International Prayer Day First Monday each month 10 am

Joel Griffith 1/10/22 Joel Griffith 1/10/22

Set a few goals.

“I want to know Christ; yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Philippians 3:10-12

Last Monday, my message was about not only ‘hearing Jesus’ better, but also being better at ‘sharing Jesus’ more effectively. I really do hope that you remembered that and have been working on your testimony. Today, I want to take this time to share three reasons why we, you, me and a bunch of Haitian kids, should set some goals this year to share the reason why we need Jesus.

I have set goals throughout my life and the biggest nugget of wisdom from those goals is the times I have failed, was because they were way over my head. A goal doesn’t have to be big. For instance, when I had brain surgery, my first goal after I was taken to my room was to sit up in bed without hurling the contents of my stomach. After that, it was standing up, putting on my COVID face mask, cover my back end so I didn’t resemble Jack Nicholson from the ‘As good as it gets’ movie and then walking down the hallway in the ICU at OSF in Bloomington. Those were small goals, but attainable and very important. To get from where you are to where you want to be isn’t usually accomplished in one big leap. It takes many small steps. A goal doesn’t have to be ‘big’ to be important.

Set goals because they build your character. Oh sure, you may already be a real character but goals will prayerfully help you be a better character. The greatest benefit to your life will not be your accomplishments but rather what happens inside you while you’re moving toward your goal. God is more interested in your character than your accomplishments. While you’re working on your goal, God is working on you. He is building your character, because that’s what will last for eternity.

Set goals because ‘good goal’s’ will prayerfully bring hurting people closer to Christ. Our fallen world is full of hurting people who need Jesus. When you give your time, talents and treasures to a good goal, it brings honor and glory to Christ and also builds a legacy on earth and be with you to eternity.

The Apostle Paul was a goal setter and God wants you to be one as well so that people He has placed along your journey can find hope, from you, that will lead them to a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

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 1/8/22 Joel Griffith 1/8/22

Petit Amis.

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” John 15:12-14

The past Saturday’s were a time that I wrote a prayer and this year, I will either highlight a memory from a particular Haitian school or give you a short update on Haitian news.

Petit Amis; I have heard this pronounced by a North American ‘Pet-it-Amos’ and that would be incorrect. I have seen this School name spelled three different ways and had Haitian friends give me three different translations but they all pronounced it ‘Pet-ee Ah-me’ and while a few translated it to mean ‘boyfriend’ I prefer the translation that feeding program director LeFleur told me ‘little-friend’.

When my mom passed away, I started the ‘Brinkmeyer Memorial Fund’ with Trinity HOPE and my family, a few close friends and a Bible study group in Nebraska began to sponsor Petit Amis Lutheran School in Petionville. This school was only about 10 minutes from where I lived and worked when I lived in Haiti. I have visited there a few times.

Petionville is a suburb of Port-au-Prince, located to the South on Mont Kadeneau with an elevation of 7,036’. This mountain is part of the Massif de la Selle range. The attached photo was taken the last time that I visited Petit Amis and the man in the right of the photo is LeFleur, who was with me on that visit and served as a translator. He is also a Feeding Program Director. At the time, I was interviewing a few students and you can tell it was hot in the principal’s office at 10 in the morning; sweat on my brow and my tee shirt was in the process of turning two shades of brown. How hot was it? I don’t recall. People frequently ask me what the weather is like in Haiti today, and the forecast for Petionville today is a high of 89 with a low of 69, with a slight breeze from the south.

If you have seen photos of houses seemingly stacked on the mountainside of Petionville…that is what Petit Amis looks like, three levels up from the bottom. To get there is a three block walk down a steep hill. Getting down there is easier than getting out.

One last bit of information about Petit Amis. After the earthquake in 2010 there was a significant increase in attendance in Haitian schools and the amount of funds needed for this school exceeded the amount coming from the ‘Brinkmeyer Memorial Fund’ and Trinity HOPE moved our group to being a Partial sponsor with ‘Honor of Great & Grandchildren of Joyce Reitmeier’. Today, our two groups are feeding the 207 young missionaries attending this Lutheran school in Petionville. If you, your family or group would be interested in being a school sponsor, please go to the Trinity HOPE website and see the list of OUR SCHOOLS and find out how to join us.

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 1/7/22 Joel Griffith 1/7/22

Finish well.

“Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” James 4:13-17

Have you ever had someone come up to you and say ‘I want to be just like you!’ and you’ve replied; “being a sinful human like me really isn’t that hard to do, knock yourself out.” In the ‘Cure for the Common Life’ book, Max Lucado writes that “God made you ‘you-nique’. Secular thinking as a whole, doesn’t buy this. Secular society sees no author behind the book, no architect behind the house, no purpose behind or beyond life…it simply says, you can be anything you want to be.” God made you to accomplish His work with gifts He knit into your being. Nobody could ever be like you. So, tell me what is your life? The world that we live in urges us to boast of our worldly achievements that ‘we’ have accomplished without help from anyone else; WE DID IT! Strive to do better, finish well for Him.

Be the kind of person that when you sit up in bed and your feet hit the floor each morning, the evil foe says "Oh Crap, they’re up!" Life is too short to wake up in the middle of the night or in the morning with regrets; love the people who encourage and strengthen you and forgive the ones who don't; just because you can. Believe that everything happens for a reason and if you are given a second chance, grab it with both hands. When you feel your blood pressure rising and muscles growing tense take a few deep breaths, count to ten and think about how to finish well before you speak when you are becoming angry; forgive quickly. Our Heavenly Father never said life would be easy; He just promised it would be worth it.

There are over fifty-two thousand children like this child living in Haiti who is only receiving one meal a day and that is at their school; that is a blessing. There are thousands more who are not eating regularly at their homes and don’t know Jesus; that is an opportunity for you to finish well while on your life’s journey. Please pray for these children and if the Holy Spirit moves you to feed a few of these children; contact Trinity HOPE.

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 1/6/22 Joel Griffith 1/6/22

Precious time.

“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” James 4:4

A few days ago, I shared a snippet of wisdom that I heard from Pastor Michael Ecklekamp on Sunday, a few thoughts from a devotion that hit my IPhone and then there was yesterday, when Michelle Stevenson had read my morning devotion and texted me about a book she is reading; ‘Cure for the Common Life’ by Max Lucado and how it seemed to have a lot in common. Had I read it? No. So, I purchased the book on Amazon, downloaded it onto my Kindle Reader and opened chapter one and the first thing I read is “Each person is given something to do that shows who God is.” 1 Corinthians 12:7 MSG. Was this just a coincidence? Nah, this is how the Spirit has been working in my life recently.

I am sure that you know as well as me, that it is very difficult to serve our Triune God while you are following the delights that this fallen world has to offer; you know that and satan delights in those times when your most precious time is spent giving to the world instead of Christ. In everything that you do each day, give God the credit.

If you follow Christ, all the ‘friendly dogs’ of this world will be nipping at your heels. If you are living in worldly ways and have decided that you will turn to Christ just before you take your last breath; you are taking quite a chance. If you spend most of your time in His word, read inspirational materials and walk in His ways, the eyes and tongues of this world will not speak well of you; you will be under attack daily.

Do what is right, finish well, and don’t be afraid of what the tongues of this world will say about you or what stone they may hurl at you. Be strong, be courageous; finish well. Remain in His word and pray without ceasing. I close today’s devotion with the words from verse 7 of the hymn ‘If Thou but suffer God to guide Thee’ which was written by Georg Nuemark in 1640.

“Sing, pray, and keep His ways unswerving, perform thy duties faithfully, and trust His Word, though undeserving, thou yet shalt find it true for thee. God never yet forsook in need the soul that trusted Him indeed.”

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 1/5/22 Joel Griffith 1/5/22

A friend.

“Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets. But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:26-28

The words of Jesus tell us to ‘love your enemies’ are difficult for all sinners to follow. As sinful Christians, here in North America and also in Haiti, we will ultimately make enemies, it will just happen. Somebody is going to hold a grudge against you or blame you for bringing problems upon their physical, emotional or financial well-being.

Although it will not be our plan of action, simply believing the truth and doing what is right will cause us to lose a few of our earthly friends or acquaintances. Suffice to say and never forget that there is a Friend in heaven who will reveal Himself to us one day as He gave His life on the cross of Calvary for you, me and that ‘enemy’ if they too believe in Him.

This young child has an enemy in Haiti; the local vodou priest; and they are afraid of him. They know and have seen his power. He wants them to believe in the lies of satan and may even want to take their physical lives so he can use their body parts in his sacrifices to the spirits of the evil world. Just as Christ instructs us to pray for our enemies, He teaches this child to pray for the vodou priest. Christ came to earth to seek and save the lost because this entire world needs a Savior. Thank you for helping to prepare these children attending Christian schools to finish well in their lives; may their witness bring many more into the Kingdom.

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 1/4/22 Joel Griffith 1/4/22

Working for the Lord.

“Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:61-62

Back in the day, when I was a missionary living in Haiti, and would come back to somewhere in the US every 60 days to comply with my visa requirement and speak at a church, school, small group or service organization, and they would see the photos of these smiling Haitian kids and there were always people that wanted to come to Haiti and work with me. Literally, hundreds of people have told me that, though they want to be used by God, they want to be used on their terms and time schedules as they were very busy; they had their own agendas. They have their plans and dreams and ambitions following their dreams in this fallen world, and they really don’t have much time to give to God.

If you’re serious about being used by God, say, “Lord, what do I need to let go of here in my present life style? What do I need to cut out? What barriers are holding me back, keeping me from running the race you have planned for me?” One of the biggest barriers we face daily in this fallen world is distractions. Jesus said in Luke 9:62, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Ouch! You want to work for Jesus, get rid of this world’s distractions. Here is a short list of a few of the many things that might be distracting you from your life mission.

The expectations of other people close to you. You’ve got to decide who you’re going to please first in life. You can only have one “number one.” Your seasonal hobbies. There’s nothing wrong with having hobbies. But if they distract you from the most important things God has planned for you, then you need to let them go. And then there’s your past. Maybe you haven’t let go of your past, and you’re holding on to guilt, resentment, or grief. Here’s the problem with that: When you’re stuck in the past, you can’t get on with the present; and you certainly can’t get on with God’s future for you. Your past is past. So let it go.

Our lives are often a choice between “Am I going to do something good, that makes ME happy?” or “Am I going to do what’s best?” If the devil can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy. He’ll get you so busy that you don’t have time for the important things; ministry, mission, and time alone with God. You can’t do all the distractions that this world tells you that ‘you need to do’. So do what matters most! Simplify your life and eliminate those endless worldy distractions so God can use you.

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 1/3/22 Joel Griffith 1/3/22

Self-help in 2022.

“If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.” 1 Timothy 4:6-9

Yesterday, I worshipped online with Christ Lincoln and Pastor Michael ECKELKAMP spoke the following in his pre-sermon prayer; ‘Jesus, help us hear Your Word and make us to share Your Word.’ And those words and these above verses from a morning devotion last week…in 2021…blended very well and caused me to reflect on them more fervently and examine what I could possibly do in 2022 to improve my time spent in His Word and then ‘share’ it with others. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 4:7, “but godliness has value for all things”. I never wake up thinking to myself; “I get to exercise today!” I do know that we all need both physical and spiritual exercise; you, me and these Haitian kids. I also know this about exercise: the older that I get, I want the most benefit I can get out of every minute I exercise, whether it’s physical or spiritual. I also am aware that in the 15 or 16 hours of being awake each day, it is very difficult and often impossible for me to spend an hour of multitasking while exercising my body or being in the Word. I need to give up something that this fallen world tells me is more important. So, this first Monday in 2022, I would like to help you, these Haitian kids and me to try to get the most out of our spiritual exercise time by sharing four spiritual habits that will prayerfully, help fortify our faith. I am hoping that the Trinity HOPE Haitian feeding program directors reading this, will in turn share this with their school children.

First and foremost, each of us must study the Bible personally. You can’t depend on someone else’s study of the Bible to fortify your faith. You have to do it yourself. This is one thing that each of the Haitian kids do have; their very own Bible and not the Internet. Carve out time each day for a few chapters. God’s Word is your very own manual for life. If you want to get ready to be used by God, you’ve got to study the Bible.

Second, read some Christian books. I’m reading ‘Autopsy’ by Patricia Cornwell at the moment and just finished reading an LCMS study called ‘Divine Call’ and I always try to be in some kind of Christian selection every other book. I shared with you last year that there is a new book by Mitch Albom titled ‘The stranger in the lifeboat’ and it was a really good, short book to read. You and I can draw a lot closer to Christ when we read books that help us grow spiritually. These Haitian kids will need to read their Bible every day as the availability of other books are hard for them to find on a regular basis and in their language.

Third is something that probably goes back to your Confirmation Day; take some time to write out your own testimony. Just like nobody else can study or work out for you, nobody else can tell your story. This is something each of us can do. There are four parts to a testimony: what your life was like before you came to Christ, how you realized you needed Christ in your life, how you committed your life to Christ, and what your life is like now. I would really love to read the testimonies from these Haitian kids.

And finally, four; join a small Bible study group. When it comes to fortifying your faith, few things can compare to regular contact with your small group. If you are not in a small group, find people who you can share life with and who will support you as you grow in faith. During this pandemic, another way to be with a small group is via Zoom. I hope that these four habits will help you stay spiritually fit so that you’re ready to be used by God. I will contact some leaders in Haiti and try to get them to start getting their children to write testimonies and share them at a later date.

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 12/25/21 Joel Griffith 12/25/21

Christmas.

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.” Isaiah 52:7–10

I received the following story from Dr. Randy Kohl recently and thought these words were really special and timely and better than anything I could write today. The title is “WHO STARTED CHRISTMAS?”

This morning I heard a story on the radio of a woman who was out

Christmas shopping with her two children. After many hours of looking at

row after row of toys and everything else imaginable. And after hours of

hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many

shelves, she finally made it to the elevator with her two kids.

She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time

of the year. Overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every

housewarming, taste all the holiday food and treats, getting that

perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, making sure

we don't forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure

we respond to everyone who sent us a card.

Finally, the elevator doors opened and there was already a crowd in the parking garage. She pushed her way into the shuttle bus and dragged her two kids in with her and all the bags of stuff. When the doors were closed, she couldn't take it anymore and stated, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up and shot." From the back of the bus everyone heard a quiet calm voice respond, "Don't worry we already crucified him." For the rest of the trip to their car, it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

Don't forget this year to keep the One who started this whole Christmas

thing in your every thought, deed, purchase, and word. If we all did it,

just think of how different this whole world would be. Author Unknown

O God the Father, I praise You for the gift of Your Son, who was born in the poverty and lowliness of Bethlehem, so that I might enjoy the riches of Your grace and the exaltation of sonship with You.

O God the Son, I adore You for humbling Yourself to be my Savior, for bearing my sins in Your own body and for rendering to my Father in Heaven a perfect satisfaction for my sins.

O God the Holy Spirit, I glorify You for having made my heart a home for the Savior of this fallen world and for bringing the peace of forgiveness to my soul through faith in Him who is the Prince of Peace.

O God the blessed Trinity, on this Holy day, give me a humble and contrite heart that I may joyfully claim the Babe of Bethlehem as my Lord and God. Remove from me the tattered robes of my own righteousness and adorn me with the spotless garment of Christ’s righteousness.

May I use every gift received this day from loving friends and family to remind me of the gift of a Savior so that my tongue can sing “Glory to God in the highest!” Holy Spirit, help me to cradle the Christ Child in my heart and give me the grace and strength to love and adore Him all the days of my life. In His most Holy name I pray. Amen.

Joel Griffith 12/24/21 Joel Griffith 12/24/21

Christmas Eve.

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” Luke 2:8

To really appreciate what it must have been like on the night that Jesus was born you need to drive out into the country, away from all of the city lights. There were nights when I lived in Sandhills of Western Nebraska, when the night was so still that I could literally hear my heart beat and listened to goose bumps ‘pop’ on my back. When the sky is ink dark, the stars appear to be bright shining diamonds hanging in the sky and that is a time when God is so close that one can almost reach out and touch His hand. While living in Petionville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince it was possible to go onto the roof of my apartment and gaze at the stars since there was usually no electricity; and there too, the stars seemed so close that a person could almost reach out and rub against them and feel the closeness of our Heavenly Father, Creator.

The Son of God came to earth on a still, quiet night; oblivious to many. Too many in our fallen world today will not spend time considering the great importance of His birth, His life, His death and resurrection. It seems so difficult to separate ourselves from the activities of this world to stop for a few moments and give thanks for His coming to be our Savior. I close today’s devotion closes with the words to the hymn ‘Silent Night’ that was written by Joseph Mohr in 1818.

“Silent night! Holy night! All is calm; all is bright, round yon Virgin Mother and Child. Holy Infant, so tender and mild, sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace. Silent night! Holy night! Shepherds quake at the sight; glories stream from heaven afar, Heavenly hosts sing, Alleluia. Christ, the Savior, is born! Christ, the Savior, is born! Silent night! Holy night! Son of God, love's pure light radiant beams from Thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth. Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.”

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 12/23/21 Joel Griffith 12/23/21

A memory and a manger.

“…and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” Luke 2:7

While sitting in the front pew of Our Redeemer Lutheran a few weeks ago, reading through the Scripture verses that I was scheduled to read…and then gazing at the poinsettia’s placed around altar area; my mind opened up to this day 64 years ago. On that cold December day, my mom, sister and me, grandparents, uncles and aunts, cousins and friends were sitting in the front rows of the old downtown St. John’s Lutheran Church in Seward, NE looking at my dad’s casket surrounded by poinsettia plants. I remember my mom getting very emotional about Christmas every year since then; it put a lump in her throat and a few tears into her eyes.

Every time I hear the word ‘manger’ mentioned a lump slides into my throat as I think about that moment in my time and also when the smallest of the children standing in front of the Church are singing ‘Away in a manger’ softly while watching their teacher and nervously looking into the crowd to catch a glimpse of their parents. Tears welled in my eyes when my daughters sang this song.

Mangers in the Christmas programs were generally made of a few boards, sometimes they were cardboard but no matter what their composition, their main purpose was to be the bed for the Christ child. One definition for the word ‘manger’ is “a trough or box of carved stone or wood construction to hold food for animals. A Christian symbol associated with nativity scenes where Mary, forced by necessity to stay in a stable instead of an inn, placed the baby Jesus in a manger.” The Haitian goats in the attached photo are eating from a metal manger that you and I would probably call a wash basin.

Whatever type of manger Christ was placed in as a child was a very humble place for the Son of God to be kept. As we take measure of our lives, of our have’s and have not’s let us never forget how our Savior came into this world and why He came into this world and how He left this world. I close today with the word to the song ‘Away in a Manger’. The first publication of this song was in 1885 in a Lutheran Sunday school book by James R. Murray. The fact that the song was included in the book and was subtitled "Luther's Cradle Hymn (Composed by Martin Luther for his children and still sung by German mothers to their little ones)" created the misconception that the lyrics were actually written by Martin Luther himself. However, no proof that Martin Luther had any hand in the creation of "Away in a Manger" exists.

“Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head. The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay, the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay. The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes, but little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes. I love thee, Lord Jesus! Look down from the sky, and stay by my side until morning is nigh. Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask thee to stay close by me forever and love me, I pray. Bless all the dear children in thy tender care, and take us to heaven to live with thee there.

May God be with you…Jay