Thoughts for Life: THE ROCK

~ John Oguntoyinbo- "In my village, a boy who had gone fishing was out on the sea for forty-eight hours.

When his parents raised the alarm on the third day, the village searched for him with our fishing boats. (photo courtesy of pixabay.com)

We found him a few hours after the search began, clinging to a rock. All he had was a rope and a bottle of water. His boat had capsized, and the rock had stopped the sea from carrying him away.

The storms of life can overwhelm our boats at times. At those moments, we don’t need a life jacket (it can be pierced) or another boat (it can still capsize.) What we need is a rock that is stable, reliable, and immovable. Our spiritual rock is none other than Jesus—a Rock that follows, guides, and shelters.

David prayed for the future: 'When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.' Jesus is deeper than the seas and higher than the heavens. He covets our prayers. Prayer doesn’t have to be long or stressful. We just pour out our hearts to Him in all simplicity. He will answer."

"From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I." Psalm 61:2 KJV

You can go to the Rock when you are tired, listless, hopeless, depressed, and overwhelmed!

(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)

Let's pray-

Let's use Henry F. Lyte's "Abide With Me."

"Abide with me,

Fast falls the eventide;

The darkness deepens'

Lord, with me abide!

When other helpers fail

And comforts flee,

Help of the helpless,

O abide with me.

I need thy presence

Every passing hour;

What but thy grace

Can foil the tempter's power?

Who, like thyself,

My guide and stay can be?

Through cloud and sunshine,

Lord, abide with me." Amen!

#34 Testimony- Marci

The pastor asked for several people to get up and share the thing in your life that God has miraculously changed. I quickly got up, knowing I had to share, not sure of what I was going to say.

I listened to 3 other testimonies about great things God had done in others’ lives. It finally got to me, and the Spirit of God gave me the words . . .

”I was living for my own personal desires, but now I’m living for God’s desires, and, Oh! It’s so much better!

#34 Hymn- Take My Life and Let it Be Consecrated

~ Frances Ridley Havergal (14 December 1836 – 3 June 1879) was an English religious poet and hymnwriter. Take My Life and Let it Be and Thy Life for Me (also known as I Gave My Life for Thee) are two of her best known hymns. She also wrote hymn melodies, religious tracts, and works for children.

Today's recommended reading:

"Since Pentecost, we have become the dwelling place of God's Spirit. God wants us to think His thoughts, pray His prayers, feel His heart, do His work and speak His words."

TAKING OUR CITIES for GOD. (pg. 157)

1196-1200 one-line Scriptures for those of you who want to learn some more verses this week- or to review them from when they were first posted-

1196- Is. 58:14a "Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD."

1197- Ps. 73:1 "Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart."

1198- Ps. 119:109 "My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget they law."

1199- Jer. 6:10a "To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear?"

1200- Ez. 5:15c "I the LORD have spoken it."

Some encouraging words-

~ God will help us forgive those who have hurt us in some way, if we ask for His help to do so. This allows Him to forgive us of our sin of unforgiveness.

~ God’s love does not depend upon what we do or don’t do. We cannot earn His love by doing good works. We cannot be good enough by attending church every time the doors are open, singing on the worship team, teaching a Bible study, or . . . the list of good things is endless.

Upcoming posts:

5/4- GOD WON'T FORGET YOU - Karen Huang

5/11- GOD IS MORE THAN ENOUGH- Mike Wittmer

5/18- DADA LOVES YOU - Connor Miller