Growin' Up Gregory

A lot of people don't like mornings, unless it's a Saturday morning where they can sleep in until lunch when morning is technically over.  Personally, I love mornings.  It's my quiet time, my workout time, and my breakfast time (3 things I enjoy!).  But many mornings by the time I head to work my mood has changed.  I've gone from the peaceful accomplished feeling of quiet devotion with God and a good workout to rushing, hurrying, trying to get out the door without forgetting something and be on time (I prefer early).  I can often tell when I get in my car that morning what kind of day I'm going to have.  But essentially, my morning and my preparation to begin the day, that hour or so from 7-8 sets the tone for the rest of the day. My study over the past couple weeks has been on a similar topic that doesn't always get the glory because we often times don't see what all goes into it, preparation.  In Leviticus 9:1-14, the priest had to make sacrifices ...

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 ...

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...