Growin' Up Gregory

Who all remembers the Facebook status, "It's Complicated?"  Man, I used to rock that status during my single days.  It could be used to show someone that you at least considered them more than a friend but weren't quite ready to make things FB official.  And it kept doors open to other relationships because they knew you weren't completely happy where you were. But there comes a point in life where we get tired of complicated relationships - dating, friends, and work included.  Often if we can simplify these important relationships, we are able to find more happiness and inner peace. Paul gives us seven quick-hitting points in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-12 to help us simplify our relationships, and subsequently, our lives.  You're smart people so you can look the verses up, I won't belabor this by writing them again here.  "For this is God's will, your sanctification" (v3).  Honestly, if we got a good understanding of sanctification, we could...

One of the great things about living in the USA is having the opportunity to start a business and fulfill a dream from anywhere.  It could be from your garage like Apple Computers, from your home like Etsy, or from the trunk of your like Under Armour.  While these companies are now worth millions, like any other business, they started out with only two things, a hope and dream.  They struggled to get off the ground and get people to believe in them and they didn't get to where they are overnight.   However, for these company founders and owners, the harsh reality is that one day they will leave their hard work in the hands of others.  According to Time, "70% of rich families lose their wealth by the second generation and a stunning 90% by the third."  Why would someone work so hard at something to just leave it behind? If we want to see our work mean more, and I believe many of us do, then we must look at where work comes from, why it's here, and i...

In our College & Career Sunday school class this week, we started a series titled, "How to Pray."  I plan to try to and share the lessons each week in case anyone wants to follow along with us here...or you can come join us Sunday mornings at Tabernacle at 10 AM in room 218. Any good speaker, teacher, or presenter knows that the #1 rule of public speaking is to know your audience.  You don't want to prepare a discussion about retirement for preschoolers and a presentation themed with Disney princesses most likely wouldn't spark the interest of a group of businessmen.  In order for someone to prepare a dynamic and engaging presentation, they must know their audience, who they're preparing to talk to. The same is true in our prayer life.  The Point of this week's study is: "A right view of God fuels how we pray."  The conversations we engage in with our friends about are often focused on topics that interest them: their favorite team, favorite ...

It was a good thing that the church at Thessalonica was strongly rooted in its faith in God.  Its founder and leader, Paul, had been run out of town by mobs and attacks leaving this new church with new believers to wade through its early days without its top leadership.  If you want further proof that God does things bigger than us, consider how many businesses would survive, let along thrive, if you removed their CEO shortly after their organization.  But that's exactly what was happening here. Read 1 Thessalonians 1:4-6 Just like the early Thessalonian church, our foundation should be built on the salvation that we have through faith in Christ.  Having that confidence, we should be filled with an authentic joy that spills over into all of our actions and emotions.  So what does authentic joy look like? "Authentic joy is deeper than emotion."  Our joy must come from somewhere.  Remember my earlier statement that true joy isn't manufactured from ...

Working at a bank, we occasionally have counterfeit money that comes in.  Some of it looks and feels very much like real money.  With its color, size, and feel, it's understandable how it passed initial inspection by a cashier. However, some of it barely looks better than Monopoly money and really leaves you wondering what the cashier was thinking when they accepted it.  But no matter how good the counterfeit, eventually, it is found out to be fake.  "Inauthenticity will always be revealed - even when it's in a Christian's attitude.  We can tell the difference between a fake smile or handshake and genuine joy and compassion.  This joy cannot be manufactured, but we can be filled with it when we are filled with the love and truth of Jesus Christ. Read:  1 Thessalonians 1:1-3 Paul and his companions begin these verses by sharing how thankful they are for three very specific traits of the early members of the church at Thessalonica. First, is that t...

This the second part of Dealing with Disaster with our model of how to respond to crisis that is shown in 2 Samuel 21:1-14.  (vs 4-6 here) We saw in Part 1 that when David faced a crisis, he first inquired of God, and then he inquired of the people who had been wronged.  He wanted to know how he could possibly make up for the prior wrongdoings to them and atone for the actions of his predecessor. In a request that would be considered shocking by most standards today, the Gibeonites did not ask for "silver and gold."  Money and financial reimbursements would not take away the pain their people had experienced.  They requested that seven of Saul's male descendants be turned over to them and hanged in the presence of the Lord.  While it is pretty easy to assume that Saul's attempted genocide of the people resulted in much more than seven deaths, we can assume that there was some symbolism here.  And this is certainly not a method of reconciliation that is ...

When we hear stories of natural disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, and the raging forest fires taking place now in California, our minds tend to wonder what is these people may have done to deserve this type of judgment.  But we must remember that natural disasters and other hardships are merely a part of living in a fallen world.  One of the most recorded natural calamities in Bible is famine.  Lifeway offers this on famine, "While not always the result of divine judgment on sin, at times it did indicate the Lord's displeasure with something in the experience of His people, Israel."  And as they continued, "The purpose (of famine) was always to lead them back to Him and to seek His favor." So how do we deal with crises?  What do we do when disaster strikes?  We see a good model set for us in 2 Samuel 21:1-14.  (vs 1-3 here) After experiencing three consecutive years of famine, King David did what any wise man should do - he "inquired...