Recently, I came across Psalm 23 in my quiet time. I was struck by how close the Lord is to each one of us and how comforting His Word truly is. I simply want to share with you what I did in my quiet time (that day) to apply God’s Word to my life. I trust you will find comfort in our personal Shepherd.
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The Rock Cares includes all of the compassion and outreach ministries in our church. We believe (that in many ways) these ministries are the hands and feet of what we do here at The Rock Church. We want to do our best to connect our hands and feet to the greater body of Christ (not only in our own church but throughout the world).
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“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” — Luke 6:43
This parable caught my eye the other day. Jesus shares an illustration from the plant world. Imagine a golden delicious apple tree producing crabapples or a crabapple tree producing golden delicious apples? It is difficult to imagine because the fruit always matches the tree!
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“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful…” — 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV84)
Like many of you, I read through the One Year Bible for my devotions each morning. I’ve done this for over 20 years. Sometimes, as I’m slogging through Leviticus, it is difficult to find a “meaningful” verse that applies to my every day life. Let’s face it, there are just so many ways you can apply verses dealing with offerings, skin infections, sacrifices, and atonement! Some days, I feel like I’m just going through the motions.
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There is power in the name of Jesus. There is power in the Gospel when we proclaim it with our mouths. We, as Christians, have been given a supernatural power and it is on the tip of all of our tongues. In the message of the Cross is the power of God to change people’s hearts. This is a profound truth about the influence and value that we (as Christians) have in this world. It’s for this very reason God has us in this world. He wants to pour out His love to others and bring more people to His Son. In order to do this, we need to use our words.
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When closing an email or letter to a brother or sister in the Lord, I will oftentimes use the statement, “United in Christ, Mac”. Sometimes, when I am in a hurry, I will simply put, “United, Mac”. This statement has a significant and deep meaning to me that reaches far beyond any other closing I can think of.
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“Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.” — Hosea 6:3
There are so many things we can devote our time to — so many things we can give our lives for. Many people around us have decided to give their full allegiance to work, or money, or family, or success. Many more have bought into the foolish idea — “You only live once so, live it up!”
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Have you heard of crowdfunding or crowdsourcing? Companies like GoFundMe or KickStarter are raising hundreds of millions of dollars annually for personal needs and creative projects. A wide variety of needs are met with tools like these. Costs associated with mission trips, medical bills, or family emergencies have been met repeatedly through generous donations from people.
Our Christian duty is to care for the poor and needy. The Old and New Testament is full of instruction. For example, Jesus told us, “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.” — Luke 12:33
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“All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” — Acts 2:44-47
I’m amazed at the effect the Apostle Paul’s young protégé (Timothy) has had on the world. What’s even more interesting is that we know almost nothing about him. We do know that Timothy was saved as a direct result of Paul’s ministry during his first missionary journey. On Paul’s second journey, he decided to take Timothy with him. And the world has never been the same!
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Well, whether you are ready for it or not, 2017 is here! I’m sure that you (like me and many others) may have already made some New Year’s resolutions?! I’d like to ask you a few things about your resolutions.
What is it that you are planning on accomplishing this year? Are any of your resolutions focused on Jesus?
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