Shiloh M.B. Church

09/04/2026

NOTES FROM JOY IN THE MORNING PRAYER CALL, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2026
Dr. Claudette C. Owens

PART 3 — “WHOSE LADDER ARE YOU HOLDING?”

Primary Scripture: Philippians 2:4
“Not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

There is a question we don’t ask often enough:

“Whose ladder am I holding?”

In Who’s Holding Your Ladder?, the ladder represents the people who help us climb toward purpose. But spiritual maturity takes us beyond asking:

“Who’s holding MY ladder?”

to asking:

“Whose ladder am I holding?”

Paul wrote Philippians while imprisoned, yet he challenged believers to look beyond themselves and consider the needs of others. That’s why this verse fits this part of the journey.

1. SOMEBODY IS DEPENDING ON YOU.

Somebody is watching you.
Somebody is learning from you.
Somebody is gaining courage because you refused to quit.

Your life is somebody else’s evidence that it can be done.

❤️You may be climbing for yourself, but somebody is watching you climb for them.

2. YOUR SUCCESS SHOULD CREATE SOMEBODY ELSE’S OPPORTUNITY.

Don’t just build a career.
Build people.

Don’t just accumulate knowledge.
Transfer knowledge.

Don’t just receive blessings.
Become a blessing.

Jesus demonstrated this kind of leadership when He washed His disciples’ feet.

❤️Real leadership isn’t about being above people. It’s about being willing to serve people.

3. LEGACY IS MEASURED BY WHO CAN STAND BECAUSE YOU STOOD.

Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2 to take what he had learned and entrust it to faithful people who could teach others.

That’s multiplication.

Receive. Develop. Release. Repeat.

Your greatest legacy may not be what you built.

It may be who you built.

Somebody is standing today because you stood.

Somebody is dreaming because you told them they could.

Somebody found their purpose because you made room for them.

❤️HOLD SOMEBODY’S LADDER.

Somebody held yours.

Somebody prayed for you.
Somebody encouraged you.
Somebody opened a door.
Somebody believed in you when you were still trying to believe in yourself.

Now it’s your turn.

Don’t climb so high that you forget who helped you get there.

Don’t become so successful that you become inaccessible.

Don’t become so blessed that you stop blessing.

Don’t just climb. Reach back.

Don’t just rise. Raise.

Don’t just become. Build.

Because maybe God didn’t bring you this far just to elevate you.

Maybe He brought you this far so you could elevate somebody else.

You didn’t come this far just to say, “Look at me!”

You came this far so somebody else could say:

“Because of you, I made it!”

So climb—but don’t climb alone.

Rise—but don’t rise alone.

Be blessed—but don’t be blessed alone.

HOLD THE LADDER!

REACH BACK!

PULL SOMEBODY UP!

Because success isn’t simply how high you climbed.

It’s how many people can stand because you were willing to hold the ladder.

Your Greatest Legacy May Be Who You Helped To Rise.

09/02/2026

09/02/2026

NOTES FROM JOY IN THE MORNING, SEPTEMBER 2, 2026

PART 1: LOOK WHO’S HOLDING YOUR LADDER! A focus on Leadership Adapted from the Book By Dr. Samuel Chand

Dr. Claudette C.Owens
Wednesday Focus: Your Circle Can Affect Your Climb
Exodus 17:12: “Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other…”

Let me ask you something this morning:

WHO’S HOLDING YOUR LADDER?

Moses had the assignment.
He had the authority.
He had the anointing.
He had the staff.

But Moses still got tired.

And when his arms became heavy, Aaron and Hur stepped in.

They didn’t criticize him.
They didn’t question his strength.
They didn’t compete with him.

THEY HELD HIM UP.

And somebody needs to hear this today:

You can be strong and still need support.
You can be anointed and still need assistance.
You can be gifted and still need guidance.

Needing help doesn’t mean you’re weak.

Sometimes wisdom sounds like:

“I don’t have to do this by myself.”

THE RIGHT PEOPLE MATTER

The right people don’t just celebrate you when you’re winning.

They stabilize you when you’re struggling.

They pray when you’re tired.
They tell you the truth when you don’t want to hear it.
They celebrate your elevation without competing with it.
They see you slipping and reach for you.

The right people don’t just watch you climb; they help stabilize the ladder.

But here’s the other side:

❤️EVERYBODY WHO STARTED WITH YOU ISN’T NECESSARILY ASSIGNED TO YOUR NEXT SEASON.

That doesn’t always mean somebody is bad.

Sometimes it simply means the assignment has changed.

A higher climb requires stronger support.

Everybody who knows your past may not have the faith to recognize your future.

Everybody who smiles with you isn’t necessarily standing with you.

Everybody who celebrates you isn’t necessarily supporting you.

So you need DISCERNMENT.

Ask yourself:

Who is really holding my ladder?

Who prays for me?
Who tells me the truth?
Who strengthens me?
Who protects my vision?
Who can correct me without rejecting me?
Who can celebrate me without competing with me?

And then ask one more question:

Am I allowing the right people close enough to help me?

Because sometimes God has already sent the help— but we’re too proud to receive it.

❤️TODAY, TAKE INVENTORY.

Think about the people God has placed around you.

The spouse.
The friend.
The mentor.
The pastor.
The prayer partner.
The person who believed in you.
The person who stayed when leaving would have been easier.

DON’T GET SO FOCUSED ON CLIMBING THAT YOU FORGET WHO’S HOLDING YOU UP.

And if somebody has been holding your ladder, THANK THEM.

Tag them. ❤️
Send them this post.
Call them.
Tell them, “Thank you for holding me up.”

Because sometimes God answers our prayer for strength by sending us a person.

And when your arms get tired: DON’T QUIT.

When the climb gets steep: DON’T QUIT.

When you can’t see the top: DON’T QUIT.

Maybe the reason you haven’t fallen is because somebody is holding you up!

So climb higher.
Dream bigger.
Trust God deeper.

But while you’re climbing…

CHECK THE HANDS ON YOUR LADDER.

Make sure they’re faithful.
Make sure they’re trustworthy.
Make sure they’re praying.
Make sure they’re pushing you toward purpose.

And when you find those people—

LOVE THEM.
HONOR THEM.
THANK THEM.
KEEP THEM.

Because you don’t just need people around you. You need THE RIGHT PEOPLE AROUND YOU.

❤️LOOK WHO’S HOLDING YOUR LADDER!

08/29/2026

Free Health Fair Saturday, August 29, 2026, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Shiloh M.B. Church, 2415 Old Moulton Rd SW, Decatur, AL 35603.

08/27/2026

NOTES FROM JOY IN THE MORNING PRAYER CALL

COMPANIONSHIP WITH GOD
Reverend Dr. Edward L. Owens
Psalm 16:7–8

“I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”

There is something powerful about companionship with God.

Companionship means more than simply knowing about God. It means being with God—walking with Him, listening to Him, seeking His counsel, and allowing His presence to influence the way we live.

God wants a relationship with us where He can counsel us, correct us, guide us, and give us wisdom.

Too often, we make our plans first and then ask God to bless them. But companionship with God teaches us to seek His will first.

Before you make the decision, seek God.
Before you respond, seek God.
Before you move, seek God.
Before you give up, seek God.

The more time we spend with God, the more we learn His ways. And the more we learn His ways, the better prepared we are to make decisions that align with His desires.

David said, “I have set the Lord always before me.”

That means God wasn’t an occasional thought. God was before him—always.

And then comes the promise:

“Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”

Notice that David didn’t say there would be no trouble.

He said he would not be moved.

Believers experience trouble. We experience disappointment. We experience uncertainty. We experience failure. But we don’t have to face any of it alone.

God is our Companion.

When God is with you, you can walk through difficult places without losing your direction.

When God is with you, you can face uncertainty without losing your peace.

When God is with you, you can be challenged without being shaken.

When God is with you, you can keep moving forward because you know who is walking with you.

So today, don’t go into this day trying to handle everything by yourself.

Invite God into your day.

Let Him counsel you.
Let Him instruct you.
Let Him guide you.
Let Him correct you.
Let Him order your steps.

And whatever you encounter today, remember:

I am not walking alone. God is my Companion.

And because He is at my right hand…

I SHALL NOT BE MOVED!

🙏🏾 Father, help us to keep You before us today. Teach us to listen for Your voice, follow Your direction, trust Your wisdom, and rest in Your presence. Help us to remember that we never walk alone. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Have a blessed day! And whatever you do today—KEEP YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. ❤️

08/25/2026

Notes from August 25, 2026 Joy In The Morning Prayer Call.

WHEN BLOOD CRIES…
Dr. Claudette C. Owens
Genesis 4:10 NIV- “The Lord said, ‘What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.’”

God placed this passage about Cain and Abel in my spirit late last night. This Word is especially for those who feel they aren’t being heard and for those who feel that have lost loved ones unjustly. I want you to know that their blood is still crying. And God is listening.

Genesis 4 is the story of Cain and Abel.

Two brothers.

One offering.

One wounded heart.

One unresolved anger.

And eventually… one life lost.

But what happened in the field didn’t begin in the field.

It began in Cain’s heart.

Cain became angry. He became jealous. He allowed disappointment to become resentment, and resentment eventually became destruction.

And then God asked him a question that still echoes today:

“What have you done?”

Notice something powerful.

God didn’t ask Cain, “What did Abel do?”

God asked, “What have YOU done?”

That’s a question we need in this divided hour.

Because we live in a time when everybody has an opinion about what somebody else did.

We know who’s wrong.

We know who’s to blame.

We know who deserves condemnation.

We know whose political party is responsible.

We know which group is the problem.

We know who “they” are.

But Genesis 4 reminds us that before God asks us about them, He may ask us about us.

“What have you done?”

And then God says something that should make us stop scrolling:

“Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.”

Abel was dead.

He couldn’t speak for himself.

He couldn’t defend himself.

He couldn’t tell his side of the story.

But God heard his blood.

That’s good news for anyone who has ever felt unseen. And for anyone who has lost a loved one unjustly.

God hears the cry of the wounded.

God hears the cry of the oppressed.

God hears the cry of the forgotten.

God hears the cry of families grieving behind the headlines.

God hears the cries that never make the news.

God hears what we sometimes choose not to hear.

And yes God hears the cries of our loved ones’ blood from the ground.

And here’s where Genesis 4 speaks directly to us today:

1. DON’T ALLOW ANGER TO MAKE YOU STOP SEEING PEOPLE.

Cain stopped seeing Abel as his brother.

He saw him as a rival.

Be careful when disagreement turns into dehumanization.

We can disagree without destroying.

We can confront injustice without becoming hateful.

We can stand for truth without losing compassion.

2. GOD HEARS THE CRIES WE IGNORE.

There are cries underneath our political arguments.

Cries underneath racial tensions.

Cries underneath poverty.

Cries underneath violence.

Cries underneath broken families.

Cries underneath social media posts that look like anger but are really pain.

Before we ask, “Whose side are you on?”

Maybe we should ask,

“Who is hurting?”

3. YES… WE ARE OUR BROTHER’S KEEPER.

Cain asked:

“Am I my brother’s keeper?”

The answer is YES.

Not because we agree with our brother.

Not because our brother votes like us.

Not because our brother looks like us.

Not because our brother thinks like us.

But because our brother bears the image of God.

Jesus later gives us the same lesson through the Good Samaritan.

The Samaritan didn’t stop to debate whether the wounded man deserved help.

He saw him.

He had compassion.

He helped him.

That’s what the world needs from the Church right now.

Not more hatred.

Not more division.

Not more shouting.

More people willing to listen.

More people willing to love.

More people willing to stand for justice.

More people willing to show mercy.

More people willing to say:

“Yes, Lord. I am my brother’s keeper.”

And then there is one more powerful truth.

Genesis 4 tells us that Abel’s blood cried out.

But Hebrews 12:24 tells us that Jesus’ blood “speaks a better word.”

Abel’s blood cries for justice.

Jesus’ blood speaks redemption.

Abel’s blood exposes the wound.

Jesus’ blood brings healing.

Abel’s blood reminds us that something is terribly wrong.

Jesus’ blood reminds us that God can make broken things new.

So today, in a world that seems to be bleeding from every direction, let’s not add more blood to the ground.

Let’s become people who listen.

People who love.

People who seek justice.

People who extend mercy.

People who refuse to let hatred have the last word.

Because when blood cries…

GOD HEARS IT.

WE MUST LEARN TO HEAR IT TOO.

Pray for those who are broken, hurting, and grieving. And pray for a nation that will stop pointing fingers at each other and take a good look in the mirror at ourselves through the eyes of God and His Word.

08/25/2026

As soon as church lets out on Sundays, the parking lot outside Dot’s Soul Food Restaurant starts to fill up and, inside, the lunch crowd forms a long, steady line that stretches from the steamtable to the front door. Located in the small Lawrence County town of Hillsboro, a few miles outside of Decatur, Dot’s is a little dining gem that serves righteous fried chicken, glorious mac and cheese and collard greens.