Perspectives

Today’s podcast is very special as I have the distinct pleasure of introducing a wonderful friend and mentor Pastor Gerald Wilcoxon and First Lady Janice Wilcoxon, of Mount Sanai Institutional Baptist Church, in North Chicago.

Biography

Pastor Wilcoxon is a graduate of Lakeland College, Wisconsin, with a Bachelor of Religion, and a graduate of Milwaukee Theological Institute with a Bachelor of Ministry. He was called into the ministry and Licensed to Preach on February 5, 1989, and was ordained on March 17, 1991 at Friendship Baptist Church under the leadership of the Pastor Joseph L. Thomas. Pastor Wilcoxon served as Interim Pastor at United Faith Baptist Church for nine months before being called to serve the Mount Sinai Institutional Baptist Church family, in North Chicago, Illinois.

Pastor Wilcoxon has served the Mount Sinai Family for 27 years, and has received numerous awards and recognitions for his service to the community.

A native of Chicago, Pastor Wilcoxon, is a United States Marine Corps Vietnam Veteran, and for 51 years has been married to his lovely wife Janice. From their union God has blessed them with three beautiful daughters Tamecca, Tamarra, and Trinae, four wonderful granddaughters, and a grandson, and one great granddaughter.

Biography

Evangelist Janice Wilcoxon, aka “Lady J”, Motivational Speaker and Philanthropist, has been the First Lady of the Mount Sinai Institutional Baptist Church for 27 years. A devoted and loving wife, she has been married to Pastor Gerald for 51 years. She attended the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, and retired after 37 years with Alfa Laval Incorporated, a Pharmaceutical Company.

In 1999 Evangelist Wilcoxon was inspired by God to organize the Mt. Sinai Women’s Retreat, an annual event that attracts more than 400 women from across the nation.

As the First Lady, she started the Mount Sinai Women for Christ and Ministers and Deacons Wives Ministry; as well as hosting the Seasons of a Woman’s Life Series. In 2013, Evangelist Wilcoxon was called into the ministry, allowing God to user her fully. In 2004, she was awarded the “Women in the Spirit” award by the People’s Voice newspaper, and in 2011, Evangelist Janice Wilcoxon, along with her husband Pastor Gerald Wilcoxon, were awarded Most Influential African Americans of Lake County, Illinois.

The Lord is continuing to use Evangelist Wilcoxon to lead those that are lost to Christ and constantly encourage women on their faith’s journey.

Today’s Podcast is titled.

A Conversation

With Pastor Gerald

and

First Lady (Evangelist) Janice Wilcoxon

Ladies and Gentlemen, please join me in welcoming today’s guests. Pastor Gerald and First Lady Janice Wilcoxon.

Have you ever done something out of character? Something that catches everyone off guard and throws an otherwise predictable situation in an entirely different direction. At times it may have unplanned consequences, and others may completely change, no matter how innocent, the way we are perceived by others. I know it creates dueling conflicts in what we expect of ourselves, and what others expect of us, but if we live long enough, we (each of us) will find that we routinely disappoint, becoming something far less than perfect.

However, if the objective is perfectness, as defined by humanity, I do not believe that is a certainty or conclusive. How often have we tried to live a non-offensive life, being sure to hurt no one, often providing soft landings for our words, biting our tongues, swallowing our dignity, ever so attentive to cover our hurts, our sorrow, our bruises, and our woundedness. At some point, after seething, no matter the gravity of our faith, it reaches a breaking point, and another side of our persona comes to surface. It is part of our inherent DNA. Now, for the sake of clarity I am not referring to someone that is that way all day, every day, 24/7. I am referring to us, everyday people of God that are doing their absolute best to represent Christ.

Today’s podcast is titled

That’s Not You

2 Corinthians 5:14

For the love of Christ constraineth us;

What is constrain? It is defined as a verb, meaning it requires active not passive action. Merriam-Webster defines it as:

To force by imposed structure, restriction, or limitation; compress; to clasp tightly; to secure by or as if by bonds; confine; to hold back by or as if by force

Each part of the definition is inclusive of how God constrains us, creating boundaries and limitations, holding us tightly and securely, at times placing us in bonds as a means for protecting us and others, and every so often holding us back, even if it requires force. When we live within the bounds of God’s constraints it means that we know our limits, we know not to skirt too closely to those lines that may be ill defined, it means that we understand the intricate value that He placed upon each of us in His effort to preserve us and redeem us unto Himself.

An article by Jim Lucas speaks of Sir. Isaac Newton as one of the most influential scientists of all time. His ideas became the basis for modern physics. He is best known for his work in studying gravity and the motion of planets. Newton’s first law of Motion, suggests, "A body at rest will remain at rest, and a body in motion will remain in motion unless it is acted upon by an external force." This simply means that things cannot start, stop, or change direction all by themselves. It takes some force acting on them from the outside to cause such a change.

Now think of something or someone lost, adrift, without a purpose or destination, merely existing rather than living. Unless something (God) acts upon them or intercedes in their situation, they can neither move or change course. We either remain motionless (helpless) or spiral out of control in the wrong direction (aimless). We routinely hear of castaways, people lost on a desert isle, without any hope of rescue. As a last ditch effort, they are consigned to placing a warily written message into a bottle and casting it adrift upon the sea, hoping the currents, the waves, and the torrent of wind allows it to arrive in an expedient place. Some, inevitably find the ocean depths, while others, many years (even decades) later find their way into inquisitive hands, but often far too late.

2 Samuel 22:5-7

5The waves of death swirled about me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

6The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. 7“In my distress I called to the Lord; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice;

my cry came to his ears.

Many of us, at one point or another, find ourselves there, 100% physically present, but our souls tossed in darkness, and disquieted and lonely place, cast upon the waters thousands of miles from nowhere.

Today’s podcast is titled.

Adrift & Aimless

Psalm 61:1

Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.

Have you ever felt lost, adrift without a direction or purpose? Absent of an intended destination, one in which we can see the struggles of the past and graciously acknowledge our present place. We purpose to plot along an evident path, but circumstances lead us to make decisions, which change our course, and our given destiny. Some, I suppose, are fortunate enough to have a safety net, while a multitude of others unceremoniously fall, until they have been dashed into irreparable pieces.

Jeremiah 31:25

25 I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”

We, likewise, can find ourselves adrift in so many ways, for so many reasons. What is it that leads and guides us, that gives our lives meaning and purpose, which affixes itself to our chosen destiny? Not one of our own creation, borne out of vanity, but that which is appointed by God.

On Thursday, November 24, 2022, we will celebrate Thanksgiving once again, as a time specifically reserved for giving thanks for the blessings that we’ve received thereupon. The holiday was born out of a harsh and devastating winter in which many immigrants to the new land, suffered and died from cold, starvation and disease. However, through the help of friends, the harvest, the following year, was plentiful, thus they celebrated by giving thanks.

Hhmm! What is that? While it is a holiday traditionally kept in the United States, globally other countries such as Canada, Brazil, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Grenada, China, Japan, Liberia, India, and Ghana celebrate a customary form of Thanksgiving as well. While the manner and purpose may vary, it is in its most simplistic custom, a form of giving thanks, for a variety of reasons, freedom, harvest, liberation, and others. While much different than its origin, today we celebrate the day (often in the absence of acknowledging thanks) by eating an abundance of food, watching endless hours of football, enjoying music and festivities, and lest we forget the most essential of them all black Fridays. While there is nothing wrong with that, this is a far cry from its original inception, in 1789 in which then President George Washington decreed it to be a day of prayer and thanks, prayer and thanks (I had to say it twice), subsequently becoming a nationally recognized holiday in 1941.

Today’s podcast is titled.

A Season of Thanks and Giving

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Sometimes it can be tough to be thankful for the little things, especially in hard times. But here’s the funny thing about thankfulness. Once we begin counting our blessings, we often discover that we have a gracious plenty after all. It’s simply the change in perspective from dwelling on what we lack to focusing on what we have.

Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Giving thanks is a show of gratitude and graciousness, through humility. It is an acknowledgment that we were unable to do it on our own. It is yielding ourselves and our needs to something far greater than ourselves (God). We every so often discover the more we have, the greater our accumulative substance and wealth, the more difficult, or should I say less likely we are to give our show of thanks the attention it deserves, because we have an abundance of everything and want for nothing.  Thanks is borne out of lack, the absence of something, a critical necessity in our lives. It is manifested out of hardship, urgency, or immediate need. When nothing else could help, when we’ve lost others along the way, when we’ve survived the ravage of disease, when our substance is consumed, when there is no clear way out, when others scoff at our circumstance, and others simultaneously blame us and our actions as the cause of our suffering, when we are closed off from the world, that is when we find our way to the throne of God, and bare out the brokenness of our soul, suddenly the darkness fades and the sun shines upon us as the noon day, and God begins to move obstacle after obstacle, barrier by barrier, brick by brick, that my brothers and sisters is thanksgiving.

Last year I decided to take a road less traveled from Northern to Southern California. Rather than using the tradition route (Interstate 5), I chose to drive the serene and scenic Pacific coast highway. While it added nearby 2.5 hours to my trip the view of the jagged cliffs, and the waves crashing upon the rocks was breathtaking, and will in its immediacy leave one breathless. However, just a few miles north are an altogether different dynamic, split by four lanes of carefully placed highway. On one side is the audacious display of gigantic homes belonging to some of the California’s most wealthy people, while on the other side of the hundreds of miles of tar, asphalt, and gallons of yellow and white paint are where migrant workers toil and labor in the most austere conditions.

I am certain of the millions of people that traverse the roadway annually there are countless “ooo's” and “ahh's”, of the landscape’s abundant beauty and the towering million-dollar real-estate along the way, but scarcely I suppose will any wonder about or even acknowledge the workers in the field. Does our substance outweigh our humanity, where the divide between us is so great that we just don't care to acknowledge the existence of the other? Does our loving kindness have limitations, or can it reach beyond our selfishness, our need for self preservation and become selfless, absent of our need for reciprocation? Imagine the toil associated with their labor, sunrise to sunset, every day the same, the sun and moon greet them each day, but seldom do they receive a word of encouragement, thanks, or gratitude. While their labor is often inhumane, they do something few would venture to do.

There are those that would mock them, accuse them of impropriety, simply despise them because they are different, or often feel they contradict what we've come to associate with our commonly displaced worldly (not Biblical) values. But, if the basis of our faith is measured in how we entreat one another, then we must look far beyond the things that benefit us personally, and seek to care for those that suffer most, the wounded, despised, and broken hearted.

Today’s podcast is titled.

Poor, Destitute, and Forsaken

James 2:5

5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?

According to a 2021 survey, it is estimated that nearly 500,000 people in the United States are homeless, with approximately 17 out of every 10,000 being identified as so daily. Just as alarming is 11.6% of the nation’s population lives below the poverty line, that’s 37.9 million people, respectively. We are all a fraction away from being categorized the same. How do we view the poor and destitute, how do we see the humanity of those without shelter or food. Do we frown upon their circumstance, suggesting they are deservedly in their existing condition, because they (personally) chose to be there, do we smugly look away as if they are undeserving of our time and attention?

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.

If we lay claim to the blessedness of God, how can we boldly make such a proclamation, and not be moved by the suffering of so many others. We assume the worst of them, as if pests, persistent in their pleading for what they’ve neither worked nor toiled for, but scripture reminds us once again in

Psalm 24:1-3

1 The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. 2  For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. 3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

Before I begin I just ask a special prayer for a young man named Dillan that I met while away. I was there for work, but God sent me to Denver to meet him. Thus the title of today’s podcast.

Several years ago, many, before graduating high school, the family went to a brand-new shopping mall (Glendale Galleria), if you could not find it there it wasn’t to be found. My mom and her sisters, my cousins, and of course, lest I forget, my grandmother, whom we commonly referred to as little gramps, because she was less than five feet tall. For context, a little shorter than a clothing rack. There was a long-awaited wedding later that afternoon, so the goal was to arrive early, and leave in enough time to get home, dressed, and attend the long-anticipated event. Everyone was in a rush, and somehow amongst the bustle of people, we lost my grandmother, we searched for hours, store by store, aisle upon aisle. Our shopping was no longer a priority as our attention straightway changed to the mass search, for someone we could hardly see. Minutes, turned to hours and nothing. We were pressed for time but could not find our way out of the present situation, we talked with security, and it was too soon the file a missing person report (yes like television), it had not been, yet seemingly, twenty-four (24) hours. We asked security if they could be on the lookout. While the middle of the story remains uncertain even today, unbeknown to us she found a bus stop, paid the fare, and rode the city bus home. While everyone was assuming the worst she got dressed, and went to the wedding without us, she bragged about how great a time she had, oblivious to the family’s seething anger, we were, for lack of a better term, undone, as her response was in complete contradiction to the deep seeded anguish it caused. I am sure the wedding was fantastic, and the receptions was beyond fabulous, but we will never as our search for my pint-sized grandmother ended in vain.

There's a game many of us are familiar with called, Where's Waldo, the objective is to look at a picture bustling full of people and objects, and find an individual named Waldo dressed in a red and white horizontal stripped shirt and beanie. Sometimes we jokingly use the term to describe a co-worker, friend or associate that always seems to be missing. However, where does our search for God lead us, as we look at the things that occupy our lives and make them so busy, we like the picture often miss the obvious right in front of us. Our hearts are what lead us, but scripture serves as the roadmap, it tells us how we can, and where to find him. Like Waldo, in the red and white horizontal shirt, he should not be difficult to find, as we clumsily look, up and down, right, and left, but he is not there, God is always the centerpiece.

Today’s podcast is titled

Struggle Finding God

Jeremiah 29:11-13

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

What does our heartfelt search and yearning for God say about us. The invitation is given for us to come, and the decree has gone forth. We shall find him, as written throughout scripture, and demonstrated over and again, by his people, awaiting our earnest plea for help. Scripture specifically tells us, in

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

In a quote by Anne Lamont, she expresses, I do not at all understand the mystery of grace, only that it meets us where we are, but does not leave us where it found us.

How would we describe grace? Would it simply be a footnote, an afterthought, or an anecdote, given little or no regard, or would we genuinely be able to comprehend the expanse of God's grace (loving kindness) towards us? In life’s most consequential moments, in shame, hardship, trouble, turmoil, doubt, fear and heartache, His grace is more than sufficient.

Grace, grace, God’s grace,

Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;

Grace, grace, God’s grace,

Grace that is greater than all our sin!

(Julia H. Johnston, 1910)

Today’s podcast is titled.

Improbable Grace

Hebrews 12:15

15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

Who can justify grace? Who can lay claim to it? Who can justly and righteously disseminate it among God’s creation? It is this thing that while seldom seen, and hardly borne out of the bosom of humanity, we plead for God, to have mercy, and He delivers unto us grace. A gift that is neither earned or deserved, and yet because of His unfailing love towards us, His mercy and grace endure forever, Hebrews 4:16 confirms,

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

As we yield, we at last discover peace through grace, God's persistent effort to reach us just where we are. Some may say, I’ve neither heard nor witnessed this grace, but I submit to you, Psalm 27:13-14, in which David declares,

13 I would have fainted, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

14 Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord!

There is a beautiful song produced by Vineyard music, in which the lyrics simply says.

Change my heart Oh God, make it ever true.

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

This morning’s podcast is filled with scripture relevant to the topic, I will attempt to slow down as we address each. I truly believe today’s message is intended for someone listening that may at this very moment be struggling with and/or wrestling issues that deal directly with the heart.

Today’s podcast is titled.

What's on your mind

The most grievous period many face in life, is time alone with our true selves. We are familiar with the phrase, a penny for your thoughts, as I am often asked, what's on your mind. In typical fashion and right on que, my (our) response, like many of you listening today is, nothing, but truthfully enough, there is never a moment in which are minds are totally blank. It is in our nature, we are always, constantly thinking, craving, yearning for something as our brains long for information and imagined stimulation, albeit good or bad, Godly or not. The mind’s desire are seeds planted within the heart, weeds and tares that grow amongst the fruits of the spirit, but little by little suffocate the abundance of life thereof.

David said in the 139th Psalm, 23-24

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

As we battle our deepest desires, we try our best to tamper them down, being careful not to allow them to fester, grow and mature into something (envy and strife [James 3:16]), that will unsurprisingly causes us irreversible harm.

There she was pristine, candy red, white convertible top and interior, cassette tape and the most beautiful sounding engine, I had to have it. I prayed, Lord if you let me get it, I will go to church every Sunday, but that was a commitment and promise that did not last, and the thing I believed so beautiful became accursed to me. Every other week, something broke, and when it rained it leaked. My friends and co-workers mockingly referred to it as the water bug. It made its way to Alaska (another story), and there it sat in a lone parking lot, it would start but would not drive or it just did not start at all, soaked in water, covered in snow there I peered through the frosted window, forgetting my promise, wishing I would have never bought it. I had buyers’ remorse. At that point I would have done well just to give it away for nothing, I was paying for a car that did not work, and for insurance on something that could not get into an accident, because it could not move. As funny as it sounds, we have all been there.

Today’s podcast is titled.

Buyers’ remorse

Romans 4:20-21

20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

God offers each of us something beyond the weight of gold and the beauty thereof, and yet we find ourselves seeking and searching for alternatives, substitutes for God, only to discover how detrimental they are to us, and more so how calamity awaits us at every turn as we are drawn away from the hope of his promise.

James 1:12

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Have you ever purchased something that you believed you absolutely had to have, only to discover, minutes, hours, days, weeks, or years later that you wish had not? Our garages and lives are full of such items. No one is excluded, all people, young and old alike. Correspondingly, we treat our salvation the same, committed, but not fully, half-hearted, because our suspicions (based on past history) tell us that something will occur that will not necessarily be in our favor and we will be left, once again, holding an unwanted bag, filled with guilt, shame and ridicule.

What causes us to feel such? What makes us believe that God is unable to keep his promises towards us? Of course, it is easy to chalk it up as human nature, but … it is much more multifaceted than a presumed oversimplification. Our life’s experience plays an enormous role, where we often lose confidence in something or someone that has proven otherwise. There is a commonly used phrase we quote to insulate ourselves from such folly, trust but verify. What does that really mean? And what does that say about us? God has never proven to be un-true, for the entirety of scripture is marked with his presence and promise. Numbers 23:19 reminds us.

“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”

Today’s podcast is titled.

Hidden Idol

My entire life I have been tasked to give an account, take some manner of inventory, signing for this, accounting for that, and lastly identifying what is missing, that often came at a cost. I recall once searching diligently, for hours, for a piece of equipment, rooms, buildings, sheds, and the like. No matter the mass of resources dedicated to the search, the result was the same. The paperwork said it was there, but reality is the item was missing for a number of years. Likewise, we must take inventory of our lives as well, identifying what is and is not present, what should or should not be there. As we like Achan (in Joshua 7) tend to accumulate things (physical or not) that were not intended for us but take precedence over God.

I had an entirely different message for today, but as I prepared for the day, the Lord laid upon my heart to share something completely different with you this morning, something that none of us, no matter how experienced are excluded.

We move along gracefully, smiling, giving the greeting of the day, a tip of the hat, saying with commonality bless you, and praise God, we read, we pray, we do all in alignment with scripture. Suddenly, we suffer defeat, after defeat, the heavens are as brass, prayer becomes laborious, and no matter our plea (like Joshua [6-9]), nothing. Heaven in all its splendor is suddenly silent. We search high and low, and yet our once abundant stream is barren, a desert wasteland, as far as the eye can see.

God is not far off as we suppose, he is watching, waiting, and listening. But he cannot do anything, because of the idols we have hidden in our lives, amongst the stuff, a buried treasure to be selfishly used, just in case God’s response is delayed, or does not rule in our favor. There are times when we are offered something that for appearance’s sake is helpful, but detrimental to our soul and a hinderance to our salvation. It is a gift, like the renowned Trojan horse, if it remains a hidden within us, God cannot bless us, not while the enemy continues to thrive at our gates. We are pushed further and further away from the leaning of the spirit, he speaks, but we do not hear, he beckons, but we do not answer, because we cling steadfastly to the hidden idols of our lives. To be clear, I am not exclusively or directly speaking purely in reference to tangible items, but more so those we store away in the deepest recesses of our hearts.