Storyteller - Day 3

Welcome to Day 3 of my series where I'm blogging through "Storyteller", the latest free, on-demand Bible study from Sarah Koontz at livingbydesign.org.

The passage of Scripture we're looking at today is Matthew 7: 24 - 29 ...

"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.”

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

On a slightly different tack to building houses, this parable made me think of gardening when I read it today.

When you're planning a new bed for flowers or vegetables, you don't just pick a patch of ground, dig some holes, and put the seeds or seedlings in ... you actually need to prepare the soil first, by taking out any stones and old roots, loosening the sand, and digging in some compost.

This might seem inconvenient or like a lot of extra effort, but if you don't take the time to do these preparatory steps first, and do them well, you'll either end up with a bed full of weeds, a bunch of stunted, sad-looking plants, or even worse, nothing will grow at all.

This is what Jesus is teaching us about our spiritual lives in today’s parable ... Jesus tells us that hearing and doing His words will empower us to withstand the enemy, withstand temptation, withstand the wind and rain of doubt and fear.

But like in my gardening analogy, simply hearing the Word of God won't be enough when the floods come, in the form of disappointment, discouragement, loss, pain, or betrayal, if we haven't rooted out our false thinking, our pride, our self reliance, and replaced those things with the Truth and Promises of Scripture.

And Jesus promises us that when our lives are built on and firmly rooted in Him, not only will our houses not be destroyed, they won’t even be shaken!  Now that's a firm foundation!

I love how Sarah Koontz puts it in today’s devotional: "Jesus' teaching demands a response; His example and His words call us to action. The result of true faith is always obedience. Will we act on what we’ve heard? Or will we be like the foolish man who built his house on the sand? There is safety and security in the instruction of the Lord. His ways are sure, and His truth is trustworthy."

Lord God, I want to build my house on a rock. Help me to know that my solid foundation rests in You, with Your Word giving me wisdom and strength.

If you're joining me in this journey through the Parables of Christ, please share your takeaways from today’s devotional in the comments - I'd love to hear your thoughts!