"Moving From Problem to Hope!"

Below is an excerpt from Marianne Williamson's Everyday Grace:  Having Hope, Finding Forgiveness, and Making Miracles

"Our problems in this world can surely be huge, but they are never as huge as God. The issue is never how bad things are, but how good God is. Hope lies in having more faith in the power of God to heal us than in the power of anything to hurt or destroy us.  

In realizing that as children of God we are bigger than our problems, we have the power at last to confront them. For all manifestations of fear is a reflection of the fact that humanity has forgotten its spiritual identity.  In beginning to remember it, we put fear on notice that its days are numbered.

Where the ego analyzes a problem, the spirit accepts that there is an ultimate answer that is the Answer to every problem. And that is why we place what we hope for in the hands of God. Our hope is that He will illuminate our hearts – that we will become the people He would have us be – for in the presence of an awakened spirit, all problems fall away.

We are the children of a loving God for whom nothing is impossible. As we remember that, we become as powerful as we are meant to be.  We are not meant to cower before the darkness of the world; let it cower before us. Every problem is merely another opportunity to use the miraculous powers we've been given."

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According to Marianne Williamson, problems aren’t our issue (“for in the presence of an awakened spirit, all problems fall away”); our problem is we are asleep. When we are awakened to and led by the power of God, problems no longer have control over us.

Our challenge is to have an undeterred hope in a loving God for whom nothing is impossible.

My prayer for each of us is: in every circumstance we allow our hope in God to become greater than our perceived problem. 

As we put this into practice let's share with others instances when we shifted from problem to hope and what was different. Looking forward to hearing how hope in our loving God changes our circumstances.

Inspired By Love,

Marcus J. Singleton
Lead Pastor
Living Faith Community

Hoover, AL

Our Vision: "A diverse community of faith; inspired by the love of Jesus, committed to becoming and making disciples".

“It is not the critic who counts:
not the man (or woman) who points out how the strong man stumbles
or where the doer of deeds could have done better.
The credit belongs to the man (or woman) who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood,
who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again,
because there is no effort without error or shortcoming,
but who knows the great enthusiasms,
the great devotions,
who spends himself for a worthy cause;
who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement,
and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly,
so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls
who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

Theodore Roosevelt, from “Citizenship in a Republic,”

a speech delivered at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910.

Haves and Have Nots

Eliminating poverty requires a willingness from each of us to recognize the worth of every human being. No matter the industry in which one engages or if one is currently disengaged – opportunities must be extended to ALL.  When we embrace the adage “I am my sisters and brothers keeper” we realize our every action and inaction contributes to the well-being or the demise of human life. 

Transformation of communities, destructive systems, political hubris, impoverished and suffering people groups, etc. occurs when we don’t abdicate our own role in said atrocities. Whether; we negligently wield the power; or are silent bystanders, as the miscreants’ (which some of us “good people” are) further disparities between the ‘haves and have nots’ – WE are responsible. Jesus said it best “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, sick people do” (Mark 2:17).

So, isn’t it incumbent upon each of us to point every effort toward wellness for those who are spiritually, physically, economically and emotionally sick? Are we to continue focusing only on compiling treasures for ourselves or are we to place our efforts to satisfying the needs of them who have not?

This poem, On Buying and Selling, by Khalil Gibran is a reminder that WE are responsible for the well-being of our sisters and brothers:

"And a merchant said, "Speak to us of Buying and Selling." 

And he answered and said: 

To you the earth yields her fruit, and you shall not want if you but know how to fill your hands. 

It is in exchanging the gifts of the earth that you shall find abundance and be satisfied. 

Yet unless the exchange be in love and kindly justice, it will but lead some to greed and others to hunger. 

When in the market place you toilers of the sea and fields and vineyards meet the weavers and the potters and the gatherers of spices, - 

Invoke then the master spirit of the earth, to come into your midst and sanctify the scales and the reckoning that weighs value against value. 

And suffer not the barren-handed to take part in your transactions, who would sell their words for your labour. 

To such men you should say, 

"Come with us to the field, or go with our brothers to the sea and cast your net; 

For the land and the sea shall be bountiful to you even as to us." 

And if there come the singers and the dancers and the flute players, - buy of their gifts also. 

For they too are gatherers of fruit and frankincense, and that which they bring, though fashioned of dreams, is raiment and food for your soul. 

And before you leave the marketplace, see that no one has gone his way with empty hands. 

For the master spirit of the earth shall not sleep peacefully upon the wind till the needs of the least of you are satisfied.”

Inspired By Love,

Marcus J. Singleton
Lead Pastor
Living Faith Community

Hoover, AL

Our Vision: "A diverse community of faith; inspired by the love of Jesus, committed to becoming and making disciples".

"What Happened?: Neglect!"

Sometimes life can be complicated. At times our actions/reactions just don’t make any sense. No matter how much we contemplate some of life’s issues, there are some instances we label as open-ended conclusions. Simply put, some issues leave us wondering what happened? I imagine all of us have pondered this question.

Consider the following. It's possible you haven't had this experience but over the years I have noticed that my weight continues to rise; my waistline expands and some of my clothes fit me a lot snugger than when I originally purchased them.  Simultaneously, I eat more and either never exercise or at best rarely exercise. Yet, with each successful addition of pounds and inches to my waistline; I find myself saying I don’t understand. Often asking myself and my wife, what happened?

Similar circumstances occur in our spiritual journey. We travel through life as if we are in a high speed chase; frantically attempting to navigate lines only to move toward dead end finishes.  Zooming round and round with NASCAR precision we slowly discover our victorious less filled lapses. When we remain still long enough, we begin to feel our inner selves longing for an ignition; rather than investigate, we hurry to entertain matters which are insignificantly important. We quickly engage ourselves in distractions disguised as work with uttermost consequence. Thus, Empty in the morning, we arise. Empty in the evening, we sleep. With each addition of distractions, we multiply our inaction decreasing the possibility of the Holy Spirit’s attraction! At our unfinished line, we find ourselves asking, what happened?

As I pulled the weeds from my flower beds and trimmed the bushes, what happened was no longer the question. I realized the excess weight, the victorious less life, the weed infested flower bed and wildly grown bushes share a common foe: neglect. Webster’s dictionary defines neglect – to leave undone or unattended to, especially through carelessness. Yes, neglect is a fitting description for that unkempt flower bed. Again neglect aptly defines the expansion of my waistline. And neglect certainly characterizes an empty, powerless spiritual life.

The Good News is every circumstance of neglect can be overcome with attention. Last week my flower beds were unruly, this week they are clear and clean and the bushes neatly trimmed. With attention to what I eat and intentionally exercising, I will experience a decrease in my weight and waistline.

Attention too is the remedy for us when we fall into a spiritual malaise. If we are to be spirit-filled and led by Jesus’ teaching, we must give attention and time to studying the Bible, praying and serving. II Timothy 2:15 describes the necessity of and outcomes of attention:

“Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval.

Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed

and who correctly explains the word of truth”.

Let us work and give attention to every aspect of our lives, so that we need not ask the question what happened, nor be ashamed of our health, our physical appearance, our dwelling place and most importantly with our relationship with God.

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Much Love,

Marcus J. Singleton
Lead Pastor
Living Faith Community

Hoover, AL

Our Vision: "A diverse community of faith; inspired by the love of Jesus, committed to becoming and making disciples".

I AM True Love, do you know me?

True Love transforms, uproots and shatters the known (the past) – paving the way for a blank canvass, a present written anew. Love produces the impossible. Indeed only the power of Love can provide fertility for a rose to grow through the crack of concrete. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. illustrates the power of Love: “hatred paralyzes life; Love releases it. hatred confuses life; Love harmonizes it. hatred darkens life; Love illuminates it”.

Until our hearts, our minds, our souls experience such a Love we will remain asleep, blinded and in fear of the unknown. In such darkness, we utter ‘change is our enemy’; we believe ‘we are all powerful’; we live only for today – ‘tomorrow is without a future’; we consume ourselves ‘with ourselves’. In essence, we remain lifeless like a valley of dry bones.

Meanwhile, Love awaits our acceptance. Love exploding within longs for our embrace. True Love knows the path that will bring us unspeakable joy; in fact, that path has already been mapped. Only, we must receive it because True Love only extends the offer; always an option but you must choose Love.

How many remain entangled within? Strangled and corrupted by their deeply rooted notion: “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of soul” while unknowingly dying a death of a thousand cuts.  As we beat our chest claiming we are the best! True Love cries out:  Let go the reins; Allow me to reign; and I will shower you with an everlasting rain – a rain pouring down, pounding and thundering with relentless grace, mercy, hope and forgiveness.

You will know True Love when you release the reins allowing your present known to be shattered, uprooted and transformed.

I AM True Love, do you know me? 

Today, I want to give you a blank canvass; 

the path to a present anew. 

Have you accepted me?

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Much Love,

Marcus J. Singleton

Lead Pastor

Living Faith Community

Hoover, AL

Our Vision: “A diverse community of faith; inspired by the love of Jesus,

                   committed to becoming and making disciples”.