Growin' Up Gregory

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...

If you listen to some news stations and read certain newspapers, studies, and online articles, you may believe that Union County is one of the poorest, most uneducated, drug ridden towns in South Carolina.  They even will often share statistics that support their claims.  I'm not saying that any of these people are lying when they share this info.  But I will state that being a numbers guy who has spent a ton of time doing calculations for many organizations, that numbers don't lie, but they can be calculated and presented in such a way that benefits one party more than another. Numbers don't always paint the whole picture.  No, Union's test scores may not be the highest.  But some places manipulate (that's such an ugly word) their SAT scores by only allowing their smartest students to take it.  Union County Schools prepared me to score the necessary SAT score by my senior year to earn a hefty scholarship by allowing me to take it in the 7th grade for the...

During my recent study of Moses, there were two very profound revelations that I felt spoke directly to me, two things I gathered that gave great cause for self-examination in my life. The first came as we see Moses' excuses for why he can't be used by God.  Moses witnessed miraculous signs, even participating in them, and heard the audible voice of God with very clear instruction.  Yet even with God's reassurances, Moses felt unqualified, unworthy, and sadly unwilling to respond to God's call. I was the complete opposite many times and this pointed out a glaring sin of pride in my life.  Any time I have been asked to speak, share, do a devotion, or anything like that; and any time someone has ever told me they enjoy anything I write, I have felt a feeling of pride, of accomplishment, of self-satisfaction.  I have at times allowed myself to think that I had any ability or skill outside of what God gave to me, outside of what He enabled me to do....

We have seen through the last couple posts that God has called Moses to do something that seems much too difficult for him to accomplish.  Read Parts 1 and 2 if you haven't already as they pretty much intro this post. Prior to picking up with Moses' next excuse, God gave him several signs in Exodus 4:1-9.  He turned Moses' staff into a serpent, then back to a staff; turned Moses' hand leprous by placing it into his cloak then restoring it in the same manner; then told Moses that if the people would not listen and believe these signs that he could take water from the Nile and pour it on the ground and it would become blood. Yet after not only witnessing, but performing these miraculous signs through God, Moses continues with the excuses.  In Exodus 4:10, Moses says to the Lord, "I am not eloquent...I am slow of speech and of tongue."  God responds to Moses by asking, "Who has made man's mouth?  Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind?  Is ...

When God called Moses to take on the task of leading His people out of Egypt, Moses began giving God excuses, questioning himself and the Lord.  We often begin to find excuses as to why we can't do something that seems to challenging or isn't our greatest passion.  And just as God did with Moses, He answers our questions and concerns today. The first question Moses posed to God in Exodus 3:11 was, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?"  God's answer to Moses had nothing to do with Moses' skills.  God simply said, "I will be with you."  The answer to Moses' question of 'Why me?' was more dependent on God's presence for its power than on the abilities of Moses.  God still works that way in people today.  He doesn't choose the greatest and mightiest to use.  God uses regular ordinary people to show His greatness, not ours.  As long as God is with you, you can do it, you can get through...

Have you ever been asked to do something that seemed impossible, or that you felt totally inadequate for?  Or perhaps there is a challenge that you just don't see how you can complete or accomplish the goals that have been set?  It could be anything; a job offer, a duty or task being assigned to you at work, a test coming up, or a physical challenge.  This can sometimes leave us wondering how we are supposed to go on.  We may seek out motivational and inspirational quotes and image to help us trudge along and keep moving forward, all the while still feeling like we are doomed to fail.  In Exodus 3:10, Moses was given such a task.  He was asked to go to the Pharaoh and lead the Israelites, who were being used as slave labor at the time, out of Egypt.  Let's look at who Moses was when asked to do this: -  He was living in exile in the wilderness having fled from Egypt. -  He had fled Egypt for killing an Egyptian out of anger -...