Daily Scripture: Matthew 7:24 “So, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on bedrock. 25 The rain fell, the rivers flooded, the winds blew and beat against that house, but it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, the rivers flooded, the wind blew and beat against that house, and it collapsed — and its collapse was horrendous!”
28 When Yeshua had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at the way he taught, 29 for he was not instructing them like their Torah-teachers but as one who had authority himself.
Reflection Questions:Jesus was a savior, a healer, a supremely compassionate friend—AND a teacher. (Matthew chose to group Jesus' teaching into several large sections in his gospel.) And Jesus taught confidently, "with authority." But Jesus' teaching never became abstract or detached from the realities of life. Quite the opposite--he always worked to communicate the principles by which life works best.
- Some lives look just fine. Then something (an illness or death, job loss, a poor choice) shakes that life to its very foundation. Count on it—eventually it will "rain" in your life. What people or forces have shaped your life's foundation, your assumptions and values? In what ways are you daily allowing God to grow in you the kind of character you will need to weather life's storms?
- Scholar Craig Keener noted, "The teachers of the law never claimed as much authority as Jesus had (7:24–27); they derived their authority especially from building on previous tradition." Do you see Jesus' teaching as just one more set of interesting ideas, or do you accept him as the ultimate authority to guide your life? What has led you to your way of relating to Jesus' teaching?
Lord Jesus, you said, "Everybody who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise builder." Help me to build my life on your solid foundation. Amen.Insight from Kari Burgess
Kari Burgess is a Program Director for the Catalyst team, handling promotion and marketing for all of the conferences held at Resurrection, as well as registration and coordinating hospitality volunteers.
When we had just been in our home for a short time and our oldest daughter was young, my husband and I went on a trip. It rained something like 12 inches in Kansas City that weekend. Our parents were watching our daughter and they came to the house one day to check on things. When they went to the basement there was water–inches of water. Thank goodness for our parents. My father and father-in-law spent several hours in the pouring rain, digging a trench to coax the water away from our house’s foundation. All the while, my mother and mother-in-law were trying to mop up the water coming in. It took several days of ashop vacuum, fans, and dehumidifiers to dry the basement out.
Turned out, we had a drain in the yard with debris backed all the way up the pipe to the gutter. Everything overflowed and caused a crack in the foundation. As young homeowners, we had paid no attention to our foundation. We had to call in the experts. Re-landscaping, repairing the drain, repairing the crack…I can’t remember all the details, but it took a lot of effort (and a lot of cash) to shore up our foundation.
Our faith life is like that. If our faith foundation is built on sand, it will surely wash away when the rains come, when something difficult challenges our faith. If our foundation has a crack or breach of some sort, our faith may not wash way, but it will surely be compromised.
Even when built on the rock, our faith foundation needs regular check ups and maintenance. For me, that means things like making a concerted effort to take time with God in prayer, making a regular habit of immersing myself in His Word, engaging in worship each week, taking a Bible study or class.
Without regular maintenance, problems arise. Sometimes we may need professionals to help. When there is a crack or a breach, or when you just need to shore up your foundation, I encourage you to call your pastor for help, seek out a group at Care Night or find a qualified counselor. The longer you wait or ignore the problem, the bigger it can become.
We need to attend to our faith and make sure that we are consistently nurturing it and giving it regular maintenance. Then when the floods come (and surely they will at some point in life), that faith is rock solid.
My husband and I do a much better job of checking our house foundation on a regular basis and maintaining it. But we still sometimes get busy and let it get away from us. My faith life is like this too–sometimes I do a better job of maintaining my relationship with God than at other times. But when I start to falter, I can stand firm on my foundation and get help from others when I need it.
Church of the Resurrection
When we had just been in our home for a short time and our oldest daughter was young, my husband and I went on a trip. It rained something like 12 inches in Kansas City that weekend. Our parents were watching our daughter and they came to the house one day to check on things. When they went to the basement there was water–inches of water. Thank goodness for our parents. My father and father-in-law spent several hours in the pouring rain, digging a trench to coax the water away from our house’s foundation. All the while, my mother and mother-in-law were trying to mop up the water coming in. It took several days of ashop vacuum, fans, and dehumidifiers to dry the basement out.
Turned out, we had a drain in the yard with debris backed all the way up the pipe to the gutter. Everything overflowed and caused a crack in the foundation. As young homeowners, we had paid no attention to our foundation. We had to call in the experts. Re-landscaping, repairing the drain, repairing the crack…I can’t remember all the details, but it took a lot of effort (and a lot of cash) to shore up our foundation.
Our faith life is like that. If our faith foundation is built on sand, it will surely wash away when the rains come, when something difficult challenges our faith. If our foundation has a crack or breach of some sort, our faith may not wash way, but it will surely be compromised.
Even when built on the rock, our faith foundation needs regular check ups and maintenance. For me, that means things like making a concerted effort to take time with God in prayer, making a regular habit of immersing myself in His Word, engaging in worship each week, taking a Bible study or class.
Without regular maintenance, problems arise. Sometimes we may need professionals to help. When there is a crack or a breach, or when you just need to shore up your foundation, I encourage you to call your pastor for help, seek out a group at Care Night or find a qualified counselor. The longer you wait or ignore the problem, the bigger it can become.
We need to attend to our faith and make sure that we are consistently nurturing it and giving it regular maintenance. Then when the floods come (and surely they will at some point in life), that faith is rock solid.
My husband and I do a much better job of checking our house foundation on a regular basis and maintaining it. But we still sometimes get busy and let it get away from us. My faith life is like this too–sometimes I do a better job of maintaining my relationship with God than at other times. But when I start to falter, I can stand firm on my foundation and get help from others when I need it.
Church of the Resurrection
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
____________________________
____________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment