MARC HOSCH

Author’s Note: I write this not to prove how holy or righteous I am or to preach. If anything, I write this for my own benefit because I need Jesus every hour of every day. I need the gospel just as much as the next person. I pray you are edified. The Beatitudes have always resonated with me. Even in my elementary school days, I would read those words of Christ in the Gospel of Matthew, and there was always a sense of mystification. I was not mystified in the way of, “I don’t understand it”, but I was mystified in how awe-inspiring it was and the urgency I felt when reading those words. It was if someone whispered into my ear: “Read this, now. This is life .” As I have grown, the Beatitudes have not lost their wonder. If anything, the wonder has grown in breadth and depth. Unfortunately, in the world we live in, the Beatitudes have been turned into whimsical greeting card poetry, a few pithy sayings uttered by a wise man so long ago. To be frank, this humanistic view robs that pass...

I've often heard the fact that the head and heart are only inches apart. Sometimes, though, it seems a mile wide in terms of knowing what you must do, but feeling the opposite. Even as Christians, I think this struggle is all the more real. “Break Me (Glory Be)” by Marc Hosch Break me, mold me. Shape me into who You want me to be. Lazy is not who or what I want to be in life for You. Break me. My head and my heart Are only eighteen inches apart. But sometimes, the distance seems a mile wide. Lord, as I seek and I pray, Don’t ever stop showing me the way To true life everlasting in which You abide. Rebuke me, correct me. Refute me even if angry because You love. Refusing Your shepherd’s call is the last thing I want to do. Rebuke me. My head and my heart Are only eighteen inches apart. But sometimes, the distance seems a mile wide. Lord, as I seek and I pray, Don’t ever stop showing me the way To true life everlasting in which You abide. Instruct me, guid...

Do you ever feel that in your local church, you are fine, but it is other people who have… problems? Yes, in our head, we know that we are all sinners and we recognize the baggage that comes with that condition as it is laid out in Romans 3:23. Because of our sin and the blind spots that come with it, however, it is easy for our hearts to deceive us and make us wonder if we really have to put up with [insert name of annoying man, woman, or couple here]. In his letter to the Church in Ephesus, Paul seems to address this quandary, devoting part of Ephesians as a clarion call, its thesis statement being found in Ephesians 4:2 – “with all humility and gentleness, bearing with one another in love…” But let us put “bearing with one another” in the context of Ephesians 4:1-16 and how it benefits not just the individual, but the local church we are part of. Right below is a link to the passage courtesy of Blue Letter Bible to read alongside this post. https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/eph...

Last Summer, my church went through a sermon series in the Book of Nehemiah. One Sunday, we were covering Nehemiah 6 and this one verse set my mind on fire. Nehemiah 6:9 – For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from work and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands. It led to what you will read below. “Strengthen Me, O God” by Marc Hosch But now, O God, strengthen my hands. Whether I may be lifting sacks of grain, Taking a hammer to the nail, holding a child’s hand, Or turning the pages of Your Scripture. Strengthen my hands. Strengthen me, O God. But now, O God, strengthen my mind. Whether I be waking up with the sun, Laying down at dusk, talking with a friend, Or facing an enemy of any kind. Strengthen my mind. Strengthen me, O God. But now, O God, strengthen my heart. Whether darkness looms or run and hides, Grieving or rejoicing, reflecting or retreating, Or simply praising You with every beat. Strengthen ...

I post this knowing no lines, turns of phrases, or verse structure can come close to addressing the outrage and sorrow over not just the murder of George Floyd, but many things that have been happening over the past years. I post this with humility, realizing I am one voice in a multitude of people trying to make themselves heard above the noise. Lastly, I post this knowing that the ultimate reconciliation for all of mankind is found by all of us at the foot of the cross. “Must Be Nice” by Marc Hosch It must be nice to be of a certain hue Where no one will automatically question you Or wonder if you’re there for bad or good In the nicer, greener, richer part of the neighborhood. It must be nice to never have to question If the way you’re styled or dressed will gain attention, Causing people to whisper, “Look over there,” As they try not to point out your curious hair. It must be nice to be covered in a certain skin And hate yourself over what you have been given, Bo...

Author’s Note: I write this not to prove how holy or righteous I am, or to preach. If anything, I write this for my own benefit because I need Jesus every hour of every day. I need the gospel just as much as the next person. I pray you are edified. PSALM 1 1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight in in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but like chaff the winds drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. For many who grew up in the Church as recently as the late-1980s and throughout the 1990s, there was a Call to Worship...

This blog has been five years in the making. I started this blog in its original format for an online class I took in Spring 2015. After that, I let this blog sit. Then sit. Then sit. Then sit some more until I realized I need to do something with this platform or pull the plug completely. So a little about me. I am a Christian, a sinner saved by grace undeserved. I have been fortunate to have been raised in a Christian family and raised in the Church with all her glories and foibles. I first and foremost am a Christian, but if you wanted me to be specific, on a doctrinal/theological level, I would classify myself as a Baptist. Yes, I know the Baptist jokes. I say some of them myself because some of them are true! If you can't laugh at yourself, do you really take yourself seriously? I am Californian, born and raised. I have lived in Chino, California, since I was born. I graduated California State University San Bernardino (aka: Cal State San Bernardino) with a Bachelor of Arts in...