Growin' Up Gregory

After my post the other day on FB, I realize that I need to come clean about something.  I started doing it some in high school, not as much in college, then got back more into doing it since then.  I've gone through periods where I was doing it a lot more at some times than others, and actually would at times go a while without doing it all.  I've been accused of using it and even asked to distribute it a few times.  I wasn't overdoing it before so I thought I was okay, only using it when I needed it to get by and not really using it regularly.  But three or four years ago, I began using it consistently, and haven't stopped.  Some people have said something to me about it since they noticed I was doing it more.  The effects of it are hard to hide, but it's hard to want to quit something that makes you better.  I've even shared it with some people I work out with and a few others. So if you've been wondering where my strength co...

"Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it." - Hebrews 2:1 My devotional this morning talked of boats that were anchored along the shore and most stayed in place.  But the writer noticed one that wasn't anchored and gradually drifted away.  Has the same thing ever happened in your life?  Do we start drifting away from our closeness with him, getting out of the Bible, praying less?  Typically it happens gradually, and we don't notice until we're floating loosely at sea.  We must be intentional in our pursuit of the Lord through daily prayer, reading, and meditating.  And while I've seen a time to time drifting in my own life, how sad is it that we as individuals and as the church have to be reminded to not drift away?  "How shall we escape, if we neglect such a great salvation?  It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard." - Hebrews 2:3 This devotional about ...

Finishing up the recap of my Father's Day sermon from last week, the final three verses of Psalm 128 show us that if we are Fearful, Faithful, Fruitful, and Family Focused, that we will be Fortunate!  God promises that those who follow his commands will be blessed.  And so far throughout my life, He has delivered on every promise He has made.  "Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord, the Lord bless you from Zion!  May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life!  May you see your children's children! Peace be upon Israel!" - Psalm 128:4-6 So what do these blessings we read about entail?  A fancy car, a nice house, a big bank account?  Verse 6 tells us what real blessings are, "May you see your children's children."  Now any of you who are parents and grandparents know that feeling, because my parents love me, but they really love my son.  This verse shows us that while the rich man may chase after "bles...

Continuing through Psalm 128 and looking at God's plan for fathers, it became clear that Fathers should be Family Focused.  While other things and areas are important in our lives, we need to keep family as a priority right behind the Lord.  Joshua said it best in 24:14-15, "Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness...And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve...But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."  Joshua started out the same way our Psalm did, with fear and faithfulness.  He then made a personal decision, "as for me," to serve the Lord.  After his personal decision, he made a family decision, "and my house," that they would serve the Lord.  Joshua led his family to the Lord through fear, faithfulness, and service.  Are we doing that today? The first part of Psalm 128:3 reads, "Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house."  The writer he...

As we move on through Psalm 128, we come to verse 2 which reads, "You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you."  The third F that I noticed in this passage was that a father should be Fruitful. God's plan is for the man to be the provider for his home.  This plan goes all the way back to Genesis 3:19 which says, "By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread..."  God has promised to provide our needs, but not necessarily with no effort from us.  Excluding the 90 degree weather we've been having, you typically only sweat when you're working hard, so providing is not going to be easy, it takes hard work.  Knowing that you are to be the provider is a difficult burden to bear which is why God gave men a tough exterior.  One thing I've learned just in my couple years of fatherhood is how much better of a nurturer my wife is than I am, but that's the way God created us. Men are to be provide...

Continuing through Psalm 128 and looking at the advice it has for fathers, I was lead to the second part of verse 1, "Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!"  A father should be Faithful is the second F of fatherhood. Once we realize how great, powerful, and mighty God really is, we become motivated to surrender our lives to him and walk in his ways, being faithful.  As a husband and father, we are to set an example of a godly pattern of life in our households.  According to God's plan, we are the picture of God in our homes.  And in order for us to do that, we must have a personal relationship with our Almighty God ourselves.  Our children must see us worshipping, praising God, going to church, and studying his Word.  They will also watch how we treat our wife, their mother, so we must be a godly husband as well.  You can't just do this at certain times, to walk in his ways require a daily discipline.  Yes, it's good t...

It was an honor to get to share a Father's Day message at Brown's Creek yesterday so I'd like to share a portion of that this week and continue to look at it what it takes to be a good father from Psalm 128. The first "F" that I saw was one that we don't typically say a man should be.  And that is Fearful, but not just fearful, Fearful of the Lord:  "Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord" - Psalm 128:1a Many people fear the Lord, including unbelievers.  But their fear is typically more on the side of being afraid of judgment and eternal death.  They fear the unknown and what will happen to their physical body.  Some even fear an eternity in hell even though they're not certain that it even exists, they still fear that it could be real.  Often times nonbelievers, and sometimes even believers in Christ will blame God for natural disasters or major tragedies and assume they are some sort of judgment from above.  But why aren't these same pe...

This has been a challenging and different week since our pastor resigned last Sunday.  I was out of town on family vacation so I was not present for the announcement, but I was made aware of the news.  I'm honestly still not sure if it was good or bad that I wasn't there, the only thing I can be sure of from that is that at least it spared me the emotions of the moment. You may be wondering why I used the term "breakup" instead of resigning?  Well, I believe that the relationship between a pastor and a church is much different than that of any other employee and their company.  Yes, there is a work and duty relationship between them, but it's also a love relationship and more of a family feel of wanting what's best instead just seeking to earn a dollar like at truly secular company.  I'm sure that many of us have been in unhealthy relationship that were not good for the growth of either party.  I'm not certain that was the case at our church since ...