May 14, 2011 … Prepared for the Worst

Passage of the Day: Matthew 7: 24 – 27 (noting vs. 25 underlined) … 24 "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 fall, 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."

My Journal for Today: In my youth, I was encouraged and shepherded into becoming an Eagle Scout; and the Boy Scout motto was (and still is) “Be Prepared!”. Being prepared in our Christian walk is knowing that unexpected storms (i.e., trials) will come our way, but building the foundation of our lives upon “The Rock,” Who, of course, is Christ. Today’s verse expresses this truth, as does the Old Testament in Isaiah 26: 3 – 4 …

SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 26: 3 – 4 ... You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. 4 Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.

It is trusting Christ which builds our life on the solid rock of truth. It is following Christ as He commanded in Luke 9: 23, knowing that such trust will always lead us in the right direction (see Prov. 3: 5 – 6 or Psalm 119: 105). Because when a believer does, in fact, build his/her life on the solid foundation of a deep and abiding relationship with Christ, humbly following our Lord wherever He might lead, God’s grace will be there to keep our house standing, no matter what storm may come into our lives (see Phil. 4: 13, 1st Cor. 10: 13; 2nd Cor. 12: 9).

[NOTE: May I interrupt to say, that you may have noted the repetition of a number of scripture passages if you’ve been using this devotional journal to guide your devotional path. There’s a powerful reason for that. These are scriptures which I have deeply committed to memory; and they bubble out of my consciousness as I’m journaling my thoughts, using John MacArthur’s devotional, Strength for Today. I would hope that you, the reader, will see that these passages have great power in helping any believer to set the foundation for an abiding relationship in Christ. In that regard, perhaps you might be convicted by God’s Spirit and enabled by Him to memorize the verses/passages you see recurring so often in my journal entries. … Just a thought – but I believe an important one!]

Meditating on all of the scriptures which I’ve cited on this date, I would hope any Christian could see that ignoring these truths would be building our life’s house on sand; and in today’s passage, we see where that will ultimately lead to destruction, if not our soul or our testimony. But on the solid rock of belief in what Christ did for us on the cross and through His resurrection, ascension, and re-glorification, we have the most solid foundation for life anyone could have. And Christ only wants the structure of our house (i.e., our sanctified life) to be able to weather the worst of life’s storms (again I point to Prov. 3: 5-6 and also John 10: 10).

So, I pray that we all are building our lives on the solid foundation of a life in Christ, seeking His will and finding His way in His word.

My Prayer Today: My preparation is in following You, Lord. Amen