
EXCERPT FROM CATALOG Maybe you've heard this before...Jesus is the rock. But what does it really mean? And what does it mean to you personally? I was fifteen when I went from being a flat-out atheist to a sold-out believer. And, trust me, my life did a complete 180 turn around, but I didn't have a clue as to what my next move should be. As far as the Bible went, I didn't know First Chronicles from First Corinthians, and being in a church felt like being in a foreign country with a whole new language to go with it. In other words, although I was found, I was feeling pretty lost. But one of the very first things I learned, as a new believer, was that Jesus was not simply my new best friend, but that he was my Rock as well. And I needed a Rock. I needed Someone I could lean and rely on, Someone strong and steady and immovable and sturdy. Someone I could build my life on and who would never wimp out on me. I needed a rock—and that Rock was Jesus. As the years passed, I got more comfortable with the Bible and the church and things like praying and worshiping. And after a lot of years, I got almost too comfortable. I knew a lot of the Bible by heart, I was teaching Bible studies, and I spoke nearly perfect "Christianese." Consequently, I began to take spiritual things a little for granted—and this bothered me—in fact, it bothered me a lot. So, what did I do? I went back to the Rock. Instead of trying to "become smarter" or trying to become "theological" and understand "more of the Bible" I decided to go back to Jesus (the rock) and I got myself a redlined Bible (the kind where Jesus' words are in red font color) and I only let myself read the redlines—just the words from the rock. And, man, was I blessed. That's my whole point of this devotional—I want to share Jesus' words with you. I want to share verses that have changed and strengthened my life and I hope will do the same for you. All scriptures used in this devotional are quotes from Jesus—words from the rock—and believe me, they totally rock!
Author

Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books, several of them Christmas novellas from Revell, including her much-loved and bestselling book, The Christmas Bus. She also writes many teen books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, the TrueColors series, and the Carter House Girls series. Melody was nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books, including the Notes from a Spinning Planet series and Finding Alice, which is in production as a Lifetime Television movie. She and her husband serve on the Young Life adult committee in central Oregon.