Thought of the Day !!

"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. 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 7:24-27 (NLT)

Yesterday I used this as one of my texts in a sermon called "I Love the Un-American Dream". The title raised a few eyebrows and got some people's attention. Good. That was the purpose. But the the sermon wasn't about being Un-American. It was about how the American Dream can become a nightmare if we're not careful and how it can lead to things that go against the wishes of Jesus.

In the American Dream (as defined by a combination of different dictionaries and websites) we find a hope for prosperity and happiness in getting the things out of life that we aspire for. The problem is not in wanting things in this life. The problem occurs when these things become more important to us than Jesus and His will for our lives. The question becomes, "Could I give it all up if Jesus wanted me to?"

In the scripture above that concludes the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us that there are two foundations to build our houses (our lives) on. We can build them on sand, representing the things that are important to us like our jobs or our place in society or riches etc. Or we can build our lives on the foundation of Christ Jesus and every word that comes from Him. The first won't last. The latter will last for eternity.

The way we know that our foundation is Christ Jesus is if we were asked to give everything else up the answer would be "yes". If we can't, then the foundation of our lives is on something less reliable than Jesus.

What is the foundation for your life?

In the love of Christ,
greg