St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church

10/19/2026

2 Samuel 7:22

New Living Translation

How great You are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like You. We have never even heard of another God like You!

Psalm 25:14-15

The Lord is a friend to those who fear Him. He teaches them His covenant. My eyes are always on the Lord, for He rescues me from the traps of my enemies.

Psalm 37:4

Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.



For a considerable part of my life, I consistently thought of the verb, “take,” in a negative light. And I suppose, for the most part, it was due to how I interpreted the action of taking advantage of others because, generally, when such a phrase was used, it referred to “advantage” being “taken” when it had not been offered.



As I grew older, still influenced by my earlier interpretation, I concluded that what people “really” meant was “taking people for granted.” But such a conclusion kept a negative connotation. However, neither “conclusion,” humbly opining, was incorrect but, indeed, limited the meaning of “take.”



For anytime something is offered, “taking” is the desired reaction. Despite the commercial underpinning, when manufacturers, or retailers, offer free samples, they fail if no one chooses to “take” them.



With this, as we look at the three passages shown above from top to bottom, and we consider the unique greatness of our “Sovereign God, and how He offers friendship to all “who fear Him.” And how, “He teaches them His covenant, and “rescues (us) from the traps of (our) enemies!”



Then, believing and receiving these first two verses as truth makes doing the same for the third, humbly opining, a most reasonable response. For even in doing so, as the first clause suggests, the closing clause offers even more “advantage” to “take,” He gives us our “heart’s desire.”



Be Inspired, Encouraged, and Motivated to Take, Freely, Every Good and Perfect Gift the Lord Offers! It’s Love O’clock!

10/18/2026

10/14/2026

Deuteronomy 13:4
New Living Translation
Serve only the Lord your God and fear Him alone. Obey His commands, listen to His voice, and cling to Him.
Proverbs 19:20-21
Get all the advice and instructions you can, so you will be wise for the rest of your life. You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.
Proverbs 1:8-9
My child, listen when your father corrects you. Do not neglect your mother’s instructions. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck.
Romans 12:2
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good, pleasing, and perfect.

By now, regular readers of my reflections, are aware of my perspective on several Bible passages, and that I view them as aspirations and, though seen as such, I take them very seriously, but as a recipient of God’s grace, granted eternal life through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, I take comfort in knowing that if, or admittedly, I fall short of fulfilling them, my efforts are recorded positively in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Of course, never desiring to cheapen God’s grace, I, and everyone else IN A COMPANY OF BELIEVERS, humbly opining, should take seriously very biblical aspiration, whether written as law, prophecy, command, or doctrine.

Therefore, my siblings in Christ Jesus, looking at the four passages shown above, let us aspire to fulfill them all in mind, body, and spirit.

Be Inspired, Encouraged, and Motivated to Aspire to Fulfill the Desires God Has for Us! It’s Love O’clock!

10/08/2026

Isaiah 43:11-12

New Living Translation

I, yes, I am the Lord, and there is no other Savior. First, I predicted your rescue, then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world. No foreign god has ever done this. You are witnesses that I am the only God,” says the Lord.





And, even though, the time context of the verses above is centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ, we, IN A COMPANY OF BELIEVERS, humbly opining, can easily apply “the Lord” and “Savior” to Him. I say this while aware that many of us, likely most of us, believe in God, the Father, Jesus, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as the Trinity or the Triune God. Otherwise, “the Lord,” “Savior,” and “the only God” is an entity separate from Christ Jesus.



While one could argue, technically, that “I predicted your rescue,” cannot be attributed to Jesus, but considering the many promises of Christ recorded in the gospels, at least from my perspective, makes it difficult to exclude this statement. For even, reportedly, the most repeated verse in the Bible, John 3:16, could be interpreted as “predicting our rescue,” even though it comes with the condition, “whosoever believes in Him.” Not that I feel it needs mentioning, but we are IN A COMPANY OF BELIEVERS, because we met the condition.



And of course, as BELIEVERS, we proclaim that Jesus is Lord, and “there is no other Savior” who could have “predicted (our) rescue,” and who, then, “saved” us. “No other foreign god has ever done this.” Therefore, we “are witnesses that (He is) the only God.” He says it, we believe it, and we “proclaim it to the world.”



Be Inspired, Encouraged, and Motivated the Only God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! It’s Love O’clock!

10/07/2026

Proverbs 29:25

New Living Translation

Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety.



Isaiah 26:4

Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.



Though I’m aware that in other places in Old Testament scripture, usage of the word, “fear,” is a reference to reverential awe, especially toward God. On the other hand, “fearing people” from Proverbs 29:25, humbly opining, refers to being afraid of people who might harm us.



Of course, from my perspective, as several Proverbs verses present a statement immediately followed by a counter to it, we would be wise to understand, even upon first reading, “fearing people is a dangerous trap,” which is a “true” statement, that its credence is dependent upon “trusting the Lord means safety” which follows it.



And yet, I find myself noticing how common it is for many of us to “fear people.” And I dare say that part of this phenomenon is due to stories we’ve been privy to, fact and fiction, all the way back to when humankind developed the ability to communicate with each other, but especially ever since we began to tell stories in written, live, or film media.



I could share several examples, but in the moment, recalling the story of Nathanael asking if anything good could come out of Nazareth, it’s reasonable to conclude that he had previously heard negative stories about it. This, of course, is evidence that negative stories about “others” are nothing new. Neither is the “fear” of others, which, again, is often the result of “stories” being told about them.



Therefore, though it saddens me, I am not surprised how “fearing people,” especially “different” people, is current and widespread. And even though, it can easily be argued that “widespread” is still less than most of the population, “different” people are no less negatively affected.



Still, lest those who “fear people” recognize that “trusting the Lord,” instead, “means safety,” they will fall into “a dangerous trap.” For “trusting in the Lord always,” is to constantly be in “reverential awe” of Him. And as such, we have nothing to be afraid of. “For the Lord God is (our) eternal Rock.”



Be Inspired, Encouraged, and Motivated to Revere the Lord Rather than Fear People! It’s Love O’clock

10/06/2026

https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdrive.google.com%2Ffile%2Fd%2F1DTA3_80YXvUgEpAZ9p6jE6rc9kI-Ybhd%2Fview%3Fusp%3Ddrivesdk&data=05%7C02%7C%7C5ca93fed225247627f9f08df23e4c385%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639269137577579454%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=zeKW7c0HAr4g%2FUNF3dbRuOwzZ08c5rrXwbMyf4gxXfY%3D&reserved=0

10/05/2026

10/4/26 in the Berry College Chapel:
DOING A TANGIBLE GOOD
inspired by Matthew 4:23-25

10/01/2026

Philippians 1:9-10 - New Living Translation

I pray that your love will overflow more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.

Matthew 5:11-12 - New Living Translation

“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are My followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.



I don’t remember which grade level it was, but I’m fairly certain that in one of my upper elementary school Science classes, I was taught that stress in our development years contributes to normal growth. In other words, when we don’t experience some stress in our early years, we can be sure that abnormality will be a characteristic of our later years.

That lesson made sense to me, and even though I didn’t look forward to moments of stress and strain, physically nor mentally, I was more prepared to accept it when it occurred. Admittedly, though, some might “observe” that I didn’t experience enough!



However, as I look at the two passages above starting with the second and moving toward the first which aligns with their chronology, the words of our Lord, and Savior, Christ Jesus from His Sermon on the Mount, not only prepares us, IN A COMPANY OF BELIEVERS, for stress and strain along our spiritual journeys, but points out the “normal” end results of having experienced them.



Indeed, “God blesses (us) when people mock (us) and persecute (us) and lie about (us) and say all sorts of evil things against (us) because we are (His) followers.” Some of us, not intending to “throw a shade,” but humbly opining, would rather act as if this wouldn’t bother us, but if there was no possibility of such, then I seriously doubt that Jesus would have said it.



Nor do I think He would have continued with “be glad about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits (us) in heaven.” And let us not forget that “the ancient prophets were persecuted the same way.” That part, as I interpret it, is a reminder to us that, as was a popular saying, or point of view, some years ago; “we ain’t all that.” And as such, not exempt, as neither were the ancient prophets.



With this perspective intact, the Apostle Paul’s two verses to the Philippians should be much easier to accept after having and still experiencing stress and strain along our journeys of growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord, and Savior, Christ Jesus. So, as Paul did for the Philippians, and as I receive for myself, like him, for you, my siblings in Christ, IN A COMPANY OF BELIEVERS,



“I pray that (our) love will overflow more, and that (we) will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want (us) to understand what really matters, so that (we) may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.”



Be Inspired, Encouraged, and Motivated by the Stress and Strain of Spiritual Growth for Great is the Reward in Heaven! It’s Love O’clock!