Growin' Up Gregory

We have all had very different experiences in life.  These seem to have been magnified over the past 4-6 weeks with everything going on in the world.  The threat of COVID and the impact of the CARES act has hit each of us very differently.  I just want to share some of my thoughts from my point of view.  Your may certainly be different if you've seen it from a different angle.  This is merely from my vantage point. COVID-19 Fear Factor One of my biggest concerns with the Coronavirus and COVID-19 is the way people have let themselves, and their whole lives, be taken over and consumed by fear.  Based on yesterday's SC DHEC statistics, there have been 38,833 tests administered with 4,246 positive results.  That is a 10.9% positive test return.  Now, I do not know the typical percentage of positive test for season flu, strep throat, and other 'regular' viruses, but a near 90% negative return rate seems illogical.  If this data is available...

I'm sure most of us have used the phrase that something is "just like riding a bike" to describe activities that come natural or seem really easy to do.  But do you remember learning how to ride a bike?  Or have you had to kiss 'boo-boos' and put band-aids on cuts and scrapes while teaching your kids to ride?  It turns out that learning to ride a bike is not just like riding a bike.  It takes time, effort, and consistent practice with some bumps and bruises along the way. I have been listening to a number of talks lately that focus on mastery - the absolute mastering of your skill or trade to become one of the best in the world.  How do you do that?  The plan is simple, but not easy. Think back to riding a bike, throwing a football, or catching a pop fly.  Anyone who's ever played sports would consider these activities second nature.  But the first time you did, it was probably a train wreck.  When our son throws a football, it looks mo...

My body has gotten to the point that I now enjoy looking at rollercoasters more than riding them.  I still enjoy the rush you get riding one, but my aging back just doesn't handle the twists and turns and bumps like it used to.  This week, has been somewhat of a real life rollercoaster ride.  There were no major losses or disasters like a death or terminal illness but I did get cussed out by one person, had my character somewhat questioned by another, and had a couple days of lunch and evening appointments making for a hectic schedule.  But there were some goods - I had a satisfactory review at work, completed some tasks from those meetings, had lunch with an old friend, and received a couple sincere compliments.  And wouldn't you know, to top it all off, this week's Sunday school lesson tied directly in to the week I was having.  God's timing is awesome. The lesson this week is titled "No Fear" and comes from Acts 18:1-11 where Paul is in Corinth.  ...

The Israelites have had a difficult time.  They were oppressed for many years in slavery, finally set free, only to be chased by the Egyptian army and cornered at the Red Sea.  They questioned Moses and God.  But God, doing as He always does, responded to their fears and rescued them. The Israelites have cried, complained, and grumbled to God.  They have faced difficult circumstances and at times even lost hope.  But God has delivered yet again.  In the midst of the people's feat and questioning, God provides an escape.  In Exodus 14:29, "The people of Israel walk on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left."  The Lord saved the Israelites that day and the people saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore as God brought the waters back together through Moses (Ex 14:26-28). God has once again set his people apart.  "By saving His people and judging their enemies, God demonstrated that He...

We have now seen the Israelites trapped between the Red Sea on one side and the pursuing Egyptian army on the other.  They began to become filled with fear and think irrationally and responded by questioning their leader Moses, and even God himself.  Let's look at how God responded to their fear, and how he responds to our fear today. God's response to the troubled Israelites was not one that we imagine of the typical loving and king Father.  However, his response was quite fair and just.  The Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry to me?  Tell the people of Israel to go forward" (Ex 14:15).  God was not ignoring the cry of his people, nor was He turning his back on them.  God had already promised to deliver them and He had shown them his power over nature, Pharaoh, and all the false gods of Egypt.  The cry of the Israelites at this juncture demonstrated their lack of faith.  This is the same God who in Exodus 2:23-24 heard the cries of the pe...

In the previous post, we saw where Moses and the Israelites we seemingly trapped.  They had the Red Sea on one side and were being pursued by the Egyptian army with all its horses and chariots on the other.  The people were fearful, and one could argue rightly so given their circumstances.  But they fear revealed a deeper problem, a lack of faith in God, their deliverer. As the people cried out to Moses saying that it would have been better to live in slavery in Egypt than to die in the wilderness (Ex 14:12), Moses was once again looked upon to lead.  How would he respond in these desperate times?  Moses did what we need more leaders to do today, he pointed them back towards God.  In Exodus 14:13, Moses said, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today."  Moses reminded the people of God's pending deliverance.  God had not brought the people this far from slavery in Egypt and now heading towards fre...

Have you ever found yourself in a dilemma that seemed to have no way out?  Every way you looked had signs of danger.  Any choice you considered risked hurting someone you care about and had great risk with no reward in sight.  Many of us have found ourselves in this sort of pickle, trapped between a rock and a hard place. In Exodus 14, the Israelites found themselves in such a situation.  They were fleeing Egypt on foot in pursuit of freedom after Pharaoh had set them free.  But God hardened Pharaoh's heart (Ex 14:4) and he began to pursue the people with his army of horses, chariots, and horsemen.  The Egyptians caught up with the Israelites between Migdol and the Red Sea.  When the Israelites saw the army coming, they cried out to the Lord and questioned Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?"  (Ex 14:10-11). The Israelites had just witnessed God's infinite power by inflicting...

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...