International Prayer Day First Monday each month 10 am

Joel Griffith 12/16/22 Joel Griffith 12/16/22

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’ was in bold font and white 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 on time; when most of us forget to get the most important thing ready and that 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 my friend, there is a Savior named Jesus, desiring to be closer to you. In eight short days from today, we will hear the song Silent Night sung on Christmas Eve in our home congregations; so between now and then, slow down, take time and wait. 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 12/15/22 Joel Griffith 12/15/22

God will never forget you.

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” Isaiah 49:15

I was looking ahead to find a new Bible Study for the Saturday morning men’s Bible study several weeks ago and came across one that I had gone through before, years ago. It was the Lutheran Hour series ‘Joseph, carpenter of steel’ and it encouraged us to really give more thought to what Joseph and Mary were going through as they came to Bethlehem with the unborn Savior of this world. How many doors would you have knocked on to find a place for your pregnant wife and unborn child to stay in so they would not have had to spend the night outside on the ground?

The important lesson for us to consider today is that God was in control of that journey, is in control of your journey and has not forgot about you, me and the over 61,000 children who attend Christian schools throughout Haiti. The truly important thing to dwell upon this Advent is that our Heavenly Father will never forget about you; you and I may not always turn away to the temptations of this sinful world, but He will never turn away from you. Today’s devotion will close with the words from the hymn ‘Christians, Awake, Salute the Happy Morn’ that was written by John Byrom in 1749.

“Christians, awake, salute the happy morn whereon the Savior of the world was born. Rise to adore the mystery of love which hosts of angels chanted from above; with them the joyful tidings first begun of God Incarnate and the Virgin's Son. Then to the watchful shepherds it was told, who heard the angelic herald's voice, "Behold, I bring good tidings of a Savior's birth to you and all the nations upon earth; this day hath God fulfilled His promised word; this day is born a Savior, Christ the Lord." He spake; and straightway the celestial choir in hymns of joy, unknown before, conspire; the praises of redeeming love they sang, and heaven's whole orb with alleluias rang. God's highest glory was their anthem still, peace upon earth, and unto men good will. To Bethlehem straight th' enlightened shepherds ran to see the wonder God had wrought for man and found, with Joseph and the blessed maid, her Son, the Savior, in a manger laid; then to their flocks, still praising God, return. And their glad hearts with holy rapture burn. Oh, may we keep and ponder in our mind God's wondrous love in saving lost mankind! Trace we the Babe, who hath retrieved our loss, from His poor manger to His bitter cross, tread in His steps, assisted by His grace, till man's first heavenly state again takes place. Then may we hope, th' angelic hosts among, to sing, redeemed, a glad triumphal song. He that was born upon this joyful day around us all His glory shall display. Saved by His love, incessant we shall sing eternal praise to heaven's almighty King.”

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 12/14/22 Joel Griffith 12/14/22

Come, Emmanuel.

“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 by a home in Normal recently and couldn’t help but notice the HUGE display of beautiful lights on the house, trees and in the yard. I thought to myself, what would John the Baptist have said if he was sitting next to me on a heated leather seat while it was 27 outside and 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 in 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.”

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 12/13/22 Joel Griffith 12/13/22

Precious moments.

“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 (Grandma B) 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.

Were there ever people 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 12/12/22 Joel Griffith 12/12/22

Serving others.

“…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

While looking online for Nativity puzzles for my grandkids last month, I came across 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. There are many in our country that seem to desire to be served by our 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 this particular street. The children have never gone to school and do not go to Church; lives that are lost without direction and 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 12/10/22 Joel Griffith 12/10/22

Imagine for a moment.

“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

This Saturday, will you please put your day on pause for just for a minute, and in your human mind try to 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 colored shorts that he is wearing would become your shorts.

Our Savior left Heaven to come to earth and be born in squaller in a small burg named Bethlehem to a young couple with few resources; and after three decades He was nailed to a cross by the very same 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 12/9/22 Joel Griffith 12/9/22

Following the star.

“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

Back in the day, when I lived in Haiti and left my apartment in Petionville to go out into the countryside to visit the Lutheran Churches and Schools, there were times during Advent when I thought about the journey of the Magi. They had a star to guide them; not OnStar, but a 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 from Port-au-Prince up Mont Cabrits (Goat Mountain) and then to the cities of Mireabalas, Thormound, Hinche, Thomassique and finally along a narrow dirt road to Saltedere. We drove through many bridgeless streams and most 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 pickup truck 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 the Christ child, your journey to find Him and the importance of sharing the message of Salvation with ears that have not yet 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 12/8/22 Joel Griffith 12/8/22

The reason for this season.

“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 about the ‘reason for the season’ line recently? I used it last week. 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…and when will this fallen world end.

Our Triune God doesn’t reveal all of His plans for you, me or for the over 61,000 children attending Lutheran school 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 12/7/22 Joel Griffith 12/7/22

Fluttering around.

“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

I read a story recently about 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 to the freedom of the outdoors.

This story caused me to consider all the fluttering around that many people in our fallen world 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 Lutheran 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 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 find yourself 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 in 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 12/6/22 Joel Griffith 12/6/22

Family traditions.

“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 Savior, 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 many of my immediate family has either died or moved away, there is 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