On what foundation are you building your life?
What feels right?
What works?
What everyone else is doing?
How stable is your foundation? When an unexpected crisis comes, will your life remain firm and steadfast, or will it all collapse?
The foundation of faith in Jesus Christ is one on which you and I can build our lives with confidence, knowing it will last, not only for our lifetimes but for all eternity as well.
As Jesus concluded His Sermon on the Mount, He said, “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 the house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock” (Matt. 7:24-25, NIV). So . . . check your foundation!
Planet earth is, at the very least, thousands of years old. Some think it may be millions or billions of years old. And it is showing signs of age. It is getting frayed and worn out. It is being polluted, gouged, stripped, burned, and poisoned, and much of the damage has been willfully and selfishly inflicted by man. But some of the scars are simply due to the wear and tear of age. It was not created to last forever!
In contrast, our heavenly home is going to be brand-new. Not just restored, but created fresh.
What scars of sin or stains of guilt do you bear in your life? . . . in your emotions? in your personality? in your relationships? in your memories? Like planet earth, do you feel abused and gouged and worn out and burned by other people? One day there will be no more scars. Everything – including your heart, mind, emotions, psyche, and memories, past, present, and future – will be made new.
The One Who called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees, promising to fully bless him if he would follow Him in a life of faith is the same Person Who today calls us out of the world and promises to bless us if we follow Him in a life of faith.
The One Who delivered His children from bondage to slavery in Egypt with a titanic display of power is the same Person Who was crucified then rose from the dead to deliver His children today from the bondage of sin.
The One Who halted the entire invasion of Canaan by the Israelites while He extended His grace to one Canaanite prostitute is the same Person today Who stops to care for and extend His grace to sinners.
The One Who answered Elijah’s prayer and sent down the fire to consume the sacrifice on Mount Carmel and then sent down the rain to end the three-year drought in Israel is the same Person today Who hears and answers prayer. Do you know Him?
Who is Jesus? He lived two thousand years ago, in an obscure town, in an obscure country, during a relatively dark period in human history that was dominated by the Roman Empire. Yet He stands unequaled and unparalleled in the phenomenal greatness of His life as well as in the stunning impact He has had on history.
As we look back over the past two thousand years, a handful of individuals seem to rise up from our history pages – individuals whose lives or words or accomplishments impacted the entire human race, for good or for bad. Names like Julius Caesar, Martin Luther, Muhammad, Christopher Columbus, Adolf Hitler, Alexander Graham Bell, Jonas Salk, and Mahatma Gandhi come readily to mind. Yet I would heartily agree with Reynolds Price, who in the introduction to his Time magazine cover story on Jesus, wrote, “It would require much exotic calculation . . . to deny that the single most powerful figure – not merely in these two millenniums but in all human history – has been Jesus of Nazareth.” Amen!
God is a God of the impossible. When we are utterly helpless, He is our Helper. But He requires the cooperation of our obedience.
What seemingly impossible task has God given you to do? Have you done it, or are you procrastinating? What if Noah had procrastinated and told God he would build the ark but at a time when he felt he was more rested, more capable, when he had had sufficient training, when his financial situation was more stable, when his family was more self-sufficient, when it was just more convenient? If he had had the attitude many of us do when God gives us an assignment that is beyond our ability, he would have been totally exposed in his helplessness and unprepared for the awesome devastation when it struck.
Instead of procrastination, Noah obeyed without question or hesitation. Noah did everything just as God commanded him (see Gen. 6:22). What impossible task could you accomplish if you would cooperate with God by obeying His Word?
