Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – Hebrews 8-10
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Luke 6:46-49
Jesus: What good is it to mouth the words, “Lord! Lord!” if you don’t live by My teachings? What matters is that you come to Me, hear My words, and actually live by them. If you do that, you’ll be like the man who wanted to build a sturdy house. He dug down deep and anchored his foundation to solid rock. During a violent storm, the floodwaters slammed against the house, but they couldn’t shake it because of solid craftsmanship.
It was built upon rock.
On the other hand, if you hear My teachings but don’t put them into practice, you’ll be like the careless builder who didn’t bother to build a foundation under his house. The floodwaters barely touched that pathetic house, and it crashed in ruins in the mud.
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
As you listen to this podcast or read this blog, you might also be considering the aftermath of some of the damage hurricane Matthew caused as it made its way across the mid-Atlantic and wreaked havoc on Haiti, the Bahamas, and the southern coastal areas of the United States. As I watched with you the news reports of the devastation of the storm, I thought about these verses. They came at an opportune time to use hurricane Matthew as a good illustration.
Several of my friends retired to Florida after their service in the military. Some took positions in various companies related to government work dealing with digital training or South American relations or medical insurance support or a variety of other positions that took them to the Sunshine State. They enjoy the beach, the warm weather, the predictable weather. They don’t enjoy the autumn storms which bring hurricanes into their area.
Most bought or built homes guaranteed to withstand the storms, though. They have a piece of paper in their hand that tells them the size hurricane their house can handle before pieces of the structure begin to crumble under the onslaught of the powerful forces of the winds and waves that accompany those storms. But most of them are somewhat at the mercy of their builder since they are not construction engineers. I’m sure as some of them escape Matthew, they hope the guarantee on their piece of paper holds true.
For many other home owners on the Florida coast, they have no such assurances that their homes will withstand a hurricane of any force. They just hope it was built solidly and will not topple when the winds blow and the rains fall as they will over the next several days. With a category 4 hurricane, it will be pretty easy to see if the builders live up to their side of the bargain. 100+ mile per hour winds have a tendency to test the strongest structures and those that are not built to stand the test just don’t stand. They blow away in the wind.
Those houses that stand have foundations that go deep into the bedrock below the sand. The builders that have good reputations are well known to the residents in the area and give good recommendations to those who come into the area and are looking for good builders. Those who do shoddy work are also well known to residents in the area and also get reports for anyone who will take the time to search out reputable builders. It isn’t hard to determine who the good and bad builders are. The community will let you know.
The same is true of the people of good and bad character in a community. You know the people with shady character and those you trust. You know the ones with a character that stands the test of time and stress and success and loss and crisis. You know those who stand out in your community, good and bad.
But there is only One who teaches from a foundation that is absolutely rock solid. In fact, He made the rock He stands on. He is the foundation. He is the singular point from which everything else begins and ends. So when we build our character, our faith, our purpose, our very being on Him, we get it right. We can stand through the toughest storms life can throw at us, know that we will not just survive the storm, but come through it victoriously.
Some of the Florida and Georgia coast builders who put their names on their creations will lose a ton of money and their reputations as a result of the storm crushing the buildings they said would stand the stress of the winds and waves. Those who put their trust in those false credentials will find their houses in rubble or with roofs torn off and the contents spread over miles of territory. In building homes and other structures in hurricane prone areas, it pays to do your homework on the builder and know their reputation before the first shovel goes into the ground and the first form for the foundation is erected.
For building your character, it is equally important to know the reputation of your teacher. To know the one who give you instruction has the credentials to lead you down the path you need to go for a sound and secure future, not just for the few years you have in this physical space and time, but for eternity. My teacher inspired the book that has been the best seller in almost every language for centuries. I hope you’ve adopted Him as your instructor, too.
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