Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Today's Passage: Matthew 7

The thing I love about the Sermon on the Mount is that it is the first time these jewels of wisdom are spoken. I can't imagine what it must have been like for the words of Jesus to fall on fresh ears. He was completely changing the way people viewed their spiritual lives. Unfortunately these words have become almost commonplace. I have heard these words over and over, but I rarely stop to think about their implications for my life. For example, the story of the wise and foolish builders is one we've heard since childhood. There's even a song about it. We all know that the wise man builds his house on the rock (God), but the foolish man builds his house on the sand (not God). Today I decided to really think about what actions I need to take in order to live out Jesus' words.

First of all, I realized that in order to truly build my house on the rock, I need to be in His Word every day. This sounds easy enough on paper, but we all know that the busy-ness of life constantly competes for our time and I have always struggled with this. For me, it has to be a daily decision.

Secondly, I spent a lot of time thinking about the foundations of the kids at Bear Creek. What an awesome privilege it is to get to teach kids about God! Today's passage really challenged me to always be aware of the importance of making sure kids know the truth of God's Word so that they can build their foundations on the rock. When I was growing up, my church played a vital role in the forming of my foundation, but the biggest role was played by my parents. They not only set an example for me of building a house on the rock, but they taught me how to do that for myself. Parents, I hope this passage not only challenged you to strengthen your own foundation, but encouraged you to help your kids build theirs.