Matthew 7:24-29
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will
liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: [25] And
the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat
upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. [26]
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not,
shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
[27] And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew,
and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. [28]
And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were
astonished at his doctrine: [29] For he taught them as one having authority,
and not as the scribes.
"How serious a sin is the habit of neglect?"
If someone ever asks you that question, all you have to do is turn to
this portion of scripture in the Bible and ask them to answer it for themselves!
Neglecting God and His Word can undermine all of life, amen? Jesus says
it's not a wise way to conduct our lives. Like a sand castle, the fool's
life is literally wiped out in one stormy moment... What are some sandy
foundations you've seen people base their lives on? Most people do not
deliberately seek to build on a false or inferior foundation; instead,
they just don't think about their life's purpose. They stick their head
in the sand... Hence, many people are headed for destruction - some out
of stubbornness but many out of disregard. Ladies, part of our responsibility
as believers is to help others stop and think about where their lives
are headed and point out to them the consequences of ignoring Christ's
message!
Mark 7:9, "And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment
of God, that ye may keep your own tradition."
It's natural to become grieved when family members or friends ignore God
and make bad decisions for their homes. Why? Because neglecting family
responsibilities is disobedience to God! In this portion of scripture,
the Pharisees used God as an excuse to avoid helping their families. If
you read the whole story, you would find they thought it was more important
to put money in the temple treasury than to help their needy parents,
although Gods law specifically says to honor fathers and mothers (Exodus
20:12) and to care for those in need (Leviticus 25:35-43). While this
is only one example of an excuse, there are literally thousands that men
and women have come up with in order to carry out their own desires. Often
times we attach our own traditions to God's truths and end up paying more
attention to our words than His! In reality, the Pharisees had arranged
for themselves a convenient way to break the law, minus the guilt.
Likewise, not only do we erode our own character, we also wash away the
very power of God in our lives... Total obedience to the Lord brings security
to our lives that nothing else ever could!
James 4:17, "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not,
to him it is sin."
Neglecting to do right is as sinful as doing wrong! We tend to think that
only doing wrong is sin. But James tells us that sin is also not doing
right. Yes, it's a sin to lie; but it can also be a sin to know the truth
and not tell it, amen? People were astonished at the teachings of Jesus,
but more astonishing are the statistics of those who hear His Word and
do nothing with the truth! Ladies, we must build our lives upon subjection
to Christ. That's what the obedient do - it's as simple as that. Jesus
has clearly warned us of what will take place if we do not dig deep into
the nature of God. Sometimes we need to review these simple texts just
to remind us of the seriousness of our choices, amen?
2 Tim. 2:19a, "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure...
In closing, the two families in our opening story had something in common
- they were both building homes. From the outside they probably looked
the same, both sturdy in appearance. However, one of them was merely hanging
together, ready to fall at any given moment, eventually collapsing altogether
due to neglect. In the end, things were not as secure as they looked...
Ladies, if your convictions have been shifting as of late, you better
take the time to reread this text! Loss will overtake you unless you realize
how much you need God. The difference is
always in the foundation... Have you been building a sand castle??
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2001 Pamela A. Iannello
