The deception of weed!

The deception of weed, cannabis, marijuana or pot, or whatever you choose to call it. This invasive plant in today’s society has many pros and cons, although there is a proper use for this plant, many have been duped into thinking that it’s ok to fill the lungs with the smoke from this plant, or to ingest it in the form of edibles. Whichever way you choose the euphoria is somewhat the same. As I said there is a proper way to use this remarkable plant! In times past it has been used for a wide range of things, it was used to make rope. The oldest known written record of cannabis use comes from the Chinese in 2727 B.C. . The ancient Greeks and Romans were also familiar with cannabis, but in the Middle East its use spread throughout the Islamic empire to North Africa. In 1545 cannabis spread to the western world. The Spaniards imported it to Chile for its use as fiber. In North America cannabis, in the form of hemp, was grown on many plantations for use in rope, clothing and paper. Most users smoke marijuana in hand-rolled cigarettes called joints or blunts. Other popular methods of smoking marijuana include using bowls, pipes, and bongs. The topic of legalizing marijuana for medical use is a controversial issue since the therapeutic properties of marijuana are presently at question when claiming medicinal purpose. The impairment of cognitive abilities when under the influence of cannabis or THC and the short term effects of marijuana use can include problems with memory and learning, distorted perception, coordination and increased heart rates. Many are divided on these issues, doctors and scientists alike have a wide range of opinions, but all are influenced by the evil that is the deceiver. Yes, I am just one of many voices that understand that the world at large dances to a different beat. It is my belief that many in this world are influenced by either of the two opposing forces. God through the Blood and body of Jesus Christ as the supreme truth and ultimate power in the universe. While the devil, formally named Lucifer, he as a fallen angel bent on usurping the authority of God’s divine power, using the power of deception to confuse and destroy men’s integrity. This enemy uses every trick at his disposal in is his attempt to bring us to our knees, not humbly before God but to our knees in defeat! So for the sake of this blog, I am speaking of marijuana as one of the tools that he uses to deceive and abuse who we were truly meant to be. Why do you think God tells us to guard our heart and mind by putting on the whole armor of God so we can resist the devils powerful influence. The Scriptures tell us in Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” God also says in John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” There are many other scriptures that will speak to the divine will and purpose of God, but we must allow our minds to be open to his will. Like I said, marijuana is just one tool that the devil uses, but in this world we live he has a wide range of thing that he can use at his disposal that he will use against us, so it is important that we as believers keep close to God‘s heart and allow him to direct our path. We without God’s word and provision and the power of the Holy Spirit will find ourselves on some dark and ever twisted roads. In this case we follow our own way or give into deceptive teaching. But God is clear in the way we should go. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 There’s a good reason why God spends a great deal on time on warnings and edification, as well as the description of His love, because it is for those who read and spend time in the word of God so that we can and will be armed with ammunition and power to stand in all our adversities. In 1 Timothy 4:1-2 gives us insight into one of these warnings. “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” So it’s time like never before to stand and be vigilant, because a storm is coming! Only through the power of God do we have power to avoid the deceptive schemes of our enemy. The Deception of weed, cannabis, marijuana or pot, or whatever you choose to call it. -GMGSR

Thoughts to ponder!

What is the importance of knowing that Jesus is God?

When I think and ponder this question, I can only come to one conclusion, not because of my own personal thinking but because of who Jesus is and the things I have learned  about Him, through bible study and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus care so much about us that He gave His life to save us. It was his human life that he gave up but not His Spiritual and all knowing life. He's God in the flesh, who because of love left His heavenly abode, to come down here and rescue us from sin that has been perpetrated against us by our enemy the devil. There are a number of scriptures that speaks to us about the deity of Jesus, here are a couple.

In Matthew the 21 chapter 12-13, it is through these verses that we see the God-man. Jesus went into the temple and seeing the horrible things that they were doing He began to turn over the tables and said to them, (It is written) that My house shall be called a house of prayer but you have made it a den of thieves. These verses Speak to the deity of Jesus Christ, also in John chapter 2 verse is 18 and 19 Jesus is in a conversation with some religious Jews, Jesus said destroy this temple and I will raise it up in 3 days, but they did not understand that He was talking about His body as the temple, this furthermore demonstrates the deity of Jesus Christ. 

So why is it important to know that Jesus Christ is God, because our Christian religion is based on who Jesus says that He is. Think about the above scriptures for a moment, in Matthew Jesus walks in the temple to set those that were using the house of prayer for their own personal gains. Here we see Jesus chastising them for abusing what He called His house.  

In John we see Jesus taking on the so called religious leaders, He makes a bold statement concerning His body, He said that he would raise His body from the dead, now we know that only God can raise a person from the dead, so with that said, what is Jesus saying then! Can you connect the dots, can you  put two and two together, it really isn't that hard if you allow yourself to be led by the Holy Spirit! 

The devil is trying to confuse our minds and our beliefs, so if we do not stay grounded in the Word of God We can lose our way. When we know for a fact that Jesus Christ is God, It will allow us to stand strong and firm in our beliefs no matter what comes our way. Knowing these truths about Christ will help us to be a witness to those that are lost and lonely.

One thing is for certain, in order for anyone to understand the Bible you must be first born again, that just means you must accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, your heart must be influenced by His teaching and the life that you live must reflect in your lifestyle. 

I know the question about the Trinity is miss understood by many. The reason for the confusion is really a simple one, if you know and understand what is really going on. So what is going on? We are in a battle for our very lives and the enemy is the author of this confusion. In order to stand above this tide that is sweeping across this land, there are some things we must do if we are to survive. 

... First we must let Jesus Christ be Lord of our lives. That means trusting Him for the direction of our lives, because we are no longer in charge and it's about the body of Christ and our personal pursuits are no longer first priority. 

... Second we must allow the Holy Spirit to be the teacher or our learning will be in vain and we will be confused by the master trickster. This is why the Holy Spirit is very important to our lives, He is vital to our understanding of God's word and our growth in the body of Christ. 

Without God there is no future!

Across the spectrum of life, we can find many noble causes to rally behind. These causes all have something in common, they all seem to have the answers to the things that plague mankind. From World Peace, to the environment and to the political climate that has been saturated with many voices, in an effort to address the things that are our deepest concern. 

The question here is, do these causes as noble as they maybe, do they really speak the sentiment of its people. Well I submit to you, that as noteworthy as these causes maybe,  without God they're only images passing through the night and the impact that they have on society will only be a fading memory. 

Look, without God our greatest achievements, will only have the past to echo it's accomplishments. But in God we have a future, only If we choose to recognize His sovereign power. God alone controls every aspect of life, from a tiny blade of grass to the most complex creature that walks the earth, this creature is called man! The evidence is written on the wall, the past is full of voices that have become silent, only because they speak with voices of men and of earthly things. God is spirit and there are voices that will never be silent, because they pay homage to the one that holds the future, past and the present in His Hands.

Without God the world is a lonely place, with nothing to look forward to and as long as man continues to exclude God from his daily living, then mankind will only shrink into the shadows of the past. But there is a place where light have conquered darkness, a place where love has overshadowed hate and a discovered country for many has been realized, a place prepared by the hand of God. underwritten by the Blood of His Son. 

This future that I am speaking of is beyond the realm of human thinking alone, this is why we have the Holy Spirit, to help us see and understand our greatest potential!

- Gary Milton Griffith SR 

Freedom at a price

 Someone once said that freedom is the freedom to do what you want no matter the consequences! If this is true, then the destruction of life and limb is of no relevance and the moral attitude of an individual is without judgement. When I googled the word freedom this is one of the definitions that came up. 

noun: freedom

1. (the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.)

"we do have some freedom of choice"

absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government.

Well there are many more definitions that we can research from Google to Webster. The bottom line is, are we truly free living without restraints? If you can answer this question, then you will be among the minority which should truly be the majority. 

I believe that true freedom has a respect for life and a moral obligation to those around us, which has no equal. When we live in this fashion, we live in such a way that brings us into a direct connection and relationship to God who is the creator of all life! 

Freedom that is unbridled is not freedom, its only an allusion that is perpetrated against us by our enemy the devil! When we buy into the lie about freedom having no consequences and that we are the masters of our own ship, then we are deceived!

The freedom that Christ died for is true freedom, without it we are powerless to fight the enemy that is pulling at our souls!  

The price that He paid for our freedom will never ever be matched. Think about it, who would allow themselves to be beaten senseless and their blood splatter upon the ground, for your sake and mine, so that we will have a chance to walk in freedom upon this earth and in heaven where our new life will be forever! I tell you there is no one greater than Jesus Christ. He alone paid the price that could not be paid by anyone, except by a mighty God!!!

- Gary Milton Griffith SR.- 

A brief synopsis of my life!

My Life 

Gary Milton Griffith SR 

As I think back as far as I can remember, I was a quiet child, I didn't say much but I did have a love for life. Then one day after taking the sugar cube vaccination for polio at the age of 6 years old, my mother found out that I contracted a touch of the thing that I had been vaccinated for, polio had gripped my young body. This disease made me very sick and weak, I would spent the next 6 months in the hospital fighting for my young life as it was. I had to endure daily hot packs wrapped around my entire body, as well as ice baths and a constant assault of spinal taps and tests after tests.

During my stay in the hospital, many came to see me, my mother brought the preacher to pray for me and many other prayer warriors came to pray as well. 

I believe what the Bible says in James 5:16b, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man holds a lot of power and it yields great results . Yes it was the prayers and God honor those prayers, He was in the hospital guiding those doctors and nurses that work to get this disease in hand. But after 6 long months I went home, then that quiet young boy was no longer quiet, my energy level had doubled and my gift for gab was born! It was during that time that the preachers and many others would begin to prophesy over my life; a preacher is what they said I would be. I never understood what that meant or why God would allow my body to be ravaged by this disease, but later it all makes sense, God was using me for a purpose, for His glory,  He would use me to tell my story, so that another life can benefit from my experience that would truly bring honor and glory to God!

After much therapy the strength in my arms and legs begin to return and everything appeared to be alright, but as I grew my right arm and hand did not grow as fast as the rest of my body, leaving me with a slightly withered right arm and hand. As I grew older, my right hand would become very visible to all my young peers and then I would become the object of their ridicule, taunts and teasing, as children can be very cruel and because of that I became very bitter and jealous of what they were, normal, so called, but I would learn how to hide my hand in my pocket just to escape the ridicule of those that did not know. 

I became so embarrassed that I would never wear short sleeve shirts, instead I would wear long sleeves to hide my right arm that was smaller than my left.

After years of hiding and enduring, God set my mind free, I no longer felt indifferent, because I understood God's perfection, I was created in His image and physical appearance has nothing to do with it! This is why I continue to praise Him everyday of my life, even through the darkest times of my life, I praise Him while I'm up and when I'm down! 

Years later the prophecy did come true, I became a preacher, preaching the good news to everyone and to anyone! I would later become a ordained Elder in the Church of the Living God, this was the church I grew up in and my mother was a long standing member. 

You would think, that because I was a preacher that I would have it all together, but that was not the case, soon my life would spiral in a downward spin; let me tell you, disobedience would cause me a world of pain and heartache! I would lose my job, and if that wasn't all, the church that I grew up in and became an Elder, would take my license to preach away, all because I receive a wet reckless charge. I can not totally blame them, because after the death of my mother something change within me, I began to live my life with a don't care attitude and as I slipped  further and further away, I was void of the support I really needed, yes, I did have people that said it would be ok, but the true transparency of another was not there; there was many false faces but none that truly spoke to my soul. 

But let me tell you how good God is, what the devil meant for bad, God would turn it around for my good! Yes I may have issues, my life made not be perfect,  but God was not through with me yet, there would be some godly mentors that would come into my life, men that would keep me accountable and I would have a new place to call home, a news church family under the leadership of Reverend Glen R Shields at progressive community church!

I am still a preacher, my pulpit is now on the stage of life, my audience is the readers of Facebook and Twitter and those that receives my daily text messages. I'm still preaching to the world through the poetry that I write, as God uses me to give inspiration to those that may be hurting or in need of a comforting word, or just  some good-old encouragement. 

Now I'm facing a new challenge, the doctors have found a tumor taking up the space of the pituitary gland in my head, I know this is just a temporary set back because I know God is with me. My attitude is totally different now, I am NOT a defeated person, I live My life victoriously through Christ Jesus! 

Sometimes things are difficult I must admit, I have headaches, my hormones are all out of whack and with surgery looming over my head, sometimes it gets a little scary but I have my strength in God and all my hope, even though I am going through it I still find time to give Him glory, to bring him honor and to tell somebody about His goodness, God is not through with me yet and whatever the future holds, this is my life!!! 

To expose evil you must deal with the beast inside, are you ready for the challenge?

Okay, before we go any further, as we dive into this intriguing subject matter, I believe there are things we must learn and understand before we can't deal with the obvious parts of man that have been exposed to this evil! I believe that this evil has attached itself to us in it's attempt to uncover or leave us vulnerable to its influence, therefore leaving us exposed to it's attack. Without protection man cannot stand against this raging tide of demonic deception that can only leave to our obliteration! 

Deception is the biggest weapon that evil has in Its attempt to control us. By getting us to believe in the lies that evil puts out, the human race suffers and falls to its effects! By keeping us in a convoluted state we will never be able to deal with the sins of our past, present and our future.

Have you ever ask yourself the question, why Is there so many bad things happening in people's lives all around the world? Let's look at some obvious things that are going on in our society and by learning and understanding them, they could  possibly yield some answers to these questions. 

Question (1) Human trafficking Is a phenomenon that have been going on for centuries and before we can understand why this is happening, we must get to the source of the problem.  Now in order to do this we must concede to the fact that there is good and evil all around us, once we have established this in our minds, the next step is to understand that good and evil are not things that you can see with the naked eye, but because you understand that they do exist you must find something to attach each of these forces to, no matter how far removed they maybe! Now because I am a Christian I believe that God is the force behind good and I believe the evil was defeated by Jesus Christ on the cross which has huge applications for us today! The devil on the other hand is behind the evil that has infected the world. 

Now for anyone to believe this you must embrace something bigger than yourself. For me there is nothing bigger or greater than God and His Son Jesus Christ. But if people cannot believe this truth, then the devil has won a victory over that individuals life that cannot believe, and because of this the devil will continue to lie and deceive the world and destroy people's lives! 

Question (2) Child abuse and battered women, both are equally heinous crimes against people and why do these things keep happening over and over again? Well if you have the answers to this, then you may be smarter than most!....  

As I stated before sin is at the core of everything bad in the lives of human beings. And it is my opinion that the devil is behind the sin that has infected us, and our only cure is the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Of course people can believe what they want, that is part of our dilemma as free spirits. One thing is clear and I'm sure most people would agree, something is wrong with our society and If we do not realize that we are more than just human beings, then we will continue to hurt people and as shocking as it is, most of these people that we hurt are children and women and people that cannot defend themselves! 

So you tell me what's wrong with this picture, don't you know scientist the world over and people for centuries have been debating and researching this problem and have not come up with a viable answer. I submit to you that Jesus Christ is the answer to every question that we can raise. 

So before you decide to reject this, truly think hard and long and look at our history and I am sure that you will come up with a good answer, if you allow yourselves to be led by more then you're human side and allow your spirit that was created after God's own image lead you in your decision ! God bless you and I hope that something I've said may stir something in your heart and mine. 

GMG SR