WHERE ARE YOU BUILDING YOUR HOUSE?

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

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

"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

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

The news has been filled with recent major earthquakes in the world…first in Haiti and then in Chile…, highlighting the importance of structural integrity when constructing buildings. Build right and you can avoid collapse and the tragic loss that often follows. Build wrong and you end up with a building that falls in destruction and disaster.

Of course, where you build is also important, especially when you build a home. I remember an article I read several months ago about an entire housing project that was in peril because the earth the homes sat on was falling away. The company who did the construction apparently hadn’t treated the land the homes were set on properly and so once the foundations were laid and the homes built on the foundations, they soon found they were losing the ground underneath.
These homes were not set on the right foundation.

We can look at our lives metaphorically as homes. In fact, Jesus did just that in today’s scripture as He finished up His teaching during the Sermon on the Mount. Here’s what He said:

"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."

Let’s break this down and examine what Jesus is asking us to do.

First, He expects us to hear His words.

How can we do that?

We can start by seeking His words. That’s the only way we will find them so we can hear them.

Daily we should come before Jesus in prayer and seek His words…His guidance to us. As we ask, we then turn to listen and receive everything that our Savior wishes to impart on us. Relationship requires communication and we can’t truly say we have a relationship with Jesus is we aren’t speaking with Him regularly.

We also find His words in the scriptures. I have always like how bibles will put the words of Jesus in red…so that the reader can focus in on the exact words He spoke. Those words contain power and wisdom and instruction for us…and without them we are powerless, ignorant and lost.

But just hearing the words of Jesus, whether by listening to Him in prayerful conversation or through reading His words in the scriptures, is not enough. For unless we put His words into action, then we have not accomplished much of anything.

One thing is certain. Jesus expects us to act and put His words into practice.

He didn’t just spend all this time preaching the Sermon on the Mount for everyone to go home afterwards saying that the message was good but never carry out what He taught. I’m afraid this is what happens all too often in our church today. The Lord gives pastors a great message to deliver and the congregation sits, listens and then leaves to get back on with their worldly lives until Sunday rolls around again. Church becomes just another thing on the calendar of things to do in a week like shopping for groceries or mowing the lawn or doing the laundry.

Friends, that’s not what being a disciple of Christ is about. Jesus expects us to work for Him 24/7, 365 days out of the year. We need not wonder what he wants us to do. His words tell us. As I said earlier, we just need to seek them.

When we do seek Him and His words, we build our life…our “house”…on a solid foundation…the foundation of Jesus. And in doing so, we can weather any storm…any disaster that might threaten our lives. In Christ, we have structural integrity…our hearts and souls firmly anchored in Him.

Conversely, not seeking Jesus and His words, leaves one on shaky ground…like building on sand. All can seem fine until the storms of life come and instead of finding stability in uncertain conditions, one finds their world shifting, moving, losing bearing and eventually falling in. And in the midst of the tragic results and ruins of what once was, we can find ourselves crying out for rescue…crying out to Jesus…and hoping to hear His words.

That’s why we call His Savior. Because He rescues those who are lost and sets them on His solid foundation…now and forever.

Question: Where are you building your “house”?

For in the end translation, how can we be like Christ…or claim to be Christians…if we don’t know Him?

We can’t.

This is why it is incumbent on us to seek Him always…looking to model everything about Him. For until we feel the way He feels, act the way He acts, speak the way He speaks and think the way he thinks, we truly can’t show Him and all those around us, that our life…our “home”…is built on His firm foundation…the only foundation that can weather anything the world might bring.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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

Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com