo >>   In 2012, Ron Carpenter Jr., wrote an amazing book called "The Necessity of an Enemy.," and in it what he proposes; is that enemies make us stronger? Because we have something to fight against. And as we fight against it, we gain strength; that if there is no fight against an enemy, then your strength wanes. It's a good idea. It's a great book, and it makes a great deal of sense.   Because the adversary to God is; at least the adversary to God on earth is; Lucifer. Satan cast down-to-earth and this evil satan is the enemy of Christianity. The enemy of God; Certainly, the enemy of Christ and one of the things that in Christianity today is taking place is the merging of cancel culture thinking into Christianity as a standard. So what's that mean well, in Christianity(?) today there's the big moral push.   Don't watch movies that are going to have a bad influence on your morals and ethics. My suggestion would be that what that ...

View on Vocaroo >>   Are there questions that don't get asked? Remember that there are always questions that don't get asked. And the reason that these questions don't get asked is that these questions make us uncomfortable.  Take, for example, a section of the New Testament, the gospel of John, that goes from 7:53 to chapter 8:11. And here's what it says "this paragraph can no longer be considered a part of the gospel of John, but it is in all probability a true story of Jesus."   Now, this comes from A.T. Robertson, in his harmony of the Gospels, which is copyrighted in 1922. And then this reprinted version is copyrighted 1950. A.T. Robertson's harmony of the Gospels, is considered as a seminal work and a great harmony of the Gospels, but it's his inserted comments that are great.  And this is at the bottom of page 115, he says that "in all probability, it is a true story of Jesus very likely, drawn by early students from the collection ...

View on Vocaroo >> It's very quiet right now. It's early. Remember that there was a time in your life when it was quiet. Remember that time? Remember that quiet.   Quiet is an interesting place because we live in a noisy world. One of my favorite movie scenes is in a movie that many Christians just can't bring themselves to watch because it has a lot of R rated content in it. But it's called midnight in the garden of good and evil. It was a Clint Eastwood movie and John Cusack is in it and he plays a New York reporter who brings a recording of the noise of New York City with him. And he plays it so he can sleep.   Imagine quiet. My bet is that you've never heard it much. One time we went camping in north Arkansas. With the youth group from the church, and it was up by a place called Albert Pike, I think it was; first of all, there was no noise in that forest. So when I recount that moment of remembering that quiet, I recount that as one of those times w...

View on Vocaroo >>   Remembering is so close to recounting, but it's different in the subtle way that remembering manages to bring in flavors that the more accounting resembling recount does not. And it's for a purpose.  Remembering is to fortify to lift up to elevate, to bring into more dense relationship with Christ, your faith. Remember that in the past, you're a sinner, so you've committed sins, and in the past, you've asked him to forgive you of your sins, and what has He done? And that remembering allows you to understand that no, we do not want to sin, because our way of living our way of understanding our way of relating to a holy God; is not the same at all?  But by the same tick, by the same standard, we are sinners, we will fall, and when we do, what happens to us an extension of Grace by Christ. So Paul asked the question, well, does this mean that we can just go on sinning? And of course, the response is no. Our hearts are not that way slan...

View on Vocaroo >>   What is an aspect? An aspect is a slant. A side of a diamond . There are many different facets to a diamond. There are many different ways that light reflects through a diamond, adding aspects to the fact of the diamond in the beauty of the colors that are transmitted from the light. Remember that at 1 time you did not know Jesus. At all.  Somehow, you were brought to a point where you began to recognize that he's for real Then, came the moment when you realized that what you wanted to do was follow him. And the process of following him meant that you were going to have to deal with those ways that you did not adjust your life to live according to his standards of righteousness. So you would confess your sins. Remember that confessing your sins is absolutely necessary before you can repent.  Because you have to recognize that you have a difficulty; a problem; before any cure to the problem can be attempted. So confession and repentance a...

View on Vocaroo >>   Ever hear something and you say that's just profound? One time I heard somebody say that in order to love other people. You have to love yourself. In order to forgive other people, you have to forgive yourself.  If you have an unforgiving spirit, if you have an unloving nature, you're gonna find it actually impossible to forgive other people and to be loving. I think one of the things that it's really good to remember is we're all sinners. We're all saved the same way; by grace through faith. We are all sinners, and the truth of the matter is we sin, constantly, not because we want to; not because it's deliberate, not because it's something that we feel that we have to do.  We sin volitionally; volitionally constantly, and here's the thing(!). Remember that because we're sinners, and because we're all saved in the same way, there is no levels to faith, there are no super saints if you're born again, you'r...

View on Vocaroo >>   Always something to bear in mind noone can remember the things that are part of your existence and experience that are not also a part of theirs as a shared experience. So remember involves only you, if it doesn't involve others. So which are the richer memories? Those that involve just you or those that involve others and on top of that, which are even the more memorable, those times when you had you and perhaps one of the friend or those times when you had lots of folks around. And you were all celebrating, which is stronger?  The time you met privately with a friend to confess that you had done something that you didn't need to do. And they listened and said it was going to be okay or the birthday party that everyone participated in and you all enjoyed memories are precious.  How we do them is a recounting thing, and how we recount them is magnificently important in our lives, the very words that we use to add up to the recounting matte...

View on Vocaroo >>   There are many memorable closing scenes in movies that people can reflect on. This current generation in 2025. America; doesn't really know "Gone with the Wind" like a former generation did. But "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn," is pretty famous.   And Clark Gable at that time, was an enormously famous actor that, in this current generation, in 2025, many young people don't even recognise his name. So remember that your life may be worthwhile. Your life may be worth remembering those closing words in Taylor Sheridan's writing about Yellowstone. I think that's exactly what we should be looking at. But too much focus on legacy stalls your discipleship.  Remember to disciple not remember to become paralysed by analysis. Recount with the remembrance of your life, being worthwhile; worth remembering.  Recount, so that you're recounting moments; the things that were important in terms of disciples, discipling...

View on Vocaroo >>   We are in the midst of one of the most profound times perhaps in US history, we haven't seen anything like what's happening? Because I'm not sure that there's ever been anything like what's happening in the past in America, you had gangsters and you had law enforcement, and you had a constant battle between them.  But what's taking place today is much more extensive. We just witnessed a great campus evangelist and also a great campus representative of patriotism in America, everyone calls him a conservative as though there were anything wrong with that. But actually, Charlie Kirk was not just a conservative, not just a Republican, he was a representative of patriotism an idea, we remember that has become in America, something that we Either support or we don't.  But do you know that evil wicked people in our midst have turned the concept of patriotism against our own country in behalf of what(?) some ideas of values in ethics t...

View on Vocaroo >>   Remember the courage to overcome. Overcoming is part of faith. When people read the statement in Hebrews, that faith is the evidence of things hoped for, they don't realise that that's a description of courage.  Because anytime that you determine that something actually needs to take place, because it's self-evident. We hold these truths to be self-evident. One of the things about self evidentiary, uh, matters is that it takes courage to jump into them. Let me make that make sense. When you are faced with things that you recognise are evil in their nature and should be corrected, because your faith eyes see them, it takes courage, remember that.  Courage to act upon what you realise what you see and what you hear. So what you're doing is you're recounting the times that your eyes were opened. And your ears were opened and you saw and heard with faith. Don't expect that during those times people are going to applaud your actions....

View on Vocaroo >>   Remember the importance of your presence and the things that you talk about 'n discuss with your disciples; with your learners. You wanna remember that you're pointing them back to Jesus?  As you get involved in their lives, your task is to be with your Saviour and to listen to the Holy Spirit. And to guide your learners to Jesus, that's making disciples, your job is not to do anything else. Because if you get into doing anything else, that's going to be on your own time; and do you have any of your own time? Remember who's life it actually is; remember who's heartbeat it actually is; who's food it is; who air who's everything it is who's life it is we owe our lives to Christ. We are the creation of God, the father. And we do not own anything. We are just sojourners travelling through this existence, and our purpose remember is to do what make disciples off Matthews end chapter of chapter 28.  Recount, The Times that...

View on Vocaroo >>   Are there difficulties in following Jesus? There are; there are many difficulties in following Jesus, not to mention some that are more  and some that are less distracting and less difficult, but following Christ is never easy.  First of all, the word became flesh and dwelt among us. We take that to mean in Jesus as the incarnate. But there's a tertiary meaning to that, which is you, you're a physical being so when you read the Bible, you're reading the word Jesus is the Logos; the word; and it becomes physical when it imparts its power of truth to you, then Holy Spirit interacts with you.  So remember that one of the things that you're a part of is following Christ. You're following him through the word of God through the Bible, through the holy spirits guidance.  So it's not so easy to get off track, but we do get off track, and so one of the things we want to recount, one of the things we want to recount in awareness; is the ti...

View on Vocaroo >>   Sure fire you ever hear something called a sure fire cure for something, was it? How often are sure fire cures really cures? Remember Aha, yes, that's right, remember; that those things that are often called surefire turn out to be fires that had water poured on them.  And one of the things that if we have described as working at, in remembering is remembering with a purpose, remembering with some subtlety and some nuance to it, because we control the memory process, we control what we remember and how we remember it, we control the things that we choose to make significant. And sure fire cures I'm pretty much sure  are guaranteed not to work, aren't they?  So as you're recounting your walk with Jesus, and you're recounting the things that you're remembering recount to things, count them again The Times that so-called surefire. Things it didn't work out. And then take a look at the many things that he accomplished in the mi...

View on Vocaroo >>   Ever get dried lips? I get dry lips all the time. They get cracked even sometimes. And so I use a product called a chapstick@ there's other products Vaseline@, etc.   I'm just a chapstick guy, I like it. So I went and bought two, because with me; I'm going to always leave one somewhere, and do not remember -what? Remember(?)Yeah, not remember where I put it, but I'll remember where the other one is. And I'll go get it.  So with 2 of them, you'd think that I would always have somewhere around where I needed a chapstick. In a nutshell. I managed to wear one of them out, so I was down to just 1 and keeping knowing where that was at;  and lo and behold, somehow it got misplaced. Or got left in a pocket of a Jean somewhere, and I didn't remember where?  So when it comes to recounting things that seem oddly miraculous like odd reminders, this morning, I'm doing wash, and I look at the bottom of the wash basket after I get the ...

View on Vocaroo >>   In one of the scriptures, Paul says, I must be out of my mind to talk to you people this way. And he's talking about his experiences with serving Jesus and the various things that have happened to him; how many times he's been whipped, how many times he's been shipwrecked, and he says that it sounds like boasting at some point and that he would never want to be guilty of boasting. Except in what?  Except in the strength of Jesus, because Paul had realized that when he is weak, Jesus is strong, and there is an ancillary statement to that that we want to remember, we're talking about, remembering it, and what we want to remember is: We're weak. We are weak. And that's beyond honesty and beyond confessional, it's beyond the fact that we're sinners, who find it nearly impossible to escape the lies of satan, he's clever, so we do sin.  But we can what confess and Jesus does what? Forgives and so when we come to recounting...

View on Vocaroo >>   Remember that there are times when what we want to be is still and remember that being still, it's something that actually needs to be practiced certainly in our age, certainly in the United States of America in 2025. Being still is very far from the norm, it would seem there's an awful lot of noise in our culture. For example, almost everything is portrayed with music in midst. You almost never go into any situation without some music in the background somehow being involved in life. I think we got trained to experience that through the movies of the 50 60s and 70s and the 9 into the 80s, 90s in 2000 etc. All of those stories had music in the background. Called background music.  So when we recount those times that we're remembering situations where we were trying to be still, it might be helpful to recount the fact that there are very few moments, where we're not somehow trying to interject music into a life that may not have music. Bec...