CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK!

SCRIPTURE

Isaiah 44:1-8 (NRSV)
God gives life to the people

But now hear, O Jacob my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen!
Thus says the Lord who made you,
who formed you in the womb and will help you:
Do not fear, O Jacob my servant,
Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my spirit upon your descendants,
and my blessing on your offspring.
They shall spring up like a green tamarisk,
like willows by flowing streams.
This one will say, "I am the Lord's,"
another will be called by the name of Jacob,
yet another will write on the hand, "The Lord's,"
and adopt the name of Israel.

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,
and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
Who is like me? Let them proclaim it,
let them declare and set it forth before me.
Who has announced from of old the things to come?
Let them tell us what is yet to be.
Do not fear, or be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
You are my witnesses!
Is there any god besides me?
There is no other rock; I know not one.

DEVOTION

This Bible reading makes me laugh! Isn’t God awesome in might and in splendor? Who else could brag on themselves like this and be credible? No one!

My favorite line from today is, “Is there any god besides me? There is no other rock; I know not one.”

(Laughter…)

Let’s face it. If God doesn’t know something, it can’t be known or discovered! There are no other gods beside God in whom we can put our trust.

I love the promise in scripture that God will fill up our “thirsty” places with water. In the Gospel of John, Jesus promises to give us water that will become in us a spring of living water gushing up into eternal life (4:14).

I am so glad that God is indeed our rock, our fortress, and our strong tower. God is the giver of living water that satisfies the thirsty soul. Since this is true, we can be confident that there is no problem that is too big for God to solve and there is no bully whom God cannot defeat.

I’m awful glad about this, because the biggest problem in my life is SIN. It is a condition that all of us humans live with. It is sickness that we can’t overcome by ourselves. I believe that this is because, by our very nature, human beings are egocentric; this means that we always put “I” first.

For example, I need…I want…I deserve…I like…Give it to MEEEEE!

Oh my! This ego problem, or SIN problem, causes us to forsake what is truly important—that is, “to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves (Luke 10:27)!”

But, there is GOOD NEWS for us today! We are invited to take on the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). When we do this, God helps us to move from an “I” mentality, to a “THY” mentality. We begin to earnestly pray things like “THY will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.”

When we start desiring the will of God, wonderful things begin to happen! God has said, “Do not fear, or be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? You are my witnesses!”

These are our “marching orders.” We are to live into a life of active witness, boldly declaring GOOD NEWS, as God’s witnesses here on the Earth.

And what shall we say?

Let’s tell our friends, neighbors, co-workers, family members, and even our enemies that, “God loves, God gave, God saves.” Let us share the GOOD NEWS story about God’s great love which gave Jesus, allowing him to die on the cross in order to attain our salvation!

Indeed, our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. We dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus Name! On Christ the Solid Rock we stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand! (Edward Mote)

Who can you throw a rope to today?

Holy God, indeed Jesus is the Solid Rock! There are so many people downing in the sinking sands of life. They are depressed and without hope in the absence of a relationship with you. Help me to “throw them a rope” today by introducing them to Jesus! You are my rock and you are their rock too! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.



ANNOUNCEMENTS

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come To Jesus" found at
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html

We are celebrating with all of the people who have recently put all their hope in Jesus! Happy Re-birthday!

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From Pastor Yolanda's blog http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/