No Corners Cut, No Pacifying, No Round-About Way

By Lou K. Coleman | WSS News Contributor

Obey Me, the Lord, or cause Me to become your enemy? The Choice is Yours. Time is running out and so is My patience! [Ecclesiastes 3:1-8]. Life and Prosperity or Death and Disaster, that is the choice that I set before you today. [Deuteronomy 30:15-16]. Whatcha Gonna Do? For behold, Now is “The Acceptable Time,” behold, Now is “The Day of Salvation.” [2 Corinthians 6:1-2].

This is a call to action that echoes through the corridors of time, resonating with the same urgency and importance as it did when Joshua first uttered the words to the Israelites. Fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in truth. [Joshua 24:14-18]. Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wildness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, they do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So, I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest. [Hebrew 3:7-13].

There is a clear choice with eternal consequences. Make a Decision! Today! Now! Right this moment even as you are reading this message. Choose Jesus verses Choosing Hell for the Bible makes it clear: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them” [John 3:36].

I tell you; the eternal consequences of this decision cannot be overstated. Choosing Jesus opens the door to an eternity in Heaven, in the presence of God, where joy, peace, and love abound. Ignoring or rejecting this choice leaves one on the path to Hell, a place of eternal separation from God’s love and mercy. The Record Of Choice: It has always been life or death, blessings or cursing.

You know, a few years back, George Jones the country singer came out with a song that reflected on his life. The title of the song was [Living and Dying With the Choices that I’ve Made]. I’ve had choices since the day that I was born. There were voices that told me right from wrong. If I had listened, No, I wouldn’t be here today. Living and dying with the choices I’ve made. I guess I’m paying’, for the things that I have done. If I could go back Oh, Lord knows I’d run. But I’m still losing’ this game of life I play. Living and dying with the choices I’ve made.

Adam and Eve Chose Death, [Genesis 3]. Annanias and Saphirra Chose Death. [Acts 5]. The Rich Man Chose Death, [Luke 16]. BUT Lazarus Chose Life. Abraham Chose Life. Paul Chose Life, Peter Chose Life, Nathaniel Chose Life! Whatcha Gonna Do? Life Or Death-It’s Your Choice.

But I admonish you to choose consciously, intentionally and wisely because Life is Short. Death is Certain. Eternity is Forever. [I Peter 1:17-2]. Understanding the realities of this truism is the key to understanding the purpose of your life. Our life on earth is ended by physical Death, and Death is followed by Judgment, and Judgment by Eternal Life.

This is not a decision to be made lightly. It’s not a decision to be made once and then forgotten. It’s a decision that needs to be made daily, hourly, even moment by moment. It’s a decision that will shape your life, your relationships, your future. It’s a decision that will determine your eternal destiny. Whatcha Gonna Do?

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decisions. [Joel 3:14].

Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. [Deuteronomy 30:19].

By Lou K. Coleman | WSS News Contributor

Every one of you follows your stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to Me. [Jeremiah 16:12]. You have turned to Me your back and not your face. And though I have taught you persistently, you have not listened to receive instruction [Jeremiah 32:33]. My Word is an object of scorn to you, which you take no pleasure in it. [Jeremiah 6:10]. You have stiffened your neck that you might not hear and receive instructions. [Jeremiah 17:23]. This has been your way from your youth, that you have not obeyed My voice. [Jeremiah 22:21]. Although I persistently sent to you all My servants the prophets. [Jeremiah 25:4]. For years My Word has come to you, but you have not listened. [Jeremiah 25:37]. Circumcise yourselves to Me, remove the foreskin of your hearts. [Jeremiah 4:4; Jeremiah 9:25-26] If you do not, I am going to bring disaster upon you that you cannot escape. For you have provoked me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm because you have not listened. [Jeremiah 25:7].

Though they will cry to Me in their troubles, I will not listen to them. [Jeremiah 11:11] So do not pray for them or lift up a cry on their behalf. [Jeremiah 11:14]. I have spoken to them persistently, but they have not listened. [Jeremiah 35:14].

I want you to understand, there comes a day when God’s patience runs out, and when it does, the results are disastrous. [Jeremiah 35:17]. God has good plans for us, but if we refuse to listen, He will not reward our disobedience. What is true for the nations is true for us: “If at any time God declares concerning a nation or a kingdom that He will build and plant it, and if it does evil in His sight, not listening to His voice, He will relent of the good that He had intended to do to it” [Jeremiah 18:9-10].

I tell you, refusing to listen to God is the Ultimate Foolishness! If we hear God’s Word, but only obediently listen when it is convenient, we will be undone. This is a key in [Jeremiah Chapter 42] which tells the story of Johanan and the remnant of Judah after most were taken away in the Babylonian captivity. Jeremiah was asked to pray to God on behalf of the people and pledges, [Jeremiah 42:6]. But when Jeremiah prays, God tells him the opposite of what Johanan was hoping to hear. God said, “Don’t go to Egypt; don’t be afraid of the Babylonians; I’ll protect you. But since God’s word was not what Johanan wanted to hear, he insisted, “You are telling a lie. The Lord our God did not send you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to live there” [Jeremiah 43:2]. God’s word could not have been clearer. But Johanan refused to listen. God destroyed him and his insolent companions.

This is how many people “listen” to God’s word. They are willing to hear, but they are not willing to obey when it is inconvenient. Instead, they look for every possible excuse to obscure and dilute the plain voice of God in Scripture. I tell you, Samuel’s response should be ours: “Speak, for you servant hears.” [1 Samuel 3:9-10] because refusing to listen to God is the worst kind of stubbornness and the ultimate foolishness, since it ends in our own harm: certain judgment by the hand of the Almighty.

How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert! [Psalm 78:40]. Therefore, He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them. [Isaiah 63:10].

I tell you; Refusing to obey the Lord is the Ultimate Foolishness!

Repent!

By Lou K. Coleman | WSS News Contributor

“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. [Luke 21:20]. When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that this will not take place in winter, because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again. I have told you everything ahead of time. [Mark 13:14-23]. Buckle Up! It’s About to Get Rough!

As Paul in [2 Timothy 3:1] told Timothy, sit up and pay attention.  Dangerous times, very difficult times are coming. John calls it the ?last hour. [1 John 2:18]. If this is what we have to look forward to [and it is], how then should you live? How will you survive the “savage days” that are coming our way? Get under the Umbrella of the Almighty God. That is the ONLY WAY! Period! No If’s, and Buts about it. God is our ONLY REFUGE!

Understand all that Christ and the Apostles meant and the wide-ranging implications, because your survival and salvation depend on that understanding and your action.

In his vision, the Apostle John declared, “The great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” [Revelation 6:17]. What caused him to say this? He saw the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, who represent the coming judgment of the tribulation period.

Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. Now in Biblical symbolism, a white horse speaks of victory. At Jesus’ return, He will come upon a white horse, with all the saints following Him. [Revelation 19:11-16]. But this white horse in [Revelation 6: 1-2] is a picture of the Antichrist. He is mimicking the Second Coming of Christ. This Antichrist, whom the Bible also calls the Beast, will come as a worldwide leader.

Then I saw another horse, Fiery Red, The Horse of War, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword. [Revelation 6:4].

Behold, a Black Horse, the Horse of Famine, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”
After dominion comes destruction and then deprivation. [Revelation 6:5b-6]

Then behold, a Pale Horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth. [Revelation 6:8].

I tell you, “Buckle Up! It’s About to Get Rough!” The Great Tribulation will be so horrible that men will want to die, calling death a welcome release—but it will not be, because after death comes judgment and Hell.

They despised the longsuffering of God.

Because they have failed to listen, I will surely bring calamity on them which they will not be able to escape; and though they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them. [Jeremiah 11:11]. I will pursue them with sword, famine, and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse, a desolation, and an object of scorn and reproach among all the nations. I will do this because they have not listened to My words, which I sent to them again and again through My servants. [Jeremiah 29:19].

The Lord rebukes his people for their disbelief. [Isaiah 48:1-11].

By Lou K. Coleman | WSS News Contributor

“Alert! A deadly tornado is approaching; one that the world has never seen. If you are outside of My Protection, get under My Umbrella NOW or you will likewise perish.” [Psalm 91]. This is a very specialized, very particular warning to those living without Me. Get under My Umbrella NOW! For “I will keep you from all harm—I will watch over your life; I will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” [Psalms 121:7-8]. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” [Isaiah 43:2]. “I will command My angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands, they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” [Psalm 91:11-12]. Get under My Umbrella NOW! There is no more time to waste. A deadly tornado is approaching. You’ve Been Warned! Do Not Delay!

You know, throughout the Bible, tornadoes are associated with Divine Judgment and the Consequences of Disobedience. They serve as manifestations of God’s Wrath and a call for Repentance, as seen in the flood during Noah’s time and the plagues in Egypt. I plead with you, please, get under the Umbrella of God. Do it quickly, without delay, and do it without looking back knowing that the final days before the return of Christ will be the greatest period of distress in world history. Nothing before or after will be like it. If you take all the trauma of all the wars of all the ages and add to it the damage done by all the earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, tornadoes, tidal waves, snowstorms, sandstorms, droughts, epidemics, and all the genocide from the beginning of time until the present. All of it together will not equal the suffering of the final months and years before the coming of the Lord. As terrible as things have been, the worst is yet to come. Get under the Umbrella of the Almighty God NOW without delay. Because what is predestined to happen will happen soon and very soon. Matter of fact, it has already begun. Just look around you. I tell you; the night is far gone; the day is at hand: [Romans 13:12]. If you want to be saved from what is coming, you must ACT NOW!  For the Bible says that perilous times will come, and those times are here. The days are numbered, and you need to be ready. [2 Timothy 3:1].

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is My Refuge and My Fortress; My God, in Him I will trust. Surely, He shall deliver me from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover me with His feathers, and under His wings I shall take refuge; His truth shall be my shield and buckler. I will not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at my side, and ten thousand at my right hand; but it shall not come near me. Because I have made the LORD, who is My Refuge, even the Most High, my dwelling place, no evil shall befall me, nor shall any plague come near my dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over me, to keep me in all of my ways. I shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent I shall trample them under under my foot. Because I have set my love upon God, therefore He will deliver me; He has set me on high, because I have known His name. I shall call upon Him, and He will answer me; He will be with me in trouble; He will deliver me and honor me. [Psalms 91: 1-15].

No weapon formed against me shall prosper, it won’t work. God will do what He said He would do. He will stand by His word, and He will come through. He’s not a man that He should lie. [No Weapon – Fred Hammond].

Get under the Umbrella of God NOW, a Deadly Tornado is approaching. Thus, saith the Lord!

By Lou K. Coleman | WSS News Contributor

I don’t know whether you know this or not, but EVERY TIME the Bible has predicted a future event, it happened EXACTLY as Scripture said it would. Please don’t wait until it’s too late to repent and give your life to Jesus for [Luke 21:26] says that people’s hearts would faint and fail when they see what’s happening “on the earth.” He said there will be distress, dismay, anguish and great fear, because of “those things which are coming on the earth.” And I tell you, there are antisemitic signs all around us, showing that the end is near. [Luke 21:20].

Oh, how I wish we would all be ready! Because while they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ as [1 Thessalonians 5:3] says, then destruction will come upon us suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and we will not escape.” Not only that, “Wars, earthquakes, and famines will escalate” until the end of the Antichrist’s 3.5-year reign, when he will enter a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem and proclaim himself to be God and demand worship [2 Thessalonians 2:4; Matthew 24:15].

Then after that, [another 3.5 years], Jesus predicted, “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Untold loss of life and destruction of the earth will occur during the Great Tribulation. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” [Matthew 24:21-22] Oh, how I wish we would all be ready!

John records the battle this way: “And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon [Satan] and out of the mouth of the beast [the Antichrist] and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty…” [Revelation 16:13–16]. Oh, how I wish that we would all be ready because the above events are not speculations or possibilities – they are what will take place in the future for the Bible has never once been wrong.

As Peter asks, given the truth of these prophecies: “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be…because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!” [2 Peter 3:11–12].

I tell you we are closer to the Rapture and the Tribulation than ever before. If you do not repent and get under the umbrella of the Almighty God, you will be sorry. Don’t ignore the opportunity to get right with God because He is your ONLY ESCAPE!

As Larry Norman said in his song, [I Wish We’d All Been Ready]. “Life was filled with guns and war and all of us got trampled on the floor. I wish we’d all been ready. The children died; the days grew cold.
I wish we’d all been ready. There’s no time to change your mind the son has come, and you’ve been left behind…How could you have been so blind? A man and wife asleep in bed she hears a noise and turns her head, he’s gone, I wish we’d all be ready. Two men walking up a hill one disappears and one’s left standing still, I wish we’d all been ready. There’s no time to change your mind, the Son has come, and you’ve been left behind. You’ve been left behind. You’ve been left behind. You’ve been left behind. You’ve been left behind!”

By Lou K. Coleman | WSS News Contributor

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: [Jeremiah 11:3-14;22-23]. “Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursed is the one who does not obey the terms of this covenant— the terms I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace.” I said, “Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. I warned them again and again, saying, “Obey me.” But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts, returning to the sins of their ancestors, who refused to listen to my words. So, I brought on them all the curses of the covenant. Pestilences, diseases, defeat by the enemy, affliction, disaster upon disaster leaving no survivors. The Point of No Return! So, I admonish you to obey me and do everything I command you or you will be punished as the people of the old if you don’t repent of your disobedience or evil ways [Leviticus 26:14; 1 Chronicles 21:14].

God is clear. He wants us to follow his commands. Paul writes: “All these things happened to them as examples—as object lessons to us to warn us against doing the same things; they were written down so that we could read about them and learn from them in these last days as the world nears its end” [1 Corinthians 10:11]. Because not only will disobedience be dealt with, but the Bible tells us that all the disobedience will finally be cast into hell fire where you will spend eternity if you don’t repent. [Matthew 13:41].

As Joseph Addison Alexander said in his poem, [Hidden Line] “There is a time, we know not when, a point we know not where, that marks the destiny of men to glory or despair. There is a line by us unseen, that crosses every path, the hidden boundary between God’s patience and his wrath. To pass that limit is to die, to die as if by stealth; It does not quench the beaming eye or pale the glow of health. The conscience may be still at ease, the spirits light and gay; That which is pleasing still may please, and care be thrust away. But on that forehead God has set indelibly a mark, unseen by man, for man as yet is blind and in the dark. And yet the doomed man’s path below may bloom as Eden bloomed; He did not, does not, will not know, or feel that he is doomed. He knows, he feels that all is well, and every fear is calmed; He lives, he dies, he wakes in hell, not only doomed, but damned.”

The Point of No Return!

By Lou K. Coleman | WSS News Contributor

DO NOT listen to all those soothing voices whispering you have all the time in the world. “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” [Isaiah 55:6-7].

For Gods says in [Isaiah 48:9] “For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise, I hold it back from you, so as not to destroy you completely.”  I’m putting my grace on display, my mercy, my long suffering, my patience, but that want last forever.  This is all the more urgent, for you to know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for your salvation is nearer now than when you first believed. [Romans 13:11].

Understand, the offer of Salvation has a time element to it! How much time is left, you ask? Now that we do not know. That is a mystery that God holds in His hand, and He will not tell us. But what He does tell us is that it’s later than you think. It will not be long before this present age as we know it will end. Wake up and do it NOW! The time is short! And be careful how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. [Ephesians 5:11].

Understand, salvation is a life and death matter, it’s a matter of heaven or hell! When you give your life to God you are not only saved from sin, the evil one, and death; you are also saved from the wrath of God and the judgment to come. The point of this paragraph of God’s Word is that there will be no escape for any of us who neglects our great salvation. [Hebrews 2:1–4].

Besides, if Jesus came on the scene saying “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at Hand” how important do you think it is? Wake up and do it now! For the Lord is not slow in keeping His promises, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” [2 Peter 3:9].

In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. [Acts 17:30]. As [Luke 13:22] admonishes, make every effort to enter the narrow door, because many will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the master of the house gets up and closes the door, you’ll stand outside knocking and pleading, sir open the door for us. But “He will answer,” I don’t know you or where you come from. Don’t wait until it’s too late!

Consider this borrowed time, that God has allotted, which can be compared to the seven days of grace God gave to the people in Noah’s day. The ark was finished, and all the people and the animals were onboard; but God gave all those outside the ark seven days of grace. He told Noah, for yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth [Genesis 7:4].

God left the door open so that those who wanted could enter the ark, but they just mocked and made fun of Noah and his family like they had been doing for many years. And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth…and the Lord shut him in [Genesis 7:10,16].

Time is about to run out. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Enter the Ark. It is not the will of your Father which is in Heaven, that you should perish [Matthew 18:14; 2 Peter 3:9]. If you have any conscience at all, you will enter the ark while the door is still open.

You know the prophet Isaiah was told to tell King Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, and said, remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore [Isaiah 38:1-3].

God did not disagree with Hezekiah, so He gave him borrowed time. Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years [Isaiah 38:4,5]. Every minute of that was borrowed time because God had originally said that Hezekiah’s time was up. God’s grace!

So, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. [2 Peter 3:8].

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. [Hebrews 9:27].

Behold, NOW is the accepted time; Behold, NOW is the day of salvation [2 Corinthians 6:2].

And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for NOW, our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand [Romans 13:11-14]. For, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” [Mark 1:15].

And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and swore by him that liveth forever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer [Revelation 10:5,6].

You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” [Luke 12:40].

By Lou K. Coleman | WSS News Contributor

You know [Luke 16:19-31] tells a parable about a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in hades [Hell], being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.

And he called out, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame. But Abraham said, “Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.”

And he said, “Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.” But Abraham said, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them. And he said, “No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” He said to him, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.” [Luke 16:19 – 31]. Living in Eternity with regrets.

The rich fool made plans he thought would give him security for the rest of his life. He planned for whatever could possibly occur, but according to [Luke 12:20], he did not plan for what was certainly going to happen. Ponder the brevity of life from the Book of Psalms and remember how short your time is. [Psalm 39:5; Psalm 78:39; Psalm 89:47; Psalm 90:10; Psalm 102:3; Psalm 144:4]. For as David said in [1 Samuel 20:3], “Truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between you and death.” And to not be 100 percent ready for something that is100 percent certain is 100 percent foolish. The rich man’s experiences set before us some terrifying realizations. Hell is real! A place of conscious anguish and a place of profound regret. Don’t ignore Hell’s reality! Seek Salvation for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is imminent. [Matthew 24:44].

By Chris ‘Baba C’ Chatmon

As we embrace the warmth of summer, I want to take a moment to reflect on the significant milestones we’ve celebrated recently. This season, we honored the remarkable figures in our lives on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, recognizing the invaluable support and love our elders provide. I was humbled when friend, mentor and venerable elder, Ron Walker, took note of my musings about A.I., or what I refer to as Ancestral Intelligence, in a letter related to his endeavor, A Legacy of Leading. Ron is an extraordinary man and leader whose thinking I encourage you to discover here.

Continuing in our own legacy building, we held Crowning Ceremonies in both San Francisco and Seattle.  These celebrations remind us of the strength and dedication within our community, especially as we conclude another school year.  As we are half way through our second year in our West Oakland space, KOO Labs Design Center and Production House and June 7th Street Thrives hosted an inaugural community cleanup with neighborhood businesses.   The love that we focused on during our annual Spring Symposium in April is what we aim to foster at our local hub serving and preserving the community in this way.

Spring Symposium is also when we shared voices from the community with the new edition release of Griots of Oakland which features interviews of another 80 local Black youth in the acclaimed book series.  A screening of the powerful documentary,  Black Boys, hosted by Wu Yee Children’s Services at UC Hastings followed the book launch in June. I have been a part of these important events for the past year which provide a deeper understanding of lived experience of our young Kings.

Summer offers a unique opportunity for reflection, planning, and growth. As students, teachers, and administrators, it is a time to practice being lifelong learners.  We ended the school year with an unprecedented achievement: establishing a Black Educators’ Coalition to dismantle barriers hindering high-quality educators of color from becoming credentialed classroom teachers.  The Fellowship Initiative (TFI) offered its rising juniors a growth opportunity as well when TFI Oakland and TFI Los Angeles joined forces in a tour of eight universities across Northern California.

Finally, I’ll be heading to a university myself at the end of July when I travel to Louisiana for Xavier’s Magnificent Male Weekend designed to empower and inspire Black male students who are rising juniors in high school, providing a platform for growth and connection, much like our own TFI program.

As we look ahead, let’s carry the spirit of continuous learning and growth into the upcoming year. Together, we can build a brighter future for our community, one that thrives on curiosity, resilience, and a commitment to excellence.

Wishing you a summer filled with joy, discovery, and rejuvenation.

By Lou K. Coleman | WSS News Contributor

Woe unto you! For the Bible makes a difference between our plans and God’s purposes. We are told not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth. [Proverbs 27:1]. Besides, what is your life? But a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes [James 4:13-17]. Our days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children. [Psalm 103:15-17]. Besides what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? [Mark 8:36]. Here today, gone tomorrow, but you want to procrastinate and delay repentance. Woe unto you!

You know, someone has called the fifth chapter of Genesis ”A desert of death.” You can almost see the pine boxes and the graves. You can almost hear the weeping widows. You can almost smell the stench of death that arises from this chapter. Over and over, we read these words, ”and he died.” The last words of verse 5 read, ”and he died.” We read in verse 8 ”and he died.” We read in verse 11 ”and he died.” We read in verse 14 ”and he died.” We read in verse17 ”and he died.” We read in verse 20 ”and he died. Tell me what you are waiting for. Tomorrow is not promised. We are still at the mercy of God’s grace, and we must take grace seriously. Don’t be like deluded Lot, we do not deserve mercy. We must never take advantage of God’s grace and patience. We must never presume that we will get another chance or another day to make it right. Our personal day of Judgment could come at any moment. Let’s remember Lot and take God up on His offer to rescue us. And let’s remember Lot’s wife and never look back. Procrastination can cost us our souls in the end [2 Corinthians 5:20–6:2]. Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.