theROCK

Faith

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Faith. If God loves us, why do bad things happen? That isn't an easy answer. Some of the bad things that happen are the result of God loving us enough to give us free will. We are free to choose what we do and what we don't do. God created us with a conscience, reason, and gifts us with a whole lot of grace, so that we hopefully choose options that are in line with His will. Working counter to God's will results in actions with less than great consequences. That makes sense.

But what about those things that randomly happen. To this I would say, especially as it related to natural disasters, that the Earth has been doing what it has been doing for millions of years. Plates shift and move, air masses collide, stuff happens. People get in the way. The Earth is bigger than people. That makes sense. God has empowered people to develop ways to track storms and warn people so choices can be made.

Then the questions of illness, pain, suffering pop up. Indeed, these are the toughest because one can't reason it away. That is where faith steps in. When we struggle to understand why, our faith compels us to action. There's a reason in the suffering somewhere. It can be hard to find what the reason may be but faith leads us to it. This level of "bad" is to compel us toward God; to a dependence on Him. It doesn't make sense but it will if you have faith. It is said that hindsight is 20/20. When a person takes time to think back to a time of suffering, the fruit can be seen. What was to be learned? What was the reason? In fact, long suffering is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. How is suffering good? It brings us to dependence on God. Faith.

Trust

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In the past three weeks, I’ve had my credit card compromised, I’ve received three fraudulent emails (hackers trying to get me to click on a link to steal my identity), and one suspicious phone call with a man asking me for money.

My trust level is at an all-time low. And I know I’m not alone. We live in a world of looking over our shoulder and questioning “does this look and sound right?” Unfortunately, we have to be prepared for the worst as the scammers are out in full force these days.

But then I think about my faith. Has my trust worn thin in my faith? Do I truly “put things in God’s hands” and let him guide my life? Or do I worry and obsess over things? Do I let the little things in life bother me? 

True trust means letting go, even when we’re afraid. God has told us so many times, “I’ve got this. Trust me.” Yet we don’t always let go of our anxiety. Isn’t it time we let down our guard? Isn’t it time we let God lead the way.

You can check your email and watch your credit card. But when it comes to your faith, just remember one thing. God’s got this.

Posted by Dan Herda
Tags: faith, trust, worry

God is Alive

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Sharing in the mission of Jesus is difficult; yet each one of us is called to do so. The notion of discipleship is a powerful one. To be a disciple means you strive to hold nothing back from your commitment to follow Jesus. Over the past year, my commitment to Christ was tested in major ways. I still struggle with many unanswered questions. In and through these difficult experiences I never said, “That’s it God, I don't want to continue to try and be a disciple for you”.

 Why? I have come to know against all odds that God is alive. He is my hope, deliverer, Lord, Savior. I am thankful for all of my life experiences whether difficult or joyous. They helped to shape me into His disciple. Just recently, I was introduced to a song that has become my “discipleship” anthem. It was a great help to me when facing a tragedy in my family. It’s called, “Raise a Hallelujah”.

 “I raise a hallelujah, in the presence of my enemies
I raise a hallelujah, louder than the unbelief
I raise a hallelujah, my weapon is a melody
I raise a hallelujah, Heaven comes to fight for me

I'm gonna sing, in the middle of the storm
Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar
Up from the ashes, hope will arise
Death is defeated, the King is alive!

 I raise a hallelujah, with everything inside of me
I raise a hallelujah, I will watch the darkness flee
I raise a hallelujah, in the middle of the mystery
I raise a hallelujah, fear you lost your hold on me!”

Do you have a discipleship song? Share it with us.

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