CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK!

 

Saturday, February 7, 2026

 

CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK!

 

2 Cor 4:7-8

7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair.

 

Ps 28:1

28 Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.

 

          Despair is to no longer have any hope or belief that a situation will improve or change! It always focuses on the circumstances and ignores the possibilities. It pursues us with hard facts and laughs in the face of faith. It mocks!

 

          Paul reminds us that the treasure of the Gospel resides in our fragile clay. We are always in danger of being dashed to pieces. In 2 Corinthians 11:25, Paul lists his troubles. “Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep.”

 

          Despair hunts each of us because of relentless evil in our land. Our political system is a woolen coat and our culture wears like sack cloth, but I am reminded of a gospel song that cheers me. It goes like this …

 

My Hope Is Built (The Solid Rock)

 

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

 

Refrain
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

 

Dear Lord, let me flee to my Rock this morning. AMEN

 

THE MARKS OF MATURITY

 

Friday, February 6, 2026

 

THE MARKS OF MATURITY

 

Ex 23:2-6

2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:

3 Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.

4 If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.

5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.

6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.

 

The mark of adulthood is not a chronological age passed; it is the development of personhood. It means that you have become who you have been becoming and that you are consistent and comfortable with that persona. It means you have cast off the funny fads of adolescence and found a style that is functional and appropriate to the occasion. It means that you do not agree with a faceless crowd simply because it is a crowd.

 

It is almost painful to watch an adolescent grow up and even more painful to see those who have reached the age where they should have grown up but failed to do so.

 

Look at the important points in our Scripture portion today.

 

1. Don’t always follow the crowd – especially if it is a mob! Why do people feel they have to say what others say, do what others do, and even wear what others wear to feel significant? Especially refrain from swearing to a lie even if everyone else says it is true. Verse 2 particularly speaks of being cautious not to agree with the majority opinion if it is false and would convict the innocent man or release a guilty one.

 

2. Don’t allow sympathy to cause you to tolerate wrong! This is the force of verse 3 which basically means that you should never be partial to a poor man just because he is poor. Again, do not allow yourself to tolerate sin in someone if he is capable of doing right. Parents often hinder their children from reaching adulthood because they will not hold them accountable.

 

3. Be a blessing even to someone who is not your friend! Verses 4 and 5 give us the scenario of an “enemy” whose donkey runs away. If you find the donkey simply return it to the owner. If you find the donkey collapsed under a heavy load and the owner, who is your enemy, is struggling with it you should stop and offer to help. It’s really that simple!

 

William Shakespeare said: “And this above all unto thine own self be true and it shall follow as the day the night – thou can’st not then be false to any man.”

 

Dear Lord, help me to be fully grown, mature and faithful today. Help me to be a blessing. AMEN

 

WHEN GOD SEEMS FAR AWAY!

 

Thursday, February 5, 2026

[a classic, previously presented]

 

WHEN GOD SEEMS FAR AWAY!

 

Ps 35:22

O LORD: keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me.

 

Acts 17:25-28

…he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being…

 

The most difficult times for me are those times when God seems far away. Oh, I know with my mind that He is everywhere and that He is near, even in my heart, but there are times when I need Him so badly to be within reach. I need to sense His presence, and I need to hear his voice. Like a child who pillows his head on his mother’s breast I need to feel His breath on my cheek. Many are the times when my soul cries out to God for the comfort of His presence.

 

Many are the songs that have been written and sung about our human longing for the divine. “Abide with me” is one and “Nearer my God to Thee” is another of the songs that remind us of the great gulf that sin has now fixed between us and our God. Yet our very soul was made for fellowship with Him as Adam enjoyed in the cool of the evening.

 

Job deeply felt the absence of God although God was every moment observing his calamity. It may seem cruel to us but God had set in motion a test for Job that would put Satan to open shame. Job was required to remain faithful to an absentee God. So it seems often with us. We feel that we must walk the trail of tears alone yet God is there and He will arrive just in time.

 

Ps 56:3

3 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

 

Dear Lord, I know with my head that Thou art there, but my spirit needs Thee now. Be not far from me. AMEN