Bible League: Living His Word It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house. But it did not fall because it was built on rock.— Matthew 7:25 ERV According to Jesus, there are two kinds of people. There is the kind that "hears these teaching of mine and obeys them" and there is the kind that "hears these teachings of mine and does not obey them" (Matthew 7:24, 26). Each kind receives the benefit of hearing the teachings of Jesus, but the response is different. What does Jesus think of the difference? He likens the first kind, the kind that responds with obedience, to "a wise man who built his house on a rock" (Matthew 7:24). What does he mean by this? Jesus Himself is the rock. Wise people build their lives on Jesus. That is, they join themselves spiritually to Him. They become individual members of a spiritual community that lives for and follows Jesus. He likens the second kind, the kind that does not obey, to "a foolish man who built his house on sand" (Matthew 7:26). Sand represents any spiritual alternative to Jesus. Spiritually foolish people build their lives on the creation of this world, rather than the Creator. They turn them into gods, thus making them the be-all and end-all of their lives. They make these idols their foundation. Why is it wise to join yourself to Jesus? It's because the storms of life are coming. These are the trials, troubles, and tribulations of life. Our verse for today tells us what happens when trials come to people that build their lives on the rock. They do not fall; they stand firm. Jesus, the rock, proves to be a solid spiritual foundation upon which to build a life. He sees them through every storm, and, when the final storm comes at the end of life, He sees them through to glory in the next life. The storms of life come to the foolish as well. They're foolish because the choice they've made cannot help them. When the storms of life come, the sand proves to be inadequate, washed away by the torrent. As a result, Jesus tells us that they fall "with a loud crash" (Matthew 7:27). Indeed, when the final storm of life comes at the end, they fall with a loud crash for all eternity. Everyone must build a life on something. Make sure that you build yours on solid rock. Bible in a Year Old Testament Reading2 Kings 18, 19 2 Kings 18 -- Hezekiah Rules over Judah, Destroys Idolatry NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 2 Kings 19 -- Isaiah Foretells Jerusalem's Deliverance; Hezekiah's Prayer and God's Answer NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading John 6:22-44 John 6 -- Jesus Feeds Five Thousand, Walks on Water; "I am the Resurrection"; Many Desert Jesus; Peter Confesses Christ NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion “Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign LORD. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live.Insight God is a God of love, but he is also a God of perfect justice. His perfect love causes him to be merciful to those who recognize their sin and turn back to him, but he cannot wink at those who willfully sin. Wicked people die both physically and spiritually. God takes no joy in their deaths; he would prefer that they turn to him and have eternal life. Challenge Likewise, we should not rejoice in the misfortunes of nonbelievers. Instead, we should do all in our power to bring them to faith. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Isaiah 41:9 Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee.If we have received the grace of God in our hearts, its practical effect has been to make us God's servants. We may be unfaithful servants, we certainly are unprofitable ones, but yet, blessed be his name, we are his servants, wearing his livery, feeding at his table, and obeying his commands. We were once the servants of sin, but he who made us free has now taken us into his family and taught us obedience to his will. We do not serve our Master perfectly, but we would if we could. As we hear God's voice saying unto us, "Thou art my servant," we can answer with David, "I am thy servant; thou hast loosed my bonds." But the Lord calls us not only his servants, but his chosen ones--"I have chosen thee." We have not chosen him first, but he hath chosen us. If we be God's servants, we were not always so; to sovereign grace the change must be ascribed. The eye of sovereignty singled us out, and the voice of unchanging grace declared, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love." Long ere time began or space was created God had written upon his heart the names of his elect people, had predestinated them to be conformed unto the image of his Son, and ordained them heirs of all the fulness of his love, his grace, and his glory. What comfort is here! Has the Lord loved us so long, and will he yet cast us away? He knew how stiffnecked we should be; he understood that our hearts were evil, and yet he made the choice. Ah! our Saviour is no fickle lover. He doth not feel enchanted for awhile with some gleams of beauty from his church's eye, and then afterwards cast her off because of her unfaithfulness. Nay, he married her in old eternity; and it is written of Jehovah, "He hateth putting away." The eternal choice is a bond upon our gratitude and upon his faithfulness which neither can disown. Daily Light on the Daily Path Psalm 89:19 Once You spoke in vision to Your godly ones, And said, "I have given help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people.Hebrews 2:16,17 For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. • Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Ezekiel 1:26 Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. John 3:13 "No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. Luke 24:39 "See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." Philippians 2:7-10 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. • Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. • For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, • so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, Revelation 3:2 'Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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