Growin' Up Gregory

"This is the day of the common man.  We have not only become common, but we have also succeeded in dragging God down to our mediocre level.  What is desperately needed today is an elevated concept of God." - AW Tozer Many of us have heard versions of the popular quote, "The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know."  But I don't believe this is any more true than in our knowledge of God and his Word.  We think that we know Bible stories and know about who God is but the more we study, the deeper we see all the intermingling of the people and history of the Bible.  The stories that would 5-10 verses that we learned in Sunday school are great and can teach us a lot.  But God works so much bigger than that.  If you listen to seasoned pastors they will begin to teach on how chapters and books built on each other and tied in to each other.  And it's not just an interpretation.  People who don't want God to be real...

My life is far from perfect, but it is very good.  I don't say any of this to brag on myself, but with a Galations 6:14 attitude of only boasting in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I'm 33 years old, happily married, have a healthy child, close to completing the construction of a home (too nice for me thanks to Britt), in pretty good physical shape, and have a good job.  I would consider a lot of things in my life a success right now, by both my personal standards and worldly standards.  I am truly blessed to be where I am, especially considering how I got here. I wasted about 10 years, or nearly 1/3, of my life so far.  I think back to who I was, what I did, where I went from the ages of about 15-25 and I'm fortunate to not be in a much worse position than I currently am.  Many of the decisions I made during that time were not the smartest, and could have had dire consequences.  But it wasn't all bad.  During those years, I graduate...

We keep seeing lots of comments about fake news right now, so I want to attempt clear that up.  Yes, there are most likely some fake stories on the internet.  Shocker! I know.  But I do believe  that most major media and news outlets (NBC, CBS, Fox, etc.) are reporting stories that they believe to be true based on information they have.  So are these stories fake? Is the media reporting fake news when they tell us that abortion is okay?  That pre-marital sex and homosexuality are okay?  That any religion we choose to believe is okay?  No, actually they aren't.  I believe they are fulfilling scripture.  2 Timothy 4:3-4 reads, "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths." The Bible has been around for centuries and its truths stand the test...

As our house continues to get closer and closer to completion, I've begun just walking around the yard and property more some days just looking around and wondering what it all will look like when we get it finished and plant grass and do landscaping and all.  I've imagined the games and memories that will be made on these few acres.  It's amazing all of the small things that have been there for years I have now begun to notice.  I've lived on this land with my family for over 30 years and been riding horses, go-carts, and four wheelers on it for most of those.  But now that a portion of it is mine, I've really slowed down and begun to see it in a new perspective.  I've thought about the history of it going back several generations.  I've looked at the details of the rolling hills, the trees, the vines, and all.  And I've imagined what it will be like over the next 30+ years as our family lives and grows here.  I've imagined the impact that...

A.W. Tozer once wrote, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."  After reading that statement, ask yourself these two questions: - Who is God? - What is God? I did this last night at AWANA and received pretty good answers including Savior, Creator, Father, good, and "those three things."  Those three things as one child put it, show the complexity that it takes to understand the Trinity.  While the term, Trinity, is not mentioned in the Bible, we do see throughout God's word that He exists as one God, but in three persons. The Trinity Seen in Creation First, we see the Father.  Malachi 2:10 reads, "Have we not all one Father?  Has not one God created us?" Second, we see the Son.  John 1:1-4 reads, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things are made through  him, and without him not any thing made was...

What is the difference between entertaining someone or engaging them?  There are striking similarities as well as vast differences. When Brittnee and I first started dating, I was entertaining her.  I was sweet, mushy, took her out to eat, texted and talked a lot, and rarely fussed.  I thought she was pretty hot so I wanted to put on a good show for her and keep her entertained so she would stay around.  But after a year or so of that, things got more serious between us.  I decided to step up my pursuit of her from entertainment to engagement.  I proposed to her on May 27, 2011 at the lake and had a big surprise party planned with friends and family when we got back from a boat ride.  Fortunately she said yes, or she would have been swimming with the fishes.  Just kidding!  Once we got engaged, I was committed to making her happy.  It was no longer about just putting on a good show to entertain her, there had to be depth to...

This story and questions are copied from a devotional in the Disciples Path series. According to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, the definition of priority is "something requiring or meriting attention prior to competing alternatives."  A priority is something that is most important.  It's something that takes first place and is of greater value than anything else.  When you look at the life of Jesus you will recognize that God's Word, prayer, obedience, love, and investing in others were the priorities of His life.  Are these things your priorities? A man was once given a glass vase, a bowl of pebbles, and a sack or large stones.  He was told to put all the rocks into the glass vase.  He started by filling the glass with the pebbles, but there was no room left for the stones.  So he removed the pebbles, placed the large rocks in first, and then filled the gaps with the pebbles until they were all in the glass.  The vase represen...