Kurt Steinbrueck
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The Rock

    The Rock

    “Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.” – Psalm 95:1

    Do you like building sandcastles?

    For a Floridian, I don’t go to the beach all that much. However, there is one thing I’ve noticed over the years when I’ve gone to beaches that have both sand and large rocks.

    Sand Shifts – Every time I go, the things in the sand are different.  Sandcastles and dunes are there one time and gone the next. Similarly, if you’re a boater, you know that boating lanes have to be dredged from time to time or they get filled in. Water, wind, people, and animals all shift the sand. In fact, sand shifts so easily, that it’s hard to run or walk in the sand because the act of walking shifts the sand.

    Rocks Stay Put – What doesn’t change about the beach is where the large rocks are. Unless someone has come along with a bulldozer or some big equipment, the rocks will be there in the same place every time I go to the beach. When you walk or run on a big rock, it doesn’t shift at all.

    God is the Rock of our salvation.

    Our salvation isn’t shifting around like sand. It isn’t changed by our walking around through our lives. It isn’t changed by outside influences, like time, other people, the devil, or death. It isn’t even shifting by the ebb and flow of our trust in God or our righteous works or sin.

    Why?

    God is the foundation of our salvation…not us and not anything of the world.

    You are saved by grace.

    The only thing that can affect our salvation is if we reject our salvation. In other words, if we jump off the rock, we are no longer standing on the rock.

    God is a sure foundation.

    So, we don’t need to worry. We can have great joy. God has saved us through Jesus Christ! So, let us sing for joy whether our faith feels strong or weak, whether we just did something righteous or sinful, whether our life is going the way we wish or we are struggling. For God and our salvation have not changed.

    Heavenly Father,

    You sought me while I was a sinner and pulled me out of my sinful death. You have given me new life and set my foot upon the rock. You do not shift like the sands. You are my rock. You are my salvation. 

    Amen.

    I hope you’ll join me in singing for Joy to the Lord tomorrow at church (11am). See you there!

    In Christ’s Service,

    Pastor Kurt

    PS – There’s a song I’ve enjoyed for a long time that fits this devotion perfectly. It’s called “Shifting Sand” and is by Caedmon’s Call. Enjoy!