New Years Resolutions

 It's that time of year again when we start to make those New Years Resolutions. The Bible doesn't talk about New Years Resolutions, but if we as Christians want to add to our list of things to do there isn't anything wrong with it. As a matter of fact, the Bible has plenty of good things to say about setting goals; that is what resolutions are all about right?
 "The plans of the diligent lead to profit," Proverbs 21:5. Christ also talks about planning ahead as a good thing also. This can be demonstrated in the way Christ talks about building a tower in Luke 14:28, "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?" Christ asks the question as if it would be a foolish thing to build something without first counting the cost. Actually it would be because the builder may not have enough to finish the task. A half built tower would have no purpose and the builder has now lost all of the money that he put into it.
 So, it is good to make plans and set goals however, as we read in Proverbs 21:5 goals should be set wisely, "The plans of the diligent". When making New Years Resolutions be diligent and make them wisely. There is just a couple of things to consider for a Christian when making those resolutions.
 Christ tells us in Matthew 6:33-34 that we should, "Seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness." The first thing that we should be planning to do is to seek God. The Bible tells us that the beginning of all knowledge is to first learn the will and ways of our God.
 Plans should also be made with humility. James 4:15 says, "Instead you ought to say, if it is The Lord's will." In whatever plans we decide to pursue we should ask if it is the Lords will for our lives. The Bible can be a good guide to help determine whether a plan or resolution is the Lord's will for our lives.
 When making plans we should first ask ourselves if this plan will help me to pursue the Kingdom of God. The second thought that should come to mind is whether it is the Lord's will for my life. Often times a Christian will see that if it is the Lord's will for their life they will also be able to see that it will help them pursue the Kingdom of God.
 Happy New Years and have fun making those New Years Resolutions.

 

Ministry in 2014: Victory Ministries

 I'm really excited about the upcoming year. This will be the first year that I will enter the full-time ministry since I first answered the call into ministry in 2005. I have spent most of my adult life in the Army serving with four deployments. As a matter of fact, I answered the call into ministry while deployed to Baghdad, Iraq. Christ had been tugging at my heart long before I "surrendered". I just couldn't deny the call anymore and God demonstrated to me how much people really needed Him.
 It isn't like I haven't done anything in the ministry for the past eight years. I first started doing pulpit supply at my home church after I answered the call into ministry. Later when I got injured sending me back to my home town I started a rehab ministry which I taught Bible classes to three faith based rehab centers. I later pastored a small rural church for a year and a half.
 Since being called into the ministry I have many great opportunities to offer spiritual guidance to individuals. Many of these individuals were people that I met through revivals and the rehab centers that I taught at. I was also able to provide spiritual guidance to soldiers. Often soldiers would discover that I was a minister and would have deep spiritual questions especially while deployed.
  I have had some great mentors over the past eight years and continue to seek mentoring guidance from those that have many years in the ministry. These great men of the faith have taught me a lot about what it means to be in the ministry from preparing sermons to day to day ministry activities. I have appreciated all of their guidance.
 As far as preparing for ministry in a education setting I am currently working toward my Masters in Christian Ministry with a pastoral counseling cognate at Liberty University and Seminary. This desire to learn more about our Lord and the Bible actually started years before I answered the call into ministry. When I gave my life to the Lord in 1996 I didn't have a Christian background so, I took undergraduate classes in Biblical studies. My thirst to gain knowledge has just grown more and more.
 All that has happened in the past eight years has lead me to an exciting start into full time ministry. My License In The Christian Ministry, Ordination In The Christian Ministry, experience, mentorships, and education will be very beneficial for the services that will be offered. My own injury that helped me to discover some great tools that helped me to live victorious which is Resilience will also be very beneficial.
 Victory Ministries is an Itinerant Ministry that will offer Pulpit Supply to church leaders that need to take leave. Conducting Revivals to help encourage Christians to strengthen their faith in Christ. Evangelism: Sometimes churches need assistance in starting Evangelism Programs to reach others in their community. All of this is exciting, but I'm really excited about offering Resilience Training that will be geared toward helping Christians to live victoriously during adversity. This will also be offered for the youth ministry programs in churches. Many Christians (especially our youth) in our churches are struggling and need resilience tools to help them overcome their situations.
  I just ask that you will be praying for God to open doors for Victory Ministries. I also ask that you will help me to spread the word about this ministry and if you know of any opportunities please let me know. Thank you for taking the time to read and have a blessed New Year!

Again, Services offered are Pulpit Supply, Revivals, Evangelism, and Resilience Training. I can be reached at rogergriggsministry@gmail.com and (502)370-0409.

Christian Resilience For Christmas

Sharing

Do you feel like you deserve more or all that God has blessed you with?
 Let me share a war story from the Bible of some people who also felt the same way.
1 Samuel 30:16-20 tells us a war story of David and how he was victorious over the Amalekites. The Bible tells us that the battle lasted from twilight the first day until the evening of the next day. That is a long time to fight! That means there is a possibility of that battle lasting for about 36 hours. But, David was victorious and The Lord was faithful in guiding David because David inquired about whether or not he should pursue them. In 30:8 The Lord said, "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all." The recovering that The Lord was talking about was the "spoil" that the Amalekites took from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah.
 David had six hundred men with him, but two hundred were too tired to cross the river Brook Besor (30:10). David left them there with the supplies which would actually benefit him to pursue the Amalekites because he had less weight to carry. So, it wasn't a total loss that those two hundred men stayed behind.
 The Bible 30:18 tells us that "David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away." He first inquired of The Lord of whether he should pursue and as noted The Lord said yes. Verse 18 also means that David wasn't just going after the Amalekites just to war against them and take their possessions. On the contrary he was fighting them to recover what the Amalekites had taken.
 They were in fact victorious and they recovered everything. They also took spoil, their gains or wages from the war, such as the livestock. But, 30:22 says, "Then all of the wicked and worthless men of those who went with David answered and said 'because they did not go with us we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered." These men were strong, brave, and went with David into battle! But, the Bible says they were wicked and worthless because they were being greedy.
 30:23 David says, "My brethren, you shall not do so with what The Lord has given us." David further explains that those who stayed behind with the supplies had just as important job as those who went into battle him. As noted earlier, it was beneficial for David anyhow because there was less weight and also too many men on the battlefield could have created even more chaos and "clutter".
 -As a soldier of more modern wars I can tell you that we take care of our supply personnel. They have the arduous task of making sure that we "grunts" have everything we need to keep on fighting.
 Not only did David feel that those who stayed with the supplies deserved their portion in the spoil, but he also gave some of his spoil to the elders of Judah, to those in Bethel, in Ramoth, Jattir, Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, Rachal, Jerahmeelites, Kenites, Hormah, Chorashan, Athach, Hebron, and to all the places that David and his men were accustomed to rome (30:26-31). David knew the value in sharing what the Lord blessed him with.
 Maybe you have been blessed with something that you feel that The Lord has given it to you and not anyone else. The Lord blesses us so that we can share with others and as you can see from David's experience the more the better!

Don't Worry

"Then He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on." Luke 12:22
 When we read the Bible it tells us to not worry and it is difficult to not worry in times like this. This is a very important aspect of resilience though it may be one of the reasons resilience is lacking. Remember resilience means to "bounce back" during times of adversity. When worry is present during difficult times the ability stand strong and push forward will lack.
 The first and foremost reason for Christians to not worry is that you have a God who cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 says,  "Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you." God who created you will sustain you during every season of your life including the difficult time that you are facing.
 The second reason to not worry is because God thinks you as His creation is very valuable. Christ goes on to demonstrate in Luke Chapter 12 that the birds have everything that they need and YOU are more valuable than they. It is obvious that God cares for the birds because he gave them food to eat and a place to sleep. If He did that for them He will most definitely do that for you because you are His prized creation.
 The third reason to not worry is that Christ is leading you. Hebrews 2:10 describes Christ as the "captain" of our salvation. A captain is someone who leads his men to victory during battles. That is what Christ does during our times of adversity "leading us to victory".
 It is difficult to not worry, but do remember that the God who created you cares very  much for, He thinks you are His most prize creation, and Christ is leading you to victory during this difficult time. May Peace surround you!

Social Media For Ministry

 This blog is usually written for hope, resilience, and living victoriously however, I have written the do's and don'ts for Christians on social media and today I want to write about social media marketing for ministry's. Effectively, social media done right is ultimately resilience, hope, and living victoriously for the Church (ministry) or those who see the posts written by the social media manager.
 A question may come to mind why write this post about social media and ministry or why do I need to market it?  The first reply is "Why not"? If you take a look around, the world is winning. One reason the world is winning is because they market to anyone and everyone. The church is being drowned out by advertisements everywhere by the world and they offer what the world desires.
 On the other hand the church really has what people really yearn for and that is Hope. Yet, for many reasons the church isn't doing what it needs to reach those people. Maybe, some church leaders or administrators feel that they shouldn't "have" to do what the world does. Or maybe, there are those who feel like we should only be associating with our own cliché; the church and it's people.
 While in the military I pursued a degree in information technology and an area that I really liked was marketing and social media. I did several consulting "side jobs" to help people with building an audience with their social media. I feel like social media is one of the greatest tools to reach the world with any product especially if it is Hope and Jesus Christ. But, while researching for a current project that I'm working on I discovered that there was very little material on marketing and social media for ministry's.
 There are a couple of reasons why there is very little material on the subject.  The first is that in the past we marketed our churches and ministries by foot and snail mail (at least that is how we did it when I first became a Christian). It's still effective, but we need to enter the 21st century. The second reason is that marketing and social media is a new game for all organizations in general. In the marketing and IT field we are learning more and more everyday about social media capabilities and marketing with it.
 Let me first give a brief background to the internet and social media (I don't think I need to give a history of Christianity). As far as the "internet" is concerned it has been around for many years. One of the first public internet services was offered by CompuServe in 1969. The first email was delivered in 1971. In 1978 one of the first web based "bulletin" boards was created and was actually one of the first "virtual communities". The following year in 1979 Duke University and the University of North Carolina both offered the same type of "bulletin boards" so that faculty and students could interact.
 It wasn't until 2002 that the first "social media" site was launched which was Friendstar after the dot.com bubble burst in 2000. The following year in 2003 MySpace was created and launched. MySpace really started the trend in social media for individuals.
 In 2004 Facebook was created and launched for Harvard. The following few years other social networking sites was created and launched trying to scrape to the top. However, in 2009 Facebook became the top social media site with the most users.
 This year, 2013, social media has seen some of the best activity since the conception of it; with no end in sight for it. YouTube averages about 4 Billion views per day, Facebook has over 1 billion users, and Twitter has over 500 million registered users. YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter are the top ranking social media sites, but there are countless others out there on the world wide web. Others include  Tumblr, Flicker, LinkedIn, Reddit, Google+, Pinterest, and many more.
 With those kind of stats wouldn't it be smart to tap into the social media game to reach the world for Christ and let the world know about your church. The whole point for social media really is about having a presence on the web isn't it? Most usually! Everyone that I have talked to and helped with their social media they always say that they want to be noticed on the web. The only way to do that is to either pay lots of money or be patient and be very active on it.
 First things first! Yes, the easy part is opening the free account, throw a picture up, and just start typing. But, there should be care into how your social media site looks. That social media site represents you and/or your organization. It should look professional and when there is a new status or tweet added there should be few or NO! grammatical errors. People will make an assumption of the organization that your site represents by the way it looks.
 There are several ways  to make your social media sites successful. Many organizations will spend a ton of money on social media using the extra tools that help to do analytics and paid advertisements. A few of the tools are Addvocate, Swayy, and Compfight. Most of all the good tools such as the one's mentioned may start out with a free trial period, but usually end up being very expensive. The free tools tend to be very inaccurate and not work very well at all.
 The cost for advertisement can also be very high. Advertising will cost more than running an ad in the local paper. Often when you start a new website they will offer social media advertising "bucks". Usually it is a low amount and will not get you past a day or two of advertising.
 So, what do you do on a budget or with no money? I have taken new social media sites and made them noticed on search engines within a couple of weeks; this takes time and patience. (At the time of writing this if you Google searched my name, Dale Griggs, my twitter would be the first to come up in the feed). Below I will share the most basic ways of doing that while still maintaining your Christian "status".
 *As mentioned above, make your social media sites look professional. Whether you believe it or not eventually those sites will be found on search engines and when people find them they will make a judgment about your organization from the way  your sites look. If someone is new in town and they are looking for a new church they will go to the web and search. If the site looks awful more than likely they will find another church to attend. There are a lot of people who travel that look for churches to attend because they are missing their regular home church. APPEARANCE IS EVERYTHING!
 *Note: Your ministry and/or church social media sites should display links to other social media sites and especially the website of the ministry or church. The physical location should also be displayed as well.
 *After the appearance is up to par you have to gain followers otherwise you DO NOT have an audience (or a presence on the web). You can follow all of the people you want, but when you put up a new status no one will read the good things that you will be putting out there. This is more the case on sites like instagram, twitter, and tumblr. On facebook you need to get people to like your page otherwise no one will read your status's.
 When trying to get followers the free way the only way to do it is to follow others. In most cases people will follow back.. that is a huge deal on twitter. The best way is to find like minded people such as others in the ministry and follow some of their followers. The work other than putting status's on your social media comes in by maintaining a good followers and following ratio. It is key to stay  within 50-100 followers either more or less. It is wise to un-follow those who do not follow back unless you actually want to follow them. Find those inactive accounts as well and un-follow them.
  Note: There are many people including ministers and ministries that will buy followers that are inactive. The only need for buying followers is to boost the followers number because again appearance is everything.
 Does it matter who likes or follows your social media site? What if they aren't Christian? On one hand it does if you are partaking in their behavior (check out my Do's and Dont's for Christians on Social Media). On the other hand you are on a social media site and it is true on there as it is in the world; you may be the only Gospel they see or hear.
 Should I only follow people locally? It is a social media site so, I say yes and no again. You obviously want local people to follow your social media, but odds are "if" you are wanting to boost your social media efforts you will need to go beyond your local area. If you are a Christian or a ministry your first ambition should be to reach others for Christ. So, if someone a thousand miles away accepts the Gospel because of one of your status's or tweets you may not have helped fill your pews, but you helped the Kingdom.
 Not only just those who may happen to accept the Gospel, but if your status's or tweets are good they will get shared or re-tweeted. If someone with 10,000 or more followers share your status chances are someone locally will see it even if they aren't following you. Again, it goes back to travelers that are looking for a church to attend for a Sunday or even for the summer. ALOT of people are on social media (as stated above) and many of those travel and when you have represented the church well they will remember that when looking for an out of town church to attend.
 Note: In the ministry there is no such thing as "target" marketing! Everyone is the target whether local or not or believer or not. It should be every Christian's desire to reach everyone with the Gospel!
*Ok. So, the social media site looks good and you're starting to get an audience what's next? Status's and tweets! First you will want to share or tweet status's that represent your church or ministry well. Your status's will also need to share event's that is going on at the ministry or church. Think of it as a bulletin board.
 Another good thing to share is links to the ministry website and sermons. This allows people to further discover what the ministry or church is about. Finally share status's that others will enjoy and share on their social media sites (or re-tweet). This help's to gain more of a presence on the web and social media. After all, isn't that what we should be doing.. Making Him Known!
 This just skimmed the top and is definitely not all there is to the social media "trade". Hope this will give you a great start. Don't hesitate in contacting me by e-mail at: rogergriggsministry@gmail.com for any assistance and questions.
 

Finding Peace

1 Corinthians 7:15 "..But God has called us to peace."
Psalm 34:14 "Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it."

 The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas can be hectic. Along with the chaos there will be many filled with grief, sorrow, and depression. It should be a joyous time of year, but the truth is there will be some that will be missing loved one's that have gone on to their eternal resting place. There will also be some that won't be able to partake in the commercialized part of Christmas because they are broke (and that depresses people even more).
 It is sad that we have commercialized Christmas so much that it will depress some that much. We all know that Christmas is all about Jesus and His birth and we give to honor Him because He gave us so much. At least that is what Christmas derived from and that is what it should be about. So, what can we do to help ourselves or others during this time of year? Encourage ourselves and especially encourage others to seek peace. (This is a major piece of Christian Resilience).
 Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 7:15 that "God has called us to peace". We have peace first and foremost because He sent His only Son to take our place on that cross so that we can be right with Him. He sent.. That is the day that we celebrate Christmas. Because He sent His Son we can be forgiven and no longer be separated from Him.
 However, as Christians we should seek that peace that we have in God. As the Psalmist says, "Depart from evil and do good..". That is truly what Christ saved us from isn't it; our sin (evil)? In order to obtain peace we have to first turn from our sin (180 degrees) and start a new path in our lives toward the good that God has called us to. When we have made an honest effort to turn from the sin in our lives we can pursue peace; that is, chase after it as if that is all we want!
 "What does the dark have to do with the Light?" The two are contrary to one another and neither can exist in the presence of the other. There will either be Light or darkness. It is the same concept with our lives. We will either pursue evil or we will pursue peace, but there can not be both because they are enemies of each other.
 You may be thinking, "Well it isn't evil that is causing me or others to grieve". Remember, "God has called us to peace". We can not allow the worries of the world to drown that peace. Whether it is grief due to the loss of a loved one or the lack of funds we must find peace with it for ourselves and others that are in our lives. It's alright to remember those that aren't with us anymore, but it can become bondage to allow the memories to weigh us down and rob us of our joy and peace. (Bondage to anything is evil).
 What about the lack of funds to partake in the commercialized Christmas? I will first say that Christmas (or Thanksgiving for that matter) isn't about buying the biggest and best stuff. It is celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior. Do what you can and if you can't do anything at all that is fine because as a Christian God gave you the best present of all and that is peace of being right with God.
 Please, find peace during this time of year and enjoy the peace of God.

Shalom ~Dale Griggs

Resilience

 Today more than ever people are spending more money on self-help guides to help them during tough times. They are searching for ways out of situations such as grief, weight, addiction, and the list goes on. Times seem to be even tougher on people due to the low and slow economy. During the holiday season people will become even less resilient.
 It is my belief that to overcome any situation a person needs to first be resilient. Resilience means to have elasticity or to bounce back. This is the quality that people have when they are facing tough challenges and it seems they aren't affected by those situations at all. It may be that someone has lost a job, but every time you see them they are smiling as if they had a million dollar job.
 It isn't because that person is special and has a secret that no one else could ever obtain. They have learned to be resilient either on their own or through counseling and/or training. Most people have that ability to be resilient and when faced with a mountain they figure out how to climb it or just go around it. Others that seem to be struggling during challenging times have the ability to be resilient, they just don't know how to be. 
 For those who aren't naturally resilient, They can learn to be resilient; they just need guidance and encouragement.  What does it benefit for someone to be resilient? They have a better quality  of life. They are able to more quickly overcome situations. When both people in a marriage are resilient that marriage has a better chance of lasting. Finally, being resilient means that families are happier. AND it is better to master the skills to be resilient before challenging times hit!
 The fact is that 2014 is expected to be another bad year for many; if not worse! I wished it wasn't that way, but it is our jobs as Christian's to help our brothers and sisters to be resilient and to overcome situations. Whether it is from depression, sickness, or sin Jude tells us, "And on some have compassion; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh" (Jude 22-23). 
 If there is any way I can help please do not hesitate in contacting me. I'm a Christian Minister who has had extensive resilience training and have learned it though my own life experiences. I can be reached at (502)370-0409 or rogergriggsministry@gmail.com.

Life Lessons: Resist, Plan, and Enjoy!

  I think that it's important to learn something everyday either about ourselves or something else. I do this by reflecting throughout the day to discover what my take-aways are. I  held on to the idea of "take-aways" from the Army. Take-aways is a reflection or something that you took away or learned from either the day or from a task. The term would be brought up in discussions such as, "what is your take-away?" I wanted to share my take-aways from my run this morning.
  When I start the week out running I will start out a little slower and for a short distance, but by the end of the week I will have a "long run". I try to do this long run on Friday, but some of the time like this week I  have to wait until Saturday to do my long run. All morning I had to convince myself to run because it was Saturday and it was cold. Eventually, I got motivated to go on my run by telling myself that I am trying to get ready for a marathon. Throughout my run I kept wanting to stop or cut my run short.
  My first take-away from my run this morning was to resist temptation. I needed to resist the temptation to stop and walk or to cut my run short. I know that if I miss even one day of training I wont be as good as I would be as if I would have trained the extra day; I will regret missing that one day. I also know that stuff happens and there are times when days off are actually needed. At the end of the training period all of those days will build up and it will be noticed on the day that it counts; marathon day. Again, Resist!
  My second take-away this morning was planning. Although, I got motivated and stay motivated, about halfway through the run my shoe came untied forcing me to stop anyhow. I quickly stopped, tied my shoe, and kept running. I didn't allow myself to allow this one moment of "having" to stop cause me to stop or slow down altogether. Unforeseeable times are going to happen. However, I could have tied my shoe better or what I normally do is tuck my shoe laces into my shoe. Planning ahead could have prevented this stalled moment, but even worse I could have stumbled even worse causing more damage. It happens, but it is better to plan ahead for those moments when we are stalled or stumble.
  Finally, my third take-away was to enjoy going down the hills. On my long run days I hit the road and try to take different routes. Most of the time these routes are routes that I've never ran before. I try to be familiar with the routes so that I don't get totally lost. Nonetheless, there were some really good hills on this route today and hills are good for building endurance. Going up the hills aren't always enjoyable and the steeper the grade the more struggle there is. But! Going down that hill is more enjoyable and can put the cruise control on. There is always another hill so, enjoy the scenery and catch your breath going down hills and you will be better prepared for the next hill.

Jesus Heals The Sick

"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick." Mark 2:17

Jesus declares that His purpose in coming was for those who needed Him, not those who think that they are 'good', righteous, or spiritually well. His purpose was to minister to those who know that they need Him. It is through Him that we gain access to Heaven. But, another thing miraculous happens when we accept Him into our lives; we can go boldly before the throne of God.
Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Because we as Christians have accepted Christ as our Savior we can now approach God (the throne of Grace). 'The time of need' that the author of Hebrews is speaking about is when we have trials and tribulations.
Paul says it this way, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1) Believing in Christ and having faith in Him gives us peace, meaning that we are no longer at war with God because we have repented and have now been placed into the Army of God. Being on the right side of the fight gives us access as Christians to the ultimate Commander in Chief; God. We aren't fighting against Him by sinning, we are fighting for Him!
Paul also goes onto to talk about tribulations and the work that it does in us in Romans Chapter Five. Did you know that Paul was an expert in tribulations. He talks about his tribulations such as being beaten, stoned to death, shipwrecked, and severely mistreated by others. When Paul talks about tribulations he is talking about a whole spectrum of things such as physical hardships, mental and physical sufferings, and distress. There are a wide range of tribulations that can be discussed. Paul also goes on to say in Romans Chapter 5 verse 3 that we glory in tribulations.
It's not popular to say that Christians will have tribulations and it's definitely not popular to say that we should glory in them. However, we should because we know that it makes us stronger and makes our faith stronger. Not only that, but we know that the Mighty Physician is there to help and guide us.
No matter what you are going through today whether it is physical hardships, loss of a family member, or financial just know that Christ came for you. He is there to help you in your time of need; that was the reason for Him coming. Go before the Throne of Grace and give it to God. You will gain peace and the much needed help that you are seeking!
Remember: "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help, I will uphold you with my Righteous right hand." ~Isaiah 41:10
This is what God is saying to each and everyone that accepts His Son Jesus as their Savior today. He is there willing and able to strengthen you and help you no matter what you are facing.
Prayer: " Dear Lord, I know that someone will find this today and will truly be searching for help and guidance. I just ask that you touch their heart and give them grace and peace. I also ask that you show them that You are Gracious and can guide them and help them in their time of need. Amen"

The Impossible Made Possible

The Mount of Olives from Bible-History.com

 

 

 



 "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." -Mark 11:24
 Mark Chapter 11 starts what is known as the "Triumphal Entry" into Jerusalem. Jesus tells his disciples to go ahead of Him to get a colt and bring it back to Him to ride into town. As He enters the town people are cutting branches to throw onto the road and throwing their clothes down for a path as well. The people there also sang hymns to praise His entry into the city. This was the entry into town only fit for a King; a King that would die for His people at the end of this particular week.
 While Jesus was in Jerusalem this particular week there was a lot that happened and He used everything as a teaching tool for His disciples. Jesus demonstrated how an unfruitful fig tree would always be unfruitful. He also cleansed a temple that was being used for prosperity rather than for a place of prayer to His Father.
 After cleansing the temple he left the city where His disciples noticed the withered fig tree. They asked Him about it and He discussed to them about faith in God. He was in the location of the Mount of Olives. This was the Mount that Jesus was talking about when He said, "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says."
 There are two elements Christ talked about in this set of scripture to receive whatever asked for from God. The first is faith in God which is believing in Him. Hebrews 11 discusses faith more in-depth. "It is the substance in things hoped for and evidence of things un-seen." ~Heb. 11:1 Hebrews Chapter 11 goes on to talk about the great Patriarchs of faith and the mighty things that they accomplished having faith in God. It also discusses their rewards from God for their faith. So, the first element is to have faith in God. He also discusses that when we ask for something we must believe that we will receive it. This is the same thing as having faith in God; we are having faith (believe) that God will give us what we ask for.
 The second element here is prayer. Christ talks extensively on prayer throughout His public ministry. Probably the most popular demonstration of prayer in the New Testament is His prayer in the Garden which can be read in Matthew 26:36-46, Luke 22:39-46, and Mark 14:32-42. Three times Jesus went away from His disciples and companions to pray. The first time the text tells us that He fell to the ground asking for "this cup to be taken from Him" meaning the punishment for the sin of the world in which He was going to bear soon. Just as Christ demonstrated, we should take the time to pray and earnestly pray. Christ demonstrates that earnest prayer should consist showing humility to God such as hitting our knees before Him.
 Christ also demonstrates in His prayer to His Father that, "nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will." When we pray we should be asking that God's will be done. The Son Himself asked that His Father's will be done and not His own. As we know, Christ still went to the cross and took that horrible punishment for you and I. Therefore, when we pray we should be praying for God's will to be done and not our own. Often times people pray for worldly things and wonder why they don't get them. It is because it wasn't for the will of God. Most often we should ask ourselves whether or not what we are asking for will glorify God. Would it glorify God that a mountain be moved into the sea? Most definitely! It could if it was done in God's name and caused people to repent and turn toward God. There are other ways that it could glorify Him as well.
 The Mount of Olives highest peak is 2,684 ft and it also stretches for approximately 2.2 miles. This was the mountain that Christ was talking about when He said that if we prayed for it to be removed and if we believed, it will be done. It isn't the largest mountain, but it is large enough to seem impossible. However, as Christ says in His prayer in the Garden, "Father, all things are possible for you."
 What about you? Are there mountains in your life that need to be removed? There is no circumstance too big for God to remove. As a child of God when certain things are removed He knows that we can glorify Him. All it takes is having faith in Him and faith that whatever we pray for we will receive.

Victory in Adversity comes from God!

According to Your Faith

"And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you." ~Matthew 9:28-29
Christ just left a house where He had healed a rulers daughter that they thought was dead. Maybe she was and maybe she wasn't. To them she appeared dead and they were already having a funeral ceremony in place. All that matters is that Christ took her by the hand and she arose.
After leaving that place two blind men followed Him saying "Have mercy on us." Webster defines mercy as: 2a: a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion." This was what the two blind men were seeking; the blessing of Jesus' divine favor and compassion. They wanted to be healed and able to see.
It is the same for us today. If we are to be healed or to revive from any of our adversity's we must first know where that divine favor comes from. We must do what the two blind men did and that was follow Jesus. Then we must ask for His mercy.
Just as He asked the blind men He will also ask us, "Do you believe?" To believe we have to have faith. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." It's difficult for some people to have that kind of hope in something that they can't see. However, it is important that we believe that Jesus is capable to do Mighty things in our lives. If we believe, it will be done!
Once we reply just as the two blind men did, "Yes, Lord" Christ will heal according to our faith. All it takes is the faith of a mustard seed to believe and move mountains. But, if we believe even more Christ will grant even more in our lives. Those two men walked away with their sight and even did what He told them not to do, "See that no one knows it." It's hard to be quiet about something so miraculous such as a healing so, they went out and told everyone the news of what Jesus did.
Are you facing an illness or injury today? Maybe a challenge in your life that you need to overcome. All it takes is faith in the Lord and He will be there to help you. Just say, "Lord, I believe" and it will also be granted to you according to your faith as well.

Prayer: "Lord, we believe!"

No Fear!

"Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." ~ Isaiah 41:10

 The Israelites were facing opposition from their neighbors and God reminds them to 'not fear'. During the exodus God helped them and with any other battles they faced on the way. It is the same way for us also. He guides us from our bondage of sin and strengthens us to stay away from it. He is also there with us, guides us, and strengthens us when ever we face opposition in life.
 No matter what challenge we face, if we call out to Him and ask for His help, He is there. This is one of many promises that God grants to those who worship Him. With His help through Jesus Christ we can overcome adversity with joy.

Prayer: "Dear Lord, I thank You for being there when we face challenges in our lives. Sometimes we face mighty opposition in the world, but there isn't an opposition too big for You."

You Are Wonderfully Made

Psalm 139:14 "I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
One of the aspects of being resilient is knowing your worth. I know that the Bible tells us that we are to be humbled and have a servants heart, but God wants us to know that we are worth more than anything else here on earth. As a matter fact the creation account tells us that we were made in His image. There is no better feeling than to know that we were made just like Him. Not only are we made just like Him who created us, but as Christians we have His Spirit dwelling inside of us. In 1 Corinthians 3:16 the Bible asks, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"
There are numerous verses in the Bible stating how much God thinks of us. Jesus states in Luke 12:24, "And you are far more valuable to Him than any birds." So, what does knowing your worth have to do with being resilient and being able to bounce back in tough situations?
It's very important to know that when you find yourself in a challenging situation that you are capable to overcome it. You are made in His image and filled with His Spirit which gives you the ability to be resilient and Overcome! He made no mistake when designing you and making you; you are wonderfully made. So, when you feel as if there is a mountain to move in your life praise Him who made you and dwells inside of you. With His help you can move that mountain. You are capable!

Prayer: "Dear Lord, I know that when we feel down and facing challenges we tend to rely on our own strength. This can sometimes make us doubt our worth Lord. Lord help us to know that we were made wonderfully in Your image and that you dwell inside of us. With knowing this we can face any mountain in our lives and overcome it. Amen!"

The Sin of Complicity

The Sin of Complicity

A sermon on the sin of complying. God will not allow our hearts to be at ease complying with the worlds standards nor will He allow us to use excuses of why we can't speak out against wrong!
Please click on the words "The Sin of Complicity" to listen.

Thanks For Listening
Blessings,
Dale Griggs
"Live Victorious"

Live Victorious

Psalm 108:13 "Through God we will do valiantly"

In our lives we meet challenges that will bring us to our knees. It could be the loss of a loved one, loss of a job, an addiction, finances, or a whole spectrum of things.
Psalm 108 is a Psalm about David who knows about challenges in his own life. Verses 5 and 6 say, "Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and You glory above all the earth; that Your beloved may be delivered, save with Your right hand, and hear me."
Whatever challenges you face today know that you are God's beloved and that you can overcome those challenges. All you need to do is call out to the Only One who can save and deliver us from these challenges.
The word valiant in this verse means to be bold or courageous. It is THROUGH God that we can be bold and courageous in the face of adversity. The Bible also says that our adversary, the devil, is prowling around looking for ways to weaken us. But, if we are bold and courageous when facing the adversary we can be victorious over our adversities.
All it takes is Trusting in God and calling on Him to be an Overcomer. He will guide you to Victory!

-Dale Griggs
"Live Victorious"
Please follow on twitter: twitter.com/griggsministry
Check out my website: http://griggsministry.weebly.com

#victory #overcomer #livefree

Message of Hope and Recovery

Greetings, my name is Dale Griggs. I’m a minister and a speaker that God has entrusted a wonderful message of hope and recovery to me that I should share with others.
      In October 2007 I was the truck commander in the vehicle that is displayed below when a large improvised explosive device detonated under my seat. I was rendered unconscious for several minutes only to wake up to a brand new life. I had to be evacuated to Walter Reed due to a severe traumatic brain injury. When I left Iraq that was my third and final deployment to that country.
     After a stay of six months at Walter Reed I was sent home to rehabilitate. At that point I had been a Christian for eleven years and a minister for two. There wasn’t much known about the effects of TBI caused by explosions in combat at the time. All I heard at the time was negative and others having a difficult time. I knew that if healing was going to come it would be through Christ.

After being home for just two and a half years the Army doctors declared me fit for duty to re-enter Active Duty Army. I was sent to Fort Lewis, WA in which I was actually able to deploy another time to Afghanistan. All of my chain of command agreed that I was a great candidate to receive Master Resilience Training and Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness Training in order to teach it to others.

    Now that I have satisfied my contract with the Army God has laid a new mission on my heart which is to share this message of hope and recovery. Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” There are many people, including Christians, who have a deferred hope due to illness, injury, or life circumstances. It would be an honor to have the opportunity to share a message of hope and recovering with you and your church.

If you would like to have me speak at our church sometime I can be reached at rogergriggsministry@gmail.com or (502)370-0409. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for your time ~Dale Griggs

Overcome!

Between Revelations Chapters Two and Three Christ tells us to overcome seven times. He reminds us through a message that is being sent to the seven churches that it is imperative that we overcome. He even reminds the two churches that had no criticism from Him to overcome; the church in Smyrna and the church in Philadelphia. If there is a group of people that should be able overcome anything that is thrown at them, it's the church body because we hold the keys and the ability to overcome; God's Word. We just need to know where to look. And I believe that every Bible believing Christian has the ability to overcome.
When most people hear the word overcome they immediately want to listen. There are some that just tune out as soon as they hear the word. Then a large number of those who listen eventually start to be turned off of it maybe because they aren't receiving the tools to overcome. Or maybe they receive the tools and still feel as if they have failed. BUT, I'm here to tell you that you can succeed in overcoming. Whether you are a skeptic or whether you've tried the tools and feel like you've failed, I KNOW that you can do it. Everyone one of us has that ability to overcome what ever challenges it is that we face. God has built us with that drive to be victorious in the face of adversity.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me or leave a message.

Resilience

 
The photo shown above is the photo of the vehicle I was in on October 22, 2007. It was this very moment that changed my life. A large I.E.D, 150 lbs. of unidentified bulk explosive, detonated directly under the seat that I was seated in. Though the armor of that truck separated myself and the blast I still took the brunt of that explosion. I was unconscious for several minutes. When I woke from that darkness everything about me was changed.

As a Combat Engineer on my third deployment this wasn't the first time that I had experienced a blast, but it was the largest that I had received. The combination of past blast and that last was devastating to my body. Things that were affected were my balance, memory, emotions, and speech... among many other things. After evaluation it was determined that I needed to go to Walter Reed to receive further treatment. Indeed, I went to Walter Reed and was in their care for about five months. During that five months I received occupational therapy, speech therapy, and pain management. It was a very challenging time.

When I arrived back at my home station when I left Walter Reed there were other challenges that I faced. Along with receiving more therapy I started the process of a early retirement due to my injuries. I didn't want this at all however, it was in the best interest of the Army and for myself. It took almost a year for this process to take place and then I was on my way home. When I left the Army I determined that if I can get a fit for duty status to return back to the Army that I could say that I truly had gotten better.

It wasn't that easy, but I was determined to recover because I didn't like feeling that way and wanted to be better. After being on retirement for three years I did get that fit for duty status and returned back to work to finish my contract that I had with the Army.

I am now leaving the Army with an honorable discharge. While back on Active Duty I deployed once again and received a lot of great training. There was a great consensus that because I rehabilitated to come back in the Army that I was a great candidate to receive the training of resilience. I received Master Resilience and other resilience training in order to teach others in the military how to be resilient for the many challenges that we face in the military.

My story of being "blown up" and being injured isn't a unique story especially in our time of being in a couple of different wars for over a decade. However, my story of overcoming those challenges and being resilient is unique. It is so unique that when I tell people that I re-entered the Army after an injury like that they are shocked.

Because I am a Christian with this story of overcoming I have been asked to speak at groups and churches. It is my fullest intention to start setting up my calendar to start speaking with groups and churches to encourage. You see, it wasn't me that had the ability to overcome this, it was my faith in Christ and His ability in my life.

There is so much going on right now in the world that people's resilience is fading. I believe that we as a whole were more resilient in times past, but with all that is going on it becomes harder and harder to keep that resilience. I believe that is why there are so many programs popping up all over to teach resilience. One of the biggest attractions right now is the resilience training in the Army and rightly so. Soldiers need it abundantly due to many different circumstances. Organizations all over are starting to also turn to this training as well. Again, rightly so because it is very important especially in our day and time.

I also believe that resilience is something that we as Christians have always known as overcoming. Resilience just has a better "ring" to it than when we say "overcome". Either way, whether we say resilience or overcome it is important that we learn or relearn these fundamentals that we used to know and it starts with Encouragement.

After some encouragement from a friend that told me that I really should use my story to encourage others I have decided to do just that. Starting mid October I will be available to start visiting churches and groups. If you would like for me to come speak at a church or with a group please email me and let me know. I am also working on a program that I believe is really important that will also help people to be more resilient and would also love to share that with people as well. If interested in having me to speak and/or teach this program let me know. My e-mail is rogergriggsministry@gmail.com.

Leadership

With all of the different leadership roles in any kind of work place there are some qualities that all leaders should have. It doesn't matter if the leader is in a large organization or leading a small team on a mission in Iraq these qualities will prove to be successful for the leader.

When called to be the leader; be the leader. Often times people will question their role as a leader and it causes wavering in that particular leader and the people they lead will lose confidence in them. When there is a lack of confidence on both sides the mission will fail. Numbers 27:18
A leader should never expect his/her people to do what he/she isn't willing to do. If a leader convinces those they are leading that the best course of action is to crawl through mud, that leader should also be willing to crawl through mud. This shows that the leader doesn't think of themselves higher than those he is leading. There will be much respect from those that the leader is leading. John 13:5
The leader should be someone that is humble. Humility can be one of the best qualities that a leader can possess and also displays that he/she is taking this role as a leader serious. John 13:5
A leader should always be someone that has diligence. Diligence is defined by perseverance. A leader should always be there for and with his men/women that they are leading. They can't expect the people they are leading to keep going if they can't keep going as well. Romans 12:8

There are many other qualities that a leader should possess, but these are the first few that any leader in any role should gain.

Full of Joy

John 15:11 "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."

This was a momentous statement for Jesus to say to His disciples at that very time. Jesus says this during a long conversation with the disciples after He washed their feet demonstrating true servitude (John 13: 1-17). He talked to them extensively about His crucifixion and how they should react to it. And during this conversation He tells them that "I have spoken this to you that My joy remain in you and that their joy would be full."
After telling them that He was going back to Heaven, how it would happen, telling them that one of them would betray Him, and even telling them that another one of them would betray Him. I'm sure that they were thinking, "what a thing to say to us." He is telling us that we should remain joyous!
As a matter fact, He makes this statement over and over during His ministry. Specifically, in the Beatitudes He explains that we should feel that we are blessed during times when we are poor in spirit, when we mourn, and yes during times of persecution (Matthew 5: 1-12).
It is my belief that Jesus is also telling us this today. God's Word, the Bible, is divinely spoken for all of His children to read and take comfort in it until that Great Day when Christ returns to bring all the Christians Home.
John also echoes this joy statement in 1 John 1:4, "And these things we write to you that your joy may be full." By this time Christ had already been crucified, buried, and resurrected. John had witnessed this and He was transferring that statement to us because He also found joy in the statement. Why have joy though? Well, the first reason is that we have an eternal hope in Heaven. The second reason is that as Christians we will have troubled times and we can look to that joy in our eternal hope; through Jesus Christ.
There is so much going on around us today and there are so many people losing hope. People are losing jobs, the economy is terrible, and Christians are being more persecuted. But, there is a reason to have hope; pure joy. This is because Christ is our forerunner that went on before us to Heaven and He is there praying for us and rooting for us. We have that eternal assurance that one day we will be with Him in Heaven. At that time all of our hardships will no longer be. We will no longer grieve. There will no longer be a reason to shed tears.
It is my prayer that you will rest in the assurance of Christ's return and have joy. Have joy abundantly!

Zechariah 11:12-13

¹² And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.
¹³ And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.

There are literally hundreds of prophecies that Jesus fulfilled throughout His life. I would make a quick comment here that there hasn't been anyone else in the history of time that this has happened with. Jesus fulfilled these prophecies hundreds of years later after they were spoken. We live in a technological world where almost anything is possible. However, if you wanted to write even 100 characteristics down that you would love to see in a future ancestor, it would still be impossible for those characteristics to come to fruition. Not even half of that hundred and I would say that not even one of those things would come to fruition.

Not just one, but hundreds of prophecies were fulfilled by our Lord Jesus Christ. There are several things that are amazing about Jesus fulfilling these prophecies. First, is that it was impossible to store these things and preserve them as we can today to pass down to others. The second amazing thing about these prophecies are that they not only describe Jesus' characteristics, but they describe His life which encompass His birth (how He was born and where He was born), His life, ministry, and His death.

Zechariah 11:12-13 describe what is known as the betrayal of Jesus Christ. The whole text of Zechariah 11 has to deal with prophecy of our Lord. We come to where Zechariah requests his pay to continue service. He did this not on his own, but by what the Lord told him to do.

Those that counted out the money counted 30 shekels of silver. The money paid was the price of a slave at that time (Ex. 21:32). This wasn't the price of good service and it was an undervalue to be paid this much. However, it was as God planned to show that this figure would be seen in the future. Indeed, it was shown again when Judas betrayed our Lord. The 30 shekels of silver were an undervalue of Zachariah's work and again it was an undervalue of our Lord.

In verse 13 the Lord told Zechariah to cast it unto the potter. A potter may have worked in the House of the Lord at the time. But, this again is a demonstration of the potter field mentioned in Matt. 27:9-10. Judas' conscience got the best of him and he felt it would be better to give the 30 pieces of silver back, but it was too late. After Judas hung himself, he was buried in the potter's field.

The 30 pieces of silver is the money that was given to betray the Lord. It was an undervalue especially when Judas had spent years with Jesus and should have known that our Lord's purpose wasn't what Judas had in mind. Jesus' purpose was priceless. It was to save our souls from an eternity in hell.

By throwing the 30 pieces of silver to the potters is a striking resemblance of throwing 30 pieces of silver into a fund for the burial of someone who was a stranger (Matt. 27:7). In a way Judas was a stranger to all of his associates, the other apostles. When Jesus told them that someone would betray Him they thought it was impossible and that none of them could betray our Lord. But, he was in no way a stranger to our Lord. He knew who Judas was and what his purpose would be. 

The ultimate purpose for all of this was that ALL can be saved. The prophecies and the events that led to Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection was all part of a plan by our God. Our salvation wouldn't be possible without any of these events. That is how much God loves you and desires to have a relationship with you.  

You Cannot Accept Only Half of God

Remain Faithful

A recurring theme when reading what the Lord has to say to the Seven Churches in Revelation is 'repent'. It is worthy to point out that the Lord is speaking to churches and giving them a report. It could also be pointed out that the Seven Churches here could easily represent our churches today. We could easily look at each of the Seven Churches and describe a church today with it's description. One church will be so busy doing, that those inside the walls has lost their love and passion for Christ which is the Church of Ephesus described in Revelation 2:1-7. Then there may be a church that could be commended for doing all the right things however, they overlook some wrong teaching or blatant sin such as it was with the Church of Thyatira.
There were only two Churches that the Lord didn't tell to repent; that was the Church in Smyrna and the Church in Philadelphia. The Church in Smyrna was known to the Lord as the Church that was being persecuted for Him. The Church in Philadelphia was known for being faithful to Him regardless of their situation.
To the Church in Smyrna or the Church in Philadelphia He didn't tell them to repent. Instead, he reminded them to "remain faithful" and to "hold fast" with the reminder that He is "coming quickly." Why, if there was only good things to say about these two Churches, would he remind them to stay on course? I believe it is because He knew that it can be difficult to stay the course sometimes.
It is true that it's hard to overcome and persevere. This is because there is so much temptation. Jesus Himself knew about temptation. Matthew 4:1-11 describes the temptation of Christ by the devil. As a matter of fact, Hebrews 4:15 explains that Jesus can sympathize with us because He was tempted in all ways yet without sin. Therefore, even though we may always be doing the right thing and walking the strait and narrow, there should always be encouragement to stay the course and keep up the good work!
Let me ask you, are you staying the course today. If the Lord was to give you a report as He did the Seven Churches, would He remind you to stay the course or would He tell you to repent? This may be a question that offends some, but it is a question that needs to be asked. This is a question that we should be asking ourselves.
The Bible says "Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord." Lamentations 3:40
2 Cor. 13:5 says, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove yourselves."
Yes. We should always examine our walk with Christ and our relationship with Him because as the Lord Himself says, "I am coming quickly."
Prayer:
Dear Lord, let us examine our walk with You and always be found in Your will. May our report from You always be of encouragement to stay the course rather than You rebuking us to repent. I thank You Lord for being in my life. You truly are the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. Amen.

Spiritual Wellbeing

Author Pages

Several writings can be found here for free.. http://wattpad.com/griggsdale

I have two books that can be found on Amazon Kindle: Walk With God & 30 Days of Hope.. http://www.amazon.com/Dale-Griggs/e/B007HD3DL6

Some more poetry can be found here as well..
http://solideogloria4life.blogspot.com/

At the links above most of it is poetry. I love to write poetry for my Lord and have written several other books for self help, motivation, and other poetry that is unpublished now. I have been writing since I was in High School and enjoy every minute of it.

The Last Generation

Intro to the Book of Hebrews

The Book of Hebrews is an awesome book that should be taught and read by every Christian. When I was in the rehab ministry I always started out teaching this book. It is a great book for the themes that are outlined in it. It points to Christ's superiority over anything else that we could possibly put above Him. And it helps us to grow in our faith rather than sliding back or turning away from the faith.  It was probably written to second generation Christians that converted from Judaism.
The author and date of the Book of Hebrews has brought curiosity to many preachers and theologians.
To start, the author is unknown. In earlier transcripts of the Bible such as the KJV the author was attributed to the Apostle Paul. There are several reasons that many theologians have discarded the thought that Paul wrote Hebrews. There are two that I have always pointed out.
The first would be that the style of Hebrews is much different than any of the other Books that are written by the Apostle Paul. Paul would have been very knowledgeable about the subject and probably to the audience however, the style is much different.
The second point that I always point out is in Chapter 2 verse 3 which states, "how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation which at first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him."
I believe that a verse can tell us so much after praying over it and meditating on it. I also believe that a single verse will always have other supporting verses somewhere in the Bible.
For instance, this verse plainly tells us that the Good News that was spoken by the Lord was handed down from someone that heard the message firsthand. Demonstrated in the second part of that verse, "which at first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him."
Luke tells of the Apostle Paul's salvations in which it plainly states that Paul spoke to the Lord. Paul encountered Christ while on the road to Damascus and can be read in Act 9.
In verse 5 Paul asked, "Who are You, Lord?" Jesus then replied "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." Did you know that when you are persecuting, talking about, or slandering another Christian you are doing the same to Christ? Moving on: Just Paul's conversion is a whole other sermon and could be a sermon series, but we see that Paul directly spoke to the Lord and the Lord gave Paul his new mission in life.
Ok so, if it wasn't Paul, who was it? It is still a mystery, but many names have been thrown in the hat such as Barnabas because he was very familiar with the culture that the audience of Hebrews was of. Others suggest that Luke may have written, Peter could also be the writer, or it could have been Priscilla. One thing is for sure though, the ultimate Author was God who inspired all of the authors who wrote this book and the other 65 in the Bible.
The best date that can be given is sometime before A.D 64 which was before Nero's persecution. The main reason for this thought is that the Christian audience that the author is speaking to hasn't yet been called upon to suffer death for their faith in Christ. Which also brings up the reason for the Book of Hebrews. There are several themes in the Book of Hebrews that are pointed out which are:
-Christ is Superior. This starts out in Chapter One demonstrating that Christ is the Son of God and superior to the Angels.
-Christ is greater than the Jewish priesthood. This will be shown in Chapter 5.
-Christ is the Ultimate sacrifice. This will be displayed in Chapter 10 and also demonstrates that there is no other need for sacrifices after Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice.
-Faith in Christ is Superior to anything else we could have faith in.
-Finally, we will see the importance of enduring.
All of these themes point to a second generation Christian audience who were probably thinking of turning back to their traditional Jewish religious practices. It is important that this point is expressed especially in our time today.
We are finding people looking to worship in other ways than Christianity and for many reasons. There are first of all too many people teaching a wrong doctrine. It seems that ministers are too often trying to gain their popularity and glorifying themselves rather than Christ.
There is too much out there that draws people away from true faith in Christ and we are not doing enough teaching the hard right. The easy left is the path that seems to be the route to take when teaching someone such as forgiveness. For example, I have encountered people who will tell me that they can do whatever it is that they want to as long as they ask for forgiveness. This is a tough discussion to have especially to those who have lingered in addiction. The truth is ALL of the doctrines of the Bible need to be taught to all new Christians.
The last thing that I would point out and this is a topic that Christians don't want to hear is that often Christians do a good job of turning people away from Christ. I recently read a book that was written by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons called "Unchristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity." This book was published in 2007 and a great book for Christians to read. It explains the many reasons why we are seeing less and less of the younger generations come to Christ and even don't want to come to Church.
We should care what the younger generation thinks of Christianity and how we can draw them back. If we as Christians only care about the older Christians and not care whether the younger generation is saved or not, Christianity will eventually die out. The younger generations and teens is our future. They will be the one's to carry on the Gospel Message after we are gone.
The Book of Hebrews is a great Book and I hope you all enjoy it as you journey through it. If you have any questions please leave a comment or email me. My email can be found on the profile of this blog.

Out of Season (2 Timothy 3-4)

2 Tim. 3-4 "For the time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound doctrine and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths."

Timothy was a young timid preacher of the Gospel who joined Paul's ministry during Paul's second missionary visit to Lystra. He may have been timid because he was young or could have been due to the fact that he had a Greek/Jewish background. Either way, Paul knew that he was timid and felt the need to encourage Timothy to preach the Gospel. Paul reminded him in the opening verse of chapter four saying, "I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus.."
This is not an encouragement to take lightly that he would accompany it with "in the presence of God and Christ Jesus." This would have been known to anyone who was and is a true follower of Christ that Paul meant business by this encouragement. It wasn't advice that Timothy could just take or leave. What Paul conveyed in this message was an urgency and that Timothy should consider it very serious.
I wonder sometime why as Christians and Ministers today we don't listen carefully to the encouragement that is laid out in Scripture? If they meant so much almost 2,000 years ago, shouldn't they mean even more today? 2 Timothy was written around A.D 66 and even then Paul said that the time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound doctrine. If we took an honest look around us at the world today, our eyes would be opened to the fact that what Paul was saying has come to fruition. And we would have to be honest to say that it also seems that it is getting worse.
Today we have too many people who twist the Scriptures to suit their needs. Too many people who float from church to church until they are comfortable with what the preacher is saying. Too many people that only follow Christ on Sunday. Too many preachers who only give half of the Truth for fear of scrutiny. And preachers who preach a feel good message to keep "their" pews full; as if they were theirs and not God's.
The Truth is however, as Paul encouraged Timothy, God and Christ will return someday to set up an everlasting Kingdom and judge the living and the dead. As Christians, especially for ministers, we need to be prepared always to preach the Gospel Truth to anyone and everyone. Christ gave us the Great Commission in Matt. 28:19 to "go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."
Paul told Timothy in the second verse of second Timothy to "Preach the Word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not."
The word preach means to publicly proclaim. Paul was telling Timothy to publicly proclaim the Word of God to those that he encountered. He was encouraging Timothy not to be timid about the ministry that he was entrusted with and to "preach it whether the time is right or not (in season or out of season)".
We all go through times when we feel better than other times. Those times when we feel shy or timid to say anything at all much less the Gospel. So, we just keep it inside. Maybe Paul knew this about Timothy as well. We know that Timothy was timid, but maybe there were times when he wasn't and was bold about his faith. Then other times he felt the weight of what others were saying about him and it made him feel as if he wasn't worthy to preach the Gospel. He was too young or wasn't a full Jew and couldn't be trusted. Paul was telling him and you and I today that no matter what the circumstance is and no matter what we are feeling we need to be bold about our faith.
We need to be bold because there are too many people out there listening to the wrong message. There are too many teachers teaching the wrong doctrine. And those desires that people are chasing after aren't what they should be chasing after. We need to bring the full Gospel to people and not the watered down half Truth that is so common today. It is our duty as Christians to proclaim, "preach", the full Gospel Truth to everyone regardless of how we feel.
Let me ask you, are shying away from proclaiming the Gospel today? Has God laid it on your heart to talk to someone about the Good News and you have been putting it off. Let me encourage you to go forth and proclaim the Good News to whoever it is that God has laid on your heart. As Paul told Timothy in verse eight of second Timothy that "the prize awaits me- the crown of righteousness.. and the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to His appearing." The crown of righteousness for all who or eagerly await Christ's return and that means you to.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we ask that you would help us to be bold in the faith. Lord, just be with us as we boldly go forth and proclaim the Good News about You to all. Help us to overcome whatever it is that is stopping us from speaking the Word of God. Be with us and go before us as we live each day to honor You. Amen!

Study of the Seven Churches Part One: Rev. 1:12-16

**This is the start of a study of the Seven Church's in the Book of Revelation. This study will be continuing until each of the seven churches has been explained.

 

 

Rev. 1:12-16

A study of the Seven Church’s in Revelation is important now more than ever. Each of the Seven Church’s represent a state in which our Church’s today have fell victim to. It is imperative that we listen carefully to the words of Christ as He speaks to them in the Book of Revelation. A resounding phrase to each of the Seven Church’s is, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

There is need to first explain what a revelation is and the purpose of it. A revelation is a vision (in this case) of a warning or a vision of events to come. This vision that John of Patmos receives from the Lord is a warning to future events as it will happen. The Book of Revelation is a telling of the End Times and the events that will occur. This is why it is important to read what Christ say’s to the Seven Church’s because in the End Times this will be the state of our Church’s and it is our duty as Christians to listen to the Word of God and repent these areas.

In Revelation 1:12 John witnesses Christ for the first time in this revelation. There was a voice that spoke to him and he turns around to see who was talking. When he turns to see Him He is in the midst of seven golden lampstands. He gives a very good description of Christ as having “hair like white wool, white as snow”, “eyes like a flame of fire”, “his feet were like brass”, and “a voice that sounded like many water.”

John goes on to describe some other features such as “in his right hand was He had seven stars”, “out of His mouth went a sharp two edged sword”, and “His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.” All of the features described about Christ are very telling of Who Christ is.

The hair like white wool is a reflection of the “Ancient of Days” as Daniel wrote in Dan. 7:9. It also tells of Christ’s purity and wisdom. Eyes like flames of fire describes Christ’s righteousness and His judgments. His feet as brass describes that everything will be treat under His feet as described in 1 Corinthians 15:25. The seven stars that are in His right hand are the Church’s in which will receive judgment. The two edged sword reveals the judging power that Christ has because He will judge with the Word of God; not with man’s wisdom. His countenance shining like the sun in its strength displays that Christ has ever bounding strength; no other strength can outshine.

Important Don'ts For Christians on Social Media

 In recent years technology has seen some major advances. I can remember there was a time when Christians were dead set against the internet and especially social media. However, Christians are increasingly getting more active with social media to make their voices heard. As someone who has pursued a Bachelor in Information Technology, a Christian, and a minister I fully believe that technology can be used for good and the furtherance of the Kingdom. But, there are some "Don'ts" that Christians should be aware of when using social media.
Note: this is not law and bondage for Christians or another rule as Christianity is Freedom!

1. Christians should be very careful when posting to social media not to use harsh language or foul language. It is really a disheartening thing for other Christians to see someone who they go to church with posting on their feeds with every other word being a curse word. This also goes for anyone who claims to be a Christian they are Christian. Some people will post Praise the Lord on Sunday, but then on Monday are cursing everything in their life.
 There are a lot of people on social media that aren't Christians and when they see Christians cursing that's just one more reason for non-Christians to call the whole Christian community hypocrites.
REMEMBER: Colossians 3:8 "But, now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth."

2. Christians are often posting and liking pornographic material on their feeds. This is a another big don't for Christians. Whatever is liked on FB shows up in your news feed and often times will show up as that was liked by you. Again, this is seen by the world and is very off putting to see on Christians social media. On the other hand Christians shouldn't be posting off color pics of themselves on their social media sites. This doesn't really show your true heart as a Christian. Now, that doesn't mean that if you and your friends and family are the beach in bathing suits having a good time that you can't post pics of that.

3. Christians should also abstain from posting about drinking and partying. First of all, Christians shouldn't be doing that in the first place, but it most certainly should not be talked about on social media. Other Christians shouldn't see that on your feeds and when non-Christians see this they are not getting a clear picture of what Christ does for you in your life.
REMEMBER: Luke 21:34 "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly."

4. This a big one and has saved this one for the last of the Don'ts. Don't argue with non-Christians about your faith and especially to the point of being belligerent. I will have many people talk to me through social media about the Christian faith and have many times spoke their opinions about Christianity. It is very important that we don't lose our cool about this. We do feel strong about our faith, but if we feel this way we should want others to come to Christ as well. Often times, when we argue with people about our faith it drives people further away from ever becoming a Christian. It is perfectly fine to discuss your faith with others, but when you feel like the conversation will become heated just know that is when it's time to calmly say "it was nice talking to you about this and hope that we can discuss it further some other time."
REMEMBER: Ecclesiastes 6:3 "Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools."

Some Do's: There are some Do's for Christians that they should be doing.
1. Christians should be BOLD in the Lord and proclaim God's goodness, faithfulness, Love, etc. God has done so many good things for us that we should be proclaiming from the rooftops (or from our social media which will reach further than standing on the rooftop shouting.. LOL).
2. Christians should proclaim the truth on their social media. This could be about yourself, anyone else (unless it's a very personal matter: remember the world see's this), or issues that are going. People will respect your point of views as long as you respect theirs.
3. Be humble on your social media sites. Example: if your on Twitter don't be too prideful to talk to others or following them back. Being prideful will not get you far especially on twitter and on other social media sites. Besides, as Christians we want others to know the Greatness of God and social media is a great way of doing it.
4. Finally, just have fun. Social media is a great way to reach out to others and talk to others that are like minded.

 This is a short list and could be a lot longer than this, but as long as I've been on social media these are some of the key areas. As Christians we aren't perfect, but we should conduct ourselves as a child of the Risen King!

Today: What Would You Do?

 If you were told today that you only had 24hrs to live how would you spend it? Some would say that they would spend it fulfilling desires that they never had a chance to indulge in. Some would say that they would spend their last moments with their families. And then there would be some to say that they would spend it just relaxing.
The Bible says in Hebrews 3:7 "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."
 This passage is referring to the wilderness wanderers whom God saved from bondage. God sent Moses to Pharaoh to release His people from slavery. We all know the story of how determined God was to save His people; He sent 10 plagues to convince Pharaoh. After God's people were released they started their journey to the Promised Land.
 But, the odd thing is that the very people that God saved from bondage and leading to the Promised Land were starting to grumble. They were hardening their hearts to God due to their present circumstances. God gave them chance after chance to repent, but they wouldn't. Eventually, the children of Israel would spend 40 years wandering in the desert. It is also believed that they spent those years wandering in circle.
 Can you imagine having such a hardened heart towards God? It happens today! People hardened their hearts towards God due to their circumstances such as finances, divorce, a death in the family, or simply just not having enough stuff. In those circumstances rather than turning to the God that has saved them from their bondage they run right back to slavery to drugs, alcohol, and all other sin that would hold them captive. That is exactly what the Children of Israel kept saying too, "if we were still in Egypt." They only looked at their present circumstance and didn't remember that they lived in squalor, ate scraps, were beaten, and did hard labor.
 So, the question is, "Today, if you will hear his voice," what would you do? The truth is you may go on living for years or Christ may come back in the morning. Christ reminds us of this in Matt. 24:36 " But of that day and hour no one knows not even the angels of Heaven."
 I am not trying to scare you, only helping you to be prepared. There are many who reach their final destination in life without being prepared. Many good people, people who lived outstanding lives and thought they were good. And the sad truth is, they never listened to that voice asking them to repent and turn away from their sinful lives.
 God's voice speaks to us in many ways. It could be through a friend who visits just to tell you they love you. It could be at that moment after years of not reading the Bible we decide to just open it up just read some verses. It could be through this blog that the Holy Spirit is saying, "Today, if you will hear His voice do not harden your heart."
 His desire is that all would be saved. So, whether you have just today or many years to come, will you soften your heart and allow God in. He is offering Love, life abundantly, and an Eternal Promised Land.

**Dear God, let us not let one more day go by without listening to Your voice. We know that circumstances can be rough, but without You times are much rougher. Soften our hearts and enter today and from this moment on.
 
 

Not Feeling Good Enough?

And He said 'Follow Me.' So he left all, rose up, and followed Him. Luke 5:27-28

 Many say that they don't feel worthy to be a Christian. When Jesus started out in His ministry he gathered around Him some bad characters in His time. While preaching by the Lake of Gennesaret He called fisherman to follow Him in His ministry. He also called tax collectors such as Matthew to follow Him and Matthew "rose up and followed Him."
 In Ancient Times fishermen and tax collectors weren't viewed as upstanding characters in the community. Tax Collectors were viewed as they are today and people just tried to avoid them at all cost and fishermen were very rugged men. Regardless, Jesus still called these men to follow Him and called them beloved.
 Jesus was also known to be associated with other tax collectors and characters of low standing in the publics view such as prostitutes and thieves. If we know that Jesus talked and associated with these people we should feel that no matter what we have had in our lives or past He would certainly be glad to associate with us. Jesus isn't concerned with our past, He is more concerned with a relationship with us in your future.


** Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You for forgiving me and accepting me just the way that I am. Lord, it is my prayer that I will please You more and more in my life.

Casting Out Demons

Luke 4:35 "But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet and come out of him!"

 Jesus journeyed to another city to preach the Gospel. When He arrived he found a synagogue to preach at. When He began to preach the people there were astonished at His teaching because it had authority. While teaching there was a man there filled with a demon who just didn't want to be released, but Jesus had other plans.
 Jesus doesn't want His people to be tortured and bound. When people are filled with some sort of demon they are held in bondage. Our human nature makes us think that when people are filled with a demon those people are deformed and look unnatural. But, the truth is demons can fill us to torture us ways such as with an addiction or any sin. People with demons can blend in to look like everyone else in the crowd.
 It doesn't have to be that way though. We have the Power of the Holy Spirit to be cleansed from any sin or demon that tortures us. We just need to pray to that it would be taken away. When we ask for cleansing Jesus just says, "Be quiet and come out!" Our human nature may want to go back to that sin because of temptation, but remember that you were cleansed in the name of Jesus Christ. He has called us into the family of God to be free!


Prayer: Lord, it is our prayer that You would help us to overcome the things in our lives that slow us down in doing Your will. Fill us with the Holy Spirit and keep us from temptation.