Examining Your Foundation

Good morning! I hope you had a great weekend.

This past week I spent some time with a man who is both a friend and trusted advisor. He has taken a great interest in my work over the past 18 months, but has taken particular interest in the church planting ministry that I launched in November. As we were talking, he addressed with me his concern over my foundation. As I probed into his statement, he accurately assessed that I was beginning to rapidly put together a structure, but my foundation was not set. He further elaborated that I may even need to pull back the reigns on the ministry, because the monthly provisions for my family were not fully in place.

There was great wisdom in those words. A structure is only as good as the foundation it is built upon. The foundation determines to what degree and at what pace the structure can be erected. It also determines the longevity of what is built, and the types of adversity the structure can withstand.

This conversation has had me thinking about the following passage of Scripture:

Luke 6:47-49 (NASB)

47 "Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like:
48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
49 "But the one who has heard, and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great."

The greatest detriment to the lives we are building is the poor foundation work, we all too often settle for. We may hear the words of God, but how often do we fail to implement those very things into our lives. We know we are cutting corners, but we don’t think anyone will ever notice the shortcuts. Unfortunately turmoil has a way of exposing our frailties, shortcuts and shortcomings. The places we chose to hear, but not obey become glaringly obvious as we watch the structures of our lives come crashing down on the shifting foundations upon which they were built.

Today, I encourage you to evaluate your foundation. Have you taken the time to dig deep and lay your foundation on the bedrock principles of God? If you have, the storms may be fierce, but they will not topple the things God has directed you to build. In the end the structure will stand, unmoved by the tempest, because the foundation never shifted.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl

Preparing for the Storm

Good morning! I hope you had a great weekend.

As I write this morning, I have one eye on my computer and another eye on the Gulf of Mexico. A low that has been moving towards the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico over the last few days has developed into Tropical Storm Dolly. The tracking forecasts show this storm strengthening into a low-level hurricane before it makes landfall somewhere near us later this week.

Having lived a majority of my life in “tornado alley” where devastating winds fall from the sky with little advance warning, I much prefer the ample warning of tropical storms. Of course, ample warning is of no use to us if we don’t make proper preparation. The storms of life are not much different.

Jeremiah 46:3-4 (NLT)
“Buckle on your armor and advance into battle! [4] Harness the horses, and prepare to mount them. Put on your helmets, sharpen your spears, and prepare your armor.

Once the storm arrives, it is too late to begin the process of making preparations. Proper planning and preparation must be made long before the storm arrives. I find in my life, that God often gives me advance warning of approaching danger. These times of prompting are a call to action. My preparations may include additional times of prayer, fasting, meeting with wise counsel or other strengthening type activities.

Not all storms give advance notice of their arrival. It is at these times that the preparations become all the more critical. It is during these unexpected storms that I draw from scripture I have memorized, reflection upon God’s previous work in my life and the principles of God’s word. Once again, the preparation in advance of the storm is what sustains in its midst.

Today you may see storm clouds forming over the “Gulf of Your Life.” Now is the time to take inventory. Have you made adequate preparation sustain you as you go through the tumultuous blast? Ask the Lord to show you those areas that need to reinforced so that you can effectively weather any storm that comes your way.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl