Steve Sanchez - Stone The Preacher

️ The Poke-in-the-Eye Devotional for 1/1/24

Jan 1, 2024Steve SanchezPoke-in-the-Eye DevotionalsBible Reading Everyday, Poke in the eye devotionals

LET’S READ THRU THE BIBLE AGAIN IN 2024!

What’s your daily devotional plan? Here’s mine:

I’m reading through the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Psalms twice, and Proverbs, using The One Year Bible. To do this, I must get up earlier.

I’ve made this commitment over the last several years: “No read, no feed. No Bible, no breakfast.”

The One Year Bibles are divided into 4 daily readings: Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms & Proverbs.

This is how long it will take per day to read the New Testament: 6 minutes.

Here We Stand!

Oct 31, 2023Steve SanchezSpecial DaysHalloween, martin luther, Reformation Day

HERE WE STAND, 506 YEARS LATER!

A wall poster read: “Do you seriously think God can’t use you?”

Then it listed a whole lot of people from the Bible who no one would ever think could be used for the furtherance of God’s Kingdom.

• Noah was a drunk.
• Abraham was too old.
• Jacob was a liar.
• Samson was a womanizer.
• Rahab was a prostitute.
• Elijah was suicidal.
• Lazarus was dead.

God also used a crazy man in the 16th century who was rude, crude…and a Jew hater. He was also a worry wart, always thinking God was going to strike him dead for his sin.

His name was Martin Luther and the reason you are a Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Pentecostal or even a non-denominational believer is because of what he did on Oct. 31, 1517, commonly called the Protestant Reformation.

It’s been 506 years since the day faith in God was RE-formed. We celebrate our independence from hierarchical religion and cherish the truth that we can come to God on our own, by faith, through his Son Jesus Christ.

Though this truth has always been with us, it was hidden for centuries. What Martin Luther did changed the direction of Christianity forever—all because God used this one man.
Every Christian should celebrate October 31, the third greatest Holy Day of the year after Christmas and Easter: Reformation Day.

Moving On Again in 2023

Jul 28, 2023Steve SanchezCommunity Church of the Hillscch, church, community church of the hills, Farewell

I TENDERED MY RESIGNATION at Community Church of the Hills after eight years of fruitful labor. When I got there in 2015, the Elders told me that they were two weeks away from shutting their doors permanently. As I leave in 2023, the fellowship has the largest attendance ever in over a decade with record

How to Read the Boring Parts of the Bible

Jul 8, 2023Steve SanchezBible Reading Everyday, Pastor's P.O.V.GENEALOGIES

A MINISTRY LEADER WAS CAUGHT OFF GUARD when a pastor asked her to do a reading of Scripture before the church service started. That’s all. “Just a simple reading before he preached—no commentary, no embellishments, just read it and take my seat,” said the writer for Christianity Today. “Why my sudden crisis of confidence? The text was Luke 3:23–38, the genealogy of Jesus, composed of 77 tongue-twisting names, requiring a solid two and a half minutes to read aloud from start to finish.

“The pastor, a dear friend, noted the look on my face and asked, ‘Is it weird to read that before I preach?’ Everything in me knew I should say no, but I wanted to yell, ‘Yes! I’m just going to read these endless names and wander back to my seat in the awkward ensuing silence?’”

I can relate. Though I haven’t yet read any genealogies to my congregation, I do have to slog through them in my daily reading of the bible. I just started 1 Chronicles in the Old Testament. There before me are nine chapters of names I’m not familiar with—nine chapters!!! Here’s how to do it: Skim.

Now before you call me a slacker, a cheat, or a lazy Bible reader, please know that I’ve read through these names word-for-word at least once in the twenty-plus times I’ve read through the Old Testament. You need to as well. Why?

June is now FIDELITY MONTH!

Jun 4, 2023Steve SanchezSpecial DaysFidelity Month, June

I think we can all agree that America is no longer one nation under God, indivisible.

Not since the 60’s has there been such a cultural divide with everyone insisting that they are right with no compromise and no middle ground.

Jesus called us to “Love our neighbors as ourselves,” which is the second greatest Commandment, but that seems impossible, an old-fashioned idea. “That’s a nice idea, Jesus, but really?”

Wait a minute. Jesus was saying this to the crowds who gathered around him, so, these concepts are not passé. Neither was this: “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also” (Luke 6:27-29).

We have become an irreligious, irreverent society, soon to become irrelevant. According to a Wall Street Journal article from March, patriotism, religion, and community involvement are disappearing faster than the Eastern Lowland Gorilla.

• They found that just 38% of Americans believe patriotism is “very important” to them, down from 70% who said the same thing in 1998.
• How important is religion? 39% of Americans said it was important, while in 1998, 62% believed that.
• 69% believed raising kids was “very important” in 1998. Today: 30%.
• Only 27% believed community involvement was important, when in 1998, 62% believed it was.
• How about tolerance? 58% believe that is important. But just four years ago, 80% did.

Concerned yet? That’s why it is encouraging to know that Dr. Robert George “by the authority vested in me by absolutely no one…have declared June to be “Fidelity Month”—a month dedicated to the importance of fidelity to God, spouses and families, and our country and communities.” (FidelityMonth.com)