TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
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. Matthew 7:25
Read: Matthew 7:24-27
Listen: Matthew 7
TODAY’S MESSAGE
The two builders’ houses may have looked identical from the road. They may have been similar in size and style. Yet unseen and where it matters most, the homes had drastically different foundations. One foundation sat on solid, immovable rock. The other sat on shifting sand. A passerby couldn’t tell by appearances, but the storm reveals the truth. One house stands while the other falls.
Jesus uses this illustration to drive home the importance of our lives’ foundations. We may all hear the same sermon, yet one person walks away thinking Jesus’s message is interesting but does nothing. Others may listen to the message and then radically change their lives. The difference isn’t in the hearing but in the doing. It can be easy to confuse information with transformation. Jesus didn’t teach just to deliver great information. Instead, he desires to transform us as we shape our lives around his teachings.
We build a transformed life that withstands the storm as we set aside our simmering rage and contempt to attempt relationship restoration. We build for the storm when we go the extra mile for someone or refuse to hurt someone back. Our foundation stands strong when we hear and then practice Jesus’s words.
IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY
Commit to the hard work of building a solid foundation on Jesus’s teachings. Take one action today that may be unseen to others but builds a solid foundation with God. Maybe it’s spending prayer time alone, sending a text to reconcile with someone or re-reading the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).
NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN
Join us this year as we read through the New Testament.
Today’s reading is Galatians 1.
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
