January 23rd –Rock Solid
“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
Building can be stressful and how you start always determines how you finish. In Matthew 7, Jesus presents a conversation about buildings, beatings, and builders. Jesus tells us about two houses. Outwardly, these two houses looked alike. They may have even been made from the same materials. The only difference in the two was the kind of foundation each house rested upon. One was built upon sand, while the other was built upon a rock. Each house was subjected to the same kinds of abuse. A storm came. Rain fell, winds blew, and savage floods wrapped themselves around these houses. One house fell in the storm, but when the storm was over, one house was still standing. These men were pretty much alike. They both wanted houses and they both built them. Both watched as the house they had built was attacked by the same vicious storm. One watched in horror as the house he had built succumbed to the storm and fell in the raging flood waters. The other watched in satisfaction as his house weathered the storm and came through it standing tall. Jesus looked at these men and proclaimed one a fool, but the other He called wise.
Your life is like a house. It looks pretty much like all the other houses around it. It is made from the same materials. It is also attacked by the very same storms. Storms of sickness, storms of issues, storms of temptation, storms too numerous to mention all attack the house you are building. Some houses are going to weather the storm, others are not. What makes the difference? The quality of the foundation upon which the house stands! The foolish man took no time to plan or to think about his house. He just built it where he was and left everything to chance. He built upon the sand! The other man took the time to dig into the soil, exposing the bedrock. There he built his house and when the storm came and washed away the sand from the foolish man’s house, the house on the rock stood strong!
How you start always determines how you finish! What was the difference between the two? STRATEGY! Strategy is always connected to vision. In fact, vision is the seed or catalyst for your strategy. Strategy shapes the decisions that determine and reveal your objectives and goals. It produces your Principles, Policies and Plans.
DON’T GO ANOTHER WEEK INTO THIS YEAR WITHOUT A STRATEGY.
If you are serious about building a sustainable future that can weather the storms of life, GET OFF THE SAND. Walk away from the trivial and build on the truthful. The truth you stand under governs your choices and if your truth is flawed, your choices will be flawed and if your choices are flawed you are building on sand. Challenge the truth you stand under and ensure that it’s able to support your future and destiny. You must have a well-planned out approach for how you will weather any storm that should arrive. Your strategy is stronger than the storm. The wise build on the ROCK.
Reflect: What are you building on, shifting sand or a strong strategy?
Prayer: Father help us to examine the truth we stand under. You are the solid rock that can support me in and through every storm. I walk away from the trivial and shifting and cling to the rock solid truth found in Jesus. Amen
Written by Pastor Richard J. Brown
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