Published every Friday by Pastor Tom Griffith

“What’s new?”  Sometimes it’s another way to say, “Hello.”  At other times it’s a real question – it’s a way of asking for a life update; “I’d like to know what’s been going on recently in your life.”
At times that simple question can be hard to answer.  “There’s nothing new under the sun;” that’s what [...]

Does what you do today really matter? In all reality, you can get away with just about anything – particularly if you try to conceal it.  Yet, what you do is very important whether it is detected and understood by others or not.
Life at its core is relational.  And what you do will always affect your [...]

“Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?”  Many of us know this opening line from the nursery rhyme, though we probably haven’t a clue as to what it is actually talking about.  Whatever was specifically intended, it most certainly has some reference to growing “Mary’s” sphere of influence. 
Most of us would like to [...]

“Repetition, repetition, repetition – that’s the key,” said the strange elderly woman.  As I was running this morning, a peculiar woman with a cane stopped, began to make unnatural gestures with her hands, looked into my eyes and kept repeating the above phrase.  As I continued to run, I pondered her comment.  “Is repetition really [...]

“You can tell a tree by its fruit.”  We have a huge mulberry tree next to our driveway.  Every year we can be sure of a few things.  We can be sure we will have a tree full of wildlife from mid-June to end of July … all kinds of birds and many, many squirrels [...]

Life is far more a matter of faith than we sometimes think.  We tend to feel like the weights of life fall directly on our shoulders, that we are responsible to make things happen, to keep healthy, to make good decisions and provisions for the future and to keep safe.  However, if God really is [...]

What do you do when all your alternatives look bleak?  Sometimes it looks like there simply are no good options – to stay as you are won’t work, to choose option A will not help, and to choose option B might be the worst choice of all.  What do you do then?
Four Samaritan men with [...]

Does it seem to you that everyone is more tired than they used to be?  Maybe this is just the perception of one who is looking through an aging lens, but it might be based on some growing realities in our culture.
I imagine that people were more physically tired 100 years ago after a long [...]

We are bombarded by so many stimuli each day that it can be difficult, if not impossible, for us to process and keep up with our lives emotionally.  So, most of us are carrying around a certain amount of unresolved issues.  This may lead to bouts of depression, exaggerated responses or fits of anger or [...]

When we run hard we tend not to seek God very much.  This is often unfortunate because we can easily get off track without noticing.  We can be pushed and pulled by challenges, obstacles and opportunities.  When we don’t take the time to seek God, our decision making platform is usually very weakened.  We may [...]

What feelings do you experience when you find you might be lost?  Some are quite fearful of not knowing where they are; they carry maps and keep a GPS on board so they won’t lose their way.  Others are comfortable asking directions, so they don’t worry too much about losing their way.  And others seem [...]

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”  It’s a question that parents and other adults ask children time and again.  We all feel like we are supposed to have a resoundingly clear answer to this question, but in reality many of us still feel like we are trying to hone in on [...]

What do you think it means to be a person of faith?  Does it simply mean that you are somehow “spiritual?”  Or does it mean that you believe in Christ?  Does it have any real and practical value?
Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do [...]

When you consider the people you know and the people in your community what do you see in terms of faith?  Are people interested in faith topics or disinterested?  Do they want to grow in their faith, or keep it under control and in its place?
It seems that our culture has become very aware of [...]

When was the last time you felt riled up?  Your answer might depend on your personality, or possibly how much unresolved “stuff” you have floating around inside you.  Some people are ready to fight at a moment’s notice; others lay low no matter what seems to be happening around them – or even to them.  [...]

When is a lot of money too much money, and when is a little money too little money?  One of the proverbs/prayers of Agur reads, “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.  Otherwise, I may have too much and disown You and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’  Or I may become [...]