“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever!” — 1 Chronicles 16:34
The word GOOD has become very ordinary and mundane to me lately. I find myself regularly saying things like, “Today is going to be a good day!”, “This coffee is really good.” and even “Goodnight!” without really considering the intent of the word. I am sure you’ve used this word plenty of times today as well.
A few months ago, I was able to attend a conference sponsored by The Gospel Coalition. Some of our pastors joined other pastors in our region for three days of teachings, seminars, break-off conversations and hours of planning. There were 8,000 people from all over the world there — some of the most well-known theological minds of our day. It was huge. It was overwhelming. It was exhausting.
“Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms.” — Psalm 68:19
Praise the Lord, indeed! He carries us in His arms, WOW! When I think of Jesus actually carrying me, it takes me to a place of intimacy and security that is beyond comprehension. It’s hard to grasp that the God of the universe carefully holds us close — like a mother holding her newborn baby. Even more amazing, is that the incredible love a parent has for their newborn child, pales in comparison to the love that God has for us. God not only cradles us as infants, but holds us close into eternity.
“His faithful promises are your armor and protection.”— Psalm 91:4
We all need refuge. We all look to something or someone to lean on or support us. It could be our careers, families, friends, finances or even our status in life.
These are all uncertain supports as every one of them will change over time. As we age and life moves on, our careers will evolve, our finances will rise and fall and even our families won’t remain the same. In one moment, in the blink of an eye, what seemed so certain, can suddenly be very different than what we expected.
“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:18
I recently observed three different families in our church who were loving others in practical, amazing and helpful ways. I believe there are three lessons we can learn from their examples.
First way to love people better is to make yourself available. You actually need to tell someone —maybe a Small Group Leader, a pastor, or the person you see with a need. Tell them you are willing and available to help! That’s why I love this verse so much. Don’t just have some nice thoughts about how you want to help — actually DO something. I know a family in our church who had a broken car. A different family in our church had told a leader they wanted to help with practical things, like broken cars. Thankfully, as you guessed it, the broken car got fixed!
I don’t know about you, but in the midst of marshmallow Peeps, chocolate bunnies, jellybeans and Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs, Easter 2019 was a blessing to my life! More than the delicious Easter candy, however, it was through our two-week Death to Life series, that God reminded me of why Jesus had to die and why the Resurrection gives us tremendous hope.
I was also truly amazed that we had over 1,670 people attend our services this past weekend (including the Sonrise Service). This is the highest weekend attendance in The Rock’s history (as far as I can tell). Wow! Over the past two weeks, we’ve had at least 25 people repent and pray to receive Jesus and 31 dear saints got baptized. God was so kind to bring us so many new visitors; people got to worship Jesus, hear a clear presentation of the Gospel and see many expressions of faith through baptisms. Everyone who came through our doors was loved on by the wonderful saints at The Rock Church.
“… when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” — 1 Corinthians 2:1-12
This week is Holy Week. It’s an extremely significant time. More than any other week of the year, we reflect on the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior. The event we are remembering this week is the center of Christianity. It is the crux of our faith and hope of our salvation. It is what differentiates Christianity from all other world religions. The entire message of the Old Testament culminated on the Cross. The entire New Testament (and beyond) was fueled by the empty tomb.
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” —Mark 16:15
Will you take a moment today and pray that God would strengthen you to be more faithful to share your faith?
This past week, six of your pastors from The Rock Church, went to a pastor’s conference in Indianapolis. For three days, we heard from many amazing preachers; they came together to teach on one central them — Evangelism. One sermon after another, we were charged and reminded why we should never neglect the incredible power there is in telling others about Jesus. I was filled with so many reasons why we MUST be people who share our faith. I’d like to share a few with you.
“They worshipped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity — all the while praying God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.” — Acts 2:46-47
This formula for living (as Luke writes in Acts) is not any different than how we should live our lives today. Go to church on the weekend, share communion together, hang out after church, be in Small Groups, be generous to the community around us and to those within our church body. God will use these times to give us opportunities where we can share our stories and the love of Jesus. He will then save those around us!
I was cleaning out the basement a few weeks ago and ran across an old journal. From the few pages I read, it would seem that all I ever did back in 2007 was think about Jesus, talk about Jesus, read about Jesus and write about Jesus. There was a lot of good going on in my life back then. I had just married Ashley, I was a first-year apprentice electrician, I was cranking through the Bible, deciding where I stood on heavy, theological positions, writing down prayers, leading people to Christ and playing in one of the worship bands at The Rock Church.
One thing that stuck out to me in that old journal was a prayer that I had written down. It was for a co-worker named Joe. I prayed that God would save his marriage, reveal Himself to Joe and that Joe would become a Christian. I didn’t even know Joe all that well; I don’t remember praying for him. It took me by surprise to see how full of faith I was back then! I hate to say it, but I don’t pray for all of my co-workers like that anymore. Seeing that journal kind of knocked me back on my heels. It made me feel ashamed that I’m not doing as many things for the Lord as I used to.
