International Prayer Day First Monday each month 10 am

Joel Griffith 12/16/19 Joel Griffith 12/16/19

The message.

“In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.” Matthew 3:1-3 ~

I drove home from my daughters house a few nights ago and couldn’t help but notice all of the beautiful lights on the houses, trees and shrubs. I thought to myself what John the Baptist would have said if he was sitting next to me on a heated leather seat while it was 27 outside and he looked at all the lights shining brightly on this dark winter night.

His message would probably have been the same, ‘repent for the kingdom of heaven is near’. This is still the appropriate message for us, for the children attending Lutheran schools in Haiti and for this world that we live in today. Until Christ Jesus lives in our hearts by faith and our hopes rest on the forgiveness of sins then Christmas is phony, shallow sentimentality and only make-believe. We must see Bethlehem’s manager in the shadow of the cross and completely understand that the Christ child was stretched out on the cross for our sins. I close today with the words to the hymn ‘Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel’ that was written by an unknown servant around 1100 and was later translated by John M. Neale, 1851.

“Oh, come, Oh, come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. Oh, come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan's tyranny; from depths of hell Thy people save and give them victory o'er the grave. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. Oh, come, Thou Dayspring from on high, and cheer us by Thy drawing nigh; disperse the gloomy clouds of night and death's dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. Oh, come, Thou Key of David, come and open wide our heavenly home: make safe the way that leads on high and close the path to misery. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”

Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 12/14/19 Joel Griffith 12/14/19

Slow down.

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2: 10-11 (KJV) ~

A friend sent me a link to a YouTube segment recently that was about the Advent season in North America; with the opening word ‘Waiting’ on a black screen. While the photos of people rushing through their daily activities in a busy city, the tune ‘Silent Night’ was playing in the background and the following message was delivered.

“Waiting; it is not an attractive word. It seems boring. What if you were waiting for something that would change your life; how would you get ready for it? Would you make yourself busy filling your life with noise and distraction; rushing to get gratification? Would you spend all your time doing everything but slowing down? NO? Well this is what we do each year we have an opportunity to dramatically change our life. But most of the time we miss it. We spend our time running around trying to get everything done in time; when most of us forget to get the most important thing ready is our heart. This is what Advent is all about; slowing down and waiting, to get our heart ready to bring Jesus into our life a bit more fully than before. Advent; take time, slow down, open up.”

Slow down, there is a Savior named Jesus desiring to be closer to you. In ten days we will hear the song Silent Night sung on Christmas Eve in our home congregations, so between now and them, slow down, take time and wait…say something to somebody about Advent. I thought that I would close with the words from the hymn ‘It came upon a midnight clear’ today; this was written by Edmund Hamilton Sears in 1849.

“It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old, from angels bending near the earth, to touch their harps of gold: "Peace on the earth, goodwill to men from heavens all gracious King!" The world in solemn stillness lay to hear the angels sing. Still through the cloven skies they come, with peaceful wings unfurled; and still their heavenly music floats O'er all the weary world: above its sad and lowly plains they bend on hovering wing, and ever o'er its Babel sounds the blessed angels sing. O ye beneath life's crushing load, whose forms are bending low, who toil along the climbing way with painful steps and slow; look now, for glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing; oh rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing. For lo! the days are hastening on, by prophets seen of old, when with the ever-circling years shall come the time foretold, when the new heaven and earth shall own the Prince of Peace, their King, and the whole world send back the song which now the angels sing.” Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.

May God be with you…Jay ~

Joel Griffith 12/13/19 Joel Griffith 12/13/19

Another bird story

“The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I am bringing you good news that will be a great joy to all the people.” Luke 2:10

So, do you have your Christmas shopping done? Have you gotten the perfect gift for that ONE member in your family who is hard to find something they will appreciate? Last week, I shared a bird story with you and today, well there is another bird story for you that I heard back in the day, that really fits well today…twelve days before Christmas. And, before I forget, happy birthday Pastor Jim Haynes.

There was an elderly couple who lived in a small, rustic rural cabin in the Ozarks and they had no children, just one nephew. Their nephew was a Lutheran missionary who lived in a small hut, deep within the Amazon rainforest in South America, bringing the Gospel message to members of the lost tribe. Around Thanksgiving, he had been notified by a family member that his aunt and uncle were in poor health and not doing very well and might not be around after the new year.

Being a Lutheran missionary, his resources were very limited, but he thought that he would see if he could get something really special for them; for what might be their last Christmas. He found and purchased a beautiful, multi colored, exotic parrot and had the locals place the bird in a special crate, pay for the special permits and ship it to the Ozarks and was guaranteed it would reach his aunt and uncle before Christmas.

The nephew called them on his satellite phone from deep in the Amazon on the day after Christmas and asked how they were and if they had received his gift. The uncle said “Oh my yes, what a beautiful bird! All those beautiful colored feathers. The missus and me really enjoyed it! It was delicious! It really lifted our spirits!” The shocked nephew replied, “You what? You enjoyed it?” The uncle said, “yes it was delicious. Missus prepared it with some sweet taters, cranberry jelly, biscuits and mulberries.” The nephew was beside himself and said, “It took all of my savings to purchase and send that bird to you; it was a very rare bird, it spoke in three different languages.” The uncle replied, “well…I guess it should have said something.”

There are times when we are a lot like that bird; we should have said something. It’s Advent and we get all excited with all the activity taking place around us and sometimes we fail to share the real reason for our celebration. During this Advent season, take the time to meditate on Jesus' birth; on how God loved you and the whole world so much that He sent His own Son to become one of us, our Savior from death and evil. Think about the One who loves you and lay down His life for you on the cross; only to take it up again. Let that story sink in; and then share it with those around you. SAY SOMETHIMG!!! I am going to close today with the words from the hymn ‘Joy to the World, the Lord is Come.’ that were written by Isaac Watts in 1719.

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; let every heart prepare Him room and heaven and nature sing. Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ, while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy. No more let sins and sorrows grow nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found. He rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love.”

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 12/12/19 Joel Griffith 12/12/19

Quiet Time

“My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.” Psalm 139:15

When was the last time that you were blessed to have sat with either your child or grandchild in your lap? Do you recall a time when you sat in your parents or grandparents lap? I remember sitting in my grandmother Brinkmeyer’s lap in her rocking chair listening to her read to me from the Portals of Prayer when I was in Kindergarten. I assume that she had other things to do but it always seemed that she carved out some time for me.

Was there a person in your life that spent time sharing their faith with you? Are there people in your life now that you share your faith with? The child in the attached photo attends the Lutheran school in Ouanaminthe and she had just received a hug from me and I hope that it meant as much to her as it did to me. We were both placed on this earth for a purpose. I don’t have a clue what will become of her walk with Christ or how many opportunities she will have to share her faith with others as she grows. How many more opportunities do you have to share your faith with another?

Our Triune God’s hand is guiding your life, taking you places where He needs your hand to be placed on another soul or perhaps feeding a child like this. There is absolutely nothing accidental about your journey yesterday, today or tomorrow; He is there with you as you walk with Jesus each day. You are not alone; your witness is seen, heard and needed.

“I am weak, but Thou art strong; Jesus, keep me from all wrong; I’ll be satisfied as long as I walk, let me walk close to Thee. Just a closer walk with Thee, grant it, Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be. Through this world of toil and snares, if I falter, Lord, who cares? Who with me my burden shares? None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee. When my feeble life is o’er, time for me will be no more; guide me gently, safely o’er to Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.”

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 12/11/19 Joel Griffith 12/11/19

Serving.

Matthew 20:28.

“…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28

I recently saw a photo of the Bethlehem manger standing under the shadow of the cross of Calvary; the journey for our Savior was not easy, He came to serve and be a ransom for our sins. The painful journey of many believers brings a glimpse of people being tempted over and over to choose power over love, full control of things over the cross and needing to be a leader instead of being led. Our society seems to be slowly desiring to be served by the government and the world and fewer and fewer people step humbly forward to serve.

The woman in the attached photo lives in Gonaives and she and her two daughters are going about their daily routine preparing to cook some rice and beans and sell their food amongst the vendors along the street. The children have never gone to school and do not go to Church; lives that are lost without direction, without hope. Thank you for helping to prepare children in the Lutheran Schools in Gonaives whose lives will bring the message of the manger in Bethlehem and also the cross of Calvary to souls such as these. I close today with words from the hymn ‘Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord!’ which was written by Martin Luther.

“Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord! Be all Thy graces now out poured on each believer's mind and heart; Thy fervent love to them impart. Lord, by the brightness of Thy light, Thou in the faith dost men unite of every land and every tongue; this to Thy praise, O Lord, our God, be sung. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Thou holy Light, Guide Divine, oh, cause the Word of Life to shine! Teach us to know our God aright and call Him Father with delight. From every error keep us free; let none but Christ our Master be that we in living faith abide, in Him, our Lord, with all our might confide. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Thou holy Fire, Comfort true, grant us the will Thy work to do and in Thy service to abide; let trials turn us not aside. Lord, by Thy power prepare each heart and to our weakness strength impart that bravely here we may contend, through life and death to Thee, our Lord, ascend. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 12/10/19 Joel Griffith 12/10/19

A wealthy man.

Psalm 24:9-10

“Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty; He is the King of glory.” Psalm 24:9-10

Imagine that you were born to the richest man in this world, grew up in a palace and got accustomed to having the very best of everything. Whatever your heart desired was what you received; the finest garments and nourishment that money could buy and your life was seemingly perfect. Then your dad took you aside and told you about a plan that he had in mind for you. He was going to send you to Gonaives Haiti and the boy in the attached photo would be your brother and when you were old enough, the white shorts he is wearing would become your shorts.

Our Savior left Heaven to come to earth and be born in a stable in Bethlehem to a young couple with few resources; and after three decades He was nailed to a cross by the people He came to save. We have so much to be thankful for this Advent season; prepare the way for the King of glory; give thanks for all that He has done. I will close the devotion today with the words from the hymn ‘Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates’ that was written by Georg Weissel in 1624.

“Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates! Behold, the King of Glory waits; the King of kings is drawing near, the Savior of the world is here. Life and salvation He doth bring, wherefore rejoice and gladly sing: we praise Thee, Father, now, Creator, wise art Thou! A Helper just He comes to thee, His chariot is humility, His kingly crown is holiness, His scepter, pity in distress, the end of all our woe He brings; wherefore the earth is glad and sings: we praise Thee, Savior, now, mighty in deed art Thou! O blest the land, the city blest, where Christ the Ruler is confessed! O happy hearts and happy homes to whom this King in triumph comes! The cloudless Sun of joy He is, who bringeth pure delight and bliss. We praise Thee, Spirit, now, our Comforter art Thou! Fling wide the portals of your heart; make it a temple set apart from earthly use for Heaven's employ, adorned with prayer and love and joy. So shall your Sovereign enter in and new and nobler life begin. To Thee, O God, be praise for word and deed and grace! Redeemer, come! I open wide my heart to Thee; here, Lord, abide! Let me Thy inner presence feel, Thy grace and love in me reveal; Thy Holy Spirit guide us on until our glorious goal is won. Eternal praise and fame we offer to Thy name.”

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 12/9/19 Joel Griffith 12/9/19

The Magi.

Matthew 2:7-9

“Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.” Matthew 2:7-9

When I lived in Haiti and left my apartment in Petionville to go out into the countryside to visit the Lutheran Churches and Schools, I often thought about the journey of the Magi. They had a star to guide them; not OnStar, but a physical star from God proclaiming that the Savior of the world had come down in Bethlehem.

Finding the children in attached photo who attend the Lutheran School in Saltedere was a memorable task. No map, no road markers, no GPS but only another Haitian with me who had been this way before; or so I had been told. We drove north up Mont Cabrits (Goat Mountain) then to Mireabalas, Hinche, Thomassique and finally to Saltedere. We drove through many bridgeless streams and always got stuck in the mud at least once as the Haitian driver would cautiously ease our truck into the muddy rut like an old man lowering himself into a tub of hot water; rather than charging into the mire and rely upon the momentum and four-wheel drive to pull us through.

The Magi found the promised King who had come to earth for them, you, me and the children who live throughout His creation. May you find a moment to ponder their journey to find Him, your journey to find Him and the importance of sharing the message of Salvation with ears that have not heard the true message of Christmas. I close this devotion with the words from the hymn ‘As with Gladness Men of Old’ which were written by William C. Dix in 1860.

“As with gladness men of old did the guiding star behold; as with joy they hailed its light, leading onward, beaming bright, so, most gracious Lord, may we evermore be led by Thee! As with joyful steps they sped, Savior, to Thy lowly bed, there to bend the knee before Thee whom heaven and earth adore, so may we with willing feet ever seek Thy mercy-seat! As they offered gifts most rare at Thy cradle, rude and bare, so may we with holy joy, pure and free from sin's alloy, all our costliest treasures bring, Christ, to Thee, our heavenly King! Holy Jesus, every day keep us in the narrow way; and when earthly things are past, bring our ransomed souls at last where they need no star to guide, where no clouds Thy glory hide. In the heavenly country bright need they no created light; Thou its Light, its Joy, its Crown, Thou its Sun which goes not down. There forever may we sing Alleluias to our King!”

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 12/7/19 Joel Griffith 12/7/19

The reason.

1 Corinthians 1:5-7

“For in him you have been enriched in every way with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge; God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed” 1 Corinthians 1:5-7

Have you heard the ‘reason for the season’ line recently? Seems like mankind has always been trying to understand the reason for things; Adam and Eve were trying to have the same ‘knowledge’ as our Creator. We want to know why God did things the way He did and what holds for our future. Our Triune God doesn’t reveal His plan for you, me or for the over 28,000 children attending Christian schools with TrinityHope feeding programs in Haiti. God does reveal Himself to us when we are sad, lonely, injured by the sin of this world, lost, in trouble and even when we celebrate. He revealed Himself to us through His Son Jesus Christ who walked among us two thousand years ago and is still here today with the Holy Spirit; among us. I close today with the words from the hymn ‘Come, O long expected Jesus’ which was written by Charles Wesley in 1835.

“Come, O long-expected Jesus, born to set your people free; from our fears and sins release us by your death on Calvary. Israel's strength and consolation, hope to all the earth impart, dear desire of ev'ry nation, joy of ev'ry longing heart. Born your people to deliver, born a child and yet a king; born to reign in us forever, now your gracious kingdom bring. By your own eternal Spirit rule in all our hearts alone; by your all-sufficient merit raise us to your glorious throne.”

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 12/6/19 Joel Griffith 12/6/19

A bird story.

John 1:14

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

There is a story of a man who lived in a small house in the mountains with windows that were very high on the walls facing the South. One day a bird happened to fly in when the patio door was open; probably had some children from the city visiting on that day. The bird tried to leave by flying out of the clean windows and tried again and again but its efforts continued to end with a thud. The man opened the door and tried to shoo the bird in the direction of the open door but it continued to fly into the windows; losing strength and desire with each attempt. Finally, it became tired and fluttered to the floor and the man stepped to the side of the open door and the bird cautiously evacuated the house on foot to the freedom of the outdoors.

This story caused me to consider all the fluttering around that many people in our cities are doing at the present time trying to prepare all that ‘needs’ to be prepared for Christmas without spending time to stop and personally consider how important this Advent season is for you, me and the children attending Christian schools in Haiti. We spend so much time preparing programs, presents, feasts, decorations, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, travel plans and we lose sight of the simple, important truth about the Advent season. We continue to smack into a window when God has opened the door for us with the simple story of how He sent His Son Jesus to be born through the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem and this Christ child would live with us, die for us and redeem us from our sinful lives.

Please set aside several moments when you are fluttering during this Advent season to personally give thanks for the only reason for Advent; Christ came to earth full of grace and truth. I close today with the hymn ‘Savior of the Nations, Come’ which was written by St. Ambrose in the middle of the third century and later translated into German by Martin Luther in 1524 at the age of 41.

“Savior of the nations, come, Virgin's Son, make here Thy home! Marvel now, O heaven and earth, that the Lord chose such a birth. Not by human flesh and blood, by the Spirit of our God, was the Word of God made flesh; woman's Offspring, pure and fresh. Wondrous birth! O wondrous Child of the Virgin undefiled! Though by all the world disowned, still to be in heaven enthroned. From the Father forth He came and returneth to the same, captive leading death and hell; high the song of triumph swell! Thou, the Father's only Son, hast o'er sin the victory won. Boundless shall Thy kingdom be; when shall we its glories see? Brightly doth Thy manger shine, glorious is its light divine. Let not sin o'ercloud this light; ever be our faith thus bright. Praise to God the Father sing, praise to God the Son, our King, Praise to God the Spirit be ever and eternally.”

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 12/5/19 Joel Griffith 12/5/19

Family traditions.

Luke 2:8-14

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Luke 2: 8-14 (KJV)

Family traditions come and go. As I grow older and my family either dies or moves away and there is still one thing that I still like to do during Advent; dust off the King James Bible and read Luke 2:1-18 and be reminded of how the Birth of Jesus was first read to me as a child. I remember when my congregation switched from the KJV to the NASB and then the NIV and now the ESV and am reminded how much my soul misses hearing it in the KJV.

The child in the attached photo attends the Lutheran School and Church in Ouanaminthe and listens to story of the Birth of Jesus in French. Verse 11 proclaims “Un Sauveur vous est né aujourd'hui dans la ville de David; c'est lui le Messie, le Seigneur.” This child learns that born this day in the city of David is a Savior. A savior that will protect her and rescue her from death, the devil and the vodou priest; Christ the Lord is His name. Martin Luther wrote the fifteen verses of the hymn ‘From Heaven Above to Earth I Come’ in German in 1535. An inkwell, a pen, several sheets of paper and a servant of the Lord spent countless hours to bless us with these words to this Advent hymn.

“From heaven above to earth I come to bear good news to every home; glad tidings of great joy I bring, whereof I now will say and sing: To you this night is born a child of Mary, chosen virgin mild; this little child, of lowly birth, shall be the joy of all the earth. This is the Christ, our God and Lord, who in all need shall aid afford; He will Himself your Savior be from all your sins to set you free. He will on you the gifts bestow prepared by God for all below, that in His kingdom, bright and fair, you may with us His glory share. These are the tokens ye shall mark: the swaddling-clothes and manger dark; there ye shall find the Infant laid by whom the heavens and earth were made. Now let us all with gladsome cheer go with the shepherds and draw near to see the precious gift of God, Who hath His own dear Son bestowed. Give heed, my heart, lift up thine eyes! What is it in yon manger lies? Who is this child, so young and fair? The blessed Christ-child lieth there. Welcome to earth, Thou noble Guest, through whom the sinful world is blest! Thou com'st to share my misery; what thanks shall I return to Thee? Ah, Lord, who hast created all, how weak art Thou, how poor and small, that Thou dost choose Thine infant bed where humble cattle lately fed! Were earth a thousand times as fair, beset with gold and jewels rare, it yet were far too poor to be a narrow cradle, Lord, for Thee. For velvets soft and silken stuff thou hast but hay and straw so rough, whereon Thou, King, so rich and great, as 'twere Thy heaven, art throned in state. And thus, dear Lord, it pleaseth Thee to make this truth quite plain to me, that all the world's wealth, honor, might, are naught and worthless in Thy sight. Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child, make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled, within my heart, that it may be a quiet chamber kept for Thee. My heart for very joy doth leap, my lips no more can silence keep; I, too, must sing with joyful tongue that sweetest ancient cradle-song: Glory to God in highest heaven, Who unto us His Son hath given! While angels sing with pious mirth a glad new year to all the earth.”

May God be with you…Jay