WSSN Stories

By Mildred D. Henry

In this year of unprecedented politics, there are those who would tell me how I should think and feel as an African-American. I ask, if the African-American experience is so bad, what have you personally done to alleviate the situation? What is your personal experience with the African-American community? I have a few personal experiences I would share.

• On a visit to Little Rock, Arkansas, shortly after Bill Clinton was elected president, I personally met with key administrators of his transition team decision-makers, which were African-American. African-Americans have been employed in his administrations throughout Bill Clinton’s political career.
• President Clinton appointed Rodney Slater U.S. Secretary of Transportation. Rodney is an African-American married to the daughter of my schoolmate, Henry Wilkins III, who attended all-Black Merrill High School in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
• Hillary Clinton worked with the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) which was founded by African-American Marion Wright Edelman in 1973. CDF is the leading nonprofit advocacy organization in the United States for children’s rights. A leading coalition is the Black Community Crusade for Children.
• In 1968, when Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated, Hillary Clinton worked with the African-American student organization at Wellesley College to organize a two day strike.
• On October 16, 2016, while visiting the Museum of Black History and Culture at the historically Black AM&N College/University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, I met an art major graduate who is currently employed as an archivist in the Clinton administration. This young lady is responsible for preserving artifacts, and making restorations, such as she did on the broken nose of President George Washington’s face. She is employed to also be responsible for archiving memorabilia, such as Hillary Clinton’s wardrobe. I have found African-Americans involved at all levels of the Clinton’s experience.

I could go on and on. If my African American experience is as bad as you purport, you have not walked in my shoes, and if you provided no jobs or shoes for my feet, you cannot talk to me, or for me.   Sorry, “I can’t hear what you say for seeing what you do”.

On Tuesday November 8, I will cast my vote for proven experience.

By Michael H. Cottman, Urban News Service

Negest Dawit, a savvy businesswoman from Ethiopia, steered her 1998 Mercedes Benz past a vacant building on 9th Street near downtown Washington, D.C. and gazed into her future.

“I looked at the building and said ‘This will be my store,’” Dawit told Urban News Service.

That was 10 years ago. Today, Dawit — affectionately called TG — owns a cigar store. TG Cigar Lounge is at 1118 9th Street, NW.

But her journey from Ethiopia to entrepreneurship was not easy.

She moved from that East African nation to Canada in 1996 and worked as a housekeeper. That job paid the bills, she said, but not one she wanted for long.

“I only had $50 when I got to Canada,” she said. “My mother gave me the money.” Dawit sat in her modest apartment, talked to her sister, and, during meals, discussed her future.

In 2000, Dawit packed her bags and moved to Washington, D.C. seeking better opportunities. She spent four years at an Ethiopian restaurant on U Street.

Even as she waited tables there, she planned her next move, next job, and next challenge.

“It was very hard moving here,” she said. “I had to learn the streets, the Metro, driving. It was a lot to learn. I moved here and started from scratch.” 

And there also was the language: Dawit learned English at school in Ethiopia and speaks it well. But her thick accent reveals her African heritage.

Dawit took a job at Presidential Cigars at Union Station in 2004, and it changed her life.

“They taught me everything I know about cigars,” she said. “I worked in sales, and I learned the business. And the owner encouraged me to open my own business.”

And that’s just what she did.

“I was a housekeeper, a waitress, a cigar saleswoman, and then I opened my own cigar store,” Dawit said. She now is Washington’s only female cigar store owner. 

“Customers ask if they can speak with the owner, and they are surprised when I tell them I’m the owner,” Dawit said.

Dawit opened her business in 2006 after standing inside the dusty storefront building and imagining what how her operation would look after she renovated. 

“It was formerly a T-Mobile store,” Dawit said. “It was dirty, and it needed a lot of work. But it was mine.” 

Mark Jackson, Dawit’s store manager, recalls meeting Dawit as he strolled through Presidential Cigars.

“I was checking out local cigar shops, doing research to launch my own line of cigars, ‘Blacksmoke,’ which I eventually did,” he said.

Jackson said he was immediately drawn to Dawit.

“She was absolutely beautiful and very knowledgeable about cigars,” Jackson said.

But opening her own store had its unique challenges, Dawit said. She required inventory — $30,000 to start — and needed people to vouch for her, tough things for someone just getting started. 

“They were asking me for referrals, but I didn’t have any,” Dawit said. “It was a challenge. I built relationships with sales people and wholesalers, and they helped me build my inventory, and some gave me credit.”

Dawit now has a $500,000 inventory and is arranging to buy the property, which she now leases. She has more than 3,500 customers, some of whom pack into the shop seven days a week to smoke cigars, sip Scotch, and network with other smokers.

“My customers include businessmen, politicians, and cigar club members,” Dawit said. “One third of my customers are women.”

She said the three cigar clubs that loyally meet at her store help her business flourish.

“They feel like they are at home,” she said. 

Dawit proudly points to the 2,000 cigar brands for sale inside her state-of-the-art glass-case humidors

The aroma of cigar smoke fills Dawit’s spacious location. Next to the well-stocked bar is a roomy lounge with comfortable seats and a large flat-screen TV.
While nearly 13 billion cigars were sold in America in 2015, according to the Center for Disease Control, Dawit is not the typical cigar store owner: She doesn’t smoke.

“I don’t smoke cigars, and I don’t drink,” Dawit said as she walks through her stylish venue, and cigar smoke hangs in the air. “But I do offer my customers a great deal of knowledge about cigars.”

Dawit is friendly, attractive and formidable. She has a sly smile, long black hair that flows over her shoulders, and a sultry accent that hints of mystery.

“TG’s gift is certainly her personality,” said Jackson. “She hugs people, shakes hands, it’s a genuine passion for her business and it brings folks back.” 

Dawit agreed.

“I haven’t had a vacation in 10 years,” she said. “I work seven days a week; I’m always here.”

Dawit says her store also offers a full-service tobacco shop with house-blended tobaccos, cigar lighters, novel ashtrays, vaporizers and hookah pipes. 

And she drives to work in her 2017 Range Rover.

“I know everything there is to know about cigars,” Dawit said. “I can smell cigars, roll them, merchandise them, and sell them. I just don’t smoke them.”

By Frank Kineavy 

Black and Hispanic minors in New Jersey are far more likely to be prosecuted as adults than those in other groups, according to a new analysis of court records by WNYC. Further, far more Black and Hispanic youths are given adult sentences or, in some cases, sent to adult prisons.

Over the past five years, state prosecutors were asked to try 1,251 minors as adults. According to the data, 87.6 percent of those minors were Black or Hispanic.

Roughly half — 692 — of those requests were granted, and those minors were all tried as adults. Of those minors, 87.4 percent were Black or Hispanic.

According to the U.S. Census’ QuickFacts, New Jersey is 56.2 percent white, 14.8 percent Black, 19.7 percent Hispanic, 9.7 percent Asian, 2.1 percent two or more races and less than one percent American Indian and Native Hawaiian.

WNYC went through New Jersey prison records for everyone currently incarcerated who was a minor at the time they committed a crime and found:

“• At least 152 inmates are still in prison today for crimes they committed as kids in the past five years

• 93 percent of them are Black or Latino

• The most common crime they committed was robbery

• 20 percent of them have sentences of 10 or more years

• 2 are female inmates”

If a minor is convicted as an adult, they are subjected to adult sentences, which are longer than juvenile sentences. Adult sentences also give the minor a permanent record, rather than juvenile records that usually end up sealed. The minors are also sent to adult prisons. A minor is only tried as an adult if a prosecutor makes a special request, and then the judge either accepts or denies that request.

The study also showed that some county prosecutors are more likely than others to make special requests, and some counties are more likely to accept these requests for Black minors to be tried as adults compared to their white counterparts. Hunterdon County’s prosecutor has not requested to have a minor tried as an adult in the last five years, and their minor population is 80 percent white.

“Controlling for nature of offense, controlling for family background, controlling for educational history — all of the things that go into a prosecutor’s decision, there are still disparities, significant disparities, that cannot be explained by anything other than race,” says Laura Cohen, the director of the Criminal and Youth Justice Clinic at Rutgers Law School.

The data from New Jersey matches up with trends nationally, as an estimated 60 percent of those under 18 serving life sentences without parole are Black.

Psychological research also supports these statistics. In 2014, the American Psychological Association published a study, “The Essence of Innocence: Consequences of Dehumanizing Black Children.” The study concluded that Black children are less likely to be seen as children or “childlike” than white children:

“We find converging evidence that Black boys are seen as older and less innocent and that they prompt a less essential conception of childhood than do their White same-age peers. Further, our findings demonstrate that the Black/ape association predicted actual racial disparities in police violence toward children. These data represent the first attitude/behavior matching of its kind in a policing context. Taken together, this research suggests that dehumanization is a uniquely dangerous intergroup attitude, that intergroup perception of children is underexplored, and that both topics should be research priorities.”

According to the study’s authors, white children are more often perceived as innocent than Black children.

“The evidence shows that perceptions of the essential nature of children can be affected by race, and for Black children, this can mean they lose the protection afforded by assumed childhood innocence well before they become adults,” said co-author Matthew Jackson, PhD, of the University of California, Los Angeles. “With the average age overestimation for Black boys exceeding four-and-a-half years, in some cases, Black children may be viewed as adults when they are just 13 years old.”

“Children in most societies are considered to be in a distinct group with characteristics such as innocence and the need for protection. Our research found that Black boys can be seen as responsible for their actions at an age when white boys still benefit from the assumption that children are essentially innocent,” noted author Phillip Atiba Goff, PhD, also from UCLA.

In March of 2016 New Jersey signed into law that minors who are tried as adults will no longer be sent directly to adult prisons until they are the appropriate age. However, this law is not retroactive, meaning minors already serving sentences in adult prisons will not be moved to a juvenile facility.

Read more @ DiversityInc.com

DCOFFXTOP

By Lue Dowdy

We like the cars, the cars that go boom with a dope beat that is! This week producer DCOFFXTOP is What It Do! The beat is everything some artist would say. It sets the stage for the right lyrics to come forth; a mixture of the right beat and lyrics can make for a hit record.

Born right here in San Bernardino, CA, DCOFFXTOP first started rapping around 2008/2009 in a home-based recording studio (now Defunct Blaqhouse ENT). As he mastered his craft of rapping over industry beats, he ventured into making his own beats, full blown production.         Making major moves he’s now currently a member of J.A.N.K MOBB, who’s acronym stands for, Just Aktive No Kuts Money Over Banging Boundaries. Just recently he attended the art institute where he majored in Music Arts.

Still mastering his craft, this producer is an active member of the j.a.n.k mobb(jme). The team has utilized his beats and has set the stage on fire with their performances. His beats are featured on many artists’ compilations and singles being distributed on the Hip-hop circuit. Make sure you check out this talented King. Hit him up for your next slapper.

Until next week L’zzzzzz!

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

You got to be kidding right? Even little children understand that there are some things you had better get right and understand to be true, or you can get yourself into big trouble. There are some things you had better get right if you’re going to be rightly related to God, both in this life and in the life to come. To know God and to choose to think, act, or behave outside of the Word, Will, and Way of God is very dangerous. The challenge; getting it right simply means getting right with God. Listen, you are old enough to know right from wrong. You are old enough to learn, old enough to love, old enough to really live. If you could ask the Lord how to make the rest of your life the best of your life, what do you think He would say? I don’t think we have to wonder, I think I know. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” [Mt. 6:33] I think we can summarize what Jesus said here in three words: “First things first!”

Now I know that sounds simple, but I want to tell you that if you, beginning today, would consciously, continuously, constantly, and consistently put first things first, it would absolutely transform your life. Everything rises and falls right here. You see, if your priorities are not in order, your life will not be in order. It will be all wrong. Therefore, it is imperative that you prioritize your life. And the beauty of it all is that you don’t have to pray about what your number one priority in life ought to be. You don’t have to think about it. You don’t have to discuss it. You don’t have to look for it. You just have to do it. Because Jesus has already told us what our first priority ought to be, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God.” Your problem is that there is a part of you that is still under bondage to sin! The old nature, that is to be reckoned dead indeed unto sin, is in fact alive and well! Tell me I’m wrong….. You can’t eat, you can barely sleep. You have new acquaintances, Jimmy Bean, Johnny Walker Red and his cousin Johnny Walker Black. Ronnie Bacardi; Mr. Vodka & Orange. Miller, Buddy Weiser. Mic E Lobe or maybe Dr. Gin & Tonic. Or how about Mary J Juana, Prozac, Valium and a host of other friends that help you to temporarily escape from the reality of your pain. The problem is when you sober up you are still broken, battered, bruised and bent over, that’s why you “Kant get right!

As the Spirit gives utterance, there is something that you have experienced in your past that continues to haunt you in your present, “a spirit of infirmity” that has plagued your life for all of these years. You have fallen and this spirit has convinced you that you can’t get up. You are the victim of past abuse and you are still hurting because the sores in your spirit have become the scabs in your soul. You are now a walking zombie. There’s an outward appearance that says “I’m alive but on the inside I’m dead, battered and beaten by this life’s experiences and disappointments”. You are so demoralized by living a life and you continue to add to your own suffering by the choices that you make. No wonder you “Kant get right!” You can no longer even see or think straight. Because this spirit has affected and infected your thinking concerning the situation you find that you are so broken in your soul and bent over from the burden of the whole matter that you can’t even look up.

I want you to know that there’s always going to be a spirit that will come around you to usher your thinking into a situation. But thank God for Jesus. DO YOU KNOW HIM? He supplies strength for the weak. He’s available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He strengthens and sustains. He guards and He guides. He heals the sick and cleans the lepers. He forgives sinners. He delivers the captives. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. And He beautifies the meager. He’s able to bring you out! God has a prescription for your “Kant get right! Call Him up and tell him what you want…..

Milner Barbershop- Started by Frank Milner in 1911

By Angela M. Coggs

On Saturday, October 8, 2016 a group of students from the San Bernardino City Unified School District attended the Annual

Milner Barbershop- Actual equipment used in 1911

Rededication event at Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park in Earlimart, California from 10 a.m.to 4 p.m. Established in 1908, Allensworth was the first town in California to be founded, financed, governed and populated by blacks.

The rededication ceremony is an opportunity for park users and supporters to renew their commitment to the park and its symbolic representation of African American self-determination. Events scheduled throughout the year bring the town to life and inspire a new interest in returning Allensworth to its glory days as a vibrant, successful town.

This was the first trip to Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park for this group of chaperones, parents, and students from San Bernardino. “It was an enriching experience. One which I intend to repeat and share.” said Katella Coggs, one of the chaperones. “It was gratifying to see how much the youth absorbed the information. It illustrated how much this knowledge is craved and needed.”

The day consisted of tours given by docents (a person who is a knowledgeable guide, especially one who conducts visitors through a museum/historical site and delivers a commentary on the exhibitions), puppets shows, and square dancing, and entertainment, food and vendor booths. The short documentary about the town played on a loop in one of the old barns on the site.      

“I never heard of Allensworth until today,” said Yonathan Habtemariam, 10^th grade student at Cajon High School. “It was very interesting to hear the docents tell the history of the town and how people continue to preserve the history of this ethnically diverse contribution made in the development of California. My favorite parts were the barbershop and learning the true story about the Buffalo Soldiers.”                                

Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park, located 30 miles north of Bakersfield, is a modest but growing assemblage of restored and reconstructed buildings today. A schoolhouse, a Baptist

Allensworth’s Schoolhouse- In 1912, Allensworth became California’s first African American School District.

church, businesses, a hotel, a library, and various other structures symbolize the rebirth of one man’s dream of an independent, democratic town where African Americans could live in control of their own destiny. Allensworth traveled throughout the eastern and mid-western stated lecturing and promoting Booker T. Washington’s philosophy of African American self-reliance.

Colonel Allen Allensworth and Professor William Payne both firmly believed that, through education and hard work, African Americans could rise above the effects of slavery, attain greater social stature, and more fully realize their potential as a people. They had a mutual desire to live in an environment where African Americans could live free from discrimination, merge their values with those of other pioneers of like mind to establish an independent, self-sufficient colony.

“(I had a) wonderful day learning about our rich and prosperous history of resilience, survival, and entrepreneurialism at Allensworth State Historic Park. We enjoyed live music, dancing and food. We supported black businesses and toured historical sites,” said Trimonisha Singer. “Amazing is an understatement. I am so thankful to be able to share it with our youth.”

Before heading out to Allensworth, the students were given a brief history of Colonel Allen Allensworth and the town that was named in his honor. The trip was a success and the youth were exposed to history that is not taught in school or mentioned in text books. African-American parents, grandparent, and “the village” must be responsible and teach their children about their history. The group looks forward to returning to Allensworth for other events in the future. It certainly takes a village to raise future generations to come.

Allenstown- Water Company Documents

Buffalo Solider Uniform

Schoolhouse Flag- This old flag only has 48 stars on it.

The students getting a lesson from a docent on the history of the Buffalo Soliders.

Angela Coggs

By Angela M. Coggs

On Saturday, October 15, 2016 over 350,000 residents converged on Crenshaw Boulevard for Los Angeles’ largest street festival and the largest gathering of African American Businesses in the country- Taste of Soul. Bakewell Media hosted the 11^th Annual Taste of Soul Food and Family Festival 2016 from 10:00am to 7:00pm in Los Angeles, California. The event took place on Crenshaw Blvd. between Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Rodeo.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris, U.S. Senator Isadore Hall III, and Taste of Soul Founder Danny Bakewell

This year’s festival themed: “It’s A Family Affair” has become the 11th in what is now known as a destination event for all of not only the city of Los Angeles but Los Angeles County and surrounding communities. It was attended by over 350,000 men, women, students, children, celebrities and dignitaries from all over Southern California and across the United States, including a few residents from Riverside County.

“I had a great time. Everyone was so cool,” said LaToya Jones, teacher in the Riverside Unified School District for the past 15 years. This was her second time attending the Taste of Soul with her husband David. “I ABSOLUTELY loved Jazmine Sullivan’s performance. She is a true beauty with an incomparable voice and humble heart. The KJLH DJ had the crowd moving. The food was scrumptious. I can’t wait until next year.”

The event was a success. Free concerts took place on three major stages (KJLH, The Wave, and McDonalds). This year’s TOS was bigger and better than ever. With radio partners KJLH and 94.7 The Wave pulling together first class entertainment. KJLH featured contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, and R&B. Hosted by KJLH radio personality DJ Mal-Ski. This year, KJLH 102.3 radio station celebrated TOS’s eleventh anniversary by bringing back some local talent and artists such as MAJOR, Guordan Banks, 112, Mike “Mike Philly” Phillips, and Jazmine Sullivan. The KJLH music stage was sponsored by Buffalo Wild Wings.

94.7 The WAVE, whose music stage is sponsored by Budweiser this year, has been a media partner and radio sponsor with the Taste of Soul Festival since 2008.This year, the radio station took music lovers back to some of the greatest hits from artists including Chosen Recovery Gospel Group, On Tour, Tom Browne, Troop and War.

Mike Philly

The gospel stage which in year two was only a small stage in front of the Sentinel offices, has now has grown to feature The McDonalds Gospel Fest on the Brenda Marsh Mitchell Gospel Stage. The 2016 Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour at Taste of Soul featured every genre within the gospel music industry: contemporary, traditional, inspirational, instrumental, hip-hop, and comedy. Hosted by syndicated radio personality Lonnie Hunter, attendees experienced

Jazmine Sullivan- Incomparable Vocalist

renowned gospel artists Donald Lawrence, Marvin Sapp, Karen Clark-Sheard, Charles Jenkins, Jonathan McReynolds, Canton Jones, and Doug Williams. Also, acclaimed comedian, Small Fire provided entertainment for the entire family and community to enjoy.

There were various food and non-food vendors in attendance. Some of the notable food vendors included (African) Cocoa & Pitta Catering and Rafikiz Foodz, (American) Da Mudd Duck and Dipping Chicken, (BBQ) Big Mama’s Succulent & Savory BBQ, Bludso’s BBQ, Dulan’s, Gettch Grubb On, Not Your Mama’s Kitchen and Shabazz Good Food, (Creole & Jamaican) L.A. Jerk Shack and Smhokin Pot, and (Desserts & Treats) Sharon’s Heavenly Cobblers, Coco’s Lip Smacking Cupcakes, and Fun Time Kettle Corn.

There was plenty of love and no incidents were reported. This event has grown from having 35,000 in 2005 people in attendance during the first year to have over 350,000 in 2016. Over 350,000 African Americans gathered in the Black Community to celebrate, to share in a day of unity, love and togetherness.

Last year, Kamala Harris, currently California Attorney General now running for the United States Senate, attended the Taste of Soul in 2015. “It’s one of the most enjoyable things I do all year. Where else can you have all of the community turn out, family… it’s about love of community, supporting our local businesses. It is really one of the most important events in all of Los Angeles.”

It’s been called Los Angeles’s largest street festival for good reason. Thousands of attendees arrive every year to indulge in the “soulful.” From soul food to soul music, it’s hard not to have a great time. It’s a local gem that will be back again next year and the people are already looking forward to it.

Men’s Purpose Tank available online now. Photo by Naomi K. Bonman

RIVERSIDE, CA- Defining and bridging the gap between entertainment and socially consciousness news for millennials of color, veteran journalist Naomi K. Bonman decided that to launch a new platform under her entertainment platform Sophisticated Relations. 

Purposely Awakened was officially launched in Summer 2016 with the sole purpose of making millennials more aware of their culture, history, and business perspectives because in order for change to be created, you first have to know who you are, where you come from, and where you are going. When you know where you’re going, then you know your purpose and are ‘Purposely Awakened’. 

Just has Sophisticated Relations, Purposely Awakened started as a media site and Instagram page for people to go to and receive news and information on the things that really matter and makes a benefit in life. Now the site is expanding and offers clothing and accessories that promote brand identity and culture awareness.

To check out the store and to make a purchase, please visit www.purposelyawakened.com/shop. Also be sure to follow them on Instagram @PurposelyAwakened_, Twitter @PurposelyAwake_, and Facebook: PurposelyAwakenedMovement.

Publisher’s Commentary by Wallace J. Allen

If you have seen any of the TV commercials or print ads regarding the Propositions, you are probably as confused as they apparently want you to be. Leading up to a forum, members of San Bernardino’s North-West PAC will join me on the “Empire Talks Back” (ETB) radio program as my guests to discuss and clarify the 17 Propositions that are on the California State Ballot. We discussed 51 thru 56 last Sunday… That program can be seen at this link   www.ustream.tv/recorded/92095530  

We will discuss Propositions 57 thru 62 this Sunday Morning on the “ETB” radio broadcast. We will review props 63 thru 67 the following Sunday, October 23^rd. The NWPAC is hosting a forum on Saturday October 29^th to review all 17 propositions as well as the measures on the San Bernardino City ballot. I will provide actual recommendations on the Sunday October 30^th ETB program. Those recommendations will also be published in the November 3rd edition of WssNews.

ETB is broadcast on KCAA 1050-AM Radio each Sunday Morning at 10:00 with live stream video via www.kcaaradio.com and can be heard directly on your phone by dialing 832-909-1050.

The North-West PAC is presenting the forum to discuss the Propositions and San Bernardino Measures on Saturday October 29^th at 2050 North Mt Vernon Ave. Refreshments will be served at the forum which begins at 9am.

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

Listen, you can’t do evil and expect good to come to you. God gives principles in Scripture to serve as warnings and as an encouragement. In [Galatians 6:7], His Word states, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows this he will also reap.” This principle applies to everyone, both Christians and non-Christians. This principle is irrevocable; there is no escape, either for the believer or for the unbeliever. It is a law of life. You cannot sow disobedience to God and expect to reap His blessing. “Behind every action is a reaction.” Every choice has a consequence. If you make wise, godly decisions, you can expect God to reward you for your faithfulness. If you make rash or sinful choices, you can anticipate negative consequences. “Do not be deceived,” introduces an undeniable truth. God may not be “treated with contempt,” or “outwitted.” Don’t think that you “can ignore the commands God has given and go [your] own way with impunity.” Don’t be fooled about this! Actions and consequences are inseparable; if you sow corn, you will not reap wheat. This is a truism of agriculture. What you plant is what you will harvest. What you do will determine what you will become and where you go. What you put in is what you will get out. In the end, over the long haul, justice is served; we all get what we deserve.

When we disobey God, the message we convey is that His Word is not important to us; we’ll simply do what we want to do regardless of what His Word says concerning our choices. These kind of evil tendencies really create an environment God can no longer operate into our lives. We literally kick Him out of our life, so that we can do what we want to do. But thank Jesus that God is so loving that He always grants us an opportunity to confess and receive cleansing. The Scripture is true, “Be sure your sins will find you out.” The Bible teaches that we cannot hide our iniquities. Saul sowed the seeds of rebellion and reaped the crop of judgment. How true are the words of Job, “Those who plow iniquity and sow trouble, reap the same.” God’s judgment is slow, but it is sure, and it is always SAD!

But when you do what is right, you bring blessings on yourself, blessings to others and you are a blessing to God. I tell you, if you’re not walking carefully, you’re living dangerously! You’re adrift without rudder or power in dangerous waters! You’re wandering aimlessly in a minefield! Christ’s admonitions to the seven churches of Asia Minor are filled with urgent warnings to repent and turn away from practices that conflict with God’s will [Revelation 2 and 3]. I tell you, repentance involves a state of mind, a disposition. More than a one-time act, it is a life of obedience that involves continual changes—spiritual growth—and a continuous desire to do the will of God, not merely for the purpose of reaping the rewards of obedience, but because it is right in the sight of God. “Therefore, having these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” [2 Corinthians 7:2]. God’s desire is to bring all to repentance and grant us the gift of salvation. As long as we yearn for His loving embrace, even if we’ve temporarily strayed from Him, He is always there for us, always ready to receive us back into full fellowship with Him.

What should you do?

If you have come to a knowledge of the truth—knowledge of God’s law; of His way of life, particularly as expressed through His Ten Commandments; of His provisions for salvation through Jesus Christ, who offered Himself for the sins of the world; of the resurrection of the dead; of the Kingdom of God and reward of the saved—and if you truly believe the good news of Christ and His Kingdom, then Peter’s timeless words are for you: “Repent, and…be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” [Acts 2:38].

If you are one who previously came to a knowledge of the truth, responded in repentance and baptism, and received the gift of the Holy Spirit, but have since drifted away from God, perhaps returning to old habits or allowing despondency and doubt to overwhelm you, then God’s Word has a message for you, as well: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” [1 John 1:9].

Whether you are new to the faith or are a “backslidden” Christian, God desires to receive you into the loving fellowship of His family. The next step is up to you!