"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us." Ephesians 3:20

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 2 Cor. 3:17 Christ our Foundation Destroyed homes, torn out bridges, families losing all their possessions, traffic jams because of bridges being out. Air pollution form the traffic jams. Looters loose. Businesses upset because they are not allowed back into their area to clean up. Sand bagging to stop the every rising river. Only to no avail as the water keeps rising above the sand bags. A call for help to build up the dike to stop the river only to watch the river to rise way over the tops of the sand bags. Volunteers coming to help with the sand bags. And the rain keeps falling. The Corps of Engineers has to let the water out of the flood control dams just when the rivers are at their max. Evacuations to get away from the flood waters. Evacuations to get away form the Corps of Engineers water release efforts. Pictures of people checking up on their house in a John boat. Pets wandering aimlessly around the neighborhood, because the owners have fled to shelters where pets aren't allowed. Mud caked neighborhoods. Jobs lost. Rumors galore. Mosquito infestation looming. Railroads out. Grave yards torn up, caskets floating down the river. Relief efforts victimized, massive fraud in applying for food stamps. Levees built to stop a flood of just a few days are called on to be dams of lakes. Some hold some fail. National guard patrols empty streets, using night goggles to look for looters. Rain forecast for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Extended forecast: Rain continuing. Woman in labor takes boat to the hospital to deliver baby. Electricity out, water service contaminated. A plea to conserve water goes out. When I get to work I see garbage buckets full of water as a back up if the water goes out. Levees starting to spring leeks. Others are spongy. How long will they hold out? River parks inundated. 1993 had a record rainfall for the Mississippi River Valley. Over 50% of the losses are not covered by insurance. Businesses decide not to rebuild. A discussion on the wisdom of building again in an area that is prone to flooding. Rebuilding in flood plain must meet standards of zoning and Federal Insurance requirements. People don't have enough money to meet these requirements. After all of this 10 inches of rain falls on central Iowa again and the floods return! Emotional devastation from the loss of homes and property. The outpouring of help from many sources, organized such as the Salvation Army and unorganized such as a person traveling through and stopping to help fill sand bags. Money and food donated to ease the pain. The Federal Government pledges relief. All this news shows the extent of the disaster. Floods are used in the Bible as a type for the use of force either of the enemy or of God. It is used for a strong force that is irresistible. What is the dividing line between those that are effected by the flood and those that aren't? Those that built up out of the flood plain weren't much effected. Those that built in the flood plain were the ones who were effected by the flood. If they did not build in the flood plain they would not have to worry. The Christian life is the same way. Jesus has given us principles to live by. If we live according to these principles we are putting our house on the spiritual rock and that rock is Christ. In the Bible the foundation is described as a stone (1 Kings 5:17) A foundation is built of something that will stand the tests that will come its way. Jesus is the stone that will stand the tests that try to shake our faith. They dug deep to set the foundation. (Luke 6:48) Having a sure foundation is worth working for. It is easy to build in the flood plain. Sometimes the land is cheaper. The land is flat making landscape and access less costly. But there will be a day when the floods will come and the foundation and house will not stand the test of the flood. In the long run the costs of building in the flood plain will not be economical. It is the same in the spiritual, there is fun in sin for a season but eventually it turns bitter. Jesus is the corner stone or basis of our foundation. And the way we use our foundation is to believe. ". . .he who believes in it will not be disturbed." (Isaiah 28:16) What the apostles and prophets have taught us (The Bible) have built on this foundation. Our trust and understanding of the Bible allows us to have God's general plan. The Bible is God's letter to us and Instructions on how to live our life. The Bible is not only a letter but is living and abiding. The Bible is real today. (Hebrews 4:12) Our Christian life is built on foundations of the Lord, the Bible, our church, our family, job, etc. If some of these things are destroyed we may be able to rebuild but if we neglect the true foundation of our life it will destroy us. "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Psalm 11:3) Our life will face many problems, but what will the problem shake? "When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous has an everlasting foundation." (Proverbs 10:25) In the spiritual, problems actually allow the opportunity for the foundation to be stronger, if we rejoice in them. (2 Corinthians 12:9,10) Love comes by the opportunity to love the unlovely. Peace is learned by experiencing the lack of peace. We learn by having to go through something and the result is a stronger understanding than before. God's foundation is in the Holy Mountains. (Psalm 87:1) Our real citizenship is in heaven and if we have our treasure there.thtn the things of the world will not destroy our foundation as it destroys others. (Matthew 6:19-21) Heaven is the city with foundations. (Hebrews 11:10) The proper foundation gives security. When the floods came the house stood because it was founded on the Rock. (Matthew 7:25) Are the things in our life founded on Christ who can't be shaken? If our life is built on the foundation of the Bible then the problems of the world can't detour us. They will make us more sure of what we are about and we will be even more able to serve God with a heart full of the purposes of God. Our hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness. How do we build a good spiritual foundation? The first thing to do is to get saved. If we don't have Jesus in our hearts we need to repent of our sin and ask Him into our life and direct us how to live. (John 3:16) Second; start reading the Bible and the Gospel of John is a good place to start. (Romans 10:17) The third thing to do is to go regularly to a Bible believing church. Learn form the pastor and other teachers who are available. They will care for your soul and help you on your journey of spiritual growth. (1 Timothy 5:17) Fourth, a lot of times churches have fellowship groups that will help you and encourage you and they will teach by example. (2 Thessalonians 3:9) Fifth, it is good to have an outreach to others. The best way to learn is to teach or give to others. If all we do is receive we become stagnant and our learning stalls. If we give, our learning continues because there is a purpose to it. (2 Timothy 2:2) Sixth, start taking notes at church and Sunday school, and of the Christian books that you read. Taking notes helps you to concentrate and it organizes information. Start a simple Bible study. One way is to go through one book of the Bible and take notes of the things that speak to you. The Navigators or Campus Crusade put out good Bible Studies in booklet form. These will help you increase your knowledge of the Bible and wet your appetite for more. (2 Timothy 2:15) Seventh, prayer is vital for spiritual growth. Prayer is talking to God. It can be done anywhere. It is not just talking to God but also listening to Him. This is key because knowledge and truth are ineffective without a relationship with our Savior. To build your prayer life will build your faith and allow you to become closer to God. Prayer will give you direction from God and a purpose for the future. Most of all prayer is a relationship, pray as you do each of these steps. Seek the anointing the of the Holy Spirit in all that you do. (Luke 18:1) Some foundation scriptures are: Psalm 23; Matthew 5:1-7:29; Luke 6:20-49; John 3; 1 Corinthians 13:1-8; 15:3,4; Hebrews 6:1,2; 2 Peter 1:3-8; 1 John 1. These passages summarize the Bible and address the beginning issues of the Christian life. The best book to read first is the Gospel of John, because it introduces us to Christ and has clear teaching about what Jesus said. The Scripture talks about serving God according to His purposes and according to our purposes. If we are serving God with the wrong motives it is said that our work is wood hay and stubble. (1 Corinthians 3:10-12) This work will be judged as unacceptable and will be burned. They were burned because they were done with the wrong motives. What is the foundation for serving God? Is it to please Him or others? (Galatians 1:10) He wants servants that are rid of self and only want His purposes. (Gal. 2:20) How do we know if God wants us to do something or if it is of our flesh? Questions to ask: will it glorify Christ or ourselves? Do we have peace about doing it? If we don't have peace it may still be God's will but we need to pray through. God's Word will unite faith to our hearts which will give us peace. Does it line up with the Bible? Are you permitted to do it by those over you? If not it may be God's will but not His time. Do you have money for it? Take small steps of faith. David killed a bear and a lion before he fought Goliath! In doing it, does it draw you closer to Christ or further away? Are you doing it because of a love for Jesus and others or an intellectual idea of what is right? This does not mean that you should stop doing it but renew your foundation to allow God's love to flow through you. To be free to serve God and be rid of the flesh we are better if our heart is broken and have turned to God for strength. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise." "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (Psalm 51:17; 34:18) When Jesus reached out to others in the Gospels he was moved by compassion. A good way to be sensitive to the Spirit is to look for His love towards others and follow that. A foundation of prayer and Bible study will clean your heart to love others. (1 Peter 1:22) Then when you are moved with compassion for someone take it as from God. Don't be discouraged by the past. Confess your sin, admit you were wrong and go on. The blood of Jesus cleansed you and empowers you, not your righteousness or good works. Pray and ask what God's will is and then act on it. Set aside a time for Jesus. Make it a priority. That means you may have to say no to others. Look for Jesus' return. This puts things into perspective. It purifies us for God's purposes. (1 John 3:3) Our commitment to this world can only go so deep, because we are citizens of another Kingdom. Water from the Rock Bible Studies Scott McCrae Home | Back to Top

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