Greg's Blog

False Alarms and Idiot Lights

Our smoke alarm went off the other night at 4:00 A.M. I jumped out of bed and was ready to take action. Turns out the unit malfunctioned. (Why does it always go off at 4:00 A.M. and not P.M.?)

Because of incidents like this, we tend to tune out alarms. Who even looks when a car alarm goes off in a parking structure? We assume it’s just someone trying to find their car.

One alarm you do not want to ignore is the fuel light in your car. If you do, you will come to a complete stop. You can’t run on fumes.

Many marriages today are “running on empty.” They have not taken hold of the power that’s available; they’re not operating by the principles given in the User’s Manual. Remember, God invented marriage. And there is a right and wrong way to do it.

Happy, strong, and lasting marriages don’t happen by accident.

Sometimes we hear the phrase, “They have a marriage made in heaven,” which implies that some marriages are destined to be good (and therefore some marriages are destined to be bad), as though marriage has a life all its own. People think that the way to find out if they’ll have a good one or a bad one is to just “give it a shot.”

But marriage is something that to be good and fulfilling takes the right ingredients. It is the result of effort on the part of the partners involved.

Marriage is not so much finding the right person as it is being the right person. But all of this is to be done with God’s help. A strong and happy marriage is the result of obedience to God and His Word and laying aside this world’s distorted “take it or leave it” concept of marriage.

If we want to have the closest thing to “heaven on earth” apart from Christ’s return—if we want a marriage and family that succeeds, we must do it as He tells us to.
It’s all in the ‘Users manuel of life”,the Bible.

This Weekend at Harvest Riverside and Orange County

Psssst.
Wanna know a secret?
I know how to have a successful and happy marriage.
In fact, I have 4 words that could turn it around.
Can you guess what they are?
Finally, I have 2 more words to “seal the deal.”
That is what I will be speaking on at all morning services at Harvest Riverside and Orange County this weekend.
The message title is “Four Words That Can Change Your Marriage.”
It’s part of my new marriage and family series, Happily Even After.
There will also be some special music from my friend Dennis Agajanian.
To find out more, go to Harvest.org.

The Clock of Life is Ticking!

It seems the older you get, the faster time goes.

When I was in elementary school, time seemed to crawl at a snail’s pace. Now, not only do years go by quickly, but so do entire decades!

I read an interesting thing about what “time” it is in your life, depending on your age.

If you are 15, the time is 10:25 A.M.
20, the time is 11:34 A.M.
25, the time is 12:42 P.M.
30, the time is 1:51 P.M.
35, the time is 3:00 P.M.
40, the time is 4:08 P.M.
45, the time is 5:15 P.M.
50, the time is 6:25 P.M.
55, the time is 7:34 P.M.
60, the time is 8:42 P.M.
65, the time is 9:51 P.M.
70, the time is 11:00 P.M.

I don’t know where that puts you, but for me it’s about 8:42 P.M.
That’s sad, because I go to bed at around 10:00!

Seriously, time is passing by so quickly. Let’s take the counsel of Scripture: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

What “time” is it for you, and what would you like to do before “midnight”?

Tonight at Harvest Orange County I Will Speak on “The Legacy of a Life.”

One day we will leave this life behind us.
And there is something else we will leave: a legacy.
It’s only a question of what kind of legacy that will be. It will be a good or a bad one, but a legacy of some kind will be left.
Perhaps the only thing worse then a life cut short is a life that has been wasted.
Corrie ten Boom once said, “The measure of a life is not it’s duration, but it’s donation.” What kind of “donation” are you making with your life?
Tonight, at Harvest Orange County, I will be sharing a message from my series The Greatest Stories Ever Told.
My topic is “The Legacy of a Life.”
It is based on the story of the great prophet Elijah passing on his ministry to his successor, Elisha.
There is a lot of vital and very practical truth for each of us as followers of Jesus to think about the “donation” of our life and the legacy we are all leaving.
You can join us live or watch the webcast at 7:00 PM, Pacific at
www.harvest.org.

Today Is the 65th Anniversary of the Nation Israel

Against all odds, and in fulfillment of Bible prophecy, the Jewish people returned to their homeland after the devastation of WW2 and the Holocaust.
There, they reestablished their nation, which is a modern-day miracle!
So to all of our Jewish friends we say, “Happy anniversary!”
PS - I did a message on how the nation Israel fulfilled prophecy in today’s radio program.
To hear that, go to this link.

http://www.harvest.org/radio/

Recipe for a Succesful Marriage

Can a man and a woman fall in love, be married, and live “happily ever after”? Or is that just a fairy tale?

With the divorce rate at roughly 50% in the US today, one wonders. For a second marriage, the rate rises to 60%. And for a third marriage, it rises even higher to 73%.

Is it possible to have a happy and fulfilling relationship after you have been married?

I know it’s possible—even probable—and totally viable. But I must tell you, it will not happen by default or accident. If a marriage is strong and thriving, that is because two people have done their part.

There are multiple ingredients, carefully mixed together, that produce strong marriages. The man has is part and the woman has hers.

My grandmother, Mama Stella, made the most amazing biscuit in human history. It should be in the Smithsonian. There was nothing unusual or mystical about the ingredients she used: buttermilk, self-rising flour, oil. With expert hands, Mama Stella lovingly mixed them and—voilà!—the perfect biscuit.

A recipe for a successful marriage is similar. It depends on what you put into it and just the right amounts. Leave out an ingredient, or use too little of it, and it’s just not the same.
For instance,you can’t make a buttermilk biscuit and substitute chocolate milk for buttermilk!

When we bring the proper ingredients to God and place them into His capable hands, just watch and see what He can do in our marriages.
That is what I am talking about on Sunday mornings,how to have a blessed and flourishing marriage.
The series title is “Happily even after”.
Here is link to the first message in the series.

http://www.harvest.org/#media

This Sunday at Harvest Riverside and Orange County

“And they lived happily ever after.”
That is how many fairy tales end. But it sure is not how most marriages go.
Well, I have good news for you!
As a married person, you can live “happily EVEN after.”
That is the title of a brand new series I am doing on Sunday mornings at Harvest Riverside and Orange County.
If you want to know more about what God says about having a satisfying, flourishing, and blessed marriage then join us. You can also watch the live HD webcast at www.harvest.org
PS - My wife, Cathe, will be joining me in a special discussion about the importance of Mother’s Day. You will not want to miss this!

What Would You Like Your Last Words to Be?

A person’s last words often provide a glimpse into their character. They reveal what a person valued
most. Some parting comments are thoughtful, others spontaneous, others surprising.

On March 14, 1883, the day Karl Marx died, his housekeeper came to him and said, “Tell me
your last words, and I will write them down!” Marx replied, “Go on, get out! Last words are for
fools who haven’t said enough!”

Groucho Marx’s last words were, “Die, my dear? Why, that’s the last thing I’ll do!”

Nostradamus predicted the future correctly: “Tomorrow, I shall no longer be here.”

Pablo Picasso said, “Drink to me. Drink to my health. You know I can’t drink any more.

The Roman emperor Julian, having attempted to reverse the official endorsement of Christianity
by the Roman Empire, gave his last words: “You have won, O’ Galilean!”

The words of men of faith are far different.

When Stephen, who was being stoned to death, was dying, his last words were, “Look, I see
the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). Then
Stephen said, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” Young Stephen—so like Jesus, who from
Calvary said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

John Wesley said, “The best of all is: God is with us!”

D.L. Moody: “I see earth receding, and heaven is opening. God is calling me.”

F.B. Meyer requested, “Read me something from the Bible—something brave and triumphant!”

Pancho Villa, the revolutionary, said, “Don’t let it end like this. Tell them I said something!” Well, Jesus
did say something. Here are the last recorded words of Jesus:

“Surely I am coming quickly.” (Rev.22)

The apostle John, overwhelmed, offers a prayer: “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” The word Amen
means “So be it!” Or as Saint Paul said, “Let it be.”
(Saint Paul McCartney, that is.)

What would you like your last words to be?

Tonight at Harvest Orange County

There is a battle waging in our country right now.

It is a battle for the family. A battle for the Bible. A battle of worldviews.
It really, when you boil it down, is a battle of the gods.

The Bible teaches that there is one true God, and that is the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob–the God of the Bible. The God that loved us so much He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins.
But clearly not everyone believes that.

Here is the question for you: can one person make a difference, or should we all give up? I’m sure you can anticipate my answer: one person can, and indeed must, make a difference.

By the way, this “battle of the gods” is nothing new. We find it raging centuries ago when the prophet Elijah faced off with the prophets of the false god Baal.

Elijah has some “secrets” in his life that enabled him to make the stand he did. Want to find out what they were? Then join us tonight at Harvest Orange County for newest message from the Greatest Stories Ever Told series.

The title of my message for tonight is, “The Battle of the Gods.”
If you are in the SoCal area, join us in person at 7:00 PM at Harvest Orange County. Or watch the live HD webcast at www.harvest.org.

Two Things You Need to Know (…Actually Four)

There are two “secret weapons” that God has given the church which are rarely used today.
They are not whine and complain. Nor are they protest and boycott.
The two secret weapons God has given us are pray and preach.
First we need to pray. Pray for our country, pray for friends and neighbors who have not yet put their faith in Christ. Pray that they will see their need for Jesus.
That brings us to the second word: preach. Having prayed for them, now you must preach to them. When I say preach, I do not mean you have to raise your voice, but simply to communicate the gospel to them.
One final set of two: come and go.
These two words in the Bible show us what our focus as Christians should be. First we come to Christ and receive His forgiveness (see Revelation 22:17), then we are to go into all the world with the message of the gospel.
Pray and preach.
Come and go.
Those are your marching orders from Jesus Himself.
Let’s get to it!