“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.” — Matthew 7:24-25
While in Cinque Terre, Italy (during the 2014, U14 Mission Trip), we discovered a beach where the waves wildly crashed and pounded against the shore and rocks. Thankfully, we came across another part of that beach where it wasn’t as threatening and we could hangout. In fact, we found a rock you could sit on (with your back to the ocean) and big waves would crash against you. As a result, they literally pushed you off the rock — it would take you a few steps to regain your balance. We took turns doing that and it was pretty challenging to hold our ground against the waves. It took a lot of effort to stay on the rock.
In many ways, that experience is like the culture we are facing today. Everyone and everything around us is moving one way. It’s like a big wave coming at us whether we are ready or not. We’re going to get hit by it. Are we going to be able to hold our place on The Rock? Have we truly built our house (life) on Jesus?
Stand With the Word of God
Certainly, it can feel most comfortable to just go with the flow — to not stand up against the wave of our culture. It’s much harder to say, “I will stand here and stand for what Jesus says. I will not give in when it comes to my convictions and my biblical beliefs. And, if that means I’m going to get hit by the coming wave, so be it.”
We must realize it’s not always going to be easy (or comfortable) to stand up for biblical values. In fact, Jesus promised us as much when He walked this earth. He told His disciples (and He tells us) that we will face trouble in this world if we choose to stand with Him. But, He encourages us, “to take heart; for [He] has overcome the world.” — John 16:33
Sitting on The Rock,
Posted in A Word from the Pastor