Matters of Faith

A practical application of the Word of God for everyday issues.

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James ‘Loren’ Russell was born in Harlem, New York, and raised in the Bronx, where he and his wife (Evelyn) of thirty-eight years currently reside. Loren began his professional career as a life insurance agent, quickly rising to sales manager and then senior management. To fulfill his entrepreneurial ambitions, Loren established The JLR Company/J Loren Consulting, LLC to provide financial planning services in general, “Biblical Economics” services to the religious community, and motivational and developmental seminars and workshops. He served 7 years with the Southern Baptist Convention as the Northeast Strategy Coordinator, Regional Church Finance Consultant, and Church Planting Coordinator for NYC. Loren earned the Master of Divinity degree from Drew Theological Seminary and received an Honorary Doctor of Ministry from the Virginia University of Lynchburg. Through J Loren R Consulting, LLC, Loren provides financial, strategic planning, and business consultations to churches, not-for-profit organizations, and businesses nationally, with a specialization in urban church strategies. Loren’s spiritual and civic commitment keeps him busy. He is currently providing pastoral leadership to The Evangelical Church of God and continues as an Associate Minister and former Sunday School teacher at his home church, Goodwill Baptist Church. He is the founder of the Back In Stride Ministry, a ministry designed to help ex-offenders to establish their businesses; past President of the John L. Scott Associate Ministers Auxiliary of the United Missionary Baptist Association; founder and Chief Chaplain of the New York State Chaplains Workers Task Force, Inc; President of the 42nd Precinct Community Council, Clergy Liaison, and Moderator for the Ceasefire Initiative all for the New York Police Department; President of the Home/Simpson Street Homeowners Association, Bronx, NY; Board member of Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement (HCCI); 3 times past President of the Yonkers-East Yonkers Rotary Club, NY, and past District Governor for Rotary District 7230. Loren has a chapter capturing parts of his life in the book, Children of the Dream – The Psychology of Black Success by Audrey Edwards and Dr. Craig Polite. He also helped establish and provided voice-overs for the Speaking Community Calendar at Bronx Net Cable, Bronx, NY. Rev. Dr. Russell is an author who writes a weekly column called “Matters of Faith” that appear in several publications, Yonkers Insider, Better Mag magazine, Positve Community Magazine, and Pamela’s Big Heart Newsletter, and on his social media outlets. In addition, he hosts a weekly internet radio talk show, “Matters of Faith: The Radio Show” (Matters of Faith YouTube channel), and authored and published Matters of Faith: The Book. Loren is a frequently sought-after preacher, keynote speaker, motivational instructor, workshop leader, and Master of Ceremonies for a variety of programs. Loren’s favorite quote is by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. which epitomizes his philosophy on life. It states, “We must all learn to live together as brothers, or we will all perish together as fools.”

A Return on Investment!

Reverend J. Loren Russell

Romans 12:1-3 NKJV 

I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

People invest in stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities (gold, silver, platinum, pork bellies, sneakers, oil, gas, and anything else that has a limited supply and a high demand). Everyone who makes an investment expects that there will be some sort of return on that investment (ROI). Some investments have spectacular returns, while others, to coin a phrase, “go belly up”, and fail to yield any positive return. The text presents several spiritual investments that have great return on investment. 

The text opens by pleading (“beseech”) its readers to present themselves before God as bodies that have been committed to the Lord – holy and acceptable. There is an implied reasonableness of this investment by the  statement, it will make them holy and acceptable to God. That benevolent statement, by inference, is the evidence of a reasonable expectation of a positive return. 

The second investment with an expectation of a great return is non-conformity with the world. It says that there will be a substantial return on investment by having a transformed mind. God orchestrates the transformation of the investor that results in a total conversion on the inside that will be evident on the outside. The positive return for the investor is a knowledge of the will of God  – all that is good, pleasing, and perfect in His sight. The implication is that the change will be so dramatic that it can be shared with people throughout the community. 

This leads to the third return on investment; a humble and contrite spirit that is a by-product of the amount of faith the Lord has deposited into the life of the investor. 

An investment in the Lord thy God is a win-win situation with the absolute best return on investment. If you read verses 4-21, you will find that the ROI is not something that is received when you become a child of eternity, it is promised in your lifetime to make you more than a conqueror, it promises to give you the ability to overcome evil with good.  

Be Blessed! 

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