The Past Inspires A New Tomorrow



Godfather of Soul



Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. – Hebrews 13:7-8





Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 8-10; Hebrews 13







As a kid I remember hearing this verse all the time:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. - Hebrews 13:8

But never was it presented to me in the context of the verse that comes before it; remembering our leaders.


Ever since I was a little boy I was inspired by the lives of great people. One of the first books that I ever chose to read was a biography about Booker T. Washington. As I grew up, I read biographies or autobiographies about many other figures (Fredrick Douglass, Gandhi, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr.) but I never knew that I was doing what the Bible told me to do.

 We should learn from the successes and mistakes of those who came before us. It is only in looking back that we can see their humanity; and when we see them for who they really were we can see that we too are capable of greatness. 

 No matter how unique your dream or vision may seem there is someone who has done something similar before. If your goal is to bring about peaceful change, some of the folks above did that. Maybe your goal is to make music that the world has never heard before; James Brown did that. Sure these folks who came before may not have done exactly what you are trying to do, but there are always common frames of thought that link pioneers of any and every field.

If you don’t have a mentor here to guide you in the flesh, you will be able to find one written in the pages stored in your local library or on the internet.

 There is nothing new under the sun. That is a truth that is comforting for the dreamer in me.