Choose Your Foundation
Imagine standing next to the sea as waves crash at your feet, storm clouds swallow the sky, and the wind whips your face.
You know you need shelter—and that’s when you see a small hut nestled in the sand nearby, and one further away that’s firmly built into a rocky hill. Which shelter would you choose to take cover in?
2,000 years ago, when Jesus walked this earth, He often told stories to the crowds that gathered around to hear Him teach. One day, He said to them:
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.”
Matthew 7:24-25 NLT
As was His way, Jesus used real-life examples to help explain spiritual truths:
“But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”
Matthew 7:26-27 NLT
We are all building our lives on something. Every decision we make reinforces what we believe our support system to be. So when life’s storms come, will the thing you’ve built your life on support you—or cause you to crumble?
Jesus’ teachings have remained reliable and steadfast through social upheaval, the rise and fall of government regimes, and generations of historic change. No matter what has happened—God’s Word still stands firm.
Teachings from the world, on the other hand, tend to shift with each generation. Like shifting sand, what current culture provides is usually unstable because its values are constantly changing.
Storms are inevitable and challenges will come, but you get to choose your foundation. You can choose to make Jesus the one thing you build your life upon, or you can choose whatever habit, idea, or desire feels good and accessible in the moment.
So … what will you build your life upon?
First Things First
There are plenty of things in life that beg for our attention. Our days are filled with relationships and responsibilities, all of which take time.
In Jesus’ famous sermon in Matthew 6, He spends some time talking about the various things we give our attention to. He explains that instead of spending all of our time and energy worrying about our basic need and desires in life, we should first seek His kingdom and His righteousness. If we do that, everything else will fall into place.
So, what does it mean to seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness?
God’s kingdom is about God’s rule and reign over all of creation. His kingdom was unleashed during Jesus’ ministry on earth, and is now growing and expanding throughout the global Church. The work of the kingdom is to continue to tell others about the hope of Jesus, and to teach everything that Jesus has commanded.
To seek God’s righteousness is to desire to live the way God intended. It's to live according to God’s...