Dr. Marvin Williams
@marvinlwilliams
Husband/Father/Pastor/Author/Doctoral Student/OurDailyBread Ministries/PingPongNovice/instagram.com/iam_marvinlwilliams
The fight for racial justice and equality is so layered and complex that some people might be asking: Where do I even begin? Instead trying to throw knockout blows in the first round, fight for equitable moments each day. This one is going all 15 rounds.
This!!!!!
Less complaining, more gratitude. Less efforts to control others, more efforts to serve them. Fewer time describing problems, more time praying about them. Less gossiping about others, more praying for them. Less judging, more understanding. Less evaluating of others, more…
I love this. This young man is wise beyond his years. God blesses and rewards integrity, humility and faithfulness.
Nick Marsh: "All money is not good money. I'm building something at Michigan State - a foundation, a brotherhood, a family. I think that's more important than money. I think family and God is more important than materialistic things."
Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God,... Acts 16:25 Let's not waste our midnights by sitting around, saddled with fear, anxiety, and anger. Instead, let's pierce the midnight darkness with prayer, praise, and trust in our sovereign God.
Let's just do the next right thing we know to do.
What do we possess - job/family/house/car/the ability to create wealth/opportunities/and life itself - that hasn't been given to us by God? Absolutely nothing. It's all a result of His grace. Therefore, let's not be, in the words of Dostoevsky, "ungrateful bipeds."
“and in due time she gave birth to a son. 1 Samuel 1:20 In due time... The Lord will answer. The Lord will end a cycle of sorrow. The Lord will begin a new cycle of joy. In due time... The Lord will come to us.
I have heard many people say: "God won't give you more than you can handle." Of course, God will give us more than we can handle. If we could handle it, then we wouldn’t need his all-sufficient grace. Let's admit our limits and cry out for His help.
With all the evidence of God’s faithfulness and miraculous power around me and in my rearview mirror, some days, I am still slow to believe. But, each day, he invites “slow me” to experience and believe the reality of the empty tomb. Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief.
Lord, forgive me for the times I served your people without your power, counseled your people without your wisdom, and cared for people without your love. Search and test me, O God, and know my heart; Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of life.
Human anger doesn't produce the righteousness of God. So, let's refuse to let anger control and get the best of us today. When something happens to us or someone does something to us today, let's clarify before we conclude, think before we speak, and pause before we act.
Until we're comfortable with aloneness, we will be haunted by loneliness. Solitude & silence are essential and powerful spiritual practices that help us to be alone with God and ourselves. The spiritual habits that involve subtracting from our lives can often enrich our souls.
Rather trying to determine the next fifty steps, let’s boldly take the next that we’re reasonably sure that God wants us to take. #GradatimFerociter
When God blesses us - in various ways - we must decide whether we will be conduits or containers. A conduit receives and releases, but a container gets and stores. Lord, by the power of your Spirit and for your glory alone, make us conduits of your grace today.
Our own worst enemy lives inside of us: our ego. The truth is, we have all been genuinely humble AND obnoxiously egotistical. This is the reality of human complexity. Lord, give us the grace to choose the former impulse and even more grace to fight and resist the latter.
“When all people think alike, no one thinks very much.” ~ Walter Lippmann
Jesus said, "I am the bread of life." In Western culture, bread is treated as optional. But in Jesus' day, bread was an essential staple. As the bread of life, Jesus doesn't aspire to be an optional addition; he desires to be a necessary staple, satisfying our souls.
By God’s grace… We exist. We’re alive. We’re breathing in and out. These truths alone should motivate us to keep our complaint list short and our gratitude list long. No, things aren't perfect, but because we're alive, today will be a really good day.
God is with us, especially in the in-between. Between decision and direction, Between our prayers and His answers, Between illness and healing, Between heartbreak and new love, Between conflict and reconciliation, Trust Him, even when the in-between feels endless.
Let's never give another person the power to be responsible for our mood.
It takes faith and courage to... Care when no one else does Be light amid the darkness Love when it is not reciprocated Fight when you're tired and bruised Walk when all your strength is gone May the Resurrected Lord give us a spirit of resiliency today.