Matters of Faith
A practical application of the Word of God for everyday issues.
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Acts 8:36-38 NKJV
Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may. ”And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
“Teamwork makes the dream work!” This familiar statement is often used to demonstrate the effectiveness of collaborative verses individual efforts. In like manner, the scripture is an encouragement for us from the heart of the Lord to be supportive of one another so that greater success can be achieved.
Sometimes we get distracted comparing what the Lord has given to us with what He has given to others. The scripture tells us to work together so that our camaraderie brings mutual success to our labor.
One can lift the other if a fall occurs; two can warm each other through the cold; two can overcome their enemy when confronted. Our gifts complement each other when we share them. Sometimes we are the eunuch. We are searching, questioning, and trying to understand. Sometimes we are Philip. We are sent, positioned, and called to help someone else find their way.
Collaboration allows two people to pull together to accomplish great things. Our victories are much greater when we work together. Another thing to consider is when the Lord is in the midst, a dynamic duo becomes an incomparable trio, and all things are possible. In every case, the turning point is the same: If you would believe. For the Eunuch, right there, on that roadside, in that moving chariot, the eunuch made his confession: “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” No long checklist. No impossible requirement. Just one condition…, belief.
What’s holding you back? When belief rises, nothing can hinder what God has set in motion. When you get over your doubt, overcome your fear, stop making comparisons, release the weight of your past, you will realize the answer has not changed. “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”
Be Blessed!
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Good morning.
Rev. Dr. J. Loren Russell’s What’s App account was hacked. Please delete and disregard anything from him requesting money.
Rev. Dr. J. Loren Russell
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Reverend J. Loren Russell
Proverbs 31:10-31 (CEV)
A truly good wife is the most precious treasure a man can find! Her husband depends on her, and she never lets him down.She is good to him every day of her life, and with her own hands she gladly makes clothes. 14 She is like a sailing ship that brings food from across the sea.
She gets up before daylight to prepare food for her family and for her servants.
She knows how to buy land and how to plant a vineyard, and she always works hard. She knows when to buy or sell, and she stays busy until late at night. She spins her own cloth, and she helps the poor and the needy.Her family has warm clothing, and so she doesn’t worry when it snows. She does her own sewing, and everything she wears is beautiful. Her husband is a well-known and respected leader in the city. She makes clothes to sell to the shop owners. She is strong and graceful, as well as cheerful about the future.Her words are sensible, and her advice is thoughtful.She takes good care of her family and is never lazy. Her children praise her, and with great pride her husband says, “There are many good women, but you are the best!” Charm can be deceiving, and beauty fades away, but a woman who honors the Lord deserves to be praised. Show her respect— praise her in public for what she has done.Does the birth of children define the characteristics of a virtuous mother? Proverbs 31 takes a different approach, saying that the essence of a virtuous mother begins with a woman (wife) who is regarded as a precious treasure by her husband. She is a woman that he cannot live without.
She is described as a truly good woman; precious, dependable, talented, industrious, savvy, generous, compassionate, empathetic, strong, graceful, cheerful, sensible, insightful, honorable, beautiful, proud, respectful, loving, kind, sensual, thoughtful, caring, sharing, and God-fearing. The author describes a truly good or virtuous (KJV) woman as someone who handles her business and loves her family, especially those who call her “Mother.”
Anna Jarvis fought to have this day set aside nationally to celebrate and honor the love, care, and sacrifices mothers made for their children and the service they give to their communities. What’s interesting is that while Jarvis never married or had children, she clearly recognized the value of motherhood. Without the aid of modern technology, email, or AI, a massive letter writing campaign to newspapers and prominent politicians resulted in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure officially establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.
If I could write for every grateful child who had a loving mother, biological or surrogate, the most profound thing I could say is that God has honored her for the love she gave to others. Personally, my mother was gone too soon, but she left an incredible reservoir of love and compassion that not only overflows in my heart, but overflows and is evidenced in the lives of my three siblings through the love they express to their own children. As the lone childless sibling, I get to see the influence of my mother’s love in the lives of my sibling’s children.
It really doesn’t matter whether your mother had all or none of the qualities found in Proverbs 31. What matters is how you respect and honor her for the ones she has, and what she has done for you. (Notwithstanding, sometimes the best thing a mother can do is let her children go.) If nothing else, we all can and should respect and honor our mothers because she bought us into this world. For that reason alone, you now can make this world a much better place than it was when you were born into it. And, to do for your children and the community what she may not have had the ability to do.
As a matter of faith, any woman, whether a mother or not, who has the essence of a virtuous mother, should be given her praises while she can hear them. Her children praise her, and with great pride her husband says, “There are many good women, but you are the best!” (vv. 28-29).
So today, follow Stevie Wonder’s advice and “just call to say ‘I love you!’ And I mean it from the bottom of my heart.” If you can’t call her, pay her a visit, say a prayer, or just spend some quiet time thanking her for being your mother.
Happy Mother’s Day!
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By Reverend J. Loren Russell
Colossians 3:12-17 NKJV
Everyone has a personal New Year. It is the day that we recognize and perhaps even celebrate our birth. If you are anything like me, you take time to evaluate your past year and determine what will be your personal new year resolutions.
The verses of scripture referenced from the book of Colossians offer succinct qualities of someone who has resolved to make wholesale changes in their life. They will put away earthly and fleshly desires of “anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of [their]mouth”. He is referring to those who ”Do not lie to one another,” and have a sincere desire to “put off the old man with his deeds and put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him”.
If I can be transparent with you, it is not easy to make these types of dramatic character changes. These are the kinds of resolutions that are transformative, unlike the one’s that are made at the dawn of a new year, or the drop of a ball in Times Square that only last until the sun comes up. Paul says that these types of resolutions only come about when someone allows the word of Christ [to] dwell in [them] richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in [their]hearts to the Lord. They must embody the characteristics of the new man or woman as described in the text. Individually, not collectively, we must be determined to make a transformation of our minds as well as in our actions (Romans 12:2).
Paul tells his readers that to create “a new you,” they must robe themselves with tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, bearing (putting up with) and forgiving each other. It will not be accomplished unless and until we eliminate the tendency to procrastinate, meaning it must be done right here and right now! And, once you begin, you cannot quit no matter how rough it gets.
The dawn of my new year is upon me, so I challenge myself to once again wrestle with the question; “Who am I going to be in personal new year?” Material things are temporal, so it does not matter how much I own. The characteristics of the new man I am striving to be is everlasting. I desire to be transformed from the inside so that what shows up on the outside is someone who conforms to the image of God.
Let me suggest that you likewise make a commitment today to be a new man or a new woman. Let me further encourage you to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him”. You don’t have to wait for your personal new year. Use mine and be a new you right now!
Be Blessed!
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“Me, Myself, And I”
Rev. J. Loren Russell
Psalm 25:1-11 ( NKJV)
“To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, for they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He teaches sinners in the way. The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies. For Your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon myiniquity, for it is great.”
Most people, whether they are believers or not, know about King David. Most have heard the story of David and Goliath, and/or be familiar with some of the songs (psalms) he wrote – of course the most famous being the 23rd psalm. Many may have even heard the story of David and Bathsheba.
What is not common knowledge are the sins David committed. In this psalm we witness a plea for personal deliverance and a confession of past sins. David does not pass the buck or blame anyone else for his misdeeds. These were David’s sins and his sins alone.
The first eleven verses are filled with personal and possessive pronouns (I, me, my, mine) as he pleads with the Lord to show, to teach, and to lead him in the His truth.
Contained in this psalm is more than David’s admission of his guilt, it contains his confession. To confess means that David felt the same way about his sins as God did. God said, “you have done wrong”, and David says, “I agree. I have done wrong”! Proverbs 28:13 says “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. This helps us to understand why God identified David as a man after His own heart and made him the king of Israel.
We may not be made king, but the good news is that “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Confessing sins is personal. It involves me, myself, and I.
Be Blessed!
Matters of Faith 