Fellow citizens of the world, Brothers and Sisters in Christ, All Hail,

I thank God for another opportunity to bring to you a subject of great importance. We must, without any reasonable doubt—Have a Resolute (Made Up) Mind.

We live in a day and time where even truth is in doubt. There is a right way to live. There is a wrong way to live. There is plenty of room for diversity and individuality, but some boundaries are necessary. The “you can do whatever you want to do” principle has its limits. Father Hurley believed in this principle, but placed it within the boundaries of moral and spiritual law. For instance, you cannot have an affair with another person’s spouse just because you want to. Can you become a millionaire? Yes. You can do whatever you want to do. Can you become a millionaire by robbing a bank? Yes, but because this is an immoral act, your millionaire status will ultimately fail you. Whereas, if you started a legitimate business, and build it up by never taking advantage of customers, then your millionaire status will stand.

In order to have success we must first decide if we will be righteous or unrighteous. The prophet Elijah grew weary of the Israelites constantly wavering between the LORD and Baal. There waving was causing Israel to lose battles and resources. In First Kings 18:21 Elijah put his foot down and asked the people “”How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.” The people of our time, if asked the same question, would give the same answer—silence.

Have a resolute mind. Know what it is you believe, and live by it. If you are a child of God, figure out what that means and live accordingly, to the best of your ability. If you are a good person, be a good person. Don’t be nice today, and cruel tomorrow. Live a consistent life.

Today is my 26^th birthday. I thank God for allowing me to see another year. I made a choice, sometime ago, to be a good hearted person. This has not always been easy. Even on my job, my crew and fellow managers, at times, try to take advantage of my good nature. But I have a made up mind. Being good natured, kindhearted, lovable, understanding, forgiving, gracious, and self-sacrificing are essential attributes for a child of God.

One verse of the song, “Higher Ground” starts with, “I want to live above the world, though Satan’s darts at me are hurled.” What does this mean? When you seek to live by a higher standard, you leave yourself open to attack by low minded people. You must decide, right now, whether you are living right for praise and recognition, or for its own sake.

Saints, we are to live right, because it is right, not because it is popular. Love begets love. Show love even to those who do not show it in return. God sees our good works and will reward us accordingly.

I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
Reverend George Hubert Latimer-Knight
Written November 6, 2007 on 26^th birthday

Related Posts:
I’m 26 years old – Its Official – Morning Message #5
Birthday Eve & Universal Hagar’s Spiritual Church – Evening Message #2
Get a Vision: Reflecting on 25 Years of Life

Fellow citizens of the world, brothers and sisters in Christ, All Hail:

I will never forget the events of September 11, 2001. It was the beginning of my junior year at the University of Detroit Mercy. Upon entering the classroom, Ned (a fellow student) said, “Two planes crashed in New York, and more are loose.” I honestly thought he was joking. He said, “No, no, I’m serious.” By then I was sitting in my seat. We both got up at the same time, to the turn the old television on. It had bad reception, but good enough for us to see what was happening. Ned was telling the truth, unfortunately.

My mind immediately went to the temples, missions, and all the saints of the Universal Hagar’s Spiritual Church, who lived on the East coast. After that class, I went to work. When I sat down in my cubicle, I called Mme. Elizabeth Clements, my dear godmother’s sister, in New York City, and Prof. John Wiley, my godfather, in Hackensack, New Jersey. I could not get through, a strange beeping sound took the place of the normal ringing. My faith in God was still strong, but I just wanted to hear some saint’s voice from out East, to reassure me all was well, from a material standpoint.

Although I renounce the killings of the terrorist, I cannot completely disagree with their disgust of the West. Father Hurley taught us that the Western world is far behind in terms of spiritual growth. Western culture has its successes, but glorifying it is no good, without pointing out its problems. In 2004, while participating in an email discussion group, the subject of Western values came up. My response applies here, which I reprint in part.

“It may not be completely possible to narrow down the problems of society down to a particular decade, but we must admit some things are going wrong. For example, when my mother [and father were children]…growing up in Detroit people left their front doors and car doors open and things were rarely stolen. How many of us can leave our doors open with such confidence [today]? What changed? I may not know exactly what but something sure did!

“My first supervisor in the computer industry gave me some valuable computer support advice that applies to this discussion. Whenever a user came to me saying this or that does not work, he told me to ask, “Has it worked in the past?” If they said something like, “Oh yes, my printer worked fine yesterday.” Then I was to ask them, as well as myself, “What changed?”

“This Halloween one of the favorite costumes were “Pimp” costumes and “Hoe” costumes. These were made in adult and children’s sizes. And guess what—in the Metro Detroit area these costumes were sold out. When I read about this I could hear parents saying, “My daughter wants to be a Hoe for Halloween.” I could hear children in the playground saying, “What were you for Halloween Johnny?” “I was a Pimp for Halloween and my sister was a Hoe.” Am I the only one who finds something wrong with this?

“My point here is that although there was no “Golden Age”, as Dr. Koukal stated…there have been changes in society culturally speaking, some of which were not good….[S]ometimes we march forward touting progress when we are actually regressing. Sometimes when getting rid of a bad cultural paradigm we throw out the good that was in the bad, that is “throwing out the baby with the bath water”.”

As we reflect on the fifth anniversary of 9-11, let us think on our subject, “Morality in the West”. Can we really preach morality to other nations, given racism, sexism, poverty, etc. are still ramped in our society? The short answer is yes. The long answer is yes, provided we continue to work on our own problems. There is hardly anything worse than a hypocrite. The American message & mission to other nations should be, “Look, we know what it is like to suffer from moral issues and social ills. Let us work together, as a global community, to find common ground, eradicate injustice everywhere, and help each other be the greatest nations world history has ever seen.”

I pray you receive something good from these words. Peace, joy, happiness, success, health, & love are yours always.

I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
Reverend George H. Latimer-Knight
Written September 5, 2006 at age 24

Related Posts:
America’s Morality

This audio was recorded this morning, November 6, 2006, on my 25th birthday. I reflect on my life, and talk about the importance of getting a vision. I also talk about the importance of knowing your beliefs, and living by your beliefs.

Scriptural references:

Proverbs 29:18, ” Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”

Genesis 2:7, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

Quotes:

“How bare does a place look without Bibles and ministers! and what an easy prey is it to the enemy of souls! That gospel is an open vision, which holds forth Christ, which humbles the sinner and exalts the Saviour, which promotes holiness in the life and conversation: and these are precious truths to keep the soul alive, and prevent it from perishing.”—Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary (Proverbs 29:18)

“The title of the song is “At the End of the Day”; it comes from the play Les Miserables. The song is sort of morbid with phrases like, “one day less to be living…At the end of the day you’re another day colder, And the shirt on your back doesn’t keep out the chill”. Though most of us ignore the guarantee of the physical death, we must keep in mind. By this I mean, our time on earth is limited, so we must make the most out of it. We must be mindful of what we say, what we do, and where we go. We must affiliate with those who stand for something in life. We must let go of people who consistently bring us down. This is not to say, we are not to help the downtrodden. However, for example, if your so-called friends are always getting you into trouble and hindering you from advancing in life, then maybe they are not friends at all.”—Rev. George H. Latimer-Knight (from article: At the End of the Day)

Related Posts:
I’m 26 years old – Its Official – Morning Message #5
Have a Resolute (Made Up) Mind: Reflecting on 26 Years of Life
Birthday Eve & Universal Hagar’s Spiritual Church – Evening Message #2