Resurrection Promise

Rev. Dr. Versey Williams, Contributing Writer

“It Is Finished”; To Empower Us …Luke 23:24-47

The promise of eternal life is more than a death experience. We tend to think that heaven is above and hell is below. Reflecting on the word–Immanuel, “God with us,” spoken on the historical Good Friday, heaven is like paradise. Immanuel promised the repentant thief he would be with him in a place free from all they were experiencing on that dreadful day. There wasn’t enough time for the repentant thief to turn his life around. Like Immanuel, but not as violent and cruel as Immanuel’s torture, both would die in front of some of the people who, at the beginning of the week, were excited to witness Immanuel’s entrance to Jerusalem.

Good Friday is a hindsight 20/20 experience, meaning it is easier to assess and evaluate the crucifixion and resurrection when we are looking back on Jesus’ experience than when we are reading about Calvary for the first time.

Heaven and paradise are both symbolic of better, more tranquil, and perfect times as well as physical places that remain somewhat mysterious but nonetheless promised to us. Learning from some of my patients, as they approached death, they told me about the “light,” hearing God’s voice, and feelings of peacefulness beyond what they could describe. They wished they could have finished dying. God, including in the person of Jesus, is the God of the living and the dead.

Jesus is the epitome of a warrior. Expressions of God warring against evil and empowering us while living were offered through the lens of seven preachers at Vernon Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Detroit, Michigan, where the Rev. Sharinese Jackson is pastor. They reminded listeners that God’s salvation is meant to empower us as we navigate and counter the impacts of evil lived out through people and systematically entrenched in society. Life can be hell, which is why Jesus commands us to trust and seek his guidance in every aspect of our life. Sometimes we also make choices to our demise or detriment while believing God is behind the catastrophe. Even so, God’s wisdom, mercy, and grace are always present on our behalf. We must make the connection between Jesus’ last words on Calvary (Luke 23:24-47) and Colossians 2:10-16. Jesus’ torture and murder rendered him no less God.

Business Advice: Do You Own You?

Teri Williams, President and Owner of OneUnited Bank

The first question we ask in 2023 is, “Do you own you?”

As the largest black-owned bank in America and the first black-owned digital bank, OneUnited wants to ensure our community owns the brands we build. But unfortunately, we often do not take the necessary steps to secure the ownership of our name. Let us say you have a great business with a great name, but do you own it? And what does “owning” mean?

Here are three steps you can take to secure your business ownership rights:

Search your name

Trademark law prevents a business from using a name likely to be confused with the name of a competing business. If you choose a business name that is too similar to a competitor’s name, you might find yourself accused of violating the competitor’s legal rights (called “trademark infringement” or “unfair competition”), and you could be forced to change your business name and possibly pay monetary damages.

Front: Rev. Aleta Scales; Second row L-R: Rev. Patricia Coleman-Burns, Rev. Sharinese Jackson, pastor of Veron Chapel, Detroit, MI, Rev. Faith Mugala, Rev. Kay Porter; Third row L-R: Rev. Versey Williams, Rev. Eric Tucker and Rev. Robert Blake *Not pictured, Rev. Ray Hinds

Evil thought its plan had worked, but God was working our redemptive plan.

God is absolute spirit, sovereignly supreme over all matters pertaining to life and death. As God’s image bearers, with our beautiful skin colors, we inherit absolute God’s finite attributes; we are spirit and human. God empowers us with the same spiritual power that raised Jesus. We have the stamina and courage to transform generational curses and self-defeating behaviors. You have better options (John 10). Whatever you are facing, be encouraged and stay the course with God; do not lose hope! Calvary was for us! Expect and embrace God’s provisions. Salvation belongs to you and me. ❏

So, do some digging to avoid the wrong name choice. First, type your business name into Google to see whether someone else uses a similar name to market similar products or services. If you find that your name (or a very similar name) is already being used, you must choose another one.

Second, search for federally registered trademarks using the free trademark database of the United States Patent & Trademark Office (or USPTO).

Finally, check with your city/county/state clerk’s office to see whether your desired name is already on the list of fictitious or assumed business names in your community. These names are usually unregistered trademarks of very small companies. If you find that your chosen name (or a very similar name) is listed on a local fictitious or assumed name register, you should not use it. If you are organizing your business as a corporation, LLC, or limited partnership, check to ensure your name is not the same as an existing corporation, LLC, or limited partnership in your state. Then, contact your state filing office to find out how to search its name database. If your proposed name (or a similar one) shows up in your state’s database, you must choose another.

Register your domain name

The easiest way to check if a domain name is available is at one of the dozens of online companies that have been approved to register domain names. A listing of these registrars can be accessed at the ICANN website (icann.org). An example of a domain name register is Network Solutions.

You can go to Network Solutions (networksolutions.com) and key in the name you want to use. If your domain name is available, buy it immediately! The cost is relatively low for you to own your domain name.

If your domain name is unavailable, see if the website is currently in use. If it is, you will not be able to use the name. If not, the owner may be willing to sell you the domain name for prices that range from a few hundred dollars to many thousands of dollars, depending on the name. You can typically locate information about the owner of the domain name by using