Jehu Hernandez

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...