Have you ever heard one of those sermons that seemed to smack you right in the face and left your cheek burning from the sting?  Well, Sunday was one of those days when I sat in church and felt like Pastor Tom was speaking directly to me and waiting for me to answer the questions with the appropriate responses.  Uh….

I walked out of the sanctuary a little dazed and confused to say the least.

The topic was on building upon a solid foundation.  Pastor Tom used his own experiences of hurricanes, floods and tornadoes to teach the importance on being a solid Christian BEFORE the storm comes.  And believe me, storms come.

No one on this earth will get out unscathed.  We may have different tragedies, but we will all have them.

But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. Luke 6:49

Clearly, we cannot just hear the Word of God; we have to be DOERS of the Word, as well.

Being a DOER is the difference between having a solid foundation that will stand the test of time or haphazardly throwing together a base built on sand that will quickly give way to the rages of life that come our way every now and again.

The world is based on selfish desires; Jesus Christ is rooted by love.

Living in the example of Christ is like a brick layer placing stone after stone with the concrete fastening each step to lead us closer to God.  Every action is safely joined with the next and secures our lives so that we can weather each and every storm because we have God as our basis.

Death, divorce, gossip, lawsuits, financial ruin and much more will NOT ruin our lives if we are steeped in the Word of God and lean on Him to lead us through each tumultuous circumstance.

Devastation and heartbreak WILL happen.  Who will rescue you when it does?

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31

We can’t wait for the storms of life to appear and then start building our Godly foundation.  We shouldn’t blame God for the storms of life when He’s given us His Hand to guide us through each and every situation.  We can’t sit back and wonder why life is throwing us lemons and we don’t have the recipe for lemonade.

WE MUST DO SOMETHING NOW.

Pastor Tom gave us several questions to contemplate.  They are tough and to be honest, pretty intimidating and defeating (since my answers aren’t what they should be).  However, we can make changes today that will secure our future in the hands of our Almighty God.

1. What storms have I experienced in life?

2. Did they show my foundation to be strong or weak?

3. What am I doing to strengthen my foundation?

4. Who is an example of a strong foundation in my life?

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 1Corinthians 3:10-15

The worst CAN happen.  Be ready.  Be steady.  Be God’s!!!

Some Wisdom for Today:  Proverbs 24:3-7 – By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might, for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory. Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he does not open his mouth.