Masterpiece Virtual Book Tour

Christianity, Spirituality, Inspirational

Date Published: September 15, 2023

Publisher: Credo House Publishers

We all must ask crucial questions about our life here on earth. Am I
experiencing life the way God, the Master Creator, designed my life to be
lived? Or am I living a lesser, devolving life of my own choosing?

We, God’s ultimate creations, can only understand our purpose in life
if we learn to see ourselves through the eyes of our Creator. This book
provides practical steps on walking with the Holy Spirit. It will transform
your soul if you follow the instructions.

Praise for Masterpiece

“This book will transform your life into the original masterpiece you
were created to be. It teaches you how to unleash the power of the Holy
Spirit so you can develop unshakeable faith and spiritual discernment when
you commit to doing the work that your spirit requires. Dr. Morris takes you
deep into self-reflection as you imagine the possibilities for your life
when you completely surrender to the Holy Spirit.”

Karen Hinds, CEO of Workplace Success Group

“If you are interested in next-level living, then you must take this
reading journey into the Holy Spirit. This book helps us understand how the
Holy Spirit shows up and works within our lives. Dr. Morris provides the
reader with keen clarity on how to reap the fruit of the Spirit in an
exceptional and timely way. This book is a spiritual gift to the
soul.”

Jen Olson, Co-Founder/Principal KGO

EXCERPT

Preface

You are one of the most valuable and precious treasures in all the universe. Yes, you! Do you understand that God created you in His own image?

“So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27

God describes you as a masterpiece: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

Ephesians 2:10

The online Merriam-Webster Dictionary states that a masterpiece is “work done with extraordinary skill; especially; a supreme intellectual or artistic achievement.” When the world envisions a masterpiece, people typically think of paintings like the Mona Lisa, created by Leonardo Da Vinci in 1506, or The Creation of Adam, painted by Michelangelo in 1508. Both are timeless pieces of exquisite art.

However, You are God’s unique masterpiece, more valuable, irreplaceable, and more beautiful than anything else the world has ever seen or known. Your value exceeds human ability to calculate.

We, God’s ultimate creations, can understand our purpose in life only, if we learn to see ourselves through the eyes of our Creator. Our lives are not merely timelines for the unfolding and development of our physical, emotional, social, and mental facets, although these components are crucial to our experience. Life is also, and primarily, a spiritual journey. Our physical bodies will die, but our souls will live on through eternity, with or without God. We are so precious that God sacrificed His Son to die for you and for me, so that we can finally thrive in our eternal relationship with Him here on earth, as it will be in heaven.

We all must ask crucial questions about life here on earth. Am I experiencing life the way God, my Master Creator, designed my life to be lived? Am I evolving and growing according to the Master’s design for me? Or, am I living a lesser, devolving life of my own choosing?

This book was written for people like you; men and women, young and old, who have a deep soul yearning for something more meaningful in their lives. But before we can live in the fullness of our purpose, something deep inside of us must change. Masterpiece was written to help people embrace their spiritual DNA and walk in their authentic spiritual selves, with the same intimacy Adam and Eve enjoyed with God in the garden before the fall.

“You saw me before I was born.

Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out

before a single day had passed.” Psalm 139:16

God has a unique, eternal purpose for your life. You are a one-of-a-kind creation. This book will help you learn how to listen for and discern the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit. It was written to guide you into the arms of the Holy Spirit, in part by teaching you practical steps I have gleaned over the course of my life (I also cull principles from the lives of various Bible characters, as well as relying heavily on what scripture itself has to say). I dearly wish someone would have taught me these helpful tools when I was young.

Was my life perfect? Absolutely not. Have I enjoyed my life? I can truthfully say that, yes, I have. When I look back I laugh and smile, for much of my journey has been fun and downright joyful. However, my life has not always been easy, or all fun and games.

I was born into poverty to two of the most loving, caring, and yet dysfunctional parents you could ever imagine. I wasn’t aware of the Holy Spirit as a child, but God had His hand on my life. He allowed me to serve 25 years as a deacon and chairman of the board in diverse, Spirit-filled congregations in Skokie, Illinois; Northville, Michigan; Princeton, New Jersey; and Milford, Connecticut. I was also able to integrate my faith and spiritual values for over 35 years working in major corporations as life/health underwriter, supervisor, field underwriting manager, director, and vice president in companies such as Allstate Insurance Company, Ernst & Young, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Merck & Company, Trinity Health, and Yale New Haven Health.

The following was written on September 30, 2021, by Kevin Myatt, Senior Vice President (SVP) of Human Resources in the company-wide announcement regarding my retirement from Yale New Haven Health:

“A passionate advocate for lifelong learning and personal development, Jay has a master’s degree in organizational development, a doctoral degree in instructional management, and a juris doctorate degree. While these credentials are impressive and a well-deserved source of pride, we mostly know Jay as a gentle, thoughtful, and humble person. He is a man of great faith, one who is generous and caring, a role model and mentor to many, and someone known to take personal interest in the disenfranchised in our community. He makes a difference on many levels.”

My hope is that Masterpiece will help you to:

Recognize the Person and role of the Holy Spirit
Understand the vital role of the Word of God
Understand and appreciate who you are and fully use your gifts and talents
Learn how to live as your best self
Fall in love with reading the Bible
Apply the Word of God in your daily life
Walk intimately with the Holy Spirit

I pray that Masterpiece will awaken your spirit to live into the purpose God planned for you before you were born. Let this call sit in your spirit as you press toward a deeper intimacy with the Holy Spirit, and watch as He draws you into the arms of the Father through Jesus Christ.

Introduction

Saturday afternoon on August 26, 1972, in Durham, North Carolina, was a scorching, muggy 87 degrees in the shade. It was a great day to be inside, relaxing in front of an air-conditioned breeze, listening to silky jazz with friends I hadn’t seen over the summer. I was perched in a tan wicker chair, staring out of the picture window of 410 Pilot Street, Apartment A7, mindlessly playing with my nickel-plated .25-caliber pistol while drinking wine and smoking weed. It was the gun cousin Bucky had given to me before I left Allentown, Pennsylvania, as I was preparing to head back to North Carolina Central University (NCCU) for my sophomore year.

As I look back over my childhood, I can clearly see that the Holy Spirit had been right by my side (although I didn’t know it then), just as He was in apartment A7 on that unforgettable Saturday afternoon in 1972. This was two months after one of my closest friends, Dennis Blanks, had been killed the week before he was to start his dream job as a Pennsylvania State Police Officer. He had been elated after finally passing the entrance exam.

I sat alone in the dark sanctuary of St. James AME Zion Church on the night before his funeral, questioning God through my tears and agony. Why had He taken my dear friend, the big brother I never had? My heart was crushed.

Dennis had the most giving heart. Joy flowed from his soul, and I later realized he had glimpsed heaven the weekend before his death, when, on two separate occasions, he had said goodbye to his fiancée, Alice, and to me. Dennis had often joked that he wanted “his boys” to celebrate his death by partying as though there would be no tomorrow. However, I certainly didn’t feel like partying the Saturday morning of his funeral, even though I knew Dennis was rejoicing in heaven.

Classes had not started, and people were streaming in and out of the apartment throughout the day. Distracted, I didn’t realize that Little Neesee, the girlfriend of one of my roommates, was walking toward me. With the gun pointed directly at her head, I unconsciously pulled the trigger. Then I froze as dark terror choked my breath.

I was in such a rush to leave Allentown that I had totally forgotten to check and see if the gun was loaded. I just assumed it was empty.

I was wrong. Seconds later I discovered that a bullet was snugly resting in the chamber of the gun. Little Neesee was still walking toward me, unharmed.

I rose from the chair, walked outside, and stood on the balcony, struggling to comprehend what had just happened. The hot, humid air made it hard to breathe as I blindly stared into the deep blue Carolina sky, slowly recognizing that a miracle had just occurred, but too numb to comprehend the Holy Spirit’s intervening role. Something in my soul unraveled as the Spirit of God went to work, teaching me about His presence.

How the gun had failed to fire, I can’t explain. Why it happened, God’s grace.

Growing up, I was unaware of the Holy Spirit’s presence. But as I look back over my life, I clearly see His hand protecting me, just as He did in apartment A7 on that unforgettable Saturday afternoon in 1972. When I reflect on where I was then, both physically and spiritually, and where God has brought me today, there is no doubt in my mind that the Holy Spirit has hovered over my life. The event with the gun in apartment A7 on Pilot Street was a stark reminder of how fragile life can be, but also explicit evidence of God teaching me about His love and constant presence in my life.

I never told anyone this story, and even now it seems incredible. Some people will say that the gun failing to fire was luck. I firmly believe there is no such thing as luck, because God our Father oversees all of creation through to the end of time. In one instant, my life could have changed and become defined by involuntary manslaughter, but as I was then, I am still now, protected by the Spirit of God.

This is my true story and testimony about God’s love, mercy, and protection from the time of my childhood until this very day. It was written to help you discover your God-given spiritual identity and recognize that you are loved by your Creator more than you could ever imagine. This book is about relationship, not religion.

“Jesus doesn’t want to make us more religious. He wants to see us become more alive.”

Pastor Deron Spoo1

Just as with Enoch, a man who walked with God and then disappeared, as related in Genesis 5:21-24, this book is about a real and tangible relationship with our Creator. It is also about a relationship within ourselves, and an understanding of who we are in Christ and His Holy Spirit. It is about living life as it was designed by our Creator.

As His creation, you carry God’s DNA in your heart and soul. He wired you to enjoy an intimate relationship with Him as you produce the fruit of the Spirit (see chapters 11-13). Masterpiece teaches readers like you how to intimately experience God. But, how do we begin to experience God more intimately? The way I learned to draw closer to God was through continuously reading the Bible, journaling, studying real-life stories (those of biblical characters, individuals I have known, and my own), praying, serving, and spiritual reflection. These methods will empower you to clearly recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit; and trust His leadership and protection in a world that places money, pride, possessions, sensuality, hurry, and self above God.

Masterpiece teaches principles from the Word of God that are illustrated by stories from the lives of those who lived out the truth of God’s Word and were on their own journeys of transformation. More importantly, Masterpiece demonstrates the power that is transmitted through the Word of God and available to each of us when we acknowledge the living Word.

“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.”

Hebrews 4:12-13

This book is for people like you, who desire to know their spiritual purpose, but have struggled to find it. It is for people who are searching for joy and peace, want to win souls, and desire to build a closer, intimate walk with the Holy Spirit.

How often have those of us who grew up poor and loved the comfort and thrill of the streets, looked back and acknowledged situations that were crazy, but somehow we lived through them. Yet our loving God reached down and pulled many of us from the raging fires of hell, and He will continue to pursue us as long as we have breath.

And you might think, but why?

Because He loves us and created us for a purpose.

This book demonstrates that the Holy Spirit is closer than the sound of your breath and that He loves you more than you could ever imagine. As you read and take time to reflect, you will begin to see beyond the shadows into places where the Holy Spirit has been, and is now active in your life. I frequently refer to soul as the individual character, or person God has created each of us to be. At times, I will use spirit and soul interchangeably. “Spirit,” or Holy Spirit however, is God, the essence and Creator of all life. As you grow in close intimacy with the Holy Spirit, your life will slowly transform into a day-by-day journey of peace, surrender, joy, and love as you fulfill your destiny as God’s Masterpiece.

Chapter One

Purpose of the Holy Spirit

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,

and no mind has imagined

what God has prepared

for those who love him.

But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.

When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For,

Who can know the Lord’s thoughts?

Who knows enough to teach him?

But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:9-16

If you could receive the answer to one ultimate, life-changing question during your time on earth directly from God, what would it be? Identify one question that could revolutionize your life, and ensure your supreme success; a question that would ensure your ultimate happiness. What would your question to God be?

How to acquire wealth? Find true love? How to make a great name for yourself? How to be happy?

Since I am suggesting possible scenarios, I have obviously thought about my question. I would ask a question that would bring the greatest value to my life. As a person who has come to know God personally, but still struggles with a flawed human heart, I would ask God the Father the following question:

“How can I know You more intimately to fulfill Your purpose for my life?”

We must first understand that God longs for an intimate and tender Father-child relationship with each one of us. A bedrock faith emerges as we engage in conversation with Him through the work of the Holy Spirit. The faith and personal relationship that grow from our communion become the foundation that carries us even through deep grief and tragedy in our lives.

So, how do I learn to talk with the Creator of the universe as my loving Father, and hear Him talk with me? Is such a thing possible? If it is, how would it change my life?

In the opening verses of this chapter, the apostle Paul is speaking to the church at Corinth, which was located in a very sinful city. He talks about the purpose of the Holy Spirit and how He reveals the deep secrets of God to us, His children, if we put in the time and effort to listen.

This is how we learn to know God through His Spirit. “For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).

We must train ourselves to recognize His voice and hear the things He wants to share with us. This requires us to slow down, be still, humbly listen, and discern His voice among the many competing voices and messages directed at us in a world frantic to devour our souls.

Learning to See Beyond and Between

Spiritual disciplines such as slowing down, being still, humbly listening, and learning to recognize the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit run contrary to the culture of today’s fast-paced, technologically addicted Western world. Contemporary culture demands that we interact with messages often contrary to God’s Word. Technology also makes it easy to let others think for us through computers and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Learning to slow down and learning to see through the Spirit requires discipline. Discipline to recognize there is another way of seeing, and discipline to recognize the importance of your spirit. We can just ask Google, Chatbot, or any other technical platform for answers to our burning questions. In the words of Reverend Kirk Byron Jones:

“Slow seeing, yielding a few extra seconds to things that we see on purpose or things that graciously catch our eyes, sets off the second stage of seeing more clearly: seeing with heart and mind wide open. This second stage of seeing more clearly is about opening ourselves up to the observations, questions, and conclusions inspired by those extra moments of looking. It does not mean that we spend all of our waking hours pondering the mundane. It does mean that we allow space for intervals of insight that may, on a smaller scale, provide momentary levity for living, or on a much larger scale, to provide the scaffolding for a new living paradigm, a new way of envisioning and interpreting the world.”2

On Friday, February 29, 1952, my dad, James B. Morris Sr. (nicknamed Junior) and my mom, Dorothy Mae (Scott) Morris (nicknamed Dot), were expecting to take home their newborn son, James B. Morris Jr. Instead, at 1:00 a.m. Mom and Dad were notified that their baby boy had died from an intestinal obstruction known as meconium ileum. My brother died in the Sacred Heart Hospital located on Fourth and Liberty Streets in Allentown, Pennsylvania, at the age of three days. I often stared at the picture of a healthy-looking baby hanging on Pop’s, my paternal grandfather’s living room wall at 422 ½ East Court Street and wondered, how this bright-eyed baby could have died so suddenly.

I questioned the death of my big brother and desired to see his medical transcripts, but I never had the courage to take my parents back to untangle the residual pain surrounding one of the darkest times of their lives. I realized, that if James Jr. had survived, his chances of having a normal life might have been slim, at least according to the medical journals discussing children born with his assumed illness. But something failed to make sense to me about the death of the baby in the picture. How could he have died so abruptly, especially given that he appeared to have looked so healthy. To this day I still question whether my brother actually died because of health-related issues, however, I never investigated my beliefs and have surrendered my doubts and misgivings to God.

In order to function in the spiritual realm, we must learn to see between, beyond, beneath, and above our own thoughts. So many things happen in the spiritual realm that exceed our grasp. Why are we not able to comprehend them? One reason is that most of us live so engrossed in our own thoughts, perceptions, and emotions that we only see the physical world around us, and are oblivious to anything deeper. Another reason is the majority of us were never taught how to see and walk in the spiritual realm. However, we can learn.

Thriving Beyond the Odds

In May of 1952, three months after losing her first son, Mom became pregnant with her second child, but was told by her doctor to abort the fetus because of hemorrhaging that was threatening not only her life, but also the life of the baby as well. Mom was determined that nothing would keep her from carrying her baby to full term. She would not agree with the doctor’s recommendation and spent the majority of her nine-month pregnancy bedridden.

Mom told me that Dad, my grandmothers, and Aunt Louise took turns helping her throughout the pregnancy. Aunt Louise, Mom’s younger sister, was twenty years old and raising four daughters, all under the age of five. After I was born, Mom had difficulty doing simple things like feeding me, changing my diapers, and following simple nutritional regimens. I believe she had been traumatized at some point in her young life and struggled to live with her shame and false guilt. Yet Mom was a gifted singer and artist whose true talents, unfortunately, were never fully developed.

After I graduated from college and worked as a geriatric case worker, I realized that Mom had a learning disability. Yet somehow she had managed to deliver me on February 6, 1953 at the Sacred Heart Hospital.

My parents named me James B. Morris Jr. III. I never thought much about my name until I applied for a marriage license in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1977. The license supervisor asked me, how I could be both a junior and a third? Maria, my fiancée, also asked me how that could have been possible?

My immediate response was defensive: “Because that’s the name my parents gave me.” Then I got even more contentious and explained, “My brother died, so he was no longer alive; therefore, technically, I was now the junior. Since he lived briefly, I was also the third James B. Morris, making me a junior and a third at the same time.” The explanation made perfect sense to me. But I did start wondering why my father was called Junior when he should have been senior based on me being a junior.

All I can say is . . . my parents did the best they could.

Love Over Perfection – Mom and Dad

Mom and Dad were both children of alcoholic and abusive fathers, James Scott and John Morris, respectively: “the Sons of Thunder.” Thankfully, my parents found solace in their relationship with one another. They both experienced love and joy from their marriage, which lasted 43 years . . . until the day Dad dropped dead from a stroke while mowing grass in the backyard, as Mom looked on in shock.

On July 24, 1994, at 6:00 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon, Mom called to simply say, “Dad is gone.”

My response was, “Mom, where did Dad go?” Caught off guard, I thought the poor guy had finally gotten fed up with Mom’s nagging, and had decided to pack up and leave home, three days short of his 71st birthday. I was in a quandary as to where he would have gone.

My sister-in-law, Verona, a critical care nurse who lived in Daytona Beach, Florida, “just happened” to be visiting relatives in Allentown and was with Mom in the hospital. She told me over the phone that Dad had died. The next morning I caught the first flight out of Chicago O’Hare to Newark Airport. I had spoken with Dad earlier that afternoon, our typical two-minute Sunday afternoon check-in. He seemed to be in a good mood.

Mom told me later that Dad had insisted on paying his life insurance policy that afternoon and made sure to drop off the envelope at the main post office at Fifth and Hamilton Streets. My parents never paid their bills on time and had a balance of $0.22 in their checking account at the time Dad died.

I smiled and shook my head when I saw their checking account balance. Mom and Dad never appeared to worry about anything; they were always trusting that God would somehow work things out. Thinking back, I can’t in truth ever remember a time when things didn’t work out.

My parents were able to work through their pain and dysfunctionality to provide a roof over my head and peaceful solitude for me while I was growing up. Our house was quiet . . . except for Mom, who woke up every morning at around 5:30 a.m., singing heartily in her deep alto voice, whether or not Dad and I were prepared to appreciate the song.

As I matured, I realized that my parents tried their best to give me what little they had, which amounted to consistent manifestations of their full, undeniable, and unconditional love. Although I was surrounded by crime and darkness beyond our doors, I was quietly protected by their love and the presence of the Holy Spirit at home. Growing up in Allentown at the junction of Fifth and Union Streets was a joyous experience that defied circumstances. In spite of the poverty, pain, and death that surrounded me, I can honestly say that I greatly enjoyed my childhood years.

But why wouldn’t I? I did pretty much whatever I wanted to do. I never had a curfew, wore whatever clothes I wanted to wear, and was never expected to do my homework. I loved being with my friends Dennis, Shotgun, Cal, Greg, Toot, Teace, Monk, and Pipe, who also seemed to have had few to no restrictions. I guess that, if no one tells you that you are poor and life is rough, you don’t necessarily recognize these realities, until later, through the lens of retrospection. I was truly blessed, despite my youthful indiscretions that I was never arrested, which I now perceive to have been a miracle in and of itself. To this day I firmly believe the Spirit of God kept me safe.

Mom and Dad were sometimes overtly mocked by people who often laughed at them and referred to them as Heckle (Mom) and Jekyll (Dad), the names of Looney Toon cartoon characters. Some thought my parents were strange because they always stayed to themselves. They lived in their own world and didn’t care what anyone else thought about them. I adopted this philosophy from a very young age. Speck was one of the teenagers whose voice I heard while he stood on the corner of Fifth and Union Streets in front of the Franklin Bar, laughing with his friends, as the three of us walked by. He later spent time in prison for murder.

Mom worked as a domestic maid who cleaned the homes of Jewish families, and Dad worked odd jobs, sometimes two at a time cleaning office buildings and washing dishes until he was hired full-time as a truck driver for the City of Allentown Maintenance Department. This is the job from which he retired, and the one that brought stability to our home, another gift from God.

My Spiritual DNA

My parents separated themselves from our community and found solace in solitude. Somehow, the Holy Spirit gently led their reserved souls and provided them with His comfort and peace. I have long believed that, just as two people pass along their physical and mental attributes to their offspring, parents also pass along their spiritual attributes and spiritual DNA to their children. I believe I inherited my parents’ spiritual DNA.

Dad was extremely introverted and never referred to me by name. He spoke in short statements whenever he decided to converse, which was rare. He had a quiet spirit and was a brilliant problem solver. He would assemble three-thousand-piece puzzles with minimal effort and enjoyed playing his guitar. In spite of his few words, I knew deep in my heart that he loved me.

Mom, however, talked incessantly and never met a stranger she didn’t know. She had a beautiful alto singing voice and was a gifted artist who hid her work. She had a loving heart and was always trying to solve other people’s problems. Mom always spoke on Dad’s behalf. My parents both accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior after I went away to NCCU.

God also desires spiritual offspring, and that was one of the reasons He separated the Israelites from the people around them, as told in the book of Exodus. We inherit the physical qualities of our parents, and, to a great degree, we can see those characteristics carried on in the physical qualities of their children. However, most of us are not taught to recognize the characteristics of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in our hearts. Some people have a soft nature, which is reflected in their character in the form of gentleness, kindness, and goodness. This fruit is birthed through the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22), which we will talk about in chapter 11. On the other hand, a covering (shielding or protection of the Holy Spirit) and boldness can be found in people with strong spiritual maturity.

Our character and soul are also often communicated through our voice and behavior. If we listen carefully, we can hear the Spirit in the tone, pitch, and expression of a person’s voice, and we can see the Spirit in their demeanor. Our sincerity, humility, and passion are transmitted in both the way we speak and the way we live. It’s easy to detect when a person either spews hatred or bitterness, or speaks love and compassion. Words are powerful and have a direct effect on our body, our mind, and our soul.

Dad never raised his voice, even when he was angry, but his spirit traveled through his words. If we listen attentively when a person speaks, without focusing on what we are going to say in response, we can discern a person’s spirit in their words. Whether good or bad, their heart condition will be confirmed in our spirit by the Holy Spirit, if we truly listen.

I once saw Dad’s Army discharge papers and learned that he had been deployed to Normandy, France, on D-day during World War II at the age of 19. He never talked about the war, or about anything else, for that matter. He deferred to Mom, and did almost everything she told him to do . . . provided it made sense to him. Dad was a highly intelligent man, while Mom was spoiled and extremely self-centered, often referring to herself in the third person. She once told me that she had suffered something like a nervous breakdown, but she never fully explained the circumstances.

I heard rumors that Mom had Dad arrested when I was a baby, but I was never told the full details. Then a month before he died, Dad gave me a hint of what happened, and Mom was furious that he shared the story with me, even though it was almost forty years later. (Mom had difficulty remembering dates.)

Despite their shortcomings, my parents both loved me with an undying love. Something good and powerful in my soul was gifted to me by my parents, inherited from their spiritual DNA. I am also convinced that I received a great deal of spiritual DNA from my paternal grandfather, John Baker Morris, or Pop. Humans are more than flesh and blood. We are spiritual beings, and until we acknowledge this reality, we will never become all God created us to be. Trees and plants grow from seeds sown in soil. The same is true of our hearts and souls that grow from the Word of God, Revelation 19:13.

Spiritual Genes Passed Down

After joining Yale New Haven Health System, I met Dr. Stephen Byrum who introduced me to the work of Dr. Robert S. Hartman, who was responsible for developing formal axiology, which is the study of value judgment. Dr. Hartman believed that children inherit their parents’ spiritual DNA, just as they inherit their physical and mental characteristics. I first read his research in his esteemed manuscript, One with God, which is kept in the archives of the Hartman Institute.

Dr. Hartman was also one of the founders of the concept of profit sharing in the 1940s. He and his wife, Rita, were very close friends of Dr. Abraham Maslow and his wife, Bertha. Dr. Hartman was a colleague of Viktor Frankl and Paul Tillich. He was nominated for a Nobel Prize for his work on peace, but died suddenly in 1972 from a heart attack. He believed the spiritual attributes of parents are passed down genetically to their children, and if we think about our makeup as human beings, why would this belief be questioned? I was blessed to receive an appointment to sit on the board of trustees at the Robert S. Hartman Institute located on the campus of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee from 2016 to 2022.

In Genesis 46:28-29, as well as in the book of Joshua, we read that God separated the Hebrews in Goshen from the surrounding nations because He wanted holy offspring who would represent Him throughout the earth. God desired that godly men and women come together and produce godly children who would also follow the ways of the Lord. My parents had gentle spirits, and I believe I was the recipient, through them, of that same gentleness. The power of the Holy Spirit used my own gentle nature to protect me and keep me from straying too far from the narrow path in life.

I am convinced that Pop, my paternal grandfather, was summoned to the ministry at some point in his life, and for reasons I can only surmise, he turned his back on God. A diminutive man, Pop stood about 5′ 4″ and weighed approximately 130 pounds. He fought in France in World War I and was a very violent and dangerous man, especially when he was drinking. He carried a Cavalry Colt .45 pistol neatly tucked into the back of his pants, which concealed a dark, shiny wooden handle that contained six etched notches in its grooves, an indication that he killed six people. Yet Pop taught me to pray when I was four and introduced my spirit to the things of God.

While Pop grounded me in the practice of prayer and faith in God, his struggle with alcohol prevented him from developing many of the qualities we often associate with spiritual mentors. The men who worked at the Union Street Boys’ Club, reinforced the importance of living a life of service and demonstrating a spirit of compassion. These men walked beside me and other young men at the Union Street Boys’ Club and modeled how to grow and walk in confidence.

We do well to surround ourselves with spiritually mature people who love God and live according to His Word. Great mentors exemplify patience and exude joy, even when everything around them is hectic and chaotic. They allow us to be transparent about our guilt or shame and help us renew our spirit. If you can’t locate a mentor, ask the Holy Spirit to help you find one. Jesus taught and mentored his twelve disciples and His followers for three years.

Taking time to read the Word of God regularly is a critical first step in understanding our spiritual pedigree. As we get into the habit of doing this, we come to know men and women in scripture and see how God moved in their lives. When you read the Bible cover to cover and let His Word penetrate your soul and not just your mind, God speaks to you through the work of the Holy Spirit. Learning to hear the Spirit takes practice and discipline. This is why it is important, whenever possible, to find spiritual mentors to walk beside us as we mature in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit will do the rest. As the evangelist Billy Graham reflected:

“George Muller, (the great founder of the Bristol Orphanage in the last century) once said, the vigor of our Spiritual Life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Bible in our life and thoughts . . . I have read the Bible through one hundred times, and always with increasing delight. Each time it seems like a new book to me. Great has been the blessing for consecutive, diligent, daily study. I look upon it as a lost day when I have not had a good time over the Word of God.”3

Pop Baker

Dad and my grandmother, Nanna B, were often the recipients of Pop’s fury. Nanna B was a soft-spoken, gentle, humble woman who loved God. I never knew her family because they disassociated from her after she married Pop. I witnessed one violent fight when I was five years old while visiting my grandparents’ home. I was sitting at the kitchen table at 820 Lawrence Street at around 5:30 one Saturday evening, listening to Harry Belafonte singing Dao over radio station WAEB while watching cockroaches frolic across the table.

When suddenly, my attention was drawn to Nanna B, who viciously smashed a heavy porcelain plate over Pop’s forehead. Blood spewed from a gaping wound and splattered all over the tiny kitchen floor and table. I sat and stared at the blood, while my grandparents continued to violently argue, as though their grandson wasn’t even there, taking in every detail. Pop grabbed a dishrag and pressed it against his forehead, telling me to get my jacket, and we quickly left.

I grieved my unfinished dinner and the abrupt end of the cockroach show as Pop Baker walked me the six blocks home. He continued to press the rag against his head to slow the flow of blood. I didn’t say a word and walked quietly beside him as we made our way together down the dark, silent sidewalks of Lawrence Street.

Then, for some strange reason, Pop stopped at Mr. Bosket’s barber shop at the corner of Fifth and Willow Streets.

Why in God’s name would Pop stop at the barbershop when blood is dripping from his head? I wondered. His actions made no sense to me.

When Mr. Bosket saw Pop’s wound, he panicked and pleaded with him to go immediately to the hospital. Pop dropped me off at my house at 458 Union Street, and I never heard another word about the incident.

I was one person who witnessed Pop’s goodness and kindness. He treasured his only grandchild and was the only person who ever encouraged me to go to college. Although he only had a fourth-grade education, he was a prolific reader and one of the most educated individuals I have ever known. In spite of his shortcomings, my grandfather not only introduced me to the things of God, but helped me to value learning and education from an early age.

Violence and vulgarity spewed from Pop’s mouth when he was drunk, while kindness and love flowed unconditionally from him to me when he was sober. I learned valuable lessons from watching my grandfather interact with others. He genuinely listened to and respected all people, no matter who they were. I am convinced that God had called Pop Baker to the ministry, but the call of the streets was more compelling to his spirit. That same call enticed me for most of my younger years.

On July 1, 1960, Dad found Nanna B lying at the bottom of her kitchen steps with a broken neck. She was rushed to Allentown Hospital and died three days later, at the age of fifty-four, on July 4, 1960, from cardiac tamponade caused by blunt trauma. There was no question that my grandparents had been fighting, and this would be their final battle.

I can’t imagine how agonizing it must have been for Dad to find his mother lying at the bottom of the narrow wooden steps, crumpled and dying. Only God knows how long she had lain there alone. Pop never expressed any visible remorse about Nanna B’s death.

On a sunny July 4th morning, I sat on the stairwell landing with Mom and Dad and listened as my other nanna explained to me that Nanna B had died and gone to heaven.

Protecting Presence

Eventually I realized that the Holy Spirit allowed me to be repeatedly exposed to worldly violence and abuse as a child, but not to the point at which the abuse destroyed my body, mind, and soul. He sheltered me.

“Though the Lord gave you adversity for food

and suffering for drink,

he will still be with you to teach you.

You will see your teacher with your own eyes.

Your own ears will hear him.

Right behind you a voice will say,

‘This is the way you should go,’

whether to the right or to the left.” Isaiah 30:20-21

I know without a doubt that the Spirit’s presence protected my body and mind from internalizing the horrors that shadowed my young life. I never told anyone that I was sexually assaulted. I finally shared this with Mom and later with Pastor Gary, the senior pastor at North Shore Assembly of God in Skokie, Illinois, at that time when I was in my early thirties. It took a lot of courage for me to talk about what had happened. Mom’s response caught me off guard, and it hurt for a moment. She didn’t show me the emotional support I so desired. Looking back, I don’t believe she knew how.

Instead of offering comfort, she asked me whether he, the perpetrator, had hurt me. She didn’t think to ask me questions about what happened. If she had, she would have learned that my primary abuser was an older girl who lived next door to Pop, not a male, as Mom assumed.

I eventually understood that Mom gave me the best support she could offer. I realized that she was still coping with her own internal trauma. She more than likely didn’t have the strength to ask me what had happened, or deal with my revelation beyond her initial assumption.

Years later, I heard a rumor that the girl who raped me was burned alive in prison to keep her from testifying against a prostitution ring. I know in my heart that she was a tender, kind soul who was searching for love. Unfortunately, she had grown up in deplorable circumstances. It was also rumored that her older brother died of HIV/Aids and that one of her younger brothers was convicted of murder. I never held bitterness toward her in any way.

As I grew older, I realized that the Holy Spirit was with me long before I took my first breath. He was with me long before I was a four-year-old child, wandering the streets unsupervised from early morning until late in the evenings because my parents had to work, or were distracted by their own silent challenges.

“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body

and knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Psalm 139:13

The Holy Spirit protected me from the rampant death and destruction that exist in many urban communities across this country, including Allentown. I was protected because God ordained my protection, and I was His child. God has a purpose for every one of us. Even when we experience atrocities, He shields us from the full force of the horror the enemy directs our way. We are also given prayer as a source of power for engaging the Holy Spirit in our defense.

In prayer, we can tell the Spirit what we need, and listen as He comforts, teaches, and guides us. And when we don’t know what to say, He speaks on our behalf: “The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words” (Romans 8:26).

Prayer is critical. Prayer is powerful. Prayer is unstoppable when it is combined with the Word of God. We know this because Jesus prayed.

The Holy Spirit, Our Teacher

I encourage young believers not to get overwhelmed by trying to fully comprehend the Word of God on their own. If we pray and ask the Holy Spirit, He will bring godly mentors and teachers to us, or He will personally instruct us. We will recognize potential mentors by their fruit, their godly character, and actions. Consider what type of person a potential mentor should be (their character and reputation), and what they do (priorities and service), as you wait quietly upon the Holy Spirit to direct a mentor to you. Their faith and actions should reflect Christlike behaviors, such as a powerful love for all people, and for the Word of God.

At times we all must walk by faith and, in a laser-focused manner, rely upon the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to sustain us supernaturally. When you face such seasons of life, the following actions can help expedite your spiritual growth:

Take time to read and let the Word sit in your heart and soul through silence, solitude, and reflection
Memorize verses that speak directly to your soul
Write down your questions and ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten you
Pray for wisdom
Meditate on the Word and apply it to your life on a daily basis
Spend daily time with God in prayer, solitude, and journal your progress
Listen for the voice of the Spirit throughout your day

Eventually, you will see changes in your thinking and attitude. This process takes time and discipline, but that is okay. God loves you, and He won’t abandon you. You are getting to know Him, and He is delighted.

Spending time in the Word of God requires us to slow down and discipline our bodies and minds to focus on our souls, as we humble ourselves before the Spirit. At the end of our lives, our bodies will return to dust and our souls will surrender to the things of the Spirit. Wasting opportunities to deepen our relationship with God on this side of heaven is our greatest loss, and it breaks God’s heart. His deepest longing is to be in an intimate, living relationship with you, and with all of His children.

Unfortunately, many Christians abdicate the privilege of deepening their relationship with the Spirit of God and jeopardize their spiritual health by relying on other people to spoon-feed them the Word. Listening to sermons, podcasts, and reading books as our primary source of spiritual development is important, but could impede our spiritual growth. While these approaches can enrich our faith, the most powerful force available to believers for spiritual wisdom and growth comes from our personal interaction with the Holy Spirit through reading God’s Word and hearing directly from Him. All too often, we spend little to no time beyond Sunday morning in church to meditate on and apply God’s Word to our lives; rather, we need to continually listen for His voice to guide us.

God has equipped us to be taught directly by His Spirit, but this will happen only if we humbly place ourselves under His authority. We must learn to sit, be still, absorb, and reflect upon what His Spirit reveals to us. Additionally, spending only twelve minutes a day enables us to read the Bible cover to cover in one year and absorb the full scope of God’s Word. There is no other source in the world more powerful and transformative for both believers and those who do not know God.

After reading each of the following verses, allow some time to reflect on the meaning before proceeding to the next verse:

“Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.”

Jeremiah 33:3

“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.” John 14:15-17

“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative – that is, the Holy Spirit – he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”

John 14:26

“There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.” John 16:12-13

“The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people.” Ephesians 1:14

“I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.” Ephesians 3:16

The Holy Spirit fulfills many purposes in our lives. He comforts us, teaches us, protects us, guides us, inspires us, fills us, empowers us, leads us, and points us to Jesus. Jesus said that He would not leave us as orphans, but would instead leave us under the protection of the Holy Spirit.

Unfortunately, we miss out on this wonderful relationship with the Holy Spirit because we spend so little time getting to know Him.

Fruit of the Spirit-Led Life

When we pray using scripture, the Word of God becomes deeply ingrained in our hearts, the seeds of the Spirit take root, and our branches grow stronger, eventually bearing fruit. The Word of God is a powerful source in stabilizing our souls through the Holy Spirit.

“Blessed are those who trust in the Lord

and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.

They are like trees planted along a riverbank,

with roots that reach deep into the water.

Such trees are not bothered by the heat

or worried by long months of drought.

Their leaves stay green,

and they never stop producing fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

I am living proof that God can take nothing and make it into something. Although I am not famous, by most standards I have done well. As pointed out earlier, I have been blessed to have worked in companies like Allstate Insurance Company, Ernst & Young, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Merck & Company, Trinity Health, and Yale New Haven Health. I retired from Yale New Haven Health as a vice president. I was able to earn my masters, juris doctor, and doctor of philosophy degrees while working full-time. No one else in my immediate family had ever gone to college. I can tell you without a doubt, that all of my achievements have been the direct result of the Holy Spirit’s influence in and through my life, including 46 years of marriage to my wife, Maria. I could not have accomplished any of these things in my own strength.

I have learned that, when we intentionally cultivate our souls, we become more spiritually attuned and aware of the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. He has always been by my side, even when I wasn’t aware of it. I have learned that the Word of God was planted in my heart from the beginning of my life, and that the Holy Spirit can manifest Himself in the lives of His children even when we are unaware of His presence. These truths have anchored my spirit and have kept me on course throughout my life.

More importantly, when we sow the Word of God in our hearts, by the power of the Holy Spirit the seed grows, and His work creates a powerful dynamic that transforms our lives.

Consider

What do you believe about the Bible?
Have you ever read the Bible from Genesis through Revelation? If so, how did this discipline affect you? If not, what has kept you from doing so?
What do you know about the Holy Spirit, factually and/or experientially?

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