Monday, July 24, 2017
Over the past three years the Lord has directed our congregation through hundreds of conversations and ideas, voters, council, subcommittee, architect, contractor, and numerous other types of meetings. All of these meetings were for the purpose of trying to re-purpose, remodel, and rededicate what our Lord Jesus has blessed us with in our church and school property. There was always one question that stood out:
WHERE SHOULD WE BUILD?
Matthew 7:24-25 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”
As with any construction project, knowing where to build and what needs the most attention is key to a successful project that will last. Jesus of Nazareth, who grew up a skilled carpenter, but at the same time the very Son of God, spoke quite frankly about building projects. In Jesus' day the temple in Jerusalem was THE place to worship. But Jesus warned His disciples about putting trust in earthly structures. "Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, 'These things which you see -- the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down'" (Luke 20:5-6). As important as we think it is to have a nice church building to worship in, Jesus spoke towards the end of His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) what was really about faith-building and the importance of building on a rock. Matthew 7:26-27, "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
Where should we build? That has been our question as we look to take care of the Lord's house and school He gave us here in our neck of the woods. But eternally more important than that is how Jesus instructs us how to take care of our faith building as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." Don't build on the shifting sands of this world’s philosophies, false hopes and beliefs, and the man made self-righteous religions of this world. "There is no Rock like our God" (1 Samuel 2:2). Jesus is our rock! Build your faith on His Word alone. He is your Lord and Savior! Because on Christ alone, we will stand in this life and in our eternal life to come!
