August 14, 2026, 11:00 AM
Hello again, and I hope you had a good week!
It's been an eventful week for sure. For many, it's "Back to School" time! For me, I turned 55 years old on Wednesday, August 12th. Now that I'm heading into my "AARP" years, I've become a little more nostalgic.
I've always been a fan of Elvis Presley's music. This coming Sunday (August 16th) will mark 49 years since we said for the last time, "Elvis has left the building" (Elvis died on August 16, 1977).
With that in mind, I had a little fun with this week's devotional thoughts that I send out to our people at FCC. Yes, this week, I went with an Elvis theme. Here are some examples...
Monday, August 10th - "Don't Be Cruel" - The basic plea of the song is simple: Don't hurt me. Don't treat me harshly. We live in a culture where being harsh is often confused with being strong, and being sarcastic is often confused with being funny. But Scripture repeatedly calls God's people to something different. Listen to what the Apostle Paul told the believers in Ephesus in Ephesians 4:29-32: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
Tuesday, August 11th - "Heartbreak Hotel" - In this song, Elvis paints a picture of people having a party behind prison walls. They're physically confined, but they're still finding a way to celebrate. It reminds me of Paul and Silas when they were beaten and "thrown into jail" after they drove an evil spirit out of a lady in Phillipi. We read in Acts 16:25: "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them."
Wednesday, August 12th - "Are you Lonesome Tonight?" -
Today, many are searching for meaning in life and trying to find something that will satisfy. Many of these folks are not turning to God, but are turning to excesses of drugs, sex, entertainment, and wealth to try and satisfy their deep hunger. However, they do not find what they desire. God has spiritual food ready to give those who desire Him. When we search for Him and make Him Lord and Savior of our lives, we have a wonderful promise found in Romans 8:38-39: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Thursday, August 13th - "Suspicious Minds" - The song talks about a broken relationship filled with doubt and a lack of trust. To demonstrate the "real-life" unfaithfulness of Israel to God, the Old Testament prophet Hosea has one of the wildest and strangest stories in all of Scripture. Hosea is instructed to "Find a promiscuous woman and marry her. Make this promiscuous woman the mother of your children. And here’s why: This whole country has become a brothel, unfaithful to me, God." (Hosea 1:2, The Message) To make matters even worse, the woman's name was "Gomer." No, I can't make this up!
The day Elvis died, I had just turned 6 years old, but I remember it very vividly.
In fact, Elvis' death had some local connections for us here in Lexington, KY. Elvis was to play the not-even-a-year-old Rupp Arena the very next week on August 23, 1977. Tickets went on sale July 31, 1977, and 15,000 tickets sold out in hours.
Many folks, and maybe some of you, never returned their tickets for a refund. They kept them instead as souvenirs.
Those tickets were to an evening with a "king" that never came to be.
As believers and disciples of Jesus, we hold something even greater than a ticket to see a dying king!
Baptized believers in Christ are given the Holy Spirit, a deposit of our great inheritance.
Yes, we hold fast to a promise that we will see and be reunited with THE only living and true eternal King -- Jesus!
Listen to these wonderful passages of Scripture that assure us of this fact...
Romans 8:11: "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you."
Romans 8:17: "Now if we are children, then we are heirs -- heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."
Thank you, Lord, that Your Spirit living within true believers testifies to us being Your children. And thank You for our future being secure – as co-heirs with Jesus.
This coming Sunday (08.16.26), I will continue our "Head for the Hills" sermons. I pray we will see you at FCC this coming Sunday. If not, then, Lord willing, we'll see you again soon. May God bless!
Your friend,
Greg Herriford
