Sterling Griggs

It's almost comical how social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook have allowed us to reveal our thoughts and feelings for the rest of the world to see.  We even get to leave comments filled with our feelings and thoughts about other peoples' feelings and thoughts.  Some choose to post the most mundane things as their status, such as what food they just ate, their recent trip to the grocery store, or the fact that they are going to bed and won't be on Facebook any longer to comment on your comments about their status. Then there are those posts where people let it all hang out.  The jilted lover will publicly call out that "two timing loser", letting everyone know just what he did and where they in turn think he should spend the rest of his miserable days (and it's usually in a hot place).  On the flip side, there are those who are so deeply in love that every status update includes a tribute to their undying and unwavering devotion to their soul mate...

Music is without a doubt the medium that moves my heart the most.  Although I am not personally gifted as a musician or a singer, I find that music has the ability to draw my affections toward my Lord like nothing else can.  There have been times when I have been as spiritually parched as a desert, but when I meditate on God's Word set to music it literally makes my soul sing.  Nothing seems to stir me from a funk like music. And today was one of those days when I needed some stirring.  The early morning is my favorite time of the day because that's when I can connect with God without interruption.  Well, it just so happened that my youngest decided to wake up (and stay up) at 4:45 a.m., which meant that my communion time wasn't happening this morning.  Also, my wife had to go in to work which meant it was my morning to motivate the kids without her, and as a result it was a little on the wild side in our house.  Just getting them into the car on time...

Have you ever thought much about heaven and what it will be like?  This morning I was reading through Revelation 4 and 5 and was blown away again at just how incredible heaven is going to be.  Growing up in a church environment I was regularly inundated with imagery of heaven, ranging from pearly gates, streets of gold, and a mansion reserved for me.  While variations of these images are found in Scripture, I don't believe they are to be the focus of our desire for our eternal home.  What does heaven really look like?  I'm not completely sure, but I care less about its dimensions than I do about its content.  You see, I am anxious for heaven because when I am there I will be in the very presence of my precious Lord.  That is the true definition of heaven. But what will we do in heaven?  I used to imagine as a kid that, since there was no night in heaven, I could play without ever having to come inside for supper, which was okay because I prob...

Radical.  This word is so commonplace that it's almost lost it's punch.  Not to take away from its legitimacy as a word in our English language, but it seems to be one of those catch words that is used to blanket so many things.  As a child of the 1980's, I heard it used in its shortened form - rad - way too many times to mention.  Now I hear it to describe how followers of Christ should be in their faith, just as Jesus was the original radical.  The term radical has been used all over the place to label multiple groups and ideologies. The other night I watched a show about the abduction and subsequent recruitment of Patty Hearst by the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA).  The SLA was a "radical" left-wing group in the 1970's that used violence and crime to propagate their beliefs.  Their story, and their passion for their cause, intrigued me, yet their methods and their underlying "radical" beliefs were far from acceptable.  The story of the SLA...

I did not wake up four hours early to stand in lines to wait for outrageous shopping deals this morning.  I did, however, go online to order a new Christmas tree last night, buying it for the Black Friday special price with the option of free shipping or pick up.  In fact, I looked at many items online last night that we are considering getting for our kids and I found that most were better priced on places such as Amazon that they were in all of these stores that were having sales.  Black Friday just isn't my thing.  The power that is social media has revealed just how truly important Black Friday is to many people.  I had scores of Facebook friends who proudly announced their intentions to gorge themselves on shopping starting at midnight with a nice sleep break in between before they headed out again later in the day.  Others were content to set their alarms extra early to wait in long lines outside of toy and department stores just to get those speci...

It was the summer of 1986.  I remember it well.  That was when I responded to God's call to serve Him in full time ministry.  I was only 16 years old then, about to enter my junior year in high school, but I knew then as I do now that there wasn't anything else that I could do with my life.  I tried "regular jobs" but none of them ever satisfied.  My passion was to serve students and that was the very thing God was leading me to do. Just recently I enjoyed two in depth conversations with friends in the ministry, both of whom are involved in student ministry.  One of them carries the burden of reaching out to students who have no clue who Jesus is and his passion is to walk with them every step of the way.  The other minister I spoke with pulls alongside hurting students and their families as their counselor, holding their hands (literally and figuratively) as they wrestle with issues that many often sweep under the table.  Both of them expressed...

Relevant.  To be totally honest, I'm not completely sure what that word really means.  The dictionary defines it as "connected with the matter at hand," so it would almost make sense to say that many would equate relevant with being modern, trendy, or hip.  If that was the case, then there are a lot of relevant churches out there that on the surface seem to "get it" when it comes to being connected with our culture and the time at hand. But is that what relevant truly means when it comes to the church that Jesus started? As a guy who is only 40 (yes, that is young), I consider myself more of a partaker in what is new and modern than what is classic (however I do prefer classic rock because today's top 40 music stinks).  I love technology, I think Hillsong is putting out some of the best praise music that exists, neck ties constrain me to the point of being choked, and I'm just as comfortable meeting with the body of Christ in a gym than I am in a san...