Christian Leadership & Community Foundation

05/02/2026

CLCF is assisting with an effort to offer Christian education opportunities to a community in Kenya. They have no blackboard or whiteboard. Does anyone have a scrubbed laptop that they would be willing to donate for this purpose? Currently, their instructor has to use a master set of course materials from his phone (!!!) and read it to their students and the students take notes. At the very least, a laptop might make it easier ... but I'm not even sure how the mechanics of that type of presentation would work. To get real insight into this sincere, well-meaning church community, they operate an orphanage and there has been no available food for the past two days. At the very least, please join us in praying for them. Thank you.

01/30/2026

LITTLE SINS

A long discussion could be had as to whether or not God differentiates between big sins and little sins in the Bible. We know that a man can be exiled for murder, but we don't hear of a man being exiled for theft. Within Christianity, there is a tendency not to differentiate between sins, and we often say "a sin is a sin is a sin."

In his book, Searching for Heaven on Earth, Dr. David Jeremiah refers to a sermon given by Charles Spurgeon in 1859 entitled "Little Sins." Spurgeon opined that "the best of men have always been afraid of little sins...Men, with their eyes well opened by divine grace, have seen a whole hell slumbering in the smallest sin. Gifted with microscopic power, their eyes have seen a world of iniquity hidden in a single act, or thought, or imagination of sin; and hence they have avoided it with horror - have passed by and would have nothing to do with it...Little sins lead to great ones...Nay, stand back! Little though the temptation be, I dread thee, for thy little temptation leads to something greater, and the small sin makes way for something worse.

"Years ago there was not a single thistle in the whole of Australia. Some Scotsman who very much admired thistle - rather more than I do - thought it was a pity that a great island like Australia should be without that marvelous and glorious symbol of his great nation. He, therefore, collected a packet of thistle seeds, and sent it over to one of his friends in Australia. Well, when it landed, the officers might have said, 'Oh, let it in, is it not a little one?'...Ah, yes, it was but a little one; but now whole districts of country are covered with it and it has become the farmer's pest and plague. It was a little one; but all the worse for that, it multiplied and grew. If it had been a great evil, all men would have set to work to crush it...Take heed of the thistle seed, little sins are like it. Take care they are not admitted to your heart."

I imagine residents of the southeastern areas of the United States think much the same about the kudzu vine. At some point in time, just a little bit of a seed was transmitted by the wind, by a vehicle or by a person, and planted itself. It now chokes out once healthy plants, and acres upon acres are covered by the pesty vine.

Dr. Jeremiah points out, "Thistle seeds are all over the place, everywhere we go. They are little burrs that stick to your socks as you walk through a meadow. As Spurgeon points out, the whole town rallies to fight the barbarian at the gate, so the enemy is more likely to send a spy who can more easily pe*****te the castle walls. No big deal, we think It's just a little thing. A 'little' relationship, a 'little' flirtation, a 'little' edge to the tone of voice, a 'little' padding on the expense account, a 'little' lie - just a little thing."

No one's life is free from sin. But do we consciously avoid the lesser sins for fear that they may actually lead to greater sins? Do we strive towards godliness rather than towards temptation? That one is always a real struggle for me, a salad or cheese fries? But how many degrees actually separate the lesser struggle from a greater one - to tell the truth or to bend the truth; to forgive an offense or to bear a grudge; to seek God's will or to see one's own?

Dr. Jeremiah encourages us to "make wise choices, live the godly way, and keep the vision of Christ before [us]," and strive to seek light at every turn and with every choice. To choose Christ. To please Him in the little things.

Debbie Byrd

01/29/2026

STANDARDS

Standards are inescapable. It seems that everywhere we look we are being measured or evaluated in some way - even by our own selves. Whether it be during a job interview, test, audition, date, or many other countless scenarios, life can often be one big rating system.

We're constantly bombarded with images and information that tells us, "You need to look at this!", "You need to look like this!", "You need to own this!", "A good spouse does this!", "A cool parent does this!" And if we do, says our culture, then we have arrived! But maybe all this just leaves us lamenting, "I can't be or do any of those things."

When we calculate our value based on man's - or even our own - standards, we usually end up with a low rating. One way or another, we miss the mark.

The fact is that God, our Creator, is the only One able to truly and finally evaluate us. And He has already set the standard by giving us His Law - what is right and wrong in relation to His holiness. As sinners, this standard is so high above our human capability that we could never even dream of meeting it.

It is a worthwhile pursuit to consider the differences between God's standards and those of this world. Do we wander like the Israelites finding more comfort in the past than the promises of the future? Do we allow the trials and tests of this life burden us? Do we allow ourselves to become imprisoned by circumstance, losing sight of the freedom that can only be found in Christ? Do we accept the standards of our peers or those of God? Do we allow shame and guilt to paralyze us or do we cling to the knowledge that only Christ can free us from such self-imposed imprisonment?

Innocence may easily be forfeited in a world where any question may be asked, any information gained, just through a few keystrokes on-line. Scripture cautions us to guard our minds and hearts and reminds us that, in this cyberworld, innocence may truly be bliss (or blessed).

When faced with our inadequacies, when we've come up short, we're prompted to remember that each of us is distinctively and uniquely the very essence of God's creativity - He loves us despite our faults and foibles.

As we consider that which attempts to rob us of innocence, and that which makes us feel less than worthy, we must remember that is why God sent His Son, Jesus Christ - to meet The Standard on our behalf. When we put our faith in Christ, His perfect record becomes our own. That is the Good News of the Gospel!

Debbie Byrd

01/16/2026

ENVY

Envy is a childish emotion.

A child sees what another child has and wants it. There's no reasoning with them and circumstances aren't important to the situation. If there are two children and only one has a cookie, the second child wants it. There is a fine line between envy and covetousness, but it's a childish line greyed even further by immaturity.

Mature individuals simply don't envy. It's not a matter of being a believer or not, it's simply a matter of maturity. That maturity can be part of the make-up of a ten year old child or a full grown adult.

An adult may want to be like someone they respect and may strive to emulate that person. But to envy that person brings another problem to the table. To envy means to have a bitter heart, to say to yourself, " I ought to have that life, those skills, those riches, those friends, that house, that car." It focuses on self and oozes a sense of entitlement. Envy doesn't want to put the hard work into getting ahead, it looks for reasons why the other person shouldn't have it so good; envy is lazy and is only willing to long after what it wants but not work for it. Envy is not content. Envy is selfish.

Carol Ruvolo, wrote about envy for Ligonier Ministries "Tabletalk" saying, "Envy is acquisitive, resentful, and selfish; it is always bad. It wants what others have simply because they have it, bears grudges against those who have what it doesn't, and accuses God of being unfair. It looks like Jacob conniving to steal the birthright from Esau; it looks like Rachel begrudging Leah her children; it looks like Peter pointing at John and asking Jesus, 'Lord, what about this man?'."

Scripture is clear. We are not to envy. Envy brings strife and confusion and evil doings. Galatians 5:26 admonishes us not to become conceited, provoking and envying one another. And it's conceit that drives envy, it's conceit that says it's only fair that I have that which I want. Let's not confuse this with wishful thinking or ambition; it's two different things to visit a friend's new house and say, "Wow. I like this. I'm going to work hard and try to have a house like this for me and my family" versus "Wow. Some house. My friend doesn't deserve this but I do. It ought to be mine. God isn't fair."

Lists of things we envy are varied. A nice head of hair. A rich lifestyle. A spouse. When we let envy allow us to worship anything other than our Lord, it's time to return to Him in prayer, allowing our full focus to dwell on Him and His holiness, with fervent prayer for a transforming and maturing of the heart.

Debbie Byrd

01/15/2026

Who Cares?

Maybe you've seen the guy with the sign "Will work for food" outside the mall. But who cares?

Maybe you've noticed the elderly lady that can barely see over her steering wheel drive (well, that's generous) into the church parking lot on Sunday mornings. She looks frazzled, maybe even frightened, but she's determined, having attended for over 50 years. But who cares?

Apathy and complacency are crippling. Many people believe that the little bit of help they might provide isn't enough to make a difference. Hmph! Recently, a college graduate commented when receiving his diploma, "Thanks to the cafeteria lady...she always told me I could do it!" One woman's encouragement - positively impacting one student's life.

As expressed in an Outcomes article (2011), Matthew Cork, lead pastor of Friends Church in Yorba Linda, California, repeated what he felt God was speaking to his heart when he told Operation Mobilization (a ministry that builds schools for the Dalits - "untouchables" - of India, "outcasts considered less valuable than animals and locked in a form of modern-day slavery, all 250 millio of them") that his church would commit to building 200 schools over the next ten years - a commitment of about $20 million! People looked at him as if he were crazy. But he knew it was a "God thing".

He said, "In those few moments, it became clear that my life, ministry and focus were changing. This is the way it is with God. The picture may be unclear, the 'how to' incomplete. But the vision is compelling. It touches so deep within your heart that there is only one choice. Am I willing to believe God, or do I sit on the sidelines until I have figured everything out? Do I move forward or wait until all the questions are answered, doubts cleared up, risks eliminated? I chose to lead and to trust God with the results, to obey and believe that He would be faithful."

One man's vision (and obedience) inspiring a whole church - positively impacting the lives of millions of people a world away! He's spot-on as to why many just don't 'do something'. The process that lets us focus on the unanswered questions, allows doubts to infiltrate, and lets us consider the risks is a quick one. Before we know it, we've justified that the man with the sign really wants money to feed a habit and the older lady has been driving this route for so long that she knows the way and would resent anyone offering to help her out. In the meantime, we sip our expensive latte and quickly put each of them out of mind.

As a result of following through on God's leading, Cork says, "Today we have an open door, a platform among the Dalits to proclaim the freedom of knowing Jesus in a genuine and personal way. It is a freedom than can liberate souls from the bo***ge of sin and death. It replaces despair with hope and life. Eternity will be radically different for many thousands of people. God's church in our little town in Southern California is being radically changed."

We're called to live like Christ. It's beyond imagination that He would be apathetic or complacent about anything. From healing the invalid that had lain by the public pool to throwing the moneychangers (cheats) out of the temple, He cared deeply. The marvelous thing is He still cares. And He leaves us to mimic Him to a hurting world.

Debbie Byrd

01/12/2026

Simple Thanks

Sometimes meal time prayers make me uncomfortable.

It can seem superstitious, rote, obligatory. "Oh God, please bless the food so I don't get sick".

But I have this one friend who simply bows his head and says, "Thank you, Jesus. Amen".

It's said with such sincerity that any additional words thrown in for good measure would do nothing but cheapen it.

In the solemn tone of those few spoken words lies the depth of appreciation that speaks to the attitude of gratefulness on the part of the one who spoke it and on behalf of each of us at the table. The tone sets forth the thankfulness for all that God has provided, well beyond the food on the table.

It is a tone that reflects a heart that fully comprehends that everything any of us are, anything any of us has, anything any of us long to be has been made possible only because of Christ's great gift to us on the Cross. It is a tone of reverence that bows to the total sovereignty of God and understands that Christ made a decision, in his total and unconditional love for mankind, to leave the comforts of the heavenlies, comforts we cannot even imagine, and condescend to earth in the form of a mere baby so that He could live the human experience and, ultimately, die an excruciating and very human death on the Cross for the purpose of buying back for each of us our relationship with God and eternal life with Him.

That tone is simple and heartfelt acknowledgment that God is awesome and, though He is God of Everything, He cares about each of us in our individual, personal moments - our victories and our pain - and longs for us to be reconciled to Him.

That tone says, "You are my Father - and words cannot express how humbled I am to be Your child". That tone says, "Forgive me, Father" and "I love you, Father" all in the same few words. That tone says, "I love you, Lord" and "Help me, Lord" all at the same time. That tone says, "I am thankful" and "You are enough".

Debbie Byrd

01/11/2026

PRIDE

You might wonder why pride is considered to be such a serious sin; you might even question what, exactly, constitutes pride.

From a Christian perspective, pride is considered the fatal flaw that caused Lucifer (you may know him as Satan) to be cast out of heaven. He thought more of himself than he should have and wanted to exalt himself above God. Guess who wins that contest?

When we think too much of ourselves, we fail to seek God and His direction. Or, if we do seek Him, giving lip service to our prayer life and to Him, we may simply ignore Him or worse - flat out disobey Him.

Pride is an enemy that lets us believe that we are right, even when we are not. Hence, it can have a devasting effect on our relationships. A friend describes the person who is always right (in his own mind) and how, ultimately, that person comes to be disliked by those around him.

Pride causes us to seek glory for ourselves when the only One deserving glory is the Lord. Pride allows us to want to be the center of attention. It strokes our ego. And it allows us to blow out of proportion our so-called successes. When we start thinking it is our personal contribution of effort or design that resulted in those successes, our focus is directed on ourselves and not God.

Pride lets us decide what is right and what is wrong. It lets us pick and choose what defines sin and what is not. It lets us ignore the Word of God and He that has already made that distinction for us.

The Apostle Paul states, in Romans 15:17, "So it is right for me to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me." This teaches us of Paul's example of taking pride not in his own accomplishments, but in all the Lord had done through him. The words and deeds were not Paul's to boast of - Paul was only the tool the Lord used to do His work. In Paul's attitude, we find the opposite of pride - we find humility.

Humility is a rare human condition. It allows a person to recognize that it is not human strength by which anything is accomplished but only by the power of God. It allows a person to set aside a natural way of thought and seek, instead, the mind of God, His will and His direction.

Humility is gained when we recognize that we NEED God - as individuals, as families, as communities, as a country. When our awareness of that need is sincere, we seek His leadership and wisdom - and pridefulness is replaced with humility.

Debbie Byrd

01/10/2026

LUST & TIRAMISU

I lust for tiramisu.

Seriously. I'm not kidding.

And an iced coffee with just the right amount of sweet cream.

And bacon.

And sugared pecans.

And maple donuts.

Okay. You get it.

I kid myself into thinking that I can get away with it because it's such an innocuous form of lust, and I'm not THAT huge.

Different people lust for different things and, usually, just the use of the word lust connotes something sleazy, something taboo.

But lust doesn't have to be sleazy. It's simply something that brings pleasure, unrestrained gratification and intense enthusiasm, according to Mr. Webster. In other words, it's whatever we obsess over. And it's obsession that gets us into trouble. It's something that consumes us so much that we are distracted from all else.

Now, in my world, anything that requires intense enthusiasm takes a great deal of energy. And that is where my aha moment occurs!

If I am putting intense energy into seeking that which I long for but really don't need, and maybe something that's really not all that good for me, then I'm putting as much effort and energy into fighting off the urge - resisting temptation - as seeking the indulgence to begin with.

But what if I put equal energy into turning my whole being towards the Lord? What if my desire for Him, my enthusiasm for Him, exceeded all the enthusiasm and energy I expend on silly stuff? My eternal condition doesn't hang on the hopes of a maple donut, but certainly my eternal condition hangs on my hunger for the Lord!

The addictive behaviors that we succumb to in modern times - drug abuse, eating disorders, sexual addictions, workaholism, POLITICS (!) etc. - are not specifically addressed as such in the Bible. But it does tell us that we can become enslaved by such behaviors. And it teaches that the way to freedom is found in obedience to God and His Word and in keeping relationship with Christ. Often that relationship is referred to as our first love - and we need to remind ourselves of the enthusiasm and energy with which we committed ourselves to that first love.

Titus 2:12 tells us that "denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we are to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world."

When we turn our obsession to Him, these other hungers, distractions, desires, LUSTS, simply disappear - despite the fact that maple donuts and tiramisu have a continuing appeal!

Debbie Byrd

12/09/2025

We've realized that we've been, well, lazy about posts to this page. We are dedicated to improving that track record. Over the next few weeks we will recommence posting articles about issues relevant to Christianity and culture, sharing resources, etc. We hope you'll join us as we begin anew. By the way, CLCF is no longer a ministry of Maranatha, Inc. (Joy! 102.5 WOLC) and has been incorporated into the ministries of Delmarva Evangelistic Church in Salisbury, Maryland. They have kindly provided us with an office and we continue to work with ministries and non-profits throughout the region. Also, our Executive Director, Deborah Byrd, also works with the Christian World College of Theology, located on the DEC campus, as their Dean of Academics; she loves her responsibilities of researching and writing curriculum.

08/02/2025

No doubt whatsoever...Susie Jarrett is now rejoicing in heaven, having heard her Savior say the words, "Well done, my good and faithful servant!" Susie Jarrett was the first person I met at Delmarva Evangelistic Church. I met her to consider enrolling in the Christian World College of Theology Bible College and was sitting in class that very night - January 21, 1996! A beautiful friendship followed! Susie never like to say "goodbye" - so "toodles", my friend!

It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of our beloved sister in Christ, sister Susie Jarrett. She had a beautiful soul, was a faithful servant, and a great friend to many.

Information regarding services will be released at a later time.