“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.” — John 12:27
These were Jesus’ words before He was betrayed and crucified. If anyone knows about suffering, it’s Jesus. His suffering was foretold all the way back to the book of Genesis. Isaiah 53 calls Him the “Man of Sorrows”.
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“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.” — 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
I recently went on a retreat with some of the Draper pastors and deacons. It was a much-needed opportunity for us to get strengthened in the Lord. We were able to get away from the noise and busyness of day-to-day life. I’ve found that when we make time to simply focus on the One who gave us life, He always comes through with comfort and strength.
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“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:11
In the spirit of encouragement, I wanted to pass along an email that was recently sent to a few of our pastors in Draper. It so encouraged us that we wanted to pass it along to you.
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“His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron; until what he had said came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him.” — Psalm 105:18-19
In Genesis 37, the seventeen-year-old Joseph had a dream in which the sun, moon, and eleven stars all bowed down to him. His eleven brothers correctly interpreted that dream to mean that they would one day bow down to Joseph. That only increased their jealousy of him. Their hatred was rooted in their father’s favoritism. It prevented them from speaking nicely to Joseph.
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“Cast all your anxieties on Him, for He cares about you.” — 1 Peter 5:7
Over the years, I have found myself coming back to this tremendous truth almost daily. I am a very anxious person. Sometimes, it can overtake my brain in a paralyzing way. The promise in this verse has always helped remind me that I am not alone. It helps me see that God cares about my problems. He isn’t surprised that I could be burdened.
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Over the past few weeks, I’ve been looking through many of the photos that my wife has taken since we started coming to The Rock Church back in 2004. We were putting a slide show together for the final service in Salt Lake City and since Shannon loves to document everything with her camera, it was huge blessing to look at it all.
Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Tony D'Amico
There will be times in life when you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what you are supposed to be doing with your life. There will also be times when you have no idea where God might be leading you. Even though you pray, read your Bible, and get counsel, you don’t feel certain about your next step. Here is the key to understanding the uncertain situations in your life: Sometimes God will ask us for faith when we are demanding clarity. We tend to look at situations in our lives and say, “God, show me what to do.” or “Just give me a sign.” At these moments, when we don’t hear from God, I believe He might be telling us to exercise our faith.
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“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servants whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.” – Isaiah 43:10
This verse has been a reminder to me about how close God wants us to be to Him. We live in Christian culture that knows all ABOUT God. There are books upon books dedicated to teaching folks about His character, His Spirit, His Sovereignty, His Power. I have even seen books dedicated to His humor. Though all of these things are good, this verse tell us that God has set us apart to KNOW Him and UNDERSTAND Him, to be His WITNESS.
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“O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.” — Ezekiel 37:3b
This is the prophet’s response to a question God had just asked him. The Lord had led the prophet Ezekiel to a valley filled with dry bones. After looking at the bones, God asked Ezekiel, “Can these bones become living people again?”
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“No tomen venganza, hermanos míos, sino dejen el castigo en las manos de Dios, porque está escrito: «Mía es la venganza; yo pagaré», dice el Señor.” – Romanos 12:19 (NVI)
El perdonar es un acto que proviene de nuestro deseo (tomar una decisión). Recientemente conversaba con una persona en la iglesia, quien me dijo: “Realmente, no siento (sentimiento que nace del corazón) el perdonar a mi amiga” – yo entendí que las emociones de esta persona se encontraban muy alteradas, y que su dolor aún era muy real. Pero, después de oír su historia, y de mostrar mi comprensión en cuanto a su situación, le recordé que el perdonar no es opcional. Es más, el perdonar es un mandamiento: “…de modo que se toleren unos a otros y se perdonen si alguno tiene queja contra otro. Así como el Señor los perdonó, perdonen también ustedes.” – Colosenses 3:13 (NVI)
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