International Prayer Day First Monday each month 10 am

Joel Griffith 4/22/26 Joel Griffith 4/22/26

HOPE to the Hopeless

“Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.” Psalm 119:5-8

The attached photo is of a rock formation in the Caribbean that Pastor Isidor told me was called ‘Tableau du Satan’ or ‘devils table’. It’s located about 6 miles North from Port Salut and this is a place where the local vodou priest wades out a hundred yards through the shallow water and sacrificed animals and sometimes humans on this ‘altar’ while crowds of followers stood on the shore and chanted at the evil spectacle. Spiritual warfare is raging in Haiti. Children attending Lutheran and other Christian schools are being prepared to share the Good News that brings Hope to the hopeless who are still living and believing the lies of vodou. We pray that our Triune God will draw close to these children as they bring the message in the most difficult of times and that we will remain by their sides with our time, talents, treasures and prayers. I am closing today with the words from the hymn ‘My Maker, be Thou nigh’ that were written by Johann J. Rambach in 1735.

“My Maker, be Thou nigh the light of life to give and guide me with Thine eye while here on earth I live. to Thee my heart I tender and all my powers surrender; make it my one endeavor to love and serve Thee ever. Upon Thy promise I rely; my Maker, be Thou nigh. My Savior, wash me clean with Thy most precious blood, that takes away all sin and seals my peace with God my soul in peace abideth when in Thy wounds it hideth. There I find full salvation and freedom from damnation. Without Thee lost, defiled by sin, my Savior, wash me clean. My Comforter, give power that I may stand secure when in temptation's hour the world and sin allure. The Son to me revealing, inspire my thought and feeling, His Word of grace to ponder, nor let me from Him wander, On me Thy gifts and graces shower: my Comforter, give power! O Holy Trinity! to whom I all things owe, Thine image graciously within my heart bestow. Choose me, though weak and lowly, to be Thy temple holy where praise shall rise unending for grace so condescending. O heavenly bliss, Thine own to be, O Holy Trinity!”

Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths 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.

Joel Griffith 4/20/26 Joel Griffith 4/20/26

Take the Light into the Darkness

“Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?” Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going.” John 12:30-35

The attached photo was taken looking up a side street in Cap Haitian but could easily be from any number of cities in Haiti. How many people can you count in this photo? What number you count just assume that six of every ten people practice vodou. There are a few communities where that number is higher but for the most part there are quite a few people in this photo walking in darkness; they do not know that their pathway is leading to the depths of hell. There are over 67,000 children enrolled in Christian schools in Haiti today and they are being prepared to take the Light of this world into the darkness of their neighborhoods. Lutheran teachers and Pastors are preparing them in their own language and donors from Trinity HOPE are preparing them with food which has no language barrier. If you would like to be a donor and help with these schools, please go to www.trinityhope.org and click on the Donate button. May you have a blessed weekend. I am closing today with the words from the hymn ‘Drawn to the Cross, which Thou hast Blest’ that were written by Genevieve M. Irons in 1880.

“Drawn to the Cross, which Thou hast blest with healing gifts for souls distress, to find in Thee my life, my rest, Christ Crucified, I come. Thou knowest all my griefs and fears, Thy grace abused, my misspent years; yet now to Thee with contrite tears, Christ Crucified, I come. Wash me and take away each stain; let nothing of my sin remain. For cleansing, though it be through pain, Christ Crucified, I come. And then for work to do for Thee, which shall so sweet a service be that angels well might envy me, Christ Crucified, I come.”

Joel Griffith 4/17/26 Joel Griffith 4/17/26

Give Thanks to the Lord

“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.” Psalm 107:1-3

Being in the same room with a group of Haitian school children giving thanks for their meal of food for the day brings a lump in my throat every time. It should be there when my family gathers around the table and we give thanks for our meal, but my mind always seems to drift off and think about children like are in the attached photo. These kids are sitting at their school “desk” in an open-air classroom at 11:30 in the morning and it is hot outside and inside. These little ones probably have three outfits; church clothes, school uniform and T-shirt and a pair of shorts; nothing more. Most of them are getting one real meal on this day and it is on their desk in front of them. You and I are so blessed as we give thanks for each of our three daily meals and seldom do we stop to think about that and let that truth sink in. These little ones and you and I are so blessed because of what Jesus gave for us on the cross a few weeks ago and seldom do we stop and really think about and appreciate that. O, let us give thanks. I am closing today with the words from the hymn ‘Redeemed, Restored, Forgiven’ that were written by Henry W. Baker in 1876.

“Redeemed, restored, forgiven, through Jesus' precious blood, heirs of His home in heaven, oh, praise our pardoning God! Praise Him in tuneful measures Who gave His Son to die; praise Him whose sevenfold treasures enrich and sanctify. Once on the dreary mountain we wandered far and wide, far from the cleansing fountain, far from the pierced side; but Jesus sought and found us and washed our guilt away; with cords of love, He bound us to be His own for aye. Dear Master, Thine the glory of each recovered soul. Ah! Who can tell the story of love that made us whole? Not ours, not ours, the merit; be thine alone the praise and ours a thankful spirit to serve Thee all our days. Now keep us, holy Savior, in Thy true love and fear and grant us of Thy favor the grace to persevere till, in Thy new creation, earth's time long travail o'er, we find our full salvation and praise Thee evermore.”

Joel Griffith 4/15/26 Joel Griffith 4/15/26

A Message of HOPE for the Lost

“And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.” Luke 1:76-80

While driving home from Our Redeemer on Sunday the light at the intersection turned red and a white Southern Baptist seventeen passenger van pulled up alongside me and stopped. The windows were open and the van appeared to be empty but there was a voice of a woman with a Southern accent loudly proclaiming the Gospel message either on the radio or a cd to that corner in Bloomington at 11:30 am on Sunday. It sounded like it was an angry message, loud, vindictive and accusatory and perhaps that is why the van was empty. It reminded me of why our Savior came into this world with His message of hope for the lost, love for the hurting and salvation for those living in darkness. That is the message from our Savior that these orphan children hear from their Feeding Program Director in Leogane as all they had heard before meeting him was a very angry message from the vodou priest that spoke of bondage to the devil at a time when their lives desperately needed Jesus. I close today with the words from the hymn ‘Christ, Whose Glory fills the skies’ that were written by Charles Wesley in 1770.

“Christ, whose glory fills the skies, Thou, the true, the only Light, Sun of Righteousness, arise, triumph o'er the shades of night. Dayspring from on high, be near; daystar, in my heart appear. Dark and cheerless is the morn unaccompanied by Thee; joyless is the day's return till Thy mercy's beams I see, till they inward light impart, glad my eyes, and warm my heart. Visit, then, this soul of mine, pierce the gloom of sin and grief; fill me, Radiancy Divine, scatter all my unbelief. More and more Thyself display, shining to the perfect day.”

Joel Griffith 4/13/26 Joel Griffith 4/13/26

Important in God's Eyes

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:1-3

At first glance from a pair of North American eyes, it would seem that the lives of these three Haitian children from Maissade are probably quite insignificant. After all, you and I are financially worth more than all of them will earn in their lifetime. The knowledge we currently have is at a higher level than they will ever attain. In our lifetime, we have accumulated more clothes, food and stuff than they can ever dream of having. We have a lot to be proud of, don’t we? The things that we hold of value on this side of Heaven may be important; in not how much we accumulate but how we use these things in this world serving Him and little ones like these two. This week, take a mental inventory of what you have and why you have it. Who is it serving? These three are very important; if they weren’t, our Heavenly Father would not have created them. He may need them for only a moment or for their lifetime of service. In the same manner, He is using us to accomplish His Will as He created us for a purpose. I am closing today with the words from the hymn ‘Tender Shepherd, Thou hast Stilled’ that were written by Johann W. Meinhold in 1833.

“Tender Shepherd, Thou hast stilled now Thy little lamb's brief weeping. Ah, how peaceful and how mild in its narrow bed 'tis sleeping! And no sigh of anguish sore heaves that little bosom more. In this world of pain and care, Lord, Thou wouldst no longer leave it; to Thy heavenly meadows fair lovingly Thou dost receive it. Clothed in robes of spotless white, now it dwells with Thee in light. O Lord Jesus, grant that we there may live where it is living, there the blissful pastures see that it heavenly food are giving. Lost a while our treasured love, gained forever, safe above.”

Joel Griffith 4/10/26 Joel Griffith 4/10/26

Know Jesus, Know Peace

“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey; whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Romans 6:15-16

I saw a message recently that said “No Jesus, no peace. Know Jesus, know peace.” This simple statement is absolutely true without Jesus in your life there is really no peace at all. If we are slaves to the desires of this world full of distractions we are hopelessly lost and fall farther and farther from where we need to be…slaves to Jesus. I remember meeting a man at a guesthouse in Jeremie who had been a vodou priest but been snatched by the Holy Spirit and went running to the cross of Jesus and he was seemingly cloaked in a shroud of peace because he was now saved. It is hard to describe his appearance but the chains of vodou had been unlocked he was now obedient to our Triune God. May we all desire to closer to Jesus for the remainder of our days on this side of Heaven and forevermore. I am closing today with the words from the hymn ‘Let me be Thine Forever’ that were written by Nikolaus Selnecker in 1572.

“Let me be Thine forever, Thou faithful God and Lord; let me forsake Thee never nor wander from Thy Word. Lord, do not let me waver, but give me steadfastness, and for such grace forever Thy holy name I'll bless. Lord Jesus, my Salvation, my Light, my Life divine, my only Consolation, oh, make me wholly Thine! For Thou hast dearly bought me with blood and bitter pain. Let me, since Thou hast sought me, Eternal life obtain. And Thou, O Holy Spirit, my Comforter and Guide, grant that in Jesus' merit I always may confide, Him to the end confessing Whom I have known by faith. Give me Thy constant blessing and grant a Christian death.”

Joel Griffith 4/8/26 Joel Griffith 4/8/26

Everlasting Life with our Risen Savior

“As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.” Luke 24:28-31

There have been times when I’ve told people that church services in Haiti usually went on for at least a couple of hours and they would shake their heads in disbelief and exclaim that they could not sit through that; I enjoyed it as we worshipped in the heat of the morning. There have been a few people who say that if Heaven is just one long church service that lasts for weeks, they are not sure if that is where they want to go. I am thinking that we will all be smiling like these children worshipping in Gamaliel when we are with our Savior when we receive our Glory. All the activities and stuff we clung to here on this side of Heaven will be forgotten as we experience everlasting life with our Risen Savior. I close today with the words from the hymn ‘Stay with us’ that were written by Walter L. Pelz in 1926.

“Stay with us, till night has come; our praise to You this day he sung. Bless our bread, open our eyes; Jesus be our great surprise. Walk with us, our spirits sigh; hear when our weary spirits cry. Feel again our loss, our pain; Jesus take us by Your side. Walk with us, the road will bend; make all or weeping, wailing end. Wipe our tears, forgive our fears; Jesus lift the heavy cross. Talk with us, till we behold a joyful life You will unfold. Heal our eyes to see the prize; Jesus take us to the light. Stay with us, till day is done; no tears, no dark shall dim the sun. Cheer the heart, Your grace impart; Jesus bring eternal life.”

Joel Griffith 4/6/26 Joel Griffith 4/6/26

Missionaries to the Doubters

“A week later his disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:26-29

What are your thoughts when you read the above verses from the 20th chapter of John? Does anybody come to mind who might be like Thomas? I can think of a few that just have no use for Jesus or God. I am also reminded of the challenge of the children who attend the Lutheran schools in Haiti and are fed a Trinity HOPE meal which is most likely for many of these their only meal for the day. This group are not doubters. Over sixty percent of the people living in Haiti are doubters as they still are following the lies of the vodou priest in their neighborhood. The group of children pictured above are the missionaries that are bringing the Good News to the ears of the doubters. So too, may our words and actions be led by our Holy Spirit as we bring the Good News to those still doubting and turning away from the Savior of this world. I am closing today with the words from the hymn ‘O sons and daughters of the King’ that were written by Attr. Jean Tisserand in 1674.

“O sons and daughters of the King, Whom heavenly hosts in glory sing, today the grave has lost its sting! Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! That Easter morn, at break of day, the faithful women went their way to seek the tomb where Jesus lay. Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! An angel clad in white they see, who sit and speaks unto the three, "Your Lord will go to Galilee." Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! That night the apostles met in fear; among them came their master dear and said, "My peace be with you here." Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! When Thomas first the tidings heard that they had seen the risen Lord, he doubted the disciples’ word. Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! "My pierced side, O Thomas, see, and look upon my hands, my feet; not faithless but believing be." Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! No longer Thomas then denied; he saw the feet, the hands, the side; "You are my Lord and God!" he cried. Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! How blest are they who have not seen and yet whose faith has constant been, for they eternal life shall win. Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! On this most holy day of days be laud and jubilee and praise: to God your hearts and voice raise. Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!”

Joel Griffith 4/3/26 Joel Griffith 4/3/26

Bon Berger, Good Shepherd

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23

When I hear the word ‘shepherd’ the picture of a man or woman standing with a flock of sheep or goats comes into my mind. I grew up near a few families who raised sheep in Seward Co. When I worked for them in the hayfield, the aroma of the sheep was something pungent that I never forgot; a Haitian goat has the same aroma. Psalm 23 tells us of the Good Shepherd and in Creole the term is ‘Bon Berger’. While Jesus is our true ‘Good Shepherd’ there are others that God has placed along our life’s journey who have been shepherds to us: parents, pastors, family members and teachers to name a few. Even though I have witnessed this Haitian lady swat a few of the sheep in her care who momentarily went astray, her smile and dedication will tell you that she is a ‘good shepherd’. The children at the school near her are blessed with many good shepherds and donors who provide a hot lunch from Trinity HOPE. The children are happy and blessed for their learning experience here. May you continue to recognize the care you daily receive from our Good Shepherd. I am closing today with the words from the hymn ‘The King of love my Shepherd is’ that were written by Henry W. Baker in 1868.

“The King of Love my Shepherd is, Whose goodness faileth never; I nothing lack if I am His and He is mine forever. Where streams of living water flow, my ransomed soul He leadeth, and where the verdant pastures grow, with food celestial feedeth. Perverse and foolish oft I strayed, but yet in love He sought me and on His shoulder gently laid and home, rejoicing, brought me. In death's dark vale I fear no ill, with Thee, dear Lord, beside me; Thy rod and staff my comfort still, Thy cross before to guide me. Thou spreadst a table in my sight, Thy unction grace bestoweth; and, oh! the transport of delight with which my cup o'erfloweth. And so through all the length of days Thy goodness faileth never. Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise.”

Joel Griffith 4/1/26 Joel Griffith 4/1/26

Fishers of Men

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” Mark 1:17

I’ve known a lot of men who worked during the week and went fishing on Sunday and there was a time in my life before my daughters were born when I was like them and would spend my weekend away from home when the walleye was biting at Lake McConaughy near Ogallala, Nebraska; not so much today. These two Haitian men had their nets ready to be dropped over the edge of their boat in hopes of a decent catch. It is interesting to think about what the disciples who made their living fishing imagined when they were told by Jesus that He would make them fishers of men. Catching people with the promise of Eternal Life in Heaven; how can anyone possibly not want that for themselves? May we, like these two Haitian fishermen, be successful when we cast our nets into the populace of doubters in our neighborhoods or places of work. Like the disciples, we’ve been called to be fishers of men. I am closing with the words from the hymn ‘Remember, Lord, the times you called me’ that were composed by Jaroslav J. Vajda and arranged by John A. Behnke.

“Remember, Lord, the times You called me to be Your follower and friend? Your words, Your cause, Yourself enthralled me; You gave my life a source and end. My first communion and my vow; how is our friendship now? I dare not claim a special favor for deeds heroic, much less due. I need an understanding Savior, I need a patient Friend like You. I need someone to take me back; restore the joy I lack. There still are souls and bodies crying for help and healing; life and peace. You saved the fruitless tree from dying. You promised prisoners release; like Peter, Saul and Magdalene, make me all new again. Forgiving Father, giving Savior, renewing Spirit, keep Your word. Give me a foretaste of forever, where love and joy are never blurred. With pride and weakness gone for good, I’ll thank You as I should.”