Morningside Devotionals

View on Vocaroo >>   Now, folks don't normally think that our lives as Christians, it could contain miracles within them. We just, we don't objectively, or subjectively consider; that it's not part of our normal way of thinking.  We think and go through life as; this, I have to do today. These are the things I have to do. This is what's going to go on. We almost never begin our day by asking God, what would you have me do today? That's just not our lifestyle, certainly not in America, in 2025. Our lifestyle is, get it, get it done, and if you're a young man, it's get it, get success, get more and really, is there anything wrong with that?  Because, you know, have we got our priorities upside down? I don't know, have we got our priorities inverted? I don't know, I wrote a book called inverted culture and how to happily survive in it. My friend was a best selling author Dr. Stephen Covey, who wrote the 7 habits of an effective leader? ...

View on Vocaroo >>   Stay seated, if you got up and walk round in between these pages, go back and sit down. Because while my first entry about recertifying and serving had to do with conflict in a general; but a funny sense; about what's the worst thing that could happen to you. Now, I'm going to share something with you that is , I consider; it is vastly stranger.  But a great learning lesson, there was an elder in our church who was just a magnificent dude. I mean, he's, he's so cool that it's hard to explain how deep his faith was. I'm gonna call him Red. Now here's the thing, I went on a mission trip. I was brand new I was going to seminary. I basically had only been a Christian for maybe 3 years, we went to a mission trip out in New Mexico. It was a mountain top of mountain top experiences and some day, I'll share with you about the prison visitation and going out, and witnessing on the streets of New Mexico I think Albuquerque out there....

View on Vocaroo >>   Sit down, if you're standing up, sit down, if you're sitting down, stay there, but get ready, because what I'm about to share with you is not the traditional thing that you hear shared. And so I want a kind of preferences by suggesting to you that you understand yes, I've walked with Christ for 50 years. Been called into the ministry for 47 of those, and probably was called before then. Been to seminary, been trained, have a doctorate in theology.   I'm fairly well, a scholastically educated individual academically, trained a better professor; did a little bit of academic training of others. Bucked up against that system, and when you buck up against the educational system, what happens, you get eliminated, and I got eliminated, I had no idea what the battle that I was in. Went to be a pastor at one time. Got eliminated; had no idea the battle I was in.  Here's the thing that I'm going to suggest here, listen to this stor...

View on Vocaroo >>   Miracle, it's such a great word, and it's such a great event. It's such a great happening in your life. Miracle, but how do you recognise a miracle? I'm gonna suggest to you that often times when a miracle is happening, it really doesn't look like a miracle.  It looks like pain or it looks like suffering or it looks like something disastrous. There's something in the scripture, which says that something that happened didn't look like it was intended for good, but that God intended it for good. Now that's real hard for us, because we we proof text Romans, 8:28, when we shouldn't. We shouldn't proof text it.  We should just take it as it is, but actually put it in context, look at everything, Paul had been through and yet, this man who had been nearly beaten to death. Moreover, on occasion, I think I it happened 3 times. Shipwrecked, which we think "ah shipwrecked," understand that means nearly drowning...

View on Vocaroo >>   Recertify by recertifying, is part of the process of certify done over again. Certify over again. Bring a disciple back to Jesus if they've drifted, even if they haven't drifted in the process of bringing them back to Jesus, it should be an encouragement, and it can be an encouragement. And as you develop  The idea of working with recertify, you may find yourself having the ability to work with a person and be encouraging (another) one, and at the same time as recertifying your presence as one who follows Christ, the Greek term is gnorizo ( gno-rid'-zo) and gnorizo has an interesting uh, context to it.  It's used in a lot of scripture, for example, gnorizo, is used many times like in John 17:26. It's used to say it's a declaration in John 17:26 says, "and I have declared onto them by name, and I and will declare it." it can be as a declarative, Ephesians 6:21 says that you may know how Paul has been conducting himself...

View on Vocaroo >>   Recertify has contained within the term an idea. We've been talking about bringing people back to Jesus, working with disciples to keep them engaged with Jesus.  It's a different process, than what we would normally call witnessing. It's a different process than martyring. Martyring is when the authorities or someone in authority isn't in agreement with you about your Christianity, it can take many different forms. For example, some folks are forced to work on Sundays, even though Sunday is a day when they would want to go to church and worship. So that's a form of martyrdom now it's not a very a deep form, but nevertheless, it is true that is a form of martyrios or being a witness.  Because what you intend to do is go worship, and what they're saying is, no, you can't, that's authority coming in over the top of the proper conduct of a person who wants to worship God. So that is martyrdom, that's not martyrdom in th...

View on Vocaroo >>   Ad aspera ad Astra.  It is a rough road that leads to the stars. There are times in following God, when seemingly simple concepts like Genesis, 3;8 God walking in the cool of the day, 'rua yom'. They get past us, we let them go by, because we don't want to grasp is a significance of them simply because we do not know the language.  So when it comes to a process of recertify, perhaps one of the first things that we really ought to dig into is certifying itself. How genuine? In faith, if you are very genuine, in friendship with someone who does not speak your language? But you're genuine, in your friendship, you like being in their presence, they like being in your presence, you share with them, they share with you. It is an exchange. You are friends, you smile together in a way that only you can, but your language separates you, your kindness and your congeniality and your love, unite you and especially in Christianity.  But you do...