International Prayer Day First Monday each month 10 am

Joel Griffith 12/6/24 Joel Griffith 12/6/24

When things look better...

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33

Have you ever heard or used the saying “things always look better on the outside”? Or, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. I have visited many of you and may I say that you are richly blessed. You have a really nice house, well furnished, and I assume that your neighbors are in awe of your life. Material possessions in North America mean a lot to us; the more stuff that you have the better your life is, the higher up the food chain you have risen. Or so, our culture proclaims. The children in this photo are not from North America but judging from their smiles they must be doing very well. They have on clean clothes, go to school and get a daily meal as they attend a school with a Trinity HOPE feeding program. Their outside appearance looks pretty good and it is too bad you cannot visit their home as your opinion might be different if you knew where they lived and what was in their closet, kitchen cupboards and bathroom. My guess is that few of them have any of these three conveniences in their home.

Satan tells us that we need more of this and that; more money will bring us more happiness. His lies keep nagging at us and it is good to visit the lives of children in Haiti to bring us back to reality. True happiness comes from knowing and living for Jesus Christ; that happiness is eternal. Don’t be blinded by the lies of this world. Don’t let your ears and mind be numbed by the words of the liar of this world telling you that more is always better. You want true riches; turn to Jesus. I close with the words from the song ‘Shout to the Lord’ that I heard Randy Travis sing recently.

“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.”

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 12/5/24 Joel Griffith 12/5/24

What brings you comfort in Advent?

“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah 40:1-5

What brings you comfort during Advent? In our culture some folks may find a fleeting moment of comfort when all their ‘preparations’ for Christmas are finally accomplished. When that last batch of cookies is baked, that last gift is purchased and that last detail for the family gathering has been completed. What is truly important is the message that the voice in the desert was calling out, “Prepare the way for the LORD.” Do you still recall what filled your Holiday plate five years ago? Do you recall what your favorite gift was ten years ago? Do you remember who was born two thousand years ago that the Prophet Isaiah was writing about? That is our focus during this Advent season.

The child that I am holding in my arms in the attached photo is a little girl named Suzette and at that time in 2002 she lived several miles west of Torbeck in Southwest Haiti in a one-room house made of sticks that is standing just behind us. If she is still alive today, I can tell you with much assurance that she still has the red bear that she is holding. This simple small gift was sent to her from Lindie Nord’s class of students in Sioux Falls, SD. Suzette didn’t have a toy box in her house, probably just a space in a drawer where her two outfits were kept, and the red bear; a most precious gift.

Some have called me a ‘nagger’ and accused me dumping a load of Lutheran ‘guilt’ in my devotions but if there is one message that reaches you today it is this; first and foremost. celebrate Christmas for the real reason for which God brought His Son to this earth. Reinforce that message with your friends and family this year and if you can, help prepare the way for children like Suzette to also go and tell the real reason of Christmas with the people along her pathway. I close today with the words to the hymn ‘Comfort, Comfort, Ye My People’ what was written by Johann Olearius, 1671.

“Comfort, comfort, ye My people, speak ye peace, thus saith our God; comfort those who sit in darkness, mourning 'neath their sorrows' load. Speak ye to Jerusalem of the peace that waits for them; tell her that her sins I cover and her warfare now is over. Yea, her sins our God will pardon, blotting out each dark misdeed; all that well deserved His anger He no more will see or heed. She hath suffered many a day, now her griefs have passed away; God will change her pining sadness into ever-springing gladness. Hark, the Herald's voice is crying in the desert far and near, bidding all men to repentance since the Kingdom now is here. Oh, that warning cry obey! Now prepare for God a way; let the valleys rise to meet Him and the hills bow down to greet Him. Make ye straight what long was crooked, make the rougher places plain; let your hearts be true and humble, as befits His holy reign. For the glory of the Lord now o'er earth is shed abroad, and all flesh shall see the token that His Word is never broken.”

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 12/4/24 Joel Griffith 12/4/24

Shopping plans.

“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” Matthew 2:11

Dear North America; please, no more Christmas catalogues in my mailbox. I began the count after Labor Day and have stopped as number twenty arrived on Monday. I wonder how long it took the Magi to decide on what to pick up for a gift of baby Jesus; bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh were the chosen gifts for the King? Do you suppose that they did their shopping before they left or did it along the way?

The attached photo is of a class that attends a rural school in the Central Plateau of Haiti. I doubt that they get many Christmas catalogues there. While I lived in Haiti not one ‘wish book’ appeared at my address in Petionville; life was good and it was not hard to focus on the true meaning of Advent and consider what the Christ child meant for me and for these children and for this world.

Not sure what you are shopping for this year? If you, your family or your Bible study group would be interested in sponsoring a Trinity HOPE school feeding program, you could shop on the Trinity HOPE webpage and see what schools are needing a sponsor. There is a Haitian school full of children who will be sharing the real meaning of Christmas with their neighborhood and the generations to come in their lives as their bright lights will shine brightly in a country that still has much darkness from vodou and gang forced chaos. Please pray about being a sponsor. I close today’s devotion with the words from the hymn ‘Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning’ which was written by Reginald Heber in 1811.

“Brightest and best of the sons of the morning, dawn on our darkness and lend us Thine aid; Star of the East, the horizon adorning, guide where our infant Redeemer is laid. Cold on His cradle the dewdrops are shining; low lies His head with the beasts of the stall. Angels adore Him in slumber reclining, Maker and Monarch and Savior of all. Shall we not yield Him, In costly devotion odors of Edom and offerings divine, gems of the mountain and pearls of the ocean, myrrh from the forest and gold from the mine? Vainly we offer each ample oblation, vainly with gifts would His favor secure. Richer by far is the heart's adoration; dearer to God are the prayers of the poor. Brightest and best of the sons of the morning, dawn on our darkness and lend us Thine aid; Star of the East, the horizon adorning, guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.”

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 12/3/24 Joel Griffith 12/3/24

What is more important?

“Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.” 1 Timothy 3:16

Dear North America; the season of Advent is so much more than Black Friday or cyber whatever day; colored strings of lights on houses and trees, snow, presents, catalogues, fruitcakes and mistletoe hung in doorways. The Apostle Paul wrote that godliness is a mystery and it is because we mortal North Americans can seldom comprehend just how awesome it truly is; only our Heavenly Father and Creator can do that.

The celebrity minds of our sinful world cannot begin to wrap their human knowledge around the truth of our Savior coming into our world and being born to a virgin in Bethlehem; doesn’t make any sense to us how this could possibly happen. This ‘mystery’ is the answer to the problems in this sin filled, fallen world. This ‘mystery’ is what is truly important to this world Charley Brown. The importance of feeding these children who attend the Lutheran School in Dondon is also a ‘mystery’ to many living in North America. Seeking and saving the lost was the message and direction our Savior, the Christ child, left with us. As you go about your family tradition during Advent, please consider sharing of your blessings to bring a meal of hope to these children that are being prepared to be His missionaries in Haiti. They will be taking the true message of our Savior to the lost, still living in fear of the vodou priest in Haiti. I close today with the words to the hymn ‘A Great and Mighty Wonder’ that was attributed to have been written by St. Germanus in 1734.

“A great and mighty wonder. A full and holy cure; the Virgin bears the Infant with virgin honor pure. Repeat the hymn again; to God on high be glory and peace on earth to men! The Word becomes incarnate and yet remains on high, and cherubim sing anthems to shepherds from the sky. Repeat the hymn again; to God on high be glory and peace on earth to men! While thus they sing your Monarch, those bright angelic bands, rejoice, ye vales and mountains, ye oceans, clap your hands. Repeat the hymn again; to God on high be glory and peace on earth to men! Since all He comes to ransom. By all be He adored, the Infant born in Bethl'em, the Savior and the Lord. Repeat the hymn again; to God on high be glory and peace on earth to men. And idol forms shall perish, and error shall decay, and Christ shall wield His scepter, our Lord and God for aye. Repeat the hymn again;
to God on high be glory and peace on earth to men!"

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 12/2/24 Joel Griffith 12/2/24

Don't sweat the small stuff.

“Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” Psalm 8:1-4

This first Monday of December 2024 brings a question that has been on my mind recently. Along your journey, have you ever said, or thought this phrase; "Don't sweat the small stuff"? The attached photo of my daughters and me was possibly taken in 1997 on the 4P Ranch north of Bridgeport and there were times when I told myself that phrase when teen aged daughter type challenges surfaced along our journey. Staying focused on the truly important decisions is the wise thing to do and letting the lesser challenges, the small stuff, work themselves out without much attention can be good learning lessons as well.

Sometimes, depending on the challenge from this fallen world, it becomes easy for us to sweat the small stuff; to the point of becoming debilitated by anxiety and paralyzed by worry. The chaos in Haiti brings many challenges to Christian education and school feeding programs; big and small. Read the above verses from Psalms find an answer to challenges in Haiti, in our lives and also in this sin filled world. Our Heavenly Father stretched out the heavens and put the myriad of stars and planets and infinite galaxies in place with His fingers! Do you suppose that He was sweating after creating our universe? I am sweating after cleaning my home. I doubt that God broke a sweat. Our Heavenly Father created our universe and placed our ancestors into it. Can He not also bring and end to the gangs chaos in Haiti? He can and He can also take care of our challenges, big or small. He has it covered; it’s in his plans. Whatever it is that has you sweating today, He's got it covered. Yes, even the small stuff.

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 12/1/24 Joel Griffith 12/1/24

Prayer guide for December.

We begin our prayer time in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. + Amen.

“I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.” Martin Luther

Psalm 19:14; “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

‘Adoration’

Luke 2:8-20 KJV; “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.” And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.” And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.”

Reading these verses from the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the King James Version brings back so many “back in the day” memories when everything in this fallen world seemed to be more peace filled and calm. Back in my childhood days, in the early 50’s, the quiet drive to our farm from the Christmas Eve service at Seward High School gymnasium with my family, listening to the tires squeak in the fresh snow-covered dirt road on a cold Nebraska night; there was a simple Hope in our lives. We didn’t have the worries of today, and wouldn’t have believed that this fallen world could have taken such a horrible direction away from the Christ child. Today. please try to imagine in the still and quiet darkness of our fragile, troubled and torn world; just how much joy that host of angels had as they proclaimed loudly “Glory to God in the highest and on earth…peace and good will toward men” would bring to our ears today. This month, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came down to earth, from Heaven, and was born in a humble shelter to a young virgin Mary and after walking in this world for a few decades, He gave up His life for us. GRACE lived among us. The Son of God and son of Man came to save us.

Romans 15:12-13; “Again Isaiah says, "THERE SHALL COME THE ROOT OF JESSE, AND HE WHO ARISES TO RULE OVER THE GENTILES, IN HIM SHALL THE GENTILES HOPE." Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

A time of ‘Adoration’ to our Heavenly Father.

· Please take time to sit and consider how our Triune God comes to us through His ‘WORD’ every single day and how much He has impacted your life.

· Consider that the Son of God came down from Heaven to dwell among us. Leaving His place in Heaven to be born in a stable in the wilderness to humble parents surrounded by farm animals, shepherds and stillness.

· Give thanks for where God has placed you and the gifts that you were given to use for Him along your journey.

‘Confession’

Luke 11:28:30 “He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.”

We were born, sinful and unclean, through no fault of our own, but because of the sins of our parents, grandparents…Adam and Eve.

God sent His only Son to die for our sins. Jesus did everything right while he was here on this earth. He loved you with a love that cannot be measured. He gave to the world when no thanks were returned to Him. He healed when there was no hope, and He died without complaint. Jesus did nothing wrong and everything right; all this for you. He lived for you and died for you. Our sins nailed Him to the cross on Calvary and kept Him there until His life on earth had ended.

Psalm 32:1-7; “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD" and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.”

· A time of personal confession.

Our sins are placed at the base of the cross...His cross, and we give thanks that the times we have fallen short in the eyes of our Heavenly Father have been washed clean and we have been forgiven through the Blood of our Risen Savior Jesus Christ.

‘Thanksgiving’

Please join me for a moment, to just stop everything and consider that word ‘thanksgiving’. Today, as this fallen world of ours spins in what seems to be a reckless whirl away from our Heavenly Father; let us begin to give thanks this Christmas? We have a choice to give thanks for the way our sin filled world and pride filled culture give thanks for ‘stuff’ we don’t need OR give thanks for the way our Heavenly Father gave us the gift of Everlasting LIFE through His Son Jesus. We have a choice which is a higher priority. So great are the blessings that our Heavenly Father has poured into our lives and continues to daily shower upon us.

Psalm 107:1-3; “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story; those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.”

Winter here at my desk in Central Illinois is not a problem today because I am sitting here in a warm, safe and comfortable house with clean water in the room next to me, electricity and WIFI plugged into my PC and in the kitchen, the cupboards and fridge are filled with food; and Alexa is playing Southern Gospel Christmas music. I cannot begin to count the number of friends and families living in Haiti who have none of these blessings that I have every day. Too often, this month in our country, is filled with lists of what we want or think that we really need when in fact we should really be giving thanks for what we have and what was given to us without us asking. At the top of our list should be giving thanks for God giving us His Son Jesus who came down from Heaven to become a baby boy, born is a stable in the stillness of the night, a gift to humble parents. This Christ child came to rescue us from our sinfulness and prepare for us a place in Heaven. He came down for all man-kind.

Isaiah 9:6-7; “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

We come to You now with hearts, minds and words filled with ‘Thanksgiving’.”

· We give thanks for our Creator, Redeemer and Holy Spirit.

· We give thanks for having a Savior.

· We give thanks for our providence; monetary, food, clothing and shelter. As we give of our first fruits may we also give a portion of our best to His children who need the assistance we can provide.

· We give You thanks for the Haitian children who are not only the prime purpose of Trinity HOPE but also Your missionaries for the future generations in Haiti who bring the true message of Christmas to lives who have never known the reason for our Hope.

· We give You thanks for the work that is being accomplished by the Haitian parents, teachers, school principals and Feeding Program Directors during turbulent times in their country today.

· Heavenly Father, we give You thanks for the progress that has been made this year to defeat the violent gangs that are beginning to lose their grip over areas of Haiti.

‘Supplications’

Today, during the last month of this year, there can’t be any people living in Haiti who have NOT been affected by the political turmoil and violent gangs that have spread throughout their country. Few of us living in the U.S. have ever experienced the many challenges that our brothers and sisters living in Haiti are facing now. How can we help? It is time we need to get down on our knees with our brothers and sisters in Haiti and through prayers, turn all of these challenges over to our Triune God. We implore Him to intercede for His faithful remnant and sweep out the violent gangs and bring peace where there is none and establish a wise and honest government led by God-fearing leaders to dedicate Haiti to Jesus Christ and begin a new year filled with a Hope that Haiti has never experienced.

Acts 20:35; “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Heavenly Father, we bring our supplications before You;

· Heavenly Father, continue to lead and bless Trinity HOPE with Your strong hand; may we always strive to accomplish Your will.

· Bless the Trinity HOPE workers here in the U.S. and in Haiti. Give them courage as they face challenges from the evil foe. Provide them with courage, endurance and love.

· Lord, please bring a miracle of HOPE to the country of Haiti. Turn the evil deeds from violent gangs into solutions that bring Glory to You. May everyone in Haiti see and experience Your hand at work and acknowledge Your sovereignty in this fallen world.

Lord God, bless Your Word wherever it is proclaimed. Make it a Word of power and peace to convert those not yet Your own and to confirm those who have come to saving faith. May Your Word pass from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip and from the lip to the life that, as You have promised, Your Word may achieve the purpose for which You sent it; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

2 Corinthians 13:11-14; “Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints send their greetings. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

“I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.” Martin Luther

May God go before you to guide you; may His arms be beneath you to support you, around you to protect you and above you to bless you. And may the blessings of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you today and always dear sister and brother in Christ,

In His love, have a Blessed Christmas.

Jay Brinkmeyer

Joel Griffith 11/30/24 Joel Griffith 11/30/24

Prevail this world.

“…no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the LORD.” Isaiah 54:17

The last Saturday and also the last day of November. This passage from Isaiah may cause some people in our fallen world to imagine that by claiming to be a child of God will make you invincible; no weapon or angry tongue will harm you. I have not found this to be true yet in my life as I have been on the losing end of a few beatings and have received the lie filled lashings of several tongues. After the evil in this world has beaten you down and you have picked yourself up from the dirty floor, don’t ask God “why did this happen?” but rather look for the blessing that will come from this event; a lesson or quality of yours that will be improved because you did endure the suffering from this world.

The weapons and lies will not prevail; the blessings that come from our Heavenly Father will be victorious. This month and next month are typically months when the vodou priests in Haiti are very active seeking out young lives to overpower, conquer and use as sacrifices in their vodou ceremonies. People in our sinful world “why do we waste our money feeding children in Haiti?” and I ask you to look into the eyes of these two girls from a Lutheran school in Gonaives, who learn more every day about their risen Savior. Their young lives are in danger from the evil foe that resides in the vodou temple.

A few years ago, there was a news article that told of the police in Port-au-Prince discovering several severed heads of children in a vodou temple and a bag with school uniforms in another room nearby. The weapons and evil of this world may cease their earthly lives, but more importantly their Heavenly Father has called them home to be with their risen Savior Jesus Christ. How important is the relationship that we have with our Heavenly Father when times of trial come along our journey? Are you ready for the day when the call to come home will arrive un-announced to your door?

Thank you for helping to prepare the children in Haiti to learn about our risen Savior and continue to share the message with ears that have not yet heard. The hymn ‘Softly and Tenderly’ was written by Will Thompson in 1880 and it’s words close the devotion with a reminder we are being called and as we heed His call we also strive to help others to also hear His call.

“Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me; patiently Jesus is waiting and watching, watching for you and for me! Come home! come home! Ye who are weary, come home! Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling, O sinner, come home! Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading, pleading for you and for me? Why should we linger and heed not His mercies, mercies for you and for me? Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing, passing from you and from me; shadows are gathering, death-beds are coming, coming for you and for me! Oh, for the wonderful love He has promised; promised for you and for me! Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon, pardon for you and for me!”

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 11/29/24 Joel Griffith 11/29/24

Living your life in Christ.

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7

Living your life in Christ; doing things for Him because you desire to out of love and not because you have to. Paul encourages us to not live for Jesus for an hour on the Sabbath but throughout the day, every day until our days are no more. These congregation members at Bon Berger in Caredeux generally spend three to four hours in the Sanctuary on the Sabbath; Bible study starts at 8, worship at 9 and fellowship time at 11:30. I never saw them glancing at their watches or a clock on the wall while wondering to themselves “how much longer will this service last?” Too often the evil foe squeezes our patience glands when enjoying time with Him and entices us to get back into the world, his world and start living again. I close with the hymn ‘Let us ever walk with Jesus’ that was written by Sigismund von Birken in 1653. May these words of wisdom bring your life of service an extra measure of encouragement.

“Let us ever walk with Jesus, follow His example pure, flee the world, which would deceive us and to sin our souls allure. Ever in His footsteps treading, body here, yet soul above, full of faith and hope and love, let us do the Father's bidding. Faithful Lord, abide with me; Savior, lead, I follow Thee. Let us suffer here with Jesus, to His image, e'er conform; Heaven's glory soon will please us, sunshine follow on the storm. Though we sow in tears of sorrow, we shall reap with heavenly joy; and the fears that now annoy shall be laughter on the morrow. Christ, I suffer here with Thee; there, oh, share Thy joy with me! Let us also die with Jesus. His death from the second death, from our soul's destruction, frees us, quickens us with life's glad breath. Let us mortify, while living, flesh and blood and die to sin; and the grave that shuts us in shall but prove the gate to heaven. Jesus, here I die to Thee there to live eternally. Let us gladly live with Jesus; since He's risen from the dead, death and grave must soon release us. Jesus, Thou art now our Head, we are truly Thine own members; where Thou livest, there live we. Take and own us constantly, faithful Friend, as Thy dear brethren. Jesus, here I live to Thee, also there eternally.”

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 11/28/24 Joel Griffith 11/28/24

Thanksgiving.

“My feet stand on level ground; in the great congregation I will praise the LORD.” Psalm 26:12

Level ground is certainly something to be thankful for in this season of Thanksgiving. When a surveyor is staking out a highway their steel ‘chain’ must be plumb and not follow the lay of the land or the measurement will be inaccurate. When a parent is sharing a lesson of life, they admonish their children to stay on the straight and narrow path and not venture off onto paths that are steep and dangerous. When we grow old and our feet, ankles and knees begin to show the great number of accumulated steps taken along our life’s journey; they cry out when we leave the level ground and have to walk down a simple hill. Our lives are filled with many challenging hills and peace filled valleys and when we reach the level ground it is time to give thanks to God for bringing us to this place; a time to be thankful when we leave behind the darkness of this fallen world.

The child in the attached photo lives in Cap Haitian and attends the Lutheran school there; she has seen her share of hills and valleys in her young life; today she is on level ground. She is very thankful that you have been an answer to her daily prayer as your blessings have provided a meal for her at school. She gives thanks to our Triune God for you while living in a land without much hope. Today I have chosen Hymn No. 568 from my 1964 Confirmation Hymnal. The hymn ‘We Praise Thee, O God, Our Redeemer, Creator’ and was found in 1624 without the name of the author; what a great way to serve our Heavenly Father, blessing others with you work and not needing to receive any credit. Kind of like feeding children in Haiti; share your blessings with them is what is really important, doesn’t matter if they know you but more importantly, they know Him.

“We praise Thee, O God, our Redeemer, Creator, in grateful devotion our tribute we bring; we lay it before Thee, we kneel and adore Thee, we bless Thy holy name, glad praises we sing. We worship Thee, God of our fathers, we bless Thee; through life's storm and tempest our Guide hast Thou been; when perils o'ertake us, escape Thou wilt make us, and with Thy help, O Lord, our battles we win. With voices united our praises we offer, to Thee, great Jehovah, glad anthems we raise. Thy strong arm will guide us, Our God is beside us, to Thee, our great Redeemer, fore'er be praise.”

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 11/27/24 Joel Griffith 11/27/24

Encouraging words.

“You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” 2 Timothy 3:10-12

I read once that the second book of Timothy has been referred to as “Paul's last will and testament" and this is certainly fitting as it was probably the last letter Paul wrote before his earthly journey came to an end. It is thought that Paul had most likely been killed by Roman soldiers before this letter of encouragement actually reached Timothy. His words of encouragement still hold true for you, me and these children attending the Lutheran school in Pont Sonde in Haiti. We can daily learn so much from Paul through his words as we identify with his challenges and blessings each and every day.

In 2 Timothy 4:7 Paul writes “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” and encourages each of us to do the same as we serve our Heavenly Father with our lives; our talents, our time and our treasures. The hymn ‘Take my life and let it be’ was written by Frances Havergal in 1874 and it seemed like a good match for Paul’s letter and also a reminder for each of us today.

“Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee; take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise. Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of Thy love; take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee. Take my voice and let me sing always, only, for my King; take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee. Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold; take my intellect and use every power as Thou shalt choose. Take my will and make it Thine, it shall be no longer mine; take my heart, it is Thine own, it shall be Thy royal throne. Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure-store; take myself, and I will be ever, only, all, for Thee.”

May God be with you,

Jay