“But we had to celebrate and be glad….” — Luke 15:32a
I’ve recently been reading the Old Testament and it made me realize the importance of throwing a party. Really! Listen to these verses:
“Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month.” — Leviticus 23:41
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“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” — 1 John 5:14
Happy Wednesday to you, friends. How is your week going so far? I know for many of you, you’ve got this week under control and everything is going off without a hitch. For others, you are so far behind that you’ve been looking for a reset button since yesterday. Wherever you may be, I want to encourage you and give you three reasons to stop and take a DIVINE TIME OUT. Stop everything you are doing for a moment and simply PRAY.
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A few summers ago, my family and I stayed with one of my wife’s relatives on an Ohio farm. It was a rather large farm at over one hundred acres. Early one morning, the kids were out playing in the yard and the farmer asked if we wanted to take the kids for a tractor ride while he fertilized the crops. When it came time for my daughter and me to go on the tractor, I talked to the farmer about how long he’d already been out in his field that morning. We talked about how much work goes into farming a lucrative crop, some of the problems that a farmer faces with planting too early or too late, etc. It was clear to me that the success of that man’s farm was proportional to the time and work he put into it.
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Trust in the Lord. An easy thing to say and read but not always an easy thing to do.
As a young man, I had a baseball glove that I was very dependent on. Without it, I felt like I couldn’t take the field. When I first bought the glove, however, I didn’t realize how much it would help me. It was stiff and seemed clunky when I tried to field a ball. In fact, I was ready to give up on it and get another one because I had such trouble with it. Eventually, after oiling it and tying a ball in it when I slept (and using it over and over again), it transformed my game. Honestly, it seemed like I was able to stop or grab any baseball that came close to me. I was phenomenal (at least in my own mind) and I loved to play the game whenever I could.
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“But all who listen to me will live in peace untroubled by fear of harm.” — Proverbs 1:33
There is a way to live that leads to harm, fear and restlessness. Most of the time this is a result of listening to ourselves, lies or negative influences. When we find ourselves with a pit in our stomachs and a tinge of fear rattling our emotions, we should ask ourselves, “Who am I listening to?”
The GREAT news, however, is what the Word of God gives us in the book of Proverbs. Those who listen to Jesus, His wisdom and The Holy Spirit, live in PEACE without FEAR!
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“…and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” — 2 Timothy 2:2
Are you familiar with the Rubik’s cube? It is a 3D puzzle invented in 1974 by a Hungarian named Ernő Rubik. It is one of the world’s best-selling toys and hundreds of millions of cubes have been sold since its creation.
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“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” — Psalm 119:105
Happy New Year, Rock Church!
Today is the beginning of the new year and with that comes plenty of aspiring goals, fresh starts and new beginnings! As your church family, we sincerely hope that you are resolved to make 2019 a year of walking in the light of God’s Word, to get into God’s Word.
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A few years ago, during the weeks leading up to Christmas, the presents under our tree were beginning to stack up. As a rule, we never put ALL the presents out early — we always hold back some for the special reveal on Christmas morning. After one of my wife’s gift-wrapping marathons, our youngest boy hugged her and said, “Thanks for not putting all the presents under the tree, Mom.” You see, he wanted to be surprised on Christmas morning!
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“To perceive Christmas through its wrapping becomes more difficult with every year.” E.B. White
I recently read that Americans will spend an estimated $719 BILLION dollars this year on Christmas. That is up $100 billion from four years ago! I also read that 10% of presents bought this holiday season will break before New Year’s Day. And a little less than 25% will still be in working condition by next Christmas!
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Have you ever been betrayed by a friend or family member? How about a co-worker or classmate? Maybe you’ve felt betrayed by someone you didn’t even know? I’ve been forsaken or betrayed many times in my life.
I took a guitar class when I went to college; I needed the credits and figured it would be an “easy A”. One of my classmates was an amazing, classical guitarist and we became friends. We decided to do a classical guitar duet for our final project; I bought a guitar and grew the fingernails on my picking hand for a few months. We had the duet memorized and it sounded great. Two weeks before the final, however, my friend stopped coming to class. He didn’t show up for the final, so I had to play what was meant to be a duet all by myself. Because he didn’t show up, I didn’t get an A in that class. Not a big deal, but I was forsaken by my friend nonetheless.
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