Jehu Hernandez

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, I'd like to explore an unusual subject: finding thankfulness in the midst of suffering. This might seem odd, but Christianity has a different perspective on suffering that can astonish many. Embracing Thankfulness  Traditionally, as we navigate through the month of November, we often use each day to express thankfulness for various aspects of our lives, ranging from family to health and careers. But, as Christians, we go beyond the norm and find ourselves thankful for rather unusual things—grace, for instance. We are grateful for God's grace and how it instills in us a sense of liberation from our sins. But there's another element, quite peculiar, that we appreciate—suffering. A Christian Perspective on Suffering The notion of being thankful for suffering may sound worrisome. Yet, as followers of Christ, we trust that our trials and tribulations serve a purpose. Every pain, every emotional turmoil, offers an opportunity for spiritual...

November 13, 1989. 11:30 AM I had just finished my lunch in the teacher's workroom and was walking back to my classroom. I was teaching at San Jacinto Elementary in San Angelo, Texas at the time. Up until then, it had been a typical November day. As I walked past the school office, the door swung open, and a fellow teacher stepped out with a look of concern on her face. She spoke directly to me and said, “Your wife’s on the phone, and it sounds serious.” I ran into the office, took the phone, and heard my wife say, “I don’t know what happened, but your brother is on life support in a hospital in Austin.”  Twelve hours later, my father and I were sharing a room in a hotel on I-35 in Austin. My sister-in-law, Sandy, and her six-year-old daughter, Araceli, were in a room across the hall. I hardly slept that night. I would doze off and suddenly wake up to my father crying and calling out my brother’s name.  My brother was dead. Osiel had collapsed that morning while his h...

John grew up and became strong in spirit. -John 1:80 John the Baptist was an interesting man: a bit eccentric as evidenced by his appearance and his diet, and not afraid to tell the truth. Jesus referred to him as a truly great man. That he was. But one of the things that first gets my attention was that as a child, he became strong in spirit. Strong in spirit refers to being resolute and principled. It describes a person whose character is being molded and refined by learning to trust in God during life's difficulties. It speaks of someone who's not easily swayed by popular culture or opinion but who lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. My children aren't children anymore but I still want them to become strong in spirit because I know they frequently face difficult and painful situations. In their trials, I want them to remember that being strong is spirit is only possible when our lives are deeply rooted in Christ and when we learn to live in the ...

This past weekend, my family and I had an opportunity to travel to San Antonio for a quick two-day get-away. We ate together, watched a Broadway musical, and laughed a lot! We had other extended family members and a very good friend with us, so the fun and excitement was maximized. Friday night, we all ate at Pappasitos to celebrate Bethany's birthday. The food was great, and the conversation was almost continually amusing. As I sat and watched our four children and their cousins talk and laugh, I felt such a strong measure of peace and joy to know that they all love each other and enjoy each other. There have been times in our family (as in every family, I'm sure) when our children have been at odds with each other and have not enjoyed each other's company. That always breaks my heart more than they know. It doesn't happen very often, but even once is too often. These are not my children. Just some people laughing. As I observed them laughing and enjoying the e...

This morning, we began a new series at Solid Rock Church titled "Lord, Bless my Family!" I believe that's a prayer that comes from deep within the hearts of many people. Many families are hurting and need an Divine intervention. That's what I'm praying will happen during this series.  We've been without a living room TV for a few months now. We watched the TV in  Ryan's bedroom for awhile, but now that one's also gone (to Trinity). I miss watching college football and other sports but it hasn't been the end of the world. So It's been four weeks since we dropped Ryan off at Trinity University . It sure has been a long four weeks! I'm still getting used to not having him around here. I don't really like it but it's getting better. I'm looking forward to a great week of ministry, teaching (school), sermon prep, organizing, planning,  and cleaning. I pray you all have a great week, too!

What a great day we had at Solid Rock today! Today was the first day in a new location for us. We are now meeting at Cornerstone Christian School for our Sunday morning service. (We will continue to meet at our Koberlin location on Wednesdays.) This move will allow us more room for growth as we look ahead to the opportunity to reach more of our friends and family to Christ. We don't know how long we'll be at Cornerstone but we're committed to following the Lord wherever He leads us. It wasn't easy deciding to make this move because it means we will all have to work harder to set up and tear down each Sunday, along with all the other challenges that come with being a portable church. It definitely would have been more convenient to maintain the status quo. We could have just stayed in our small building where everything is already set up and where we have more comfortable chairs and...well, you get the picture. But our desire is truly to position ourselves to reach...

I’ve been thinking about this past Sunday’s sermon at Solid Rock Church. My brother, Benjy, spoke on the story of the Prodigal Son. He reminded us that it is really the story of the Loving Father. It never ceases to amaze me how loving the Father really was to his son, and how different (read unloving) we are when the prodigals in our lives come home. The Father had every reason to be angry with his son for wasting his money in wild living, but he met him only with love and restoration. Why are we so afraid to show unconditional love to our prodigals? Why do we find it so hard to forgive them? Why can’t we restore our relationship with them without first having them pay the price for their wrongs? When did God ever treat us the way we treat our prodigals? Never! Yes, it’s true that God will not be mocked, but that’s for Him to settle. Our part is to be loving and forgiving. That doesn’t mean we minimize the sin, but it does mean that we offer our love, forgiveness, and restora...

I love new beginnings. I love the beginning of a new month, the start of a new year school, the beginning of a new sports season--all these beginnings come with a clean slate and new hope for success. That's why I believe this time of the year is a great time to do some recalibrating and some serious planning. For most of us, setting new goals for 2012 will probably involve addressing finances and health/exercise. Those are definitely two important categories that should not be left to chance. It's a good idea to determine to get our financial house in order and to actually institute some action steps toward that end. Same thing with our health. We must begin a plan for healthy eating and regular exercise. But an area that is often overlooked when people set their goals at the beginning of a new year is the area of personal development. To me, personal growth is about learning and developing skills for success in life. Regardless of our age, we must all determine to keep g...

Christmas is a beautiful time of year, isn't it? Why is it, then, that many people face a tremendous amount of stress that keeps them from truly enjoying this season? Christmas should be a time of learning to rest in the Lord. It should be a season of embracing all that Jesus came to give us: our salvation, abundant life and eternal life, and the promise of eternity with Jesus. But when we spend the Christmas season worried about shopping, parties, an over-emphasis on food, and the whole man-made ambience of Christmas, we begin to gravitate toward stress and anxiety. Let me just encourage you to stay focused on Jesus this Christmas season. One of the most obvious ways to do this is to be in church every week worshiping Jesus. Plan to be in church on Christmas Eve as part of your family's Christmas celebration. That should be a no-brainer! Christmas is about Jesus, not just about family! But don't wait until Christmas Eve to go to church. Be regular in attendance. Quie...

My wife and I just returned from one of the most restful and relaxing trips we've ever taken. We spent a weekend in Orlando FL (combination business and pleasure) and then a five day cruise to the Bahamas. Priceless! It was great being back at Solid Rock after missing last Sunday's service. I truly love worshiping with our church family. I've been teaching a series since July titled Grounded and Growing. It's been a fascinating look at 1 Thessalonians. Next Sunday will be the last week of this series. Next Sunday is National Back to Church Sunday . Do you know a church dropout? Bring them with you to church this coming Sunday. Have a great week!

It's hard to believe we're about to start the last week of July. Where has summer gone? I always seem to convince myself that I'll use summer to catch up on projects at home as well as at the church, but it doesn't always work out that way. Still, it's been a rewarding summer on both fronts. We're about to take our youth to youth camp where they will spend a week of concentrated focus on seeking God. Truly life-changing! Then the following week, we'll have our annual MEGA Sports Camp. That's always a fun-filled week of sports instruction and solid Bible teaching. After the MEGA Sports Camp, it'll be time to give our attention to back-to-school preparation! In the midst of this roller coaster we call life, it's good to slow down and reflect on these words: Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. (Psalm 39:4) and these: Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a hea...

Many people like to take advantage of a new start to make resolutions and set goals at the beginning of the year. Personally, I think that's smart. We become what we're committed to. I think we should use this time of year to evaluate our spiritual life and decide that we're going to to grow spiritually. That is probably the biggest resolution we can make. But as we all know, it's not easy to persevere through all the obstacles that daily living brings. That's why I really appreciate the book of Hebrews, which has a recurring theme of "don't give up, continue to move forward". Hebrews warns us not drift, slip, or shrink back in our spiritual walk. That's a serious warning because if we're not moving forward, we're falling back. In other, words, there's no standing still with God. Make a determination that 2011 will be a year of spiritual growth for you.

When I first started using Twitter, my wife said that Twitter sounded like a cult because I was trying to get people to follow me. Well, I'm still looking for followers, but in a very different platform. My family and friends know that I love using YouVersion . For those of those of you who may not know, YouVersion is an online Bible with many outstanding features. One of my favorite ones is the ability to interact with other YouVersion users around the Scriptures. Any YouVersion user can contribute a comment, a devotional thought, or a link to a song or video pertaining to a verse or passage of Scripture. The neat thing is that you can follow other users and be notified when they make a contribution. This allows for social and spiritual interaction around the Word of God. I find this very exciting! So if you find yourself spending a lot of time on Facebook or Twitter, why not redirect some of that time to a more useful interaction around the Bible. Create a free account today a...

I finally got back home last night after having to spend a few extra days in San Antonio after arriving from Nicaragua. I haven't had much time to rest, but I'm still very excited about my trip. While in Nicaragua, we spent much of our time in Esquipulas, where Missionary Nathan Alfaro is planting a church. In fact, he's actually planting two churches, Casa de Mi Gloria in Managua, and Casa de Mi Gloria-Esquipulas. The church plant in Esquipulas is being planted by way of a six-week (or perhaps longer) crusade. Services are being held every night of the week, except for Monday. The missionary-evangelist for this crusade is Dr. Doyle Jones . He is preaching every service of the crusade! I had a great time in Nicaragua. We've partnered with Missionaries Nathan and Christine Alfaro for many years, now, but after visiting Nicaragua, I understand why they love that country so much. I've learned to love them, too, after spending a week there. I especially enjoyed going ou...

What a great day we had today at Solid Rock Church! Good things always happen when we come together to worship God. It was great having my wife in church today. She's been gone most of the summer (since late May) tending to her mom. She's been missed at home and at church. Spoke about Prayer Prompts in tonight's service. We're prompted often to pray by the Holy Spirit but we've learned to fight off the prompts. I hope tonight's teaching helps us to recognize and respond to these prayer prompts. Taking a quick trip to Maypearl TX tomorrow to take our youth to youth camp. We're praying for God to do great things. You can follow the youth camp here . I'm going to Nicaragua this Wednesday with a group from Bethel AG. We'll be doing some street ministry in conjunction with a crusade led by Doyle Jones and Missionary Nathan Alfaro. Keep us in your prayers. Have a great week!

There are several excellent online Bibles available but my favorite, without a doubt, is YouVersion . YouVersion is an online Bible, but it's really much, much more. It allows individuals to contribute their thoughts on the Scriptures. It allows for community interaction around the Scriptures. It provides several reading plans which can be read and tracked on the web and on a mobile device simultaneously. It provides a way for churches or Bible study groups to follow the message outlines and Scripture readings live on their mobile devices. It truly is an amazing resource! My smartphone of choice is the Palm Pre. YouVersion has an excellent app for the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi that allows access to the same features on the smartphone that are available on the YouVersion website. Of course, YouVersion has excellent apps for the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, and Android phones, but it's the Palm YouVersion app that I want to feature. Here's why: Currently, P...

I read this shocking post on Dr. Albert Mohler's blog. The news out of Sarasota, Florida caught many people by surprise. A doctor in the city has lost his license because he aborted what is now described as the “wrong” baby. Back in 2006, Dr. Matthew Kachinas had been asked to perform an abortion on a baby that had been identified as having Down syndrome and other congenital defects. Instead, the doctor aborted that baby’s healthy twin. Sadly, I surprised myself by responding to the fact that the doctor had aborted the wrong baby. Then I realized, "Wait a minute--even if it had been the "right" baby, it's still wrong!" Click here to read the rest of the post.

We had a great day at Solid Rock today! The weather was beautiful, and the service was powerful. Today, we started a new sermon series based on Max Lucado's latest book, FEARLESS . It's going to be a great series! We're having a five-week Wednesday night Bible study starting this week as a part of the the FEARLESS series. Every Wednesday, we'll follow up on the previous Sunday's sermons in a little more detail. Combined with some fellowship time, Wednesdays are going to be great during the FEARLESS series. I've really loved reading all the reports on Twitter and Facebook about the great Easter services at churches all over the country. To God be the glory! By the way, we're celebrating the Resurrection again next Sunday! Have a great week, Rockies! See you Wednesday at the FEARLESS Bible Study.

I read an interesting verse in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians: Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. (1 Cor, 1:11) The prayers of many --what a powerful phrase! I want to encourage you to continue to join together in prayer for our Easter service this weekend. We need the prayers of many in order to see the great things that God wants to do! Be one of the many!

Without a doubt, Easter is my favorite celebration! I love to preach about the cross and the resurrection. And I love to sing songs about the cross and the resurrection. I love to celebrate the fact that because Jesus conquered death, it validated everything He taught and did. And because he conquered death, my future is always bright! Another reason I love Easter is because it gives us as a church a HUGE opportunity to reach out the unchurched. Many people who don't attend church regularly are open to an invitation to go to church on Easter because...well, because it's Easter, and they have a sense that it's a day to go to church even if they don't know exactly why. I believe we are being negligent if we don't take advantage of this opportunity to invite people to church on Easter! Who are you inviting to Solid Rock Church for Easter?