Matthew 7:24 – 27 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet, it did not fail because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
It was the talk of the area! Caleb, one of the best men in the synagogue in Capernaum, had died, leaving a rich inheritance to his son Joel. While Caleb had always lived quite modestly, Joel had different ideas; he built himself a huge house in the newer part of town, practically in a dry stream bed. Hosea, Caleb’s long – term friend, had tried to warn Joel that this location was prone to flash floods; however, Joel’s young friends assured him that they had never seen any flooding and that Hosea was probably just a jealous alarmist who wished he could build such a wonderful house! And then the rains began in the mountains. That rainy season was one for the books! Not even the elders in the synagogue could remember rains like those! And the predictable happened. One night in the middle of a heavy storm, the flood waters suddenly rose. Joel and his friends who had been partying with him that night had to flee for their lives as the floods and the rain destroyed his lovely new house, carrying away every trace of it. Not far away from Joel’s place, there was another family in a far more modest dwelling, the Abrams. But unlike Joel, Hezekiah Abram had carefully built his house on a rocky outcropping up and away from the stream bed. The night that Joel’s house got washed down the river, the Abrams’ went to bed. In the middle of the night, Hezekiah woke up as he heard the crashing noises of Joel’s new house being destroyed. But Hezekiah and his family were safe; they had built on the strong rock. All of Jesus’ listeners remembered Joel and Hezekiah as Jesus challenged them to examine the foundations of their lives.
What is the foundation of your life? In what are you trusting? Money can evaporate instantly. The Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme scandal demonstrated that fact. Your employment situation can change without warning. One friend who had worked faithfully for a company for 35 years went in to work, only to learn that the company was moving his division 700 miles away and that he would either have to move or take early retirement. Our friend returned home that evening in shock, facing an early retirement he had never anticipated.
Jesus advised his hearers that they should listen to his teachings and put them into practice. When Jesus taught, he was always pointing the way to the Kingdom of his heavenly Father. Jesus was encouraging people to build their lives on God and to seek after God; no other foundation would survive the storms of life. As the children’s song at the beginning of this devotional says, “Build your house on the Lord!”
PRAYER: Father God, please help us to realize that You are the only safe foundation for our lives! Help us to seek You, to find You, and to follow You hard all the days of our lives. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment