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: And the rains came, and the
winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on
the rock. Now everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them,
will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain
descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it
fell. And great was its fall.
~ Matthew 7:24-27
Remember the story of the three little pigs? They each built a house to
protect themselves from the winter. The first little pig threw together a
house of straw, and went on his merry way having fun. The second little pig
worked a bit harder, and put together a house of wood. The third little pig,
being wise, took the time to build his house out of brick. And the time came
when each was in their home, and the wicked wolf visited each of them. First
he came to the straw house, and blew that down with no effort at all. Then he
came to the wooden house, and blew it down, too, although it was a bit harder.
Finally, he came to the brick house, and no matter how much he tried, he
couldn't blow it down. It was built on a solid foundation, with planning and
care.
What are we building our spiritual lives on? Are our foundations made of
straw or wood? Or are we building on the solid word of God, creating a
foundation of brick? We build a brick foundation when we spend daily time
with God, reading His word, praying, and listening. We strengthen it when we
live our daily lives in a way that honors God, choosing to obey His word and
laying aside the trivial cares that strangle our spiritual growth. And as we
build that strong foundation, and the attacks of the enemy come along, we find
that we stand strong in the storm, and his attacks amount to nothing more than
hot air.
Lord, thank You that You've given us Your word to show us how to live, and how
to grow closer to You. Help us to set aside time today to read the bible, to
pray, and to sit quietly before You. Guide us in the path You've prepared for
each of us, and help us to establish the habit of spending time in fellowship
with you so that our foundations are set solidly on the rock of Your Son,
Jesus Christ.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
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