Sterling Griggs

On a scale of 1-to-Insane, how worried you right now? If not now, how has worry eaten away at your core in the past? Worry affects everyone, whether you are a follower of Jesus or not. And just because you declare Jesus as your King does not mean that you are immune to the effects of worry. Jesus directly addresses worry in Matthew 6:25-34. He tells us simply not to worry about your day-to-day needs. If you do, it might cause you to look past God, the only One who can provide all your needs. God is not just a provider, He is THE provider. As Author and Creator - indeed King - of the universe, it is all His and He is the originator of it all. Those who reject God altogether are a god unto themselves and they seek to make their own path, all the while fretting themselves to death in the process. God knows what you need. He knows everything! He always has and always will. Do you want proof of this? Think about about the birds. Do they have to work for their food as if it were a 9-to-5 job...

Throughout my life I have never had much trouble believing in things. The tooth fairy, Santa Claus, and at one point the Easter Bunny were are all factual figures in my life upon whom I knew I could rely. As I grew older and maturity and reality dawned on me, I abandoned belief in those entities because they weren't real. Sure, they are still real to children across the world and I would never dream of breaking one of their hearts by giving up the goods (so don't let them read this!), but I can remember the disappointment mixed with relief when I found out that there were other reasons for all the candy, presents, and money. Why was I relieved to find out these characters were not actually real? I believe it was because I had come to rely on them for so many years for momentary things, not long-term solutions. Once I ran out of teeth then I was out of luck. Santa only came once a year, but what if he somehow forgot? And the Easter Bunny was always very odd to me, nevertheles...

For several years now I've been able to go as an adult leader to the Passion Conferences in Atlanta. Having returned today, my mind is swirling with all sorts of thoughts, images, and mental tiredness that affects old guys like me when they go non-stop for almost three days. I realize that I am probably getting too old to keep doing this but I simply can't help myself. If you have never experienced something like the Passion Conferences, then a brief blog post like this is probably not going to amount to the much more than the first few pieces of a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle. But it's just too difficult to not make at least a meager attempt to recap some of the more memorable moments for me. Imagine yourself sitting in a room surrounded by around 60,000 other adults young and old who want one thing - to know God in a more intimate way. And I'm not just talking about experiencing warm and fuzzy "Yes, Jesus loves me" kind of tingles; I'm talking about a ...