(ThyBlackMan.com) As a pastor, I get asked, quite often actually, why God created a devil if He knew all the evil Satan would do. A corresponding question is why did God create the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? After all, if God hadn’t created the tree, then ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) Over the course of my 47 years on this earth, I’ve been called lots of names. Some are repeatable. Some are not. I’ve heard them on the playground, in the heat of competition and from irate drivers who think I spend too much time in the left-hand lane. I’ve ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) When a new baby is born, fathers, mothers, family and friends all celebrate. For several days, balloons, flowers, gifts and cards flood the hospital and decorate the new parents’ home. The new parents experience a kind of euphoria: giving birth to a new creation that is a bit of ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) Just because you are raising your kids in a Christian home doesn’t mean that they’re automatically getting the spiritual training they need. Parents need to be intentional about bringing their children up with Biblical values. They won’t just learn them by accident. We need to step up our efforts ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) “You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can, and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed to represent you at no cost……..” Throughout my career in ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) Surely you have heard the term, “Shaken, not stirred.” The terminology has been widely used to refer to personal preference over how an alcoholic beverage is prepared. I do not condone alcoholic drinking and personally believe in full abstinence from anything that has the power to alter our mind ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) I was speaking to a close friend earlier this week about the situation of single parenthood she’s found herself in. It’s been a year for her now – a year of joyful motherhood coupled with the frustration of dealing with the biological father who, at times, seems to fight ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) There is a wonderful Scripture in the African American religious canon that reads “God don’t like ugly.” My first ethics instructor who undoubtedly heard it from her first ethics instructor – my grandmother, introduced me to this passage. It was during one of our many lectures in the classroom ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) I am a victim of praise! Throughout my life there have been individuals, groups and institutions that have given me support and encouragement that far surpassed my personal belief in my own ability to succeed. They raised the bar for me and cheered me until I was able to ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) Many choose to forgive (based on Biblical precepts) because forgiveness has benefits for the forgiver. Forgiveness is a canceling of a “debt”. One can choose to forgive so that anger doesn’t destroy one’s own sense of well-being, though this may require a grieving process. To forgive is to release ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) Churches proclaim divorce to be a sin with certain exceptions. These exceptions depend on which church you attend. Some believe divorce is a sin unless there is sexual infidelity, but what about abuse or neglect of a spouse? Most would say that sexual infidelity may warrant a divorce, but ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) When you have been wronged it can be hard to consider mercy, but when you are the one who has done wrong, mercy can be what saves you. Certainly looking at truth about yourself can be unacceptable without grace. The Bible is essentially stories of redemption, and how a ...