Morningside Devotionals

View on Vocaroo >>   You may hear some background noise in this recording, because I'm recording on our porch outside. Hearing all the great sounds of nature birds chirping, the wind blowing; whispering through the trees. Surrounded by all this beauty surrounded by these miracles. I'm often reminded, Ah, remember, I'm often reminded of the miraculous powers that we're in the midst of that, we do not realize. So remembering is a way of fronting or bringing to the forefront of your consciousness; it's the miraculous, uh, experience that we are in the assemblage of.  So much matter in creation, in a constant creative force. And what this realization can help us with is a recount of a day. You know, this moment on this porch saying, these things with you that is, in effect, a miracle and it is no small thing to recognize what is actually taking place in terms of creation. We call God Elohim, creator God, almighty. God. We say that almost as a by word or a ...

View on Vocaroo >>   What's the most beautiful place that you've ever seen? The place that just takes your breath away. I can think of so many really beautiful places in nature that I've seen, and some places it architecturally, made by man that I've seen like the Cathedral at Rheims, France; takes your breath away.  The Grand Canyon takes your breath away, really beautiful, magnificent things that are so big and so massive and so awesome and so pretty when you remember them. They bring back that sense of breathlessness, an anticipation in your life. That's a massively important aspect of our emotional component of happiness and joy, isn't it?  When we talk about recounting, that's a moment where you think about that miraculous reconnection, that just took place, you've thought about something so totally beautiful and so magnificent that it took your breath away, and for a moment, your mind goes back to that point and you recount that and is that...

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...