ROCK

Christianity has many words and phrases that seem to confound almost anyone not familiar with its lingo.  I myself am one who is sometimes caught off guard and/or left scratching my head.  Having immersed myself in the bible and its real meaning, in time, that confusion has been taken away. 
Jesus, God's only Son, has many names.  I will not name them, (the list would be exhaustive), but I would like to focus on one in particular and that one is ROCK.

When I think about a rock, I think of a stone that lodges itself in the bottom of my shoes and even gets in there and causes all kind of problems for my feet.  After a while my feet hurt and pain is a byproduct until I do something about it.  I kick off my shoes and begin the search for my enemy.  Romans 9:33 talks about "a stumblingstone and a rock of offence: and whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed."   The first part of this speaks about a rock of offence, (the one in my shoe).  In my case, the 'rock' had become a problem for me and my footing was not sure because of it.  I had to stop whatever I was doing at the time and deal with it.  The end part (HIM) speaks of Jesus Christ.  HE is the Rock that is solid, unmovable, and sure. 

Jesus is the foundation of our faith and in I Cor. 10:4 he is called our spiritual Rock.  First Peter 2:6 labels him as, a chief corner stone and precious.  Much amazement fills my senses as I look at the two meanings and try to compare and contrast them.  How can this be?  In my human mind, rocks are objects and projectiles that skim across the tops of water or can be used to break windows and hurt others.  We all have done it.

CVS is rebuilding one its stores a few feet from my house and it is beyond belief, mine, at how fast it's going up. A couple of months ago there were only  piles of dirt and rocks and other material along with heavy equipment used in the process.  Unreal!!!  Yet, after the foundation is layed and set, the first stone (that chief corner stone) is layed the building process can continue.  Let's relate this to the Trinity, the Father, Son, and Spirit.
A.    GOD--Our first and ultimate foundation.  Meaning HIS love and mercy and
        grace. 
B.    JESUS--The first piece in the rebuilding process of our spiritual condition.
C.    HOLY SPIRIT--He adds to onto the corner stone by teaching us and guides
        as we grow and builds our faith.

You are surely wondering, "How can this guy get all this from a rock?"  Easy. 
My rock (sins) were causing me to stumble and stammer through this life and I ofter became bruised and battered.  After I found Jesus and discovered who God really is and what I mean to HIM, Jesus became my rock.  My life is fuller and more complete.  I am not saying i still don't have difficulties.  I do.  But, those little nuisances that once made my feet sore and ache are now crushed under the weight of my forgiveness and the Father's love for me.  I no longer look down at what troubles me.  I look to what the David says  in Psalm 61:2 is the "ROCK that is higher than I."  His name is Jesus.

HIS Rest (1)

I'm sitting outside my church waiting for men's prayer to start. The wind is blowing and cars are zooming by on the interstate and side streets. I am listening to music on my iPhone, "Majesty" by Delirious?.
In the span of about 3-5 seconds, it became totally quiet.  I was so shocked by this that I took off my headphones and looked around. Kind of felt like 'the calm before the storm'. Yet, no storm came, just a peace that surpassed my understanding.  A peace I did not deserve because of my sinful nature.  Immediately two passages of scripture came to mind. One is from the gospel of Mark 4:41, when Jesus was in the boat sleeping and awakens to his disciples fearful shouting. Jesus got up, rebuked the storm and the wind and the waves obeyed. The second verse is the one I felt more drawn to use and it is found in 3rd chapter of Hebrews.
There are times I will search the scriptures for passages that encourages and up lifts me. So few times, I look for verses that speak to "my dark side", hoping for relief from the weight of the sting my guilt and shame.  I tell myself that is the old me and he has been ex-sponged. But God's word is not to be handled deceitfully. While reading from Hebrews I was hard pressed NOT to feel the Spirit 's presence.
The phrase that kept pricking my heart was, harden not your heart. No pun intended. I found myself experiencing such hardness as I go throughout my days.  Days where my actions, thoughts and deeds do little to belay my faith in the ONE TRUE GOD.  My face blanched.
Yet, I could not deny what the WORD was telling me. How could I change? Nothing seemed to work.  Then HE told me this. "Hold fast to my confidence in HIM, which I had from the beginning."
My grasp of reality was fading fast into an abyss the seemed to be bottomless.  An intervention was needed. And God did. To my remembrance came the rebellion of the nation of Israel in the wilderness during their period of wandering. I thanked God because in that span of 5 seconds, HE showed me what I can have as a result of being in HIM--rest, or what I can lose because of my rebellion towards HIM--unrest.  God's word does encourage but more importantly it corrects AND commands obedience.

A slight nudge

Even when I am doing nothing and seem unwilling to 'do anything', God is always working.  Case-in-point.  I was in Walmart this afternoon waiting to buy a(n) money order and reading a book.  (Not unusual because it is always crowded there and it was a payday.)  On with my story.  The gentleman behind me and the lady behind him, wait....  Let me just go with the young man first.  The young man asked me, " What are you reading?"  It was the third book from the Left Behind series "Nicolae", and I closed the book so he could see the cover.  For a bit we talked about the concept of the book and series and he said he had just started reading the bible, starting in Genesis.  That was a starter point to current and world events. From what I gather he was looking at such things and wondering, what does it mean?  He is searching for the truth.  I asked him about Jesus and salvation and what he thought it all meant.  We talked a little more and I encouraged him to start reading the book of John and the gospels and he said he would.  During the conversation I am silently praying to God that I would say the right words and I believe that I did.  I offered to give him my number and said he could call me if he had any question.  He did not, but that is OK.  I know that we will see each other again. 

Now as for the lady standing behind him, when I mentioned Jesus and salvation, she looked toward us and stepped closer, I guess to hear the conversation.  I am not sure of her motives ,but, I would like to see the positive side and assume that she too was searching for truth.  However, I failed to ask the young man his name to personalize the conversation, but I am more than comforted by the fact that God knows who he is and I will add him to my prayer list. 

Someday I would like to address him in a future blog with the expectation of him having become a born-again believer in Jesus Christ.  Glory to God.