There is a conventional saying, "March comes in like a lamb, it will go out like a lion; or if March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb." In Baltimore March came in like a lamb and is going out like a lamb. This teaches us that old habits can be broken. Old patterns can be changed. Why don't you use this time to break old habits or change old patterns. God is able to do a new thing in you.
This story
illustrates the love of a mother towards her murdered son that empowered her to
maintain a prolonged vigil over his body protecting his body from those who
would ravage his corpse.
I pay tribute to
the mother of Trayvon Martin, who like Rizpath is protecting her son against
the forces that would ravage his body and destroy his memory. She is
demonstrating a faith that permits her to endure under the strictest media scrutiny,
critique from those who are attempting to protect the Sanford Police Department
and Zimmerman, and a confidence that truth will win in the end.
God will protect
her from the scavengers who seek to ravage the memory and legacy of
Trayvon Martin.
The further we move into the spring time season; I'm urging
everyone to enjoy their children. If we learned anything from the Trayvon
Martin case, it is time is a fleeting thing. "Here today and gone
tomorrow!" Therefore, enjoy your children and allow your children to enjoy
their youth. Too many children have to grow up to fast and miss the pure joy of
childhood and adolescent.
I must also say we
have to create protective environments for our children. They must learn,
mature, and develop in wholesome settings. Don't place too much responsibility
on them at an early age. As they grow and mature, responsibility will
come.
Take your children
to the beach and let them have some fun!
This statue is on the campus of the Crystal Cathedral and depicts
an image of Job. You remember; Job is the biblical character who maintained his
faith in the midst of great personal suffering. No one is immune to suffering.
Everyone has the capacity to maintain their faith in the midst of suffering.
The good news of the Job story is God ability to restore you and to magnify you
after your season of suffering. I'm so glad to know that God honors faith when faith
honors God.
In the midst of
all you are going through, maintain your faith in God to see you through.
Throughout America
My appeal to the
Youth of Union was to earn academic hoods, not just buy "hoodies".
For me achieving academic and career goals in the midst of a society that is
hell-bend on your destruction is a laudable goal with lasting benefits.
My challenge to
them and to you is to prepare our youth to wear academic hoods. Obtaining college
and career education is the day to day barrier our youth must overcome.
A mind and a life
is a terrible thing to waste!
Tomorrow, Sunday, March 25th, the Organization's Day Preacher at Union Baptist Church for its 11:00 a.m. service is Rev. Dr. Lester A. McCorn.
He is the Senior Pastor of The Pennsylvania Avenue A.M.E.Zion Church.
Listening to our President speak about dreams, goals, and plans for
America
Another term of
President Obama will permit him to put the building blocks of a great society
in place that will never be torn down. Our children and our future need him for
four more years!
He is our
political leader. Where he goes, I go. Who he supports, I support.
President Obama
has requested a contingency of African American Clergy to meet with his senior
staff and be briefed on what his administration is doing and how we can work directly with
the White House staff. I received an invitation and will attend the all day
meeting today, Friday, March 23rd. A person I will be interested in talking
with is United States Attorney General Eric Holder regarding the Trayvon Martin case. I'll share
with you some of my insights from the meeting tomorrow.
Our lives go to seasonal changes in the tides. Some day’s our
waterways are calm, and it appears everything is okay. Then a storm arises, and
the waters of our lives become turbulent. If you think and pray deeply, you
survived those storms and became stronger.
I thank God for
the waves in life. They remind me of His everlasting potion.
My favorite bird is the cardinal. I saw one like this outside my
window this morning. The bird was singing a song so beautiful. For a moment, my
mind wandered as I heard the sounds of beauty in the air. It's refreshing to
know even in the middle of pain and despair in life at the same time God provides
you with the opportunity to hear a song if you are willing to listen.
Sing my birds
because you remind me there is a God somewhere!
People need to reread the words of Jesus when he talks about
children. He reminds us that children are what make up the Kingdom of Heaven
As the Justice
Department and the FBI investigate the Trayvon Martin case, may the words of
Jesus ring in their hearts, minds and spirits.
The eyes of heaven
are upon them!
Jesus employed Peter to feed His sheep and lambs. He also urges us to engage in the nurture and development of all of his creation.
It is imperative we support the development of the youth within our community. We can't leave their futures to chance!
Feed my sheep and feed my lambs! This is what we are expected to do.
Aren't you glad the loving arms of God are like that; always ready to welcome you to come back home.
You who are weary come home!
One of the statues on the campus of The Crystal Cathedral, this
one depicts Jesus writing in the sand as the men of the town are accusing the
woman of adultery. The caption reads: "Let him without sin, cast the first
stone."
We too easily
accuse others without looking into the mirror of our own transgressions.
This is a shot of one of the statues on the campus of The Crystal
Cathedral. It depicts Jesus walking on water.
The news of Dr. Robert Schuller
and his family losing The Crystal Cathedral, who for over 50 years guiding the ministry,
is tragic. Their story demonstrates what happens when you take your eyes off of
Jesus and focus upon yourself.
Only Jesus can
walk on water; we have to depend upon Him to keep us from falling.
Senator Nathaniel
McFadden is one of the most powerful legislators in Annapolis
Dr. Homer Favor is one of the sages of our community. He headed
the Urban Studies Institute at Morgan State College, now University in the
heydays of the 1960s through the 1980s. He was an outspoken advocate on a local
television program, "Look At It This Way."
His insight and
wisdom played a key role in political advancement and the nurturing of a new
generation of leaders.
Always dapper and
stylist, he is a blessing to many and to me.
I have the pleasure of chairing the Community Benefits Committee
of the Maryland General Hospital
Please share with
me other areas of concern a community hospital should address.
Continuing the Lenten Series entitled, "The Cross: Unmerited
Suffering is Redemptive." This morning sermon is "Enduring The
Cross." Hebrews 12: 1 - 2.
Endurance is
defined as "perseverance in the Christian life through all things as
sustained by God's grace and mercy."
One must learn to
endure in the midst of, in spite of, and because of God's grace and mercy.
Do you have to the
power to endure? No! However, when you allow your weakness to get caught up in
God's power you will be able "to do all things through Christ that strengthens
you."
Endurance is what runners call catching your second wind. The
point when you have expended your energy and divine intervention gives you new energy.
Mar 10, 2012; Istanbul, TURKEY; Frankie Wright runs the opening leg on the United States heat-winning 4 x 400m relay that ran 3:07.47 in the morning session of the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships at the Atakoy Athletics Arena. Image of Sport
— with Frankie Wright at Atakoy Athletic Arena.
One of my son's, Rodney Williams, is on way to Austin, Texas to attend the SXSW. He is traveling on a bus with his colleagues from Cincinnati, Ohio. On the bus they have these objectives: to create a company, develop a business, to obtain investors, and make a presentation at the SXSW of a winning business concept.
The SXSW is one of the largest gatherings of its type in the world. It is estimated that over 16,000 people will attend this year.
The company they have created is called LISNR.
We live in a world where the new economy is the organization of ideas into viable businesses. I wish Rodney and his partners much success.
This is LISNR.
LISNR gives fans backstage access to their favorite artists and music.
LISNR is an app that runs in the background on your mobile device and hears the music you listen to -anywhere you listen to it. When a LISNR enabled track is picked up, your device notifies you that you’ve unlocked or discovered exclusive content delivered to you directly from your favorite artists.
Examples of LISNR content could be exclusive song downloads, bonus videos, behind the scenes footage, messages from the artist, lyrics or social interactions.
Through this experience, LISNR is able to foster even deeper connections between an artist, their music and their fans.
LISNR users accumulate a score for the amount of content they have discovered and unlocked, and can also purchase backstage passes to unlock even more bonus content on their favorite artists.
Why does this work? Fans want to connect in a fun and engaging experience with their artists, and artists want to grow and deepen the connection with their fans. By downloading the LISNR app, consumers have an ability to interact with artists in a way they never have before.
Our customer acquisition model is unique. Artists are our heroes and our champions. Let me share with you an example that I think you’ll find interesting.
Mindless Behavior is an American boy band, best known for the singles “my girl” and “mrs. Right”. Heard of them? Probably not. What’s startling is that they have 517K followers on Twitter and 1.3 million likes on Facebook. Additionally, Mindless Behavior has their own app that has been downloaded over 1.2 million times. There are tons of lesser known artists out there that have millions of fans that follow and download their content. Imagine the power of an artist like Jay Z or Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga advocating for the download of LISNR. By downloading the LISNR app, consumers have an ability to interact with artists in a way they never have before.
There are over 6 billion mobile subscribers worldwide. Almost 87% of the world’s population own a mobile device. Additionally, Gartner reports that mobile advertising revenue is expected to double over the next 3 years reaching $20 billion dollars by 2015. Needless to say we’re playing in an awfully big ballpark.
LISNR is free to download, however we make money from consumers in-app purchases like Backstage Passes. We offer brands the opportunity to “sponsor” exclusive content – charging .02 per UCD. Our projections show us at breakeven in less than 1 year.
For LISNR, music is just the beginning. We have plans to enable commercials and even audiobooks. We see lots of paths to exit, including labels, production companies, media conglomerates and more. For now, we’ve secured artists for the private beta and will be debuting LISNR at SXSW.
I took this picture of a fireplace to illustrate how many people have gifts, skills and talent, but are not using them.
Jesus uses a similiar illustration when he points to the fig tree with leaves, but it has no fruit.
Do not waste your time or talent by not developing, using and producing to the highest ability God has given to you.
Begin today by taking a lesson, learning something new, and discovering a gift you have that has been covered.
Make certain you have fire in your fireplace!
The biblical wisdom literature says, “for every time there is a
season.”
In today's world, time is critical to ensuring things get done. A
tragedy of our time is how many people waste time doing unproductive things. I
understand that "all work and no play make Jack a dull boy."
The
truth of the matter is little work is being done when it comes to effectively
using your time to better our society.
As we continue our
journey through the Lenten season, I would suggest all of us use our time more
wisely and prudently to make this world a better place for you and me.
Do you ever have moments when you feel all alone? It's
an eerie feeling because it can hit you even when you are in a
crowd.
Watching this dog
sitting alone under his tree reminded me that you can find comfort even when
you are alone.
Why? In the final
analysis, you are never really alone.
God promised never
to leave us and never to leave us alone.
As a Boy Scout we were taught to do a good turn daily. Tyler Perry
as titled his new movie, "Good Deeds." This is an appropriate idea to
advance during this time in our society. So many people are into meism; that concern
for others is on the back burner. What's in it for me is the tone of today?
Versus, how do we help someone else?
Tyler Perry has a
built-in market that assures success for his movies.
My concern is
directed towards advancing the title of the movie into
a societal value.
Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., says, "The time is always right to do right." Likewise,
the moment is always available to you to do a good deed.
It is dangerous to drive while you are asleep at the wheel. Being
tired or dozy is no time to attempt to drive.
When you are
driving you need to be fully alert and aware of what's going on around
you.
Too many people in
life are attempting to lead and live while they are asleep. The political
discourse in America
When you see
people making obvious bad choices in life, you can only conclude they are
asleep at the wheel of navigating their own lives. You cannot make a success
out of sin. To attempt to do so demonstrate you are asleep at the wheel of
life's vehicle.
To avoid being
asleep at the wheel I suggest you take a regular dose of God's word to keep you
awake in life.
I begin a four-week series entitled, "The Cross: Unmerited
Suffering is Redemptive." Today's sermon is titled: "Preaching the
Cross."
In today's society,
the idea of suffering is anathema to most of us. No one seek to suffering. Most
will do everything to avoid suffering.
The question is
will you suffer for another?
That's the paradox
of the cross. It's one's willingness to suffer for someone else.
The constant
onslaught of tragic and depressing news is enough to cause one to hunker down
and retreat to a safe place of isolation. Why watch the news when all you hear
is rumors of wars, natural disasters, political demoniac discourse, child abuse and
neglect, and stories of personal weaknesses? Why engage in society when the
tempter's snare is being set to trick you, to trap you, or to take you? How is
it possible to make it in these terrible times? The words of Paul speak light
to your darkness, provides hope in the midst of despair, and shows love when
all of life seems unlovable. Paul reminds us; "God's grace is sufficient."
Strike up the band there is plenty to do to improve our communities.
Give our children summer jobs, and quality recreation centers.
