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²⁴“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 2 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” 28When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 29for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

MATTHEW 7:24-29

Have you ever had a moment of crisis and you either folded in fright or rose to the occasion? What is inside of us will show in moments of natural disaster, death of a loved one, robbery of your personal belongings, fire burning down your house, or the love of your life falling for somebody else.

This is why we need to make sure that we have inside of us a sure and strong foundation. And just how do we do that?

Every one of us is building our life on something. It could be fame, money, career, business, or ministry. But are these things the right foundation? If the foundation is wrong, then everything that comes after would not be right. Building a foundation that is correct and strong should firstly be centered on Jesus.

COME TO JESUS

Jesus is the right foundation, He invites us all to come to Him and build our lives in Him. Matthew 16:18 says, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”

In the original Greek text of the Bible, the word translated as “rock,” in this verse, is ‘petra’ which means a mass of rock. “Peter,” on the other hand, is ‘petros’ in Greek which means pebble, or a small, detached stone. Jesus is saying here that He will build His church on ‘petra’ and not on ‘petros.’ Jesus Himself is the ‘rock’.

What then is stopping us from building on Him, the stable, concrete, mass of rock?

Only Jesus can cause a positive change in us, 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

Only Jesus can give us what we need, John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Only Jesus can give rest and relief, Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

Only Jesus can give lasting happiness, John 15:11. “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”

If we want to see real change in us, we need to build our life on the right foundation. This is done by hearing Jesus. We need to open our ears and hearts.

HEAR JESUS

We have spiritual disciplines that we use to dig deep in Jesus. We need to anchor ourselves in Him. These disciplines are Praying, Being in His Word, Worship, Fellowship, and Fasting.

Jesus is the anchor of our soul. He is a solid anchor.

Anchors and links hold ships steady in times of storm. We must also practice building strong links through reading the God’s Word and spending intimate time with the Lord.

But hearing alone is not good enough. We need to do something about it.

ACT ON THEM

James 1:22, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”

There might be times that you are just going through the motions, superficially doing things. But you know that you are not really digging deep in obeying God.

If we want to build our life, we need to act.

If we do not obey and would continue to play games with God, then we will reap the consequences of our actions. C. S. Lewis said, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done."

Which one are you? Will you allow God to work, or will He leave you and allow you to suffer the severe consequences of your choices?

Pain happens, it is a part of the process of perfection. And when pain comes, trust God. By trusting God, you solidify the foundation you have in Him.

Build your life on the right foundation by coming to Jesus, hearing His words, and acting on them.

- from 4W's