John 4:29-30 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.

Romans 12:2

Isaiah 55:6-9

This Summer my family went to a water theme park. It was a treat to my 9-year-old son for his birthday. He loves the water. He spent the day at the little kiddie pool splashing,  then he floated on a tube around the man-made lagoon and he raced down a dark tube, landing into a shallow pool. Then he saw it; a monster of a thrill ride called “The Cliffhanger.” To take this challenge meant taking a 81-foot drop down into the water. No one in the family wanted to go with him, so he bravely climbed up all the steps but when he got to the top, ready to step in, he listened to the testimony of a boy who told him how scary it was. The testimony changed his mind. He walked back down without taking the plunge.

How often do we walk away from the invitation to take a spiritual plunge? We desire it. We Want it. We  Need it. But fear, doubt or the negative testimony of another make us walk away without taking the plunge. We elect to stay in the kiddie pool (on milk )rather than move to something more meaty, more nutritional, more life-sustaining. In order to grow spiritually we have to continuously take the plunge.

In the bible narrative of the woman at the well we find a woman who has to overcoming some challenges and complications in order to change her situation. Thankfully she has an encounter with Jesus at the well and she makes full use of this encounter. The encounter pulled her from the outside to the inner courts. Taking the plunge requires us to go through a spiritual transformation similar to the one she went through. This transformation starts with her mind being renewed and ends with her bidding others to come see a man (come take the same plunge.) At first,  she can not understand this offer that Jesus is making to her.  She can’t comprehend its worth. Jesus is speaking on a spiritual level while she is understanding on a carnal level. She wanted water for convenience’s sake. She didn’t want to come to the well to draw water.  But taking the plunge is not about convenience it’s about commitment. It is not about convenience it’s about consecration. It’s not about convenience it’s about a contrite and yielded spirit. This story of the woman at the well invites us to take the plunge. It invites us to leave the burdens and behaviors behind that keep us in bondage so that we become people without spiritual limitations and boundaries.

 There is a familiar African American hymn called Down at the Cross. It is a beautiful song that tells of one’s salvation experience.  I love verse 4 of this hymn. The words are: Come to this fountain so rich and sweet;cast though poor soul at the Savior’s feet plunge in today and be made complete….This final verse is an invitation to come, cast and plunge.  To plunge invites  us to thrust ourselves completely.  Are you in or are you out? 

Rev. Salatheia Bryant-Honors

Read John 5:1-9 (Healing at the pool of Bethesda)

Read Isaiah 40:28-31

Recently the news media in Houston reported on a man who was released from prison after serving more than 27 years for a crime he did not commit. New DNA testing cleared him. Praise the Lord. But before the blessing, he spent more than 27 years waiting for someone to believe his claim of innocense. He spent more than 27 years waiting for someone to approve his appeal. He spent more than 27 years waiting. Waiting for the system to acknowledge its wrong. During his wait his mother died. During his wait his youth was lost. Waiting….

There are many of us who know what it is to wait. We may not be in a prison cell but we have been waiting nevertheless without results. Waiting for a better job, waiting for a job, waiting for recognition, waiting for reconcilation, waiting for good health, waiting for a good spouse, waiting for retirement, waiting for a better neighborhood. waiting for acceptance and the list goes on and on. The good news is that when Jesus intervenes in our various situations he can declare that the wait is over. Here are some things to remember if you are waiting…

In waiting with hope and expectancy our strength is renewed. Waiting in faith comes before the blessing. We can conclude that the man in John 5 was not waiting with divine hope and expectancy. He was waiting out of habit and perhaps out of humiliation. He waited at the pool of Bethesda which means house of mercy. However, this place of mercy became for him his place of further crippling. Not only was he physically paralyzed but his statement to Jesus illustrates that he was emotionally paralyzed by his long-term ordeal. After all he had been waiting there for a healing 38 years and the healing hadn’t come. Others had unfairly gotten in front of him. His focus now had shifted from the healing to another day of waiting or perhaps to the unfairness of the situation.  We also have to be careful that during the waiting our focus doesn’t shift. We have to guard against the place of blessing becoming a place of crippling. A place of crippling means that instead of getting what you need to sustain good health you are in a place of stagnation, brokeness, unproductivity, and pain. We have to be careful that the spirit of the situation doesn’t become our spirit.

We must recognize that sometimes the system wants to set unfair conditions for our advancement. Under the healing system described in the text an angel came from time to time to disturb the water making healing possible and then the first one in got the prize. That system was not generous to all. It was not inclusive. It was limiting. It meant a sick person had to have perfect timing. They had to know when the angel would come and be first. The world sets up some crazy conditions for success or advancement. We all break our necks trying to meet them with varying degrees of success. Time and time again the system has shown that you can do everything right and still not get the break you need or deserve. But Jesus trumps all systems! In fact he says the first shall be last! He uses foolish things to leave the wise perplexed. When Jesus speaks to your situation the wait is over! When he intervened on behalf of the woman with the issue of blood, her wait was over. When he healed the blind and lame their wait was over. Jesus doesn’t need permission from a system to advance you and move you forward. He only needs you to focus on him. He only needs you to take up your bed and walk – Forward in faith that your wait is over!

Questions to ponder…

What am I waiting out of? Is it fear?

During the wait has your focus shifted from the favor of God in the situation or something else?

Rev. Salatheia Bryant-Honors, M.Div

And Moses said unto the people, fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you today; for the Egyptians whome ye have seen today ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you and ye shall hold your peace. Exodus 14:13-14

I Kings 19:12

Psalm 46:10

If you are anything like me, your schedule is filled with appointments and commitments. Multi-tasking has become the new buzz word as we hurry to get it all done.  Even when I go to sleep  it takes a long time to settle down; my mind is still racing 100 miles a minute. We have learned to live with the noises of life. But sometimes the noise of life blocks us from hearing or receiving vital information. Rather than blindly advancing, may I suggest a time out. A stand still is a time out. When Moses was leading the children of Israel out of their bondage, they were faced with the Red Sea in front of them and the powerful Egyptian army behind them and their destiny somewhere beyond them. When what you desire is somewhere beyond you and your abilities it calls for you to stand still. In this biblical example, the miracle came after the stand still. We have to learn how to get comfortable with stillness and silence before God.  Being at a stand still is not a negative, but can be valuable if you use the moment to collect yourself, reflect and listen for God’s voice. In the stillness we have a chance to meet God. We hear his voice. We receive his instructions. We can even rest awhile.

Rev. Salatheia Bryant-Honors

Home work assignment try contemplative prayer.

‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ Acts 17:28

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

I have had some cooking diasters in the past whenever I tried to make macaroni and cheese.  It’s a dish that seems simple enough to make but I never could get it right.  After many, many failures I called in my friend, who is a cooking expert. I invited her in my house to aid me in my mission – making the perfect mac and cheese or at least have it be edible.  I watched her. Then she watched me as I duplicated her actions to make my own bowl. It turned out great. I’ve been making excellent mac and cheese since.

Living is like cooking. It seems simple, and yet there are so many ways we can mess things up even when it seems we have all the right ingredients (money, house, job, spouse, etc.). The missteps in life have made some bitter, some have sought solace in drinking or other vices, some have overindulged. To keep life from spinning out of control we need to call in an expert. In John 10:10 we are told that the thief comes to ruin our life, leaving it in shambles, but Jesus is available to help us reach abundant living. Abundant living is another level of living that goes beyond our expectations. Abundant living goes beyond wealth to include joy, peace, hope, faith, etc. Things that have eternal weight. Jesus is that one ingredient that works in any of life’s dishes. If you feel that something is missing in your life try adding Jesus. Add him daily, not just on Sunday, and in every circumstance.  Don’t do life without him. Bon appetit!

Rev. Salatheia Bryant-Honors@2010

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies. Proverbs 14:5

In the entertainment industry, a performer who can sing, dance and act is called a triple threat.  The performer isn’t just a one-act pony. The versatility of the performer can allow for greater presence in the entertainment industry.  In this age, there is a need for the Church and her people to become a triple and even a quadriple threat.  Simply put we need to be versatile in our witness. The Holy Spirit equips us to be an authentic witness in our family, in our neighborhood, among our friends and even with strangers. There are many ways to be a witness. We witness through our love, our forgiveness, our generosity, our faith, our lifestyle, our giving, our living, our teaching, and the list goes on and on and on.

Acts 1:8 reminds us that the Holy Spirit has been activated within us to help us to engage in the act of witnessing.  If we couple the challenge in Acts with Proverbs 14:5 we will be careful to be a trustworthy witness.  We do not want our witness to be likened to the fig tree that had leaves but no fruit. There is a world (mission field) in need of our truthful witness. The question is what way are you witnessing? Can I get a Witness?

Rev. Salatheia Honors,  M.Div