Forgiveness from the Heart

One of the basic principles in our faith deals with forgiveness. Ephesians 4:32 says “Be kind to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ forgave you.” Yes, forgiveness can be really hard when someone has wronged you. A week ago I watched an NBC News feature on three ladies in Charleston SC. Their worlds were turned upside down when a gunman took the life of 9 people who were gathered in a church. These ladies were talking about forgiveness! You could hear their attitude about forgiveness and you knew they were putting that into action. 

Wow, talk about a powerful example of forgiveness! 

Attitudes and actions
In Luke 7:36-50 Jesus forgives a grateful immoral woman. We read: And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (v 50). This woman was demonstrating her true faith in a house by her actions. Jesus honored her and forgave her sins.

Paul challenges us in Colossians 3:13 “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” It shouldn’t be so hard to forgive someone when we think of our Lord and what He did for us.

We are also told that we are not to take revenge. Paul says we “are to conquer evil by doing good.” How do we do that? In Romans 12: 20 he instructs us: “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” 

Hearts like Stone
It happened more than once. You remember how Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. He refused time and again to let the Hebrews go! Exodus 7:13 is one of those instances. “Pharaoh’s heart, however, remained hard. He still refused to listen, just as the LORD had predicted.” We too can have our heart hardened.

In Proverbs God tells us that we will be healthier if we guard our hearts against hate and holding grudges. 

“My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words.
Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4:20-23

If we do not forgive from our hearts, then God will not forgive us. God commands His people to love others as they love themselves.

"His faithful love endures forever."


Until next time...



Chaplain Gray

Grow in God's wisdom

One of the 'rooted principles' to remember is that we are to grow in God's wisdom. This is a wonderful gift He gives us. He's even said that we are free to ask Him in prayer. In James 1:5 He lets us know that if we need His wisdom, we can ask and He will give it to us. He won't rebuke us for asking!

Grow in Wisdom by learning from leaders
Who doesn't need wisdom from time to time? Right? There is a lot to figure out in a lifetime and contrary to what some think, we don't know everything. We are taught at an early age to listen to our fathers and mothers and do what they tell us. We are also encouraged to listen to the godly wisdom from the other people God places in your life—like aunts, uncles, grandparents, teachers, small group leaders, and other trusted leaders.

Be Wise and Learn from our Mistakes 

If we are truly seeking wisdom, then we will take the time and make the effort to examine our mistakes and learn from them. Proverbs 26:11 says "As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness." Sometimes we struggle and make the same wrong choice more than once. 

"Seek His will in all that you do"
I love Proverbs 3:6. "Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." Honestly, gaining His wisdom is a lifelong journey. Study God's Word. Pray daily. These are the 'action steps' you need to take in order to learn more about God.

Proverbs 28:26 encourages the same thing! "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But whoever walks wisely will be delivered."

As we gain in knowledge about God, we will begin to recognize His viewpoint and respond according to what we've learned.

Remember, our Father knows exactly what we need. His guidance will be clear if we are willing to yield our will to His.


"His faithful love endures forever."

Until next time...

Chaplain Gray

I AM REDEEMED

I have a song that I often listen to called "Say So". The songwriter encourages believers - those who are redeemed - to loudly and boldly SAY SO. I AM REDEEMED, I AM REDEEMED! 

If you know Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can say these things with confidence:

• I am free because Christ died for me.
• I am blessed because I know Christ.
• I am chosen for a unique destiny.
• I am forgiven because of God's mercy and grace.
• I am included in God's family.

Let's take a brief look at each.

I am free because Christ died for me. Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." This is the Good News. Jesus paid the price, our debt when He suffered on the cross. His resurrection defeated death so that we are truly free.

I am blessed because I know Christ. He is my shepherd. He knows me by name. We are told that a blessing is a good and perfect gift from God. That blessing is not to end with us. We should pass along those blessings. It's part of His plan for His people! We should bring others to the One source of all blessings!

I am chosen for a unique destiny. Yes, the maker of all things, the creator knows your future. His plans have blessings and hope. There is no promise that there will be no pain, suffering or hardships. There is a promise that He will see you through to a wonderful and glorious conclusion.

I am forgiven because of God's mercy and grace. We are God's children and our sins are forgiven through Jesus. What is mercy? Mercy is God not punishing us as our sins deserve. There is deliverance from judgment. What is grace? Grace is God blessing us, even though we do not deserve it. He extends kindness to the unworthy people.

I am included in God's family. As a believer, God became our Father, we become His children. Other believers are our brothers and sisters and God created the church as our spiritual family. 

Acknowledge that we cannot save ourselves. Only through faith in Christ can we do that. 

Being 'saved' is more than just a way to get to heaven. We are to be salt and light in the world. We need to SAY SO. Tell others and share the Good News. You are free, blessed, chosen, forgiven and included! 

The Good Master said, “You are the light of the world. Let your light so shine that all who see you will give glory to your God. You are the salt of the earth." Go season all of life with the love and mercy of God.

Remember "His faithful love endures forever."

Until next time...

Chaplain Gray

Rooted Principles

"Let your roots grow down into Him..."
Colossians 2:7

We are encouraged to draw our strength and our life nourishment from Christ, just as a tree draws nourishment from deep roots. Be rooted in Christ.

While some roots dig very deep in the soil, other roots grow wide and support each other by their breadth.

This was our scriptural theme for Camp Harrison 2018. For our evening vespers programs, I developed messages based on sound Christian principles.  For the next few weeks, I'll present a brief message based on some of those principles.

 Here's what is coming:
Sept 12 - I am free because Christ died for me
Sept 19 - Follow God's wise way
Sept 26 - Give thanks for what you do have

Local Community Special Note - Greenwood SC

There will be an all-night PRAYER VIGIL to ask God’s help in making Greenwood a safer place to live, work and raise a family.  It will be held at the Greenwood YMCA on Calhoun Rd beginning at 8 p.m. on Friday, September 14 and ending Saturday, September 15 at 8 a.m. Bring your Bible, your family, your friends and pray to God with other area Christians for help with the escalating violence and the tragedies associated with increased substance abuse. No attendance will be recorded and no collection will be taken. Come any time and stay for as long as you wish.

Spiritual Fitness Ministries
I'm looking to continuing to serve as a community chaplain. Check out our Facebook page and follow along!

Remember "His faithful love endures forever."

Until next time...

Chaplain Gray

Summer in the Mountains

I spent this past summer serving as Camp Chaplain at YMCA Camp Harrison, operated by YMCA of Greater Charlotte. Camp Director Dave Purcell and Associate Executive Director Miranda Wyatt charged me with focusing on the Christian emphasis of the summer camp program. Campers ranged in age from six to sixteen and the bulk of the staff was between the ages of 17-27.

Khi Walker, Health Center Administrator

I want to share some of the activity and tremendous experience of working at camp.

Levi, AJ and I shared a house near camp

First of all, I was blessed to work with such great people on the summer staff. While Dave and I have known each other for many years, and Miranda and I have worked together during my time with the YMCA Christian Leadership Conferences over the years, I was introduced to a whole new group of YMCA Staff. There were the year-round staff of Camp Harrison as well as the summer seasonal staff (like myself) who arrived in late May. Some staff worked for the first time and others have spent their summers at Camp Harrison. It was a lot of fun to work with the young adults and have the opportunity to get to really know many of them!

Dave and Miranda knew when they hired me that the Lord would give me many opportunities to serve Him by being His hands and feet. I had the responsibility to deliver the Vespers program four nights each week plus a chapel service on Sundays. The worship songs were coordinated and led by Hutch. He did a great job of involving some other staff with the music and many staff were able to share their gift of music with us. I'll be honest, it took me a lot of time to prepare about 55 messages for the summer. It was more than that as I served as a resource for the cabin counselors as they were responsible for a group of campers.  Because this camp has a strong Christian focus, each week during the Closing Campfire everyone present was given the opportunity to come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior. A lot of lives were changed during the course of the summer.


I've been involved in a YMCA program for 35+ years called the YMCA Ragger's Society. During camp, I had the responsibility to direct the program for campers and staff. One of those very dedicated Raggers was a leadership staff team member named Liz. She did some great work with campers and young staff as they accepted challenges in their personal walk with Christ. If you are familiar with the Ragger's Program, you'll be happy to know that our team tied over 260 Rags this summer. About 120 of those were first time participants. "Look up and laugh and love and lift."


My family and I once lived in the mountains of Western North Carolina. We are familiar with Asheville, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Pisgah National Forest, and places like Cherokee, Bryson City, and Brevard! So, as I discovered that camp was located in the NC mountains I looked forward to the beauty of God's creation. And the Brushy Mountains, Lenior, Wilkesboro and even Boone certainly didn't disappoint. Just walking around camp I thoroughly enjoyed the fresh air, the morning fog, the sunsets and the views of the private Lake Broyhill. Yes, there were flies, bugs, and even a few snakes, but that didn't discourage all of the fun and exciting activities of camp!

Ruth and Billy Graham Chapel

My experience at camp did reveal something I can say with great confidence. If you ever consider sending your child to a resident camp, and you'd like for them to be in a strong Christian environment, I highly recommend you find out more about Camp Harrison. You can explore their website at http://bit.ly/2wkT33C .



If you'd like to talk about this camp, feel free to email me! (chaplaingraystallworth@gmail.com).

Theme for 2018

My plan is to share some of the topics we covered during Vespers in the next few weeks. I do have a guest author who will share some thoughts about camp as well in the near future.

Remember "His faithful love endures forever."

Until next time...

Chaplain Gray

Be Christ-like

Special Note: This is the last post in a series about a basic spiritual fitness routine. The routine includes daily Prayer, Bible Study, Obedience, Confession, Fellowship, Good Works. I'll be taking the summer off as I develop my topics for the fall. This fall my ministry, Spiritual Fitness Ministries, will also launch a new podcast program called "Training for Godliness". I'll also be developing an advanced spiritual fitness program/routine. 

Serve Others

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like his Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, He called them to come to Him. And having called them, He gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, He gave them His glory. Romans 8:28-30 (NLT) 

If we are going to build some spiritual endurance, we need to obey the scriptures and be Christ-like. If we are going to become “like His Son”, we are going to learn to serve others. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he said “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10, NLT). 

Philippians 2:5 “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” So shouldn’t we have a willingness to serve, out of love and not out of guilt? We have a choice about our attitude. Don't you want to look for opportunities to serve? Jesus was humble. He gave up much to obey God.

Peter wrote that our faith will bring about actions. We are to learn to know God better, develop perseverance, do God’s will and love others. We don’t put these actions on a checklist and check them off as we do them. It will be continual. It’s not going to be easy. Work hard at it, and pray for God’s help in this journey. It’s part of our Christian life.

So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. 2 Peter 1:5-8 (The Message)

As we apply what we have learned about the Good News of Jesus Christ, we will understand how wonderful our Heavenly Father truly is. Our knowledge will deepen with time and the Holy Spirit will help us become more and more like Him.

So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
2 Corinthians 3:18 


Remember "His faithful love endures forever."


My next post will be August 29. Until then.....

Chaplain Gray

A Place for Fellowship

Special note: Since April 3, I've been working through a series of posts about a basic spiritual fitness routine. It started with prayer, Bible study and a willingness to obey the Word. I continued with forgiveness and new mercies each day. Today, I am looking at Christian fellowship. Next week, this series will conclude with doing good -being Christ-like. After the May 15 post, I will take a break from writing for the summer as I begin to develop some topics for the fall. 

I am working on this topic of Spiritual Fitness in several ways. In the fall I hope to launch a podcast program - "Training for Godliness". We already have several episodes completed with some great guests. I'll also further develop this spiritual fitness 'workout' with an advanced routine. 

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.

Let's Be Together 

We live in a fast-paced world. Our calendars can be filled with work, appointments, kids activities, social events and a host of other things. We tend to go-go-go! However, the Bible clearly teaches us that we are to make a time and a place for fellowship with our Christian brethren. In order to squeeze this into your calendar, you have to place a high enough priority on it. Let’s see what the Bible teaches.

In Hebrews, we find this: “Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.” Hebrews 3:12-14 (NLT). This frequent fellowship is crucial in remaining faithful!

Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to support each other in fellowship. “So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NLT).

Corporate worship is also part of this fellowship. “Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:16-17 (NLT). Someone recently asked me "Did she have to attend church?" She said she had several church services she liked to watch on TV or listen to on the radio and she got a lot out of those services. What she doesn't get from those services is the fellowship with other Christians. She doesn't stand with brothers and sisters in Christ and praise and worship the Lord. Her opportunity to ask other believers to pray with her is lost. She might 'get' something from those TV and radio services, but it's not always about receiving. It should also be about giving; giving God the Glory by praising and worshipping. 

We want to prevent having an unbelieving heart so we should remain in fellowship with believers, talking about faith and encouraging each other. Having this fellowship frequently with other believers will strengthen our faith in Christ!

“We need the understanding that comes from the preaching and teaching of God’s Word, as well as the love and friendship that grows from fellowship with other believers.” (Billy Graham Evangelistic Association).

So, decide now to make time for fellowship with other believers and go to it!!

Remember, "His faithful love endures forever."

Until next time...

Chaplain Gray