Growin' Up Gregory

2 Samuel 9:13 - "And tell Amasa, 'Aren't you my flesh and blood?  May God punish me and do so severely if you don't become commander of my arm from now on instead of Joab!'" The setting:  David's kingdom has begun to crumble.  His son Absalom who has nearly overtaken his kingdom has now been killed.  However, there is still a threat of civil war in the country with many more lives than the 20,000 already lost at risk.  Trust on all sides is broken and there is great disunity in the country.  Sound familiar? How can a leader attempt to rectify this situation?  You're grieving the loss of a son, people are hurting, and trust and life is hanging by a delicate thread. David made a bold move in his attempt to restore trust and order to the land.  He replaced one of his longest tenured and closest allies, Joab, with Amasa, a former ally of his rival and son, Absalom.  This maneuver "sent a message of reconciliation to those who had supported ...

Most of us probably did this when we younger before reality seemed to set in and life got hard.  But let's step back from today's tough reality and take a few minutes to dream.  Imagine this situation:  You've just been reminded of your many great accomplishments and victories in life, all the obstacles you've overcome and the battles you've won.  You're the CEO of your business or the king of your empire, well respected in all that you do.  You have a home where you and your family can live comfortably.  And you have rest or peace, physically from enemies, as well as mentally and emotionally.  Then to top it all off, you've been assured that your children will have a good life and your legacy will be one of great respect.  Nice day, huh.   Well that's precisely the situation that David found himself in in 2 Samuel 7.  He was the undisputed king of Israel, he had begun building a great palace, planned to build a temple, and was cons...

I often hear older people talk about the "good old days" or "back in my day" and they wish that things would go back to the way they were back then. That will never happen. And sadly, many of us in the millennial generation may even make the same statements one day, if we haven't already.  A.W. Tozer said this, " Regardless of where you look these days, change is inevitable. Things are not what they once were. I am not one that bemoans the past for the simple reason that the past was not as good as we remember." People, technology, industry, work, laws, morals, relationships, social media, privacy and so many other things will always be changing. If you want to survive the storms of change in your life you must have some constant that holds you on course.  There is only one things that never changes, that has never had to change because He has always been good and perfect - God.  Malachi 3:6 reads, "For I the Lord do not change......

What is worship?  We could spend a lot of time discussing this question to come to a consensus definition of what worship is to us.  Most would like say that worship is praying, singing, going to church, or reading the Bible.  But worship is so much more.  It is God's desire for all of His people to worship Him.  "Simply put, worship is engaging with God, treasuring God, and submitting to God."  How do we do that? In Leviticus 9:15-21 (READ), we read about the first duty of the priest as he offers sacrifices and offerings for the sins of the people.  But before the priest could make sacrifices for the people's sins, he had to make sacrifices for his own sins (Lev 9:1-14).  The Israelites were set apart as God's people and were the only nation commanded to build tabernacles and offer sacrifices.  Aaron first offered a goat as a sin offering for the people.  This was a sacrifice for unintentional sin as many of us often sin without even ...

For several days now God has provided bread for the Israelites to eat, delivering on His promise to Moses earlier in the week and satisfying their grumblings about hunger.  He has provided for His chosen people in miraculous fashion yet again. In today's verses, Exodus 16:22-26, it is now the sixth day and the people have gathered twice as much food.  So much so that the leaders felt it necessary to report this to Moses.  Moses responded telling the people, "This is what the Lord has said: 'Tomorrow is a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord.  Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil, and set aside everything left over to be kept until morning.' "  So the people did as Moses commanded and set the leftover food aside until morning, and it did not stink or have maggots in it.  Then Moses told them, "Eat it today because today is a Sabbath to the Lord.  Today you won't find any in the field.  For six days you will gathe...