People Are Not Easy to Love (no. 6)

“According to God’s grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder, [Or wise master builder] and another builds on it. But each one is to be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience [Or suffer] loss, but he himself will be saved  — but only as through fire.

Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and that is what you are” (1 Corinthians 3:10-17 CSB).

God has built me from before I was born. He has created me in His image to be His temple. That temple is built on a foundation of His Son that came down to live a blameless life as an example. His Son laid down that life as a foundation for how I should live. Some people are not easy to love because their temple is lacking.

I have to start with the only solid foundation. There must be a foundation that is established in what Jesus has revealed about the Father. As He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him” (John 14:6-7 CSB). I know Him from studying Him. And that takes time reading about Him, talking with Him, and being around His people. All of those things are important.

If I want a good foundation for His temple, then I need to build it upon understanding Him. There are a lot of temple projects I am going to encounter that are not my taste. Some might have design features that are not appealing to me and that is alright. God didn’t provide everyone with the same blueprints for the building of the temple, outside of the foundation. So a lot of temples are going to look different, strange, interesting, and peculiar while others look awesome, staggering, and inspirational. God doesn’t require every temple to look the same. He does require that it be built upon His foundation.

That is the beauty of the diversity of His people. And that is the beauty that sometimes hampers me in my walk with Him. I’m looking at the building when I should be concerned with the foundation. The building above is going to stand the test of time as long as it is built securely on His foundation. And surely time and situations will prove the foundation for us all. This reminds me, what doesn’t remind me of it, the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus ends succinctly with a parable all about foundations.

“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash” (Matthew 7:24-27 CSB).

When life hits me with all sorts of situations, can I weather the storms? Is my foundation built upon acting on His words? Is my foundation based on the wisdom of the Lord?

How is my foundation?

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH

People Are Not Easy to Love (no. 5)

No scripture to start today. I have tossed around a few scriptures today BUT nothing is moving me right now. Sometimes there is stillness. And that can be a problem. Sometimes we can feel like stillness is absence. I used to have that struggle when I was younger. Sometimes I felt like God was silent. BUT maybe He was just waiting on me.

It is really easy to follow God when He is present. I can think back to the exodus from Egypt and remember how quickly they complained when God was not taking care of every little problem along the journey. And sometimes I can get like that. I can rely too much on feeling like God is there over knowing that He is there.

I have a running experience of His action in my life. I have a constant relationship of Him taking care of things in His own time. And a lot of the time it’s not grand or theatrical or spectacular BUT it works. ANd sometimes I don’t feel His presence as strongly. BUT that does not mean He isn’t there. I do know that, as Paul wrote,“So we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:6-7 CSB). Faith is an action. Faith is my walk even when I cannot see Him right there. Faith is my walk even when I do not know the destination. Faith is action. Hope is my confidence.

So, I guess what I am saying today is that not every day has to be the same as all the others for me to continue walking. I don’t need a spectacular movement every day. I don’t need signs and wonders every day. I don’t need to feel something every day. I just need to keep walking. I need to remember to walk as He commands, “deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23 CSB).

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH