Health, Happiness and Holiness
Have you felt a little drained recently with all that’s going on in our world? I have! And a word of encouragement would be greatly appreciated right about now.
In a series of brief messages, I want to share with you 10 encouraging thoughts that the bible shares with us.
Here are the first 5! Please come to my YouTube Channell to catch the rest.
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I want to take a moment and say thank you for trusting me enough to follow this blog. I have been passionate about music and ministry and understanding how to have better worship. I’ve tried to share my discoveries along the way. Sometimes I’ve gotten discouraged and you haven’t heard from me as much. But I have continued to seek to know my Heavenly Father more and he has blessed my efforts to grow as a writer and content creator.
We’ve have seen substantial growth on many of my social media pages. I have over 1000 followers on TikTok @davidgriffiths07, and have more than 1300 followers on our Journey To Worship Facebook Page and we just reached 1400 today on Instagram @DGWorship. I have almost maxed out my friendship limit of 5000 friends on my personal Facebook profile as well. Hallelujah!!
With much opportunity comes greater responsibility so I pledge to work harder to give you value. To this end I am going to begin a series of posts about content creating in hopes that you will be inspired to share your journey to worship with those in your sphere of influence. Look for the first post coming this weekend.
I love you but God loves you more and I look forward to seeing you soon (hopefully on the next Morning Worship occuring daily on Youtube at David Griffiths Music and on our Journey To Worship Facebook page.
Peace
David
It’s difficult to remember all that I was feeling when I decided to start this blog. I came to some conclusions. Worship for many if not most has become a ritual. And when we have our ritual interrupted like for many the pandemic shut down has done it makes us ask new questions. Is worship only happening when I am in person together with others in the same space? Is God in the midst where two or three are gathered in His name virtually?
I started this blog because I wanted to have some dialogue about this journey we call worship. I wanted to start a conversation that perhaps many weren’t comfortable discussing openly. What is authentic worship? I really would like to hear your opinion. Here were my thoughts on this topic from one of my first posts. THOUGHTS
Today I have expanded to having morning worship everyday, sharing a song and a thought. It’s important for us to start the day off with our faith focused. I invite you to join me on this journey to worship. Share your insights and questions. Let’s grow together. And I trust that as we in this fashion gather in His name He will be in the midst, guiding us into all truth!
David
I am committed to sharing what has worked in my life in order to be a blessing to someone else. But sometimes, I have to share what didn’t work to accomplish the same goal. If you want to be successful you can’t have a divided heart. Many times I didn’t have a clear focus on what was most important and I wasted a lot of time and energy.
Teach me your way, Lord,
that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
Psalm 86:11 NIV
I once read a book about success that suggested that we need to find what it is that we do well and do that the majority of the time. The analogy was given of a baseball pitcher who came to a new team and was meeting with the pitching coach. The coach asked the pitcher, “What is you best pitch?” The pitcher responded, “My fast ball.” The coach then recommended that he practice perfecting that pitch 80-90 percent of the time.
To apply it to my life, I once had a job where I had to collect tiny pieces of paper and organize them. This is not my strong suit. So for me to spend large amounts of time trying to perfect something that I am not as gifted in would not be the best use of my time. Instead I should become a world class singer or songwriter. These gifts already come easier to me than most things and so I should become excellent at them. Then I should hire or collaborate with others who are gifted in other areas and let them do those things that way we all are doing the things we are best at.
My mom use to say that you can be a jack of all trades but prince of none. In the spiritual realm we must be clear on what and who is most important. When we begin our day we should start in a way that shows what our greatest priority is. In the scripture above the psalmist asks God to give him an “undivided heart.” He didn’t want to displease God by having a heart that sometimes puts God first and other times puts self or other things first. If we want to see God shine brightest in our lives we have to be focused on Him.
How do we focus on Him? What do we listen to? What do we read? How do we spend our time? How do we take care of our mind? How do we take care of our body? The answers to these questions reveal what is important to us and how important God is in our hearts.
Do you have a divided heart? Do you want help changing it? Come back tomorrow and we’ll talk about ways to make this better.
I love you, God loves you more and I look forward to seeing you here tomorrow. Please make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any posts.
Have you ever been broken? I didn’t want to get up. I wanted to stay in bed and play on my phone. Then that got boring. I gained weight. I prayed but I didn’t study the bible that much. What was the point. Why would God allow me to go through so much pain.
Today I begin a new chapter. This blog has been used to record my journey to worship. I realized that the way I had been taught about church was wrong. The church was not a building, the church was God’s people. And the more I studied the more I realized I had to relearn the bible and relearn worship.
In the midst of this exploration I have also learned I have to relearn my self. I have learned that living a life of seeking God does not prevent you from suffering. I have now accepted this. Having unrealistic expectations can wreck havoc on your walk with God and your happiness.
So now with wisdom and experience I want to share about my journey from being broken to growing better in hopes that I can help someone else who has been hurting like I was.
I hope you will join me. Please subscribe to this blog so you won’t miss a video or post.
Much love to you!
David
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Did you know that the broken are close to God’s heart? Jesus let us know by His life how God feels about us. Jesus embraced those who were outcast. Jesus uplifted those who were marginalized by their community. Jesus cares about the broken. They are close to His heart.
But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matt. 19:14
Jesus cares about children. He encouraged his disciples to bring the children to Him. Adults may consider children important in the future but Jesus considers them important today. Many of our children are suffering because we have become so overwhelmed by life that we have left them to be engaged by their electronic devices. Then we are puzzled when they ideology isn’t what we’ve taught them. Unfortunately, they have spent much more time learning the philosophy of those who created the online content they ingest, the games that they play, and the movies that they watch. We must keep our children close to our heart and not allow them to be raised by their technology.
5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.). The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.[a])
John 4:5-9
Jesus not only showed that children were important but he showed that women and those of other cultures were important as well. When Jesus met the woman at Jacob’s well he engaged someone who wasn’t part of the Jewish community. She wasn’t married, she was a woman and she was an outsider. But he chose to ask her for her help. This opened the door for Him to minister to her. He knew that she would be moved by their interaction and knew that she would share with her community about their conversation. He believed in a broken woman and He chose her to represent Him to her community!
Today, I want to assure you that God still has work for you to do. I was blessed to have a few people in my life to remind me of this during my lowest moments and I want to do the same for you. God created you. He values you. He loves you. You are close to His heart. And He has work for you to do. There are many who need your wisdom and experience. You will change the world with your brokenness and your gifts.
Don’t forget that all are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the children, the women, the men, the outsiders, the broken and Jesus loves you!
Broken But Useful
“I have been forgotten like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel.”
Have you ever felt like you aren’t useful anymore? Perhaps you are a singer and your church doesn’t ask you to do special music anymore but instead they focus on other singers with a different style. Are you feeling like you aren’t relevant anymore? Maybe you had personal problems and struggles and now you feel that people don’t look up to you anymore. What do you have to offer? How can you contribute when you are broken? Do you feel like God has given up on you? Are you broken?
I came by this morning to encourage you. God uses broken people to heal the world. God uses broken people to heal the world. Broken people are compassionate and realize but for the grace of God they would be in a similar challenge as someone else. Broken people are patient as they encourage the discouraged. Broken people can relate to others’ pain.
The bible says “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”(Heb. 4:15) Jesus was broken. He may not have sinned but he sure suffered. He knows what it feels like to go through difficulty. Jesus loves us unconditionally and has work for us to do as we bring our brokenness to Him.
If you were caught up in drug use you can help the person who is still addicted. If you were caught up in a lifestyle of partying than you can help the individual who has hit rock bottom and can’t find the joy anymore in their hook ups and drinking. If your marriage ended in divorce you are able to save others marriages or help mend the torn hearts of those who now are going through the end of a marriage.
Today I am broken, but I am useful….and so are you. Take your brokenness and go bless the world with it today! You are broken but useful!!!!
Every morning I sing and pray. Please join me. Here are some songs you’ve missed. Come join us! 8:30am EST Every Morning.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClGpPUTtViUcnybkDPQYcTA?view_as=subscriber
On father’s day I wish I could send my dad a message. I wish my father could see the father he has made me. I wish he could see my son and daughter…he never had the chance to know them. He didn’t get to see me publish my first songbook. He did his doctorate waxing eloquent about the writings of Lord Byron…but I know he’d appreciate the songwriter I’ve become. I wish I could tell him how I sang for a congressman last month or received a standing ovation from a president a few years back. I wish he could see how I’m getting in shape and encouraging others to do the same. I know he’d be happy that I’m teaching middle school children about music like Uncle Charlie did. But I don’t get to sit down and tell him about my struggles and triumphs.
If I thought about it long it would make me very sad. But instead I seek to be a great man like he was. He was the first black dean of the graduate school at Loma Linda University. He travelled the word evaluating educational institutions, making sure they were doing the best they were capable of. He was on the board of Oakwood University. He made a difference wherever he was…in places all over the globe.
And so I seek to make a difference online…reaching people all over the globe. When asked by a friend I agreed to sing a gospel song every morning on Facebook to start the day off. It’s only been a few months and now thousands of people have tuned in to share a song and prayer. I will do it like my dad did what he did–to the best of his ability, and always to glorify our Heavenly Father. His work was his worship! He showed us how it should be done so we would show our children how it should be done.
Dad, I’m making the world a better place. I hope you are proud of me. I miss you.
Love David
