Friday, January 23, 2015

THE SURE FOUNDATION FOR OUR TIME AND FOR ALL TIMES



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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He will fill Zion with His justice and righteousness. He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.

Isaiah 33:5-6

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

How do you feel in life right now?

Do you feel like you are standing on solid or shaky ground?

What would you say if I told you that you could always be standing on solid ground no matter what life brought your way, in good times and in bad?

Well, today I am coming to you to say just that and I’m not coming based on my opinion or the opinion of another. No, I am speaking to you with an authority that can only be found through the powerful, holy word of God. Look again at our verses for today and later I will share even more with you:

The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He will fill Zion with His justice and righteousness. He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure. Isaiah 33:5-6

The people of Israel could certainly relate to life having ups and downs for it defined the lives they lived. As we look at present day Israel, it’s still happening. But through those highs and lows, through the uncertainties that hardship can bring, there was always one constant: the Lord God Almighty, the sure foundation the Israelites could always stand upon.

This God was not like the false, impotent gods of their enemies. No, this God, THE God dwelled (and still dwells) on high, exalted and in authority over all creation. His justice is always right because He is perfectly righteous and is always striving to lead His people to behave the same. In this Lord God Almighty, the sure foundation, the Israelites found deliverance and salvation as well as wisdom and knowledge. To them, the Lord was their treasure and the key to them feeling that way was a deep rooted reverence for all that God was to them.

There were other places in the word of the Lord where we read of His foundational importance in creation and in the lives of people who existed within it. Look at these verses:

In the beginning, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. Psalm 102:25

The foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; on them He has set the world. 1 Samuel 2:8

He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. Psalm 104:5

By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations. Proverbs 3:19a

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. Psalm 89:14

Yes, the people of Israel were God’s people and He was their sure foundation. The words from the Old Testament scriptures proclaim this and as we move to the New Testament, we find that God had fixations of ensuring all people, Jews and Gentiles, would have a solid foundation to build upon. He, the God of salvation, sent His only Son Jesus who would be known, among many things, as the stone the builders rejected, the stone that became the cornerstone (Acts 4:11), the foundation through which all men and women could build their lives upon, a foundation that would never be moved or shaken, no matter what storms life might bring. Look at the very words of Jesus Himself:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:24-27

When we build our lives upon Jesus, we build upon the sure foundation, the One who will always help us weather anything life brings our way. He is the Rock that will not be moved. All we need to do as His disciples is build upon Him. The Apostle Paul realized this truth when he wrote:

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:10-11

Build your life anywhere except on the foundation of Jesus, the foundation set for all mankind to construct their lives upon and the only foundation that brings eternal life, and you are building in vain. You are the person Jesus refers to as foolish because you are building your house on sand and with that, your life could come crashing down at any time.

So again I ask, are you on shaky or solid ground?

The answer depends on what foundation you have build your life upon and the only way that foundation will be solid is if it is Jesus, the sure foundation for our times and for all times.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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