Growin' Up Gregory

So many of use things on a daily basis and trust them to function properly even though we are completely clueless about how they work.  I know very little about internal combustion engines, but I trust my car to crank and drive me to town every day.  I know even less about amps, volts, and watts of electricity, but I know that if I flip the switch my lights should turn on.  And I don't understand how wireless technology and data is communicated, but I trust that if I send a text out that it will make to wherever in the world it is intended to go.  When the angel came to Mary, she likely didn't fully understand what was about to take place in her life either, but she trusted. Read Luke 1:26 - 38 Trust God's Grace and Presence By choosing Mary to be Jesus' mother, God had bestowed His grace on her.  Sometimes we certainly feel like our calling or purpose in life is nowhere near as significant as Mary's.  And sadly, it isn't since the Savior is alre...

To be completely honest, there are some verses in the Bible that I'm not really sure why they are there.  I mean, I know it's because God ordained men to write it and He has a purpose for each and every one, but there are some that are hard to comprehend or just don't seem to offer much worthwhile advice.  This verse is not one of those.  It's short, simple, relevant, and to the point. "Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness." - Psalm 37:3 1.  Trust in the Lord.  Trusting God's lead doesn't mean feeling comfortable or even confident every step of the way.  It means knowing that if you follow Him, His will will be done.  As humans, we prefer walking by sight and not by faith, but sometimes God commands us to trust, follow, and obey. 2.  Do good.  Where do we start here?  Be kind, be generous, love, give, help, care, so many verbs we can list.  Do good by your family, your friends, your enemi...

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 ...

How many of us who either have, or have raised, small children, remember those early morning walks through the house.  The sun hasn't risen yet and there are still no lights on.  You're tip-toeing through the house because you want to enjoy a few minutes of silence and hopefully a cup of coffee before your tornado of a toddler wakes up.  Then as you round the corner to enter the kitchen it happens - you step on something that feels at the time like broken glass on top of hot coals with jagged metal stuck in there somehow as well.  In all reality it's probably a leggo or some other small toy, but man that hurts! I think that happens to us in real life as well.  Even when we are in the safety of God's will, trusting His guidance, following His path, just like walking through the general safety of our own homes - sometimes we step on a stone.  Perhaps there is a trial that we didn't see coming, or we didn't want to face.  Sometimes we are reluctant to a...