International Prayer Day First Monday each month 10 am

Joel Griffith 4/12/21 Joel Griffith 4/12/21

Ta Da!!!

“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord." John 20:19-20

Last week during Bible study, Pastor Jim Haynes from AZ shared the story about a child in Sunday School being asked what Jesus might have said to His disciples when He appeared to them in that room; with the doors locked. The student replied with excitement that Jesus said “TA DA!!!” Have you ever been in a hopeless or challenging time when you were the recipient of a “ta da” moment?

I shared that with you today as something that recently happened to Keith Logan, the Executive Director for Trinity HOPE, that was most certainly a “ta da” moment. Trinity HOPE has been searching for more Christian schools in Haiti that don’t have feeding programs, as God has been bringing more donors into our midst. Trinity HOPE is currently feeding 42,500 students in 200 schools and several like-minded people were thinking that perhaps there were no more Christian schools there.

A few weeks ago, Keith accepted an invitation from another mission group to visit the Island of Gonave and visit Christian schools there. The Ile de la Gonave which is an island about 30 miles long and 8 miles wide is located in the Gulf of Gonave, between the North and South claws of Haiti. Keith had three goals for this trip; find a reliable feeding program director on the island, find eight Christian schools and find a local food vendor with prices for lunch supplies that would be comparable to Port-au-Prince. God heard the three goals roll off Keith’s tongue and probably said to the delight of the Heavenly Host; “TA DA”. Those 3 goals that Keith had selected were exceeded; two qualified feeding program director candidates instead of one, 84 schools wanting a feeding program instead of 8 and the vendor on the island is a Christian man and his prices for the rice, beans, oil and maggi are less than the prices in Port-au-Price. This a good place for John Hall’s remark for the ages ‘ain’t God good?”

Are you waiting for a “ta da” moment as you sit in your room with the door locked? HE is Risen!!! Share the Good News and enjoy the “ta da” blessings that are coming to you, and those children on the Island of Gonave. Pray about feeding all 84 schools in His time and give thanks for the 8 that will start their Trinity HOPE programs this September.

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 4/10/21 Joel Griffith 4/10/21

Why are you here?

“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 15:5-6

Do you know who you are and why you are here? You are sitting here today on this planet, breathing, seeing, hearing and thinking; occupying space. Have you found the main purpose for your being here? These sound like simple questions but for some people that continue to wait for more delineated directions, they are difficult questions.

All of my lineage came from Germany and I don’t think that 200 years ago my ancestors envisioned me sitting here in Normal, IL writing a devotion for you. Beyond my great-great grandparents, their names are just names from Ancestry.com but are really unknown to me as are their vocations. In one hundred years from today, my legacy too will have all but vanished, but prayerfully somewhere and at some small point along my journey another life will have met Jesus because of a word or action that the Holy Spirit inspired in me and was shared with them.

So, do you know who you are? The children in the attached photo attend Grace Lutheran School which is up in the mountains of the Les Cayes district. Their ancestors came to Haiti on French slave ships in the mid 1700’s. Their ancestors most likely practiced vodou and probably didn’t know that from their lineage would come young Christians who would become missionaries who would share the story of the risen Savior of this world with the lost in Haiti.

Their purpose, your purpose and my purpose here on this side of Heaven is to share the news that our loving Heavenly Father sent His Son into this world to live, suffer and die for us. His blood washed away the sin that we have done. The following lyrics are from a song that played recently on this computer and it explains the meaning of our purpose so well.

“What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus; what can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh! precious is the flow that makes me white as snow; No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus. For my pardon, this I see, nothing but the blood of Jesus; for my cleansing this my plea, nothing but the blood of Jesus. Nothing can for sin atone, nothing but the blood of Jesus; naught of good that I have done, nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my hope and peace, nothing but the blood of Jesus; this is all my righteousness, nothing but the blood of Jesus. Now by this I’ll overcome, nothing but the blood of Jesus; now by this I’ll reach my home, nothing but the blood of Jesus. Glory! Glory! This I sing, nothing but the blood of Jesus. All my praise for this I bring, nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

Because of Him, we are saved, because of Him we have the joy of sharing the message of salvation with the lost in in America, Haiti, Mexico, Germany and to the ends of this planet. Thank you for sharing of your gifts and prayers in the precious time you have been given.

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 4/9/21 Joel Griffith 4/9/21

A bucket was left behind.

“Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” John 4:39-42

While listening to the Lutheran Hour recently, the message was about this passage in John, and of the important appointment that the woman at the well was to have with Jesus. The Pastor spoke of the Samaritan woman not knowing that she even had an appointment with Jesus, but she did. How many appointments are there prepared for the tens of thousands of children attending Christian schools in Haiti? How many different people will be at their well, early in the morning so they too can share the news of their risen Savior with the lost?

Chapter 4 in John grabs at my mind more today than it did before I went to live in Haiti. The woman in the attached photo is walking with a pan on her head, probably with water or produce. The women living in most rural areas of Haiti leave their houses early in the morning to go and draw water from the stream or if they are fortunate from a well; it is much cooler in the morning and when they return home with the water their family can bathe before their day.

On many occasions when driving to schools in rural Haiti there were women walking along the side of the rocky road with white plastic buckets on their head with the water that their family would use for the day. I was really thankful for the white buckets as it was easier to see them in the morning darkness before dawn on the narrow road.

I find it really surprising that in John 4:28, it reads “Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town...” The woman left her bucket at the well and went to tell others about the appointment with Jesus. Many of the women in Haiti walk for hours to draw the day’s water and perhaps this Samaritan woman did as well, but to leave the bucket must have meant that the meeting with Jesus was quite an important appointment. Back to my initial question, how many appointments await the children in Trinity HOPE feeding programs? How many appointments have been scheduled for you by our Triune God? Thank you for helping to prepare Haitian school children for their appointment with another life that needs to hear the message of Hope that only comes from our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 4/8/21 Joel Griffith 4/8/21

Simple things.

“Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:3

Simple things can accomplish so many good things, they can reap enormous benefits; they can lay the foundation for future generations. There are some who look at a plastic bowl of beans and rice resting on a board in front of a smiling Haitian child and they don’t see the hand of God in action.

At times, our world would prefer to spend countless hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars purchasing land, building large churches, acquiring earth moving equipment and then repairing earth moving equipment and paying salaries in a foreign land. Often, too often the plans and directions of this world are exceedingly expensive and we should always ask if these resources are being used wisely in the growth of His Kingdom. The photo of two plain iron pots setting over chunks of charcoal inside a crude corrugated metal shelter in Cap Haitian are much like a ‘beacon of hope’ for the young missionaries who will take the Gospel message to the lost in Haiti.

The photo is simplicity at its finest, no electricity, no cupboard with costly spices, no exhaust fans or even a door. Really quite simple isn’t it? This is the making of a lighthouse ready to prepare young children to send the Gospel light to the lost. While driving home last week I heard a song called “Send the Light” and it reminded me of those two pots in Cap Haitian.

“There’s a call comes ringing o’er the restless wave, “Send the light! Send the light!” There are souls to rescue, there are souls to save, Send the light! Send the light! Send the light, the blessed Gospel light; let it shine from shore to shore! Send the light, the blessed Gospel light; let it shine forevermore! We have heard the Macedonian call today, “Send the light! Send the light!” And a golden off’ring at the cross we lay, Send the light! Send the light! Let us pray that grace may everywhere abound, “Send the light! Send the light!” And a Christlike spirit everywhere be found, Send the light! Send the light! Let us not grow weary in the work of love, “Send the light! Send the light!” Let us gather jewels for a crown above, Send the light! Send the light!”

To those of you who have helped to keep those two simple pots of rice and beans full in Cap Haitian and 200 other locations throughout Haiti, thank you. Thank you for following His call, for trusting in His simple plan to send over 42,500 children out into Haiti and send the light, the Gospel light, to the lost in Haiti.

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 4/7/21 Joel Griffith 4/7/21

The stones.

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Luke 19:38-40

Interesting passages about our Savior’s response to the Pharisees and what would happen if he instructed his disciples to be silent. There are a multitude of stones in Haiti, they are everywhere, in streets, foot paths along the side of the highway, in the schoolyard and I recall starting to clear the garden spot at the office of them and gave up after half an hour and decided that my vegetable seeds would just be planted around them.

If the stones of Haiti could talk, they would certainly have a lot to tell about the chaos that has filled that country since its beginnings when God set this planet into motion. They would scream out about how satan came into Haiti on the French slave ships and thrived in the vodou temples from the mid to late 1700’s until present time. Haitian stones were used in the Palace of the President, in commercial buildings, ports, roads and Christian Churches and schools.

The children in the attached photo attend the Lutheran school in the border town of Ouanaminthe and their voices cry out “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” Unlike the vast majority of their ancestor’s, they are free and not bound by French slave masters. Unlike the vast majority of their ancestor’s, they are free from the chains of satan which are held by the local vodou priest. Their voices are crying out to the lost sharing the Gospel message.

I heard a song recently called ‘He is Here’ by Kirk Talley and some of the words strike a strong cord with the history presently taking place in Haiti, because of your support of these children in Christian schools in Haiti.

“I sense an awesome Moving of the Holy Spirit, I see His countenance resting on each face. I know that there are angels gathering all around us for the Presence of the Lord is in this place. He is here Hallelujah, He is here Amen. He is here Holy, Holy I will bless His Name again. He is here, listen closely, hear Him calling out your name. He is here you can touch Him. You will never be the same.”

You can clearly see and even feel His presence in the children here in school at Ouanaminthe and the other 160 Christian schools in Haiti where there is a pot full of Trinity HOPE food for hungry souls who will go out into their neighborhoods where souls are hungry for a Savior.

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 4/6/21 Joel Griffith 4/6/21

A simple message.

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21

When the Angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph through a dream, telling him about the event that was going to dramatically change his life and also forever impact the residents of this planet; what must have he thought? His son Jesus will save God’s people from their sins.

Being saved, from my sins, how important is that really? I am sitting here today in a climate-controlled room with my fingers tapping on a plastic keyboard, not thinking too much about being saved. At this present moment I feel physically safe but as I look at the word ‘salvation’ it is very clear that my sinful nature which has been with me from the beginning of my time has caused me to need a savior to rescue me.

The young child in the attached photo attends the Lutheran school in Bois Marchand and he would gladly tell you how important this verse in Matthew means to him. “Se li menm ki pral delivre pèp li a anba peche l' yo” brings a smile to his face because he knows that Jesus will save his people from their sins. Christ saves His people "from their sins." Jesus saves and not the vodou priest who practices just down the road; he only adds to his sins.

Thank you for blessing this child and his school in Bois Marchand with a meal every day and for helping to prepare him to go and share the Gospel message with those still living in fear and unaware that they have a Savior. I close with the first two verses of the hymn ‘I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus’ that was written by Frances Havergal in 1874.

“I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus, trusting only Thee; trusting Thee for full salvation, great and free. I am trusting Thee for pardon; at Thy feet I bow, for Thy grace and tender mercy, trusting now.”

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 4/5/21 Joel Griffith 4/5/21

HE is always there.

“Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Revelation 2:10 (ESV)

We have just celebrated Easter and proclaimed that ‘HE is risen’ and now it’s the Monday after and time to read this verse from Revelation and to just sit a bit and try to imagine how a child living in Haiti must feel about walking to school for hours in the early morning darkness, having had nothing to eat for breakfast, but knowing and expecting that there will be a plate of food for them at school; it is always there…like their Heavenly Father…always there. That is a face of faithfulness. God is always faithful to them and to us.

Faithfulness is not a word that we hear very often in North America these days, perhaps the cancel culture has been removing it too. Sometimes we hear it at retirement gatherings; “After 40 years of faithful service, we present you with this gold watch”. Perhaps you have a dog that has lived with your family for 15 years, what a faithful friend old Buck has been through all these years.

About the only really faithful thing that I ever saw as a child was Old Faithful in Yellowstone. Back in the day the Park Service had a clock there that told visitors when it was going to erupt; I remember that we watched it spew water twice. In North America we love things that are on time, every time, every day…we love things that are faithful.

The five girls sitting at their school desk in Ouanaminthe are basking in the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father. One of His children in North America parted with a $1.25 so they would have a lunch on this particular day in October. It is not easy finding somebody who can be counted on every day, all of the time; somebody who will be faithful to the very end. Not all of the people who are donating funds to feed these five girls in Ouanaminthe may be there next month or next year; our Heavenly Father may have other plans for them.

God has always re-loaded Trinity HOPE with new donors, new groups have stepped up, grants from various sources…always some surprise. God doesn’t want these young heroes of the faith to go hungry, they need to be healthy as they go out and tell about their faithful Heavenly Father who gave His only Son, Who faithfully went to the cross for our sins. The faces in the attached photo know all about faithfulness, they know all about you and they know all about their Heavenly Father.

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 4/3/21 Joel Griffith 4/3/21

I believe...

“I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.” Apostle’s Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.” Apostle’s Creed

The season of Lent is almost over and the Second Article of the Apostle’s Creed reminds me of the joy of the empty tomb. Lazarus was in a tomb. Jesus was in a tomb. The tombs in the attached photo that was taken somewhere in between Roche Jabrouin and Les Cayes are filled with generations of Haitian families. You and I will in time end up in a tomb.

The final destination of our remains will probably not be in a tomb like the one that held the body of Lazarus, Jesus Christ or these families in Haiti…but when we draw our last breath our time of service will have come to an end.

Good news, “He is risen! He is risen indeed!” What a joyful realization those seven words hold for all believers. I heard a song recently titled ‘Shout to the Lord’ and that really sums up the thankful joy that should be filling our hearts as we consider the blessed reunion we have awaiting us. “My Jesus, my Savior, Lord there is none like You. All of my days I want to praise the wonders of Your mighty love. My comfort, my shelter, tower of refuge and strength. Let every breath, all that I am never cease to worship You. Shout to the Lord all the Earth, let us sing. Power and majesty praise to the King. Mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of Your name. I sing for joy at the work of Your hands. Forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand nothing compares to the promise I have in You.”

His resurrection has secured a place for all believers in Heaven. The Haitian road in the photo has a tee intersection and you have to make a choice; either to go left or right. I was not sure which way to turn and it made me stop and think about the tombs that were straight in front of my truck. Choice for many in Haiti; continue to believe the lies of the vodou priest or accept Jesus Christ. We have the same choice but the difference is we most likely have heard the news of the risen Savior and many in Haiti have only heard that Jesus died…period. Who do you believe in?

I want to close on this Holy Saturday with a story that Pastor Chuck Swindoll shared a week ago and it was about our choices of which way to go. The story is as follows; “The place? Dublin, Ireland. The time? Toward the end of the nineteenth century. The event? A series of blistering attacks on Christianity, especially the "alleged resurrection" of Jesus of Nazareth. The person? Thomas Henry Huxley. You remember Huxley. Devoted disciple of Darwin. Famous biologist, teacher, and author. Defender of the theory of evolution. Bold, convincing self-avowed humanist. Traveling lecturer.

Having finished another series of public assaults against several truths Christians held sacred, Huxley was in a hurry the following morning to catch his train to the next city. He took one of Dublin's famous horse-drawn taxis and settled back with his eyes closed to rest himself for a few minutes. He assumed the driver had been told the destination by the hotel doorman, so all he said as he got in was, "Hurry . . . I'm almost late. Drive fast!" The horses lurched forward and galloped across Dublin at a vigorous pace. Before long Huxley glanced out the window and frowned as he realized they were going west, away from the sun, not toward it. Leaning forward, the scholar shouted, "Do you know where you are going?" Without looking back, the driver yelled a classic line, not meant to be humorous, "No, your honor! But I'm driving very fast!" How many of the people in these tombs knew where they were going? Do you know without a doubt where you are going? There are still a lot of people who don’t. Are you going fast? Have you shared with another soul which way is the ONLY direction?

Thank you for helping to prepare His children in Haiti to take the truth about the ONLY direction to the ears that have not heard and remain lost and shut out of the eternal home in Heaven.

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 4/2/21 Joel Griffith 4/2/21

Lent in Haiti.

“When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:23-24

While I was living in Haiti during Lent, it was one of the seasons that I missed being home the most. Being separated from the Lutheran hymns sung in my language during Lent was truly difficult. The attached photo was taken at Bon Berger Evangelique Lutherienne in Caredeux where I attended worship while living in PAP. The elevated wooden cross reminded me of the suffering of my Savior, the Scripture readings, the messages, the creeds also brought me closer to recalling what Christ endured for me.

I really missed hearing the hymns in my own language. ‘Stricken, smitten and afflicted’ in Creole was just not the same. This hymn was first written around 1850 by Geistliche Volkslieder and was sung to the German tune “O Mein Jesu, Ich Muss Sterben.”

“Stricken, smitten, and afflicted, see him dying on the tree! This is Christ, by man rejected; here, my soul, your Savior see. He’s the long expected prophet, David’s son, yet David’s Lord. Proofs I see sufficient of it: He’s the true and faithful Word. Tell me, all who hear him groaning, was there ever grief like this? Friends through fear his cause disowning, foes insulting his distress; many hands were raised to wound him, none would intervene to save; but the deepest stroke that pierced him was the stroke that justice gave. “You who think of sin but lightly nor suppose the evil great, here may view its nature rightly, here its guilt may estimate. Mark the sacrifice appointed; see who bears the awful load; it’s the Word, the Lord’s Anointed, Son of Man and son of God. Here we have a firm foundation; here the refuge of the lost; Christ, the rock of our salvation, His the name of which we boast. Lamb of God, for sinners wounded, sacrifice to cancel guilt! None shall ever be confounded who on him their hope have built.”

The common bond during Lent in Haiti was the reminder that Christ died for me and for each of the people sitting in my same pew in Bon Berger, and also sitting in the pews at Christ Lutheran in Lincoln, NE where was my home at the time, and sitting in your Church. We all need Jesus; we all were lost until He died on the cross for our sins. Thank you Lord Jesus, for enduring the suffering, agony and cross of Calvary for such as us, and for all the people in this world.

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 4/1/21 Joel Griffith 4/1/21

The midnight cry.

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” Mark 8:29

Lent causes us to take a closer look at our Savior and inside of ourselves and perhaps ask ourselves “who do I say that Christ is?” Probably not very often that we are asked this question but are you prepared for when that moment comes?

When Jesus asked Peter, he replied “You are the Messiah.” There are over 42,500 children attending a Christian school in Haiti who are receiving a Trinity HOPE meal every day and you just have to know that they have been asked the question by family members and friends, who still answer to the vodou priest; “what do you learn about Jesus Christ?”

The young boy in the attached photo is one of 42 children attending school in Colminy which is in the Arcahaie District. He’s been fed a lunch of rice and beans, and he has been prepared to give an answer to that question. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He died for my sins on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead and conquered death and the devil. He has prepared a place for me in Heaven. He’s ready to give an answer.

I heard a song recently called “The Midnight Cry” and it was written by Greg and Chuck Day. We are in Holy Week now and we also focus our thoughts on the second coming of Christ as he will come back one day for all of His children.

“I hear the sound of a mighty rushing wind and it's closer now than it's ever been. I can almost hear the trumpet as Gabriel sounds the chord at the midnight cry we'll be going home. When Jesus steps out on a cloud to call His children the dead in Christ shall rise to meet Him in the air and then those that remain will be quickly changed at the midnight cry when Jesus comes again. I look around me I see prophecies fulfilling and signs of the times they're appearing everywhere. I can almost hear the Father as He says Son go get your children at the midnight cry the Bride of Christ will rise. When Jesus steps out on a cloud to call His children the dead in Christ shall rise to meet Him in the air and then those that remain will be quickly changed at the midnight cry when Jesus comes again.”

Thank you for being ready and helping to prepare many more of His children to be ready to give a reply when asked “Who is Jesus Christ?” Go out into the world in peace; have courage; hold on to what is good; return no man evil for evil; strengthen the faint-hearted; support the weak; help the suffering; honor all men; love and serve the Lord; rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. And may almighty God, the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit bless you.

May God be with you…Jay