Happy weekend fellow steemits.
God bless you as you spend time to read this..... Amen.
Jesus gave us a warning that should send shivers down your spine. It does mine. In Matthew 24:11-12, Jesus revealed, “Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.” I want to be found faithful when Jesus returns to call his church home. I want my friends and family to join me in the clouds on that day. The thought of their faith growing cold and dying tears my heart with agony. How then do we keep our light from growing dim? How do we fan the flames of our faith and the faith of the people around us?
Throughout scripture God reveals that the secret to an honest faith that can withstand everything this life throws at us, lies in our heart. The condition of our heart holds the key to how we respond to temptation and lies. If we rely merely on a head knowledge, we can be deceived by fancy words that appear to make sense. Consider Eve’s encounter with the serpent in the Garden of Eden. His deceptive words made sense to her. The serpent’s smooth manipulations planted doubt and pulled her out of God’s plan. We cannot trust our knowledge to save us. No matter how smart we are, someone is smarter. No matter how many facts we have memorized, there is someone who can twist those facts until we are confused.
The key to faith lies with the condition of our heart. Jesus told us to come as little children (Matthew 18:3). Children don’t yet have the knowledge, but they have the faith. They have the heart. Mark 7:6-8 records Jesus saying: “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”
Let our faith be more than a tradition. Let our service be more than just something we have always done. If we merely play the part or walk the path because it is our ritual, we will be so easily led astray. Stop fulfilling a ceremony and reciting your part. God wants a relationship with you. It doesn’t have to be polished, just honest. Whether your prayers are messy or eloquent, talk to your Heavenly Father. Draw close to Him in your heart where no deceiver can manipulate. When our love for God is complete, nothing can separate us.
On What then is your foundation?
No reputable contractor would build a house upon shifting sand. You would not set out to spend time and money building something so unstable. Yet, many foundations that we build our lives upon appear solid when in fact they are far from it. Jesus warned us to be careful of what we build our lives upon and around. In Matthew 7:24-27. He declared, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Nestled under the warm waves of the Mediterranean lies the ancient Egyptian city of Heracleion. Once the home of thousands of people, numerous temples, and trained military, this important trade city was all but forgotten until its wreckage was discovered in 1933. The mystery surrounding this formidable military and religious center’s demise baffled archaeologists the world over. The date of its collapse was captured in the shards of debris littering the site; however, the cause was not forthcoming. There were no recorded floods during this time. There were no major earthquakes on record. So why did the city slide into the sea?
Heracleion was not built on solid ground. Although, its builders most likely assumed it was. The soil of the Nile Delta where this ancient city was found is actually comprised of compressed sand. On the surface, it appears solid. Unfortunately, all it took was a series of relatively small tremors to vibrate that sand. As the packed sand vibrated, the movement forced trapped water to rise to the surface… slowly drowning the magnificent temples and towering statues.
Not all sin, not all false teachings, not all inferior foundations are easily spotted. Many false prophets tempt us to build on their lies when those lies appeal to our desires. Many sins start out small and grow until we are drowning in them. This is what Jesus meant by building on shifting sand. If we base our lives and decisions on lies, we are doomed to fail and fall. For this reason, John commanded us: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)
Trust the Word of God. Measure every teaching against it. Reject what does not stand up and embrace what aligns. The stakes are too high. The only sure and lasting foundation on which to build our lives on is The Rock of Ages.
Thank you.