The Rock Church

Knit Together

My wife recently gave birth to our fifth child, a wonderful baby boy. He is truly God’s gift to our family. Even after five children, the process of forming a human body still amazes me. That process, along with wrapping it around an eternal soul, is no doubt an incredibly complicated thing. And it happens with very little knowledge of the mother. God is “knitting together” a baby inside of her, and the child gives absolutely no input or permission as God knits him together.

A brother and I were talking in the lobby after church one night. We were in wonder of the fact that our wives didn’t have to take a class or watch YouTube videos to learn about how to put the baby together in the womb. Instead, their bodies knew exactly how to facilitate the miracle going on inside of them.

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…One Year Later

It’s been exactly one year since my son was able to come home from the hospital. Due to many complications, what started out as appendicitis turned into forty-something days in the ICU and on the surgical recovery floor. During that time, he won over every tech, nurse, and doctor with his patience and kindness. His perseverance and long-suffering were truly amazing. I didn’t hear him complain one time.

On a typical day during his time in the hospital, I would spend the night there. My wife and the girls slept at home. In the morning, my wife would come to the hospital, and we’d take care of our son together for a few hours. Then I’d go home and sleep during the day while my wife took over at the hospital. My daughters did school, chores, etc. I’d eat dinner with the girls, and then we’d all go to the hospital, where we’d be together until my wife took the girls home. And the routine would start all over again.

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Providence

Lately, on my drive home from work, I’ve been intentionally quiet. Off goes the radio, and I sit in the silence. I think about how glorious God is and how near He is to me. I don’t ask anything in prayer, or even pray out loud. In the same way, my thoughts are about Him, and I quietly praise Him. Along with that, I enjoy the indwelling of His Spirit in me.

More recently, on one of these quiet drives home, God’s providence overwhelmed me. How incredibly detailed He must be to be truly providential in everything. 

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Misunderstood

Every once in a while, I get myself into a situation where I know I’ve been misunderstood. There are also times when I realize that I’ve misunderstood what somebody was trying to tell me. Without a doubt, we all experience this, don’t we?

As I’ve thought about this, I’m struck by the story in Joshua 22 (verses 10-34). It’s an example of a misunderstanding that certainly could have ended in disaster. In fact, if one group of people hadn’t explained themselves to another group, there would have been a war.

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Mighty Ways

Ever since I became a follower of Christ, I’ve prayed that God would use me and others in mighty ways. There’s nothing wrong with this prayer. It’s a prayer that applies faith to a “Here am I, send me!” boldness. That is certainly not bad at all. However, I’ve prayed this prayer for over two decades. And a quick Google search of my name proves that God hasn’t used me in any of the “mighty ways” this broken world would recognize. I’m actually thankful for that.

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In Order

We’ve all been there. Standing in the office supply aisle with a few items we just know are going to help us be more organized and productive. In fact, just standing there makes us feel a little more productive than we did in the condiment aisle, doesn’t it? We’re taking steps to get our lives in order. 

Naturally, nobody likes it when their lives are chaotic and out of control. It’s uncomfortable at the least and terrifying under certain circumstances. Of course, we want order in our lives; we even have one-liners like “there’s a method to my madness” to explain it. Additionally, God created us in His image. That’s why we don’t like disorder or chaos in the things going on around us, either. This is because our God is not a God of disorder but of peace. (1 Cor. 14:33 NIV)

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Out With The Old, In With The New

Happy New Year! Once again, one year ends while another one takes its place. It’s a never-ending cycle. As I was reading through Revelation, something really stood out to me. When Jesus comes to make all things new, it will be the end of the “out with the old and in with the new” mentality we’ve all known.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” — Revelation 21:1-3

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Do You Really Believe This?

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” — 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Recently, I was talking with a friend about the story of Jonah. We recounted the story play-by-play. It reminded me how the story of Jonah has undoubtedly become one of the most challenging Bible stories to believe. In 1794 (230 years ago), Thomas Paine, author of “The Age of Reason,” said the book of Jonah was “…A fit story for ridicule if it was written to be believed — or of laughter if it was intended to try what credulity could swallow, for if it could swallow Jonah and the whale it could swallow anything.”

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Life Is But A Breath

As you’re probably aware, on July 13, there was an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. The bullets fired in this senseless act of violence killed a man; he was shielding his family from harm. They also critically injured two other men while grazing Trump’s ear. The bullet that hit Trump would have been lethal if he hadn’t turned his head immediately before the bullet passed by. Shortly after I heard the news, I started thinking. I thought about the possible retaliation against other political figures and even the divisions that could arise in the Church. 

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The Power of God

A few Sunday evenings ago, we gathered together and heard Paul’s entire letter to the Romans publicly read out loud. For over an hour, sixteen different people read sixteen different chapters of a two-thousand-year-old text. After the reading, people weren’t falling asleep or bored. On the contrary, they were excited and encouraged! Imagine sitting down after a long weekend, listening to people read for an hour out of any other book. Before long, people would no doubt fall asleep and be ready to go home. They certainly wouldn’t be smiling ear to ear and talking about how amazing God is. 

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