Pastor Bryan's Devotions
About Pastor Griffith

Good Friday Morning TBC,

Another week has come and gone and the Lord has supplied all our needs according to His riches in glory through Jesus Christ our Lord:). Remember the third Sunday meal has been moved to the time of the Fall festival on the 27th, from 4-7 pm. Thanks to everyone for your faithful prayers for Brother David and Brother Bill as well as others you have been faithful to intercede for.

Proverbs 1:5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.

A man of understanding has the ability to separate, distinguish and discern between right and wrong and good and best. Most of the time though, it is easier to discern between right and wrong than between good and best. One of understanding will continually ask, seek, and knock for "counsels" of what God's best is for their life in order to give the greatest contribution to the Kingdom of God. He or she will strive to "attain" (procure, seek, purchase to oneself) God's best by surrounding themself with others that have the same desire and passion, to know God's best. To attain wise counsel is not just for self gratification, but to be able to give wise counsel or steering to those who are looking to us for God's best.

Let me brag a little here: Becky, has taught in the public education system for nearly 30 years and she has never ceased to seek out ways of improving her ability to instruct her students. She's always been willing to receive wise counsel from reading, studying, listening, attending workshops, and so on, in order to be able to instill into her students the best there is to offer. She is now sought out by other education systems to give wise counsel to their instructors.

AT&T came out with a TV commercial that states, "just ok is not ok". How true, especially in the work of the Kingdom of God. ( Read, Luke 17-7-10.) I'm reminded of an old hymn, "More about Jesus". One verse say this: "More about Jesus let me learn, More of His holy will discern; Spirit of God my teacher be, Showing the things of Christ to me." Lets push ourselves beyond a life of mediocrity, to attain the best Counsel our God and Father has to offer, lets surround ourselves with Godly wise counselors and dig deep into our Father's words of Wisdom. Our Lord's work deserves us to be operating in His best.

May the Lord bless each one with his grace, peace and counsel.

GOD Bless & love you all. Hope to see you Sunday

Good Thursday morning TBC,

I hope everyone rested well.

Proverbs 1:5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.

A wise man will do two things, "hear and increase". When we think that we know all we need to know and refuse to hear what other sources have to offer, we become stagnant, slow in our mind and soon forgetful of what we thought we knew and then we become unprofitable to anyone. Doctors, Nurses, Firemen, Teachers, Military, Ministers, Engineers and the list can go on and on, must hear and increase learning, as information and technology changes. Daily we must maintain, a constant "continuing education" or we will lose our ability to do our positions or jobs effectively. We will become dull and slow and can even become a danger to those we are suppose to be helping.

Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, understood this, while others were busy doing other things, she was at Jesus' feet hearing what the Lord had to say and having done so, it was she that got to anoint the Lord Jesus for His burial. If we are to be effective in the Kingdom of God, we must maintain a willingness to "hear and increase" in learning at the Master's feet.

2 Timothy 2:15, the Apostle Paul instructed young preacher Timothy to: "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

We might think that the older we get the less studying we would need, but the opposite is true, at least in my case it is. Many things can cloud our minds so we must "renew our minds daily" with the wisdom and learning that our Lord offers in His Word and by His Spirit let us be wise men and women and at every opportunity that we are afforded, let us "hear and Increase learning", in the Master's School of Continuing Education.

God bless your day with grace, peace and wisdom

Good morning,TBC,

I can't hardly believe it's already Wednesday. Please continue to pray for Brother Bill Anker as he battles this cancer as well as the treatment. Keep Bro. David in your prayers as he recovers.

Proverbs 1:4... to the young man knowledge and discretion.

The next beneficiary of Proverbs' Instructors is the young man. A young man can be defined as a small boy to adolescence. It can also include a servant boy according to Hebrew tradition. With that said, we see it is never too early to begin training the young with a Biblical training, whether male or female. Young men are the object of a father's pride, through him we hope a continuation of our name for another generation. Through our young man we are able, in a way, to relive our own youth; however, we must be careful to impart to him more than ourselves. We are guilty of shielding and protecting our young ladies while pushing our young men to become men and rightly so (on both accounts). We encourage the young men to be strong, courageous, bold and chivalrous -which are all noble character traits.

If we instill these traits into the hearts of young men without instilling proper biblical instructions, we have only set them up to be self centered, self righteous and self indulging, without any discretion or concern for others. We must "give" them a biblical foundation on which to build and rely on. I remember as a youth at home and at school, the Ten Commandments were posted everywhere. Though I broke every one of them, they had given me the knowledge of God's holy requirements and they would lead me to realize I needed Jesus Christ.

Knowledge is to make fully aware. Discretion is power to make proper and right decisions. Young men are like young stallions that need a bridle. The word of God, along with the Spirit of God, is just the bridle the young man needs to become the Man of God he was intended to be.

Psalms 119:9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

I pray you have a day blessed with grace and peace. Love you all.

Good morning TBC

I hope everyone is well and rested well. The 3rd Sunday Fellowship Meal is changed to the 27th Fall festival.

Proverbs 1:2-4 kjv 2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; 3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; 4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

The four Instructors of Proverbs 1:3, Wisdom, Justice, Judgement and Equity empower those who apply themselves to Know, Perceive and Receive their instructions. Verse 4 tells us, that they give and bestow even to the simple in heart and mind. Simple, simply means those easily seduced, tricked or lead astray. The world has never given much time for these special ones, unless, they can be used to fulfill some selfish purpose and then they are set aside, out of sight, out of mind. Sadly though, even God's own people sometimes ignore these people and their needs.

Fortunately however, the LORD does not determine value or investment worth in the same terms as the world. Verse 4 says He invests or gives to the simple, Subtility, which means, prudence and sound judgment in practical matters. I think of one of the dearest friends I ever had in my ministry. Her name is Shirley. She is considered simple or in today's society, special needs. She certainly is special. She desired to be wise and prudent in every way she conducted her life, The single mother of two, she instilled in her children the value of getting an education and she never ceased in her desire to be educated, especially in the Bible. She, without shame, would get Becky to help her read the Scriptures so she could participate in Sunday School Class and learn about Jesus. I can still hear her excited voice as she got on the church bus. "Griffey, Ms Becky let me read in class today and I'm getting a lot better at it too!"

The world and Satan tried to deceive, seduce and lead her astray from Jesus, but as she continued in her desire to learn the Scripture, the Scripture made her wise unto salvation. Today my simple wonderful friend Shirley is in Glory, with the One who truly knew her true value and was willing to give and invest in her and empower Shirley to become a child of God. It doesn't matter how "simple" someone may be, give them wisdom, give them Jesus and He will turn the Simple into a Saint, Praise the LORD!!

God bless your day with grace, peace and wisdom

Good Monday morning,

I hope everyone had a great weekend and I pray that this will be a week that each one of us can bring glory to our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus. Please continue to pray for David, Iris and Matthew, as David heals from his fall.

Proverbs 1:1-3 1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; 2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; 3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;

The Proverbs of Solomon where given. As we have seen, for the readers to "know" and "perceive", and now, in vs 3 he says "receive". To receive means to seize upon opportunity, to accept or to carry away. We are to receive " the instruction" of wisdom, justice, judgement and equity. Instruction means, reproof, correction, doctrine, discipline and rebuke. It is one thing to "know and perceive" and another to receive. Solomon says we are to take away, to seize upon the opportunity to be instructed by four great Instructors. Dr. Wisdom, his specialty is navigation, he will instruct us how to discern our way through uncertain and uncharted paths we've never faced before. Dr. Justice, his specialty is ethics, morality and legality. He will instruct and guide us through the seemingly gray areas of life into the light of God's absolute Truth. Dr. Judgement, his specialty is evidence, in his class we will learn to gather and explore all the evidence in order to make a clear and proper verdict, whether favorable or unfavorable, but a true and perfect decree. Dr. Equity, his specialty is in sentencing. He will guide us in fair and equal application of the rule of law and grace, without partiality or hypocrisy.

2 Timothy 3:14-17(KJV) 14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Ask, Seek, Knock and we will, receive, find and have instruction opened unto us. Let us with grateful hearts receive "the Instruction", that our four Drs. specialize in and we will be well equipped for the journey our Savior has trod before us.

God bless your day with grace, peace and instruction.

Good morning TBC,

I hope your week has been blessed. Thank you all for the prayers this week. Carroel is doing well and at home. Brother Anker is gaining much needed strength, I am told by Jodie and Matt. Janet and Billy made their trip to Chapel Hill without any trouble. Please continue to pray for these.

Proverbs 1: 2,3 KJV 2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; 3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;

The Words of understanding in the book of Proverbs and the entire Scriptures are words of perfect understanding. The definition of this Hebrew word (bee-naw), translated as “understanding,” is: to have and maintain perfect knowledge and understanding. This is so important for us to grasp this reality concerning God’s holy Word today; even in this age of increasing knowledge and ever changing technology, God’s words of understanding and wisdom are never, and will never, become outdated or irrelevant, in spite of what the world system may think or say.

Psalms 119:89 For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.

Though we may not have that perfect understanding in ourselves, we can be assured that the Scriptures are perfect in their understanding. The Scriptures are the perfect source for mankind to find understanding in any age or circumstance. The Words of God’s Understanding can, and will, answer any need of anyone that earnestly seeks God’s answers to life’s simple and sometimes complex questions. We serve the God that “knows” it all and He wants us to “Know and Perceive” His words of understanding.

If today you find yourself in need of more understanding, seek the One who Understands it all and died to share it with you. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday today and forever, the Wisdom of God.

God bless your day with His Grace, Peace and Understanding.

Love you all

Good morning TBC,

I hope all rested well and enjoying the cooler days and nights. Please remember to bring the notes of encouragement for the persecuted in Nigeria, Sunday, so we can get them mailed to the Voice of Martyrs. Thank you for your continued prayers fro Brother Anker and Carroel. Please remember a young lady, Allie and her husband who just lost their little boy unexpected Tuesday morning. Allie rode the school bus I drove when I drove up in the mountains, thank you.

Proverbs 1:2 KJV To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding.

Today we will begin to look at Solomon’s second statement of purpose of Proverbs: “...to perceive the words of understanding.” The word perceive, means to be eloquent or able and skillful with words, to be able to express in an acceptable and proper way. You and I may have the knowledge and wisdom of God, but to be able to express it openly and correctly, is a totally different thing. Solomon, the wisest man of his time, (and his wisdom came directly from God) knew that for wisdom to be profitable it must be communicated properly. His desire was to perceive or be eloquent in God’s words of understanding; not to show off how wise he was, but to communicate properly to others the Wisdom of God. The purpose of becoming eloquent in God’s words of understanding is that we might be guided by, and able, to properly guide others by the same understanding given by God’s Word and Holy Spirit.

How many are afraid to testify because of a feeling of inadequacy in the Scripture? This feeling can be conquered by obeying what Paul told Timothy, 2Tim. 2:15, Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. We should never let inadequacy be an excuse, because it will not hold water when we stand before the Lord, we must not forget, we have the Spirit of Wisdom living in us. We should desire to become eloquent in God’s words of understanding. Doesn't our God and Savior, deserve the best communicators? I think so, don’t you?

Remember this: to be eloquent does not mean we are to become someone or something we’re not, or to show off our ability; we are to become so familiar with the words of understanding that we can communicate properly God’s wisdom in Christ Jesus to anyone that may ask us about our hope. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:1Peter 3:15.

God bless your day, with grace, peace and His perception.

Pastor Bryan

Good morning TBC,

I pray all is well and each one rested well.

Beginning last light until tonight is the most holy day on Israel's calendar, Yom Kipper or The Day of Atonement.

Leviticus 23:26-32 King James Version (KJV) 26 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. 28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. 29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. 30 And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. 31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.

The Day of Atonement was the only day of the year that the High Priest could enter into the Holy of Holies where the Arc of the Covenant was at and the presents of God was over the Mercy Seat, which was the covering lid of the Arc. The High Priest,alone, had to first fill the Holy of Holies full of smoke from incense to cover the Ark, then apply the blood of a sacrificed bull on the Mercy seat by dipping his finger into the blood and sprinkling the blood seven times. This blood made the atonement for the High Priest, then he would take two goats, cast lots over them (sort of like drawing straws) one goat would be sacrificed, the other would become the "scapegoat".

The blood of the sacrificed goat would then be taken, alone by the High Priest into the Holy of Holies and applied in the same manner as the bull's blood. This would be the atonement for the sins of Israel for the year. The High Priest would then put his hands on the head of the Scapegoat and confess all of Israel's sins. A "fit" man would lead the Scapegoat out of the camp, far away to an uninhabited place and release the goat to wander in the wilderness alone,bearing the sin of Israel, thereby atoning for Israel's sins for another year.

What an elaborate and bloody system to atone for sin the Lord had given and it had to be repeated every year without fail or compromise. Today we can celebrate the fulfillment of this Day of Atonement through our Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

Praise the Lord Jesus for His eternal sacrifice for our sin, "once and for all". For Israel, this is the most solemn day, fasting and afflicting their soul for forgiveness. To us, who have trusted Christ, we can, and should be rejoicing. All of our sins are gone, carried away by our Scapegoat, the Lord Jesus Christ. Rejoice in the Lord and again I say Rejoice!! God bless your day for your sins are atoned!

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Pastor Bryan Griffith

Topsail Baptist Church

18885 US Hwy 17N

Hampstead, NC 28443

(910) 270-9038

Topsail Baptist Church

Pastor Bryan's DevotionsAbout Pastor Griffith

Pastor Bryan's Devotions
About Pastor Griffith