How to Build Your House Upon the Rock

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By Matthew Robert Payne

Today's article is based on a little story Jesus told, you could call it a parable but was basically just an illustration.

Matthew 7:24-27 (NKJV)

(A) 24"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

26"But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." If this is the first time you have read this scripture verse it may be scary to contemplate the outcome of a person who does not build his life upon the sayings of Jesus.

What is more scary is that people sit in churches all over the world, week after week and do not realize that Jesus is speaking to them. The most common understanding of this scripture is that when a person becomes a Christian that they have begun to build their life upon the rock and the sayings of Jesus. But this is not correct.

If you want to test that this is true in another person's life just ask someone for money the next time you are in need. Jesus says:

Matthew 5:42 (NKJV)

42Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. If the person that you ask is a Christian and they do not give to you or let you borrow from them they are not obeying the command of Jesus to do so.

Can you imagine a world that people didn't preach Jesus to others but actually lived like Jesus in the world? Can you picture a world where Christians didn't fight in a war to liberate a country but they actually prayed so much that the country's leader was taken out of leadership by the people?

What would the world be like if you were hungry and the first person you approached gave you money or bought you some food?

Matthew 25:32-46 (New King James Version) 32All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then the King will say to those on His right hand, "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40And the King will answer and say to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'

41"Then He will also say to those on the left hand, "Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'

44"Then they also will answer Him,[a] saying, "Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' 45Then He will answer them, saying, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' 46And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." Do we act like the righteous in this parable? When we see the hungry do we feed them? When we see someone in need of a drink do we buy it for them? Do we walk past the stranger in the street and ignore them when they need a place to live? Do we visit people we know in prison? Do we heal the sick by laying hands on them?

I ask you reader, do you do these things?

Many people assume that Jesus is not talking about them when He says this story and yet if you fulfil the deeds of the goats then you will not see the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 13:22 (NKJV)

22Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. In Matthew chapter 13 Jesus shares a parable about a sower. In this verse he describes the seed that fell on ground where thorns choked the word. Many times when we do not obey the teachings of Jesus it is because the cares of this world and our wanting to have the things this world has to offer get in the way.

Jesus says if we live in the world with all of its pleasures and we do not deny ourselves to become like Him then we will become unfruitful. And we all know what happens to a tree on a farm that is unfruitful for many seasons. Soon enough the farmer will pull it up and put another there to bear fruit.

James talks about the world like this:

James 4:4 (NKJ V)

4Adulterers and[a] adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James says that we are committing spiritual adultery if we love the world and the things in it. He says quite clearly that friendship with the world is making for ourselves an enemy of God. James is writing to Christians here and he is giving a stern warning.

Living in the world is building your house upon the sand. Loving the things of this world more than loving the teachings of Jesus is dangerous. Denying someone that you know is in need, is placing yourself in a dangerous position when it comes to the day of judgement.

Do you want to build your house upon the rock?

Closing prayer:

Lord God, lead me into fresh understanding. Let me not be a person who loves the cares of this world and who loves the world but Father let me be one that loves you and all that your Son Jesus taught. Father today I give you my whole heart and I place my life in your hands, lead me to places in your love where I will be refreshed. Do not judge me Father, rather lead me slowly and surely into your green pastures where I can live and obey your Son's teachings and where I can inherit your kingdom. In Jesus' name I ask. Amen.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/292848

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Finding Rest Under The Wings Of God

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By David Seragih
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. - Matthew 11:28-30

There are days in my life when I simply wish I can drop all things and run away to hide somewhere where no one can find me. At times, when the going gets really tough and more than I can handle, I just wish I can flush all my problems away into the toilet or splash them away into the drain with a pail of water. Then close my eyes and wish that they never come back again. But despite of all these downcast feelings, I still find the strength to move on and to overcome step by step. Of course, the problems in life never disappear forever and got ridden with. They do come back in all forms and shapes but I discover that I can find rest under the wings of God just like Elijah did (1 King 19) and has his strength renewed.

There is a place of rest in the midst of strife, struggles, stress and storms of life. This place of rest has been set aside by God for you and me where we can laid down in the green pastures to feed and regain our strength, to drink from the cool water by the river and never be lack of thirst, and to lay down and rest with no fear of attack. This rest is found in the secret place of the Most 
High, under the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91). Do you know that in the middle of a tornado, is a place called the Eye. Destructive as a tornado may be, tearing things apart as it moves through the land, in the middle of the tornado is a place of total peace and quietness. When the sea roars and the waves rises above the ocean, the sea underneath the surface is actually calm and peaceful. Just like the middle of the tornado and the ocean floor, there is a place of peace and rest although we may not be protected from the storms of life.


What is this Rest that Jesus talked about?


1. A Rest of Intimacy


This rest of intimacy comes from your relationship with God. Jesus says that His yoke is light and easy to bear. In the field, the farmer will drive two bulls together to plough the land. In order to make the two bulls move together, a yoke consisting of two holders is placed over the two animals. When the farmer drives the older bull in the direction he wants, the other younger bull will have no choice but to follow suit, thus ensuring that both animals move in one direction together. Similarly, when Jesus tells us to put on His yoke and exchange ours with His, it means He will guide us through our storms. To exchange our yoke with His, it means there must be a certain level of trust and intimacy between us and God. In Romans 8, Paul tells us that we have the spirit of adoption and we can call God "Abba Father" which means Daddy. We are the children of God and sealed with the presence of the Holy Spirit in our life. Which father on earth does not love his children, protect them and help them? The same goes for God, our Abba Father, and even much more.


2. A Place of Acceptance

This rest is a rest where you cease from strife and stress. It is not necessary for you to prove yourself before men. We find ourselves trying to prove to others and even ourselves how capable we are or even to try to please men to meet their expectations. Let me tell you, you will never find the complete acceptance from men except in God. Maturity is not about having to worry what others think of you and receiving their acceptance. Maturity and confidence are knowing who you are and your identity in God that no matter what others have to say about you, it will never remove God's love for you and Him acknowledging you as His child. Sometimes due to the storms of life, we build walls around ourselves with no gates. It keep others out but the danger is, it also keeps God out. We ended up building a spiritual tomb over ourselves.

God is easy to live with. He is our Creator and He knows us even before we were formed in our mother's womb. Do you not think He understands and feels your every thought and emotion? He does. We may not be perfect but He still loves us and this is shown through the death of His only begotten Son.

Maybe the words of God from Isaiah 30:15 will give us the complete assurance for the Lord God Almighty said, "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength". What God said shall never be returned void to Him. His promises are everlasting and true.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/943372

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How To Have A Quality Heart For God

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By Nick Imoru
How do I develop a genuine heartbeat for God"? This can only be determined by the quality of your heart for God. I mean, how much love do you have for God? Jesus speaking in Matthew chapter 22 verses 37 through 40, says:


"Jesus said to him, "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: you shall you love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

Friends! You can develop a genuine heartbeat for God by your uncompromising love for Him. Jesus said, "This is the first and great commandment". What an unveiled secret! I have never seen a great man in the kingdom that rose to the top that did not display an undoubted love for God and His affairs. This is it!


NOT SCHEMING BUT LOVE

The love you have for God is the secret. It is not scheming. It is not gimmick. It is a covenant. And once you are in that covenant, you have committed God to a great destiny. So, stop scheming! Stop cheating! Stop playing games with your business partners and co-workers. Stop lying! Ah! Where do you think you are going?

It is your love for God that determines the level of your integrity. This is what I mean. There are many people, I mean Christians that nobody can put money in their hands and go to bed. Yes! Do you know why? The owner of the money won't sleep because he is not sure of what will happen before tomorrow. The person might just come back with an empty bag and cooked up story that somebody; may be robbers, attacked him on the road and collected all the money. Ah! You need to live a life of trust. Do not let money be your God.

I have met some Christian and I know they cannot prosper in life forever. They are schemers. They lack financial integrity. Even some so-called pastors are trapped in the same net. I do not believe that wealth comes through scheming and lying. Stop cheating all-round in a bid to get rich. All these lying stories you are carrying about is not the way up. Hear me and hear me well, the truth is, you cannot get there that way. Somebody said something, and I do believe it,


"Great men don't scheme for greatness; they only do what makes great".

Yes! Once you do what make great, you will definitely find yourself in greatness. So, do not scheme for greatness and never you plot nor go through back doors. All you have to do is what makes great. And let your love for God be sure.


WHAT LOVE COULD DO

"Lord, remember David... how he swore to the Lord, and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: "Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, or go up to the comfort of my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, Until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob."


This is David. Look at the oath he was making. Ah! No wonder God said, "I have found a man after my own heart that will do all my pleasure". God was too sure of David, hence, David was made. Therefore, it is not strength that makes the mark; it is not anointing that make the mark. It is the heart that makes the mark. What God is looking for is a heart that is panting after him.

How? I have seen many anointed men that do not have a foothold on the earth, not even on the street where they live. I have equally come across many strong people, I mean, many people stronger than I in many ways. In fact, they have heavier languages, their accent is superb, they even have heavier tongues and they have been there in ministry before I ever started, but they could not make any mark. Do you know why? They do not have a heart for God. They have heart for pleasure. They have heart for status. They have heart for position! They have heart for fame. Yes! They have heart for recognition. Tell me, how will they ever make marks on the earth?

Do you know what Paul the apostle said? He said, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain". Paul was the super success sample of the New Testament. He wrote about half of the New Testament. What was his success secret? He was a man with a heart for God. The only thing that he cared about was Christ, and the reason he was living was Christ. Here is what he said, and it was the secret behind his becoming the New Testament superstar.


Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? - Romans 8:35

By implication, he was saying, "none of these things move me, I am sold out". As far as he was concerned, none of these things can ever separate him from the love of God. He was not just having fun; he was in a genuine relationship with the Father. Paul was persuaded that neither death nor life should be able to separate him from the love of God.

Today Apostle Paul is being celebrated as one of the greatest apostle of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Yes! Today, we continuously make mention of him and other great men in the Bible. The question I like to ask is: what do you think we are celebrating? We are simply celebrating God's hands made manifest upon a sold out soul. Yes! We are celebrating an individual who is sold out to God with the backing of God.

You too can be distinguished. This is what we are talking about. You should be able to take a decision to stand for God come what may. This is the way to have a quality heart for God. You are blessed.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1029664

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Jesus The Great Comforter! When Life is not fair!

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By Greg Ryan

We see it all the time in people's lives some 

unwanted circumstance enters and life is turned 

upside down. A loss of a job, an unexpected bill, 

sickness you name it. I think we have all said at 

one time or another, "gosh, life just doesn't seem 

to be fair. It does not suppose to be this way; it 

wasn't what I had planned."

We hear about it all the time in people's lives 

someone leaves a marriage, a friend disappoints 

you when you need them the most, or someone is not 

the person you expected them to be. Our 

expectations in others sometimes just never seems 

to be met.

We experience it at times in our own lives when 

life and love come together and all we come up 

with is the absence of logic. We rack our brains 

to find some reasons or rationales for events or 

peoples behaviors only to find ourselves left with 

more confusion and frustrations.

Was life fair to Jesus? Absolutely not! Did people 

disappoint him? You bet! Did events in his life 

not make sense to him at times? Probably so! But 

through it all even up until the time of his death 

Jesus had a passion for giving people comfort in 

the midst of events, unmet expectations and times 

of no rhyme nor reason. One of the Passions Jesus 

had was he is the great comforter.

 "Come to me all 

who are heavy laden and I will give you rest." 

the bible says. Yet nowhere in the bible does he 

say that our lives will be perfect. Nowhere does 

he say others will always live up to our 

expectations, and nowhere does he say that we will 

understand it all. But what he does say all 

through out the bible is when; life, love and 

logic disappoints come to the cross and lay our 

burdens down. 

There is no other place than on our 

knees that Jesus would rather us be. It is in our 

questions of life, our disappointments of others, 

and our times of confusion where we find the most 

comforter in Jesus.

If we wait until life is 100 percent, loved ones 

are totally to our liking, and we try to 

understand everything about them both, life may 

never be lived, love may never be found and we may 

miss out on the true meaning of why Jesus died on 

the cross for us. Romans 8:28 does say, "And we 

know that all things work together for good to 

them that loves God, to them who are called 

according to his purpose." Jesus wants us to love 

life, love others and love him that is the true 

meaning of life.

This week when life isn't fair, disappoints arise 

and things don't seem to make any sense remember 

Jesus is our comforter and it's at the cross where 

he died that we can lay our burdens down.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/49625

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