Verse of the day: Matthew 7:24-25 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
Will our house stand when the storms come? Well, that will depend on what we have built our lives upon. Here in this chapter of Matthew, the Lord compares two builders; one who builds his house upon the truths and principle of God and the one who builds his house upon something other than God’s truth. The end for each is quite different as one is able to withstand the storms of life, while the other falls apart. Why? Because the house is only as strong as its foundation. Observe that both have the same opportunity to build a strong foundation, as both are hearers of Jesus’ sayings. However, their end is different because one was a hearer alone, while the other was a hearer and a doer (James 1:25). The bottom line is that much more is at stake when we choose to ignore God’s truth, and fail to apply it to our lives. The earthly consequences affect both us and those around us. It affects our relationship with God, our loved ones, the church, and our testimony for the Lord (Matt 5:13-16). Too many Christians are living on the fence, with one foot in the world and the other in Christianity. God is very clear in His Word how He feels about one who is lukewarm when He says that he will vomit them out of His mouth (Rev 3:16). The person who turns to the world’s wisdom and their worldly, unsaved friends’ solutions, to resolve problems will find himself/herself stressed, depressed and in great turmoil. However, the person who seeks after God, obeys His Word, and continually prays and seeks wise counsel will stand, regardless of the storm they may face, whether persecution, affliction, death, or any other type of suffering (1 Peter 5:6-7; Phil 4:6-7). However, this is only the tip of the iceberg. The person who hears God’s truth and ignores it has much more to lose than a peaceful life here on earth. They stand to miss out on spending eternity with the Lord. One who hears the truth of God’s salvation and fails to respond or rejects it will be eternally condemned (John 3:18). For the person who picks and chooses what truths to live by, as a born again believer, stands the chance of losing great reward when they stand before the Lord (1 Cor 3:9-11), as each of our works will be tested to see what foundation it was built on, and whether or not it was beneficial to the Kingdom of God. The truth of the matter is that living a life that is obedient to God’s Word, as we follow Christ, will have eternal consequences and rewards. Let us be careful to continually, and prayerfully, study the Word of God, seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance in how to apply it to our lives daily; for this is the only thing we have in this world that will help us to withstand whatever challenges God allows us to face.
No foundation, other than Jesus will be acceptable to our Heavenly Father. The only Way to God is Jesus Christ (John 14:6) Call upon Jesus, and receive eternal life by repenting of and confessing your sins, accepting His free gift of salvation, by faith (Rom 6:23; 10:9; 13).
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