Harbor Rock Tabernacle

 As the Early Church started to have influence, the religious leaders tried to suppress it but demanding that the disciples not talk about Jesus. The enemy uses these types of tactics--mocking, discrediting, demanding, stoking pride and offering alternatives--to try to stop us. But he can't overcome believers filled with the Spirit, and he can't dissuade those who have heard the truth and been cha...

 In the days following Pentecost, Peter and John had an interaction with a man who couldn't walk and was looking for financial assistance. But they knew that his real need was spiritual--hope that could only be found in trusting Jesus. They show great love for him by calling him to spiritual attention, and tell him that what he is really looking for in life will not be found in the material. But t...

 Acts 2 gives a powerful picture of the purpose, power, function and ideal of the Church. The standard it sets for us is simple but unusual, because it is based solely on the filling of the Holy Spirit, and believers taking a bold, public stand for the Lord and speaking God's Word without compromise. In a time when the Church wrestles with the inclination to reach people through strategies and con...

 When we study the disciples in Acts, it may seem hard to relate to them in a practical way, because their responses and circumstances are so exceptional. In these times of uncertainty, we may struggle to react with hope, confidence and power like they did. But in the time between Jesus' ascension and the Spirit coming, they faced great uncertainty--Jesus was gone, they were outcasts, and the Jews...

 We often quote the verse where Jesus tells His disciples to "deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow Me", but we may wonder why we need to do that, when we have already seen saved, transformed and filled with the Holy Spirit. By connecting it to His death and resurrection, Jesus is calling us to the proof of our confession--a verification that we accept Him as Lord of our lives. Denyin...

One of the great challenges of walking by faith is whether we are willing to confidently trust the Lord's plans and leading with contentment, by yielding our own plans. We want to believe the concept that if we had everything go exactly as we wanted, we would be satisfied. But not only does that never happen, it is also a misguided thought. The wise men and Joseph & Mary both faced a sudden ch...

 All throughout the Christmas account, we see the variety of reactions and expectations that people have about Jesus. Some want Him to be a warrior who does everything for them without any personal obligation. Others want a politician, who will negotiate everything without any personal responsibility. Many want an appeaser, who just excuses their sin without any personal accountability. But Jesus...

 All throughout history, people have been looking for a way to be saved and accepted by God. Because Jesus said He is the only One Who can save us, He is either a delusional fraud or He is our only hope. But even in the Christmas account and throughout His life, it is clear that mankind has a propensity to look for other options to shape Jesus into what we want. Some see Him as a warrior, others a...

 The amazing reality of the Incarnation is that the Son of God came here as a Baby. Jesus' birth shows the value of life, and God's offer of new life to all people. From a physical standpoint, His birth proves that unborn life is precious to the Lord, which is a stark contrast to the indifferent destruction of babies. From a spiritual standpoint, it shows that every soul is precious to Him. In res...

 Everything in the Christmas account points toward the message of salvation and hope. This has been established since the beginning of history, as God has given man a clear message of man's sin and His willingness to save us. During a time when Judah was spiritually cold and facing deserved discipline, the prophet Isaiah gave a message of hope. He previewed that the Lord would provide a Saviour, W...

Research shows that Christians are less engaged in their faith and practice than ever. This affects church attendance, giving, and telling others about the Good News of Jesus Christ. This apathy is a contrast to the people who first met Jesus. They immediately told others to "come and see" Jesus for themselves. Doing so changed their lives...and it calls us to analyze the extent to which we have l...

 When Israel complained yet another time in the wilderness, the Lord gave them what they wanted...but with a cost. In contrast to all the people standing in their tents complaining, He told Moses to gather 70 consecrated men to His Tent of Meeting, where He put His Spirit on them. He responded to Moses' self-sufficient thoughts by asking, "Is My power limited?". This was a call to an intrepid fait...

 The call to sacrifice is central to our faith and discipleship, and a powerful expression of trust in the Lord's provision and obedience to Him. Sacrifice is not to get, but to give back to the Lord, and when our hearts are stirred, giving is the natural response. In Exodus 35, the people brought a variety of offerings to finish the work of the Tabernacle. Their gifts weren't equal, but their sac...

When Israel constructed the Tabernacle according to God's specifications, everyone worked to make it happen. Led by two Spirit-filled men named Bezalel and Oholiab, they al  used their gifts and skills to assemble at least 42 components needed for the place where the Lord would come and abide with them. This is a parallel of the ministry of the Church, where believers are called to always be prepa...

Sacrifice is inherent to the life of a believer--not only because we have been redeemed by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, but also because we are called to surrender our lives to Him in response.  Ephesians 5 tells us to be "imitators of Christ", and nowhere will that be more evidenced than by walking in love.  This isn't just about being kind and gracious.  It becomes powerfully real when it is p...

Because salvation is completely based on the amazing sacrifice Christ made, there is a risk that believers will take it for granted and become somewhat ungrateful and fall back in our praise. Hebrews calls us to continually offer a sacrifice of praise...and it does require sacrifice on our part. It begins with being humbled, which Pastor Rhoads personally details from a recent trip to Utah. Experi...

The author of Hebrews addressed the problem of Jews who had been delivered from their sin but were falling back into their old ways. Any believer can be inclined to just go with the flow, becoming dull of hearing God's Word and then careless spiritually. When we allow our hearts to be hardened and insensitive, it makes us sluggish and even embarrassed to mature in our walk. So it is vital to be di...

It's easy to compartmentalize prayer into requests for help and what we need, or interceding for someone. But there is much more--the gift of being able to abide in God's presence. For the Jewish audience in Hebrews, that was an unfamiliar concept, because the Holy of Holies had only been accessible to the High Priest once a year on the Day of Atonement. But Jesus changed that, opening up the veil...

It is an awesome fact that God has offered every person eternal salvation through Jesus Christ. When we trust in Him, our sins are completely forgiven and cleansed. From that moment on, we are made holy, indwelt by His Holy Spirit, and given us a holy calling to be a holy sacrifice to our Lord. So holiness is the believer's daily standard, and we need a fresh resolve to be zealous about pursuing p...

The Lord has made Himself known through creation, through His actions and especially through Jesus Christ. So as we ask Him to "shake" us out of fear and spiritual apathy, the first place to be stirred to action is to know Him more fully, and be filled with wisdom and understanding. During a time of widespread confusion and lack of logic, Proverbs says that wisdom cries out to be heard and used to...

As we live in these Last Days, the Spirit is calling believers to hear His voice, and be stirred to be bold for Him. But for that to happen, we must first be shaken. The temptation will be to be shaken by how the world is raging against Jesus Christ, similar to what the disciples experienced in Acts 4. But God is in control and Christ has already won victory over the world, so believers need to fi...

Just as insecurity can do internal damage, it can also be a weapon that harms our relationships--with the Lord and others. King Saul continuously made bad decisions but passed the blame, hurting the nation and even his own family, Looking at the second half of his life brings out five important spiritual principles about obedience. When we trust the Lord fully and do what He says, we will be humbl...

With the uncertainty, stress and fear in the world, it is easy to think that there is nothing more important than life here on earth. But a believer in Jesus Christ has eternity secured in heaven, which means this is not our home. Our citizenship is in heaven, so in Colossians 3, the apostle Paul urges us to keep seeking what is from above. This means to direct our minds toward Who and what we lov...

In our battle with insecurity, there are times when our self-focus and weakness become internal weapons that damage our life and relationships. King Saul fell into this trap. Rather than finding confidence and strength in the promise of God to bless him as a leader, Saul hid from the responsibility and made a series of bad decisions. His impatience and impulsiveness revealed that he was working in...

Even to the disciples, and especially Peter, Jesus confronted the self-focus and self- sufficiency that triggers insecurity…but He also worked to transform their thinking. He does the same with us to fill us with His strength and confidence, because insecurity strips us of spiritual power. 35 years after Jesus' resurrection, Peter affirms that the Lord has generously given believers "everything we...