Church on The Rocks Devotionals

money_pit_yj · Aug 24, 2016

Training Season
Last weekend my 6 year old won his first wrestling match. Because of his age there are not a lot of kids to wrestle so he and his partner have wrestled day in and day out for weeks and my son finally beat the other boy. At 6 years old, kids want to try everything, so we have a rule at our house: If you start the season, you will finish the season. You do not ever have to play again, but if you play game 1 you are practicing and sticking with it until the last game. We do everything we can to make practices and games, and unless it is on Wednesday or Sunday we do pretty well about being there. We are trying to train him to work hard and stick with things even when they are not the best of circumstances.

More than boys who are good at sports and know how to win or lose on the field, we are trying to raise up men who love and fear Jesus. It is our responsibility as parents to live life and show our boys how to glorify God through our daily routines, and how to commit our lives to serving others through Christ Jesus. Proverbs 22:6 says "Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it." Notice it does not say "send them to church, or Christian school, or camp and when he is old He will not depart from it" it says "train" which for all you English majors means "you train". While church and Christian school and camp are all good things, as are sports and extracurricular activities, they are not meant to train our child. We are to train our child. One thing to remember is that as our children watch us daily no matter if we realize it or not, we are training them. If we place all our other commitments over our relationship with Jesus, what can we expect from them? If we are irresponsible with our money, what can we expect from them? Ah, but what if we walked daily with Jesus, served the less fortunate, prayed openly and often, humbled ourselves and asked God to use us for His glory, what can we expect from our kids?

In major league baseball, spring training is a time where teams go across the country, isolate themselves, remove all their distractions and intentionally work, live and eat together with the specific purpose of winning the World Series. This kind of sounds like a family, right? What if we as moms and dads daily showed our kids what commitment to Christ looked like, and walked with them through their journey to Jesus? We have our kids for at least 18 years, think about the amount of training we could do in that time then, think about the amount of training they will get somewhere during that time. As we encourage our kids to work hard and try to win trophies, let us all try and remember that the crowns they store up in heaven are far more valuable than any earthly trophy we could ever win. Let's commit to train them up in the way they should go and have Faith in God that they will not depart from it.
God, let my relationship with you be my first priority, and training my family up in your ways be my second. Let all else I do revolve around my families commitment to you, Amen.

Yotermoter · Aug 28, 2016

Good job! Keep them coming!

Hotrodpayton · Aug 30, 2016

Keep up the hard work with this thread!

money_pit_yj · Sep 25, 2016

Sorry guys, it has been a busy month. Now that I have more time I am going to try to do a daily devotional. They may not always be mine, but I am going to try!!!

The Right Recipe
One of my favorite things in the world is to sit down and eat a big fat ribeye. I love getting the baked potato ready, slapping garlic butter on a loaf of French bread, and throwing that beautiful 2'' thick ribeye in the specially prepared marinade and letting it tenderize and soak in all those bold flavors......... What if I stopped there? How good would the steak be if I just let it sit there in that marinade, and never built a fire and cooked it? The fact is, it would be pretty nasty and not the finished product the chef intended. James 1:22 says "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says". This verse is telling us to stop sitting in our churches and marinating and go out do what we are hearing. Do not deceive yourself, there is more to the Christian life than sitting in a building with a bunch of other like-minded people and doing nothing. 80% of the work in churches is done by 20% of the people, and that is inside the church. How many of the other 80% who do very little in and for the body of Christ are out in the world living out their faith? I will not say there are none, but I will tell you it is very few. Following this line of statistics, there are only 20-25% of all professing Christians living out their faith daily. It is not hard, the disciples were nothing other than willing vessels who allowed God to use them. Practical ways for us to live out our faith:
• Pray- for family, for friends, for your fears and needs, for your worst enemy
• Serve- at church, at work, at home. Daily look for small opportunities to show Christ's love to someone and expect nothing in return. Jesus did not come to be served, He came to serve.
• Surrender- You can not overcome your sin. If you could Jesus would not have had to die on the cross. Ask God to reveal your sin to you and to help you overcome it.
• Read your Bible-You can not know what God is telling us to do as Christians if you do not know His word!
I have lived a life that was spent sitting in the bowl marinating and it was good, it was safe, but just like that big ribeye cooked to perfection, I did not truly realize the blessings God had in store for me and how fulfilling healthy Christian walk was until I began to "do". Stop resisting and sitting in the bowl and marinating and focusing on learning more and knowing more and "Do what it says"!

Lord, show me practical ways to daily live out my faith. Give me opportunities to be your hands and feet and bless others as I serve them.

money_pit_yj · Dec 23, 2016

Man it has been a crazy 4 th qtr to this year. My mind and time have not been focused on many things Church On The Rocks, but God still has this ministry on my heart and I feel like things are lining up to have a cool 2017. I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I know this time of year is different to so many, and I know that many of us struggle because the holidays are just tough thinking about missing loved ones, family struggles and just an over all busyness, but all that aside there is a reason Christmas is celebrated and that is the birth of the Messiah. Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus. That may not be why you celebrate it, and Jesus may have been born in the spring or late fall, but that doesn't change anything. This is a time to spend celebrate the time when the Son of God saw fit to Humble himself to be born a baby and live life so that all may come to know his father. This season is about finding hope in His promises and peace through salvation that can only be found in Jesus. I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas. If you have something your struggling with please let me or us know and We will pray for you. This is a special place here! Merry Christmas! Happy Birthday Jesus!

money_pit_yj · Jan 10, 2017

The Resolution (not from the book, but it is a very good book to read)

Being the second week of the new year, we are all probably right in the middle of striving to achieve our new year's resolution. For many, it is the same each year: we begin to decide about the middle of December we are going to make a change in a few short weeks, then on January 1 we embark on a journey to reach our previously established goal. We spend countless hours preparing to lose weight, stop smoking, travel more, work less, spend more time with family or be a better husband, father, mother or wife. We set attainable goals and work diligently to reach these goals; but more times than not, what happens? We stand strong for a while and then we fall back to our old ways and start the cycle all over again. The truth is the reason we have fallen into this cycle is because we are treating symptoms and not the cause of the problem. We think that if we were a few pounds skinnier, smoke fewer cigarettes, or travel to more exotic locations we will be happy. In reality, happiness, by definition is an feeling of pleasure based on our circumstances. Happiness is solely dependent on things going well. Our problem is trying to fill a void in our heart with happiness which comes and goes, when in reality God is the only true way to fill that void. Our resolutions become burdens because they only fill the void temporarily so we carry these burdens in hopes that they will continually, intermittently, bring us spurts of happiness. The greatest resolution you can make, in fact the one resolution that will make all your other resolutions easier to accomplish is resolve to give your entire life to Jesus Christ and allow God to use you in any way He desires. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you." He cares for you to the point He sent His son Jesus to die on the cross. At the foot of that cross is where we need to lay our burdens. Once we have made the resolution to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, we now grow that intimate relationship with Him. As our we learn who He is and what He wants for us, we can ask God to help us take better care of our temples. We can ask God to show us how to become a better father and husband. We can ask God to teach us how to lead our family. We no longer have to seek out happiness, because, as it is talked about in Nehemiah 8, we have the joy of the Lord and that is our strength. As we wind down the second week of the year, make growing closer to God your first resolution and let him do a mighty work in your life. Walk daily with Jesus and learn His ways, pray fervently for your friends and family and let God help you be the person He created you to be.

God, before I make any resolutions or life changes, let me first devote my life to you. Help me walk boldly through life knowing you are there with me and may your spirit fill my heart with a never ending Joy. Amen.

ROKTOY829 · Jan 11, 2017

Re:

Good job sir, great thing you are doing.

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money_pit_yj · Feb 1, 2017

All In
I was playing poker one night and had about $200 to my name. The last hand I played got dealt and I drew pocket 6s. The flop was dealt and came up 6 J 6. There is only one way I can lose so I bet strong. My best friend called my bet and the turn card came up 7. I checked and he went all in and I called without hesitation, thinking he was playing for a full house. We show our cards and he was holding pocket 7s. When the dealer dealt the river card and it was a 7 of spades my heart sunk. I do not know what the probability of having two 4 of a kinds on the table at one time was but I know that I bet all I had on an almost sure thing and lost.

What does All in look like? In poker it looks like this: Every chip to my name is on the table, if I win, I double up at least and if I lose, I'm done.
In our walk it looks like Deuteronomy 6:5: " Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."
This verse is echoed in Joshua 22:5 "But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul." It also finds its way into Matthew, Mark and Luke.

The word that sticks out in these verses is all. To walk in all his ways, to love him with all our heart, all our soul and all our strength. Look at the life of Jesus, he loved the Father with all his heart and soul, He loved the Father and was obedient to the point of physical death on the cross. God spoke of a savior from the very beginning after the fall, he spoke of a savior through the prophets and Jesus was that savior.
What does that look like in our life? It means we strive to obey all his commands, not to just pick and choose how we want to do to obey him. I think that is what the majority of churches do now is pick and choose where they want to obey. People are so quick to show up, give some money, maybe work the nursery and do a lot of what we are commanded to do, but when it comes to The Great commission, they check up and almost disappear. The last thing Jesus said to the disciples before he ascended into heaven is this:
Matthew 28:18-20 "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey all I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of age"
We have all heard it and we all know what it means, but I want to tell you why it is the bet that we need to make. I bet all my chips on a .024% chance hand that I knew was going to win and I lost. I've gone all in on jobs, addictions, relationships, and recreation but those all led to the same thing, nothing, emptiness, longing, failure. Look at that scripture again "All authority is given to me and…….I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Men, we were not given all authority in heaven and earth to sit in a church 2 days a week and try to learn something else. How would Jesus ministry have gone if He had sat around in the synagogues and temples talking to those who came in? We have placed our bets on achieving all that the world tells us we need. We have bet the spiritual well being and eternal fate of our family on a losing bet when we have assurance in God's word that if we will go all in with our lives for Christ, we will be rewarded greater than we could ever imagine.

God, show me how to go all in for you. What does that look like in mine and my families life today. Take my entire life and use it for your honor and Glory.

money_pit_yj · Feb 20, 2017

What is COTR?
My wife and I have spent a lot of time thinking and praying about what we want COTR to be and how we want it to look. Over the past three years we have had friends and fellow believers encourage us and help us shape this vision God laid on my heart. Here recently we have been in a season where we just cannot neglect our other ministry responsibilities to focus much time on COTR other than prayer. It doesn't matter if we are aggressively working on COTR stuff or simply praying over the ministry, the one thing that keeps coming up is this: What is COTR? Church on the Rocks (COTR) has been through multiple different "identities" since we hatched the vision in 2014. Is it an event promotion group? Is it a church? Is it a club? Does it have members? Is it a prayer ministry? Is it a devotional writing ministry? Is it a discipleship ministry? The answer to all those questions is, yes. I think COTR is more of a mindset than anything, a "movement" if you will. Granted I would love for it to be a huge regularly scheduled event where I get to stand up and worship with and preach to hundreds of people in their rigs and spend a day with folks on the trails, but for now I feel God is leading us to encourage those in our sphere of influence to do, as Paul says and be imitators. 1 Corinthians 11:1 says "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." Paul was radically changed on the Damascus road, and made the commitment to go and tell people of this change and who Jesus was. Paul, Peter, Timothy, Titus, and the rest of the early disciples WERE the church. In that day and age we didn't have churches on every corner, but there were men who were totally committed to Christ and telling folks of the Gospel. They were tent makers, doctors, fishermen, and other working men of the day, but more than that they were Christians. They were Christians in a day where that was not the thing to be, they have counted the cost of what it takes to follow Christ and be His church and they faithfully did their work while intentionally making disciples. I lived a lukewarm Christian life for a long time. I wanted to be Christian when it fit, and worldly when it fit; but I made the commitment that no matter where I was, or who I was around, I was going to be what God called me to be. That is where Church on the Rocks came from. I am committed to be the Church if I am on the trails at Hawk Pride, in the sanctuary at my church, working on the jeep or serving orphans. I don't have it right by any means, I screw up daily and need His grace, but I know that God has called us to be strong and courageous and take his names to the far ends of the earth. I also know that the far ends of the earth include the trails we ride weekly and if you are a born again believer God has given you a testimony to share with those around you to lead others to a relationship with him. Let's take our bushel baskets off the light Christ shines through us and let's commit today to be Church on the Rocks.

God, help me be who you created me to be no matter where I am. Help me live my life the way Paul did and be an imitator of Christ.

PS-I hope the next few devotionals that I write will be practical ways we can be Church On the Rocks.

money_pit_yj · Feb 24, 2017

Your mission field is the ground beneath your feet. Win the world!

money_pit_yj · Apr 12, 2017

Obedience

Imagine knowing exactly how your week would end. Imagine being called to go to a place where you knew your life was coming to an end. Now imagine that the ending would be the most violent, heartbreaking, humiliating and painful way to end a life. We can't imagine this, and thank God we never have to. Philippians 2:8 says "And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." HE, in this passage is Jesus, and his obedience led him to a place where he was welcomed and celebrated on Sunday and by the same people, despised and murdered on Friday. His obedience to His father led him to a place where He hung on a cross between two criminals, with the sin of all men past, present, and future bearing down on his shoulders, separated from His father. His obedience to His father cost Him his life. Although his obedience cost Him His life here on earth, it also led to His resurrection three days later, where He would ascend to Heaven and be seated at the right hand of God. How far does our obedience carry us? To the cross? Anything less than 100% obedience, is disobedience. Ask God what he would have you do to further His kingdom, be obedient, and let him have your life! Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. John 15:13

money_pit_yj · Jun 16, 2017

It bothers me a little that I can play around and goof off in every other thread on here, troll folks, and have a good time but I neglect the thread that I feel is the most important thing I ever post. I hate that it is easier for me to tell a joke and laugh at stuff on here than it is for me to sit down and have some quiet time with God to give me an inspired word. I have claimed multiple times that I am too busy, or time was not right and yada yada yada, but in reality, I have chosen not to devote much effort to this. Sometimes I get frustrated with myself and have to step back and see if I am practicing what I preach, and I do not feel like I am in this case. Not that joking around and having fun in all the other areas of HL or facebook is bad, its not, but I have not posted here in 2 months. It is not just here that I neglect things, I have been talking about a Christmas ride to benefit the Alabama Children's home since last Christmas, and I have procrastinated on that. I am going to get my butt in gear. I cant expect God to do things through me if I am not willing to do the things He asks.

I am not whining, pouting or looking for pity, I just kinda had this on my mind. We have a lot of things going on in our family and life right now, and I have started being less intentional with my time, and it has affected my walk which in turn affects my ministry. This is me, this is what is going on right now, if you pray, give me a shout out so that I can get back to intentionally ministering to folks and allowing God to use my life 24/7 not just when I have time! Going to try and get the weekly devotional train back on the tracks. If you have a devotional you like or something you want me to write about post it up. I may not be the expert but with the Google, I can find something that covers just about everything!! I really hope you have a good day!

d_daffron · Jun 16, 2017

Just wanted to say thanks, your efforts do not go unnoticed by us or Him. I am not a very outgoing person around those I dont know therefore I don't do a good job sharing my faith. I dont really have much to add other than a thanks and keep up the good works

Eddyj · Jun 17, 2017

I'm still listening.

money_pit_yj · Jun 28, 2017

The Right Line

How many times have you watched a friend climb a hill and thought you could do it faster, or watched a youtube video of a race and seen guys take another line and save a few seconds? Whether you are racing dirt bikes on a motocross track, hill killing in a race, or crawling with the family, there always seems to be multiple lines to get to where you are going. Some of these lines are very similar, but work differently for each rig. That is what makes our sport so much fun and why we spend countless hours and dollars preparing for our next ride. Don't let this same mentality creep into your walk with God. Jesus says in John 14:6 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me". We may all take different lines that lead us to Jesus, and some may choose to take lines that lead them away from Jesus, but through Jesus is the only way to the Father. Because we are a sinful people, it has to be done this way. In order for us to be in the presence of the King we must allow Jesus to come into our hearts and radically change us, cleanse us from our sin so we can stand before God washed in the precious blood of Jesus, free from sin. In this world with so many thoughts and views, we are presented with many other ways we can try to know God, but there is only one way that leads to eternal life, and that is through Jesus Christ; not near Jesus, around Jesus, under or over Jesus, but through Jesus. If you are searching, come to Him and He will set you free.

cj7-377 · Jun 28, 2017

The truth Dan

poolman · Jun 28, 2017

Eddyj said:
I'm still listening.

X2, thank you.

money_pit_yj · Jul 20, 2017

Big waves are not our biggest threat, weak faith is our biggest threat.

money_pit_yj · Aug 12, 2017

This is from my journal this week. It is hard to read but hopefully you can make it out. The passage is in Matthew 27, right as Jesus is fixing to be crucified. Judas has betrayed Jesus and has regretted it and tried to undo what he has done. How often do we sin thinking it is going to fulfill us, and realize that sin has done nothing but brought us some temporary satisfaction. We then have two choices: We can go to Jesus and repent or we can go back to our sin and begin a cycle that will leave us empty and heartbroken. Judas felt remorse, yet stopped short of repentance and it cost him his life. Remorse is a feeling, repentance is a change of heart and leads to life.

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