Foundations

And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is. He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rocklike: But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.- Luke 6:47-49

I read the above three nights ago and I knew this was meant for me
It really sounds simple when someone says if you want this you have to do this
Simple?
There are so many of us who profess to be followers of Christ yet we daily stray from the path
Daily we let Him down
Daily we repent
It is sometimes difficult to be Christian in word and in deed
Words are easy to say
Action is not that easy
I’m taking stock at what I do all the time
I always ask myself ‘is this what I’m meant to do? Is it biblically right?”
There’s still so much I need to know about Jesus and being a true disciple
I now fully understand the above passage
It was not said just for the sake of clarity
It was said so that we know where we are as regards the person whom we call our Lord
He is not happy having us hearing his word and not doing anything about it
There’s this trap we fall into many times
The trap of knowing that we can repent
True repentance is not just saying sorry
True repentance is saying sorry and not committing that wrong act again
Then, we can be said to be growing in Christ
The foundation that the Lord wants us to have is the foundation of works
The building of it is with words
It is easy to preach the word and people see that you know the Bible
But how easy is it to live the word?
Let’s re-look at our foundation and see if the building we’re so proud of can stand the coming storm

Controversy

We got to be discussing a bit about the character of Jesus with some colleagues
An interesting word came up - controversy
He was a controversial person
He did not what people expected and did what was not the norm
He was no respecter of people when you really look at what he did
His tone likewise is something we consider harsh
Look at the tenth chapter of the book of Matthew
Here He was sending off His disciples. He told them whither to go.
He told them what to expect and what they should do in every circumstance.
It was straight forward – for such a situation this is what you do. If they do not meet such standards this is what you do. No middle line, no grey areas.
There was no room for slack on either side.
What got my attention are the lost sheep of Israel that they’d been sent to gather
These sheep belong and someone’s being sent to look for them where they’re scattered all over. The interesting bit is where these sheep are to be found
Amongst wolves
Who would have associated lost sheep with wolves?
What were they looking for amongst wolves?
And why were the wolves not preying on them?
Look at the current situation
Are we not the lost sheep with the disciples looking for us in the wilderness?
They have their lives at stake as they walk amongst the wolves to win us back to our shepherd
I think we’re too hard on those who try to win us to Christ
We forget that they need us for their upkeep
We forget that they’re not meant to beg us to come to Christ
We forget who sent them
We forget who we are
We forget where we are
We forget where we’re meant to be
May today be a reminder that as lost sheep someone is looking for us so that we go back to our Shepherd
If we tarry too long, the wolves may turn on us before we are herded back to safety.

How free are you?

I’m reading John Bunyan’s book The Intercession of Christ and I love the way it’s put that it’s his view of Christ’s mediating work. I’m now on the last chapter and thought I’d share this valuable snippet on faith and freedom in Christ.
The man who has come to God through Christ is referred to as someone who is tame as he has the law as his guide. He is compared to the free man who runs wild. The man under law is like a bird in a cage who is looked after by his owner. He does not need to forage for food but gets it delivered daily. The caged bird has some treats which the bird in the wild cannot access. The caged bird is taught to do new tricks and sing new songs that the bird in the wild cannot do. Oh! If the two birds were to converse one day the free bird would want to be in the same cage with the tame bird. The free bird roams the wild freely daily. But what perils it faces on a daily basis. It is low on the food chain and still needs to look for food daily. It’s daily supply is not guaranteed. It has to make do with whatever worms and maggots it can come by whenever they can be found. So it is with the man who has come to Christ. They are no longer free to do as they wish and run wildly as they now have someone they account to. They are now tame and have a keeper who ensures their daily provision. They have principles to abide by and yet they still feel secure in this new environment. Oh! I wish the tame would converse with the free as often as to invite them to the new life without cares of the world.
‘he hath put a new song in my mouth”

Vigilant

This is what I’ve done at some point in different congregations
I’ve classified the people into different groups and made conclusions just by observation
The ones who’ve got the mannerisms of true believers
The ones who look like they’re here just for the sake of attendance
The ones who look out of place, some look like they’re trying to find a place to hide
The ones who know when to shout halleluiah! And amen! as if on cue
The ones who just will not sing along to any song though looking at the hymn book
Those who groove to the music
Those who sing and praise with all their heart
Those who appear to not be able to stop talking during preaching
Those who just want people to notice they’re wearing a new outfit
Those who want to be noticed
Those who don’t want to be noticed
Those who just cannot wait for the service to be over
Those peacefully in dreamland
Those who know why they’re here
Those who cannot locate the Bible reading in their Bible
Those with very new Bibles which remain unopened throughout the service
Those with well covered Bibles with a notebook by the side and beautiful bookmarkers
Those with well worn Bibles and seem to have the Bible reading already marked by the way the owner quickly locates the Bible reading
Those without a Bible or hymn book in sight
Those who know all the songs by heart and cheerfully sing throughout the service
Those who look burdened
Those who look so at home
Those who smile at everyone they make contact with
Those who seem to know everyone
Those whom everyone knows
Those whom no one knows or cares to know
Those who look dirty and unkempt for church
Those who have not dressed appropriately for church
Those who’ve forgotten in whose house they are in
The list is endless
I have made observations and unfair conclusions many a time
It’s only now that I’m asking myself to which group I belong to
I don’t really belong to any
If anything, I belong to all
I’ve been one of those people at some time
Some times by choice, sometimes by ignorance, and sometimes becoz of sin
I look back and I’m glad I’ve advanced from the negative traits to the good ones
I know whose house I’m going to even before the Sunday service and I prepare myself spiritually
I’m aware that there will be confrontation in the physical and in the spirit in each service
Moments mean a lot
We need to account for each moment in our life
Our life is the church we attend daily as Christians
We do not have church on Sundays as Christians
With each waking breath we need to acknowledge that it’s another day at church and someone new is looking at us to see if they can fellowship with us.

Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger. -Proverbs 19:15