tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277174082011-12-07T11:15:22.862-05:00The purpose of this blog is to share the Word of God as it is laid on my heart in the hope that it somehow advances the Kingdom of God on this earth. The bible is the primary supporting source for a great portion of the content.willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comBlogger291100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-33222706713875505152010-06-28T21:37:00.008-04:002010-11-11T20:48:48.282-05:00

Throughout the book of Daniel chapters 1-6, we read of Daniel (later known as Beltashazzar), Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; exiles from the Southern Kingdom of Israel (Judah). Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah are later named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They experience and are participants in great miracles that God does in Babylon before the kings of the nation, especially Nebucadnezzar. You

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-49604885601507463212009-12-07T13:37:00.014-05:002011-09-28T11:41:29.044-04:00

I'm 31. Some of my friends say that we're young adults. I guess that is partially true. Though, since having kids 7 months ago, I feel like I am traveling light speed toward old age - and they are only 7 months. I still have yet to go through the famed terrible 2's, kids not wanting to share anything, fighting, and being challenged every day by the general responsibility of parenting. Things do

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-60758703871682513532009-12-07T13:37:00.007-05:002009-12-28T12:38:37.675-05:00

A juggernaut is an extremely powerful force.That's just one limited definition, but for our purposes will do quite nicely.The particular juggernaut that I want to address is the perception of self.Since I'm convinced that God does not waiver or change what He thinks or believes about us in any aspect, the question remains as to what forces are warring against the truths of God in our life.

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-81250970683278494172009-11-19T22:43:00.006-05:002011-09-28T11:48:32.041-04:00

Tonight, a dear friend of mine was obedient to God. Because of his obedience, and because God is always faithful, water was driven out of a rock. The rock was me. Recently, for a longer period of time than I would like to admit, I have been very angry with God. Put quite simply, I have been angry with Him because my life is not going the way I think it should --either for me or for His glory.

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-72658080265821567872009-10-30T00:16:00.002-04:002009-10-30T00:52:39.566-04:00

There are 2 sides to every story. At least, to this story. I guess there could be more sides, but in this example there are only 2 sides. One side is the side of God. The other side is the side of whoever goes up against Him.This one's for the family. When I say that someone is going up against God, I don't mean enemies. I mean children. God's children, to be precise. If you were someone

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-64775308319993745532009-09-18T01:34:00.006-04:002010-01-11T16:57:20.878-05:00

John 21 opens with the familiar scene of fishers on a boat. According to the passage, at least 7 disciples were present. Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, the sons of Zebedee (James and John), and two other unnamed disciples.See, this is the 3rd time that Jesus has appeared to his disciples after his crucifixion (John 21:14). He shows up on the scene and basically does a replay of Luke 5 1-11. Simon (

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-19885107576242691592009-09-04T03:13:00.007-04:002009-12-21T13:39:56.320-05:00

The Gospel is a person. That person is Jesus. Jesus is fully God, and fully man.The Gospel is viewed through a paradigm. That paradigm is many times, our culture.The Gospel is exemplified and perfected through relationship. The Gospel does not apply without faith. The Gospel links the special role for Israel to that of the Church through Jesus Christ.Hebrews 11:1-3Faith is "the substance of

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-91888471826313418982009-08-08T01:52:00.005-04:002009-09-04T03:11:34.219-04:00

Genesis 27 describes some family dysfunction that I'm not going to pretend I understand. I don't. The basic scenario is that Esau (an older brother) has his blessing robbed by his younger brother Jacob. Jacob doesn't really want to do it but Rebekah, his mother, has other ideas and talks him into tricking his father Isaac into blessing him. Esau pleads to Isaac to be considered for a blessing

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-69431827808524219912009-08-03T01:15:00.002-04:002009-08-03T02:52:55.066-04:00

Genesis 22:1-31 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. 2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." 3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-81636873624149602572009-07-24T02:29:00.005-04:002009-07-24T17:51:26.745-04:00

Matthew 16:24-2624Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"People seem to like

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-48704079686490160242009-07-03T12:42:00.005-04:002009-08-03T01:38:08.266-04:00

Yesterday as I was holding one of my newborn daughters in my arms, she started to cry out for something. Here's the thing, she's 1 month old; what could she possibly want? She could be hungry, she could need her diaper changed, or she could just be crying out because she cannot really see much unless it is right in front of her face.I learned this in my journey toward fatherhood. Babies, for

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-90663937281872065632009-06-28T13:31:00.002-04:002009-07-24T19:13:38.266-04:00

It begins with something that doesn't quite go how you think it should have for God. Then something else happens like that...and yet another. Or perhaps you do something, say something, or even feel something you know that you shouldn't; but you can't stop whatever it is. Before you know it, you're not looking at God quite the same as you were a few weeks ago before all this stuff happened.

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-13194097107226001882009-06-20T16:06:00.006-04:002009-06-24T01:24:38.263-04:00

Have you ever been telling a story to a group of people, and they can't help but to follow-up your story with the words, "If you think that's (insert adjective here), wait until you hear this!" Then, they proceed to tell the wildest, most action-packed drama filled story you've ever heard in your life and try to pass it off as true? Ever had that happen?The other posts on this blog are all

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-46856052131889302102009-06-14T13:02:00.006-04:002009-07-03T01:57:40.858-04:00

(See 1st Samuel 8 - 12)First, a little bit about Samuel. He's a prophet. From the beginning of Samuel's life, He was committed to the Lord. This is in large part due to His mother's faithfulness in God. She wanted a child and promised God that she would dedicate His life to God. God opened her womb and allowed her to conceive. Then Samuel, from a very young age was under the direction of

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-48072883878643091232009-06-13T11:05:00.005-04:002011-12-07T10:26:42.123-05:00

--------------------------- A Picture of Battle In the past few months it has been confirmed to me that there is a battle taking place for control of my soul. Though I’ve known this in my head for 5 years; the stakes continue to rise at an alarming rate that now cannot go unnoticed. I am in this very real phase of my life when I’m recognizing sin that I cannot atone for. To put it another

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-37404249072289346812009-06-09T19:54:00.006-04:002009-06-11T02:14:56.824-04:00

I’m compelled to share a moment that I wish every parent could experience. I’d say all parents do, but in this day and age with so many parents missing from their children’s lives...it wouldn’t be correct. This morning at 5:00am, just after my wife struggled through getting some food to our newborns, I found myself 1-on-1 with my 2 day old daughter. Wow, even writing the word daughter is

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-21202357014533334592009-05-20T15:33:00.006-04:002009-05-21T03:15:08.148-04:00

I feel the need to try and work something out in the open here.  Be on notice, that I might not come to a "conclusion" of sorts.  If I'm still working it out when I'm finished typing, that is the way it goes.  Recently, I've been thinking about repentance; you know...how we (people) are supposed to repent of our wickedness according to the Bible.  This begs the question, "Have we changed the

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-21407182278675692512009-01-06T13:14:00.004-05:002009-01-06T14:41:32.728-05:00

A great many people ask the question, "How can God exist when there is so much bad in the world?" or "Why doesn't God just not let anything bad happen if he is so 'in control'?" or "Where was God when (fill in the blank)?"They are hard questions, you know? I mean, there's an answer, and the answer is true. But for people to believe that answer, they have to believe that God. All the "proof"

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-56371273221078189382008-10-21T09:16:00.015-04:002011-12-07T11:15:22.872-05:00

This post deals with the extremely delicate topic of divorce. To some I'm just a kid; so I don't pretend to have all the answers, or be right about everything. I have lived through my parent's divorce as a teenager, so I feel somewhat qualified to talk about it. I know what it did to me - what it still does to me. I know a little bit about who God is too. If Christians are not brave

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-52142605643716890572008-10-07T13:20:00.001-04:002008-10-07T15:55:04.772-04:00

Matthew 17:14-18 (NKJV)And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” 17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-51611174144329859172008-07-07T00:41:00.004-04:002008-07-07T01:45:49.020-04:00

I heard a good sermon today. It impacted me to the point where I feel compelled to write about it more and more. Then I remembered, "I have a blog...and I haven't written in it in a month! Perfect!"John 13:34,35 - "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-80348755228762427442008-06-01T23:43:00.002-04:002008-06-02T00:29:34.356-04:00

On May 31st, Mr. Chambers' devotional includes an entry entitled Put God First. Because this entry seems very fitting for me to "re-start" my blogging with...here goes.The Holy Spirit has proved to me, yet again, that He can sift through as much junk as I can pile on top of my heart to get in the way of God's plan or design for my life. Said another way, I cannot make enough mistakes, keep

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-81408681980810092562007-10-23T23:24:00.000-04:002007-10-24T00:12:17.653-04:00

"This is the will of God, your sanctification..." (1st Thessalonians 4:3)Definitions of sanctification: (from Dictionary.com)1. To set apart for sacred use; consecrate.2. To make holy; purify.3. To give religious sanction to, as with an oath or vow: sanctify a marriage.4. To give social or moral sanction to.5. To make productive of holiness or spiritual blessing.Oswald Chambers mentions that we

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-3776047295478991172007-10-21T01:54:00.000-04:002007-10-21T02:56:57.158-04:00

The following text was taken from Oswald Chambers daily devotional, "My Utmost for His Highest." Many of the posts on this blog find their beginnings in the work of this devotional.--------------------------------------------"The great enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ today is the idea of practical work that has no basis in the New Testament but comes from the systems of the world. This work

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-86270210897234356742007-10-15T00:52:00.000-04:002007-10-15T01:50:02.177-04:00

I have a great hope that the message in this post will be communicated effectively."Behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sins.""He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised, for our iniquities. The chastisement that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.""All we like sheep had gone astray, each of us had turned to our own way but God has laid upon Him the

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-8393550093163083322007-10-11T23:32:00.000-04:002007-10-12T00:18:47.486-04:00

I've felt ashamed lately how drastically different my reality is compared to the "Vision" that God has given me for my life, and possibly many other lives. It's beginning to hit me though. Something about my life...and my character needing to be built so that it can handle the reality of the vision.When God gives a vision, it serves as hope. I've lost sight of that lately. I've been asking

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-60649086807057502642007-08-22T01:12:00.000-04:002007-08-22T01:40:15.339-04:00

Matthew 11:28 - "Come to me, and I will give you rest."A somewhat elusive statement by Jesus. Not elusive because it's indirect or vague...but because it's difficult.How do I come to Jesus?What does he think of me? I haven't been doing well as of late...What if he turns me away?Why would he waste time on me?Things are such a mess, how did they get this bad?There's no hope for me, I'm too far

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-27412868667678268162007-08-19T13:40:00.000-04:002007-08-19T15:12:43.322-04:00

There was a moment when a rich young ruler came to Jesus Christ. This man had kept all of the commandments since his youth. Yet...Luke 18:22-23: When Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Come, follow Me."This man had done "nothing wrong" according to the law. What must it

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27717408.post-57161926586470498642007-08-17T00:38:00.001-04:002009-09-07T02:45:52.182-04:00

John 10:3 says "He calls us each by name, and we like sheep follow him...because we know his voice." This verse goes on to say that we do not follow him as a stranger.Sometimes I wonder whether I know God. I've been trying to "get life right" for about 8 years now, and I feel lost more than I thought I would at 28. The sheep analogy doesn't really make much sense at the moment...I'm not sure

willierockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529654011875583334noreply@blogger.com