Culture By Choice

05/12/2026

If you want a great source for research based articles on a variety of topics associated with leadership, community involvement, and local government, visit this web-based journal!

Empowering municipal management through digital innovation

03/03/2026

Are you a Christian Business Owner? Do you want to be more effective in your business while maintaining a Christ-Centered Focus? Culture by Choice just might be what you need!

I’ve recently been sharing a number of posts that you might be interested in.

Here’s my most recent and if you would like to engage in Christ-Centered Coaching, send me a message and we can have a conversation.

I hope you enjoy this post!

Year # 4 Entry 63 and our faith Grows! ( # 1,158)

Engaging The Holy Spirit Every Day

Pursue the Fruit, Not Just the Gifts

Many believers focus on spiritual gifts. Scripture certainly teaches that gifts matter. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul explains that the Spirit distributes gifts as He wills for the building up of the Church. Yet when Paul turns to the evidence of spiritual maturity, he points us somewhere even deeper.

In Galatians 5:22–23, he writes: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”Gifts may reveal ability but Fruit reveals character.

It is possible to be spiritually gifted and yet spiritually immature. That is why Paul places the great chapter on love, 1 Corinthians 13, at the very center of his teaching on gifts. Without love, even the most impressive gift is reduced to noise. If we truly desire to engage the Holy Spirit daily, we must pursue not only what He empowers us to do, but what He forms within us.

We engage the Spirit when we:
* Choose patience when irritated.
* Choose gentleness when criticized.
* Choose self-control when tempted.
* Choose peace when anger and violence surround us.
* Choose kindness when indifference and cruelty seem to prevail.
* Choose love when division and hatred abound.

This is not behavior modification. It is cooperation. Fruit cannot be manufactured. It grows. And it grows where surrender, obedience, and abiding meet the Spirit’s transforming power. Jesus said in John 15:5, “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” The branch does not strain to produce fruit; it remains connected to the vine.

Perhaps you find some of these transformed behaviors difficult in a world where division seems to define us. If so, take heart. The Holy Spirit is not only our Empowerer; He is our Teacher and Guide. And often, He uses mature believers to help us see what we cannot see in ourselves. Mature believers can often serve as a coach for those of us who struggle; especially those who find it difficult to apply the fruits in their professional lives.

Scripture reminds us in Hebrews 10:24 to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” God never intended for us to grow alone. Wise counsel, accountability, and Spirit-filled encouragement are gifts of grace. Even the most spiritually gifted among us can experience lapses in fruitful behavior. But the evidence of true spiritual growth is not flawless performance; it is a steady return to the Spirit’s work within us. The world is not changed by giftedness alone.
It is changed by Spirit-formed character. As you engage the Holy Spirit today, ask not only, “What gift has He given me?” but also, “What fruit is He growing in me?” For where the Spirit rules, fruit follows.

Our Prayer: Father in Heaven, Thank You for the gift of Your Holy Spirit, who not only empowers us for service but transforms us from within. Forgive us for the times we have sought gifts more than growth, and ability more than character. Holy Spirit, cultivate Your fruit in us today. Grow love where there is irritation. Grow peace where there is anger. Grow patience where there is frustration. Grow kindness and gentleness where harshness once lived. Strengthen our self-control when we are tempted. Teach us to abide in Christ and to cooperate with Your work in our hearts. Use wise and faithful believers to encourage and sharpen us, and help us welcome correction with humility. May our lives reflect not just what we can do for You, but who we are becoming in You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

04/02/2025

04/02/2025

This my introductory podcast to the video posted regarding my brother, Mark’s Memorial which I posted a few minutes ago.

04/02/2025

This was an outstanding piece done in honor of my brother Mark for his memorial Service in 2020.

03/06/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/18bWLfQTmF/?mibextid=wwXIfr

11/15/2024

My Beautiful Granddaughter, Tessa!

10/14/2024

Day 287: A Devotional for the Love of God!

22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” 24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”
25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”
27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” 28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” 30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. Mark 8:22-30.

If you asked your friends, “what do people think about me?” Remember that Jesus asked, “Who do people say I am?” We’re only asking about what people think about you (me)! Will people like you? Will they think you are a good person? Or, will they think badly of you and think you lack empathy and compassion? Fortunately, no one expects any of us to save all humanity, but there is an expectation that each of us will be kind, considerate, compassionate, and at the very least honest and nice.

When Jesus asked his question, he was assessing the feelings towards him by the people he had interacted with, and then to see what the disciples thought. He was not asking because he wanted the recognition or accolades. He wanted to make a point that he was more than just another human, trying to help the underdogs and convince people to be nice to each other. So, Friends: we need your help: I have heard of and will soon see first hand, the devastation from my retirement community in Sarasota Florida as well as many, many more! I've donated to help the cause. I must give every thing I can to the people in my community: the Winds of St. Armonds North, it is a dire situation. I know this information will probably not reach any politicians from any party, but if you have any influence on any political campaign: please ask them to share this message! But we are desperate. I have 4 books that I have written: the cover of theLeadership is shown here! I am willing to give 75% of the profits from this book to UMCOR the (United Methodist Committee on Relief)! I have personally taken on some debt to bring these devotionals into existence and have signed a contract with Barnes and Noble to sell them in B & N affiliated stores around the world! So, I have maybe another 26 + years left to my life! 🙂 (if the world is lucky enough wink 😜) Please help me get the word out! If you Go to the Barnes and Noble or the Amazon Website: you can find my books-- I am offering the same benefit for poverty wherever it exists, disaster relief, or any other worthy cause! Plus there are 4 more books from the 2024 series of devotionals, and my book on Leadership.

Last night I had a dream that millions of books sold and these books became homes! In the background Cat Stevens song Peace Train was playing.

My Prayer: Gracious God, Savior Jesus, HELP MAKE IT HAPPEN! PLEASE! WE ASK THIS IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST! AMEN!

10/13/2024

Day 286: A Devotional for the Love of God!

14 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.15 “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”
16 They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.” 17 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
“Twelve,” they replied. 20 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.” 21 He said to them, “Do you still not understand?” Mark 8: 14-21.

I have been reading about people who want a new American Revolution. They seem to think they are on the right side of history. Many say they are doing this on behalf of Jesus and Christians ever. I am certain that none of these people have any idea what Jesus would want us to do. I also cannot believe that they are driven by the Gospels. Jesus was adamant about those who want to save their lives will surely lose it. And that as we do to the most vulnerable of our society, we do to him. And finally, I am 100% positive that Jesus would not want anyone to consider themselves his disciple if they can only think of amassing incredible wealth that they refuse to freely share with those in need.

Have you ever asked yourself why people hate taxes? This is not a trick question! And you know the answer. People hate to pay taxes because they do not like sharing what they feel is rightfully earned and they want to keeps as much of what they feel is rightfully theirs. Now ask yourself, why did people hate tables during the days of the Roman Empire? Their reason was different than what ours is today. Every conquering society, grew at the expense of the conquered people. Many people who lived around the time of Jesus’s ministry, had to give so much of their earned income that they had extreme difficulty just feeding their families. People had to pay taxes first, and they were required to pay a set amount, which was the same for the rich and the poor. No one was exempt.

If you did not pay your taxes you were arrested and put in prison. You stayed in prison until you paid the taxes you owed. Today, in the United States of America, the people who pay the largest percentage of taxes are those that make the most income. Those who pay no taxes make so little money that to ask them to pay would not leave anyway for them to survive. Everyone in between the extremes pay taxes must pay a higher percentage, based on the amount of their income. The extremely rich often tell us that taxes redistribute wealth and that is socialistic. But why, in a free society, should anyone have to pay taxes. It’s actually a simple idea. Selfishness is the only cause for anyone to be required to pay taxes. Jesus tells us to share, because we should always act towards others in a way that demonstrates our love of God! The best way to show our love is to the best of our ability, make sure others have what they need! I times of plenty, help those who are in need. There may be a time when you will have difficulty surviving on what you have, and if you did not help others in need when you had more than enough, why would anyone want to help you? The worst outcome of all is when people helped you during your time of great need and you decide that you will not help them when you are able and they are in need. We do not fail to help those who helped us, we choose to not return the favor! We choose to be ungrateful!

My Prayer: Gracious God of Creation, we owe you everything! The Doxology we Christians have learned to sing should be all the evidence we need. “Praise God from whom all blessing flow. Prussia him all creatures here below. Praise him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father Son and Holy Ghost!” And this hymn, we often sing as a response to our offering: “We give thee but thine own, whate'er the gift may be; all that we have is thine alone, a trust, O Lord, from thee.” Taxes would not be required if all people would follow these words! AMEN?

10/12/2024

Day 285: A Devotional for the Love of God!

8 During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 2 “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”
4 His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”
5 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied.
6 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. 7 They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. 8 The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.9 About four thousand were present. After he had sent them away, 10 he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.
11 The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. 12 He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.” 13 Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side. Mark 8:1-13.

I don’t know about you, but I wish I had a dollar for every person I’ve personally heard who’s said, I would believe in God and/or I would accept Jesus if I only saw a sign that told me they are real. This proves not so much about God’s failure to provide a sign, but it certainly is evidence that most Christians have done more to drive people away from God and our Savior Jesus Christ, than we’ve done to provide an example of what God’s Love is really like. If you read through the first 5 books of the Old testament you see a constant search for who and what God is! These are not totally understood by the most Godly of the ancient writers and heroes discussed in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. For some reason, many modern Christians get a picture of God as an Old Man sitting on a cloud, reaching down to touch all of mankind. This is not based on anything stated in those first 5 books listed above or anything written in the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, or any of the Epistles. The interpretation of God, Jesus, and the relationship between them by Michelangelo on this Sistine Chapel ceiling, which is truly a beautiful piece of Artwork, isn’t the conclusion made by Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, Moses, Saul, Solomon, David, or Jesus who was God Incarnate.

When we consider the impossibility of the existence of Life on earth in the first place, and the energy that we can feel which exists between human beings, that is proof enough that something beyond the physical realm exists. Science continues to provide evidence of so much that exists that cannot be accounted for by the simple things we can sense with our physical senses. Spirituality has been given a very negative connotation by those would deny that God is beyond the physical world! This was not the conclusion Jesus set before us! In fact, it is the only sin that is unforgivable. Denying that the Holy Spirit is not real, can and does change lives, create life, and that it is within each human being, that is true folly.

Far more so than questioning physical impacts of thousands of ideas that are proposed by scientific inquiry, questioning the impact of the Spiritual part of our World is preventing us from making progress in Science. Rather than saying, “that is not possible, that doesn’t make sense!” We should be asking “how is this possible? Let us remember how we’ve leaned in the past. To get to what we know today, we have applied our understanding of how things work until it didn’t work anymore. And then as we gained more knowledge and understanding of how things are, we changed the explanation of our observations. This has continued throughout the ages. By stating that our spirituality is not real is keeping us from understanding the connections that are still to be discovered.

My Prayer: Gracious God forgive us for arguing over things we truly know nothing about. It’s folly to do so, but we mere humans too often think we know far more than we can possibly know. We too often refuse to be still and get to know you! My heart breaks for the people who do not know you and the Love you offer without any conditions. But you are calling us to “Be still…And we will know you!” I thank you for reaching out to me, comforting me, and reminding me-your message to us all is a message of 1 word, “LOVE ❤️!” AMEN!