God Speaking

“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.”

(Matthew 7: 26)

My husband and I have been watching a fascinating series entitled, “Slow train through Africa”, in which an Englishman travels through Africa using sometimes very antiquated trains, to explore remote places which are off the beaten track and seldom visited by tourists. Last week he visited a deserted town which had once been a bustling thriving place, fuelled by the lure of finding diamonds. The diamonds ran out and the town died. What grabbed my attention was the tour, through the deserted houses. They had been built literally on sand, and the camera picked up the ravages blowing sand can do. The sand had started to bury the town. Graphic pictures showed bathrooms with tubs full of sand, staircases appearing eerily out piles of sand, windows with barely any glass showing, sand literally taking over.

This episode made me think of Jesus’ words that concluded his famous sermon, and how the scene on the T.V was such an amazing illustration of what Jesus was warning his listeners about.

Make sure what you are building your life on will stand the test of time!

David knew exactly whose hands he was going to place his life in. He was going to choose a steadfast Rock, the Lord God Almighty;

“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer, my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation…” (2 Samuel 22: 2 – 3)

The lure of making a fortune had clouded the vision of those in my story and too often that is the same today. The world constantly paints the picture of happiness being achieved by making lots of money / being wealthy will solve all life’s problems / possessions will guarantee you esteem / life will be easier if you can amass lots of money.

Jesus explained exactly what he meant by choosing to build on solid rock. His words are the solid foundation which will stand firm and withstand any storm or raging wind of misfortune, that can attack our lives.

“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.” (Matthew 7: 24)

When we look closely at Jesus’ words, we see two messages. Firstly, we need to hear his words, so we can heed his advice. Secondly, we need to actually live what his words are saying.

We live near a rugged Coastal Range of mountains which hikers love to climb. From the bottom of the cliffs it looks very inviting and even looks like an easy climb to ascend to the top of one famous trail, but every summer, hikers ill prepared for some quite dangerous terrain get themselves into serious trouble and need to be rescued. Warning signs have been posted. Advice on emergency supplies to be taken along etc. seem to go unread and ignored. These climbers are certainly not making wise choices.

Once we know who our Heavenly Father is, the wise choice is obvious. Trust his words. Live them.

“Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.” (Isaiah 26: 4)