Growin' Up Gregory

Who do you think would love you more? The person you gave $1 - $100 - $1,000 - $10,000 - or $100,000? Now before we get into the whole "you can't buy love" discussion, yes I am aware of that.  This is merely to prove a point. If I gave you $1 you would likely be thankful but could easily forget the gesture.  If I gave you $100 you would probably think I had lost my mind.  If I gave you several thousand dollars you would likely want start being best friends.  But if I gave you $100,000 or more I imagine that for most people they would feel forever indebted to the giver.  I know I would.  I would feel obliged to answer when the call, help when they ask, and check in with them regularly always having time and energy reserved for when they may need me. I wonder if that's why some of us love God more than others.  If you've lived a very good moral and holy life committing very few sins, you perhaps received $100 worth of forgiveness.  But if yo...

The national anthem of the United States of America is "The Star-Spangled Banner."  According to Wikipedia, it was written by " Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the large American flag, the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort during the American victory."  Key's poem was set to music by John Stafford Smith.  It was officially made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 by President Herbert Hoover.   The American flag a/k/a "The Star-Spangled Banner" has represented our freedom, our history, our hope that we have had in America.  No, America's past is not all good.  There are many injustices that I wish were not a part of our country's history, but they are there nonetheless.  We can delete them from history books but not from history.  B...

If you listen to some news stations and read certain newspapers, studies, and online articles, you may believe that Union County is one of the poorest, most uneducated, drug ridden towns in South Carolina.  They even will often share statistics that support their claims.  I'm not saying that any of these people are lying when they share this info.  But I will state that being a numbers guy who has spent a ton of time doing calculations for many organizations, that numbers don't lie, but they can be calculated and presented in such a way that benefits one party more than another. Numbers don't always paint the whole picture.  No, Union's test scores may not be the highest.  But some places manipulate (that's such an ugly word) their SAT scores by only allowing their smartest students to take it.  Union County Schools prepared me to score the necessary SAT score by my senior year to earn a hefty scholarship by allowing me to take it in the 7th grade for the...

During my recent study of Moses, there were two very profound revelations that I felt spoke directly to me, two things I gathered that gave great cause for self-examination in my life. The first came as we see Moses' excuses for why he can't be used by God.  Moses witnessed miraculous signs, even participating in them, and heard the audible voice of God with very clear instruction.  Yet even with God's reassurances, Moses felt unqualified, unworthy, and sadly unwilling to respond to God's call. I was the complete opposite many times and this pointed out a glaring sin of pride in my life.  Any time I have been asked to speak, share, do a devotion, or anything like that; and any time someone has ever told me they enjoy anything I write, I have felt a feeling of pride, of accomplishment, of self-satisfaction.  I have at times allowed myself to think that I had any ability or skill outside of what God gave to me, outside of what He enabled me to do....

We have seen through the last couple posts that God has called Moses to do something that seems much too difficult for him to accomplish.  Read Parts 1 and 2 if you haven't already as they pretty much intro this post. Prior to picking up with Moses' next excuse, God gave him several signs in Exodus 4:1-9.  He turned Moses' staff into a serpent, then back to a staff; turned Moses' hand leprous by placing it into his cloak then restoring it in the same manner; then told Moses that if the people would not listen and believe these signs that he could take water from the Nile and pour it on the ground and it would become blood. Yet after not only witnessing, but performing these miraculous signs through God, Moses continues with the excuses.  In Exodus 4:10, Moses says to the Lord, "I am not eloquent...I am slow of speech and of tongue."  God responds to Moses by asking, "Who has made man's mouth?  Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind?  Is ...

When God called Moses to take on the task of leading His people out of Egypt, Moses began giving God excuses, questioning himself and the Lord.  We often begin to find excuses as to why we can't do something that seems to challenging or isn't our greatest passion.  And just as God did with Moses, He answers our questions and concerns today. The first question Moses posed to God in Exodus 3:11 was, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?"  God's answer to Moses had nothing to do with Moses' skills.  God simply said, "I will be with you."  The answer to Moses' question of 'Why me?' was more dependent on God's presence for its power than on the abilities of Moses.  God still works that way in people today.  He doesn't choose the greatest and mightiest to use.  God uses regular ordinary people to show His greatness, not ours.  As long as God is with you, you can do it, you can get through...

Have you ever been asked to do something that seemed impossible, or that you felt totally inadequate for?  Or perhaps there is a challenge that you just don't see how you can complete or accomplish the goals that have been set?  It could be anything; a job offer, a duty or task being assigned to you at work, a test coming up, or a physical challenge.  This can sometimes leave us wondering how we are supposed to go on.  We may seek out motivational and inspirational quotes and image to help us trudge along and keep moving forward, all the while still feeling like we are doomed to fail.  In Exodus 3:10, Moses was given such a task.  He was asked to go to the Pharaoh and lead the Israelites, who were being used as slave labor at the time, out of Egypt.  Let's look at who Moses was when asked to do this: -  He was living in exile in the wilderness having fled from Egypt. -  He had fled Egypt for killing an Egyptian out of anger -...

It seems like for the past few weeks all we've heard about has been storms.  The United States has been hit hard by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma and meteorologists are currently watching Jose to see what it's going to do.  These storms have caused many deaths and a tremendous amount of damage.  People have been glued to computers, phones, and the news to check on the both the anticipated track of these storms and the aftermath that they have left behind.  These storms are somewhat like our lives as it has been said that there are two kinds of people in this world; those in a storm, and those heading into a storm. In Exodus 2:23-25, there was a group of people, the Israelites, who had been being oppressed by the Egyptian king for many days.  When he died, they groaned and cried out for help.  Their cry to help came up to God.  And He heard their groaning and remembered his promise to them. Why were the Israelites, God's chosen people, being left to l...

There are people who do things everyday that seem to go unnoticed.  They may be the ones who turn the lights and AC/heat on at work before you open, the ones who clean up after hours, the ones who get the call about an issue at midnight when everyone else is sleeping.  These people often prefer to remain nameless as they do their work because it's the right thing to do and not for someone else's praise.  They don't get their name in lights and often don't receive the recognition they deserve, but their impact is always felt. In Exodus 1:15-22 there is a similar story.  The new king of Egypt has taken reign and greatly fears the Israelite people.  He has imposed strict manual labor and harsh conditions on them but their numbers continue to grow.  Out of an increasing fear for these people, he now plans to ramp up his attack against the people.  He orders the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah to kill the sons of the people but allow the daughters to l...

You can see Part 1 of this blog here:  Where is your path heading? (Part 1) We looked at the path of the blessed man, so what does the path of the wicked look like? Psalm 1:4-5 - "The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.  Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous." This verse basically starts out telling us that all the things we just read about the blessed man are not true of the wicked man.  It's basically translated as a big "No No" or as Lee Corso might say, "Not so fast my friend."  They take the advice of the wicket, stand in the path of sinners, and even sit with mockers.  They do not delight in God's instruction and law, but rather spend time thinking up and creating their own.  They don't spend time in God's Word, but rather fill their minds with worldly thoughts. The Psalmist compares the wicked to chaff, which to fully understand we ...

I'm sure many of you are like me and at some point you've been driving down the road when all of a sudden, your GPS goes out and the line showing you where to turn just stops leaving you forced to make a decision as to which way to turn?  The choice you make, may lead you straight to where you want to go.  Or it may lead you on a long costly detour possibly even preventing you from reaching your destination.  Our life is much like a road that we are journeying along with twists and turns, and the choices we make will determine where we are headed.  Psalm 1 tells us about two very different paths with two very different destinations. Psalm 1:1-3 - "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, not sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does...

This is an excerpt from A.W. Tozer's, "Daily Pursuit" of a friend of his vising a fallen woman on her deathbed. Story: The woman said to him, "Dr. Reich, you're a good man, but you don't know me.  I'm a terrible woman, just terrible.  I'm not worthy for you to sit here by my bed." He quietly said to her, "You're dying." "I know I'm dying," she said, "but I lived a terrible life, a vile life." "God will save you." Looking at the Dr., she said, "Not me, no, no.  I'm not enough.  My goodness can't get me in." Picking up on her attitude he said, "Sister, if your goodness can't get you in, your badness can't keep you." "Is that so, Dr. Reich?"  And she began to cry. "That's right.  If goodness can't get you in, badness can't keep you out." Verse: "For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under la...