Paper Houses and Strong Foundations

This morning after a blissful rest...well, make that a rest interrupted by the beeping of a dying smoke alarm battery that had to be dealt with in the middle of the night (bless my husband's heart)...I was up earlier than I was hoping because of this tickly cough that loves early mornings.  I made a delicious cup of coffee (promptly spilling a good portion of it on my shirt) and settled in with the new Bible study I've been working through.

I'm sitting here now with a second cup, my shirt still smelling like hazlenut, pondering a passage in Luke from this morning's study that my husband and I were just talking about a few days ago.

The passage starts with these words of Jesus...

But why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say? 
(Luke 6:46)

Wow.

Jesus goes on to compare a man who hears His words and does them to someone who builds a house by digging deep and laying his foundation on the rock.  When the heavy storms come through, they "could not shake" the house because of its firm foundation.

Then He compares a man who hears His words and does nothing to someone who builds a house right on the earth without a foundation.  When the storms came "immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great."

It is very easy for me to picture this scenario because we had our home built here in Florida a few years ago, and live in a newer neighborhood where homes are still going up.  We saw the very foundation of our home laid, and just this past week have been watching two more homes being built from the foundation up.  Florida's soil is very sandy, and in there is a stretch during the summer and early fall where thunderstorms come through nearly every afternoon.  Sometimes tropical storms and hurricanes can threaten.  I can't imagine building a home right on the sand without a strong, solid foundation.  Yet so many do this spiritually speaking.

My husband and I have been talking about a lot.  It's a genuine burden on our hearts. We see this epidemic where people want to "like God" as he says (call him Lord, Lord), but don't want to read and obey His Word or listen to godly counsel or wisdom. Life's storms come and they start sinking fast, then start grasping for the world's answers.  The world's answers don't work like they thought so they sink further.  God offers them all the wisdom they need but it will require some obedience.  On the other side of obedience there will be rich blessings, but often many are unwilling to even try things God's way. So they build what we call "paper houses" from what the world has to offer. They'll stand for a few minutes but the slightest breeze will knock them over. Without a strong foundation, those houses simply cannot stand. They will sadly experience great ruin when all the time there was another way.

Life is undoubtedly going to hold its storms.  The winds will surely blow.  We want our life and home to be built on the foundation of God and His Word, and we want that for everyone we know!  Because thanks to God we have victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!!!  Makes me think of this old song...

On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand.

This morning I am reminded of the importance of not just giving God lip service but building my whole life on Him. God, I pray this fervently for me and my family. 
Help us build our lives on you.  And friends, I encourage you to do the same!  It is a foundation like no other!  It is a foundation that offers peace and hope and joy and victory and a steadfast strength.

The rains came down and the floods came up
The rains came down and the floods came up
The rains came down and the floods came up
And the house on the rock stood firm!