Get Ready Children of God....

I will open rivers in desolate heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
Isaiah 41:18

Practice Hospitality

"Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." Romans 12:13

I love the holidays – especially Christmas – spending time with family and friends. It’s so much fun to get together with those you love. Laughing…Sharing…The warmth of a crackling fire...

But the real blessing comes when you are able to give to someone who’s in need. When you do, you are the one who receives the greater blessing. That’s God’s gift to those who give!

Watching an elderly lady beam with joy because someone decided to clean her home…
A young family is able to pay off a debt due to an anonymous financial gift…
A single mom gets a night off because someone offered to watch her kids…

These are definitions of true hospitality and it is the kind of giving that touches the heart of God.

When was the last time you reached out and touched someone?

Look around your neighborhood. Talk with the leaders of your church about needs within the congregation. Visit a local nursing facility or homeless shelter. Serve as a volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center. Call a friend. Smile at someone. There are millions of ways to practice hospitality. God wants to use you today!


Today's Prayer:
Dear Lord, Open my eyes and heart to people around me who are in need. Give me a desire to practice hospitality daily! Amen.

Food For Thought...

Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion. Proverbs 11:22 (NIV)

Beauty is abused by those who have no discretion or modesty with it.

Great lesson...take heed.

- Rev.

12 Days of Christmas

What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas???

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.-
-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.
-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

So there is your history lesson so....pass it on if you wish.

Merry Christmas Everyone

God's Conduit

'It is God who works in you.'Php 2:13 NKJV

A conduit is a channel through which things like water and electricity move from one point to another. And you are God's conduit! You are designed to be a free-flowing channel for Jesus Christ Himself. God has chosen you to be His 'change-agent' in the earth. In the Lord's Prayer the original Greek says, 'Come thy kingdom. Be done thy will'(Mt 6:10).

Jesus no longer walks among us physically, but He has given us His mandate and all the power we need to carry it out. In other words, it's going to happen through you.

In Deuteronomy 11:24 God promised His people that He'd give them every place on which they set the soles of their feet. We bring the influence and benefits of God's kingdom wherever we go. The problem is, our 'receivers' don't always work. It takes faith to believe we actually hear God's instructions, just as it takes faith to believe an unseen radio wave is passing through our living rooms. Because we're confident of that reality, we tune in, receive and transmit.

Scientists tell us that the greatest metal conduit is pure gold. According to the Bible, that's our faith (See 1 Pe 1:7). But certain obstacles can block our ability to receive and be conduits for God. If our hearts are hard, our wires are down, or if we're unaware of our identity as conduits, we go through life without tapping into the power God's given us.

We must be full of the Word of God, and most importantly, spend time in intimacy with the Lord in order to be God's conduit.

- Dina Dean (CEO4God)

Soul Winners

The Bible says: "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise." Proverbs 11:30 (NIV)

Imagine having a cure for cancer but refusing to share it, or saying, "I’m too busy." The gospel is only Good News if we are willing to share it and get it to those who want it.

Too many of us have become preoccupied with our material well-being. Instead of believing God for the salvation of our loved ones, we believe Him for mere houses, cars, vacations and our own self satisfaction. We quote that faith is the substance of things hoped for…(Heb 11:1). But the "things" we have in mind are material and temporal rather than the eternal things of that "better country."
(Heb 11:16)

We’re supposed to seek the kingdom of God first and foremost, and all these other "things" will be added to us. Let us put God’s kingdom ahead of our own.
(See Mt 6:33)

So…be wise and become a soul winner!

When Christmas Comes

Christmas is the best time of year
It is the day when we all cheer
There is nothing but happiness and fun
Just playing with your presents
all day in the sun.

Some people don't get presents because they are poor
But God will give them presents and even more
Have a good Christmas, and make it fun
Because Jesus' work has been done.

- Joshua F. Deckard


Poem was Published in the Excellence 2006 Poetry Collection by The American Library of Poetry.

Celebrate Life Without Excuses

I would never trade my loving family, my amazing friends and my wonderful life, for less gray hair or a flatter tummy....well....maybe. But anyway, as I have matured, I've become kinder and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra piece of chocolate cake or for not making my bed, or for buying that odd item that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde in my bedroom. After all, I AM entitled to a treat, and to be a little junky AND to be extravagant! :-)

I have seen too many sad people depart from this world much too soon and before they ever understood the great freedom that comes with growing up. Whose business is it if I choose to read or update my FaceBook page until the wee hours of the morning and sleep until....? I will sing out loud and dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 70's, 80's, 90's 2000's and if I choose to weep over a lost love, I will.

I may walk the beach in a 2PC swim suit and maybe skydive in my birthday suit if I choose to, despite the pitying and gasping glances. They, too, will get old.

I may sometimes be absent-minded but there again, some of life's challenges are worth forgetting. I eventually remember the most important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken and deeply wounded. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a parent dies, or even when somebody's beloved decides he or she decided to fall out of love with you. Sometimes broken hearts give us strength, understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile, and will never know the joys of being imperfect.

I am sooo blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn gray and to have my youthful chuckles be 4ever etched into the depths of my soul. So many have never laughed but have frowned - then perishes before their hair could even turn silver.

As you grow in age, it is easier to be blatantly positive. And, growing older means that you should know better and make good choices. Growing older should mean that you really should care less about what other people think. I question myself less and less now. I have even earned the right to be wrong a times. So, I'm human!

I love who I am and very comfortable with me. I am free to be me. I love the person I am evolving to be. I know that I'm not going to live forever, but while I am alive, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, should have been, might have been or worrying about what will be.

Life is short so, I can eat dessert every single day if I want to, and laugh until my face hurts if I need to.

For you I wish: THAT YOUR FRIENDSHIPS NEVER FALL APART, ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE DEEP FROM YOUR HEART!

MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE A RAINBOW OF SMILES ON YOUR FACE AND IN YOUR HEART FOREVER AND EVER!

- Be Happy

THE POWER OF AN IDEA

Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers.' Ecclesiastes 7:19


Thinking For A Change by John Maxwell says: 'The right thought, plus the right people, in the right environment, at the right time, for the right reason, always produces the right result.' Let us examine those words:

1) The right thought. Thinking produces ideas and ideas have power. But every idea begins as a 'seed thought' and you have to nurture it!

2) The right people. Every time you expose the right idea to the right people, incredible things happen. In their company it blossoms and becomes infused with possibility.

3) The right environment. In the right environment thinking is valued, ideas flow freely, fresh eyes are welcome, change is expected, questions are encouraged, egos are checked, ideas stimulate better ideas, and thinking generates teamwork.

4) The right time. The Emperor Hadrian said, 'To be right too soon, is to be wrong.' While still in the stretching stage of an idea, present it without expectations, time frames or rigidly defined goals. Why? Because if you try to implement your ideas too early they may not survive.

5) The right reason. J P Morgan said, 'A man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason.' Motives matter. Selfish motives disqualify us; God only gets behind ideas that fulfill His purposes and demonstrate that we care for others. Sometimes an idea becomes great when it partners with another one; other times it excels just as it is. One thing's for sure: as you stretch your thinking, you will discover that your thinking is stretching you.

HAVE A BLESSED HOLIDAY SEASON!!!!

- Rev

Sandbranch Water Drive

Sandbranch is a community located in Seagoville Texas (approximately 30 minutes from downtown Dallas). About 400 families settled into the community around the 1950's and now the remaining residence are approximately 45 families, the majority being Sr. Citizens.

Sandbranch has developed contaminants in their water supply over the years. The families that reside in this community are often without potable tap water, causing a great inconvenience of having to purchase water for the purpose of drinking and cooking to avoid risking their health.

Church of the Solid Rock and Pastor Deckard enjoys organizing these monthly water drives and would love to encircle more ministry partners and local organizations to join us in providing clean drinking water to the Sandbranch Community.

Please help support our water drive by joining us on the 3rd Saturdays of each month at Kroger on Camp Wisdom near Main street in Duncanville.  We'll meet between 9:30am -9:45 am then depart at 10am central standard time to caravan to Sandbranch.

If you are not able to join us, please send your donations to Church of the Solid Rock, P. O. Box 765038, Dallas TX 75376 or you may donate online at http://www.crock4christ.org/.

Sandbranch Water Drive

Sandbranch Water Drive
Saturday, November 20, 2009

Meet at Kroger
200 W Camp Wisdom Rd,

Duncanville TX

9:45am CST

We will depart from Kroger at 10 am and caravan to Sandbranch.

The water drive should take approximately 1 hour.

Church of the Solid Rock purchase water from Kroger because it’s less expensive. The water is packaged in 3-gallon cases which is easier to lift and load. You may purchase single gallons of water, bring them with you and meet us at Kroger on Camp Wisdom. You may also donate online at www.crock4christ.org and CSRock will purchase the water from Kroger then load & transport to Sandbranch. Some of the citizens from the SB Community form an assembly line to help unload the water and place in the community center. For those of you whom wish to join us but may have a handicap, don’t worry about heavy lifting, we work as a TEAM but most of all, we really enjoy the fellowship!

For more information, contact Rev. Deckard @ revdeckard@ymail.com

Hope you will join us!!!
www.crock4christ.org

Are U An Undercover Christian?

I was at a large convention recently where all the participants wore name tags around their necks. This is a really good idea; lets people know who you are and helps when you cannot remember names. Name tags also give us a visual aid when meeting people.

Name tags can also identify the company people work for and whom you are dealing with but, they only work when they are facing the right way. If they are turned around they become somewhat useless. I mean, why wear a name tag if no one is able to read it?

Don't forget to check and be sure the name tag is not twisted in the wrong direction? Maybe some Christians do not care if another knows their name. Maybe some Christians do not want anyone to know who other Christians are??? Could it be that some Christians are ashamed of who they are and the God (our Creator) that we really work for?

I have known Christians who want to keep their "identity" a secret for fear of offending another or not being "politically correct" (what does politics have to do with God's business?) Maybe some Christians are afraid of being stoned or ridiculed; for being imperfect or maybe even made to feel guilty for being a progressive child of God?? Maybe they are ashamed of the imperfect "things" in their lives or embarrassed to be seen as a Jesus follower? Perhaps they do not even realize they are hiding their true identity....not keeping it real???

Whatever the case, Jesus did not call us to live as "closeted" believers. The very act of coming out as a Christian is not done in secret - it involves confession from our lips and belief in our hearts...then we are baptised to a life of purity and set apart to live decent, honorable and righteous lives. Christians should serve as light in a very dark and evil world; always pointing towards Jesus, the Light of the world and not to the evil drafts that plague our Christian society.

WE cannot let Christianity be our "clean little secret" but

our open-never-ending-declaration of freedom in Christ Jesus!

All Christians deserve to live an open, happy, fulfilled and joyful life! So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36

Don't be an undercover or closeted Believer....LIVE OUT LOUD....and with responsibility!!!

But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Matthew 10:33

- Rev

Inspired by Elder ASD