Today's Reading:O.T. - Psalm 115 - 118
N.T. - Matthew 7
Focus Verses:
Matthew 7:24-27
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. 25The 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. 26But 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. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
Psalm 118:8, 21-23
8It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. - - - 21I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. 22The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; 23the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Insight:
Life is filled with struggles and hardships. To not be swept away, we all need something firm and strong to anchor and shelter us through the storms of life. Jesus says, "My words, my teachings, are a solid rock on which to build your life." This is an amazing claim, but I have seen it validated in the lives of many people and experienced it myself. The Psalmist was right when he said, "Better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man." It is better to follow Jesus and build a life on him than to build on the unstable sand of my own inclinations or other views that deny or contradict him.
Response and Action:
I will follow Jesus and build my life upon his teaching and his example. I will devote myself to knowing his words. I will meditate upon his every word -- his stories, his commands, his warnings, his rebukes, his prayers, and his promises. I will commit his words to memory and give careful thought to how they apply to my life. My choices, my hopes, my actions, my attitudes, and my beliefs will all be shaped by Jesus’ words.
O God, thank you for sending your only begotten Son, Jesus, into the world. Thank you for preserving his words through the written scriptures that have be handed down through the centuries. Help me to abide in his word, and may his word abide in me. Help me to stand strong through the storms of life as I build and stand on the solid stone of Jesus' words. Amen.
Proverbs: 25:11
"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver."
Resources:
In the Company of Jesus:
Finding Unconventional Wisdom And Unexpected Hope
by Bill Donahue
The Divine Conspiracy:
Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God
by Dallas Willard
Jesus according to Scripture:
Restoring the Portrait from the Gospels
by Darrell Bock
