Sterling Griggs

This election season is turning out to be a doozy, isn't it? I make it a habit to not write or post about politics in a way that is confrontational or leaning towards the endorsement of a particular candidate, and this will be no different. Most people that I know and speak with are frustrated, and with good reason. Not once in my 46 years here on earth have I seen such an electorate so divided yet also so hesitant to cast a vote. Many of my pastor buddies have turned to social media to express their views and distribute their advice and wisdom to those who would receive it. Honestly, I have more often been disappointed by what I have read than encouraged. It's very apparent that my evangelical friends are taking stances against both presidential candidates, and in doing so they are inviting some pretty ridiculous feedback from their parishioners who feel the need to comment while offering no real direction for them to take. When that happens, things just get down right sill...

Political correctness. Just uttering those words can elicit a visceral response in so many people. Depending on what your personal worldview is will determine how you define that term. Basically, if what you say, do, or believe does not line up with "the other side's" point of view, then you are politically incorrect. By that definition, we are all guilty. Before you read any further, I need to let you know something: This is NOT a post about political correctness, politics, or anything that has happened in the news recently. I try really hard to limit my commentaries on those things because social media is a powder keg for so many issues. Plus, whenever you or I put our thoughts out there, there really are no buffers of protection or explanation to truly make it worthwhile. But this IS a post about people, people like you and me and how we've been made to believe that what we have either done in our past or the things we are currently involved in today are worthy of ...

In the beginning of time, there was a garden (Genesis 3). In this garden lived a man and a woman, Adam and Eve, both of whom had been designated by God to tend the garden and all that was in it. All the fruits of their labor - which was really not labor at all - were to be enjoyed. All except for the fruit of one tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The moment that they should choose to eat of it was the moment they would begin to die. Life was utopia for Adam and Eve. They dwelt with God and enjoyed the bounty of His generosity. They were as free as two humans could be. There were no needs that they could possible have that God would fail to meet. They were naked but unashamed, for they were free of the stigma of being exposed. Their relationship with God was perfect and pure for nothing existed that had tarnished it. Yet. One day, as Eve was tending the garden on her own, the enemy came to her clothed as a serpent. " Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat...

If you've only listened to Christian radio for 15 minutes in your entire life, you have undoubtedly heard the song by Casting Crowns entitle The voice of Truth:   Oh what I would do to have the kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I'm in, onto the crashing waves. It is one of an encyclopedic number of songs that laud the faith that it must have taken for Peter to step out of the boat and walk on water toward Jesus when a storm was raging all around him. Sure, when he took his eyes off of Jesus, Peter began to sink but it was Jesus who gripped him by the hand and allowed him to stand in the midst of the storm. ( Matthew 14:22-33 ) Not only is this story recounted in music but I've also heard it preach countless times in sermons. If we could just have enough faith to get out of the boat and trust Jesus, our faith would be stronger and our lives would be richer. So what about the other 11 guys that stayed in the boat? Were they just a bunch of weak dude...

Not long ago I shared a conversation with a young man in high school who had lots of questions about God and faith. I mean some really, really good questions. He wanted to believe - he knew that there was more "out there" - but he wasn't buying into the picture that had been painted for him over the years. The whole " Everyone I know who claims to be a Christian is such a hypocrite " was in full display, and I was certainly sympathetic to his story. It's one we hear all too often and it makes it much more challenging to point others to the beauty and truth of Christ when all of His self-professed followers are acting like a bunch of boneheads. But what struck me the most in our conversation - what left me scratching my head - was the treatment this young man said that he received whenever he expressed his doubts from other Christians that he was close to. They got angry with him. They became hostile towards him because he didn't believe like they did ...

When I was in grade school my parents bought me and my brothers some thick plastic skateboards that we all called "banana boards" because that's pretty much what they were shaped like. These boards were indestructible and me and my brothers would ride them down our inclined street over and over again. Sometimes we would stand while riding them but I would usually sit on mine like I was driving a fast car. The feeling of cruising to the bottom was exhilarating, even a bit scary. It was so easy to just pull of my feet and let gravity speed me down that hill. Of course, once the ride was over I found that it was a bit of a drag having to walk all the way back up the hill to the starting point. While the ride itself was awesome, it didn't last very long. The walk back up the hill felt like an eternity. But I knew that if I wanted to enjoy another ride, I needed to put in the work to make it happen. Sometimes life feels much more like work than anything else. And let...

Do you remember when you were a little kid, playing all day without a care in the world. At least that's how it seemed at the time, right? I can recall in the summers leaving my house in the morning with  my two brothers and playing in the neighborhood all day, only returning home when we heard my mom call us in for supper. I didn't have a care in the world. All of my food, medical care, clothing, and housing were provided for me and I never gave it a second thought. I was a kid with not a care or worry in the world. Fast forward a few decades and that kid is but a distant memory. I'm now married with four children of my own, shouldering responsibilities that I never dreamed of having. Taxes, bills, medical costs, clothing, and don't even ask me how much we spend on groceries. All of these add up and at some point in life another more sinister concern likes to jump on top of the pile - worry. Simply put, worry sucks. It sucks the life right out of you. There are al...