It would be an understatement to say that my recent journey back in time — while walking in the segregated streets of Jena, Louisiana with Jesus Christ– resurrected old memories long forgotten. Seeing the vast sea of beautiful faces that spiritually blinded white supremists hated to see coming created new memories I will not soon forget.

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”  — 1 John 4:4 kjv

The video, “Jesus Walks With Me,” by award winning artist, Mr. Kanye West, speaks for itself. Watching this provocative video reminded me of the reasons why we, as civilized human beings, can never go back to the way it was back in the days when the “good ole boys” — who hid the heinous face of hate beneath dirty, blood-stained white sheets thought that they alone ruled the world. But they “thunk” wrong!

Click on the highlighted words, “Jesus Walks With Me,” to see why Jim Crow and all the nefarious descendants of this pernicious predator must never again be allowed to live above the law while perpetrating and perpetuating hate under color of law. If you’ve never ever been unfortunate enough to experience first-hand the collateral damage from a discriminatory, dirty deed done to impede Change, be grateful.

If you’ve never had a head-on collision with the hideous face of hate, keep living. As a final act of desperation, the enemy within our midst is busier than ever before marking God’s children for destruction. Nevertheless, it will take much more than the misguided stroke of a pen in the mortal hands of D.A. Reed Walters and a few myopic, men to prevail over the children of God’s kingdom.

To impede Change, acts of desperation predicated upon systemic, institutionalized ideologies protected by fortified, fatally flawed strongholds of perceived superiority are increasing at an alarming rate. A clear and present danger is stalking our gifted souls as evidenced by the recent rise in the proliferation of hate crimes against the actually innocent people still walking the perilous playgrounds of humanity’s culturally diverse global village.

During divisive, subversive seasons such as this, the “voice of reason” and “cooler heads” will prevail if all God’s children remember to pray while trusting only in God and loving to love one another like never before until the day God wipes the tears from His eyes, rises when least expected, agrees with all of us who are sick and tired of the hate and shouts,

“Not On My Watch!”

Copyright © 2007 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.

“He who sows wickedness reaps trouble, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.”

Proverbs 22:8

“Be the better person. Let your actions be your poet. Be the bigger person. Everybody will know it.”

–The Leadership By Example Collection™

This bookmark is a brief excerpt that comes from a poem I penned shortly after the 1992 “civil unrest” that erupted in South Central Los Angeles after the pugnacious gang of Los Angeles police officers — who brutally beat Rodney King in 1991 — were all inexplicably “acquitted” and found “not guilty” by an “all-white” jury from Simi Valley, California.

Only by the grace of God, did Mr. George Holliday, an innocent bystander armed with a camera, have the presence of mind to capture this egregious act of police brutality on video tape. Hmmm. Let’s talk about innovative ways that we can become “proactive” instead of always being “reactive.”

Never forget that the cunning one who knows how to “make you mad” will become the oppressive agitator who will always — deliberately and with premeditation — find a way to “control” you and your mind to evoke yet another impulsive, knee-jerk reaction.

It’s time for the next generation of leaders to learn how to “turn the tables” in a proactive, non-violent manner so our dignified, unified actions can steer all God’s children away from the clear and present danger that’s still relentlessly stalking their gifted souls.

Quick question. Do you have the “inner core strength of character” that’s needed in order to take a bold, courageous stand in the menacing face of Adversity without fainting? Has “Struggle” made you strong enough to take a stand long enough to be the better person during such a heart-breaking season as this? Difficult? Most definitely! Impossibe? Not!

“Impossible ain’t nothing but a word to God.”

It’s a crying shame that, after so many years and wasted tears, power still concedes nothing without a struggle. I don’t know about you but I’m so sick and tired of watching our grieving mothers crying over the lifeless bodies of little children who are still dying for nothing.

Copyright © 1994-2007 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.

As many of you know, I’ve been in the process of birthing my big dream, but it doesn’t want to cooperate. For all the new members to our culturally diverse group of critical thinkers, my big dream is the pending release of my first reality-based novel which bears the same name as this site. It’s no secret that I’ve been carrying around the weight of this ever evolving literary project for over 10 years.

Yes, there have been many days when I’ve felt like giving up and quitting. But my faith in God has brought me too far to turn back now and feelings can be deceiving. Besides, meeting the “greatness of God’s faithfulness” has made it impossible for me to lose hope and abandon my vision and forget my big dream. In the meantime, what do we choose to do while we’re waiting on the Lord to open doors and windows no mortal hand can close? If you’re a writer, keep writing. Do some additional research. The faithful remain hopeful.

Use the extra time to see if there’s a better way, a more cost effective way, an unforeseen way to make your big dream come true. But whatever you do, don’t take your eyes off Jesus like Peter did and start looking at the winds of Adversity when they begin to blow. Isn’t it interesting that as long as Peter stayed focused on Jesus, he managed to do the impossible by “walking on the water.” Quick question. Who or what are you still allowing to distract you, to annoy you, to wear you down, to discourage you, to hinder you, just to keep you from doing what God created you to do with excellence?

Can it be that our “fear of failure” is still keeping many of us from getting out of the boat of what’s giving us a false sense of security? Since the first day of this unpredictable “year of firsts,” how many times have I challenged each of you to keep getting up, showing up, and pushing past the pain? How many times have I tried to encourage and inspire you to believe that we can help each other achieve great things with God’s help? Quit? Never. Give up? It’s not going to happen. I’m too close to finishing the task that my skeptical antagonists alleged was impossible for somebody like me to do.

When our big dreams don’t cooperate, what should we do during those “dark days and lonely nights when all seems lost?” Cry if you must but trust God absent any reservations. Quitting is never an option if you honestly believe that you were born to write or do what you’re doing now. Remember, God’s delay does not always mean that your big dream has been denied. I’ve learned not to argue with God when the answer to a prayer is “no.” Sometimes God’s no is an indication that now is not the time. One never knows how close they came to succeeding until after they give up and quit. Matters not what happens after our big dreams refuse to cooperate, trust God anyway.

Besides, not doing so would also make me a “hypocrite” since the main character of Steppin’ Out Of The Darkness, “When Good People Become Great,” is faced with the same adverse circumstances, unforeseen obstacles, and character building challenges I’m struggling to overcome now. If time permits, you can read a brief excerpt from an earlier version of the “revised” chapter, “Sun Dried Bones, Abandoned Visions, And Forgotten Dreams,” to see how the protagonist responds to what he discovers in this modern day “valley of dried bones.” You’ll have to wait a little longer to see what additional editing can do to make a manuscript worthy of your prospective readers’ time, respect, and hard earned money.

Having a quiet talk with God in my secret place usually puts me at peace whenever the invisible fist of Adversity strikes. Reading the Word of God always works for me when I don’t understand the reasons why now is not the time. According to Ecclesiastes 3:1-22 NIV, “There is a time” and a season for everything that happens on either side of the “Great Spiritual Divide.” Do you mind sharing some of your favorite Scriptures that have inspired you to “keep risin’ after every fall?” For those of you who aren’t “Christians” or faithful followers of the Christ, which means “the Anointed One,” what do you do during your darkest night of the soul?

I can still recall all the days God made me experience whatever I was going to teach during my in home Bible studies to see if my actions spoke louder than my words. As you know, “a faith that cannot be tested is a faith that cannot be trusted.” Is my faith in God being tested and strengthened right now? Most definitely. But God has never let me down. Tonight, I’ll have to search for the poem that talks about what happens when we pray for faith but God gives us more challenges to overcome. If you already have a copy of what I’m seeking, let me know where I can find it. When all else fails, all you can you do is “stand.” Just be careful where you choose to stand.

To illustrate what I mean, here’s a verse from the popular hymn, “The Solid Rock.”

“On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.”

© Copyright 2007 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.

In an earlier post, I posed the thought-provoking question, “When Does Knowledge Become Powerful?” Here’s one reason why I suggested that knowledge is not power.

“Theory Without Practice Is Powerless.”

May this brief quote continue to challenge each of us to shift our paradigm about a popular phrase that we’ve heard systematically propagated and charismatically articulated by powerful, persuasive people in prominent positions of influence until we honestly believed it. Click on the word, paradigm, to view various definitions and explanations about this term. Our generational, traditional beliefs may or may not be totally true. The truth that makes people free when mixed with the lie that enslaves free people becomes a “true lie.” What is the true lie that’s still hindering our God-given ability to overcome the persuasive power of our slave mentality? Think about it.

A true lie contains just enough truth for it to appear to become believable. Nevertheless, upon first glance, looks can be deceiving. A true lie became the persuasive tool the “original down low brother” employed to deceive Adam’s most valuable resource, Eve, until both began to doubt the veracity of God’s infallible word. The father of lies also used the power of persuasion to set the perpetual force of yet another true lie in motion that separated generations of women and men who hated to love each other for more than one night. Think about it.

It’s my honest belief that the “deceitful prince of darkness” still appears to all God’s children as a “beautiful angel of light.” What do you believe? According to the great fall of the first family as recorded in Chapter 3 of Genesis, it was Adam’s responsibility, not Eve’s, to obey God’s word. Click on the highlighted word “Genesis” for another insightful person’s perspective that amply illustrates the eternal consequences of our “choices.” As evidenced by the first family’s defiant act of disobedience, Adam’s lack of leadership skills and Eve’s unwise choice made both vulnerable to the persuasive power of a true lie that fed their slave mentality. After your great fall, what true lie did you hear that birthed your deepest fear during all those “dark days and lonely nights when all appears lost?” As you now know, looks can be deceiving.

Quick question before we close this meeting of our critically thinking minds today. What’s the difference, if any, between a “first impression” and a “prejudicial presumption” based upon a false belief? I suggest that there is no discernible difference. Why? Minus the persuasive empirical evidence needed to verify the veracity of our hasty judgments, neither can accurately determine the content or the strength of one’s character. Do you agree or disagree? Think about it.

In the meantime, challenge yourself to take a closer look at the truth that can make great people like us with great weaknesses like ours free from the persuasive power of our self-defeating slave mentalities. Can it be that yet another true lie is responsible for driving the wedge that emotionally divided the blended, extended family members of humanity’s culturally diverse global village from within instead of from without? Think about it. Test your faith in what you believe is the truth by practicing the theory that God’s perfect love will empower your insightful soul to overcome your deepest fears long enough to conquer the persuasive power of hate.

Oh! Before you leave, make sure you know what your deepest fears are so no persuasive person can deceive you today. If time permits, let me know if you agree, or disagree, with the content of today’s post. May the peace of God be with each of you today as you reach out and teach someone how to fish for a lifetime instead of just giving away a fresh fish everyday.

Copyright © by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.