International Prayer Day First Monday each month 10 am

Joel Griffith 12/10/25 Joel Griffith 12/10/25

The REAL reason for the 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

I have had Echo play Christmas music for the past few weeks and the announcer happened to share the phrase ‘reason for the season’ recently. Seems like mankind has always been trying to understand the reason for things; Adam and Eve were trying to have the same ‘knowledge’ as our Creator. We want to know why God did things the way He did and what holds for our future.

Our Triune God doesn’t reveal His plan for you, me or for the over 65,000 children attending Lutheran schools 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.”

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 12/9/25 Joel Griffith 12/9/25

Praise the King.

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

There is a story of a man who lived in a small house in the mountains with windows that were very high on the walls facing the South. One day a bird happened to fly in when the patio door was open; probably had some children from the city visiting on that day. The bird tried to leave by flying out of the clean windows and tried again and again but its efforts continued to end with a thud. The man opened the door and tried to shoo the bird in the direction of the open door but it continued to fly into the windows; losing strength and desire with each attempt. Finally, the bird 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 cities are doing at the present time trying to prepare all that ‘needs’ to be prepared for Christmas without spending time to stop and personally consider how important this Advent season is for you, me and the children attending 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 are fluttering during this Advent season to personally give thanks for the only reason for Advent; Christ came to earth full of grace and truth. I close today with the hymn ‘Savior of the Nations, Come’ which was written by St. Ambrose in the middle of the third century and later translated 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.”

Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 12/8/25 Joel Griffith 12/8/25

Family traditions.

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 Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Luke 2: 8-14 (KJV)

Family traditions come and go. As I grow older and my family either dies or moves away, there is one thing that I still like to do during Advent. I like to set my Bible APP to the King James Version 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. Hope you enjoy this family tradition.

“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.”

Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 12/6/25 Joel Griffith 12/6/25

Seek this first.

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

Things always look better on the outside. 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. 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. Yes, it’s not Lutheran or Advent. The words just seemed a good match for the message.

“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.”

Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 12/5/25 Joel Griffith 12/5/25

What brings you comfort?

“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 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.”

Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 12/4/25 Joel Griffith 12/4/25

Living with Jesus.

“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. The congregation members in this photo worship 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 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 this fallen 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 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.”

Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 12/3/25 Joel Griffith 12/3/25

What's really important?

“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 here at the Facility. I began the count after Labor Day and have stopped as number fifteen arrived today. I wonder how long it took the Magi to decide on bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh as 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 the Lutheran School in Saltedere which is 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; 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, but if you, your family or your Bible study group would be interested in sponsoring any school in Haiti, please reach out to Candi B at Trinity HOPE and find out what meets your mission. The children attending these schools 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. I close today’s devotion closes with the words to 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.”

Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 12/2/25 Joel Griffith 12/2/25

Do something.

The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor. Proverbs 22:9

Hello, Again, Friends,

I told Dad that I would start to write some devotions to give him some time off on occasion and today felt like a good day to start. He and I were talking in the car on the way to the hospital yesterday about that subject. He had stated that he was having trouble finding anyone else to contribute to the devotions because many felt since they didn’t have any personal experiences with Haiti, they wouldn’t have anything relevant to write.

First of all, I must confess that I have never been to Haiti either. When dad was living in Haiti my sister and I were in our early 20s, in college, and a trip to Haiti sounded expensive, dangerous, and scary. Still does, honestly. Dad’s heart was in line with God’s heart, and still is, in that he deeply cares for the people of Haiti and all of the other adults and children suffering under persecution, hunger, poverty, violence, disease, etc. I too love the people in Haiti, even though I haven’t seen their homes, or held their children in my arms.

This spurred a conversation between Dad and me about generosity. Thank you for the generosity of your financial resources, your prayers, and support for Trinity Hope. It’s OK if you don’t want to go to Haiti, just do SOMETHING! For Someone! Anyone! Use your God given gifts (money, skills, time, resources) to bless someone and spread His love!

So many of God’s words on generosity promise that God will bless us if we bless others:

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done. Proverbs 19:17
The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor. Proverbs 22:9
Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice. Psalm 112:5

One of my favorite verses is from Colossians 3:23-24, that reads “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord you are serving.”

Haven’t we all already received an incredible inheritance from the Lord? Receiving is not the motivation to be generous. God is so generous to us. True generosity is motivated by gratitude and love. God gives to us so we can freely give to others!

Do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Hebrews 13:16
You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 2 Corinthians 9:11-12.

THANK YOU for all that you do for the people of Haiti by sharing your resources with the people of Haiti through Trinity Hope. Be blessed today and celebrate all that God has done for you this Thanksgiving! Then pour out His love and generosity to those around you.

Father in Heaven,

Thank you so much for loving us despite all of our shortcomings. Thank you for blessing the seed that John Hall planted years ago into this beautiful thriving ministry for the children (and their families) in Haiti. Thank you for each and every individual on this devotion chain, for what you are doing in their lives now and what you will continue to do in their lives in the future. Please use us, move us, direct us to spread your love and blessings on those around us in the way that only YOU can do. All these things we pray in your beautiful son, Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Deidre

Joel Griffith 12/2/25 Joel Griffith 12/2/25

Step into Advent.

“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.” 1Timothy 3:16

Dear North America; the season of Advent is so much more than Black Friday; colored strings of lights on houses and trees, snow, presents, catalogues, fruitcakes and mistletoe hung in doorways. The Apostle Paul writes 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 minds of our sinful world cannot begin to wrap their worldly knowledge around the truth of our Savior 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 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 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!"

Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 12/1/25 Joel Griffith 12/1/25

Be still and know that I AM God.

“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

The Church in the attached photo is Eglise Evangelique Lutherienne du Bon Berger in Caredeux, which is a suburb in the Northeast of Port-au-Prince; the white truck was the vehicle God blessed with me while living in Haiti. Now I know that we have just stepped into Advent but I was so richly blessed to have been there on a few Reformation Sundays and the above verse from Psalm 46 reminded me of that again, that God is exalted among ALL the nations; in ALL the earth.

Pastor Thomas Bernard read Psalm 46 in French and I followed along in my NIV Bible during the service; God was present at that moment in French, Creole and English. No matter what the evil forces of this world are throwing at you or the congregation in Caredeux, God reminds us to be still and know that He is God; He is in control. We will be tossed about throughout our lives, pulled this way and that but don’t fear; be still and know that God is with you. I close today with the words to the hymn ‘I AM forever who I Am’ that many times along my journey was sang on Reformation Day here in North Americs. It was written by Kurt Von Kampen.

“Though mountains slide into the sea, and waters rush where fields should be, though monuments and nations fall, Your Holy city stands through all. When nothing seems to stay the same, You teach us your eternal name. We buy and sell, we lose or gain, our fortunes shift like sun and rain. Sustain our lives, reward our toil with bread and honey, wine and oil. Save us and others from our greed; You always give us what we need. Our lust for power, wealth and land diminishes the earth you planned. Prevent our crimes and futile wars; convince us that all things are yours. We rage and burn and kill and steal, but you redeem, restore and heal. Like shepherds watching for the light, aware of dangers in the night, we hear the angel “do not fear”, the Savior of the world is near. We run, we see, we touch, we laugh, You came to earth on our behalf. Each generation looks for truth and doubt can trouble age or youth. If other gods would take your place, remember us with love and grace. Reclaim us if we go astray; You are the Truth, the Life, the Way. Some days seem long, though life is brief, and death is waiting like a thief. When vision fades and dreams go dry, we still on unseen things rely. Our stories take up but a page but Yours goes on from age to age. I AM forever Who I AM; above you, beneath you, around you and within you. Be still and know that I am God.”

Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.

May God be with you,

Jay