"But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." -Matthew 7:26-27 (NIV84)
Why is it that many of us continue to put our hope and security in things that are not really all that secure? Answer: We are deceived! We are fooled by others that true security lies in other things such as the stock market, wealth, fame, power, popularity, possessions, self interests and many more false strongholds. They often give the appearance of being very secure and strong. In reality the appearance is only a facade that is not very substantial which is grounded in sinking sand. For a time they look very attractive and secure just as the fortified city of Jericho was thought to be very strong and impregnable to its inhabitants. Jericho was famous for its high and strong walls and considered the strongest city of Canaan in the 15th Century B.C. Only one of its inhabitants, Rahab, understood that the great city walls were not as secure as all the others had believed.
How many of us in the 21st Century A.D. have been deceived to put our hope and trust in things that appear to be strong and secure? In reality they come tumbling down without warning. Truth be known, any stronghold that does not have the Creator of all things as part of it can and will fall in time. Anything man can make or conceive is as a sandcastle to God. The Tower of Babel was considered man's greatest achievement at the time. It ended with all who put their trust in the tower to go about babbling incoherently and in utter confusion.
Isn't it amazing that man still goes on babbling about his own accomplishments and continues to deceive himself with a false sense of security. Only in the Lord God can one truly find security, hope and peace. Unlike the people of ancient Mesopotamia or Canaan, we serve a God who is All-Powerful. So don't build your life upon the sinking sands of man's idea of what a stronghold is.
"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
-2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NIV84)
So, what stronghold will be your place of refuge? As a Christian one needs to practice the principles of the faith in order to be secure and at peace. It's not enough to just say, "I'm a Christian!". One must show it by a life that is grounded the firm foundation of God's Word and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Otherwise, when the waves come your stronghold will crash and wash away.
No comments:
Post a Comment