Dad meticulously calculated the materials he’d need to build a deck, railing, and storage room onto the “mobile,” our first home.
      
“It’ll be ‘rock solid’ when I’m finished,” Dad said. A master carpenter and design engineer, we didn’t doubt him. Years later, we returned to see the mobile home. The deck, railing, and storage unit remained standing, although the house itself was falling apart. 
    
“Rock-solid.” It reminded me of the memorable chorus of the hymn written by Edward Mote in 1834, that begins, “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

Indeed, Jesus is the solid rock, the cornerstone of our faith. Nearly one hundred verses in the Bible attest to this. For example, Matthew 7:24-25 tells the story of a wise man who “built his house on the rock.” When violent storms and floods came, it did not collapse—it was built on solid ground.

When we rely on God’s Word and put our trust in Him, we are like the wise man who builds his house upon the rock. Talk about a firm foundation!   

Rock-solid. It’s the faith we strive for—to be strong in our convictions, steadfast, and unwavering in our belief.

On the contrary, a weak foundation in one’s spiritual life or a weak foundation in one’s earthly home can cause collapse like that of sinking sand.

Jesus Christ, the Master Carpenter, is the builder of all things good. Spiritually speaking, no contract needs to be signed and money is not needed. All that is required is the willingness to acknowledge Jesus as your Lord and Savior and to follow Him.

Through Christ, you can build up a rock-solid faith that will help you weather the storms of life.

Your heart and soul will be eternally grateful!
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​“Be All You Can Be.” Familiar slogan. You probably heard it on television when the Army advertised to recruit prospective candidates. However, in recent years, in observance of the culture of individualism, the slogan was changed to [be] “An Army of One.”          
Slight change of subject, but momentarily, you'll understand. Every morning I say prayers when I wake up. But, sometimes, I feel alone when praying about life struggles. (Do you ever feel that way?) So, one morning as I began to recite The Lord’s Prayer, a prayer I've said all my life—a humble reminder made me stop and think. The prayer starts with “Our Father in heaven,” not “My Father in heaven.”

The “Our” changed my perspective. I wasn’t alone as a member of the body of Christ. The disciples were not alone in their beliefs, either. One of the disciples had asked Jesus how to pray (see Luke 11:1-4), and He taught them what is known today as "The Lord's Prayer."   
 
We don’t have to be alone or an “Army of One” in our faith walk. Remember “Onward Christian Soldiers?” As “Soldiers of the Cross,” we can be the best we can be—through Him. It's an example of the power of (more than) one.
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The Ampersand, “&,” symbolizing and, serves to connect our thoughts, our communication, our language—and spills over as an integral part of our culture.

Metaphorically, all those ands add up. Take the “To Do” lists we make for ourselves. You know how long those lists can be! I number mine (you might do the same). Between each item is the connecting “and” between each. If long, the list can hardly seem doable.

My list is typically lengthy. It’s one thing to put down the necessary things; however, I often find myself adding on extra items due to my own insecurities or wants. It becomes a “Me List” instead of one that is Spiritually led.

Jesus probably had his own “To-Do” list, but I’m certain his actions were related to following the Will of His Father in Heaven—not due to his own wants or needs.  

I've decided that I'd like to pray each morning about the things I add to my list, so it will not be a “Me List,” but instead a “We List”—one that the Lord helps me with. Then, maybe those “and’s” will be the things that will be the most beneficial ones—and that will also serve others.  
 
My prayer is that you, too, may find your “To-Do” list to be a manageable one—with God’s help!
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If you look closely, there is one thing you'll see on the back of every U.S. dollar bill and every coin. And what could that be? The answer is: the motto of our country, “In God We Trust.”

The original motto, “E. Pluribus Unum,” Latin for “out of many, one,” was changed to “In God We Trust” and adopted as our official national motto by Congress in 1956.
  
We are a nation founded on trust in the Creator. The first line of the Declaration of Independence includes the phrase, “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” Other references: people “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…,” that they have “a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence,” and, “…we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

The Constitution does not refer to religion; however, it includes the words “the year of our Lord” in Article VII.

In 1954 Congress passed a law amending the Pledge of Allegiance, which now includes the words, “One Nation Under God.”

We are fortunate to be a free nation, and the inclusion of the First Amendment gives us the right to practice the religion of our choice—or not to practice.  
 
The choice is ours—to believe or not believe.

For believers, may we be reminded of “In God we Trust” each time we hold a dollar bill or coins in our hands.

As a nation, may we have the faith to do as our founding fathers did—to trust in God. 

Happy 4th of July!

     Immorality. It can make even the most humble angry.  That's what happened before Passover when Jesus went to Jerusalem. As he entered the Temple Courts, the sight of what he saw angered him: people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and moneychangers who had set up tables to do business.        
     Making a whip from cords, Jesus drove out the buyers and sellers and turned over the tables of the moneychangers. According to Scripture (John 2:13-17), he said, "Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father's house into a market!" 
     Jesus took radical action against the sinful behavior of the people by clearing the Temple Courts. The sacred place was meant for worshiping God--and not to be used otherwise.    
      Sometimes we also need to turn the tables by taking radical action against things that do not honor God. We can overturn things that are not good, and that includes the things that may plague our daily lives, such as worry, anxiety, fear, depression, or other maladies.   
     But we don't have to do this alone, for the Lord's desire is for us to surrender such things to Him at the foot of the cross.     
     Jesus' death and resurrection turned the tables of worldly sin on its head. Jesus. Radical. Revolutionary. Loving Savior and Shepherd. Giver of Salvation. Believe. In. Him. Amen.  

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